[12:50] All right. Welcome, everyone. Welcome to City Hall here in
[12:54] the City of Hollywood. Today is Wednesday, May 20th, 2026. We
[12:58] are here for a regular City Commission meeting. But as I
[13:01] always mentioned, meetings are never regular. It's always
[13:03] important and interesting substance on the agenda and
[13:07] today is no different. Let's please rise for a moment of
[13:11] silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and think about
[13:14] loved ones who we may have lost, or people that are notable in
[13:19] our lives. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United
[13:34] States of America and to the Republic for which it stands
[13:38] one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[13:42] justice for all. Thank you. Another important moment we
[13:47] take at each meeting is to recognize our veterans, active
[13:50] service personnel and their families. So if you are a US
[13:53] veteran or a family member thereof, or a service member,
[13:56] please rise. We'd love to recognize you. We do have some
[14:07] coasties here today. Some Guardsmen welcome. Roll call.
[14:12] Please let me activate the mic real quick. I gotta click six
[14:18] times. Go ahead Commissioner, show him here. Commissioner
[14:23] Hernandez here. Vice mayor Kolody here. Commissioner
[14:27] Gruber here. Commissioner Biederman here. Commissioner
[14:32] Quintana here. Mayor Levy here. Thank you. Today's consent
[14:38] agenda includes items five through 15. If these are items
[14:41] that don't usually require individual discussion. However,
[14:43] if there is a speaker card or a request from the dais to remove
[14:47] one for individual discussion, we're happy to do so. City
[14:50] clerk Are there any speaker cards on five through 15? Item
[14:54] ten. Item ten. Anything else from the body motion to approve.
[15:01] We have a motion from Vice Mayor and a second from
[15:03] Commissioner Quintana to approve the balance of the
[15:05] consent agenda. Items five through 15 minus number ten.
[15:10] All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none.
[15:14] Those items will carry unanimously. We'll get to item
[15:18] ten as quick as we can on the agenda. I know James Quinlan is
[15:21] here with the Rhythm Foundation. So we'll hear from James.
[15:26] Onward to our 1 p.m. presentations, proclamations
[15:28] and awards. I'm going to I see a lot of folks here from
[15:31] Hollywood Fire Rescue and Beach Safety. Welcome, everyone. I'll
[15:33] take it out of order because you all are here. And let's go
[15:37] ahead and invite Chief Levy and Company to present the. And
[15:44] recognize the recipients of the Crew Commendation Award. Chief.
[15:48] Good afternoon. Mayor, vice mayor. Commissioners. City
[15:51] manager. I'd like to ask Chief Devlin. Police chief, come join
[15:53] me, please. Today's recognition is not only for the fire
[15:57] department but also for the Hollywood Police Department.
[15:59] This particular incident Chief Moses is going to read the
[16:02] narrative on was a catastrophic accident. That happened a few,
[16:06] probably a few months ago now, where a pedestrian was involved
[16:10] in a serious incident, as you'll hear in a few minutes.
[16:13] Hollywood police arrived on scene, started life saving
[16:17] actions, which eventually caused this individual to have
[16:22] somewhat of a full recovery and was able to be discharged from
[16:26] the hospital. But they are alive today, which is the most
[16:29] important thing. This this patient you'll hear shortly,
[16:32] received over 100 units of blood while in the operating
[16:35] room. That's that's a lot. They received one unit of blood on
[16:38] scene by fire rescue, but it's also due to the heroic actions
[16:43] of our Hollywood Police Department that this patient is
[16:45] alive. And we want to recognize these police officers and these
[16:48] firefighters. Very nice. Good afternoon, Commission and city
[16:57] staff. I'm Mike Moser, deputy fire chief with Hollywood Fire
[17:00] Rescue. I'd like to begin by calling up the recipients of
[17:03] this award. As I read the accommodation, Officer Palacios,
[17:07] Officer Pearce, Lieutenant Fernandez, Firefighter Robinson
[17:10] and firefighter Lopez Couto to the podium, please. On February
[17:21] 20th, 2026, rescue five responded to a report of a
[17:24] pedestrian versus a vehicle collision at 901 North Federal
[17:27] Highway. Upon arrival, crews encountered an adult male who
[17:30] had been struck while seated at a bus stop bench, resulting in
[17:33] catastrophic lower extremity injuries. Hollywood Police
[17:36] Department officers arrived and made initial patient contact
[17:40] and immediately applied tourniquets to both lower
[17:42] extremities. Prior to EMS arrival, the tourniquets were
[17:47] documented as very effective and remained in place upon
[17:49] transfer of care. Early bleeding control was crucial
[17:53] intervention in this case, EMS assessment revealed a complete
[17:57] traumatic amputation below the right knee and a partial
[18:00] traumatic amputation below the left knee. The patient was
[18:03] awake but in significant distress with hypotension and
[18:07] signs of respiratory distress. A level one trauma alert, the
[18:10] most serious patient category, was activated. Cruz initiated
[18:14] spinal immobilization, established IVs, began fluid
[18:17] replacement, and provided advanced airway support.
[18:21] Diminished breath sounds on the right prompted a decompression
[18:23] effort, which was performed without complication. During
[18:26] transport. One unit of blood was administered while
[18:29] continuous monitoring and supportive care was maintained.
[18:32] The patient was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital and
[18:35] transferred directly to the trauma team. Upon arrival, the
[18:37] patient remained hypotensive, however responsive, with
[18:42] tourniquets intact and active transfusion ongoing hospital
[18:45] staff continued their resuscitation efforts in the
[18:47] trauma bay. The patient was stabilized and admitted to the
[18:50] Trauma intensive care unit. This incident reflects
[18:54] effective interagency coordination and decisive life
[18:57] saving actions under extreme circumstances. Early bleeding
[19:01] control by law enforcement, rapid trauma system activation,
[19:04] and comprehensive pre-hospital care contributed to the
[19:08] patients surviving the initial injuries and reaching that
[19:11] definitive care at the hospital. This nomination recognizes the
[19:14] responding personnel for their skill, perseverance, and life
[19:17] saving performance during a highly complex and time
[19:21] critical emergency. Congratulations. Thank you very
[19:25] much.
[19:51] One. Two. Three. One more please.
[20:13] I'll tell you what. The Memorial Regional Hospital had
[20:16] their survivor's day recognition, recognizing the
[20:20] different EMS units that operate in South Broward County.
[20:26] Also, of course, recognizing the trauma doctors, the nurses
[20:30] that attend to the patients coming in and really
[20:33] celebrating and highlighting the successes when it's a
[20:37] fortunate situation to be able to have someone survive a
[20:40] trauma, it's always a very heartwarming thing to see the
[20:44] survivors come in and speak after they've, you know, gone
[20:47] through the most difficult, life threatening injury. So
[20:51] pretty amazing. We're fortunate to have Memorial Regional
[20:54] Hospital and the trauma team here in Hollywood. And thanks,
[20:57] of course, to EMS in Hollywood and our firefighting crew and
[21:02] Hollywood police as well for, you know, providing people with
[21:04] that opportunity. In the end, that's the biggest sense of
[21:08] pride that I think we can have as a community that entrusts
[21:12] and invests in the city of Hollywood, and through that,
[21:15] the public safety services that we provide, really it really
[21:18] goes the longest way to, you know, give that sense of how
[21:23] important the professionalism and, and the funding that we
[21:29] invest into Hollywood Fire rescue and Hollywood police
[21:32] goes, it goes such a long way. And the most important times
[21:35] for all of us. So thank you so much. All right. Well, I don't
[21:40] think there's anything else keeping all of these public
[21:44] safety professionals here, chief. So if you are interested,
[21:46] you can stay until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. but otherwise free to go
[21:51] if you like. All right. Let's go ahead and start with our
[21:59] proclamations. Then we'll take them in order. National Public
[22:01] Works Week is this upcoming week or this week? And
[22:05] presenting the proclamation will be Commissioner Biderman
[22:09] accepting it will be Joseph Krol and Public Works and the
[22:12] Public Works Staff. Commissioner Biderman, public
[22:16] Works Week. Go ahead. Thank you mayor. First, I'll start by
[22:35] saying how lucky we are to have such a qualified and exemplary
[22:39] public works team that make us all look good on a daily basis,
[22:42] lifting all the heavy lifting for us and repairing all that
[22:46] above ground infrastructure. When our residents are
[22:50] concerned about it. So it's meaningful to proclaim in
[22:56] recognition of National Public Works Week, May 17th through
[23:00] the 23rd 2026. Whereas, in 1960, the American Public Works
[23:05] Association launched a national initiative to raise public
[23:09] awareness of the vital role public Works plays in community
[23:12] life by establishing National Public Works Week. And Whereas,
[23:17] special highlights of National Public Works Week include the
[23:20] United States Senate affirming a resolution. Letters of
[23:24] acknowledgment from President Dwight D Eisenhower and Lyndon
[23:27] B Johnson, and proclamation presented by President John F
[23:31] Kennedy in 1962. And Whereas public works professionals
[23:35] focus on cities, infrastructure, facilities and services that
[23:38] are vital to building a sustainable and resilient
[23:42] communities, they work diligently each day to maintain
[23:44] safe streets, reliable water and sewer systems, effective
[23:48] stormwater management, sanitary services, traffic operations,
[23:52] public facilities, parks and green spaces. These essential
[23:57] efforts are fundamental to public health and safety. And
[24:00] whereas public services are made possible through public
[24:03] works, professionals including engineers, managers and
[24:06] essential first responders who work to build, improve and
[24:10] protect our community. And whereas, this year's theme,
[24:13] rooted in service powered by community, reflects the deep
[24:18] commitment of public works employees and serving residents
[24:20] with integrity, reliability, and pride, it emphasizes that
[24:25] the strength of public works lies not only in infrastructure
[24:29] and operations, but in a relationships built with the
[24:32] community they serve. And Whereas support, patients and
[24:36] understanding of our community indicate a shared appreciation
[24:39] for essential services provided by public works personnel who
[24:43] make a meaningful impact on daily lives of our residents.
[24:46] Now, therefore, Josh Levy, mayor of the City of Hollywood,
[24:49] Florida, and the Hollywood City Commission, hereby recognize
[24:52] May 17th through the 23rd 2026 as National Public Works Weeks
[24:57] in the City of Hollywood. Thank you. Mayor, Vice mayor,
[25:08] commissioners, I'm honored to stand here before you today as
[25:10] a representative recipient of this proclamation recognizing
[25:14] National Public Works Week. This acknowledgment highlights
[25:18] the essential role that public works professionals play in
[25:21] maintaining and improving our community's infrastructure and
[25:24] services. Our work ensures manicured landscaping, safe
[25:28] roads, clean beaches, vibrant public spaces which enhance the
[25:32] quality of life for all of our residents. On behalf of myself
[25:36] and all the public works staff behind me and out there still
[25:40] working, we'd like to express our gratitude to you, Mayor and
[25:45] Commissioners, for this recognition. If not, it not
[25:48] only celebrates the dedication and hard work of our team, but
[25:52] also underscores the importance of continued investment in
[25:55] public works for a stronger, safer, and more resilient
[25:58] community. Thank you for your support and partnership as we
[26:01] strive to serve the public with excellence. Thank you Joseph.
[26:08] Well, same same words of gratitude on behalf of the City
[26:12] Commission to everybody in Public Works, your work is
[26:16] critical. It goes far reaching, and it's so meaningful to keep
[26:18] a city that's clean and vibrant and functioning and resilient.
[26:23] So really, from all of us, thank you so much. In the same
[26:26] form, the investment in public works is a top priority, the
[26:30] same as others. And just as long as you guys tell Joseph
[26:33] what you need and he tells the city manager and she tells us,
[26:36] we got you, let's come up for a photo, everybody. Yeah. And
[26:49] Jeavons not a bad guy to talk to either. Come on. Everybody,
[27:03] I think you guys are going to have to scrunch. Right here.
[27:17] Thank you so much everybody. You're welcome. All right. Next
[27:37] on our agenda as a proclamation recognizing Safe Boating Week,
[27:40] which is this week, May 16th through the 22nd. I'll take the
[27:44] liberty and pleasure of presenting the proclamation.
[27:47] With us today is Neil Koretsky. He's the flotilla flotilla
[27:51] commander with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary from flotilla.
[27:54] It says Dania Beach, but we all know it's in Hollywood. So
[27:58] let's go ahead then. Proclamation recognizing
[28:05] National Safe Boating Week, May 16th through the 22nd 2026.
[28:09] Whereas Florida has 1300 miles of coastline, 50,000 miles of
[28:13] rivers, streams and canals, and 7800 lakes for Florida
[28:16] residents and visitors to enjoy and for wildlife to inhabit.
[28:20] These areas are rated as best boating and the fishing capital
[28:25] of the world. And whereas millions of Americans take to
[28:29] the waterways enjoying time together boating, sailing,
[28:32] paddleboarding, kayaking and fishing, the city of Hollywood,
[28:34] Florida, is fortunate to have the resources to accommodate
[28:37] these varieties of boating. The US Coast Guard, the US Coast
[28:43] Guard Auxiliary and its federal, state and local partners
[28:45] encourage all boaters to explore and enjoy our beautiful
[28:49] waterways. And whereas, Americans should take
[28:52] precautionary actions to ensure that everyone makes it home
[28:56] unharmed after a fun day on the water, inspecting your boat
[28:59] thoroughly and participating in a free vessel safety check
[29:02] offered through the US Coast Guard can help ensure both you
[29:07] and your boat are ready for the water. And whereas, boaters
[29:10] should also wear life jackets at all times and make sure
[29:13] there is always someone on board who is unimpaired and
[29:16] capable of operating the boat. The United States Coast Guard
[29:19] and its federal, state and local partners estimate that
[29:21] avoiding alcohol and wearing a life jacket can prevent more
[29:24] than 75% of boating fatalities. And whereas, through basic
[29:30] safety procedures such as carrying emergency distress and
[29:34] communication equipment, wearing life jackets, taking a
[29:37] safe boating class, getting a free boating safety check,
[29:41] getting an engine cut off switch or lanyard which is
[29:44] required for vessels under 26ft and staying sober while
[29:48] operating a vessel. We can ensure that boaters on our
[29:51] crowded inland and offshore waterways stay safe throughout
[29:55] the year. And whereas knowledge and skills are important in
[29:59] reducing human error and improving judgment, that is why
[30:02] we must continue to pass the word about boating safety, not
[30:05] only during National Safe Boating Week, but throughout
[30:09] the entire year now. Therefore, Josh Levy, mayor of the City of
[30:12] Hollywood, Florida, and the Hollywood City Commission, do
[30:15] hereby proclaim May 16th through the 22nd 2026 as
[30:19] National Safe Boating Week in the City of Hollywood, Florida.
[30:28] Thank you. Thank you, commander. Thank you, Mayor and
[30:31] commissioners. As we all know, this year alone, we've had a
[30:36] number of accidents and many more people injured for the
[30:42] same time last year. There's a common misconception that boat
[30:47] owners and people who live near the water are the ones most
[30:51] affected, and that is not correct. If we look at the
[30:55] statistics, it can happen to anyone, anywhere, any time. The
[30:58] city of Hollywood has a special relationship with the Coast
[31:02] Guard, because we've had an office here in the city for
[31:05] many years for recruiting, and we hope to continue our
[31:10] relationship. Thank you mayor. Thank you sir. Please come on
[31:12] up for a photo. We'd love to spread the word.
[31:36] Do you want to give a shout out to our
[31:38] Hollywood Police marine unit chief Devlin? Marine unit? I
[31:41] know it's going to be busy. I saw some of the public
[31:44] messaging that went out on social media about safe boating,
[31:47] especially during the Memorial Day weekend. Coming up a long
[31:50] weekend, hopefully it'll be nice weather and people will
[31:53] enjoy the waterways and be safe in Hollywood and beyond. All
[31:56] right, let's go ahead now to a proclamation recognizing
[32:00] Building Safety Month, ladies and gentlemen, which is also
[32:02] May of 2026. Presenting the proclamation will be
[32:06] Commissioner Hernandez. And I'll invite the Department of
[32:09] Development Services, the building division. Andrea
[32:11] Wingard, the director, is here, along with Russell Long, our
[32:15] chief building official. I see Dan Quintana and Company Jim
[32:19] and all the folks here from Development Services. Please
[32:23] join the crew up here. It's been a more popular topic in
[32:30] the past few years. Building safety, of course, with the
[32:34] county inspection program and what have you. Yes, I know the
[32:37] team has kept busy. Commissioner Hernandez, go
[32:44] ahead. Thank you, mayor. And I got to tell you, this group
[32:50] never stops working because at any given time, I actually get
[32:53] Ahold of him. We have a great deal of questions, and I thank
[32:56] you all for the help and for the service that you provide to
[33:00] our residents, and particularly the pain in the butt in the
[33:04] commissioner that I am or can be. Anyway, thank you all. He
[33:07] wasn't kidding about 24 over seven either. No, no I'm not I
[33:10] they know it. I thought it was the other one. I'll go. Boy.
[33:15] Proclamation. City of Hollywood Florida in recognition of
[33:18] Building Safety Month, May 2026. Whereas, the City of Hollywood
[33:22] recognizes that strong, safe and resilient buildings are
[33:26] vital to the well-being of our community, both in everyday
[33:30] life and during times of disaster. And whereas,
[33:33] confidence in the resiliency of these buildings depends on the
[33:37] work of dedicated professional building, safety and fire
[33:40] prevention officials, architects, engineers, builders,
[33:45] tradespeople and others who ensure that structures are safe,
[33:49] sustainable and code compliant. And Whereas, the Through the
[33:54] International Code Council, local, state and federal
[33:57] officials work together to develop, implement and uphold
[34:01] modern building codes and standards that safeguard the
[34:04] public from natural disasters such as hurricanes, fires,
[34:08] floods and earthquakes. And Whereas, Building Safety Month
[34:11] is sponsored by the International Code Council to
[34:15] highlight the essential role of unsung protectors of public
[34:19] safety, our code officials who help ensure safe, resilient and
[34:24] sustainable buildings and recognize the many City of
[34:27] Hollywood employees, including police officers and first
[34:30] responders who put up their safety and their lives on the
[34:34] line in service to our residents. And whereas, each
[34:38] year in observance of Building Safety Month, people all over
[34:41] the world are asked to consider the commitment to improve
[34:44] building safety, resiliency and economic investment at home and
[34:49] in the community, and to acknowledge the essential
[34:52] service provided in protecting lives and property of the City
[34:56] of Hollywood. Now. Therefore, Josh Levy, mayor of the City of
[35:00] Hollywood, Florida, and the City of Hollywood Commission,
[35:02] do hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as Building Safety
[35:06] Month in the City of Hollywood, Florida. Good afternoon mayor,
[35:17] Vice mayor, city Commissioners, Commissioner Andrea Winget, the
[35:21] Director of Development Services. And I'm honored to be
[35:24] standing here today. And I'm only standing here today before
[35:27] you because of the team that's standing behind me. You've read
[35:30] several really important proclamations today,
[35:33] recognizing a lot of important topics and initiatives. But
[35:36] this group behind me really is, is the silent group that that
[35:41] is working 24 over seven day in and day out as well. Silently.
[35:45] They may not have the the fancy lights or the big trucks, but
[35:49] as you read in the proclamation. You might have to have a word
[35:57] with her. If they do play an important role in work, hand in
[36:02] hand with our other emergency personnel in keeping structure
[36:07] safe, to limit fires within the community, to ensure that our
[36:12] community, our residents, our business structures can
[36:15] withstand the elements of nature as we move forward. And
[36:20] it's their hard work and dedication that helps to keep
[36:23] the community safe. And we've had a few additions to our team
[36:27] over the year. So if you can just entertain me for one
[36:30] minute, I would like. As we all know, our building official,
[36:33] Russell Long, is here and we do have three assistant building
[36:36] officials, Jim McGuinness, who is over our large development
[36:41] construction projects. So the projects that really catch your
[36:45] eye when you're out in our community and seeing them, he
[36:48] oversees and manages those projects and the safe
[36:52] construction of those buildings include, including the staging
[36:55] of equipment and the resources that are brought in. We have
[36:59] Sheila Oliver, who has rejoined the city. She was here
[37:03] previously. Unfortunately, she is not able to be here with us
[37:06] today, but she is overseeing our day to day permitting to
[37:10] help our mostly our residents and some of our smaller
[37:14] businesses within the city to get their permits through the
[37:16] process and help educate them on the best way to do that. And
[37:20] then we have Dan Quintana, and Dan is our building assistant
[37:24] building official who is over building safety for the city.
[37:28] And with that, he has a few words he would like to say for
[37:31] us. Sure. Sorry. Good afternoon, mayor, vice mayor,
[37:43] commissioners and city manager. I'm Daniel Quintana, proud
[37:46] assistant building official at the City of Hollywood. Today, I
[37:49] want to speak briefly about a simple but powerful idea.
[37:52] Stronger codes create real impact, and that impact is what
[37:56] creates safer buildings. Codes are more than rules written on
[37:59] paper. There are standards that shape how we build, work and
[38:03] live. Whether we talk about building codes, safety codes,
[38:06] ethical codes, or digital security codes. Strong
[38:09] standards protect people, improve quality, and create
[38:13] trust. When codes are weak or ignored, the consequences can
[38:16] be serious. Unsafe buildings, data breaches, accidents and
[38:18] loss of confidence. But when codes are strong and properly
[38:22] followed, they save lives, strengthen communities and
[38:24] support innovation. Real impact happens when responsibility
[38:28] meets action. Engineers design safer structures. Business
[38:33] businesses protect customer information organizations.
[38:36] Organizations create ethical workplaces. Governments
[38:39] establish standards that serve the public good. Every strong
[38:42] code becomes a foundation for progress, but stronger codes
[38:45] are not only about compliance, they are about commitment. A
[38:49] commitment to excellence, accountability, and the
[38:51] well-being of others. In the end, stronger codes do more
[38:54] than prevent problems. They build confidence, create
[38:58] resilience, and make a lasting difference in people's lives.
[39:00] At this time, I introduce the driving force behind
[39:06] development services, and that is the group of professionals
[39:09] standing with me and before you today. Our structural chief is
[39:22] Tim Jones. Who oversees, obviously, our structural plan
[39:27] reviewers and inspectors. He's had loads of experience. He's
[39:33] he's he's done a fantastic job for us. He steps up whenever we
[39:37] ask him to do anything out of the norm, which is pretty
[39:41] pretty often he never says no. Our next chief is John Basu.
[39:48] Mechanical. Mechanical. He oversees a group of gentlemen
[39:56] that help keep us cool when it's really, really hot outside.
[39:59] They do a fantastic job. And shout out to Norm McKinnon. By
[40:04] the way, our chief electrical inspector, James Stewart.
[40:15] Together with his staff of inspectors and plan reviewers,
[40:19] they oversee our electrical department. They make sure that
[40:24] electrical installations are to code and safe. Next is Mr.
[40:38] James West, our chief plumbing inspector. Along with his staff.
[40:45] He ensures that our sanitation systems in our buildings and
[40:50] homes are up to code and keep us healthy and safe and help us
[40:56] have hot, really hot showers. So. Our manager, Christina
[41:02] Gordon. Along with assistant City Manager is Marlon Batista
[41:11] and our SA three, Jessica Miss edu with this staff they are
[41:18] the front line to our department. We can't simply
[41:21] cannot function without the role that they play for us. And
[41:25] they are just completely essential every day. Every day.
[41:31] Some tips and takeaways. You know, building safety is
[41:34] everyone's responsibility. Oh, sorry. Continuous education and
[41:41] awareness. That is one thing that the we are proud of and
[41:44] we're happy that the city does provide opportunities for us to,
[41:48] to further our, our careers and our education. Embrace building
[41:55] codes for safer future. And thank you for your commitment
[41:58] to safety. And last but not least, this is since Building
[42:03] Safety month, we were at Home Depot not too long ago. And
[42:09] this is just a little blurb that we put together. You look
[42:13] real happy there, Dan. I can be a little animated. The candy
[42:16] store there, right? Yeah. Can you play it? Hey good morning
[42:20] y'all. I'm Daniel, assistant building official here at the
[42:22] City of Hollywood. We're here at the Home Depot at Oakwood
[42:25] Plaza. We're promoting Building Safety Month for the Board of
[42:27] Rules and Fields. And we have hard hats. We have pens,
[42:31] pencils. We have some rubber ducks and cars. We have some
[42:35] pamphlets, and we have our staff here. We have our
[42:37] computer. We can help you with permits if you have any
[42:40] questions at all. So please come down and see us. We'll be
[42:43] here till 2:00 today. Go, Hollywood. All right. And along
[42:50] with approximately 85 staff, we do this every day, all day long
[42:54] and even on weekends sometimes. And we're proud to serve the
[42:57] residents and business owners of the city of Hollywood. How
[42:59] many permits do you guys do every year? Because I don't
[43:02] think the average resident has a clue of how much work you
[43:05] guys do yet so far. We on high end 18,000, but we average out
[43:12] pretty much around 16,000 to 17,000 a year. Thank you. Well,
[43:17] I'll tell you what, everyone, it's been really a pleasure for
[43:20] all of us to support the our investments in the building
[43:24] division and development services, beginning with the
[43:26] new workspace that I hope you all love and enjoy compared to
[43:30] what was there before. The second floor is beautiful and
[43:34] really offers the most modern space at any department has
[43:38] right now in the city of Hollywood. So I hope you're
[43:40] proud of the investment in the workspace. I hope you're proud
[43:43] of the investment in technology and the solar system. I know
[43:46] it's hard to switch gears, but ultimately, I hope we hit that
[43:49] high gear in August when we hopefully convert all the
[43:52] different building permit types to a solar and give you all a
[43:56] more, you know, a more consistent system to, to work
[44:00] together and to crank out those permits as quickly as possible.
[44:04] Of course, upholding all the safety rules that you're
[44:07] entrusted to uphold. But at the same time, as we've said for
[44:10] years, to help facilitate that quick issuance and inspection
[44:14] of the building permits, because all the dreams that we
[44:16] have for the city of Hollywood in terms of its growth or the
[44:19] investment that the average resident wants to make in their
[44:22] house, or a small business in their business, to an investor
[44:24] and developer that wants to build a new multifamily
[44:27] building in the city, it all, and even our public facilities,
[44:30] they all need to flow through your desks. And so thank you
[44:34] for being that critical and that indispensable conduit that
[44:39] everything that we hope for in the city has to flow through.
[44:41] So your efficiency and your productivity is something that
[44:45] we rely on, and we hope we've given you the tools that you
[44:48] need to be as productive as you can be with using technology
[44:51] and facilities and additional personnel. And like I suggested,
[44:54] the public works. If you need something more, tell Russell
[44:58] Tel Dan, tell Jim, tell your your fellow, you know, team
[45:03] members, they'll tell the city manager and she'll tell us and
[45:07] we'll make it happen. So thank you all so much. Appreciate all
[45:11] that you do. Thank you, thank you. Come on up for a photo.
[45:21] Don't forget the laundry. Hold it. I don't know, we had so
[45:39] many.
[47:05] All right. Thank you all so much. Let's go ahead now and
[47:12] shift gears to recognize National Historic Preservation
[47:15] Month, which is May of 2026. Of course, I'd like to invite
[47:20] Commissioner Shuhan to present the proclamation. Andy Ruffner,
[47:23] please come on up. He's the executive director of the
[47:26] Hollywood Historical Society. I think you have some other folks
[47:28] here from the Historical Society that'll join you and
[47:31] accepting the proclamation. And I'd like to recognize
[47:34] Commissioner Shuhan to present. Go ahead. Commissioner. Thank
[47:37] you. Mayor. National Historic Preservation Month, May 2026.
[47:43] Whereas, historic preservation is an effective tool for
[47:46] managing growth and sustainable development, revitalizing
[47:50] neighborhoods, fostering local pride, maintaining community
[47:53] character, and enhancing livability. And Whereas the
[47:56] city of Hollywood's historic districts seek to preserve and
[48:00] maintain historically significant resources located
[48:03] within the city of Hollywood, keeping the city a unique and
[48:07] special place. Whereas, historic preservation is
[48:10] relevant for communities across the nation, both urban and
[48:14] rural, and for Americans of all ages, all walks of life and all
[48:17] ethnic backgrounds. And whereas it's important to celebrate the
[48:22] role of history in our lives and the contributions made by
[48:25] dedicated individuals in helping to preserve the
[48:28] tangible aspects of the heritage that has shaped us as
[48:31] a people. And whereas the 2026 National Historic Preservation
[48:37] Month theme is all people are Created Equal, focusing on the
[48:43] 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,
[48:46] organized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the
[48:49] month emphasizes preserving diverse sites that tell the
[48:53] full American story, reflecting on founding ideals and
[48:57] promoting community revitalization. Now, therefore,
[49:00] Josh Levy, mayor of the City of Hollywood, Florida, and the
[49:03] Hollywood City Commission, hereby proclaim May 2026 as
[49:08] National Historic Preservation Month. Congratulations! You may
[49:18] need to click the bottom of the mic. Activate the mic. Thank
[49:23] you so much, Mayor and Commissioners, for the
[49:26] proclamation. This is Dana Gallup. He is our board
[49:29] president now. Just took over this January from Clive. And we
[49:35] just hope for an ongoing partnership with the city in
[49:39] preserving our historic heritage. We have a lot of
[49:42] great things here, and I think it's one of the top three
[49:46] assets that we have here in the city as our historic stock of
[49:52] buildings, and that if we preserve them, we're going to
[49:55] remain a really unique and special city in everybody's
[49:59] hearts. So thank you so much here. Andy. Andy, you want to
[50:09] do the picture together with everyone that will be following?
[50:11] Let's let's hold then let's invite Terry Cantrell. He's
[50:14] chair of the Historic Preservation Board, and we'd
[50:17] like to recognize May 2026 as historic, of course,
[50:20] preservation month. But also he's going to he's going to
[50:24] introduce let's do it together. Let's do it together once. Once
[50:27] Terry finishes the award, recipients will join us
[50:30] together for the photo. I think it'll be nice that way. Okay.
[50:33] All right. Yeah, yeah, we'll do it. Thank you very much. So,
[50:37] should I go? AM I good? Yes, please. All right. Thank you
[50:40] everybody. Terry Cantrell, chair of your Historic
[50:43] Preservation Board. And our favorite time of year May for
[50:46] Historic Preservation Month. We have a bevy of awards. We have
[50:50] more awards this year we've ever had. So hang on to your
[50:54] hats. Here we go. It's going to be interesting here. We're
[50:57] going to have a slideshow in just a second. I don't come up.
[51:00] This is there's a couple of words here that we're are, I
[51:04] think, very special. As soon as we get the slideshow up here,
[51:09] we'll be ready to go here. The first one is for, of all things,
[51:16] the block 40 Great Southern Hotel Food Hall. Now you all
[51:22] may remember the the saga of the Great Southern Hotel. I was
[51:27] very much involved in that way back in 2022, three and four.
[51:32] And I think only Commissioner Hernandez was around back then
[51:36] on the board when we approved the block 50, block eight, the
[51:42] 1818 project, which is block 40, and it was the goal was to save
[51:49] and preserve the the Great Southern Hotel. Unfortunately,
[51:54] as we all know, it wasn't possible. There was long delays
[51:56] in the construction of the project. So as a result, the
[51:59] the building itself had deteriorated. But happily, we
[52:02] had a very cooperative developer who was willing to
[52:07] replicate the old hotel. And that's what we have now. So
[52:11] realizing that it's been open for a couple of years now, we
[52:13] never really recognized this work of replicating and semi
[52:19] restoring the Great Southern Hotel, which is probably the
[52:22] oldest, one of the oldest structures in Hollywood. So we
[52:24] thought it was very appropriate to do that today with this
[52:27] month, with this awards for this, this year. So I'm not
[52:30] sure if anybody's here from block 40, but what we're going
[52:33] to do, rather than have everybody come up individually,
[52:35] I'm going to ask all the awardees to line up behind me.
[52:38] We'll give them their plaque and we'll take a photograph
[52:40] when we're done with that. So okay, so block 40. So the next
[52:44] one in line, this is, is the Art and Culture Center at 1650
[52:51] Harrison Street. What a project of course, general obligation
[52:55] bond project as chair of the of the job advisory group, we were
[53:00] monitoring this project a lot. I know it took a little bit
[53:03] more extra money, but look what we got for it. We got one of
[53:06] the most beautiful projects of all the GOB, and I'm not sure
[53:10] most all of us have been in the building. We've already held
[53:12] events there for the local civic association. And it's
[53:16] just it just came out spectacular. The architect went
[53:20] above and beyond, and thanks to DCM Jose Cortez and, and his
[53:25] group, this, this, this project came to fruition. And look what
[53:28] we have now. So this is an award to. So whoever is going
[53:31] to accept that award, hopefully somebody from DCM can line up
[53:34] behind me too, and we'll give them their plaque. The next
[53:38] award is a very special award. Recognizes we thought it was
[53:45] very important to recognize the 100 year anniversary party that
[53:48] we had last year, and what a great job that seemed. Did
[53:53] organizing that, culminating in the incredible weekend event
[53:58] party that we all had in November. So we thought it was
[54:01] more than appropriate. You know, again, we don't necessarily
[54:04] concentrate on projects per se. It's anything involved with
[54:07] historic preservation and the history of Hollywood. And this
[54:10] one is absolutely in that category too. So if anybody
[54:14] from Sema is going to line up here behind me or stand get get
[54:17] close to me, we'll give you your plaque. Exactly. So so.
[54:22] And now, of course, headed up by Joanne Hussey, doing a
[54:25] wonderful job. And part of that 100 year celebration was an
[54:31] effort by the Historical Society. And Steve Sarsfield,
[54:36] longtime member and videographer here in Hollywood
[54:39] that's done some really, really great projects, too. And he put
[54:42] together, again something that was shown at the November
[54:47] weekend party, and it was a 100 year celebration, a centennial
[54:52] celebration of Hollywood 100 years. And Steve is also here
[54:55] to accept his award as well. And that's the type of of film
[55:00] or project that will live forever. And we'll be looking
[55:03] at that ten, 20, 30 years from now. And there's only going to
[55:06] be one 100 year anniversary, folks. And that was last year.
[55:09] So we're going to be able to watch that film that Steve
[55:12] Sarsfield made to. All right. So thank you again, Steve, for
[55:15] that. Next project that we're going to award is an actual
[55:23] building project, the actual construction project here in
[55:25] Hollywood. And it was very special to me because this is
[55:28] not far from where I live in the lakes. And, and we spent, I
[55:32] spent a lot of time walking around in. Every morning, Lynn
[55:35] and I take our our two mile hike. And we've always watched
[55:38] this always like this house. 1949 house on Van Buren Street.
[55:41] And it had a canvas on it. And you can see the, the photo in
[55:46] the above shows a before photograph. And it was this
[55:50] ordinary looking green on a canvas awning that was in need
[55:54] of replacement, I guess. And so the applicant is here now and
[55:58] Diane did a wonderful job. She it came before the preservation
[56:02] board, and I thought it was particularly special because it
[56:04] shows that you can take a small scale project. It doesn't have
[56:08] to be a major infill housing project or anything, and do
[56:11] something so special to the house and bring it back. And
[56:15] this kind of thing that we encourage those type of
[56:17] projects in the historic neighborhood. So Diane is also
[56:20] here for that award, and she'll be up here in just a second too.
[56:24] That's 1133 Van Van Buren Street. Diane Plunkett. So. We
[56:29] have another word that the board thought was important to
[56:33] recognize, and that is there's a series of small scale Tudor
[56:39] apartment buildings that have been along Hollywood Beach,
[56:42] along Ocean Drive for quite a while. And we thought it was
[56:45] important to recognize those because as we look towards more
[56:48] development on the beach and we we think it's important to
[56:52] recognize this. Most of them were designed by the same
[56:55] architect. They've been there for quite a while, but they've
[56:58] been maintained beautifully. So and I have I think Diana
[57:02] Pitrelli is here, is a beach resident and a preservation
[57:05] board member along with me. And she's going to accept this
[57:08] award too. So we thought that was a very significant award to
[57:12] recognize too, as we look forward to potentially
[57:15] developing more along the beach. This is the type of thing that
[57:19] kind of works. Low scale eight, nine, ten, ten storey apartment
[57:23] buildings with a, with a, in this case, a two door type
[57:26] style. So I think it's Eugene Bold who's here on behalf of
[57:29] the Hollywood Beach Civic Association. So Eugene, come on
[57:31] up. Yeah, right. Line up. Yeah. Line up here. Please follow me
[57:36] if you would. So. And we also have an award. Finally, an
[57:39] award that the Historical Society asks us to present and
[57:43] which is a very worthy award. It's to Robert McCarthy, a
[57:47] lakes resident and longtime lakes resident here. Yes. Thank
[57:51] you. Who did a lot to preserve downtown some of the older
[57:58] downtown structures. We all remember club M it's been
[58:01] plaque by the historical Society, and we agree 100% with
[58:04] the historical society. This was a very worthy award to give
[58:07] to the late Robert McCarthy. So we thank everybody for that.
[58:11] All right. That is basically the awards this year, seven of
[58:15] them. We did that in record time. Congratulations,
[58:18] everybody. And thank you so much for. All your respective
[58:23] contributions to preserving, celebrating and investing in
[58:26] the historical properties and occasions in the city of
[58:30] Hollywood. Thank you so much. The work goes a long way. We
[58:33] know the historical properties, tell the story of the city, and
[58:36] we're really fortunate to have people like yourselves who help
[58:38] tell the story and celebrate it and invest in it. Thank you so
[58:41] much. Thank you very much. We'll come up for a photo.
[58:45] Thank you. I'm taking a picture with Eugene. Do you want to get
[59:02] in it? And I can take the picture. It's okay. Okay. Okay.
[59:11] Ready? Right here. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[59:36] Randy. All right, moving right along, everyone. We are not
[59:50] done yet. Yes, because Terry is here to present the annual
[59:54] report for the Historic Preservation Board, followed by
[59:58] the Sustainability Advisory Committee, the artwork
[1:00:00] selection committee. And then we'll talk community
[1:00:03] development and talk about the task force for Ending
[1:00:05] Homelessness. So a lot of good substance. And we'll turn it
[1:00:08] over to Terry now for the Historic Preservation Board
[1:00:11] annual report. Thank you very much, mayor. Again, Terry
[1:00:14] Cantrell, chair of the Historic Preservation Board. And this is
[1:00:18] again, our favorite time of year. We appreciate the fact
[1:00:22] that the city and and you folks recognize our work and our
[1:00:27] effort to preserve historic properties in, in the three
[1:00:32] districts, you know, we have three districts and we are a
[1:00:35] CLG, a certified local government created in 1995.
[1:00:38] There's only about 45 or 50 of those in the state of Florida
[1:00:41] that allows us to have a historic district and a
[1:00:44] historic ordinance, and we take it very, very seriously. Our
[1:00:47] mission statement is well known, and we are we are obligated to
[1:00:54] review and consider projects of any size within a certain
[1:00:59] financial parameter. Of course, in the in the three historic
[1:01:03] districts we have the, of course, the Lakes Historic
[1:01:05] District downtown, and then the Beach Historic District. This
[1:01:10] is this is an eye chart, but it will give you an idea of some
[1:01:14] of the areas, the three historic districts, the overlay
[1:01:18] districts. And also we do have what we call historic property
[1:01:21] overlay sites. There's about 23 or 24 of these sites all over
[1:01:26] the city, not just on the east side of town, that are
[1:01:31] specially designated by the city over over the course of
[1:01:34] the years, so that we've had the preservation ordinance,
[1:01:36] those are are listed there. And all this is available on the
[1:01:39] website. By the way, it's a lot easier to read there, that's
[1:01:42] for sure. So. Some of the projects, here's a project that
[1:01:45] we approved last year, a 1929 Hollywood Boulevard. Again, we
[1:01:51] approved projects that involve changes in facades in downtown,
[1:01:56] which is very, very important. We this particular project I
[1:02:01] happen to like because I happen to like Art Deco and
[1:02:03] mid-century modern type designs. And this is a good example of
[1:02:06] that as well. Here, of course, is the project that you folks
[1:02:10] were intimately involved with at 1317 Harrison Street. Coming
[1:02:12] along very nicely. If you go down Harrison Street, you see
[1:02:15] how much work they're doing right now. That'll be the end
[1:02:18] product. And I guarantee you next year that'll be an award
[1:02:21] for sure. So, and right across the street is another project
[1:02:24] that I believe Commissioner Gruber's brother is doing. It's
[1:02:28] restoring another very old, just as old as this house too,
[1:02:31] which would really be nice too. So interesting project here
[1:02:34] that we approved last fall. It was a lot that was bifurcating
[1:02:40] a big nicely and two modern that faced the Marina. So it's
[1:02:48] just all about older historic Mediterranean revival. We also
[1:02:52] encourage and support this type of design because as we know,
[1:02:57] 50 years from now, that'll be historic. That's how you look
[1:02:59] at it now. So 50 years is the National Park Service's
[1:03:06] guideline for historic property. So again, on the beach, 501
[1:03:11] South Surf Road. Very interesting project, actually,
[1:03:14] a four story project built by right no variances. Very
[1:03:19] interesting project. Just a little south of Hollywood
[1:03:24] Boulevard on Surf Road. That was one of our approvals.
[1:03:27] Here's just a sample of some of the other projects. Of course,
[1:03:31] the restaurant is going to find that's Florio's, by the way. I
[1:03:34] think they came before you folks for something too. So
[1:03:37] that's going to be a very interesting project. And that
[1:03:39] could very well get into war too. And they were able to do
[1:03:43] that without having to raise the building, which is even
[1:03:45] more so amazing. So, you know, again, a lot of people think a
[1:03:48] lot of people are afraid to come before the preservation
[1:03:51] board or apply for a, you know, preservation application
[1:03:55] because they think it's going to fail. It's going to be take
[1:03:58] too much time. We don't we actually do not deny any. We
[1:04:03] rarely, if ever done. If we issue a denial, it's usually
[1:04:06] because staff recommends it. What we tend to do is we tend
[1:04:10] to spend time if, if needed to work with the applicant to get
[1:04:15] them to change their design, to tweak the design. And we have a
[1:04:19] couple of very good architects that are very knowledgeable in
[1:04:21] historic preservation. And it's, it's much more is much better
[1:04:26] to try to work with the applicant to get them to maybe
[1:04:30] alter something and make it a little more acceptable to the
[1:04:34] board. We, we do that. Rarely do we ask an applicant to come
[1:04:38] back before us. It's a radical change we're asking for. Then
[1:04:41] we might want to see it again, but for the most part, we will
[1:04:44] approve projects conditionally, with the applicant going back,
[1:04:48] working with staff to make the changes that we had recommended.
[1:04:51] So that's I think that's a very important part. We're we're
[1:04:54] very interested in getting these projects through and not
[1:04:57] delaying the applicant any way we can too. So I think that's
[1:05:00] all I have. Oh, yes. This is just a review of some of our of
[1:05:06] our board members. So again, I thank you very much. Thank you,
[1:05:09] Vice Mayor. Great job, Terry, on the presentation. And, you
[1:05:14] know, capturing all of that. I know we've talked about it many
[1:05:16] other times before. There are, you know, I just watching these
[1:05:22] pictures and listening to the discussion, I know that there
[1:05:24] is a historical board overlay and area, but just on my
[1:05:31] travels in district three, for example, on Park Road, right at
[1:05:35] the Y, the old Butler house, they have a vintage signage now
[1:05:39] that says the old Butler House. You go down Fillmore Street,
[1:05:42] the coral Rock houses. I mean, there's just all these niches
[1:05:46] everywhere. And I don't know, I know I brought it up in the
[1:05:49] past. I don't know if we've gotten any legwork, but trying
[1:05:52] to preserve some of those homes throughout the entire city of
[1:05:55] Hollywood and almost like a tour of history, you know, that
[1:05:58] is available, I think would be so beneficial, especially with
[1:06:01] the growth that we have. You know, we are developing areas
[1:06:06] and it kind of puts that change. But then to also bring back
[1:06:10] that old school feeling and history notability throughout
[1:06:15] the entire city, I don't know if you guys have made any
[1:06:19] progress or any direction that is available, but there are
[1:06:23] some really quaint areas and homes throughout the entire
[1:06:26] city that have so much history that it would be beneficial.
[1:06:29] Well, there's nothing that we would like better. I know a
[1:06:31] person would like better than to see the historic districts
[1:06:34] expanded, or at least overlay areas. And I'm so glad that you
[1:06:37] mentioned that too, because in district three, Commissioner,
[1:06:40] you have some of the most original mid-century modern
[1:06:44] homes, Charles Reed homes, Klaus homes. And those are just
[1:06:48] they're they're gems. They're spectacular. Matter of fact,
[1:06:50] Claire is here tonight, can tell you that she lives in one
[1:06:53] of those houses right in Park East. So, yes, there are areas.
[1:06:56] Park Parkside south of downtown, is full of older Bayard Lukens
[1:07:01] design homes, you know, homes that that should be saved. I
[1:07:05] know Lynn Smith will be here later, but she lives in a very
[1:07:08] old 1925 home that and again, there's no historic district.
[1:07:13] There's really no no protection for them. It's just up to the
[1:07:16] applicant for the ownership if they want to make improvements.
[1:07:20] There's nothing that the preservation board, because
[1:07:22] it's not part of our district, but perhaps you can provide
[1:07:25] some type of direction. And then also just thinking ahead
[1:07:28] of the future, like even the home, was it 1912? Right. I
[1:07:33] think it was at the district four. Yes. Yeah. No, it was
[1:07:37] 1920 something. So there's just so much history here. Yeah. And,
[1:07:41] and I, and I think because you are the historical board
[1:07:44] preservation and we've talked about this, I know we have
[1:07:47] about preserving those homes. There are some people who have
[1:07:50] already done that, some of the names that you've mentioned.
[1:07:53] But also providing, you know, we're a tourist area, providing
[1:07:57] that historical tour type of map or travel that people can
[1:08:02] actually see the history of Hollywood, where it was, where
[1:08:05] it is and where it's, you know, going to be. So just, I don't
[1:08:08] know if you can take that and run with it and create
[1:08:11] something, but I think it would be so valuable. I think I see
[1:08:14] Commissioner Shue has chimed in here, and she's probably going
[1:08:17] to talk about the historical survey that we commissioned
[1:08:19] some time ago, but go ahead. Well, that but I wasn't. But
[1:08:22] yes, so we identified a lot of those houses and I couldn't
[1:08:25] agree with you more. Vice mayor Kolody, but I see Dana gallop
[1:08:28] here and Dana, I know it's premature and I don't want to
[1:08:31] put you on the spot, but the historical society is trying to
[1:08:36] encourage historic home owners to have their homes declared
[1:08:41] historic. And Dana's been working with staff to try to
[1:08:45] come up with like, a program so people know there is a way for
[1:08:48] them to protect their own house from a future demolition. So I
[1:08:52] don't know, like, I don't want to put you on the spot, but if
[1:08:55] you want to update us on your ideas and the incentives and
[1:08:59] where you guys are hoping to go with this. Thank you. Thank you
[1:09:03] Commissioner. Yeah, I'm trying to work with the city because
[1:09:08] as you may know, there are state laws now that in some
[1:09:13] instances tie the city's hands in terms of what they can do to
[1:09:17] preserve historic structures. And one of them is a a flood
[1:09:22] law that basically says that if you are a property in a flood
[1:09:27] zone, that the city is essentially powerless to stop
[1:09:32] the demolition of that property. And we've faced that with a
[1:09:36] number of homes last year. And structures. If you look at the
[1:09:41] law, the flood law, there's an exception. There's three
[1:09:46] exceptions, one of which is if a property already is on the
[1:09:51] national, state or local designation prior to the
[1:09:58] passage of the law 2022, that really only applies to very few
[1:10:05] properties here. The one that I'm focused on is that post
[1:10:11] 2022. Even to today, this city can designate a property as
[1:10:17] historic. The catch is that unlike in the past, for that
[1:10:24] exception to apply, the property owner must consent or
[1:10:31] apply for the, you know, for the historic designation. So
[1:10:35] what we're trying to do with the Hollywood Historical
[1:10:38] Society in cooperation with the city, the city already has a
[1:10:43] historic designation program. It's already there. However,
[1:10:47] it's to my knowledge, it's not really publicized. It's not on
[1:10:51] the website conspicuously, and it's just not publicized. We
[1:10:57] want to get the word out with the city. Obviously, the
[1:10:59] historic society wants to do our part to let owners of
[1:11:04] historic properties know that they have an opportunity to
[1:11:09] protect their home from demolition in perpetuity in the
[1:11:13] future, right? There are their property tax exemptions that
[1:11:16] they could be eligible for if their designated historic. Are
[1:11:19] you aware? I'm not aware, but that's something that should be
[1:11:23] talked about to incentivize because in law. Yeah, yeah yeah.
[1:11:28] Because one of the things of some sort an initiative to help
[1:11:33] there should be. And, you know, there may be some hesitancy by
[1:11:36] certain owners. There's a perception. I don't really
[1:11:39] agree with the perception that if you designate your home as
[1:11:42] historic and therefore, you know, exempt from demolition,
[1:11:45] that somehow that might reduce the property value of, you know,
[1:11:49] so it would be good to incentivize the current owners
[1:11:52] of those properties, give them something to, to that runs with
[1:11:56] the home to pass on to future owners of that property. So I
[1:12:02] look forward to working with the city to try to publicize
[1:12:06] that program and get as many homes, you know, designated as
[1:12:12] possible within the historic district. Because without that,
[1:12:15] as we've seen last year, properties have come before the
[1:12:20] Historic Preservation Board, in some instances in front of the
[1:12:23] commission. And that's been the the rub that that there's
[1:12:27] really no ability to stop demolition. The only thing
[1:12:32] really the Historic Preservation Board can do. And
[1:12:34] they've done a great job doing this, as Terry mentioned, is
[1:12:37] once the home is demolished, seeing that the structure that
[1:12:41] replaces it is consistent with the neighborhood and so forth.
[1:12:44] But, you know, we would prefer to preserve the property in the
[1:12:50] first instance, especially when it, you know, is hopefully in
[1:12:54] relatively good shape and can be preserved. I think we've
[1:12:57] been good stewards on making sure that that happens in
[1:12:59] history as we know, so important. So whatever we can
[1:13:03] do to help. Yeah. And I'll just say that I think we had sent
[1:13:06] Andrea and I know Danny, you've researched it. I've researched
[1:13:09] it like what other cities are doing as far as tax incentives
[1:13:13] or other incentives. So it's something we'll continue to
[1:13:16] work with planning and development on to see what we
[1:13:19] can come up with. Thank you. All right. Thank you all so
[1:13:22] much. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, everybody.
[1:13:25] And again, from your lips to staff's ears, that's what it's
[1:13:27] going to take at this point. So thank you again. All right.
[1:13:32] Sustainability Advisory Committee ladies and gentlemen,
[1:13:34] let's have Julia Politis come on up. We're not taking a
[1:13:39] picture with them. No. These are board reports. Julia,
[1:13:46] welcome. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, city mayor and
[1:13:54] commission. My name is Julia Davis. I've served as chair for
[1:13:57] the last five years for the Sustainability Advisory
[1:14:00] Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today
[1:14:04] for your continued commitment to advancing sustainability
[1:14:07] within our city. I would also like to recognize our staff
[1:14:11] liaisons, Elaine Franklin and Chris Roszak, along with our
[1:14:15] newest team member, Melissa Fosdick, whose leadership and
[1:14:18] collaboration have been instrumental in moving our
[1:14:20] initiatives forward. Today, I will be reviewing our
[1:14:24] accomplishments from the past year, as well as sharing the
[1:14:28] priorities and initiatives we will continue advancing moving
[1:14:30] forward. One of the key areas we focused on was micro transit
[1:14:34] connectivity. If you can go to the next slide or is this do I
[1:14:38] use this thing? Yes. Okay. Wonderful. Oh, here's us at the
[1:14:43] appreciation evening that was supposed to be. There we go.
[1:14:47] These are some of the goals that we were working on for
[1:14:51] 2025. And this is what I'm going to be reviewing today. So
[1:14:55] moving on. One of the key areas we focused on was the micro
[1:14:58] transit connectivity. Referenced in the slide is the
[1:15:01] updated service area that has been implemented. We had
[1:15:04] invited engineering staff to discuss gaps in east to west
[1:15:08] transportation access throughout the city. As a
[1:15:10] result, improvements were implemented to enhance
[1:15:12] connectivity for residents who need it most. Next, we invited
[1:15:18] public utility staff and representatives from CDM Smith
[1:15:21] to present the city Stormwater management plan. The
[1:15:25] presentation was extremely comprehensive, I don't think.
[1:15:28] AM I missing oh, that's that one. My apologies. The
[1:15:33] presentation was extremely comprehensive and we were quite
[1:15:36] pleased to see the extensive planning and long term
[1:15:38] strategies being developed to address flooding and resiliency
[1:15:42] throughout the city. We have also been working with public
[1:15:46] works on the City Community Composting pilot program to
[1:15:49] increase participation and ensure long term success. After
[1:15:54] evaluating community feedback, we were able to update the
[1:15:57] program to ensure accessibility. The staff is working on
[1:16:00] finalizing the adjustments, and we are optimistic that these
[1:16:03] changes, combined with expanded outreach efforts, will lead to
[1:16:06] measurable increases in participation in waste
[1:16:09] diversion over the coming year. Moving on, our coalition has
[1:16:14] significantly expanded to include municipalities across
[1:16:17] both Broward and Miami-Dade counties. We are proud to share.
[1:16:20] We have now evolved to the Sustainability Advisory
[1:16:23] Committee Coalition of South Florida, bringing together the
[1:16:27] cities of Coral Springs, Davie Plantation, Fort Lauderdale,
[1:16:31] Key Biscayne, Miami Beach and Miami Shores. This expansion
[1:16:36] strengthens our ability to align policies, share resources,
[1:16:39] and implement cohesive sustainability strategies
[1:16:42] across jurisdictions. One of our coalition members even
[1:16:46] suggested creating an official logo for the coalition, which
[1:16:49] I've been working on and is displayed on the screen today.
[1:16:52] Key topics we are actively collaborating on with our
[1:16:55] coalition partners include several regional sustainability
[1:16:58] initiatives that many of our cities are currently facing
[1:17:02] together. One of our major topics is fertilizer ordinance
[1:17:05] alignment to help protect water quality. Earlier this year, we
[1:17:08] submitted this recommendation to the City of Hollywood
[1:17:12] Commission. Similar ordinances have been adopted in cities
[1:17:15] such as Fort Lauderdale and Miami, and by aligning with
[1:17:18] neighboring municipalities, we can help reduce nutrient
[1:17:20] pollution entering our waterways during the rainy
[1:17:23] season, reduce unnecessary fertilizer waste, and support
[1:17:26] long term environmental and public health goals across our
[1:17:29] waterways. Another major focus has been organic waste
[1:17:33] diversion and composting programs. Many cities are
[1:17:36] actively exploring sustainable alternatives to landfill
[1:17:39] disposal. As South Florida is facing a waste crisis, we are
[1:17:42] happy that the city of Hollywood is already in motion
[1:17:45] with our current pilot program. We have also continued
[1:17:48] discussions surrounding plastics and polystyrene
[1:17:51] reduction policies, where Hollywood has taken a
[1:17:53] leadership role by providing tools, resources And guidance
[1:17:58] to neighboring municipalities. Elaine recently met with Fort
[1:18:00] Lauderdale Sustainability Advisory Committee, which is
[1:18:03] now pursuing similar recommendations for their own
[1:18:06] commission. And lastly, we have noticed we all would like to
[1:18:09] strengthen our communication and collaboration between city
[1:18:11] and staff and sustainability advisory committees to ensure
[1:18:15] environmental are included earlier in the planning and
[1:18:18] decision making processes, instead of unplanned are in
[1:18:21] their final stages. Through this coalition, we are building
[1:18:24] a connection that was missing and sharing resources that
[1:18:27] support support sustainability efforts across South Florida.
[1:18:31] One of our discussions that has also expanded regionally is the
[1:18:35] issue of artificial turf. Fort Lauderdale Sustainability
[1:18:39] Advisory Committee recently invited experts to their
[1:18:42] meeting, who provided a detailed presentation on the
[1:18:45] environmental and public health impacts associated with plastic
[1:18:49] grass. If you recall, this is an issue I raised last year in
[1:18:52] last year's presentation and after further research, expert
[1:18:56] discussions and reviewing lifestyle impacts, it became
[1:18:58] clear that many of the common claims supporting artificial
[1:19:01] turf are not the best decision for our community. This is a
[1:19:05] multi-layered issue impacting public health, environmental
[1:19:09] sustainability, stormwater management and long term
[1:19:12] financial planning. When evaluated over the full life
[1:19:15] cycle of the product, natural grass in many cases can be more
[1:19:19] cost effective while also providing significantly greater
[1:19:23] environmental and public health benefits. Artificial grass does
[1:19:26] not align with our broader sustainability goals to reduce
[1:19:29] plastics throughout our community. While we
[1:19:32] simultaneously replace natural landscapes with synthetic
[1:19:35] plastic materials on athletic fields and public spaces. This
[1:19:39] creates a disconnect within our own ordinances. While
[1:19:43] artificial turf can be used in certain circumstances at a
[1:19:46] small scale, it should not be viewed as a long term
[1:19:49] replacement for natural grass, which plays an important role
[1:19:51] in cooling urban environments. Absorbing stormwater,
[1:19:55] supporting biodiversity and helping mitigate flood impacts.
[1:19:58] Our role is not simply to oppose solutions, but to
[1:20:02] support informed and balanced decision making that aligns
[1:20:05] with the city's environmental, financial and public health
[1:20:08] priorities. We are continuing to work on this with city staff
[1:20:12] to present a complete package. In the meantime, we recommend
[1:20:16] prioritizing natural and sustainable solutions whenever
[1:20:18] feasible and continuing to lead by example as a city. The
[1:20:22] decisions made at the municipal level influence community
[1:20:25] behavior, and it is important that our actions reflect the
[1:20:28] sustainability values we promote. As we move forward,
[1:20:32] our committee will continue to focus on relaunching the
[1:20:35] composting program, developing a protocol to address water
[1:20:39] quality issues, reviewing procurement practices and
[1:20:42] vendor contracts to encourage stronger sustainability
[1:20:45] commitments from the companies serving our city, and
[1:20:48] continuing to advance recommendations related to
[1:20:51] fertilizer ordinances and artificial turf policies
[1:20:54] aligned with neighboring municipalities. As you can see,
[1:20:57] our committee is actively working across multiple fronts
[1:21:00] of to implement practical, forward thinking solutions that
[1:21:04] benefit both our residents and our environment. This decision,
[1:21:09] the decisions we make today, will shape the future
[1:21:12] resilience, health, and sustainability of our city for
[1:21:16] generations to come. We appreciate your continued
[1:21:18] support and collaboration as we work together to build a
[1:21:21] stronger, more sustainable Hollywood for the future. Thank
[1:21:26] you for your time. Thank you so much to everybody who's
[1:21:32] volunteering on the board. You guys helped take us further and
[1:21:36] we thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all your commitments
[1:21:39] and the staff that we continue to grow. Appreciate it. Thank
[1:21:42] you so much. Commissioner. Real quick go ahead. Yeah, of course,
[1:21:47] I want to say thank you, Julia, but I really just don't want it
[1:21:51] to be lost. This idea of creating a regional group of
[1:21:53] cities is really fantastic. It always helps to collaborate,
[1:21:57] share ideas, and it's just another way. I know our staff
[1:22:00] does it with their relationships with their peers
[1:22:03] and other cities, but for you to have that volunteer
[1:22:06] connection is great and just ask you to share with us any
[1:22:09] good stuff that you hear. Yes, it's been very instrumental and
[1:22:12] very resourceful for everybody. I have such great feedback from
[1:22:15] the logo. Thank you, thank you, thank you. All right. Let's go
[1:22:20] ahead now to the artwork selection committee. Is John
[1:22:23] McMillan here. There he is. McMillan. Welcome. Welcome,
[1:22:29] John. Thank you, honorable mayor, vice mayor and
[1:22:33] commissioners. John McMillan. I'm the chair for the Art
[1:22:35] selection committee for the City of Hollywood. Our focus is
[1:22:41] on bringing art to the community. One of the things
[1:22:45] that we did this year that were proud of is bringing back an
[1:22:52] official Hollywood art festival, which was held at the Young
[1:22:55] Circle Arts Park. It was our first year. We learned a lot.
[1:22:58] We hope to grow and expand and ask for consideration for
[1:23:03] increased budget. One of the other things we're looking to
[1:23:05] do is, is bring art back to the young circle. The Arts Park
[1:23:12] building, June 11th, we're going to be having a showcase
[1:23:15] of local artists, and we invite you all, please to attend 6 to
[1:23:19] 9. The city's been kind enough to sponsor the event. And you
[1:23:23] know, one thing about Hollywood that I really love is I feel
[1:23:26] there's a great opportunity here. I've often gone to Fort
[1:23:30] Lauderdale and other cities for art festivals, so I'm glad it's
[1:23:34] back, I guess after an extended period of time. And hopefully,
[1:23:37] you know, one of the things I learned is, is to create a
[1:23:41] coalition with other interested minded people and organizations,
[1:23:44] so it can be something premier to challenge that, perhaps Fort
[1:23:49] Lauderdale and other cities, because I believe there's a lot
[1:23:51] of talent here, and that's really all I have to say. Thank
[1:23:57] you, John. Well, we love how art enriches our city and the
[1:24:04] downtown and even the halls here at City Hall. And so thank
[1:24:07] you for all your work of your committee. Looking forward to
[1:24:10] more Commissioner Shuhan. Yes, sorry, John, I just want to say
[1:24:14] I was at this the the art fest and it didn't it didn't get a
[1:24:19] ton of publicity, but it was really beautiful. And the
[1:24:22] artwork there was great. And for the event that you're
[1:24:25] talking about on June 11th, I don't know about the rest of
[1:24:27] the commission, but I don't see that on our calendar. So can
[1:24:30] you make sure that the details get sent to maybe Joanne Hussey
[1:24:33] or somebody that they can make sure we get it? Yes, ma'am. And
[1:24:37] thank you. Thanks. Thank you. All right, ladies and gentlemen,
[1:24:40] let's invite Ryan Coots, director of Housing and
[1:24:44] Community Development, to talk to us about the fiscal year
[1:24:47] 2025 office overview. Your staff has been sitting here, I
[1:24:50] think, pretty patiently. Or is that financial services staff?
[1:24:54] That's finance. Good afternoon. Mayor, vice mayor,
[1:25:00] commissioners. City manager, deputy city manager. City
[1:25:02] attorney Ryan Coots. Community development, housing and
[1:25:06] community development director. And I'm here to provide the
[1:25:09] commission with an overview of how we're leveraging not only
[1:25:11] the Ila, but our other dollars to make an impact in the city
[1:25:15] of Hollywood. So bear with me as I go through a few slides.
[1:25:18] I'll be brief. I know we got a long day today, but I want to
[1:25:22] make sure you have understanding of how your
[1:25:24] dollars are making an impact in this community. So. Our Cdbg is
[1:25:27] the first one I want to talk about and how we're leveraging
[1:25:30] those dollars to make improvements to city facilities,
[1:25:33] and also helping our nonprofit partners to be more impactful.
[1:25:36] One of the one of the things that we did this year was
[1:25:39] provide the Boys and Girls Club at the Boulevard Heights Center
[1:25:42] with $250,000 in Cdbg dollars to help them with their current
[1:25:46] expansion of the Teen Center. We're proud of this initiative
[1:25:49] because it provides teenagers with an access point where they
[1:25:52] can go learn, they can tutor and have different activities
[1:25:55] to help keep them engaged. We're also entertaining right
[1:25:58] now with them another offer, because they've encountered
[1:26:01] some cost overruns that were unexpected in the construction,
[1:26:04] and we do have additional Cdbg dollars that we can help them
[1:26:07] to move this project forward so they can complete their project
[1:26:10] in time. So we'll be bringing that to the Commission for
[1:26:13] consideration as well too. We also supported an initiative at
[1:26:15] Bob Butterworth Park where we improved that park with Cdbg
[1:26:19] dollars and also adequate with Memorial as well too. This is
[1:26:22] going to bring another level to the park, make it more a
[1:26:25] walking path, benches, a memorial, make the park more
[1:26:28] conducive for people to use that park every day. We also
[1:26:31] work closely with Parks and Recreation, and we provide them
[1:26:33] with over $400,000 to purchase much needed equipment,
[1:26:38] furniture and other resources for a lot of our parks and
[1:26:42] community centers throughout the city of Hollywood. And
[1:26:44] we're currently working with our our partners over at Public
[1:26:48] Works to do about 600,000 Cdbg to purchase much needed street
[1:26:52] lights to replace broken street lights damaged. I'm sorry,
[1:26:55] damaged streetlights and install new street lights and a
[1:26:57] lot of our LMI areas. So you can see our Cdbg Cdbg dollars
[1:27:01] at work in this slide. Now I'm not going to take too much time
[1:27:07] with this one, because you're going to be hearing from Mitch
[1:27:10] Anton in the next meeting, who is the chair of our CDB board,
[1:27:13] to really focus on our public services. But at a high level,
[1:27:16] we gave about $237,000 in public service dollars, a
[1:27:19] combination of Cdbg and CV dollars to various nonprofits
[1:27:23] in Hollywood that provide everything from food assistance
[1:27:26] to essential services to people in need. But you'll hear more
[1:27:29] from that when Mitch comes up next meeting to discuss how
[1:27:31] they move those dollars forward and how we're impacting the
[1:27:34] city with those now, our rehab program, it's a pretty robust
[1:27:37] program. I'm proud to say that with our neighborhood pride and
[1:27:42] our federally funded and state funded rehab program, we
[1:27:45] accomplished 92 rehabs last year, 70% of which were Ila.
[1:27:50] That's 64 of them. 82 were from the ship funded programs. This
[1:27:54] year we're on right now. We're already at 49 this year. I
[1:27:57] don't think we're going to quite get to 92 because we're
[1:27:59] way ahead by this. We're about 56 by this time last year, but
[1:28:03] we'll come very close to that number this year, which is a
[1:28:06] good, good thing for us because it shows that the program works
[1:28:09] and people are getting their houses repaired, and we're
[1:28:11] doing what it's intended to do. We did about nine owner I'm
[1:28:14] sorry, nine first time home buyer purchases last year. This
[1:28:16] year alone we're already at eight. So we definitely want to
[1:28:19] make sure we beat that goal because that program is picking
[1:28:22] up steam. Once again, a lot of condos. We're going to figure
[1:28:25] out some ways to get some more of these single family homes
[1:28:28] sold. We got to look at that a little bit deeper, but we are
[1:28:31] moving to beat that goal of nine last year, and we will
[1:28:34] because we already have three right now that are in the
[1:28:37] hopper. And as they go through the process, hopefully those
[1:28:40] can be added to this list. And we want to do a lot more with
[1:28:43] that program. Of course, our Ila not only pays for
[1:28:46] affordable housing and rehab, but also provides
[1:28:48] infrastructure funding. So we work closely with engineering
[1:28:50] and public works to provide the dollars that they need to do
[1:28:54] sidewalk improvements. Ada add Ada accessible ramps and
[1:28:57] sidewalks, and also other things that are needed within
[1:29:00] our LMI communities to make sure people can traverse the
[1:29:02] community safely. In addition to that, what you don't see
[1:29:04] here is we also partner closely with Cmet on the work skills
[1:29:08] portion. Proud to say that last last cycle they partnered with
[1:29:11] OIC through the fiber optic program. In all 11, all 11
[1:29:15] residents that participated graduated with a certificate
[1:29:17] and they're on pace this year. They've partnered with the Boys
[1:29:19] and Girls Club. This year, they've partnered with OIC
[1:29:22] again, and they've also partnered with Junior
[1:29:25] Achievement to administer programs for people who want
[1:29:28] apprenticeships and job skill development. So that program is
[1:29:30] moving forward as well, nicely as well. Of course, our
[1:29:34] affordable housing initiatives this year to date, we have
[1:29:38] approximately about 862 affordable units that have come,
[1:29:42] that are coming, that are online or coming online for the
[1:29:44] city of Hollywood. And we've expended about over $9 million
[1:29:48] in gap financing to help bring much needed affordable housing
[1:29:51] to the city of Hollywood. And of course, other things that
[1:29:56] you wouldn't know that we are doing in the city right now
[1:29:59] with our home funding. We're actually partnered with
[1:30:01] planning right now, and we're actually providing the
[1:30:04] resources for the Housing Needs Assessment study. So we're
[1:30:07] using home dollars to actually pay for that study. That will
[1:30:10] play a role in developing the comprehensive plan. We also use
[1:30:13] our home dollars to provide tenant based rental assistance.
[1:30:15] And that program is actually very important because it's
[1:30:18] preventing people from becoming homeless or entering into
[1:30:21] homelessness. So we provide them with a subsidy for a
[1:30:23] couple of months to get them situated. The nonprofit
[1:30:25] provides much more than just that, but wraparound services
[1:30:28] to make sure they're financially stable. They have
[1:30:30] the skills and resources to become independent once they're
[1:30:33] weaned off the program. In addition to that, we also have
[1:30:37] home AARP money, where we're partnering with the task force
[1:30:41] and homelessness, who are here right now, and they'll be
[1:30:43] presenting to you guys later on today about an initiative that
[1:30:46] we had a couple of weeks back where we're on the street with
[1:30:49] Commissioner Hernandez, Gruber, and Biederman, where you engage
[1:30:51] the population in in Hollywood. You'll hear more from Jacob on
[1:30:55] that in a few. But what they do for us in a multi-year contract
[1:30:59] is they provide active street outreach. So they're engaging
[1:31:02] people who are experiencing unsheltered population. They're
[1:31:04] engaging them on the street to give them the resources and try
[1:31:07] to move them out of try to effectively move them from
[1:31:10] homelessness to some kind of stable placement. So we use
[1:31:13] home ARP money for that. We have a multiyear agreement with
[1:31:16] them to provide these services. We also partner with the
[1:31:19] Broward Outreach Center or the Caring Place, and they're here
[1:31:21] to as well. I think Keith, back there right now, and they
[1:31:24] provide we use home ARP dollars on a multi-year contract to as
[1:31:27] well for that. And we provide emergency shelter, case
[1:31:30] management, workforce development, and housing
[1:31:32] placements. It's a full gamut of wraparound services on
[1:31:35] average. Well, every quarter they're providing about 30
[1:31:38] households at that program with services. So it's a lot going
[1:31:41] on with that program. And that program, believe it or not, has
[1:31:46] both. Those programs have really organically worked to
[1:31:50] improve our community core initiative. You know, we
[1:31:52] received Department of Justice funding for our Community Core
[1:31:55] initiative. We're in the third year of a five year program,
[1:31:57] and this program has really taken off. And a lot of it has
[1:32:00] to do with the staff and Blaine, who works in the program. As
[1:32:03] you can see, these numbers are very impressive. You know, 21
[1:32:06] people have graduated, have attained some kind of housing.
[1:32:08] That's a big deal when it comes to somebody who's chronically
[1:32:11] homeless. You have over 762 clients that are served in the
[1:32:14] program. So why I say that is because the program is held in
[1:32:18] the in the Broad outreach center right now. We have a
[1:32:21] natural relationship with them where somebody can go from
[1:32:23] community court into placement, but the task force is there as
[1:32:26] well to, to connect them to all other services that are in the
[1:32:29] area. If you've never been to the program, I urge you to come
[1:32:33] and take a look at the program. It's pretty dynamic how it
[1:32:36] works and you see where it's making an impact in the city.
[1:32:39] And of course, everything we do here is these four pillars that
[1:32:42] we try to preserve and expand affordable housing. We want to
[1:32:45] improve neighborhood infrastructure. We want to
[1:32:46] support vulnerable populations. We want to enhance the overall
[1:32:48] community stability, community development. And with that, I
[1:32:51] know I was quick, but you got a long day today, and these are
[1:32:55] just some highlights of what we've done last year. And if
[1:32:57] there's any questions, I'm here to answer them. So Ryan, thank
[1:33:00] you so much. We love the reach and the number of programs that
[1:33:03] community development has been able to usher into the
[1:33:06] community, just as a concerns us with regards to the
[1:33:09] neighborhood pride program and the Ila with the county. If
[1:33:12] there are categories of work or you think percentage thresholds
[1:33:16] that the agreement might have not have contemplated, you know,
[1:33:20] when we first adopted it, I'd like to hear what the feedback
[1:33:23] of staff, if there are those areas where, you know,
[1:33:27] percentages again, ought to be tweaked for the sake of
[1:33:29] maximizing the deployment of dollars, you know, without
[1:33:33] delay, let us know. We'd love to engage the county with that
[1:33:36] if necessary, and help to keep things fluid if you find reason.
[1:33:41] Absolutely. Well, the city manager already asked us to
[1:33:43] look into these things, and we are actively working that with
[1:33:46] deputy deputy city manager and city manager story. We're
[1:33:48] looking at these things right now. Looking forward to hearing
[1:33:51] about that at the next meeting. Yes, sir. Thank you so much.
[1:33:54] Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Thank you. All right. Let's go
[1:34:01] ahead. Thank you for your patience. Mr. Jacob Turner,
[1:34:05] vice president of programs for the Task Force for Ending
[1:34:08] Homelessness and Finance. You guys are up next. I was going
[1:34:12] to say I'm not I'm not here to represent finance. No mayor,
[1:34:15] vice mayor, members of the commission. Thank you. Jacob
[1:34:17] Turner, vice president of programs at the Task Force for
[1:34:19] Ending Homelessness. Before I get into the data that we're
[1:34:22] going to share with you, I just want to take a moment to
[1:34:25] congratulate this body and all of your charter officers. As
[1:34:28] someone who grew up here and spends lots of time in
[1:34:30] Hollywood, downtown and on the beach, it's no surprise to
[1:34:34] anyone that each year, each day, Hollywood becomes more
[1:34:38] beautiful and more invested in the residents and the community.
[1:34:42] And we heard that from all the presentations this morning. So
[1:34:45] I just want to thank you all. Today I'm going to inform you
[1:34:48] about the voices of the street activity which took place here
[1:34:51] in Hollywood on March 10th. It was done as a collaborative
[1:34:55] effort. Voices of the Street is performed on years where the
[1:34:58] county board votes to not conduct a federal point in time
[1:35:02] count, and the purpose of the voices of the Street survey is
[1:35:05] to serve. In lieu of that point in time, count and offer
[1:35:08] municipalities an opportunity to have data on the people on
[1:35:12] the streets, but more importantly, to be able to
[1:35:14] leverage that data to drive solutions and strategies that
[1:35:18] clean up our streets and get people the help they need. As
[1:35:23] you see on your screen, just a couple of pictures from those
[1:35:26] who were involved in voices of the Street, Hollywood Police
[1:35:29] Department and Hollywood Fire Rescue, brave men and women who
[1:35:32] protect our communities every day made it a point to very
[1:35:35] much participate in this activity. Officer Chung, who
[1:35:39] I'm sure is no stranger to this city, works tirelessly every
[1:35:43] day and has I think he's the longest standing homeless
[1:35:46] outreach officer in the entire county because he is so
[1:35:49] committed to this work and made this event a success. Similarly,
[1:35:53] you see your Department of Housing and Community
[1:35:56] Development, Ryan, Angela, and Sabrina, who also were
[1:35:59] instrumental in this. And of course, can't forget the
[1:36:02] commissioner who's on our screen today. Commissioner
[1:36:04] Gruber, thank you for being there. Similarly, thank you,
[1:36:08] Commissioner Hernandez and Commissioner Biderman. As Ryan
[1:36:10] said, these commissioners were not just at the event. They
[1:36:13] were on the ground. If they were wearing shoes with white
[1:36:16] soles that day, those shoes left dirty because they really
[1:36:19] got into the trenches and we appreciate them for that. So a
[1:36:23] couple of things before we get into the data we mentioned on
[1:36:26] the ground support from this commission, we had over 72
[1:36:28] volunteers from this county come into Hollywood and support
[1:36:31] this initiative. In addition to our public safety partners, we
[1:36:34] had corporations like City National Bank send their staff.
[1:36:38] We had educational institutions like Nova Southeastern
[1:36:41] University, both their medical school and their public health
[1:36:44] school. All volunteers receive training, which was conducted
[1:36:48] with our friends at the County Commission chambers. We
[1:36:51] partnered with, very importantly, The Caring Place,
[1:36:54] who provided us with a headquarter location perfectly
[1:36:58] situated right there on Scott Street. And as you know, The
[1:37:01] Caring Place does so much for this community and its
[1:37:03] residents. So I just want to extend an appreciation to you
[1:37:06] and your team. Laundry spot, which actually provides laundry
[1:37:13] services to those who are experiencing homelessness on a
[1:37:17] recurring schedule and many, many others. More than 100
[1:37:20] hygiene kits were prepared. Yes, ma'am. That's correct. Thank
[1:37:23] you, Vice Mayor. It is Miss Einhorn's laundry. Over 100
[1:37:28] hygiene kits were prepared by our NSU students and passed out,
[1:37:32] and we had some unintended or unexpected successes where we
[1:37:36] were actually able to get people off the streets. Same
[1:37:39] day during the activity. So getting into the data, why you
[1:37:42] all are here. We collected 231 surveys on March 10th. The
[1:37:49] number I want you all to focus on is 198, which were collected
[1:37:53] here in the city limits within the jurisdiction of Hollywood.
[1:37:57] We conducted 95 interviews, which are long form interviews
[1:38:02] and 136 short term or short form interviews, also known as
[1:38:08] observations. 33 responses were collected outside of Hollywood.
[1:38:12] However, that is significant and should be to this
[1:38:15] commission because we examined where those individuals were
[1:38:19] identified and they were directly on your border with
[1:38:20] your neighboring jurisdictions. Getting into demographics, we
[1:38:26] saw that demographics in Hollywood similarly reflect the
[1:38:29] county wide demographics for those who experience
[1:38:32] homelessness in age, we notice a significant population of
[1:38:38] individuals who are over the age of 55. And so what I like
[1:38:43] to say when I see that is that we have a graying and aging
[1:38:48] crisis of homelessness. I'm sure you all see as you travel,
[1:38:52] the communities, people who are out there on the streets are
[1:38:56] using walkers. They're being pushed by someone in a
[1:38:58] wheelchair. Some of those people are actually younger,
[1:39:01] but many of them are aging and they're aging on the streets.
[1:39:05] We also had six honorable veterans who served our
[1:39:08] community, our country, and our community who are still living
[1:39:11] out there on the streets. That's unacceptable.
[1:39:14] Fortunately, with our close partners at the Department of
[1:39:17] Veterans Affairs who are on the ground with us that day, we
[1:39:20] were able to connect veterans to support services. It was
[1:39:24] also notable that over 32% of the respondents reported that
[1:39:28] they're struggling with mental health issues. Over 21
[1:39:32] respondents reported an alcohol and substance use disorder.
[1:39:37] Fifth with a physical health condition, and a quarter of the
[1:39:42] respondents with other chronic health conditions all very
[1:39:45] significant. When you think about the strategies that we
[1:39:47] need to use to address homelessness, and we're going
[1:39:49] to talk about a summary of our findings and recommendations.
[1:39:52] At the end, where people were sleeping was also significant
[1:39:57] because, as you all know, section one, 25.0231 Florida
[1:40:01] statutes created Florida's public camping law, which
[1:40:04] resulted from a previous state legislative session. And this
[1:40:08] municipality, along with every other one in this state, has an
[1:40:11] obligation to not allow regular overnight public camping. And
[1:40:15] so when we looked at where people were sleeping on the
[1:40:18] night that we surveyed, we found a large portion of
[1:40:21] respondents are sleeping in public spaces, people sleeping
[1:40:24] on streets and sidewalks, in parks, forming outdoor
[1:40:29] encampments at our bus benches and train stations, under
[1:40:33] bridges, and even some who are in their vehicles or on a boat.
[1:40:39] We also looked at whether or not this was the first time
[1:40:42] that person had experienced homelessness. And what we saw,
[1:40:46] shockingly, was that 40% of the respondents had become
[1:40:50] homelessness for the first had become homeless for the first
[1:40:52] time during that occurrence. Similarly, how long people have
[1:40:56] been experiencing homelessness was very interesting to collect
[1:40:59] in this community. What we found was that while there is a
[1:41:03] large number of people who have been experiencing homelessness
[1:41:05] for greater than 36 months, there is consistent with that
[1:41:09] observation in the previous question, a good amount of
[1:41:12] folks who have just become homeless, and that represents
[1:41:16] what we call a front end crisis. We also looked at how long the
[1:41:21] people that we were surveying stayed on this in a shelter or
[1:41:25] somewhere other than on the streets over the last three
[1:41:29] years. And we found that some of them, 32% in particular,
[1:41:35] stayed off the streets for 0 to 3 months. Employment was only
[1:41:43] at 11%. And we know that for people to be successful, they
[1:41:48] need to have income. There needs to be economic prosperity
[1:41:52] and opportunities for the people that we serve. And so
[1:41:55] this directs our energy and our resources to ensuring that
[1:41:59] people do become employed, not just housed people in Hollywood
[1:42:07] and whether or not they've been in Hollywood for a significant
[1:42:09] period of time was also something we assessed. More
[1:42:13] than 45 of the respondents had been in Hollywood for greater
[1:42:17] than three years. Common misconception, I hear, and I
[1:42:21] deal with probably more than a dozen municipalities each and
[1:42:23] every week, is that people come to my city to be homeless, or
[1:42:28] someone sends the homeless to our community because we have
[1:42:31] great resources or we have lax policing. But the reality is,
[1:42:35] Mr. Mayor, commissioners, a large portion of the people on
[1:42:38] your streets are actually Hollywood residents. And as you
[1:42:40] saw in the previous slide, a large amount of them have just
[1:42:44] become homeless. We also looked at whether or not folks are
[1:42:49] receiving disability benefits, and nearly 70% of the people in
[1:42:53] Hollywood experiencing homelessness are not receiving
[1:42:55] mainstream benefits. So to wrap things up, what we're seeing,
[1:42:59] Mr. Mayor, Commissioner, is 46% of people are visible in our
[1:43:04] community at a minimum, meaning that they're living on streets
[1:43:06] and sidewalks and public spaces, which impacts community safety
[1:43:09] and quality of life. As I mentioned, there is a front end
[1:43:14] crisis. And I'll be fair, this is not limited to Hollywood nor
[1:43:18] Broward County. And I know you all know that 40% of people
[1:43:22] were first time homeless, 18% within 0 to 3 months. And that
[1:43:25] tells us that economic instability and the rising
[1:43:28] costs of housing is driving this crisis. We also know that
[1:43:32] needs are very complex. We're not talking about a single need
[1:43:36] when we're talking about helping someone get off the
[1:43:38] streets. We're talking about health. We're talking about job
[1:43:42] training, we're talking about family support. We're talking
[1:43:45] about transportation barriers. The list goes on. But what we
[1:43:50] know for sure, based on the data that we've collected, is
[1:43:53] that a housing only approach is not effective. The approach
[1:43:57] that is proven to be most successful is an approach that
[1:44:01] involves wraparound support, addressing the complex layer of
[1:44:06] needs that folks have. And so what must happen next? What can
[1:44:11] this commission do? And how can you direct staff to continue
[1:44:15] making the great impact that you all have done? We need to
[1:44:18] act early to prevent homelessness. Some of those
[1:44:20] programs you heard Mr. Coote talking about, you all could
[1:44:24] consider, or that advisory board could consider looking at
[1:44:26] preventing homelessness for residents of Hollywood,
[1:44:29] ensuring that if someone's receiving an eviction notice in
[1:44:33] the city of Hollywood, that their support, that there's
[1:44:36] interventions to determine how they got there in the first
[1:44:39] place, address those issues that led them there, and keep
[1:44:41] them in their house so that Hollywood doesn't have more
[1:44:44] people hitting the streets. Similarly, on the unsheltered
[1:44:48] side, we need to keep outreach strong and visible. As Mr. Cook
[1:44:52] mentioned, our task force teams work on the streets seven days
[1:44:54] a week, engaging with people, responding to calls from
[1:44:57] business owners, calls from the city that receive complaints.
[1:45:02] And that is critical because these are the folks who are
[1:45:06] engaging them on the front lines, and they're the ones
[1:45:08] building the trust and rapport necessary to motivate them to
[1:45:11] take the help that's there for them. We also are recommending
[1:45:15] to you formally that you consider a Co-response model.
[1:45:19] Earlier this year, the town of Davie Town Council Co-response
[1:45:24] model. Yes. Vice mayor. Earlier this year, the Town of Davie
[1:45:27] Town Council unanimously approved and implemented a new
[1:45:31] program that we launched in collaboration with them, which
[1:45:33] places a trained recovery and housing specialist from the
[1:45:36] task force in a marked police car 40 hours a week. They're
[1:45:40] responding to calls for service, they're intervening in crisis
[1:45:44] situations. And very importantly and significantly,
[1:45:47] they've gotten more than a dozen people off the streets in
[1:45:50] just their first few months. And that's Town of Davie, which
[1:45:52] is pretty small with respect to this large city we're in today.
[1:45:55] So we do see that as a model to replicate. We also need to
[1:46:00] swiftly resolve encampments. I want to appreciate Mr. Coupe,
[1:46:04] Miss Blaine from the the community development team. The
[1:46:07] moment that a resident or a business owner reports an
[1:46:11] encampment or concerns at a public park, they immediately
[1:46:14] notify us of that. And our response time has been
[1:46:17] maintained at an average of 42 minutes to resolve those,
[1:46:20] ensuring that we're responding in person, addressing the
[1:46:24] complaint, whether that's helping that individual get
[1:46:26] into treatment or shelter, or just empowering them to find
[1:46:29] somewhere that's a little bit better than staying in one of
[1:46:31] our public parks while they make that decision themselves.
[1:46:35] A third, balancing immediate responses with long term
[1:46:38] stability. This is the challenge. We know that, you
[1:46:40] know, the science to ending homelessness is pretty simple.
[1:46:44] We need to have a greater outflow rate than we do inflow
[1:46:47] rate to lower our population and get to a place where it's a
[1:46:50] little bit more manageable. And you do that by long term
[1:46:54] strategies, getting people out of the system. But at the same
[1:46:56] time, we need to keep our streets and public spaces safe
[1:46:59] and clear. So that's where you balance the great investments
[1:47:02] you make, like at the Caring Place to ensure that there's
[1:47:04] shelter beds available for someone that day when they need
[1:47:07] them. And fourth is scaling clinical services. Back to our
[1:47:11] previous slide on findings. These are complex needs. We
[1:47:14] can't just address them with housing or with case management.
[1:47:17] So what we've done since this on March 10th is we've directed
[1:47:21] our behavioral health department, which is comprised
[1:47:23] of several licensed mental health professionals, to surge
[1:47:26] in the city of Hollywood. And so they're now also working on
[1:47:29] the streets more frequently in this community, consistent with
[1:47:32] what they're doing county wide. So with that, happy to take any
[1:47:36] questions. And I appreciate you all for your leadership to this
[1:47:39] community. Thank you. Madam Vice Mayor. So thank you for
[1:47:47] the presentation. It's very eye opening, obviously, for those
[1:47:53] who aren't aware of the homelessness issue that's going
[1:47:55] on. We did have, though, a officer a while back that was
[1:48:02] geared only towards homelessness. Thank you,
[1:48:05] Officer Chung, for everything you do. You're amazing. But I
[1:48:09] know that the burnout rate is particularly high in that
[1:48:13] position. And in addition to that, I remember and I don't
[1:48:17] know if things have changed, but the resource officer would
[1:48:21] go and try to provide how, you know, get them out of their
[1:48:25] cars or get them in shelter. And there were a lot of
[1:48:30] obstacles, a availability be if they were, you know, a lot of
[1:48:35] homeless have a pet with them. And these facilities don't
[1:48:38] accept that the willing, you know, the with children, some
[1:48:43] weren't accepted. So there were so many challenges. Have we
[1:48:47] made any progress with those challenges? And if so, what
[1:48:50] could those be if you could enlighten us? Thank you for the
[1:48:53] question, Vice Mayor. Quite a large question. But I would say,
[1:48:57] generally speaking, there's still a number of challenges
[1:48:59] with if we wanted to say, how do we end homelessness today in
[1:49:03] the city of Hollywood? Primarily we have a higher
[1:49:05] number of people than we do capacity for emergency
[1:49:08] interventions like shelters and transitional housing and
[1:49:11] treatment beds. So it starts there. It starts with ensuring
[1:49:15] that there's an adequate supply of stock, housing, stock,
[1:49:18] emergency housing stock for people to get off the streets.
[1:49:21] I do think we've made progress. Just in 2025, we released our
[1:49:25] annual report last week. Over 4000 people have been assisted
[1:49:28] countywide in getting into shelter. A large percentage of
[1:49:31] that's right here in the city. It's also thanks to this
[1:49:35] commission for funding the Caring Place directly. For many
[1:49:39] years that I worked in this community, they did not receive
[1:49:42] support. I believe in this capacity from the city. And
[1:49:45] that's critical because our teams work side by side with
[1:49:48] them to ensure that if we find someone on the streets, we can
[1:49:51] get them into shelter. If the beds are full, Keith and his
[1:49:54] team do a great job of letting us know as soon as that beds
[1:49:58] available, so we can make that connection. We've also expanded
[1:50:00] partnerships on the treatment side, so that's another way I
[1:50:03] think, that we've made improvements in that area. Vice
[1:50:05] mayor, I'm ensuring that with relationships at the Broward
[1:50:08] Addiction Recovery Center and other short term and long term
[1:50:12] residential programs, we're able to get people off the
[1:50:14] streets same day. And then last, I'll just say to your point,
[1:50:17] the officers are definitely challenged. They work so hard.
[1:50:20] Their primary responsibility is to protect the community, and
[1:50:23] they do that so well. And that's one of the reasons why
[1:50:27] we're recommending this particular model, is because
[1:50:30] they no longer have to call for someone to come out, wait 30
[1:50:33] minutes, wait an hour, wait a day. They have to go to another
[1:50:37] call for service in that time. This allows the intervention to
[1:50:42] occur right away, and it allows that knowledge to be there for
[1:50:45] not just that individual officer, but for the department
[1:50:48] and public safety as a whole. Awesome. Thank you, thank you.
[1:50:54] Well, thank you and thank you, Commissioner Gruber, for your
[1:50:56] work on the COC and working hand in hand with everyone
[1:51:00] regarding homelessness. It was kind of a surprising but not
[1:51:05] surprising to see what I thought I saw, which was a
[1:51:07] statistic that 79% of the homeless folks who you've
[1:51:11] encountered have a mental health or a substance abuse
[1:51:13] issue. So that, you know, goes a long way to discussing what,
[1:51:18] you know, what we, we as a, as a society and as a country need
[1:51:22] to help to overcome and, and help help with in the years
[1:51:26] ahead, because that seems to be beyond the financial aspect
[1:51:31] that can cause homelessness. Part of the reason why there is
[1:51:34] an inability to get out of it for, for those who, you know,
[1:51:38] don't have the mental capacity or perhaps have the dependency
[1:51:41] issues and addictions that are a problem. But thanks to you,
[1:51:45] the task force, thanks to the police department for doing
[1:51:47] their part, we want to make sure the streets are safe and
[1:51:51] the laws are enforced here in the city, and that people get
[1:51:54] the help they need at the same time. So thank you so much.
[1:51:57] Thank you. All right. And shout out to The Caring Place. Of
[1:52:03] course, Kevin and Team, thank you so much. You guys are an
[1:52:06] indispensable partner. Thank you so much. All right, finance
[1:52:11] team and Mr. Quinlan, you'll be next, James. But let's go ahead
[1:52:15] first to a presentation by Moises Ariza. He's the partner
[1:52:19] with Hermes, also with Hermes Garzon who's our director of
[1:52:26] Cbiz Inc. and they'll present the fiscal year 2025 Annual
[1:52:30] Comprehensive Financial report and the fiscal year audit
[1:52:33] results. And we, of course, have Miss Stephanie Tinsley,
[1:52:36] our financial director, right here in the city at the podium.
[1:52:40] Thank you Stephanie. Okay. Thank you mayor. Good afternoon,
[1:52:45] mayor, vice mayor, commissioners, city manager and
[1:52:49] staff. My name is Stephanie Tinsley. I'm the city. City
[1:52:54] manager. Sorry, I promote myself. Director of finance.
[1:52:58] She's not ready to retire yet, but thanks for letting us know
[1:53:00] you're interested. There you go. I don't know, I was thinking
[1:53:05] director of financial services for the City of Hollywood. I am
[1:53:09] pleased to present the FY 2025 act for. I just wanted to make
[1:53:16] a few comments before I turn it over to her. Hermes Garzon for
[1:53:23] his official presentation of the act for. Again this year we
[1:53:29] received an unmodified or clean opinion with no repeat findings
[1:53:32] or no findings at all. So that was a big one. All of our major
[1:53:37] governmental and enterprise funds are in really good shape,
[1:53:41] either meeting or exceeding our fund balance policy minimums.
[1:53:46] So so really a positive thing as well. The city expended
[1:53:51] approximately $50 million in grant finance and grant
[1:53:56] financing, and that also requires additional audit
[1:54:01] procedures. And with that, there were no compliance issues
[1:54:05] and no internal deficiencies or anything as well. So we did
[1:54:10] very well with our expenditures there. We met all of our debt
[1:54:13] and investment policy requirements, and the OCC for
[1:54:18] this year was issued on May 5th, which was three weeks earlier
[1:54:22] than last year. And it's ten it's been ten years since the
[1:54:28] city of Hollywood had issued the act for this early. And so
[1:54:32] I just like to recognize the Department of Financial
[1:54:37] Services staff because without their commitment, their work
[1:54:42] ethic and their strong dedication, with all the
[1:54:46] competing initiatives and priorities that they had this
[1:54:49] year, that would definitely not have been possible. And I'd
[1:54:54] like to acknowledge the team. I asked them to come up to be up
[1:54:59] here so that they can be acknowledged and recognized for
[1:55:02] all the hard work that they did. So come on up, come on up,
[1:55:06] finance team. You've been sitting for two hours. Come on
[1:55:10] up. Such a patient group. They're shy group, just like we
[1:55:17] all are. Come on up. Stretch your legs. Coffee outside.
[1:55:23] Compliments of city manager Stephanie Tinsley. Yeah. And so
[1:55:29] this. Where's the coffee, HR? Tammy. Where's that? Where's
[1:55:33] that Cuban coffee? Tammy. Yeah. And so this is this is your
[1:55:40] finance team here. Thank you for keeping us in check,
[1:55:49] everybody. And according to our auditors, you guys are doing a
[1:55:54] great job. And please, if you recognize opportunities for the
[1:55:58] city to any department to be smarter or see opportunity in
[1:56:02] dollars that might be, quote unquote, sitting there, please
[1:56:05] let Miss Tinsley know. She'll tell the city manager and the
[1:56:08] city manager will tell us. And it's a theme here because we
[1:56:11] want to take advantage of all the opportunities to help every
[1:56:14] department and every aspect of the city move forward. And you
[1:56:16] all kind of probably see the bigger picture when looking at
[1:56:20] numbers than people that are necessarily working in the
[1:56:22] department sometimes. So please report up. Stephanie, of course,
[1:56:27] as your director, you know, communicates that and we hope
[1:56:31] to again, put all the dollars to good work and keep, of
[1:56:34] course, the city functioning and appropriate, you know,
[1:56:36] accounting principles and what have you. So I think that's a
[1:56:40] great lay up to our auditor who found nothing. Go ahead. Come
[1:56:43] on up, auditor. We try to give you an interesting job and it's
[1:56:48] okay if it's boring, you know, because no news is good news
[1:56:51] when it comes to you, right? Stephanie made my job very,
[1:56:54] very easy this time around. So I think she gave a great
[1:56:58] summary. Just a very quick introduction. My name is Hermes
[1:57:01] Garrison. I'm a director for Cbiz CPAs and which is external
[1:57:05] auditor of the city. So the only thing I would actually add
[1:57:09] to that, she's absolutely correct. As far as the
[1:57:13] financial statement opinion, we received an unmodified, clean
[1:57:17] opinion. There were no you can stay standing if you like. I
[1:57:20] mean, you probably want to stretch your legs, but if you
[1:57:23] want to sit, go ahead. There were there were no significant
[1:57:26] deficiencies and material weaknesses. The only thing I
[1:57:28] would highlight is there was a single audit that was performed,
[1:57:32] and the single audit is just triggered when the city expends
[1:57:36] more than $1 million on from federal awards or federal
[1:57:41] assistance and 750,000 on the state side. So we picked four
[1:57:46] programs in total. Those programs were the staffing for
[1:57:51] adequate fire and emergency response or safer grant, the
[1:57:54] Arpa funds. So the coronavirus state and local recovery funds.
[1:58:00] So those were the two federal. And then for the state side, we
[1:58:04] selected the drinking water facility construction program
[1:58:08] and the Resilient Florida program. So nothing to nothing
[1:58:12] to report there as well, but just wanted to at least
[1:58:16] identify the actual programs that were tested. Okay. And
[1:58:19] that concludes my thank you so much. I know the aquifer is a
[1:58:24] full on book. And , you know, this weekend during Memorial
[1:58:27] Day, and we know we're going to have nothing better to do but
[1:58:30] to read the financial report and ask Stephanie any questions
[1:58:33] we might have. Thank you all so much. All right. Appreciate it.
[1:58:40] All right. Thank you, finance team. Thank you. Let's get to
[1:58:45] item ten. Where's James Quinlan another fellow who's been
[1:58:49] patiently waiting two hours. I see Adam here, folks from the
[1:58:52] Rhythm Foundation. Let's talk jazz. Item ten. I believe there
[1:58:55] was a speaker card the clerk had told me. And so that's
[1:58:59] what's kept us waiting. This, of course, is the resolution of
[1:59:01] the city Commission authorizing the city to execute a concert
[1:59:04] agreement with Rhythm Foundation Inc to provide
[1:59:06] producer services for the jazz festival concerts at the Arts
[1:59:10] Park in an amount up to $250,000, according to the
[1:59:13] Procurement Court Code. As a best interest, this will
[1:59:15] require a 5/7 vote, of course, and I know we've had a chance
[1:59:18] probably to talk about this item during our one on ones.
[1:59:22] Claire, come on up. Terry as well. They submitted the cards,
[1:59:29] but let's go ahead and have James present. But Claire and
[1:59:32] Terry and their desire to speak on this is what's kept you here
[1:59:35] for two hours. But that's okay because hopefully, hopefully
[1:59:38] you've enjoyed, you know, sitting here and listening to
[1:59:41] the wheels of, of the City Hall, you know, at play here at the
[1:59:46] City Commission meeting. All right, James, Adam, take it
[1:59:48] away. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mayor and commission and
[1:59:52] esteemed administration here today. We are really, really
[1:59:55] proud to be in front of you today. This is the revival, if
[2:00:01] you would, of the historic jazz festival in Hollywood. A lot of
[2:00:05] people do remember that. That was the prior bandshell to the
[2:00:09] amphitheater, and it ran for about 20 years, closed when the
[2:00:12] amphitheater was being built. And there's a groundswell that
[2:00:15] we've been feeling for bringing it back. And we've we've taken
[2:00:20] on the challenge. We have a new idea, though. It's going to be
[2:00:23] a bit of a twist. It's going to be something that we think will
[2:00:27] really stand out in the marketplace and become not just
[2:00:29] a local and regional event, but something that is nationally
[2:00:33] recognized and celebrated. We're talking about the
[2:00:37] Hollywood Real Jazz Picnic, and that's the working title of the
[2:00:41] project that would have a culinary component. That's the
[2:00:44] picnic component. We will be working with the local
[2:00:48] businesses to provide an opportunity to preorder a
[2:00:52] picnic that you will be able to pick up in the Arts Park on the
[2:00:56] day of the event, November 21st of this year, there will be a
[2:01:03] picnic provider, if you will as well. Helping with the setups
[2:01:07] and creating kind of a very interesting opportunity for
[2:01:11] people to be in the park in the afternoon and into the evening
[2:01:15] of Saturday. It's not going to be a late night show. It's not
[2:01:18] going to be your typical concert. It's going to be a six
[2:01:21] hour presentation of six different groups, three from
[2:01:25] national and international recognition and three local
[2:01:28] groups running continuously during that period, from 2 p.m.
[2:01:32] to 8 p.m. on the 21st. And one of the things we're really
[2:01:36] excited about that's going to make it a national project is
[2:01:39] the partnership affiliation that we have now verbally
[2:01:43] agreed with the Sirius XM satellite broadcaster, which is,
[2:01:49] as you know, not just the US, but it is all around the world
[2:01:53] continuous signal that they provide. And through their real
[2:01:57] jazz channel, we'll have their personalities on site, as well
[2:02:02] as a live transmission from Hollywood during the event and
[2:02:07] use of the materials afterwards that they'll be recording. So
[2:02:11] that profile, we think, will really give us a great head
[2:02:14] start in establishing something that's new and special. It's
[2:02:18] going to be distinct, I think we think, from any other jazz
[2:02:21] offerings in the market, and we think it's going to have a
[2:02:24] really strong appeal to families and also be supporting
[2:02:28] the downtown businesses. With the 8 p.m. cut off time, we're
[2:02:32] going to encourage people to go into the downtown district,
[2:02:36] district, historic district and check out the fine dining
[2:02:40] opportunities. So we'll be interacting in a couple of ways
[2:02:43] with those businesses to try to also connect to this event.
[2:02:49] What else am I going to say? We really are very excited about
[2:02:52] the brand. We are bringing in people to support us. Specific.
[2:02:57] If once we get commitments here, we can go forward and really
[2:03:02] make it happen. We think in a very established way and
[2:03:06] something that we can all celebrate and be proud of. My
[2:03:10] colleague Adam, the CEO of Rhythm Foundation, by the way,
[2:03:14] I'm James Quinlan. I don't think I introduced myself, for
[2:03:17] those of you that don't know me, I am the founder and now senior
[2:03:21] advisor of the Rhythm Foundation. We've been
[2:03:23] producing events in Florida since 1988. And thank you,
[2:03:29] James. And again, thank you to our esteemed dais here. Two
[2:03:34] other things I'd like to add to to James statements. The jazz
[2:03:39] festival is actually a two day affair. It begins with the tree
[2:03:45] lighting ceremony on the Friday, on the Friday night. So let's
[2:03:49] say call it a day and a half. So we also have programing that
[2:03:53] is associated with the the tree lighting and the holiday market.
[2:03:58] And then Saturday is the is the 2 to 6 kind of full day
[2:04:03] experience. And by way of a proof of concept to gauge the
[2:04:10] local actual demand for a jazz programing, we had a show on
[2:04:15] Saturday night at the Arts Park featuring kind of straight
[2:04:20] ahead real jazz talent. The vice mayor. We were happy to
[2:04:26] privilege to have her attendance to be able to. Oh,
[2:04:30] sorry, Commissioner. Oh. Excuse me. Pardon, sorry. With the.
[2:04:34] The Commissioner was able to address the crowd. We had
[2:04:37] something like between 900 and 1000 people there throughout
[2:04:41] the course of the night. The entire lawn was filled with
[2:04:44] lovely. It was a it was a very family friendly and a bit of an
[2:04:49] older, more mature crowd. So it was a lot of, you know, picnics
[2:04:53] and bottles of wine and little pieces of cheese. So it was a
[2:04:57] really lovely experience. I do want to give a chance for our
[2:05:02] other speakers to come up. And then, and then I've got some
[2:05:05] other little notes to. All right, let's go ahead and take
[2:05:07] public comment. Claire, come on up. Claire Garrett. Thank you,
[2:05:13] mayor and commissioners. I'm here to speak in support of
[2:05:16] approval of the Jazz Festival agreement with the Rhythm
[2:05:20] Foundation. It was just a little over a year ago, on
[2:05:23] March 6th, 2025, that the PRCA Advisory board sent you a
[2:05:29] letter recommending that the city bring back the beloved
[2:05:32] Hollywood Jazz Festival, using new county grant funding
[2:05:38] available for cultural festivals. I'm also here to
[2:05:41] thank the mayor and thank the commissioners for giving
[2:05:44] serious consideration to the advisory board's recommendation,
[2:05:49] and then for actually supporting it. This
[2:05:53] recommendation to bring back the Hollywood Jazz Festival met
[2:05:55] with strong support when it appeared for discussion two
[2:05:59] short weeks later, on March 19th, 2025, on the City
[2:06:04] Commission agenda, which resulted in the city manager
[2:06:07] being given the direction to explore options and then to
[2:06:11] bring it back in a month to you for further discussion. Parks
[2:06:16] Director Rickey Engle and his city staff, they worked
[2:06:21] expeditiously to do that research in record time, gather
[2:06:24] the necessary information, and here we are, just one short
[2:06:29] year later, looking forward to the return of the Hollywood
[2:06:33] Jazz Festival. It is with great enthusiasm that I encourage
[2:06:38] approval today of the agreement with Rhythm Foundation, which
[2:06:41] is recognized as the foremost presenter of world music and
[2:06:46] cultural events in South Florida, with a long history of
[2:06:51] producing successful jazz concerts and festivals. Based
[2:06:56] on their extensive track record, I am confident that the Rhythm
[2:07:01] Foundation will produce a successful event that will not
[2:07:04] only be enjoyed by our local residents, but that will put
[2:07:08] Hollywood on the national map for jazz enthusiasts to come to
[2:07:12] visit Hollywood specifically for the jazz festival. This
[2:07:15] type of marketing and economic benefit to the city is
[2:07:20] priceless. In closing, I just want to also say how gratifying
[2:07:25] it is to me as an advisory board member, to see that my
[2:07:31] service on an advisory board can result in something so
[2:07:35] positive for the city of Hollywood, such as the return
[2:07:39] of a festival like this. So thank you for the opportunity
[2:07:42] to serve on the PRCA Advisory Board. Terry Cantrell, thank
[2:07:50] you very much. Mayor Terry Cantrell I avid, avid jazz fan.
[2:07:54] I'm here to tell you, I have proud to say that I attended
[2:07:58] every single Hollywood jazz festival in the 80s and the 90s,
[2:08:02] and even when they moved off site to a different location,
[2:08:07] it was a partnership with the city, Parks and Rec. And Doctor
[2:08:11] Ron Weber formed a group called the South Florida Jazz Group,
[2:08:16] and he moved over to different areas when he left Hollywood.
[2:08:20] But I just returned from New York City over the weekend,
[2:08:23] went to two jazz shows, one at Disney's Jazz Club in Columbus
[2:08:26] Circle, and then Birdland, famous Birdland in Broadway
[2:08:31] area. And they were jam packed both nights with acts. So I
[2:08:35] encourage that. I'd also like to compliment Ricky Engle and
[2:08:38] his staff for including a couple of US residents in the
[2:08:42] early stages of the planning. I was happy to sit in and talk
[2:08:45] about the experiences that we had back in the 80s and 90s. I
[2:08:48] still have some brochures that I. I shared with them some of
[2:08:51] the programs from back then too. So this is an absolute home run
[2:08:55] for us, and it's nothing but positive that will come out of
[2:08:59] this show. I can't wait, thank you. Thank you Adam. You're
[2:09:02] welcome to close out. Thank you very much. And so, you know, we
[2:09:10] have a really exciting opportunity here to to help
[2:09:13] pick up the torch and, and, and revive a longtime festival. We
[2:09:18] have the pieces in place to already to position this as, as,
[2:09:23] as a, as a nationally recognized festival as it for
[2:09:26] it to become a destination for folks, you know, this part of
[2:09:30] this program is about, you know, supporting the local businesses
[2:09:36] and the broader brand of Hollywood as a center of arts
[2:09:40] and culture and a place with a really high level of quality of
[2:09:43] quality of life. I also look forward to sitting down with
[2:09:47] each of you independently over the course of the next few
[2:09:51] weeks to lay out the broader vision for the the management
[2:09:55] of the of the Arts Park and what that that, that future
[2:09:59] looks like by way of a preview. It will. It's we are working on
[2:10:03] a mix of various types of, of programs ranging from
[2:10:10] performances of showcases of locally based talent to larger
[2:10:14] cultural festivals. Like, for instance, in late August, early
[2:10:19] September, we want to do a optimal autumnal Asian festival
[2:10:25] called the Mooncake Festival, which we're very excited about,
[2:10:31] as well as things like Record Fair, so on and so forth, mixed
[2:10:35] in with larger, larger kind of big ticket marquee names. That
[2:10:42] would be those would be ticketed concerts. While many,
[2:10:44] many of the of the other programs will remain free and
[2:10:48] open to the community as a way to attract more, more traffic
[2:10:52] to, to downtown and encourage downtown as a place where
[2:10:56] people can really can live, work and play. So I'll be
[2:11:01] reaching out to you all over the coming days to set up these
[2:11:05] times and look forward to that opportunity to sit down with
[2:11:09] you all. Thank you. Adam, do you expect the same older
[2:11:11] demographic that you saw this weekend at the Jazz festival? I
[2:11:14] anticipate that it will be very similar per. But since it's a
[2:11:19] daytime, we're hoping to create programs that will encourage
[2:11:22] more families to to come as well. Yeah. All right. Well, if
[2:11:26] we know there's going to be an older demographic, maybe as we
[2:11:29] contemplate, you know, kind of corresponding opportunities,
[2:11:33] advertisements of downtown, we take into consideration what
[2:11:35] the demographic is and tailor the, you know, the ancillary
[2:11:40] kind of opportunities to sharing with that demographic
[2:11:44] the opportunities that exist downtown and what they might
[2:11:47] enjoy. If it's wine, then we've got the vintage on Harrison as
[2:11:49] an example and different things like that. So different things.
[2:11:52] So let's go to Commissioner Quintana. Thank you. Mayor. I
[2:11:57] just wanted to share my experience when I was there on
[2:11:59] Saturday. First of all, I haven't seen my husband that
[2:12:03] excited about seeing live music since we moved to Florida 25
[2:12:07] years ago. He's he's a musician himself, and he was so very
[2:12:11] impressed with the quality of the performance. I mean, every
[2:12:14] time we've been down there since Rhythm Foundation has
[2:12:16] been bringing acts, we've been very impressed. All really
[2:12:21] great programs. And maybe because I'm an older
[2:12:26] demographic, but I didn't think it was really like that old.
[2:12:28] And one of the things my husband commented on was how
[2:12:31] wonderful it was that people brought children, because
[2:12:34] otherwise children might never be exposed to that kind of
[2:12:37] music. And to just see live music that's actually being
[2:12:41] played by people who have mastered their instrument is a
[2:12:45] special thing these days. And then to have I saw people of
[2:12:50] all ages there, but it was just such a great vibe. And then the,
[2:12:54] the Dillard Center for the Arts Jazz Group, I mean, those kids,
[2:12:59] sophomores and juniors totally blew everybody out. I mean, we
[2:13:04] were all so impressed. Amazing performances by local young
[2:13:08] people. I just, I and it was such a great feeling among the
[2:13:13] crowd. People were very friendly. And it's just like,
[2:13:18] I'm very excited about the jazz festival coming. I'm sorry you
[2:13:22] called it the the Jazz Picnic, was it? That's correct. Yes,
[2:13:26] yes. So looking forward to all the creative ideas that you
[2:13:30] guys have to really make sure that we involve the surrounding
[2:13:34] business community in this event. So just wanted to share
[2:13:36] that. And thank you so much for joining us on Friday. Dillard
[2:13:40] is also slated to perform at the tree lighting ceremony as
[2:13:46] well. So that should be really fun. All right. Great segue to
[2:13:49] Vice Mayor Collier. She's all about the tree lighting. Yeah.
[2:13:53] Just out of curiosity, you said that that you would the time
[2:13:57] frame would be closing early. Like what exactly time frame is
[2:14:01] that for? For Saturday. It's so it'll run. The show is slated
[2:14:06] to run from 2 to 8 p.m. So we talk about performances and how
[2:14:12] it benefits the downtown as well. Brings the foot traffic
[2:14:15] in. So just out of thought and you said you have Dillard's
[2:14:21] bands, and I know that probably the performers that are at the
[2:14:25] jazz festival are in high demand and costs, but perhaps
[2:14:30] coordinating with the Downtown Business Association, you could
[2:14:34] do jazz in the street that follows after the concert, and
[2:14:38] there could be performers in the street. And that way it
[2:14:41] encourages that foot traffic to bleed into the downtown, you
[2:14:46] know, after dinner drinks and listen to some jazz so that,
[2:14:49] you know, many want to continue the excitement. So jazz in the
[2:14:53] street, I think, would be something really exciting for
[2:14:55] the Downtown Business Association. So I don't know
[2:14:57] how we would coordinate that with the Rhythm Foundation,
[2:15:01] just to kind of like give them names or work together with
[2:15:04] them to promote that so that it just is a, you know, a win win
[2:15:08] for everyone. I think it would be great. That's a, that's a
[2:15:11] fantastic idea. And I would love to be connected with them.
[2:15:15] And we have an associate producer that we've brought on
[2:15:18] to really help us with this. And they're the one that's out
[2:15:21] there pounding the pavement with those downtown Hollywood.
[2:15:25] Perfect. Fantastic. That's a great idea. All right, let's go
[2:15:29] to Commissioner Gruber. And at some point, let's make a motion
[2:15:32] to approve. Thank you. And I reached out to James yesterday.
[2:15:36] I appreciate you talking to me. And I also I reached out to
[2:15:40] Mark Rowe yesterday as well, because I knew that we had done
[2:15:43] the Jazz on Saturday night. And, you know, I'm all about
[2:15:49] activating the park. But one of the things I want to do,
[2:15:51] especially when we're using taxpayer dollars for our own
[2:15:54] shows, is make sure that there's an economic impact on
[2:15:56] the businesses downtown. And Mark did tell me there really
[2:16:00] wasn't much impact. It was a slow night. And James, you and
[2:16:02] I had a good conversation about it, and you told me what would
[2:16:06] be different with this jazz festival, the way you're going
[2:16:09] about it, engaging the business on a national scale, and that
[2:16:12] the music is a little bit more mainstream, that type of thing.
[2:16:16] So and everything you said, I appreciated it and, you know,
[2:16:19] and I support it. So I appreciate that. Just to to go
[2:16:25] over Friday night and Saturday night. So Friday night. So for
[2:16:29] our $250,000, does that include everything Friday night, our
[2:16:34] tree lighting, our music, is that maybe a tricky question?
[2:16:39] Like so I mean, that's not the entire tree lighting event, but
[2:16:44] it is the music portion that will that will begin at, I
[2:16:49] think, 8 p.m. Right, Ricky? Mayor, mayor, vice mayor,
[2:16:56] commissioners, city manager, city attorney. Rick Engle,
[2:16:58] parks and recreation, cultural arts director. Yes. Friday
[2:17:02] night, the music for the tree lighting will start around 8:00.
[2:17:06] You know, we have Santa in the park and lighting of the tree.
[2:17:09] Prior, the jazz musicians will be playing some Christmas music,
[2:17:14] you know, holiday music to tie into the tree lighting event.
[2:17:18] But the only portion coming out of this funding is the the band
[2:17:23] portion, the rest of it, the other funding from the city
[2:17:26] will handle the rest of the tree lighting event. We're
[2:17:29] doing the same thing as last year, the snow and similar
[2:17:32] stuff. Yeah, a lot of the similar things with the snow
[2:17:34] and you know, the balance actually the, the, the sledding.
[2:17:37] Yes, yes, yes, the snow is very, very popular. So yeah. And I
[2:17:41] think I choked on a lot of that snow. Right. Yeah, I do like it.
[2:17:46] I like the effect. Artificial snow is definitely got into
[2:17:49] people's throats and kind of made them cough. So you might
[2:17:51] want to reconsider what you do. There is that soapy snow, soapy
[2:17:55] snow that was up on the plaza. Yeah. We were talking more
[2:17:59] about the sleigh riding. Sleigh riding. Yeah, let's keep that.
[2:18:01] If that's a problem, we can eliminate the the snow, the
[2:18:05] soap snow. So I just, I just with as someone who does shows,
[2:18:09] not as much as I'd like to these days because I'm busy
[2:18:12] with this, the the, the $250,000 budget. I mean, I
[2:18:16] expect some major talent on Saturday like that that would
[2:18:20] that would normally fill up 5000 seats when you're selling
[2:18:23] tickets, like, like that's the type of money you spend for
[2:18:26] something. So I'm leaving it to you guys. You know, I trust you
[2:18:29] guys and all that you've done and will do. So looking forward
[2:18:33] to it. And that's a motion to approve. Okay, just we have a
[2:18:37] motion to approve. But just a quick note, I know we
[2:18:40] designated a cap of $250,000, but it doesn't mean that we
[2:18:43] need to spend it all if because those dollars can go towards
[2:18:47] future concerts as well. So Ricky seems like he wanted to
[2:18:50] mention, just want to clarify on the budget, 200 000 was
[2:18:55] approved By the commission from the city. We're anticipating
[2:18:59] receiving the other 50,000 from a grant. We also applied for as
[2:19:04] well. Two other grants, one that we did not receive and
[2:19:06] another one that's pending. But we anticipate having at least
[2:19:10] 50,000 from grants, which makes up the 250,000. All right. Well,
[2:19:15] the resolution is in an amount up to. And so we'll leave that
[2:19:18] leave you, Ricky, to the being a good steward of grants and to
[2:19:21] the foundation for being good stewards of the continuing
[2:19:25] relationship with the Arts Park to, you know, be as efficient
[2:19:28] as we can with every dollar as if it's your own because it's
[2:19:31] all of ours. Collective dollars to use throughout the year.
[2:19:33] Commissioner Hernandez, thank you, mayor. As I tell my
[2:19:37] friends, we're not always going to agree. I cannot in
[2:19:41] wholeheartedly vote for this the amount of money that we're
[2:19:43] spending. And quite frankly, you can't dismiss. I appreciate
[2:19:47] that when you actually said that you have people coming to
[2:19:50] the park and have their cheese and have their wine. Well, we
[2:19:53] have ordinances that people are not supposed to be bringing
[2:19:56] alcohol into park. Whenever we have other events, we actually
[2:19:59] check their bags to make sure that they don't bring any
[2:20:01] coolers or anything like that. Yes, we're tolerating this here.
[2:20:05] We're competing now. You want to do picnics. We're competing
[2:20:07] with the brick and mortar restaurants that we have in the
[2:20:10] downtown. Why are we doing this? Why are we doing this? Ladies
[2:20:16] and gentlemen, with all due respect, we spend millions of
[2:20:20] dollars to bring people to the downtown, yet we pay other
[2:20:24] entities to rob those brick and mortar businesses that we
[2:20:28] expect survival to come and do these things. And we do it time
[2:20:31] and time again. I respectfully disagree. I'm listening to the
[2:20:35] business people that are actually in the downtown and
[2:20:38] see that this happen. By their own admission, they brought in
[2:20:42] 900 to 1000 people to to a venue. That's okay. We have
[2:20:45] other venues that brings thousands of people. They
[2:20:48] grovel to get $25,000 from Parks and RECs to be able to do
[2:20:52] those events. They get sponsors from other people to do those
[2:20:55] events. I'm not going to be later this. I'm just not going
[2:20:58] to vote for it because of the businesses that I represent in
[2:21:01] the downtown area do not support the event, because this
[2:21:03] is counterproductive for what we've been trying to do for
[2:21:07] years, and we spend millions of dollars doing it. I get it that
[2:21:10] it may be very nice and everything, and it's enjoyable
[2:21:13] by some. I don't take that away from them, but we're hurting
[2:21:17] our downtown businesses, so there's no way that I can
[2:21:20] support this. I just want to I completely respect your, you
[2:21:24] know, statement. I just want to make sure that it's clear that
[2:21:28] I believe that the idea behind this picnic concept is to
[2:21:33] engage the downtown businesses, to provide this and to have
[2:21:38] them be the ones that are charging for it and reaping the
[2:21:41] benefit of providing it. I heard I heard what they said
[2:21:45] and they said local businesses, they didn't say downtown
[2:21:48] businesses. And I have I just get we just got an email from
[2:21:51] one of the downtown businesses. They have not been addressed
[2:21:53] when it comes to these things. I get what the concept may be,
[2:21:57] but it's already happening where people are bringing wine
[2:21:59] and cheese and what have you. And then we have people from
[2:22:02] the Downtown Business Association and from the
[2:22:05] downtown businesses themselves, saying that these events don't
[2:22:09] bring anyone to the area. And I can see the local residents
[2:22:14] coming by with their picnic baskets and their bottles of
[2:22:16] wine and their cheese actually coming to lay on the lawn and
[2:22:20] listen to a great jazz festival. There's nothing wrong with that.
[2:22:23] If that's what we're doing, that's peachy King and Hunky
[2:22:26] dory. But should we be spending 250,000 or $200,000 in order to
[2:22:31] get this done? When we have other events, the only require
[2:22:37] $25,000 from us, and they got a gravel from everything else and
[2:22:40] pay for lease and police and what have you. And they cannot
[2:22:43] bring alcohol into the park, and they bring thousands of
[2:22:46] people into the neighborhood. This is what we're comparing.
[2:22:49] What you were alluding to, Commissioner Gruber, is what
[2:22:53] are we getting for our dollar? I don't begrudge the event. God
[2:22:58] bless you. But I think that we can spend our money wiser when
[2:23:02] it comes to bringing people to the downtown, if that's what we
[2:23:05] want, if what we want to have, we have a special jazz festival,
[2:23:08] which is a great event for some, and so be it. But I'm looking
[2:23:13] for my I'm looking after my business residents. Thank you
[2:23:16] Commissioner. Thank you. Commissioner. Then. Biederman.
[2:23:20] Yes, I support this. I think that it's not cheap, but it's
[2:23:24] the beginning of something very large. And we already are
[2:23:28] moving towards national recognition, which we don't
[2:23:32] have on our typical concerts. The one thing I would ask,
[2:23:37] really, of Rick, is to get with Jennifer Holman. When we first
[2:23:41] talked about this with Clare and Terry, we talked about also
[2:23:44] activating other venues in the city, not that the The Rhythm
[2:23:50] Foundation has to oversee it, but certainly at Cinema
[2:23:53] Paradiso, we could have documentaries of jazz musicians
[2:23:56] at the Performing Arts Center. We could have some more local
[2:24:00] jazz events happening simultaneously or through the
[2:24:03] rest of the weekend. So I just want to make sure that we are
[2:24:07] taking advantage of this opportunity to also engage the
[2:24:11] Art and culture center. So thank you. And I did second the
[2:24:15] motion. All right. Commissioner Biederman. So pick and choose.
[2:24:21] And, you know, like different things. I also had concerns
[2:24:28] about the activation of downtown. I mean, I love the
[2:24:31] idea, if you're going to include those businesses to
[2:24:33] provide picnic lunches, that's great. If you're going to bring
[2:24:37] it in from somewhere else where people are going to bring their
[2:24:39] own picnic basket and, and not support those businesses,
[2:24:43] that's not great. I do have a question, though. When is
[2:24:49] Artwalk? That weekend. Is that that Saturday night? Somebody.
[2:24:55] Ricky. Normally Art walk is the third Saturday of each month.
[2:25:00] So it's going to be that same night. And it was with our own
[2:25:04] events also now. So I mean, I, I have some concerns about that.
[2:25:13] Somebody said it's 2 to 6 p.m. somebody said it's 2 to 8 p.m.
[2:25:17] I'd like to know what it is. So Friday night, the concert would
[2:25:24] start around 8:00, and on Saturday it'll run from 2 p.m.
[2:25:29] to 8 p.m. Okay. Just wanted to clarify that Arts, Arts, the
[2:25:35] art walk would be sort of like an after party kind of
[2:25:38] opportunity to kind of help tell people leaving the Jazz
[2:25:41] Fest. Art walk continues till 10 p.m. Scroll your way over to
[2:25:45] downtown. Well, the one thing to bring up with the art art
[2:25:49] walk is the Art walk. Current contract expires at the end of
[2:25:52] September. We're in the process of preparing an RFP. All right.
[2:25:55] So we don't know we're going back out. So depending on how
[2:25:59] that RFP and how that change, we you know, we may change the
[2:26:02] date. We have to see what we get when we come back out. But
[2:26:07] the jazz walk at this point, the idea of the that was
[2:26:10] brought up about, you know, jazz after downtown, you know,
[2:26:13] I think we can make that happen. That idea, that jazz, strolling,
[2:26:18] jazz musicians, even if it's the kids from Dillard, you know,
[2:26:22] I think that would be great. And then that would bring those
[2:26:26] same jazz lovers into downtown to go to the restaurants and
[2:26:29] spend money, because that's what this is all about. And
[2:26:35] maybe even have like the jazz musicians a week or two ahead
[2:26:38] of time on a Saturday night or Friday night, strolling in
[2:26:41] downtown to bring some life and some exposure to what's going
[2:26:45] to happen. You had mentioned that you are going to set up
[2:26:52] meetings with us. Yes, sir. I think the time to set up those
[2:26:56] meetings were prior to tonight, so that this wouldn't have been
[2:27:00] such a heavy discussion, because I can't support this. I
[2:27:02] mean, leading up to today, I couldn't support it hearing how
[2:27:08] we're going to include those businesses in downtown kind of
[2:27:12] makes it more palatable. $250,000 is a lot of money, 200
[2:27:17] 000 in my notes, I had, you know, what's the county
[2:27:20] contributing? We we talked about cultural arts division
[2:27:24] and the county should be giving some money. We talked about the
[2:27:26] TDC should be giving some money. I think those are all important
[2:27:30] factors before we approve $250,000. So if I may, the
[2:27:38] $50,000 grant, the county offers a 50 up to $50,000 grant.
[2:27:43] We feel we have a good shot at that, but we. Application goes
[2:27:47] in June. So that's where. Yeah, we won't know until after. So
[2:27:51] what happens if we don't get 50,000. Do we cut their budget
[2:27:55] 50,000. If we don't get the 50,000 in the grants, then our
[2:27:58] budget is 200 000. That's what the city could still make it
[2:28:01] work for that. This is this project is new and we are
[2:28:09] working at reverse engineering. Okay. So we we haven't made
[2:28:14] commitments until we have commitments in terms of signing
[2:28:18] commitments. Right. So so the budget is something that we
[2:28:22] have to control based on what we work with. So what happens
[2:28:28] if we only have 200? Or what happens if we cut it to 150? We
[2:28:32] won't be spending money we don't have. But what happens to
[2:28:36] the draw? I mean, you already have. I'm sure you have a list
[2:28:39] of musicians that you're trying to lock in dates, what their
[2:28:43] costs are for what's. So let's say it's only 150. What has to
[2:28:48] be cut from. If we cut that 5000, is that extra advertising?
[2:28:54] Is that extra talent? I mean, where is this 250 000 being
[2:28:59] spent? So that that's so in the, let's say the instance that it
[2:29:04] does get cut down to $150,000 for whatever reason, what that
[2:29:09] means in practical terms would mean less artists, because
[2:29:13] that's driving the bulk of the drives, the bulk of the of the
[2:29:16] budget, and then less ancillary activations at the event and
[2:29:21] then less marketing. That's, that's basically where the
[2:29:24] money would come out. And how much of this 250 is the
[2:29:29] overhead or profit margin of the Rhythm Foundation? It's
[2:29:33] less than 10%. Okay. I'm okay with that. I have a question.
[2:29:40] So we're talking about activating the downtown. We're
[2:29:43] talking about historical stuff we've used to do to promote
[2:29:48] downtown city manager at one time. At least it's not here.
[2:29:53] But at one time, the city the CRA used to do like CRA tokens
[2:30:00] that were had a dollar amount value to them that people would
[2:30:05] get at the Jazz Fest or at other events, that they would
[2:30:10] be able to go into a restaurant or a participating restaurant
[2:30:13] in downtown and use that kind of as a coupon that the city
[2:30:17] would or the CRA would reimburse the business for as
[2:30:21] in order to encourage people to go in, is that something that
[2:30:26] we can do, especially for just this weekend, make it time
[2:30:31] sensitive that they could use it that night or within 30 days
[2:30:35] or something like that. So, I mean, I recall that a time
[2:30:42] frame and, you know, that was a way to drive business into the
[2:30:48] downtown. And I think we did it with parking and we did it with
[2:30:51] some other things. So, you know, I think we can look at those
[2:30:55] kinds of opportunities. I know that there's already been some
[2:30:59] discussion about offering coupons for, you know, two for
[2:31:04] one drink or, or, you know, free dessert, free entree, you
[2:31:09] know, those kinds of things. The problem is, I understand
[2:31:12] that the businesses don't necessarily want to bear that
[2:31:16] expense. They would like to figure out a way to, for the
[2:31:19] some help in incentivizing that. And we can explore that. I
[2:31:23] think, you know, we need to make sure that it's kosher with
[2:31:26] the regulations governing how CRA funds are allowed to be
[2:31:31] used. And, you know, and we can take a look at those kinds of
[2:31:36] opportunities. Well, maybe economic development has some
[2:31:38] funds that we could use for that too, because for $200,000
[2:31:46] or $250,000, it takes like pulling fingernails out in
[2:31:50] order for us to give the salsa fest more money, which brings
[2:31:55] in 5000 people, or the we, you know, or Saint Patrick's Day to
[2:32:03] give the Liberians money to promote that or to promote FIFA
[2:32:07] or whatever it is, you know, but yet we're going to like
[2:32:11] easily hand over $250,000 to bring in some jazz musicians.
[2:32:15] That is a very small segment of our population also. I mean,
[2:32:19] jazz listeners, I mean, everybody has their own, you
[2:32:22] know, taste of what music they listen to. And as Commissioner
[2:32:28] Hernandez said, it's a much older demographic that might
[2:32:30] not spend that much money in downtown that listen to Jazz
[2:32:35] Age. Takes one to know one, right? He said. Peachy keen and
[2:32:42] hunky dory to everybody enjoying. And I'm. And I'm
[2:32:45] going to throw this out there that I think that if we did a a
[2:32:49] 80s or 90s retro event in downtown, that would bring out
[2:32:54] a different demographic that might spend more money in
[2:32:57] downtown, and it would fill the restaurants probably too. So
[2:33:02] I'd love to hear something about that. And back to the
[2:33:05] meeting with us. Should have been done earlier. I look
[2:33:08] forward to seeing what we're going to do and how it's going
[2:33:12] to make things better. But this is kind of like a one shot deal
[2:33:17] in my opinion. I won't be here for the next vote on this, but
[2:33:22] I'll be out there talking about it like some of the other
[2:33:25] people. If this fails or this doesn't bring any amount of
[2:33:29] money people, or it doesn't bring any amount of money to
[2:33:32] our restaurants, it's not happening again. I mean, I
[2:33:35] don't think anyway, and it might jeopardize the other
[2:33:39] concerts that Rhythm Foundation does. So I mean, that's just a
[2:33:42] shot over the bow kind of thing. Kevin, listen, we love Rhythm
[2:33:48] Foundation. They've been putting on amazing shows for
[2:33:50] like more than ten years here. I agree. And they do some good
[2:33:53] shows in superstar work. Yeah. And I know all the shows are
[2:33:56] great. I know you know that it's amazing. And a lot of
[2:33:59] people I agree that we're putting in way more. All due
[2:34:02] respect, we're putting in way more dollars to this. And
[2:34:05] obviously we're a little apprehensive about putting that
[2:34:07] much into one event. I think originally, James, you yourself
[2:34:12] had a reaction and said, hey, wait a second. If we're going
[2:34:16] to enter into this management agreement for the stage, maybe
[2:34:18] those dollars would be, you know, wise to invest throughout
[2:34:22] the year and let's have the jazz test concert and kind of
[2:34:27] see where it goes there. And I know the momentum has been
[2:34:30] building with people that are impassioned about the jazz
[2:34:32] festival. But what, you know, the commissioners here are
[2:34:34] saying about investing this much money in this genre in one
[2:34:38] event, let's just say nothing really against the genre. We're
[2:34:42] some of us are a little apprehensive about. So maybe I
[2:34:45] know that you obviously are ready to produce this, but you
[2:34:47] know, if you can give an honest figure, putting aside everybody
[2:34:51] that you know is dying to have this and those that are
[2:34:54] apprehensive, I mean, I have another we're going to look to
[2:34:56] you to give us, you know, we're looking to you to manage the
[2:35:00] amphitheater and to give us good advice and to do things.
[2:35:02] And so are we in the right direction here? Or would you
[2:35:05] say, guys, let's have two of these three events with these
[2:35:09] dollars and over months as opposed to one Saturday. So,
[2:35:13] you know. Exactly. And I and I think I think you're right here
[2:35:17] because this is a new day in the arts park. This is a new
[2:35:21] time we have the gates are up. So this is going to be a free
[2:35:25] but gated event. We are going to control how people come in.
[2:35:30] And we're putting we're putting effort into the seating and the,
[2:35:33] and the, and the arrangement. And there will be
[2:35:36] infrastructure spend that will be reused in other parts, other
[2:35:41] parts of the season. So in a sense, we're launching the new
[2:35:46] arts park with this event. This is this is a this is a gate
[2:35:51] opener, if you will, of the gates that we now have. So we
[2:35:54] see this as, as something that is actually good with the
[2:36:00] market right now, we see a resurgence of interest in jazz.
[2:36:03] We think we can do something different than other people
[2:36:06] have in other communities. It's going to stand out. It's going
[2:36:09] to be a national event, and it's going to give us a good
[2:36:12] impetus to move forward into the season ahead, because we're
[2:36:17] we're essentially developing a new gated ticketed facility in,
[2:36:21] in, in South Florida. And it's a it's a long road we're going
[2:36:25] into. We know it's a multiyear effort to build this into where
[2:36:29] we see it going, but this is a great way to really open the
[2:36:33] door. We think it is a fit, multi-generational fit. We
[2:36:37] think it is something that's going to get recognized
[2:36:40] critically and popular in a popular way. And, and we think
[2:36:44] it is going to have we're going to take particular interest in
[2:36:47] connecting to the business community that's built right
[2:36:50] into the plan here. We're stopping at 8:00. We want you
[2:36:53] to go right into the into the historic district and have
[2:36:57] dinner. We're not serving dinner. We're serving picnics
[2:36:59] here. So this is this is a calculated project to to kick
[2:37:04] off the new era in the arts park. So two things, mayor,
[2:37:08] real quick, number one, maybe we should wait on this till
[2:37:12] they have more solid agreements with our restaurants that are
[2:37:15] going to do something and provide those picnic lunches
[2:37:20] available, and they have to book the talent ahead of time.
[2:37:24] And so there's time. Two, two more questions. One is how much
[2:37:29] did Saturday night cost us for the thousand people that showed
[2:37:32] up? That was the budget for that was $50,000. Okay. I
[2:37:42] wasn't expecting that answer, but I thought it was me a lot
[2:37:45] less. And then finally the the other question was, I remember
[2:37:51] we had expos here was that rhythm foundation that did that,
[2:37:55] or was that another group that did that? It was a long time
[2:37:59] ago. Ric Expos way before your time. I don't remember that.
[2:38:02] Yes. Yeah. They were at the Arts. They were at the I think
[2:38:06] they were one of the first shows that opened at the new
[2:38:09] theater. Right. Or were they the last one at the theater
[2:38:12] more than ten years ago? That was probably before our time.
[2:38:15] No, no, it was since I've been involved. Well, 15 years ago, I
[2:38:23] was trying to remember if it was when the Arts Park
[2:38:26] Amphitheater was dedicated or or expose everybody. Can you
[2:38:32] hear it? All right. Or if it was for the city's 90th. But I
[2:38:37] think it was for the Arts Park Amphitheater dedication. Yes.
[2:38:42] Okay. All right. I'm fine. Thank you, thank you. And if if
[2:38:50] if if I may. We fully recognize and respect the, the the, the
[2:38:58] concerns that Commissioner Hernandez and Biederman have
[2:39:02] have brought forth. This is a big this is a big investment.
[2:39:06] And as commissioners, fiscal stewardship of public dollars
[2:39:11] are a main concern of this of this board. And so I completely
[2:39:16] appreciate and and respect that concern. And I'm going to focus
[2:39:23] on using. There are some really interesting data systems that
[2:39:30] are available to be able to track. It's going to basically
[2:39:34] track people's movements into and out of the, of the, of the
[2:39:39] arts park. And it will tell us specifically where did they
[2:39:42] come from and where did they go afterwards? Yeah. I'm sorry, I
[2:39:52] was looking up history there. He's he's obsessed. So I
[2:39:57] remember when Commissioner Shuhan brought this up and, and
[2:40:00] Claire in regards to it, and my suggestion was start small,
[2:40:03] small and go big. I've suggested many times to have
[2:40:07] jazz in the park, meaning our small parks throughout the
[2:40:10] entire city, just to create that synergy and then bring it
[2:40:13] to the forefront. But we also have to remember that everyone
[2:40:18] has different genre likes, and we're such a culturally diverse
[2:40:24] city. Young, old rock, you name it, whatever we have, we're
[2:40:29] just very diverse. I would like to know how many of those
[2:40:33] residents of Hollywood attended the jazz festival that you had
[2:40:37] put on the other week, which we can't track now because it's
[2:40:42] something in hindsight. Maybe they did track it. Did you know
[2:40:45] we did not use that? That particular system that I
[2:40:48] described. But so here's here is a couple of my concerns. I,
[2:40:53] I actually am in favor of this, surprisingly, because you have
[2:40:57] to start somewhere and new brings new to the to the like,
[2:41:02] if we don't try it, we'll never know. Although the funding is
[2:41:07] really, I guess the biggest concern. And that was my
[2:41:09] concern that I brought up the last time we talked about this.
[2:41:12] But we have to be visionaries and we have to say, you know,
[2:41:15] this was something that was very promotional back in the
[2:41:18] day and we're bringing it back. We just had our Historical
[2:41:21] Preservation Board showing us. We talked about history. It's
[2:41:25] important, Commissioner Quintana mentioned, about
[2:41:28] bringing children so that they can be exposed. Dillard High
[2:41:31] School being there on and on and on. My couple of requests
[2:41:36] are. One, Commissioner Chapin brought up Cultural Arts Center
[2:41:42] and the downtown businesses before I could approve this.
[2:41:45] And I don't know if we have to put it in the motion to approve,
[2:41:49] but one very important that you reach out to the downtown
[2:41:52] business associations to create that connectivity, whatever it
[2:41:55] may be. From my understanding, the downtown was the slowest.
[2:42:01] It was in Saturday nights that it's been for a long time. Why
[2:42:05] is that? The only thing I can think of is that the parking
[2:42:08] was taken up to attend the events, perhaps, and then
[2:42:14] everyone left after the concert was over. What time did it end?
[2:42:17] At 11, 10 or 11. By then you're ready to go home. And so that
[2:42:23] synergy did not create. And then it ultimately affected the
[2:42:27] downtown because people probably couldn't find parking
[2:42:29] and they went somewhere else. Right. And that's just my
[2:42:34] analogy of it. So what I think would make this definitely a
[2:42:39] bang for our buck is the coordination with the downtown
[2:42:42] business associations, the art and cultural center creating
[2:42:46] even with having detail, I'm thinking of detail and policing,
[2:42:50] because this is the biggest concern that we hear is if we
[2:42:53] have a crowd, you have to provide safety. That's a cost,
[2:42:58] but making sure that we have that adequate safety net that's
[2:43:02] there, that has to be worked out and that should
[2:43:06] circumference the entire amount of money that we're investing.
[2:43:09] In addition to that, I think. Promoting the downtown some way,
[2:43:16] I don't know if the picnic thing is really the way to go.
[2:43:20] I although I'm not a vendor of that sort, I just think that
[2:43:23] puts a little bit more taxing problems on the businesses
[2:43:27] there. Sit down, come into the restaurant and have dinner, not
[2:43:30] pack up a bag of lunch and send it to the park. I think that's
[2:43:34] going to be very, very challenging. Perhaps booths,
[2:43:37] maybe that they can set up downtown at the concert itself.
[2:43:42] But really and truly, you know, if we don't start somewhere and
[2:43:46] my idea was not incorporated. So here we are today with
[2:43:52] having a jazz festival at the Arts Park. Again, it is
[2:43:56] something creative. It's something bringing back from
[2:43:58] the past. And it could be a win win for everyone, as long as
[2:44:02] that communication is open and we have the ability to know
[2:44:07] that they're involved and that we can create some type of
[2:44:11] connectivity from the arts park to the downtown, because that's
[2:44:13] the whole purpose of the of doing all of these. Correct. So
[2:44:17] I don't know, can we amend the motion to include the downtown
[2:44:24] and the Art and cultural center to be involved, and also to
[2:44:26] make sure that the coverage of funding is not just for the
[2:44:31] performers, but for the bleed into the downtown of security
[2:44:33] purposes. I don't know if anybody can answer that. If I
[2:44:36] could do that, or could it be solely rectified under the
[2:44:41] supervisor, under your permission of City Manager? I
[2:44:45] think we have heard the direction from the commission
[2:44:47] that you want very much to make sure that the downtown
[2:44:51] businesses are engaged in this, that the Art and Culture Center
[2:44:54] is engaged in this, and that staff administer the event in
[2:44:59] that way to make sure that we are doing that. So I think that
[2:45:06] certainly we will count on the Rhythm Foundation to work with
[2:45:09] us on that and to and I, and we will be limiting the outside
[2:45:17] involvement of other vendors that are not downtown. You know,
[2:45:20] I think that that is appropriate, you know, as it
[2:45:23] relates to this. But I don't think that we need you to work
[2:45:28] that into the motion. Does that make sense? Yeah. I think the
[2:45:34] 50,000 that we're getting from this, the county, if we were to
[2:45:36] get that, is acceptable. I just am concerned about the amount
[2:45:41] of money that's being spent that that really is a concern
[2:45:45] as far as what's going what benefits are we going to reap
[2:45:48] from it? But I understand that the that the the one and the
[2:45:51] desire. I just don't know if the pool is worth. I'll just
[2:45:54] say that while Joanne is here with CMD, since this would be a
[2:45:57] big investment on the part of the city, we have to make sure
[2:46:00] to help promote it and. And maybe even put some outdoor
[2:46:04] banners and kind of really promote, you know, the jazz,
[2:46:07] you know, for the whole month of, of November leading up to
[2:46:10] this to kind of, you know, put some pull banners up in and
[2:46:14] around the downtown with the saxophone and kind of whatever
[2:46:17] the brand design of the jazz festival. If what we're seeing
[2:46:20] on this graphic is the design, we can, you know, bring this to
[2:46:23] the outdoor spaces and banners and what have you and kind of
[2:46:26] help pump it up, give businesses a flier, you know,
[2:46:29] or a, you know, an 18 by, by 12 kind of, you know, poster to
[2:46:34] put at the front of their business. And really, you know,
[2:46:37] for the whole month of November, plaster all of downtown with
[2:46:40] jazz, jazz, and to everybody's point, try to make it something
[2:46:43] that could be recurring and regionally and even, let's just
[2:46:47] say nationally recognized that would be worthy of the
[2:46:50] investment of trying to make it happen and hopefully get that
[2:46:53] return to businesses and to the community. All right. We've got
[2:46:56] commissioners Hernandez, Quintana, and Gruber, and then
[2:46:59] hopefully we'll take a vote. Go ahead, Commissioner Hernandez.
[2:47:02] Thank you. Mayor, if we invest this kind of money into the
[2:47:06] sports tourism for the upcoming events that are taking place,
[2:47:09] we will have 100 times the amount of attendance and we're
[2:47:15] not doing it. Come on, people, let's realize is that we are
[2:47:18] our own worst enemy when it comes to the downtown. I can't
[2:47:22] say it enough. Okay, so and I just and I believe everything
[2:47:27] that you were doing, we're doing it for the right reasons.
[2:47:30] So I'm going to make a motion to amend this motion and to
[2:47:35] make sure that they have street performance in the middle of
[2:47:38] the downtown. But in in street corner, performance in the
[2:47:44] middle of the downtown, and no picnic and no alcohol in the
[2:47:48] park. This is how they disguise bringing in their wine and
[2:47:52] their cheese from home. They ain't buying that because there
[2:47:55] ain't no businesses in downtown that is going to be making
[2:47:58] picnic baskets. This is a story that they want to sell in. I'm
[2:48:03] not buying it, but in order for that to take place, I need
[2:48:06] somebody to second my motion. I said I would second it, but I
[2:48:10] think you have to allow them to sell alcohol. Oh yeah. And if
[2:48:14] they want to sell alcohol, then they can sell alcohol. But we
[2:48:18] make sure that we have police on the gates, make sure that
[2:48:21] there's no outside alcohol coming in, that you support
[2:48:23] that. I'm good with that because at the end of the day,
[2:48:26] we're not spending the money we're spending in the downtown
[2:48:29] to allow for this to happen right under our eyes. And then
[2:48:32] they come in front of us. And no disrespect, but our
[2:48:35] businesses need to survive. We're the ones who pushed it
[2:48:38] and asked them to do it. Hang on. But also, I don't. But I
[2:48:42] was a chair on when you guys sell alcohol, there's a cost
[2:48:45] share on it that the city gets right. The we do, we do sell,
[2:48:49] we do sell alcohol and we would have concessions on the event.
[2:48:55] And then the revenue share portion of the Hollywood Arts
[2:48:58] Park is off of ticket sales, where the city gets a gets a
[2:49:03] surcharge off of it. And this is a free event. And this was a
[2:49:06] free event. Yeah. So I think I did want to has to include the
[2:49:09] city gets a portion of the alcohol sales. I wanted to add
[2:49:13] something though. Commissioner Hernandez, along the lines of
[2:49:16] what you were thinking, because it's true. When it's an ungated
[2:49:19] event, people bring in whatever they want. We have police
[2:49:23] officers for that. We managed to do it in other events where
[2:49:26] we actually have officers on the gate. And right. So now
[2:49:29] we're talking we're talking about a gated event which has a
[2:49:32] food and beverage program as a main core of its component. Not
[2:49:37] according to my motion, sir. I'm eliminating that. And
[2:49:40] that's part of we're not. So we're talking about not
[2:49:42] bringing in from the outside. Everything that you work with
[2:49:46] here will be either pre ordered and ready for you at the event,
[2:49:51] or we'll have packaged things that will be there inside the
[2:49:55] event, but not bringing in from public. With all due respect,
[2:49:58] with all due respect, you're asking us to pay you to compete
[2:50:03] with our own restaurants in the downtown? No, we're doing that
[2:50:06] in conjunction with the restaurants here. And and the
[2:50:11] difference is, excuse me, the the restaurants are not really
[2:50:15] it is my equipped. It is my time. I'm sorry. The
[2:50:18] Commissioner move forward. It is my time. I get what you're
[2:50:22] trying to say. I haven't heard that you got a commitment from
[2:50:25] any of the restaurants in the downtown to prepare those
[2:50:27] picnic baskets. You may very well have local businesses
[2:50:31] preparing those baskets, and that's great for Hollywood. But
[2:50:34] if we spend $200,000 and we give $200,000 to the businesses
[2:50:39] in the downtown without having any event we want downtown, let
[2:50:44] me finish. If we just give out the money, just like we were
[2:50:47] giving them out to you, let's say, hey, you know, downtown
[2:50:50] businesses, here's $200,000. Fill the downtown with people.
[2:50:53] I'm willing to bet you that we will fill that park. We will be
[2:50:57] able to do other things for the residents of the city of
[2:51:00] Hollywood to do it. There's a there's a value to what you're
[2:51:04] doing. I just don't believe that $200,000 is that value.
[2:51:08] When we're actually encouraging you to compete with the brick
[2:51:10] and mortar restaurants in the downtown, you telling me that
[2:51:13] those people are going to be able to preorder those picnic
[2:51:16] baskets, and you're going to be provided because you're going
[2:51:19] to have them there, sir, unless you tell me you're buying it
[2:51:23] from any other restaurants in the downtown, you're competing
[2:51:26] with those people. That's not the purpose of my spending the
[2:51:29] money. And we and we feel that's all I see. So you will
[2:51:35] have the time to respond to me. Just like I sat here patiently
[2:51:38] and I waited for all my colleagues to talk, to talk. I
[2:51:41] represent the businesses in the downtown, and I respect my
[2:51:44] colleagues that feel otherwise. I don't have a problem with
[2:51:46] that. But we also have and I'm looking at the city manager
[2:51:49] with this in our parks and RECs. We also have other events in
[2:51:52] the downtown that they come to us and grovel to us for money,
[2:51:58] and they bring thousands and thousands of people to the
[2:52:00] downtown. They spend a great deal of money to support those
[2:52:03] businesses in the downtown. What message are we sending to
[2:52:07] our downtown businesses when we allow something like this to
[2:52:10] happen? That brings nothing to the downtown except a good
[2:52:14] experience for some. And the businesses that are there are
[2:52:17] suffering. I'm not the one just saying that there's an email
[2:52:19] that say that. Some of my colleagues have brought that to
[2:52:22] the attention. I'm sorry. Well, I know, but my point, my point
[2:52:26] is this is something that we need to bring under control. I
[2:52:31] did I voted for you guys, by the way. I don't have a problem
[2:52:34] with that. But when I see that it's counterproductive to what
[2:52:37] we've been trying to do for years with the downtown
[2:52:39] businesses, you need to adjust your program because we're
[2:52:42] paying you to do this. So when you say that you're going to
[2:52:46] have picnic baskets, no, I have a motion that I got a second to
[2:52:49] eliminate that because I don't want you to have those picnic
[2:52:53] baskets, because that takes food away from those
[2:52:55] restaurants. Unless you say, we're going to have a contract
[2:52:58] with those restaurants that are going to provide that. That's
[2:53:02] not what he's saying. With all due respect, please. I'm ready
[2:53:04] to we're ready to say that, sir. We only want businesses from
[2:53:10] downtown. We haven't secured them and solicited them as yet.
[2:53:14] We are working. We are working closely with with the Downtown
[2:53:19] Business Association in the city. Okay. Those locations,
[2:53:22] this let's postpone this. We got time between now and
[2:53:26] November. Let's. If we have time, we have time to do it.
[2:53:29] Okay, let's postpone this. And you come with the businesses in
[2:53:31] the downtown that you're going to use for this. And I will
[2:53:34] support it 100% into into you do that. This is just a story
[2:53:38] that I just, quite frankly, don't believe. I don't know
[2:53:41] many of the businesses in downtown that will create those
[2:53:44] business baskets. So with all due respect, we have them. Yeah.
[2:53:47] No, yeah. Motion to I just wanted to add one, one thing.
[2:53:50] In the past we have tried. If you could just hang on. Sorry.
[2:53:54] We have a motion to continue from Commissioner Hernandez.
[2:53:56] There a second on that right now. I'll second it for
[2:53:59] discussion. Okay. We have a motion to continue the item.
[2:54:01] Let's continue discussion. And I like look, if you're going to
[2:54:05] do this, you will prove me wrong. And I will be the first
[2:54:08] one that will say I'm wrong. I made a mistake. It's a great
[2:54:12] event. But until that happens, the experiences that we have
[2:54:16] had in the past that we have here event competing with the
[2:54:19] downtown businesses, I don't want to see that you want us to
[2:54:22] continue to bring up the jazz festival. We want to be part of
[2:54:25] it. I like the street vendor idea. I like all those other
[2:54:28] things, sit with the business owners, have a plan and come
[2:54:31] back to us so they can support it. In this way I can support
[2:54:34] it, otherwise I cannot, because it was brought to the attention
[2:54:38] that some of the businesses this last Friday or Saturday
[2:54:42] was some of the worst weekend they had yet. We had an event
[2:54:45] where you had 1000 people. So if if the people that are
[2:54:48] coming are not local people and they're coming from somewhere
[2:54:51] else, they got to park somewhere. Now we're competing
[2:54:53] for parking spot. Let's all work together. We have the
[2:54:56] ability to do it. We seem to have the money. We seem to be
[2:54:59] able to have the grant from there. So I like to postpone
[2:55:03] this for two weeks if possible, so that we can come back. Can
[2:55:05] we do the time? Certain. So if we do continue the item, we
[2:55:08] would need to choose a time certain, a date two weeks from
[2:55:12] now. Would that be all right? I have a quasi judicial hearing
[2:55:15] or. Yeah, I have an idea. Go ahead. I'd like to hear your
[2:55:19] idea. I've already had discussion on it. Well, no, I
[2:55:21] would support. We already had discussion on it. I would I
[2:55:24] would support approving this today. I can't based based
[2:55:28] based on discussion parliamentary procedure. You
[2:55:32] could reconsider your vote in two weeks at the next meeting
[2:55:36] per why providing that they don't deliver on securing deals
[2:55:40] with downtown, I prefer that they. I would support
[2:55:43] reconsideration. No, no, no, I understand that. But in two
[2:55:45] weeks then we're going to have all this thing again. I would
[2:55:48] just rather postpone this, have them talk to the businesses in
[2:55:51] the downtown, come back to us with a plan and have the
[2:55:54] businesses in downtown says, you know what, they've
[2:55:56] committed to this and let's do that because this way the
[2:55:59] businesses in the downtown will feel that they're part of this.
[2:56:01] Peter, I think you've made your point. Well, loud and clear and
[2:56:04] okay, we understand it. There is a motion to continue on the
[2:56:07] floor as being discussed right now. And so why don't we go
[2:56:11] ahead and run through the queue, and then hopefully we'll take
[2:56:14] care of the item? I don't think that the issue on the
[2:56:18] continuance is that much of a problem. If it, you know, has
[2:56:21] staff and Rhythm Foundation come back with a plan after
[2:56:23] they've met with the business association, got some
[2:56:25] businesses to be on board, maybe better explain to us how
[2:56:28] the picnic basket works with procuring the. Let's just call
[2:56:31] it the the picnic items from the downtown businesses. Who's
[2:56:36] going to package it? Maybe their vendor in the park not
[2:56:39] expecting the businesses to put picnic baskets together. So
[2:56:41] everybody does what they're good at, which is one cooks
[2:56:44] food, the other one puts it in a package, situates it at the
[2:56:47] park, give us an impression about what the investment you
[2:56:49] want to make in the park is to kind of show us how the money
[2:56:53] is being well invested in a new novel. Way to use the new and
[2:56:57] improved Arts Park area with the with the fence and what
[2:56:59] have you. And so I think it could be you could impress us
[2:57:03] more. But right now, realize the ask and it's not your fault
[2:57:06] because we, on a whim said, hey, let's approve $200,000 for a
[2:57:09] jazz festival. And we asked you to do that. And you guys are
[2:57:12] saying, okay, well, I can do it. So I guess we're second
[2:57:15] guessing ourselves, some of us a little bit on the dollar
[2:57:18] figure, because it is more than we've ever spent on a free show.
[2:57:21] And so maybe even when you look at this, you say, well, gee
[2:57:24] whiz, city, city of Hollywood, we realize we can do this with
[2:57:28] 150, and I'll be happy and have the same impact. And let's
[2:57:31] reserve the extra 50,000 for, you know, another jazz or
[2:57:36] another music festival in December or in January or
[2:57:38] whatever. So we don't have to blow it all on Saturday just
[2:57:41] because we gave you a budget. Maybe you can say, you know, we
[2:57:44] don't need to put it all on Saturday because we're all here
[2:57:47] to work and promote events throughout the year, not just
[2:57:50] this one day. It's not a goodbye rhythm foundation one
[2:57:52] time let's, you know, spend it all on one day and keep it and
[2:57:56] that's it. So I'm okay with the continuance. And then coming
[2:57:59] back, you know, being, you know, developed a little further and
[2:58:01] presented with a little more detail, if that makes the
[2:58:04] commissioners, you know, feel better about it. Let's go to
[2:58:07] Commissioner Quintana, then Gruber, then calorie. Thank you.
[2:58:10] Mayor. Yeah. So I certainly am in agreement of giving it more
[2:58:15] time to give it a little bit more concreteness. When I was
[2:58:20] there on Saturday, both James and Adam were talking to me
[2:58:27] about exactly what you all are asking for. They had told me
[2:58:31] about working with the downtown businesses and having them be
[2:58:34] the one who provide the food they talk to me about involving
[2:58:39] the art and culture Center, like it sounded like that was
[2:58:41] already part of their thought. The thing they said is they
[2:58:45] didn't want to move forward with that until they knew that
[2:58:49] they that we were all right with them doing that. Like
[2:58:52] that's why they hadn't reached out yet to the to try to work
[2:58:56] something out with the downtown businesses because they wanted
[2:58:59] to get past today before they went and did that kind of work.
[2:59:03] So just assuming goodwill, I'm going to assume that. And I
[2:59:08] guess I just want us to consider that it is a startup
[2:59:15] venture that could potentially bring people from all over the
[2:59:19] country to come here. And you're absolutely right about,
[2:59:22] you know, each there's different people with different
[2:59:26] preferences in music, and maybe some of you are not jazz fans,
[2:59:30] but there are I mean, there is a market nationally for
[2:59:33] something like that, if I may just say. And my so my
[2:59:38] experience is that 80s music is plentiful in South Florida that
[2:59:46] often the concerts that come here from other parts of the
[2:59:49] world is from the 80s and the 90s, and that this is something
[2:59:52] different and unusual that we usually don't get here. And so
[2:59:56] it would be a way to offer something that's unique. So for
[3:00:03] me, it just seems like it depends, right? So like, yeah,
[3:00:07] $50,000 for Saturday. But that's because you may not have
[3:00:10] ever heard of Joe Lovano, but Joe Lovano has his Grammy
[3:00:14] winning saxophonist. He's won a grant, grant won a Grammy and
[3:00:22] 14 nominations. He's taught jazz. I mean, since the 1970s,
[3:00:30] that guy has released 40 albums as a jazz leader. So it's not
[3:00:35] like Joe Schmo from down the street. Who's local. This is a
[3:00:39] big name nationally, internationally known performer.
[3:00:43] So what I'm saying is we could be attracting people from
[3:00:46] outside the area for this event. It was a one time event to see
[3:00:53] whether they just they didn't do the kind of promotion that
[3:00:57] will be done for the jazz festival, for this, for the
[3:01:00] jazz picnic or whatever it ends up being. So I just would like
[3:01:04] for us to consider that and to not necessarily assume ill will.
[3:01:09] And it's just communicating what we want. Thank you. Let's
[3:01:12] go to Commissioner Gruber. Yeah. Thank you. You know, I did
[3:01:17] reach out to James yesterday just because I was concerned
[3:01:20] about this. And I definitely made my opinion known that with
[3:01:25] especially with this. But even the other shows that we need
[3:01:28] major economic impact on the downtown businesses. And James
[3:01:31] and I were on the same page. So that's why I was comfortable
[3:01:35] today going forward with with regards to the street
[3:01:40] performers, you know, listen, the goal of what we want to do
[3:01:44] when we bring people to Arts Park is then bring those boots
[3:01:47] into downtown. What's that? Right? So knowing that we have
[3:01:53] art walk on the same night, usually that's from 6 to 10, I
[3:01:59] would suggest. I mean, the street performers are good, but
[3:02:01] maybe in that budget that we're giving you, we do one of the
[3:02:06] semi headliners in that time frame. That's after the
[3:02:10] festival. So that brings those boots. Somebody says, hey,
[3:02:14] here's whatever band, you know that and some of that budget
[3:02:17] goes to that. And that means they have to walk through
[3:02:19] downtown. And even if they weren't going to do anything,
[3:02:22] they may get an ice cream at one of our places. They'll see
[3:02:25] what's going on. So I think when I first heard that was
[3:02:28] going to be the same night, I thought that was one of the
[3:02:31] dumbest things I ever heard. But now that I've processed it,
[3:02:34] I think, you know, we can we can use it to our advantage. So
[3:02:38] I would like that if we go forward with this, and I'd like
[3:02:41] to go forward with this, that that stage, which is going to
[3:02:44] be there anyway, is activated with one of the talents that
[3:02:47] we're purchasing in that in that budget. So. Yep. And that
[3:02:49] brings those people right through downtown. We're putting
[3:02:52] it on 19th still Art walk, is that right? It's in the
[3:02:55] downtown on, on, on 19th. I thought it was on 20th. I
[3:03:00] missed it the last couple days. But now it's facing south the
[3:03:03] stage right on on 19th. It's no longer at the end of Harrison
[3:03:08] Street. It's by Morning Star. Right, right, right. So yeah.
[3:03:10] So I would suggest that just, you know, I don't want to
[3:03:14] micromanage your production, but I think that's a way to
[3:03:17] bring them through. And it was very clear when we were on the
[3:03:20] phone that whatever food program you and I agree with
[3:03:23] you, these brick and mortar restaurants aren't set up to be
[3:03:25] vendors at festivals, so you can't ask them to do that. But
[3:03:28] you had said you had an idea that you would create something
[3:03:31] that people are ordering and whatever. So again, if as long
[3:03:34] as we're on the same page that you say, hey, we've engaged
[3:03:37] with these downtown restaurants and using them and we do it
[3:03:40] that way again, I'm, I'm in favor of this. So yeah. Are you
[3:03:43] okay with continuing it? We can bring it back in two weeks, but
[3:03:46] I can just tell you that that that's probably going to need
[3:03:49] to make a decision then because the yeah, the good talent's
[3:03:52] already half of them are probably gone. You know, you
[3:03:55] got to book them a year in advance, usually commissioner,
[3:03:57] vice mayor. Curiosity, why are we not charging since we put
[3:04:02] the gate. The whole understanding is that once we
[3:04:06] put up the fence, I'll go ahead. Easier to that we would be able
[3:04:10] to start ticketing. And if these are world renowned,
[3:04:12] people from all over the nation are going to come to hear jazz.
[3:04:15] Why wouldn't they pay? I pay money to go to the hard rock,
[3:04:19] to listen to a band that's not even as well renowned as you're
[3:04:22] stating. So why wouldn't we charge for this? So, Vice Mayor,
[3:04:25] the the reason that this event is coming forward, about a
[3:04:28] little over a year ago, the Commission directed us to put
[3:04:33] together a jazz free jazz festival, and we set the budget
[3:04:37] at that time at $200,000 to do so. James, if he thinks he can
[3:04:41] charge a ticket cover here. That's why it was a right but.
[3:04:44] But free when you say free for the public, it's this isn't
[3:04:48] free. This is question is dollars. No, we were told to do
[3:04:52] it as a free event to the public. Not I don't remember
[3:04:55] that. Thank you. James. I'd like your opinion on the
[3:04:57] ticketing on on if ticketing this makes sense. And if that's
[3:05:01] secures just enough, you know the same. We want a
[3:05:04] pre-registration. We do want people to register to come in
[3:05:07] to the to the park that day. We want them. We want to know
[3:05:11] they're coming. We we will not charge them to come in. We have
[3:05:14] an area where you could be general admission, but we want
[3:05:17] them to engage in the hospitality amenities of the
[3:05:21] event. And that's that's the really the mission here. That's
[3:05:23] a culinary component to a to a music festival. So how do you
[3:05:28] do that? You do that through through a pre-ordering of the
[3:05:32] food Will not be free, but we're not making money on it.
[3:05:35] It's just going to be a pass through to the to the
[3:05:38] restaurants that provide the food. I think that we're
[3:05:41] setting, setting a, a very challenging precedent because
[3:05:47] if one venue is going to charge for food and so forth, we're
[3:05:51] going to have to continue that. I don't think that that's the
[3:05:54] proper. I mean, personally, I think my understanding when we
[3:05:59] put the fence, because I was against the fence, because it
[3:06:02] is a public park. So now we're blocking it in, we're charging
[3:06:05] for events. And I understood that it was a revenue
[3:06:08] generating type of service. And that's why we had to have the
[3:06:12] the fence. If we have the fence, we charge for the concert that
[3:06:16] covers the costs of the bands that are coming in. And then
[3:06:19] there's other ways to go about bringing that foot traffic in,
[3:06:23] which I still think needs to be promoted, but to lay out that
[3:06:28] amount of money to bring a fee, a free. And I, I don't remember
[3:06:33] a free festival, but I could be completely wrong. And please
[3:06:37] forgive me for not remembering that, but a free festival at
[3:06:41] this amount. I know that I spoke about it, that it was
[3:06:44] very a large. I think it was 350,000, was the original ask.
[3:06:51] But I think we need to charge. If we have the fence, we have
[3:06:54] to start somewhere and this is the way we start. And then that
[3:06:57] way it covers the costs and not on the city. And this way we
[3:07:01] can bleed it into the downtown and promote it. This is this is
[3:07:05] the challenge that we're, that we're working with, and we're
[3:07:07] trying to find a way to use the park in a, in an upgraded
[3:07:12] amenity sense. So you will have a pre-reserved plan, what
[3:07:18] you're going to do when you come in, you're going to have
[3:07:21] an area that's set aside for you with a picnic blanket.
[3:07:24] You're going to have a program of food and beverage that goes
[3:07:27] with that. And so to come up with that, with that amenity,
[3:07:31] yet doing it as a free show is the challenge that we've been
[3:07:34] faced with. So we we were we were tasked with the free show
[3:07:38] and that's how we're coming up with the, with the idea. And,
[3:07:41] and we have different tiers that we're looking at some of
[3:07:44] it just seeded not necessarily a picnic area. We have. We also
[3:07:49] intend to bring in some folding chairs to the area and use it
[3:07:53] as a seated venue as well, because this music does lend
[3:07:56] itself to sitting and listening. It's not the standing and
[3:07:59] dancing type of show, so we're looking to upgrade that level
[3:08:03] of service in the park. So we welcome the opportunity to have
[3:08:07] these discussions and come back and, and show our hospitality
[3:08:12] amenity plans more, more in more detail because we didn't
[3:08:16] we didn't come prepared for that today. But we can do that.
[3:08:19] And we and we have to do that. That's the work we have to do.
[3:08:23] That's the challenge of working with the park now as a gated
[3:08:26] facility. Yet we were told this is a free event, so that's how
[3:08:30] we're approaching it. So if we didn't tell you, this would be
[3:08:33] a free event. Do you feel like this is an event that's
[3:08:36] appropriate to charge a a ticket for? Is that a is that a
[3:08:39] maybe when you come back in two weeks, you can tell us if
[3:08:43] you've looked at an alternative, you know, direction for the
[3:08:47] event. That could be if it were to be ticketed and if that's a
[3:08:50] successful direction, if that's what you prefer. And, and
[3:08:53] propose something different than the picnic idea, then by
[3:08:55] all means propose it. I don't want your hands because you all
[3:09:00] are the producers that are, you know, they're going to be
[3:09:03] evaluated on the success of the event. And if we've given you
[3:09:06] parameters that you know, you're trying to work with but
[3:09:08] you don't think are ideal, then I want to hear that. I don't
[3:09:11] want you to just do what we said because we thought it was
[3:09:15] a good idea, you know, in fact, we want to know who's coming.
[3:09:18] We want to we want to be able to communicate with them in
[3:09:21] advance. Is it going to be a different way of using the park?
[3:09:25] Don't come with all of your, you know, packages and chairs
[3:09:27] and everything. We're going to be providing those things. So
[3:09:30] we do want a way to know who's coming and to engage them
[3:09:33] beforehand. So it's not just a walk up free event. So these
[3:09:36] are the challenges that we're it seems beautiful, except that
[3:09:39] if we spend this much money and we don't have thousands of
[3:09:42] people plural, which there won't be room if everybody's
[3:09:44] got a picnic blanket set up, then I'm afraid about how many
[3:09:48] people will be able to accommodate and not have room.
[3:09:51] And then we've spent $200,000 to have 400 people have a
[3:09:55] beautiful night. I don't know, we're looking at all of the
[3:09:59] capacities in the different tiers that we that we can do.
[3:10:02] We think we can still do a great number of people in the
[3:10:05] thousands for sure. And it's not going to be your highest
[3:10:08] capacity number ever, because that's a different type of
[3:10:11] setup. But we think this is where the arts park should be
[3:10:14] going. Now, as it's gated venue, we want to be able to provide
[3:10:18] this higher level of experience and bring in these other genres
[3:10:22] that are that are more, I guess, more sophisticated. I got you.
[3:10:26] All right. So we do have a motion to continue on the floor.
[3:10:30] June 3rd and June 17th are our upcoming city commission
[3:10:33] meetings. Before I go to Commissioner Hernandez, city
[3:10:35] manager, is June 3rd or 17 preferred by you? That's two
[3:10:40] weeks versus one month rhythm Foundation. What do you prefer?
[3:10:44] Happy. Happy to come back. Third, pick the date you want
[3:10:48] to be back in two weeks with the plan or in a month, two
[3:10:52] weeks, two weeks. All right. June 3rd at 2 p.m. is when it
[3:10:55] would be. Commissioner Hernandez, you have the floor.
[3:10:57] Thank you, mayor. And for the record, I love jazz, smooth
[3:11:02] jazz. I either either jazz. I love jazz because it's good
[3:11:06] music. And you can learn a great deal from just listening
[3:11:09] to the music. So this is not against music. This is not
[3:11:12] against the Rhythm Foundation. This is against us giving more
[3:11:18] money for one music versus another when we're supposed to
[3:11:21] be even keel when it comes to that. And if I heard you
[3:11:26] correctly, this is a free event, but you cannot come free at the
[3:11:31] door, which means you got to pre-register. Do people have to
[3:11:34] buy anything to pre-register? Can I just send I'm going to
[3:11:39] come to the event or do I need to purchase a picnic and all
[3:11:43] that other stuff and what have, you know, you would know on the
[3:11:46] record? Well, the question the that is the question that we're
[3:11:49] that we're we're struggling with. We had looked to do it as
[3:11:52] a free registration opportunity or the preprogramed opportunity.
[3:11:59] So both a general admission area and a reserve area, let's
[3:12:05] call it where you will have a plan. So we're looking for a
[3:12:08] hybrid here. So exactly. I'm looking forward to see what you
[3:12:12] bring back in two weeks. And the people that you're going to
[3:12:15] be talking to the downtown and what have you, because this is
[3:12:18] what some of the people are saying that they don't want
[3:12:21] they don't want to the haves and the have nots, because
[3:12:25] we're paying for this. We're the we're the public funding
[3:12:28] for this. And yet if you pay, you're going to have a picnic
[3:12:31] area, you're going to have your wine, your cheese and
[3:12:34] everything else. If you don't pay, you're going to be with a
[3:12:37] hurt on the back. And we're paying for the whole thing. We
[3:12:40] underwriting this. So I would love to hear more about when
[3:12:42] you come back in two weeks, and please come back with the
[3:12:45] people that you're going to be working for with in the
[3:12:48] downtown and a complete plan that we can actually approve
[3:12:51] and look forward to having a long term relationship with you.
[3:12:55] But at the end of the day, this is something that it was, as
[3:13:00] some people say, half baked at this point because you yourself
[3:13:03] don't know you have a concept that you want to follow, but
[3:13:06] you don't have a plan yet to that concept. So I'm looking
[3:13:09] forward to hearing them two weeks. All right, so we've got
[3:13:12] support for the continuance, and we'll take a vote on that
[3:13:15] for in two weeks on June 3rd. Let's close it out with
[3:13:17] Commissioners Hernandez and Schumann on the continuance. Go
[3:13:20] ahead. Commissioner. Yeah that's what's on the floor. You
[3:13:25] go ahead Kevin. Okay. So I think that some of this is good
[3:13:30] compromise. And this isn't the early 2000 anymore. I think a
[3:13:36] lot of our restaurants are prepared to do Uber Eats. And I
[3:13:41] think that would be a great concept as part of this. Maybe
[3:13:44] not Uber Eats, but Boucher brothers, I don't know if they
[3:13:48] talked to you guys about it, but they talked about doing
[3:13:51] something similar on the beach where people could order from
[3:13:53] an app and it gives their GPS location on the sand and they
[3:13:57] could deliver food. I think that similar concept could be
[3:14:00] done here, whether they're preorder or order at the time.
[3:14:04] They could order through a Arts park app, bring you food from a
[3:14:09] certain restaurant similar to the ship. What's the. The
[3:14:16] alleyway that is the the ship. The shipyard, is that what it's
[3:14:21] called? Where people can order from three different places
[3:14:23] through an app, or the food hall where you could order on
[3:14:26] the app. You could do it in a arts park with participating
[3:14:33] restaurants. I think you guys got two weeks to come up with
[3:14:37] this, but and I know that pressure's on, but I think that
[3:14:40] some of the restaurants in downtown would be happy to
[3:14:42] compete with the food hall in Arts Park through an app like
[3:14:45] that. All right. Commissioner, the continuance, nothing on the
[3:14:51] continuance. Okay. All right. All those in favor of
[3:14:54] continuing the resolution to our upcoming June 3rd meeting
[3:14:57] at 2 p.m. All those in favor, say aye. Aye, aye. Any opposed?
[3:15:02] Hearing none. The item carries unanimously. Thank you all.
[3:15:06] Appreciate it. And looking forward to to you all coming
[3:15:10] back in two weeks. Go ahead Commissioner. Thank you. I just
[3:15:12] want to say that this is before us today because a year ago,
[3:15:17] this Commission wanted to have the re birth of the Hollywood
[3:15:23] Jazz Fest, which, as I understand, was always a free
[3:15:25] event. We did it for 20 years. It was nationally recognized.
[3:15:29] And and that's kind of where we were going. It was a jazz fest
[3:15:34] that was famous in Hollywood, and we all agreed to revitalize
[3:15:39] it. And I think you're right, Commissioner Clary, you said,
[3:15:41] let's tone it down. And we did. If you remember, it started
[3:15:44] with 500 000, because that was the budget that we had for the
[3:15:48] centennial and we all scaled it back. So my concern is only
[3:15:52] that I don't want to cheap out here. I want to make sure that
[3:15:56] this is something that we're all proud of, that it's the
[3:15:58] first of something that's just going to grow and grow and grow,
[3:16:01] have national recognition. We already have serious on board.
[3:16:04] I understand your concerns, Commissioner Hernandez, but I
[3:16:09] thought the picnic thing was fabulous. Bring all of our
[3:16:12] downtown restaurants. You're going to tell them how to do it.
[3:16:15] We're going to make sure they don't have single use plastic.
[3:16:18] We're going to have I mean, I grew up with this at
[3:16:21] Merriweather Park and Mary. Time. So I just think that we
[3:16:26] shouldn't lose sight of the mandate that we gave to our,
[3:16:30] our parks Department to put together a nationally
[3:16:34] recognized free jazz fest in our city. And I'm really
[3:16:39] excited to see what you guys come back with. So thank you.
[3:16:42] All right. Thank you all. No one expected this to take this
[3:16:45] much discussion, but thank you for for talking it out with us.
[3:16:48] All right, ladies and gentlemen, on to our regular agenda. We've
[3:16:52] got four items. It is surprisingly 420 almost. And so
[3:17:01] it looks like we'll take up the time. I thought we'd have a
[3:17:04] break. All right, let's go to resolution of the city
[3:17:06] commission. City, Hollywood authorizing the city to accept
[3:17:09] the Florida Department of Environmental Protection 25,
[3:17:10] 2026 land Water Conservation Fund Program grant in the
[3:17:13] amount of $1.5 million for the construction of Sunset Park.
[3:17:17] Authorizing the matching funds. ET cetera. ET cetera. ET cetera.
[3:17:20] We have a motion from Vice Mayor, second from Commissioner
[3:17:23] Hernandez. Are there any speaker cards on item 28? We do.
[3:17:32] Claire. Garrett, come on up. Hello again. I'm here to speak
[3:17:50] in favor of accepting the Florida Department of
[3:17:53] Environmental Protection 2025 2026 land Water Conservation
[3:17:59] Fund Program grant in the amount of $1.5 million for the
[3:18:03] construction of Sunset Park and authorizing the 1 to 1 matching
[3:18:07] funds that are required. Many members of the community,
[3:18:11] myself included, work hard to campaign for the passage of the
[3:18:15] general Obligation Bond, which included funds sufficient to
[3:18:19] purchase this property but insufficient for transformation
[3:18:23] into a new passive park for the enjoyment of all the residents.
[3:18:27] Many civic associations, including the Park Civic
[3:18:30] Association, which I belong to, wrote support letters in
[3:18:34] October of 2024 to accompany the application for this grant.
[3:18:38] The city has been working diligently to apply for all
[3:18:42] available grants, and it is so exciting to see some of the
[3:18:46] funding for construction starting to fall into place.
[3:18:49] But it is bittersweet that local activists Karen Caputo is
[3:18:54] no longer here with us. To celebrate this accomplishment.
[3:18:58] She devoted many years of her life to the Herculean effort to
[3:19:02] save this property from commercial development. I'm
[3:19:05] taking this opportunity to suggest that when all the
[3:19:08] necessary funding is acquired and the passive park is finally
[3:19:12] built, that Karen's name be remembered somewhere at this
[3:19:16] property. Thank you, thank you. Claire, we have a motion and a
[3:19:19] second to approve the item. Vice mayor. No, I said motion
[3:19:24] to approve. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed?
[3:19:28] Hearing none. The item carries five zero with Commissioners
[3:19:32] Peterman and Quintana away from the dais. They can enter their
[3:19:36] votes later if they wish. Item 29 is resolution of the City
[3:19:39] Commission. City of Hollywood authorizing the appropriate
[3:19:40] city officials to issue a change order to blank to
[3:19:43] blanket purchase agreement. PA 601132 with SFM janitorial
[3:19:48] services for janitorial services to increase the
[3:19:51] contract amount as provided on the agenda. I know this is an
[3:19:56] item that you probably reviewed with this additional facilities
[3:20:00] that would be serviced for improved janitorial services.
[3:20:03] Motion to approve. We have a motion from Vice Mayor Kolody,
[3:20:06] second from Commissioner Gruber. No speaker cards on item 29.
[3:20:10] All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none. Item
[3:20:13] carries unanimously. Commissioner Quintana, did you
[3:20:18] want to register a vote for item 28 on the on sunset? Is
[3:20:21] that a yes? Yes. Thank you. Clerk you have that item 30 is
[3:20:26] a resolution. The City Commission city Hollywood
[3:20:28] authorizing the city to execute a memo of understanding with
[3:20:31] the city of Lauderhill. Should the City of Hollywood be
[3:20:34] awarded as a sub recipient of the 2026 World Cup event
[3:20:37] funding facilitated by the county and the city of
[3:20:41] Lauderhill. Through their arrangement in an amount up to
[3:20:45] $65,000, authorizing the required 1 to 1 matching funds,
[3:20:49] etc. we have a motion of approval from Vice Mayor Kolody
[3:20:52] and a second from Commissioner Gruber, and no speaker cards on
[3:20:55] item 30. Pat. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any
[3:21:00] opposed? Hearing none. Item carries unanimously.
[3:21:02] Commissioner Behrmann, did you want to register a vote on the
[3:21:07] Grant for sunset on item 28. Yes, yes and yes, Pat, it is
[3:21:11] for 23:05 p.m. comments will be 5 p.m. Let's go ahead to any
[3:21:17] comments by the City Commission, city attorney, city manager,
[3:21:20] Commissioner Shuhan. Go ahead. Thank you. Mayor. Really just
[3:21:27] wanted to reiterate to our team that the county has made
[3:21:34] available $20 million in county resiliency grants. I know VIN
[3:21:38] and Tamera and Adam, you're all aware of it, but it's a great
[3:21:42] opportunity to take advantage and get some county money to do
[3:21:46] some of our work. And the only other thing is really for Jovan,
[3:21:49] and that is we're getting emails from residents about
[3:21:53] overnight parking that they used to be able to have it, and
[3:21:57] that different parts of the city are being treated
[3:22:00] differently. And we just need some clarity. In my opinion, if
[3:22:06] parking is sitting empty overnight and someone has a
[3:22:09] city parking pass, I don't really see an issue with it.
[3:22:12] But it seems like in some places it's okay and some
[3:22:15] places it's not. So we just need to get a better
[3:22:18] understanding as to the why. When it's parking that's just
[3:22:22] sitting unused overnight. So, you know, I know whenever I get
[3:22:27] an email about it, it's been forwarded to you or Roger
[3:22:30] specifically on the barrier island. There are places where
[3:22:33] it's says, you know, residents only overnight. And yet in
[3:22:37] other areas, even residents can't use it. So if there's a
[3:22:43] need where the parking is being utilized for another purpose,
[3:22:48] like, like the problem we had at Keating, for example,
[3:22:51] something like that makes sense where we really had to crack
[3:22:54] down. But in areas where it's just empty, I would like us to
[3:22:58] take a look and otherwise that's really it. Thank you.
[3:23:02] Thank you, Commissioner Hernandez. Thank you mayor.
[3:23:10] Summer is coming and the rains are coming with it, even though
[3:23:13] we've missed the rain because there's been a drought where we
[3:23:16] are. But if it's at all possible, if we could clean the
[3:23:19] drains and address that, that that's that's pivotal for some
[3:23:24] of the issues that we're having. Because as soon as it starts
[3:23:27] raining, it's going to happen at the same time. And if we
[3:23:30] don't have the drains, it's going to be harder to keep up
[3:23:33] with. When it comes to something like that. Speed
[3:23:35] bumps. We've received emails of crashes on 24th Avenue and
[3:23:41] particularly Van Buren Street, and I'd like to have an update
[3:23:46] at some point if we do want something like this. It's been
[3:23:49] months that we talked about it. I met with PD, I've met with
[3:23:52] the engineering department the residents are clamoring to for
[3:23:55] some kind of update, whether it's good or bad, just so they
[3:23:57] can know what's going on. Also, on 22nd Avenue, we were
[3:24:02] supposed to be doing something with that. It doesn't have to
[3:24:04] be right now. Just get me the information so that I can
[3:24:07] provide that to the residents. And just a comment about what
[3:24:11] we were discussing earlier today. It's hard for some of
[3:24:15] the businesses in the downtown to support events that garner
[3:24:21] this kind of expense. When they themselves put events that
[3:24:26] bring in more and more people, not only to their businesses,
[3:24:30] but to all the other businesses around in the area, and they
[3:24:33] have to fight for the money to get. So if we can just have.
[3:24:38] And this is a great idea, but what I saw and heard today,
[3:24:43] it's something that they want us to give a blank check for a
[3:24:46] concept that they haven't really ironed out yet. They
[3:24:49] have an idea and it's a great idea, but it's the same as
[3:24:53] somebody's paying for it. Because if you're telling me
[3:24:56] that you're going to have a picnic area reserved for you
[3:24:59] because you bought a picnic, they called it an amenity, but
[3:25:04] let's call it a package, and you're going to be set aside
[3:25:07] and you're going to do this and you're going to have you. And
[3:25:10] if you didn't, you have to register to come in and then
[3:25:13] you would be in a different place. That to me is not what I
[3:25:17] consider the concept that we talked about a year ago of a
[3:25:21] free event and call me novice. I may be novice when it comes
[3:25:26] to this, but a free event is something that we said, this is
[3:25:29] happening, come and enjoy it. And if you come in at the last
[3:25:32] minute because you didn't know that you were going to be in
[3:25:35] town or you moving, you coming into town or something like
[3:25:39] that, that's what I envision when it comes to a free event.
[3:25:41] But when you have an event that you have to make arrangements
[3:25:44] to be there because by registering and then if you
[3:25:47] purchase a package, you have the ability to have an
[3:25:50] exclusive area. I gather that. So we need to, you know, look
[3:25:54] at that idea. If that is really what we want for something like
[3:25:57] this, because the average folk in my district may not be able
[3:26:01] to afford that picnic package to come to their own park in
[3:26:05] their own backyard. So we need to ask those questions within
[3:26:10] this two weeks and maybe talk to them and see what we can
[3:26:14] clear up in order to come up with a, with something that we
[3:26:17] can all be proud of. I don't have anything against the event.
[3:26:21] I just don't want to be counterproductive to the money
[3:26:23] that we're spending in our downtown to bring people to the
[3:26:26] downtown so they can come to the businesses. That was my
[3:26:29] point, and thank you all for allowing this two weeks for
[3:26:32] those things to be cleared out. Thank you. Thank you,
[3:26:35] Commissioner Hernandez. I think it'll be a good use of of the
[3:26:39] time to develop the concept further. Let's go ahead to Vice
[3:26:42] Mayor for any comments. Thank you. I just wanted to touch
[3:26:48] base and let everyone know that after our last commission
[3:26:51] meeting, when we recognized Jerry Christiansen, and we're
[3:26:55] going to be putting his name on the Pal building. I went to
[3:26:59] work a couple days later and I try not to. I am a nurse at
[3:27:06] night and a commissioner during the day, and a lot of people
[3:27:09] don't know, believe it or not, that I'm a commissioner. And
[3:27:12] one gentleman stopped me in the hallway. He's a respiratory
[3:27:16] therapist supervisor, and he said, I just want to thank the
[3:27:19] city of Hollywood for recognizing Jerry Christensen.
[3:27:22] He was a vital role in his life, and he is where he is today.
[3:27:28] And I said, oh, were you the story that he had mentioned
[3:27:31] when he was here before us about the young man putting him?
[3:27:34] He said, no. He said, but every holiday Jerry would come and he
[3:27:39] would give us a check or he would bring us a basket, or he
[3:27:42] would always be willing to pick me up and take me somewhere. He
[3:27:46] even offered to take him and his brother to Japan one time
[3:27:48] on a family vacation with him and his wife, but he said he
[3:27:51] always thought the check came from the city of Hollywood
[3:27:54] because he worked at Powell and he was a police officer. But
[3:27:57] instead, he said he took one look at one of the checks one
[3:28:00] Christmas, and it was from him and his wife. And he said, you
[3:28:04] know, that guy is really, really special. And you guys
[3:28:06] are very, very blessed to have him in your city. And I can't
[3:28:10] thank you enough for doing what you guys did. It's really
[3:28:12] remarkable. So when you hear, you know, not everybody watches
[3:28:15] the TV and everyone hears all the bad that happens. But when
[3:28:17] you hear someone recognize the good that we do, it's really
[3:28:20] remarkable to hear that and to have him share his story. And
[3:28:23] he wants to be involved in actually be there the day that
[3:28:26] we put the name up. And I said, please share your story when
[3:28:30] you come. But I think that that was something positive to share
[3:28:33] with the commission of the good work that we do do opposed to
[3:28:36] all of the negative. In addition to that, I've had a
[3:28:40] lot of complaints about the school zone areas, ticketing,
[3:28:48] and in some places there are, prior to the school zone itself,
[3:28:52] flashing lights. And then in some areas there's not. And the
[3:28:56] areas that are not receiving the flashing lights, they come
[3:28:59] upon the school zone, which I would argue you have to
[3:29:03] recognize the school zone areas and not speed. And we've seen,
[3:29:07] as we've been reported on, that there's been a decrease of
[3:29:10] injuries and so forth. But if we're doing, for one, we should
[3:29:14] do for all. And in these areas that don't have the flashing
[3:29:17] lights to pre warn individuals that they're coming up on a
[3:29:21] school zone, then we should implement them because we have
[3:29:24] them in some areas. So people rely on that as a, I guess, a
[3:29:28] safety brake. Now my understanding is that the
[3:29:32] county has placed those flashing lights in certain
[3:29:36] areas where the schools aren't zones are at and not in others
[3:29:40] and individuals, unfortunately, are getting tickets that they
[3:29:46] wish they could contest because of the flashing lights. So I
[3:29:49] don't know how we can work with the county by placing these
[3:29:52] flashing lights at all the school zone areas to to pre
[3:29:57] alert to make aware because it is actually beneficial because
[3:30:00] people are slowing down and they are saving lives. And then
[3:30:03] it would eliminate the ticketing to some extent or
[3:30:07] eliminate the flashing lights. And people be aware of their
[3:30:10] school zones, which we all were prior, but we can't have for
[3:30:13] some and not for others. It's just not fair. And I think it
[3:30:16] makes it very challenging to, to, to force people to pay a
[3:30:21] ticket when some areas have it and some don't. And so this is
[3:30:24] a big concern that I've been brought to my attention. So I'm
[3:30:28] wondering if there's anybody to support the city looking into
[3:30:31] that and working with the county. Sure, sure. And maybe
[3:30:33] city manager we can get a report on, on, on that. And
[3:30:36] then the last thing that I have is we just talked about this
[3:30:39] jazz festival. You know, the the price tag is very high.
[3:30:45] We've all I've spoke about it at the last time, a year ago
[3:30:48] when we mentioned it, I asked to go small. We didn't. And
[3:30:51] here we are today. But if we implement something which is
[3:30:55] the gate to start charging for events, my understanding was
[3:30:59] once we have it, we need to incorporate that. Granted, it
[3:31:03] was said that it was a free concert, but I still feel that
[3:31:07] there is an opportunity for investment purposes. I feel
[3:31:12] like I'm the underdog on this, which is fine, and sometimes we
[3:31:15] have to take risks. You know, I'm getting text messages that
[3:31:19] jazz people don't like jazz. Jazz is an old thing and
[3:31:22] nobody's coming. I'm also getting people saying, bring
[3:31:25] the 80s back. There's always a mix, right? But sometimes we
[3:31:29] have to take chances that are beneficial. And if it doesn't
[3:31:32] work out, lesson learned, we don't move forward. But I think
[3:31:36] that this is an opportunity that we have to bring something
[3:31:39] back that was very beneficial to the city. I just am
[3:31:42] concerned about the cost. So I agree with you, Commissioner
[3:31:45] Hernandez, and I am looking forward to them coming back and
[3:31:47] discussing that. And the last thing I have is Claire just
[3:31:53] mentioned about naming the park. I spoke with Patty Anderson,
[3:31:55] who was one of Karen Caputo's best friends. She mentioned an
[3:32:00] element that she had mentioned it, an element at the park. And
[3:32:03] I think that that's a really great idea to memorize. Karen,
[3:32:05] of all the hard work that she did to make sure that that came
[3:32:09] out, along with North Central Civic Association, I think that
[3:32:11] that would be a benefit. In addition to that, the
[3:32:16] pickleball crew at Pickleball Park also wants the opportunity
[3:32:20] to name courts after individuals who've provided.
[3:32:26] When do you say enough is enough? By naming certain parks
[3:32:29] and places of things, I don't know. I think that should be a
[3:32:32] discussion, maybe to be brought forth of how do we, you know,
[3:32:37] when you do too much of it, it gets lost. And the importance
[3:32:42] of it, I think, gets lost. But I'm looking for support to have
[3:32:45] them come back with the information about how do we go
[3:32:48] about naming and what the criteria should be, since we've
[3:32:51] gone from someone who's past to someone now who's maybe in
[3:32:55] their element age or have a crisis of some sort, and we're
[3:32:59] naming it so they can enjoy the the recognition. But I think we
[3:33:03] need to vet that out a little bit more for them to look into
[3:33:06] it. I'll support that. Thank you. That's all I have. Thank
[3:33:09] you. All right. Let's get to Commissioner Gruber then. Just
[3:33:16] a couple of things. One, I saw an email from the president of
[3:33:24] Playland Estates. I think, Alison, we were looped in on it.
[3:33:27] The the wayfaring signs. Wayfarer signs. Is that what
[3:33:29] they're called? Those, those community signs. So apparently
[3:33:32] Playland Estates was left off of there, according to DCM,
[3:33:35] because the sign they have was put there privately. It's the
[3:33:39] first I'm hearing of it. So staff can get back to me to
[3:33:42] explain that to me. I don't know who's maintaining their
[3:33:45] sign. There's nobody there that's maintaining it. So I
[3:33:47] think if staff can look into that and let me know, because
[3:33:50] I'd like Playland to also get a sign when we finally get them.
[3:33:54] And, and maybe someone can tell me when we are getting those
[3:33:57] signs, maybe before Commissioner Biederman and
[3:33:59] Larry are. And then I did hear good news that the Sloane
[3:34:09] Stephens summer camp is happening at driftwood. This is
[3:34:12] a free camp for kids, has tennis, sports, tutoring, life
[3:34:18] skills. Really amazing. So if Ricky or whoever on staff can
[3:34:23] just get us the information, all of us to so that we can
[3:34:26] spread the word, so people can sign up because it's already
[3:34:29] late in the game and a free camp for kids is really amazing.
[3:34:32] So if staff can get that information to all of us so we
[3:34:36] can spread the word, and that's all I have. Thank you. Thank
[3:34:40] you, Commissioner Gruber. Let's go to Commissioner Biederman.
[3:34:46] So just real quick, just to not to beat a dead horse. But, you
[3:34:53] know, we spent, you know, $5,000, I think, for a concert
[3:34:57] out West, but that we're going to spend $200,000 for the arts
[3:35:01] park if it makes economic development sense, is the only
[3:35:04] reason I would support it. But I think it's unfair. And it's
[3:35:08] not evenly distributed, you know, and then we're talking
[3:35:14] about it's kind of like the haves and the have nots kind of
[3:35:18] thing. You know, I would say that probably 70% of our
[3:35:22] population can't afford a, you know, a fancy wine and cheese
[3:35:28] box at the Arts park and to pay for a, a square of a blanket or
[3:35:32] whatever it is. So I think that we have to make sure, as
[3:35:35] Commissioner Hernandez said, that we have to make sure that
[3:35:38] it's even. And, you know, people of all means, you know,
[3:35:41] Joseph Young said Hollywood should be a place for everybody,
[3:35:43] whether it's the most opulent to the most humble, a working
[3:35:46] class. We need to maintain that. That being said, we are all
[3:35:54] entitled to change our minds based on new information. We've
[3:35:58] heard that in the past from certain commissioners. Oh, I
[3:36:00] just changed my mind. Well, I think we're all allowed to
[3:36:03] change our minds, not just 1 or 2 of us. So thank you very much.
[3:36:07] Thank you, Commissioner Quintana. I was actually going
[3:36:12] to wave, but I'm going to say something now. I totally agree.
[3:36:15] We are all entitled to change our minds. In fact, I think
[3:36:19] that when new information comes in, it is the wise thing to do
[3:36:26] to be open to changing our minds as opposed to sticking
[3:36:29] with something, whether we got new information or not. And
[3:36:34] then I will say. I, I'm assuming that the reason for
[3:36:41] the picnic basket idea was to bring in the businesses that
[3:36:50] that was why that came up. Otherwise, it would have just
[3:36:55] been a free concert without any food and just what we typically
[3:37:00] do. So I think that was the intention. And then. Yeah, I
[3:37:10] guess that's all I'll say. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
[3:37:14] All right. Well, I have some good news for everyone. I
[3:37:19] reached out to the friend of Shelby Thomas. That was that
[3:37:25] was sharing information about Shelby's condition. We all know
[3:37:28] that Shelby is the president of Ocean Rescue Alliance
[3:37:32] International, and we worked with her and her nonprofit to
[3:37:35] deploy our swim from shore reefs. And she's been a real
[3:37:39] great person that we've all very much respected. She's a
[3:37:42] PhD in marine biology. She had a motorcycle accident, not her
[3:37:47] fault some weeks ago. And the good news is, is that I got a
[3:37:52] chance to speak with her. It was a day after she was able to
[3:37:55] speak, after some medical devices were removed from her
[3:37:58] throat and things. And, you know, like you would expect
[3:38:01] from Shelby besides, you know, thanking us for for reaching
[3:38:05] out and caring about her, she started talking right away
[3:38:08] about Depp and her commitment to help us get through
[3:38:11] everything. And she had contacts in DC. And I was like,
[3:38:15] Shelby, slow down. You need to get better right now. And all
[3:38:18] we want. That's what we want for you right now. But I just
[3:38:21] wanted to share to everyone, this amazing person, Shelby,
[3:38:23] that we know we're always impressed with and that she
[3:38:26] automatically is, is thinking about, you know, her commitment
[3:38:28] to Hollywood and wanting to see these reefs continue to
[3:38:31] flourish. We talked about, you know, coral permits that she's
[3:38:35] received and wanting to support us and her team and offered
[3:38:38] that along the way. So our our good wishes to Shelby. If
[3:38:43] you're watching out there for a quick and speedy recovery, we
[3:38:46] know the road is still some some ways ahead, but hopefully
[3:38:51] she's starting to heal quickly. And thankfully she is. She is
[3:38:55] not impacted in her in her professional capabilities
[3:38:59] already talking about Depp permits. So feel better. Shelby,
[3:39:04] we're with you. I want to thank the city team and Vice Mayor
[3:39:07] Kolody specifically. Yesterday we had the closing for the
[3:39:10] Knights of Columbus building. Everyone, a round of applause.
[3:39:17] So there is now more parking in the vicinity of the Skate
[3:39:21] Justice Skate Park and the pickleball courts and Stan
[3:39:23] Goldman Park. And I know we'll look forward to the city team's
[3:39:29] recommendation as to the utilization of the building.
[3:39:31] And of course, Javon, I can expect that the gates are open
[3:39:34] for parking right away, right? Absolutely, sir. And we'll
[3:39:38] definitely charge. Yeah, look at that. If we're not charging
[3:39:42] for a jazz concert, I don't think you're charging for
[3:39:45] asphalt. But now put some signage real quick, you know,
[3:39:47] parking so people know and it's more orderly. And that's great.
[3:39:52] Speaking of that park real quick didn't plan on mentioning
[3:39:55] it, but might as well. So when you walk into the area in
[3:39:59] between the pickleball and the skate park, put a sign
[3:40:02] somewhere there that tells people what amenities are in
[3:40:05] the park, like, you know, dog park to the left, you know,
[3:40:08] kids playground to the left, walking trail to the left,
[3:40:11] exercise park to the right, pickleball to the right, skate
[3:40:14] park, a little menu of what there is because people might
[3:40:17] not realize all that there is. Even if they're right there,
[3:40:20] 100ft away, they might not understand. So let's share the
[3:40:23] wealth there. Yep. Yesterday I did a public service
[3:40:28] announcement video with Memorial Regional Hospitals
[3:40:32] Trauma Unit for safety for people who operate e-scooters
[3:40:37] and and electric bicycles and things. There's a lot of, of
[3:40:43] activity at the trauma unit from people, you know, breaking
[3:40:46] ankles, hurting their head when colliding either with a car or
[3:40:50] just crashing with those devices. So wear shoes and wear
[3:40:56] helmets. Doctor Drew Rosenthal doesn't want to see you at the
[3:41:00] trauma ward. And I don't think you want to go there either. So
[3:41:03] hopefully I told him to collaborate. Joanne with us
[3:41:06] when they put the video out. And last the state of Florida.
[3:41:10] The sustainability person, Julia had mentioned synthetic
[3:41:14] turf, but the state of Florida had just passed their final
[3:41:16] rule. As you might know, there's a state law that allows
[3:41:19] for synthetic turf everywhere in the state of Florida on
[3:41:23] preempts cities from prohibiting it. There are
[3:41:25] standards that the household needs to conform to, but
[3:41:30] synthetic turf is allowed on residential property less than
[3:41:33] one acre in size. So I asked. I forwarded the rule to staff and
[3:41:37] asked that they put together a guide sheet so residents know,
[3:41:40] you know what the what the rules are, but otherwise they
[3:41:43] also have the opportunity to have synthetic turf, which I
[3:41:48] believe is very, very successful and helpful and also
[3:41:51] helps to conserve water. There's always pluses and
[3:41:54] minuses to everything, but I see a lot of great pluses for
[3:41:57] people who can't have or don't want to spend money maintaining
[3:42:01] and watering turf, you know, 24, seven, 365 all right. That's it
[3:42:07] for me. I want to wish everyone a safe Memorial Day. Chief, I
[3:42:10] know you're going to have your work cut out for you a little
[3:42:13] bit, depending on the weather with the, you know, the heavy
[3:42:16] volume of people we might have either on the beach downtown or
[3:42:19] on the waterways. So thanks to HPD and Fire Rescue for all the
[3:42:22] work that you're going to be doing this upcoming holiday
[3:42:25] weekend. And let's go to city attorney for announcements.
[3:42:28] Thank you. Mayor. One announcement today, pursuant to
[3:42:31] Florida Statutes 28, 6.011, subsection eight, subsection A
[3:42:37] governing public meetings, I, as the attorney for the City of
[3:42:40] Hollywood, wish to inform the city during this public meeting
[3:42:43] that I desire to hold an executive session on Wednesday,
[3:42:46] May 27th, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. to seek advice concerning
[3:42:50] litigation. Styled in three cases, Hollywood Park
[3:42:53] Apartments South LLC versus City of Hollywood, Hollywood
[3:42:57] Park Apartments West LLC versus City of Hollywood and Maroon
[3:43:02] 2319, LLC versus the City of Hollywood. Invited to attend
[3:43:05] this session are the Mayor and commissioners, city manager
[3:43:08] Raelin Storey, Assistant City Attorney Kendra Breeden and
[3:43:12] myself. Thank you. Let's go to City Manager. Just a few
[3:43:21] announcements. I want to make sure that everyone knows that
[3:43:23] there is a Memorial Day concert at the Boulevard Heights
[3:43:28] Amphitheater that is Friday night from 6 to 9 p.m. the. I
[3:43:32] thought you were going to mention it. You forgot, didn't
[3:43:34] you? So I'll reactivate. Okay. Go ahead, Commissioner
[3:43:37] Biederman. I didn't want to steal. That's okay. No, go.
[3:43:42] You'll do a great job announcing free food for the
[3:43:45] first 150 people. Barbecue. We're doing a tattered flag
[3:43:52] replacement. Bring in your old tattered flag. We'll give you a
[3:43:55] brand new flag in a package, and we'll make sure that your
[3:43:58] old flag gets disposed of appropriately with the Boy
[3:44:01] Scouts. And I think they're going to have raffles also.
[3:44:07] Plenty and plenty. Listen, we're waiving parking prices
[3:44:09] for the day. It's free parking for the whole weekend. And it's
[3:44:14] the Shane Duncan Band. So high energy. Yes, country. They are
[3:44:19] everything. They're very well versed. They have. Everybody
[3:44:23] loves them when they come out. It was a good turnout last year.
[3:44:26] Hopefully it'll be better turnout this year. Yeah. Thank
[3:44:28] you to my colleagues for supporting concerts out on the
[3:44:31] West Side and for Parks and Rec putting them together. And I
[3:44:36] didn't mention I just want to thank Chief Devlin, the police
[3:44:38] Fallen police officer memorial yesterday was always, you know,
[3:44:44] important. And it's great to have the families come every
[3:44:46] year and to show the concern and the honor that we have for
[3:44:51] them year in and year out. And it was great to hear that all
[3:44:54] those fallen officers will be recognized in the new police
[3:44:57] headquarters. So thank you, Chief and Command Staff and
[3:45:00] Police Department family 6770 Garfield Street and Boulevard
[3:45:05] Heights. Shane Duncan band. Saturday night, baby. Yep. All
[3:45:11] right. Just a couple of Friday night. Friday night, Friday
[3:45:14] night. Just a couple of things to mention from the consent
[3:45:18] agenda that were approved that I think are noteworthy. The
[3:45:23] Commission did approve a resolution related to some
[3:45:26] federal legislation that's pending that would further
[3:45:29] limit city's abilities to have any regulatory authority over
[3:45:34] 5G antennas. Obviously, that's a concern that's come up a bit
[3:45:37] in our community, and we just want to emphasize that we don't
[3:45:43] support any additional limits on our ability to manage that.
[3:45:49] We also had a a piggyback contract with Amazon business.
[3:45:59] We just like a lot of folks, we spend a lot of money with
[3:46:03] Amazon, and this allows us to take full advantage of a number
[3:46:06] of different business type services or business oriented
[3:46:10] services that they have, and save money on the purchasing
[3:46:14] that we do do through Amazon. And so it really is evidence of
[3:46:21] our performance and, and procurement and performance
[3:46:25] management group looking at additional ways to save funding.
[3:46:29] And then finally, we do receive, we received approval to seek
[3:46:37] operational funding in a grant through the Department of Elder
[3:46:41] Affairs at the state that that funding flows through the Area
[3:46:45] Agency on Aging for the daycare, Adult respite care for
[3:46:53] Alzheimer's that we are going to be operating at our Oak Lake
[3:46:56] Park once those renovations are complete there. And so, you
[3:47:00] know, this is an important service to our residents right
[3:47:02] now. It's taking place in Pembroke Pines, but we'll be
[3:47:06] looking very much forward to moving it to the Oak Lake Park
[3:47:10] facility and being able to operate it out of that facility.
[3:47:14] Thank you so much. So we will recess the meeting until 5 p.m.
[3:47:18] for citizens comments. Thank you. All.
[4:00:39] Segment two was withdrawn because of additional resident
[4:00:42] and business engagement problems, but segment three
[4:00:44] moved forward minus one business entity. The
[4:00:48] inconsistency is exactly why residents feel not confident
[4:00:53] with this project reflecting the the master plan and the
[4:00:57] balanced process for moving forward. Vice Mayor Callari
[4:01:01] even mentioned she didn't understand why we had to do the
[4:01:05] raised dunes. She said we should do it at the grade level.
[4:01:09] Lea Gottlieb, who is your top South Florida environmentalist,
[4:01:13] said he believed that for long term growth, you really had to
[4:01:16] do it at the low level and do it slowly. In the meantime,
[4:01:20] your beautiful trees that they mentioned, your Hollywood beach,
[4:01:24] gorgeous trees that survived the palm blight and hurricanes
[4:01:28] may die as a result of this, you know, because Broward
[4:01:31] County wanted you to move this forward. You didn't have to do
[4:01:34] it with such inconsistency of what is happening now. This is
[4:01:38] also a public safety issue. You get these things raised high.
[4:01:41] Nobody can see who's walking by and what's going on. I mean,
[4:01:44] this is not just an environmental issue. This is an
[4:01:48] economic issue, a tourism issue, a historic preservation issue.
[4:01:51] You just you just did a thing today on historic preservation,
[4:01:55] a public access issue and a safety issue. Residents also
[4:01:59] raised the concerns about possibly rodents. Rodents love
[4:02:03] to live in your dunes, folks. Are you going to exchange palm
[4:02:08] trees for rodents? I ask you that. It'll be very interesting
[4:02:11] when. Okay, I know my time is up. I've been here before, but
[4:02:15] I will be back next month. And believe me, this is not going
[4:02:18] away from the beach. Drew Martin, followed by Pam Borgio.
[4:02:25] Then Ann Ralston. Good evening, Mayor and commissioners. Can
[4:02:29] you hear me? Yes, sir. Drew Martin, Sierra Club. I'm here
[4:02:34] from Palm Beach County. Came here to speak on a different
[4:02:39] item, but I got here early, so I'm going to speak on the
[4:02:43] general comments. I wanted to thank the commissioner who
[4:02:46] asked that they use not use single use plastics at the in
[4:02:52] your giveaway picnic. I think that's really important that it
[4:02:56] be completely sustainable. I'm glad to see you have a
[4:03:00] sustainability committee, and I was pleased to see that they
[4:03:04] have a lot of good things that they're recommending, but we
[4:03:07] really need to get away from any kind of single use plastics.
[4:03:10] So if you're handing away a bag, a picnic, make sure that you
[4:03:15] have either silverware that's made of metal that is going to
[4:03:19] be given back and washed, or you're going to be using some
[4:03:24] materials or you're not not going to need silverware. And
[4:03:28] also no plastic cups, which I'm sure you won't have. I wanted
[4:03:32] to address the mayor's comments on the turf issue, and he said
[4:03:40] that he thought it saved water. If you used these plastic
[4:03:46] grasses and you really don't save water and it's really bad
[4:03:49] for the environment. So I hope the mayor will take a look at
[4:03:54] this and reevaluate his opinion, because I think it's important.
[4:03:57] You know, when the mayor says, oh, you know, the it's fine if
[4:04:01] you use astroturf. Well, it's really not astroturf. First of
[4:04:05] all, does not age well. It's generally impermeable, which
[4:04:10] means that any water hits, it's not going to make it into your
[4:04:13] aquifer, which is bad for your water retention. It creates
[4:04:18] runoff, which can lead to flooding. And it creates
[4:04:24] microplastics in the environment. And microplastics
[4:04:27] are a huge issue. Some of them are resulting in PFAs, which is
[4:04:33] causing cancer in some people. So we really don't want micro,
[4:04:38] you know, astroturf. We want people to use we don't want
[4:04:41] them to use turf, and we don't want them to put in
[4:04:46] non-sustainable grasses. What we want them to use are natural
[4:04:49] ground covers, natural ground covers that don't need to be
[4:04:53] watered. I don't water my yard and it's fine. You have to get
[4:04:57] we have to get used to this. Florida. Never. No one ever had
[4:05:01] sprinklers 150 years ago. When you talk about. You want to go
[4:05:06] back in time and restore your buildings, well, let's restore
[4:05:09] the process people use. Back then, they didn't have
[4:05:12] sprinklers. They had natural water, they had cisterns. And
[4:05:17] they they conserve their water. And that's what we want to do.
[4:05:21] We don't want to encourage astroturf and we don't want to
[4:05:24] convince, tell people that they're conserving water by
[4:05:27] using astroturf, which is really the wrong direction to
[4:05:29] go in. Thank you. Thank you. Just for the record, the state
[4:05:33] of Florida prevents cities from prohibiting synthetic turf. And
[4:05:37] the DEP created standards, and that's what I was sharing. Pam
[4:05:41] Borgio followed by yeah, and I don't mind it. Pam Borgio
[4:05:46] followed by Ann Ralston. Good evening, mayor, vice mayor,
[4:05:51] commissioners, I'm going to go all over tonight for citizen
[4:05:55] comments. First of all, I'd like to thank each and every
[4:05:58] one of you for your service to our community. I know you have
[4:06:02] our best interests at heart. Most of the time. I'll just
[4:06:04] leave it at that. Safety issues. I am out in my backyard every
[4:06:10] single night listening to the wonderful drag racing on
[4:06:14] Sheridan Street near my home on Park Road, where they're going
[4:06:18] in the opposite directions low flying helicopters, low flying
[4:06:22] planes so close to my house, my gazebo shakes. So that's a
[4:06:30] concern for me. They are coming from Miami. They're coming from
[4:06:32] Perry Airport and Fort Lauderdale. You all know where
[4:06:36] I live. So it's a concern as our community continues to grow,
[4:06:40] there are going to be more and more safety hazards. As the
[4:06:44] police can tell you, I'm at least once a week sending in a
[4:06:49] notice saying they're speeding again. I'm on Facebook going.
[4:06:52] Welcome to Hollywood. And you can hear the drag racing. I'm
[4:06:56] not trying to do negative reporting, but we need to open
[4:07:00] up our eyes. We're getting bigger. So safety is an
[4:07:05] extremely important concern for me. City Hall property, the new
[4:07:12] police department, which I'm excited hopefully to get a tour
[4:07:15] of. I'm thinking and really hoping that we can consolidate
[4:07:20] a lot of the city offices into one location,herefore opening
[4:07:25] up possibly this location to build. I. As you know, I've
[4:07:31] been born and raised in Hollywood. I'm 60 plus years
[4:07:36] old and change is not always great. I fight it because I
[4:07:44] like our hometown. I love our hometown, but it's no longer a
[4:07:49] hometown feel. So what can we do to assure the long time
[4:07:54] residents as yourselves? You've been here 20 plus years. To me,
[4:07:58] your longtime residents. We need to find a compromise to
[4:08:02] work together and find the best direction in locations. Change
[4:08:07] is welcoming to most of us. It depends on where and what we're
[4:08:13] doing and how, where we're going with these projects. And
[4:08:20] last but not least, real quick, David Park tennis courts. I
[4:08:23] think the city of Hollywood has a great opportunity to expand
[4:08:27] that and bring in a world class tennis tournament. We have the
[4:08:32] hard rock, we have Delray Beach tennis tournament, you have the
[4:08:39] Miami Open, so let's utilize what we can in that area. You
[4:08:43] have the ability with the old police station to create a
[4:08:48] bigger section. Thank you, thank you, Pam and Ralston,
[4:08:52] followed by Andre Brown, then Mr. Swan, Kevin Swan, thank you.
[4:09:00] As on my way here tonight, there was a sign on a new
[4:09:04] building that went up on Van Buren Street saying two months
[4:09:07] free rent as an incentive to get people in there with the
[4:09:12] Cirque being foreclosed on, it seems to me that there may be a
[4:09:17] change in atmosphere as to constantly putting up new
[4:09:22] buildings all over that. I think Goya, Gea, something like
[4:09:27] that on Fillmore and Taylor is going up the one across the
[4:09:32] street. It concerns me if if the Cirque had a lot of
[4:09:38] incentives, at least from a newspaper report, and I just
[4:09:43] don't want us to be holding the bag for it, it seems to me that
[4:09:47] the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and
[4:09:50] over again and expect different results. I'm not sure that this
[4:09:56] constant approval of building more and higher is, is going to
[4:10:01] be sustainable in the future. Also, according to the Miami
[4:10:08] Herald, there are ten more schools expected to close.
[4:10:12] These are public schools, not private schools. So now that
[4:10:15] the private schools seem to be getting public money and the
[4:10:19] public schools are in financial straits, they're laying off
[4:10:24] employees. So there's supposed to be ten more to close in 27.
[4:10:30] Thank you, Andre Brown, followed by Kevin Swan, then
[4:10:35] Jonathan Anderson. And the last two speakers will be Lynn Smith.
[4:10:38] And Jesse. Put that back on three. Yeah, yeah. There you go.
[4:10:42] There you go. We got you mayor, commissioners, city manager.
[4:10:45] And to all my brothers and sisters, my name is Andre Brown.
[4:10:49] I had a meeting over there in Hallandale. Very positive. Oh,
[4:10:55] was it a good meeting? It was a team of activists gathering
[4:11:01] over there to come together and making sure that everything
[4:11:07] goes right during these elections. They're going to be
[4:11:14] posted at every post, and they're going to make sure
[4:11:20] everything goes according to plan. Now, first of all, I want
[4:11:25] to I want to know how the police officer is doing who was
[4:11:31] injured in the accident. I hope he's well. I have that much
[4:11:35] respect to bring that up as well. So the topic back over to
[4:11:41] Hallandale was, you know, Liberia, Hallandale, Danny West
[4:11:45] Park and Pembroke Park. So we had a, just like I said, a good
[4:11:51] meeting. And I became a consultant. If nobody know that
[4:11:57] yet, but I am a consultant now. And thank you. So by being a
[4:12:06] consultant now, everybody know what consultants do. Okay. So
[4:12:12] it's, it's, you know, you can look it up, it'll tell you just
[4:12:15] what it, what it, what it do, what consultants do. It'll tell
[4:12:18] you. Also, Broward County has all that money. You mean to
[4:12:27] tell me they got billions and billions of dollars? How come
[4:12:32] none of that money don't come here? How come it don't come
[4:12:35] here to help with the situation that we have in our communities?
[4:12:40] That's something to think about. Ladies and gentlemen, Robert
[4:12:44] County got all that money? Why is it being held back? Who was
[4:12:47] holding it back? Is it hold back for a ransom? Is it hold
[4:12:52] back for a ransom? Oh, you. If you don't do what I say do, you
[4:12:56] ain't going to get this year. I know what's going on up there
[4:13:01] in Broward County as well. I got inside connections. I got
[4:13:06] outside connections. So no, nobody going to pull. I've been
[4:13:09] hoodwinked before, so I know what time it is. I had them on
[4:13:14] me. Nobody gets away with murder with Andre Brown because
[4:13:19] there's a new sheriff in town and that's Andre Brown.
[4:13:23] Remember that. Thank you. Andre. Mr. Swan, come on up. Kevin
[4:13:30] Swan, followed by Jonathan Anderson. Yeah. Back again. My
[4:13:40] name is William Kevin Swan. I live at 3411 Grant Street. Been
[4:13:45] a resident of Hollywood for over 70 years, plus the five
[4:13:49] years my family came here as vacation before we moved here
[4:13:53] from Pennsylvania in 1956. Is the zoning lady here? Somebody
[4:13:59] representing zoning department? Nobody. There you are. There
[4:14:05] was a meeting a couple of months ago with the upstairs
[4:14:07] second floor of the library, and I wanted to single you out
[4:14:12] tonight. I wanted to single you out tonight because who in
[4:14:16] their right mind would approve a parking lot in a
[4:14:19] residentially zoned area? Who did you get an extra bonus for
[4:14:24] that? Is that part of the package? And then, of course,
[4:14:27] we have miss your vice mayor, Tracy Collier, who represents
[4:14:32] my territory in Hollywood Hills between park and and and 35th
[4:14:38] and Garfield down to Johnson. And she works for the hospital.
[4:14:43] My neighborhood is turned in to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now.
[4:14:47] It's not that way anymore because now it's just parking
[4:14:50] lots, paved parking lots. The vibration starts at 705 in the
[4:14:55] morning and goes until before I left the house tonight. And
[4:14:58] then when it's all done, I'll have all the cars coming in and
[4:15:03] going and slamming the doors and the fumes and the
[4:15:06] noxiousness. And that's all due to you all. Now, as far as that
[4:15:10] lady over there who was passionate about her hospital,
[4:15:15] the development of the beach, trust me, it's like baseball.
[4:15:18] They don't get it tonight. They'll get it again. He'll
[4:15:21] keep throwing the ball until they hit it because all the
[4:15:25] commissioners. Pardon me, but you all are complicit in the
[4:15:30] degradation of this town. Where's your humanity? Where's
[4:15:34] your morality? Where's your your monies? Where is it? I
[4:15:40] thought the other day that maybe I should recommend
[4:15:43] spending some money to put a confessional in the in the in
[4:15:46] the mayor's, in the in the building someplace. Rent a
[4:15:50] priest and a rabbi and a pastor once for a couple hours a month.
[4:15:54] But then again, you probably wouldn't go there because you
[4:15:57] in your heart and soul, you have nothing to confess because
[4:16:01] this is what you do. You just constantly build. Don't think
[4:16:05] about anybody else but yourself. My pictures on my walls are you.
[4:16:15] I put. I can show you my phone, a glass of water on my kitchen
[4:16:17] cabinets vibrating. That's what I have to live for the last
[4:16:19] couple of months. But you care. Of course you don't. Because
[4:16:23] all you care about is the developer. And I'm not against
[4:16:26] the hospital. Don't get me wrong. Let's make that clear.
[4:16:28] Hospital does a good job, but it's the management of the
[4:16:32] hospital. And what you've allowed them to do is criminal.
[4:16:35] You might even get some other people from the prisons to come
[4:16:39] and take your jobs, because they might do a better job.
[4:16:43] Thank you, Mr. Swan. Jonathan Anderson, followed by Lynn
[4:16:48] Smith. And the last card is Jesse Hernandez. Good evening,
[4:16:57] mayor, vice mayor, commissioners, my commissioner,
[4:17:03] as well as my Holloway Hills alumni. It was so nice to have
[4:17:09] Adam to present the class of 76 50th year proclamation. Thanks
[4:17:14] for recognizing the Spartan Nation. I came out in 72 as a
[4:17:20] rebel educator. I was called the N word by one of my math
[4:17:25] teachers, but I got suspended. But that's the last time I got
[4:17:29] suspended. And also to the city manager, the day is May the
[4:17:35] 20th. You all know what significance is made of. 20th.
[4:17:41] No. Say again. Well, yes, it's a Florida Emancipation Day and
[4:17:49] the proclamation was read in Tallahassee by General Edward
[4:17:54] McCook in Tallahassee, and also today they recognize the
[4:18:00] Department of Justice in regards to the gentleman that
[4:18:04] was on a humanitarian mission department at the at the
[4:18:09] freedom statue, they're going after Raul Castro regards to
[4:18:14] inhumane treatment, shooting down that plane. But I asked
[4:18:18] myself why I came here. What does emancipation mean? It
[4:18:24] means a sense of freedom from slavery. But Abraham Lincoln
[4:18:28] created something in regards to 40 acres and a mule. And then
[4:18:32] when the 17 then when he got assassinated, the 17 president
[4:18:37] came in, Andrew Johnson, he made sure he erased that. He
[4:18:44] pardoned the Confederate that seceded from the nation.
[4:18:48] Florida was one of those secession states. We in the
[4:18:51] deep, deep South, we ain't we ain't we ain't out of this. And
[4:18:55] I come speaking straight up as a man. I have no fear of no man.
[4:19:00] I respect everybody. I'm like Malcolm X. That was his
[4:19:04] celebration of life yesterday as W.E.B. Du Bois. They had a
[4:19:08] nice celebration for him. A rebel with a cause. I have a
[4:19:11] cause to. To fight for justice. The fight for not be looking at
[4:19:16] us as a 3/5 of a person. Not to be looking inhumane as though
[4:19:20] I'm savages. We know the history. That's why sometimes
[4:19:24] they're trying to erase the history. Because it says
[4:19:27] something about America. She don't want to fess up to. If
[4:19:30] she can't negotiate and steal it, she'll go to war and try to
[4:19:34] take it. But bullies have that day coming. And I realize right
[4:19:38] now, as a retiree, I do have a little more time now so I can
[4:19:44] focus my attention in regards to making sure justice takes
[4:19:47] place within America. And I'll be coming back with some things
[4:19:50] quick. Create that arrangement on Hollywood Beach because
[4:19:53] Hollywood can set the example in regards to reparation.
[4:19:56] Appreciate you all. Thank you. Lynn Smith, followed by Jesse
[4:20:02] Hernandez. Good afternoon, Mayor and Commissioners Lynn
[4:20:10] Smith, I want to talk to you today about orange Brook. And I
[4:20:13] was looking to have an event there because I love it still,
[4:20:17] even though it's old and eventually it's going to be
[4:20:20] demolished, we should be operational using it for things.
[4:20:24] Claire showed me some pictures today of the mold at the front
[4:20:27] of the building and inside the building, and we want to do an
[4:20:30] event there for about 150 people. And I think, you know,
[4:20:34] we we're looking for income producing issues. And orange
[4:20:37] Brook, the views are still fabulous. The bar's beautiful.
[4:20:42] That's the place I'd really like to do this event. So I
[4:20:45] don't know if there's any way of sending a crew over there to
[4:20:48] get it up and then get it so that events, other events can
[4:20:52] be happening. I don't know if we're just closing it down and
[4:20:55] not going to use it anymore, but it's still beautiful and we
[4:20:58] should use it for some kind of income producing areas. So
[4:21:01] thank you very much. Thank you, Jesse Hernandez. Hold on. Hello,
[4:21:12] mayor. Vice mayor. I'll have to recognize Commissioner
[4:21:15] Hernandez. I spoke with the city attorney about this. I
[4:21:20] don't believe I have a reason to recuse myself, but my wife
[4:21:22] is going to ask for something. So being the fact that she's my
[4:21:26] wife. I'm just. It's not a vote. So I think. Okay, okay. Just
[4:21:29] wanted to make sure it's on the up. Okay. He does love you
[4:21:32] though. Thank you, thank you. My name again. Jesse Hernandez,
[4:21:38] the chair of the Hispanic Affairs Council. I'm here on
[4:21:43] behalf of the council seeking direct. If you the
[4:21:48] commissioners can please give direction to the staff for. We
[4:21:55] are ready to launch our celebration of Hispanic
[4:21:59] Heritage celebration in October 10th, and we need to send the
[4:22:03] invites and. We like to use the proper letterhead, city
[4:22:07] letterhead. So Peter. So just me then of course, if you can
[4:22:12] please direct staff. If they can approve the proper
[4:22:18] letterhead so we can start sending the invitations. Yeah,
[4:22:21] of course, I don't think there's any issue with that.
[4:22:24] It's a city sanctioned opportunity to celebrate
[4:22:27] Hispanic Heritage Month. I don't see an issue with that.
[4:22:30] Simply save the date October 10th. Art spark sounds good.
[4:22:34] We'll work. We'll work with the Hispanic Affairs Council to
[4:22:38] make sure that that happens. Great. Okay. Got it. Thank you.
[4:22:41] Yep. Michael Snyder, you had a last card. And that will
[4:22:45] conclude citizens comments. And then we'll recess until the 6
[4:22:49] p.m. item. Good evening, Mr. Snyder. Long time no see. Yeah.
[4:22:56] Good evening, Mr. Mayor. I would apologize up front.
[4:23:01] Unfortunately, I only know two people on the dais here, and I
[4:23:06] haven't had the pleasure of meeting the other five. And I
[4:23:10] think this is only the second time I've ever appeared at a
[4:23:14] citizen's agenda to talk on an item, because I really don't
[4:23:20] think it's a very effective way to advance a person's agenda or
[4:23:23] group's agenda. But they have it. But I felt compelled to
[4:23:26] come tonight. I've lived on the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk for
[4:23:31] almost 30 years. I actually had my bar mitzvah celebration at
[4:23:35] the Old Hollywood Beach Hotel in 1965. And what drew me to
[4:23:42] Hollywood Beach was the beach, to me is the best kept beach in
[4:23:49] the area, bar none. It's it's magnificent. It's, I think, the
[4:23:58] single most important asset that this city has. And if it's
[4:24:03] not on the most important single asset, it's close on
[4:24:06] everybody else's agenda to the top. And what's going on with
[4:24:11] this new project with the dunes. And by the way, Mr. Vice Mayor,
[4:24:16] I commend you. I'm told you're the only one that voted against
[4:24:19] dunes. Is that I believe environmental concerns. I
[4:24:25] believe in taking care of our assets and the beach. But I
[4:24:30] walked the boardwalk all the time, and I'm taller than most
[4:24:34] people. And the few dunes that we've had over the years that
[4:24:39] have been there for years and years. You can't see the ocean
[4:24:43] when you walk. You can't see it. And what has this new project
[4:24:50] that's going on, I think is the worst decision I have ever seen
[4:24:54] in the city of Hollywood. Make. And I have to tell you, I've
[4:24:59] been involved in politics my whole life, and commissions and
[4:25:07] councils and states they can do and they can undo. Well, I'm
[4:25:13] telling you that when you go to put up campaign signs, the
[4:25:19] reason you do is you want people to see it. Well, do you
[4:25:22] know what? When I walk on the boardwalk, I want to see the
[4:25:25] ocean. And with these dunes, you can't see the ocean. What
[4:25:31] have we done here? And then to to have two classifications of
[4:25:37] residents versus commercial is unbelievable. So please undo
[4:25:42] what's been done because this is the single worst decision
[4:25:46] I've ever seen the city of Hollywood make. So thank you
[4:25:49] very much for listening to me. Thank you Michael. All right.
[4:25:53] That concludes citizens comments, everyone. We're going
[4:25:55] to recess until 6 p.m. to hear item 32. Thank you.
[4:59:11] Read it here. We're ready. All right. Thank you so much.
[4:59:16] Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for being here at City Hall
[4:59:19] here in the City of Hollywood. We are resuming our meeting
[4:59:22] today, May 20th. We have one remaining item on today's
[4:59:24] agenda. And of course, it is a 6 p.m. time certain item. It's
[4:59:28] just after 6 p.m. Item 32 is a resolution of the City
[4:59:31] Commission, the City of Hollywood, Florida, approving
[4:59:32] and authorizing the appropriate city officials to execute the
[4:59:35] First Amendment to the Comprehensive Agreement for the
[4:59:37] Development of Public and Private Facilities at 1301
[4:59:39] South Ocean Drive, between the City of Hollywood and PR1301
[4:59:44] South Ocean Drive, LLC. This is an item from the Office of
[4:59:48] Communications, Marketing and Economic Development focusing
[4:59:51] on our Strategic Plan Area of Economic Vitality for the City
[4:59:54] of Hollywood. At this time, I'd like to offer an opportunity
[4:59:58] for the City Manager to introduce the staff and the
[5:00:02] item. Thank you, Ray Lynn. Thank you, mayor, vice mayor.
[5:00:07] City commissioners. We're here today to consider an amendment
[5:00:13] to our comprehensive agreement with PR1301 South Ocean Drive
[5:00:18] that allows this public private partnership to move ahead,
[5:00:22] incorporating additional public benefit in the form of hero
[5:00:26] housing by using the state's live local statute, if
[5:00:30] applicable. In most instances, live local preempts local
[5:00:34] discretion and control over land use, but the latest
[5:00:38] amendment actually offers more local control when it comes to
[5:00:42] live local projects on publicly owned land. That's because in
[5:00:47] Broward County, city land use regulations are superseded by
[5:00:51] the county, and that's been a challenge in this particular
[5:00:54] case, where the city and county have had an ongoing conflict
[5:01:00] over the land use for this site. The latest amendment to live
[5:01:04] local, unless vetoed by the governor, would allow this to
[5:01:07] be decided by the city. And in this instance, you have a P
[5:01:12] three which requires a public benefit. And we now have the
[5:01:16] addition of workforce housing at a time when affordability
[5:01:20] continues to be a critical concern in our community. We're
[5:01:25] in the budget planning process here at the city, as you know,
[5:01:29] and it's a time when we are keenly aware of the necessity
[5:01:32] of balancing needs with resources, revenues with
[5:01:37] expenditures, where we give a lot of thought to our role as
[5:01:40] fiscal stewards and to the financial resiliency of the
[5:01:44] city overall. On today's agenda, funding for continued review of
[5:01:49] our utility rates was one of the items, because the
[5:01:54] commission, of course, is working very hard with our
[5:01:57] utilities department to figure out a way to provide stormwater
[5:02:01] improvements and other critical utilities upgrades to the tune
[5:02:06] of hundreds of millions of dollars, without raising our
[5:02:09] utility rates so high that they become a real burden for our
[5:02:14] residents and businesses. We had funding today on the agenda
[5:02:18] for cleaning of city facilities, funding for special events like
[5:02:22] the Jazz Festival. Each year our costs increase and we fund
[5:02:28] nearly half of our general fund budget through property tax
[5:02:32] revenue. In the city of Hollywood, we count on
[5:02:36] redevelopment and reinvestment in our community to continue to
[5:02:40] build our tax base. Each commission meeting, we hear of
[5:02:44] the desires of our commission and residents for additional
[5:02:48] programs, services and public improvements. We now have a
[5:02:51] nearly billion dollar overall budget, a big change from the
[5:02:55] financial urgency that gripped the city back during the Great
[5:02:59] Recession of 2008 2009, where literally, this city lost more
[5:03:04] than a third of its tax base. And it took us more than a
[5:03:08] decade to recover from that. And we still see the legacy
[5:03:12] impact of deferred maintenance and investments from that
[5:03:16] period. This one project doesn't ensure the city's
[5:03:20] financial future, but its significance and what it brings
[5:03:24] to the city cannot be dismissed. And we have seen a decline in
[5:03:28] the growth rate of our taxable in the growth rate of our
[5:03:32] taxable value each year for the past four years. For those of
[5:03:37] you who don't, or for those individuals who don't think
[5:03:40] smart growth includes residential redevelopment on
[5:03:43] the beach, it's important to note this project is in a
[5:03:48] section of our beach, the area south of Van Buren Street that
[5:03:51] is characterized by mid and high rise condo development.
[5:03:56] The developed area of our beach represents just 2% of the
[5:04:01] city's overall land, but residential development on the
[5:04:05] beach represents $4.8 billion in taxable value. That's more
[5:04:10] than 17% of our overall tax base. To generate just the tax
[5:04:16] revenue that this project is projected to provide would
[5:04:20] require an increase of 0.18 mills, bringing the city's
[5:04:24] overall millage rate to over eight. If we wanted to generate
[5:04:29] that same revenue from the average single family home in
[5:04:33] Hollywood, it would take 1557 single family homes requiring
[5:04:40] approximately 300 acres of land. That's land the City of
[5:04:44] Hollywood does not have. We've received emails questioning how
[5:04:48] this project could even be considered and the financial
[5:04:53] benefits, along with the new oceanfront community center, a
[5:04:56] revitalized park with more green space, new parking and no
[5:04:59] change to public beach access are the reasons this project
[5:05:03] was approved in 2022, and the commission and city continue to
[5:05:08] abide by the requirements of the Comprehensive Agreement,
[5:05:12] which is what you're here tonight to amend, Lisa Liotta,
[5:05:17] our real estate development officer, will be providing a
[5:05:23] presentation. Dave Keller, our special projects over finance
[5:05:27] will be also adding some notes. But first, our city attorney is
[5:05:31] going to address questions involving the charter and city
[5:05:35] ordinance requirements, as well as the revised Reso that is on
[5:05:38] the dais. Thank you very much, City Manager. I received
[5:05:43] several questions ?regarding the applicability of the proposed
[5:05:48] charter amendment, which is on the November ballot for this
[5:05:51] year. I just wanted to very briefly go through the
[5:05:53] background with you all in the event that there was any
[5:05:57] confusion. This agreement was signed in May of 2022. In 2024,
[5:06:04] the Charter Review Committee suggested placing a charter
[5:06:08] amendment on the ballot that would require certain
[5:06:11] properties, including properties east of the
[5:06:14] intercoastal. City owned properties east of the
[5:06:16] Intracoastal go through a referendum in order to be
[5:06:20] disposed of. It would be a property similar to one like
[5:06:25] 1301. However, because this agreement was signed in 2022,
[5:06:29] the city has contractual obligations that we are already
[5:06:34] under, and any sort of ballot amendment would not apply to
[5:06:40] this contract, which was entered in 2022. So even though
[5:06:44] the proposed charter language was not did not go forward in
[5:06:50] 2024, the commission chose to put an ordinance, assuming that,
[5:06:54] assuming the same language that was in the charter amendment
[5:06:57] and voluntarily placing those constraints on themselves.
[5:07:01] However, that ordinance language did not affect
[5:07:04] contracts that had already been entered into, such as this one
[5:07:07] and any proposed ballot amendment, such as the one
[5:07:10] going forward this November, would also not affect any
[5:07:14] proposed any contract into which the city had already
[5:07:17] entered, such as this in 2022. As to the item, the reso that
[5:07:22] is on the dais before you, there is a small change to it
[5:07:27] in which we combined two of the. Whereas clauses. After
[5:07:31] conferring further with outside counsel regarding the
[5:07:34] resolution, I determined that it was best to eliminate some
[5:07:39] of the duplicative language which was in the resolution and
[5:07:44] also tweaked the language very slightly in a way that I felt
[5:07:49] better protected the city for the future. And with that, I
[5:07:55] would like Lisa Liotta to come forward, and she has a brief
[5:07:59] presentation. Welcome, Lisa. Good evening. For the record.
[5:08:08] Lisa Liotta, Development Officer, Before delving into
[5:08:11] the details of the amendment, I would like to briefly walk
[5:08:15] through the timeline that led us to this point. On January
[5:08:24] 21st, 2020, the developers submitted an unsolicited
[5:08:25] proposal to the city pursuant to Florida statutes. Following
[5:08:29] that submission, on June 23rd, 2020, the city published a
[5:08:33] notice of its intent to receive, review and evaluate proposals
[5:08:36] for the same project purpose, thereby opening a competitive
[5:08:41] process. On September 28th, 2020, the developer submitted a
[5:08:46] timely response to the city's request for proposals. Seven
[5:08:50] other proposals were received on February 18th, 2021, the
[5:08:56] City Selection Committee determined that the developer's
[5:08:59] proposal best matched best met the objectives outlined in the
[5:09:03] RFP and recommended that the developer be designated as the
[5:09:08] winning applicant and proceeded to contract negotiations with
[5:09:11] the city. On March 17th, 2021, the City Commission accepted
[5:09:18] the selection committee's recommendation and directed
[5:09:21] staff to negotiate a comprehensive agreement shortly
[5:09:25] thereafter, on May 5th, 2022, the City of Hollywood and PRH.
[5:09:31] 1301 South Ocean Drive, LLC entered into a comprehensive
[5:09:35] development agreement, which included a conceptual design
[5:09:38] consisting of 159 residential condominium units. Today, May
[5:09:43] 20th, 2026, the First Amendment to the Comprehensive Agreement
[5:09:48] is being presented to the City Commission for consideration
[5:09:52] and approval. The amendment introduces the Live Local Act
[5:09:58] to the agreement. The Live Local Act, also known as Senate
[5:10:02] Bill 102, was enacted to address the growing need for
[5:10:05] affordable housing across Florida and officially took
[5:10:09] effect on July 1st, 2023. This legislation was specifically
[5:10:15] designed to expand affordable housing opportunities for
[5:10:18] Florida residents by encouraging the development of
[5:10:22] affordable rental apartments and mixed use communities.
[5:10:26] Under the Act, developers are provided with several
[5:10:30] incentives, including tax benefits, increased building
[5:10:32] density, reduced parking requirements, and and an
[5:10:37] expedited expedited approval process. In return. At least
[5:10:41] 40% of the residential units must remain affordable for at
[5:10:45] least 30 years. It is also important to recognize that as
[5:10:49] a live local development, this project height may not be used
[5:10:54] as a comparator or benchmark for other live local
[5:10:59] developments. By incorporating the Live Local Act into the
[5:11:02] agreement, the amendment supports efforts to increase
[5:11:05] the availability of quality affordable housing while
[5:11:08] promoting responsible and sustainable development within
[5:11:13] the community. The Live Local Act specifically targets what
[5:11:18] is often referred to as the missing middle workforce. This
[5:11:23] group includes essential working professionals such as
[5:11:27] teachers, nurses, police officers and others who
[5:11:30] frequently earn too much to qualify for traditional housing
[5:11:35] assistance yet still struggle to afford housing in the
[5:11:39] communities where they work. The update applies to
[5:11:43] households earning between 80 and 120% of the local Ami. To
[5:11:50] encourage the development of housing for these residents,
[5:11:53] the legislation provides developers with incentives. In
[5:11:57] exchange, the housing must comply with rent limits
[5:12:00] established by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation,
[5:12:03] which are based on the multifamily tax subsidy
[5:12:06] projects. Income limits published by the United States
[5:12:09] Department of Housing and Urban Development. The idea is to
[5:12:13] expand residential opportunities and strengthen
[5:12:16] its long term affordability throughout Florida communities.
[5:12:20] During this legislative session, another amendment, HB 139 to
[5:12:25] the Live Local Act, was approved and is awaiting the
[5:12:28] governor's signature. The amendment, among other things,
[5:12:32] requires counties and municipalities to authorize
[5:12:35] multifamily developments on property owned by a county,
[5:12:39] municipality or school district. We have a chart for the 2026
[5:12:49] income and rent limits for 2026. The rent limits established for
[5:12:55] 120% of the a MIR2661 per month for a studio apartment and 2851
[5:13:04] per month for a one bedroom. The corresponding income limits
[5:13:08] for households at 120% of the a MIR $106,000 annually for a one
[5:13:14] person household and 121 680 annually for a two person
[5:13:20] household. These figures help define eligibility for
[5:13:24] workforce housing under the Live Local Act and ensure that
[5:13:27] housing remains attainable for Florida's working residents.
[5:13:33] Now returning to the amendment and starting with section 1.37,
[5:13:37] which defines defines private facilities under the revised
[5:13:41] language, private Facilities is defined as a luxury residential
[5:13:45] condominium development consisting of up to 210
[5:13:49] dwelling units, including 126 market rate units and 84
[5:13:55] affordable hero housing rental units. By comparison, the
[5:13:59] original agreement authorized a luxury residential condominium
[5:14:03] development with a maximum of 190 dwelling units. The
[5:14:07] amendment does not propose any changes to the associated
[5:14:11] parking or project amenities. Section 1.43 was also added and
[5:14:18] includes a definition of hero housing, which in summary
[5:14:22] refers to rental units referred reserved for households earning
[5:14:26] no more than 120% of Broward County's Ami, based on HUD
[5:14:33] income and rent limitations, and it gives priority for a
[5:14:37] City of Hollywood police officers, firefighters and city
[5:14:40] employees than to local hospital workers and teachers
[5:14:43] who qualify under the income limits. Section 3.7, under
[5:14:51] general terms, has been added and reads similarly to section
[5:14:56] 1.343 and in summary, section 3.7 states that the project
[5:15:00] includes at least 84 hero housing units reserved for
[5:15:03] households earning 120% or less of Broward County's Ami, and
[5:15:10] that the developer must sign and record restrictive
[5:15:13] covenants in Broward County to enforce these affordability
[5:15:16] requirements for the legality for the legally required period,
[5:15:21] and these restrictions cannot be subordinated to third party
[5:15:25] mortgages or liens. It proceeds with rent limits being updated
[5:15:30] annually based on Broward County Ami, or a comparable
[5:15:34] replacement standard. If Broward County Ami is not
[5:15:38] available. Continuing with the general terms, section 3.8
[5:15:44] clarifies that the market rate units will remain subject to
[5:15:47] all applicable city ad valorem taxes and assessments, and will
[5:15:51] not qualify for any exemption from those payments. And
[5:15:56] section 5.5 under Design Review. Review Process provides that if
[5:16:02] authorized by law at the time of sign off submission, the
[5:16:05] project will be developed in accordance with the Live Local
[5:16:08] Act as set forth in section 166.0415, one of the Florida
[5:16:14] statutes, including any amendments to the law. Section
[5:16:21] 5.6 is a bit lengthy and clarifies that the property is
[5:16:25] zoned for government use, also known as GU, which is a
[5:16:29] discretionary zoning designation where development
[5:16:32] standards such as height, setbacks, density, and building
[5:16:35] massing are determined through site specific City Commission
[5:16:38] approval rather than standard zoning regulations, and that
[5:16:42] the project is being advanced as a negotiated public private
[5:16:47] partnership and additional development flexibility being
[5:16:49] granted, including increased building height being is being
[5:16:53] provided in exchange for the public facilities and other
[5:16:56] community benefits included in the agreement. Importantly, the
[5:17:00] amendment also makes clear that these approvals are unique to
[5:17:03] the specific project and the GU framework and are not intended
[5:17:07] to create a precedent or establish development rights
[5:17:10] for other properties, including projects proposed under the
[5:17:13] Live Local Act or similar state legislation. Section 5.6
[5:17:20] concludes that the amendment concludes the amendment and
[5:17:23] confirms that nothing in the section shall limit or impair
[5:17:25] the city's contractual obligations to the developer
[5:17:28] developer. Granted under the original agreement, the
[5:17:30] amendments or any future city approvals for the project. The
[5:17:36] business terms in the Comprehensive Agreement remain
[5:17:38] the same and include the initial base, the initial rent,
[5:17:42] the base rent and the closing rent, the fee from the condo
[5:17:45] resale, the city retaining fee. Simple ownership, the project
[5:17:49] being effectuated through a long term 99 year ground lease.
[5:17:53] The private facilities being owned by the developer for the
[5:17:56] duration of the lease, all land and public facilities being
[5:17:59] owned by the city, a new and upgraded community center and
[5:18:03] parking upgrades and improvements to Harry Berry
[5:18:05] Park. No cost to the city for project utilities,
[5:18:08] infrastructure and utilities for the private facilities, and
[5:18:11] a commitment to the. To achieve the standards of the Florida
[5:18:15] Green Building Coalition, or an equivalent or greater
[5:18:18] certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Now, at
[5:18:22] this time, I would like to ask David Keller to review and
[5:18:26] explain the project's financial benefits. Thank you. Lisa. Good
[5:18:38] afternoon. Mayor, city Commission, city Manager, city
[5:18:40] attorney and staff, and the public. So. What's the trick
[5:18:49] here? We're going to talk about a number of revenues that are
[5:18:55] identified in the in the agreements and go over how
[5:18:58] they're calculated and talk about what they would mean in
[5:19:01] terms of first year revenues to the city and projected revenues
[5:19:05] over the 99 years of the term of the agreement. So the first
[5:19:11] one we're going to talk about is the initial cash to the city
[5:19:15] from what is called in the agreement, the closing rent. So
[5:19:20] there are included in the project 126 market rate units
[5:19:28] and 84 hero housing or affordable housing units. The
[5:19:35] market rate units are expected to sale sell for $630 million.
[5:19:43] The agreement calls for the city to receive a closing rent
[5:19:47] of 14% of that amount, which is, as you can see at the top there,
[5:19:53] $88,200,000 on the affordable or hero housing. Those are
[5:19:58] expected to sell for 24 million. 14% of that amount is 3,360,000,
[5:20:05] for a total between those two. In closing, rent of 91,560,000.
[5:20:11] Now there are two offsets against that right up front.
[5:20:15] The agreement calls for what is called an initial rent being
[5:20:18] paid to the city of $10 million, minus the payment to the to
[5:20:24] CBRE for a net of 9,039,399. Also, we would back out of that
[5:20:32] number, the $20 million that the developer will be spending
[5:20:37] up to $20 million for the improvements and the
[5:20:42] construction of the new community center at the beach.
[5:20:45] That leaves a net of 62,000,520 $601 working right down the
[5:20:52] right column here. Conservatively, the city is
[5:20:55] projecting to receive 75% of that in the first year and
[5:20:59] amount of $46.9 million, with a balance of 15.6 coming in the
[5:21:07] second year. The next revenue stream we want to talk about is
[5:21:14] the ad valorem taxes. You've heard a lot of people talking
[5:21:17] about what this might mean and what it might be. That would be
[5:21:21] based on a formula. At the top left, you can see there's that
[5:21:26] $630 million that we just discussed. In general, the
[5:21:31] property appraiser reduces the sale amount by 20% so that 80%
[5:21:37] of the sale value becomes taxable. In this case, if we
[5:21:41] reduced it by 20%, we would have a taxable value on the
[5:21:45] market rate units of $504 million. On the top right, you
[5:21:52] see the affordable housing. Now this is a little different. We
[5:21:56] start off with the 24 million that we just referenced on the
[5:21:59] previous slide, reduced that by 20%. You end up with $19.2
[5:22:04] million. However, for the Live Local Act, 75% of that would be
[5:22:09] exempt from taxation. So we're going to reduce the 19.2
[5:22:13] million by 75% and end up with taxable affordable housing of
[5:22:19] $4.8 million, adding the 4.8 to the 504 million. You see a
[5:22:24] total of 508.8 million that would be taxable if you take
[5:22:31] that times the city's current this year millage rate, you
[5:22:37] would see a total ad valorem tax in the first year of
[5:22:44] $4,050,000 in change. There's another revenue stream
[5:22:54] identified in the agreements. It is identified in the
[5:22:57] agreements as the base rent, but you can also think of it as
[5:23:00] an annual lease payment. This is calculated at $0.85 per
[5:23:05] square foot of the 350 zero zero zero square feet of the
[5:23:10] market rate units, it is to be adjusted each year by CPI. Just
[5:23:15] for your information, we're using a 3% CPI growth for all
[5:23:21] of these figures over the course of the 99 years, actual
[5:23:25] CPI average over the last 99 years is 3.1%. So we're right
[5:23:30] on target with what actual experience has been the $0.85
[5:23:35] times the 350,000ft?!S would bea first year payment of $297,500.
[5:23:43] If you take that out over 99 years, with a 3% growth rate,
[5:23:48] that would end up being $175 million over the 99 years. The
[5:24:00] next revenue identified is called a resale fee. Now, the
[5:24:06] resale talks about if those units are bought originally,
[5:24:11] and then after some period, they're sold to someone else
[5:24:15] with that transaction, that second and every future sale
[5:24:18] after that, the city gets a fee on the transaction of the sale.
[5:24:25] That fee is based on. A quarter of a percent. So the starting
[5:24:34] unit price of each of those units is just under $5 million.
[5:24:39] We're assuming six units per year sold. That's a total of
[5:24:47] $29.99 million, and times the quarter of a percent. That
[5:24:50] would result in $74,979 in the first year, again, looking at
[5:24:57] over 99 years, increasing by 3% would result in $44,134,000
[5:25:05] over the 99 year period. The next revenue, if I advance it,
[5:25:14] is our fire fee. We have a fire Non-ad valorem assessment in
[5:25:18] year one. That would be $77,910 to the city doing the same
[5:25:24] thing. Assuming an increase of 3%, it would result in
[5:25:29] $45,860,000 over the 99 years. So let's look at this
[5:25:33] comprehensive now comprehensively and what it
[5:25:35] would mean to the city in the left or the green column. You
[5:25:41] see what all of this would mean to the city in the first year
[5:25:44] that the project is on the tax rolls, I'm just going to go
[5:25:47] right down the column on the left hand side. That initial
[5:25:50] rent payment we discussed net would be 9 million, $30,000.
[5:25:55] That closing rent, which is the 14% of the sales, would be
[5:26:02] $46.9 million. The first year is ad valorem. Taxes would be 4
[5:26:05] million. The resale fees on those six units would be
[5:26:10] $75,000. The base rent would be 297,500. The fire Non-ad
[5:26:16] valorem assessment that we just looked at would be 77,910 and
[5:26:21] impact fees, which are a one time fee in the first year,
[5:26:25] would be $400,000. If you look over on the right hand side in
[5:26:30] the blue boxes, you'll see each of those projected out over the
[5:26:34] 99 year period. So again, I'll just summarize by going right
[5:26:38] down them. That initial payment is still $9 million. No change
[5:26:42] there. The closing rent payment, the total would be 62,520,000.
[5:26:48] Again, remember that's paid over the first two years as the
[5:26:51] units are initially sold ad valorem over 99 years would
[5:26:56] grow to $2.4 billion. The resale fees over 99 years 44.1
[5:27:05] million. The base rent 175.1 million. The fire fees 45.9
[5:27:12] million. And those impact fees, again, that's a one time fee.
[5:27:15] So the 99 year total is the same as the first year total at
[5:27:19] 400,000. The total 99 year cumulative revenue to the city
[5:27:24] generated by this project is estimated to be $2.72 billion.
[5:27:31] In addition to that, just as a reminder, you can see right at
[5:27:35] the very bottom note there, there's still also the $20
[5:27:38] million that the developer would spend to make the
[5:27:43] improvements to the community center itself. So that
[5:27:46] concludes the financial projections. I'm going to ask
[5:27:49] Lisa to step back up for a couple of closing slides. Thank
[5:27:54] you. Thank you, Dave. I understand that there have been
[5:28:04] some questions regarding the design and the site plan, and
[5:28:06] the design and site plan are still being finalized, but
[5:28:10] essentially the project has been redesigned to create a
[5:28:14] slender point tower massing, reducing the wall effect from a
[5:28:18] one A and the beach. The Azalea Terrace access is now
[5:28:22] maintained. The. This preserves the coastal corridor view
[5:28:28] corridors. Additionally, the building is now. The building
[5:28:31] now has a sculptured facade and heavily naturalized podium,
[5:28:36] which establish a refined tropical modern esthetic that
[5:28:40] embraces the beachfront environment. Rather than
[5:28:42] imposing a harsh hardscape barrier. Here's another view.
[5:28:50] Looking from the west, the existing dunes are untouched.
[5:28:54] The community center fronts the ocean with expansive outdoor
[5:28:57] deck space. There is both surface parking and garage
[5:29:01] parking within the first level of the parking garage. To serve
[5:29:06] the public. Another view from the south. So what are our next
[5:29:18] steps? Our next steps are to finalize the design and site
[5:29:23] plan for formal submission address, public outreach,
[5:29:29] finalize needed amendments and exhibits to the comprehensive
[5:29:33] Agreement and ground lease in compliance with Florida State
[5:29:37] statutes. With that, we conclude this presentation item
[5:29:45] number 32, a resolution approving the First Amendment
[5:29:48] to the Comprehensive Agreement, Comprehensive Development
[5:29:52] Agreement between the City of Hollywood and PR 1301 South
[5:29:56] Ocean Drive, LLC. All right. Thank you, Lisa. Thank you,
[5:30:00] City Manager. Thank you, David, for the presentation. It's
[5:30:03] certainly eye opening to see all of the all the details and
[5:30:07] the financial benefits that you outlined through this public
[5:30:11] private partnership. One thing that just David didn't mention
[5:30:14] in his in his slides is while the city will be receiving a
[5:30:19] projected $4 million a year, initially in property taxes and
[5:30:23] growing from the project, roughly the same and separately
[5:30:27] would be generated and go toward the school district and
[5:30:30] the county as other taxing districts. We just presented
[5:30:34] the city portion, so public school funding and county
[5:30:38] priority and county operational funding will also be in a
[5:30:40] similar dollar figure, depending on their millage rate,
[5:30:43] but roughly the same. So, Pat, can I have the speaker cards,
[5:30:47] please? And if there are any questions to city staff at this
[5:30:51] time, I'll be happy to call one of my colleagues. Otherwise,
[5:30:53] we'll go with public comment. Commissioner, did you want to
[5:30:56] do public comment first? Okay. All right, everybody, how many
[5:30:58] cards do we have, Pat? Pat, do you know how many cards? Okay,
[5:31:07] 28 cards. All right. We have three minutes per speaker, so
[5:31:12] we'll have about an hour and a half. If you take up all of the
[5:31:16] three minutes of public speaking time. Happy to hear
[5:31:18] your comments. If you're in the audience and you want to
[5:31:21] support someone who just spoke and you agree with what they
[5:31:23] said and you want to show them support, the way to do that at
[5:31:27] these meetings without clapping and interrupting the meeting
[5:31:29] and interrupting the flow, is to do what's called jazz hands.
[5:31:32] And we could see the jazz, all the jazz that you guys put out
[5:31:35] there. All right, so let's begin. Speaking of jazz, we
[5:31:38] talked about jazz today. Terry Cantrell. Come on up. Terry
[5:31:41] Cantrell, followed by Claire Garrett, all that jazz. Mayor.
[5:31:46] Thank you very much, Terry. By the way, November 21st,
[5:31:49] Downtown Hollywood, big jazz festival. Make sure to make
[5:31:52] plans. We hope from your lips to God's ears might be scaled
[5:31:56] down, but it'll still happen. Go ahead. Okay. I'm counting on
[5:31:59] it. I'm joking. Terry Cantrell, member, president, Hollywood
[5:32:03] Lakes Civic Association today, speaking on behalf of the HLC.
[5:32:06] A yeah, we oppose this project beginning in 2001 and we
[5:32:11] continue to oppose it. Today. I was one of 100 people that
[5:32:15] spoke on March 16th, 2022. You may well, most of you recall
[5:32:18] you were here. 90. 90 of us spoke against ten spoke for
[5:32:23] those that spoke for the project, were doing business
[5:32:26] with related. So obviously for that, I mean, it is a little
[5:32:30] confusing how we could oppose live local and then embrace it
[5:32:33] so quickly after we won that lawsuit. I understand the logic
[5:32:39] behind that. However. Live Local is so new and so fresh.
[5:32:46] Is this is this legal? Are we going to be able to do that?
[5:32:49] The governor hasn't signed that in yet, so we don't even know
[5:32:52] if that's going to happen or not. And it could very well be
[5:32:55] challenged. One thing David's numbers are just dazzling. I
[5:32:59] mean, I I'm a kid you on that, but it makes assumptions. It
[5:33:03] makes assumption that every single unit is rented or sold
[5:33:07] right off the bat. And every single hero unit is rented
[5:33:10] right off the bat. So that may not be the case. It's it's a
[5:33:14] gamble. We're basically speculating on that. We know
[5:33:17] that Chip Abel's vacation rental high rise, is now in
[5:33:19] foreclosure downtown. And that was. And because they went
[5:33:24] condo and they and that didn't work. So now they're in
[5:33:27] foreclosure and there's, I guess, some rentals that are
[5:33:32] still vacant downtown and some of the newer projects too. So
[5:33:34] there's a lot of assumption here that this is going to work.
[5:33:38] And I had to laugh because the comparator clause that Lisa
[5:33:43] mentioned is also a little questionable for the sense that
[5:33:47] they may not a developer like related may look at another
[5:33:50] project two blocks down the road and he may say, well, I
[5:33:53] just built a 30 story project there. You can't use that live
[5:33:56] local project that you already built. However, you guys can
[5:34:00] give them a P and D, a plan, a development, and they can build
[5:34:03] it as big as they want. So that whole comparator clause really
[5:34:06] doesn't work at all. P and D would be the easy, easy way to
[5:34:10] replace that and circumvent that. So and I'm still not
[5:34:15] certain and how we confirm that 40% of these of these 84 units
[5:34:20] are actually going to stay at market at affordable rates. I
[5:34:24] don't know that mechanism. I guess apparently it is in place.
[5:34:27] Hopefully the state did that, but I still haven't seen that
[5:34:30] anywhere. It might be good to explain that to people too, but
[5:34:32] the bottom line is that the HLC is still opposed to this
[5:34:35] project. Thank you Terry. Clara Garrett, followed by Lynn Smith.
[5:34:46] Hello, mayor and commissioners. I'm here today to speak in
[5:34:52] opposition not only to this amendment, but to speak also in
[5:34:56] opposition to the stealthy way in which it was introduced by
[5:34:59] one of the commissioners in her commissioner comments at the
[5:35:03] end of the meeting, when few people were still in attendance.
[5:35:07] It reminds us of the way that the pay raise action was rammed
[5:35:11] through late at night last year, governing without transparency
[5:35:15] and governing without giving the public sufficient
[5:35:19] opportunity to participate in an open dialog before final
[5:35:23] decisions are made on major issues, just erodes the
[5:35:27] public's faith in and respect for their government. Harsh
[5:35:32] words, perhaps, but a sentiment shared by many Hollywood
[5:35:36] residents who are deeply disappointed in how this
[5:35:41] commission has pushed this through. Getting back to the
[5:35:44] amendment itself, besides the fact that it will provide for a
[5:35:48] high rise building that is taller and denser than the
[5:35:51] original, highly unpopular version, this amendment will
[5:35:55] now become a live local project, meaning that it will now bypass
[5:35:59] all county approvals and sustainability regulations. The
[5:36:04] county requirements are there to protect people and to
[5:36:08] protect the sensitive barrier island environment. It is
[5:36:13] irresponsible to use live local to do an end run around these
[5:36:17] county protections, which are meant to be there for the
[5:36:22] public. So when the next 100 year storm hits Hollywood Beach,
[5:36:27] the decision whether or not to bypass county requirements
[5:36:32] using this end run will take on greater significance in
[5:36:37] hindsight, won't it? History will judge the wisdom of your
[5:36:42] vote tonight, Lynn Smith, followed by Michael Seltzer.
[5:36:53] Good evening everyone. Lynn Smith, president of Downtown
[5:36:56] Parks, Parkside Royal Poinciana Civic Association. And I'm here
[5:37:00] to say that we are not in favor of what's happening today. I
[5:37:05] sat here and listened to presentation tonight of numbers,
[5:37:08] and I have learned in my lifetime billions of dollars
[5:37:11] and looked at all kinds of contracts. And I can tell you
[5:37:13] that I can't tell you anything that was that that was said to
[5:37:17] me tonight. I don't understand the numbers. And we had a law.
[5:37:20] It was called Lenny's Law. And if Lenny didn't understand it,
[5:37:24] and I understood a lot. I've lent so much money in my life.
[5:37:28] This is just really mind boggling. And I can't believe
[5:37:31] that all of you guys can understand the numbers and
[5:37:35] hoping as we go into this terrible economic plunge, which
[5:37:39] I believe we're going into, I have a feeling for that. And
[5:37:43] I've been through all kinds of cycles. My concern is not so
[5:37:47] much about the things that we're talking about, but I keep
[5:37:51] going back to this idea where we had a contract with the
[5:37:55] summit and that this was left to the community. And there's
[5:37:58] something in writing where I hear, and I don't know all the
[5:38:01] details, and I apologize for that, that our city manager
[5:38:04] decided that we could go outside this contract and that
[5:38:07] this that we are really we're acting on this contract and
[5:38:11] we're giving something to the community. Well, a 30 story
[5:38:16] high rise for me is not giving something to community. That
[5:38:19] land belongs to everybody in this county, in this city,
[5:38:22] every resident of this city. And we need to know we got as
[5:38:26] many people as we could today under short notice. We all ran
[5:38:29] around like a bunch of crazy people, because we want to let
[5:38:32] you know that we're not happy with this. And and I don't
[5:38:35] believe I believe that it's I call them sneak attacks because
[5:38:38] the thing with the salaries, this I mean, it just is all
[5:38:41] happening so fast. And you're and you're excluding the, the,
[5:38:45] the county, which is making me really nervous because there's
[5:38:47] not going to be any oversight except you guys deciding that
[5:38:51] these numbers are beautiful. I could be sitting with them. And
[5:38:55] if I think you need a degree in finance or something, and I've
[5:38:59] looked at a lot of projects and this is very scary to me. So I
[5:39:04] know that you're going to vote. I know who's going to vote. I
[5:39:07] can tell you right now who's going to vote for and who's
[5:39:10] going to vote against, because you've been doing the same
[5:39:13] thing, but all of you are going to have to live with this
[5:39:16] decision. And I hope that when you think today and you push
[5:39:19] the button for yes or no, that you remember that this belongs
[5:39:22] to us. And if I was an attorney and I wish I was, I would be
[5:39:26] filing the lawsuit already against you because this
[5:39:28] initial contract did not mean that you could give the, the
[5:39:31] this property to a developer to develop a high rise. And if and
[5:39:35] that's the end. And I, I hope that you'll be thinking about
[5:39:38] it and that you that you will well, you're going to vote your
[5:39:41] conscience, whatever that is. All right. Michael Seltzer
[5:39:45] settle down everybody. Jazz hands. Michael Seltzer followed
[5:39:48] by Dennis Demartino. The first thing I have Michael Seltzer
[5:39:56] 956 Hollywood Boulevard. The first thing I have to ask is if
[5:39:59] this was signed in May 2022, why are we still talking about
[5:40:04] it four years later? And why didn't anything happen in those
[5:40:07] four years? Also, I can't understand from the
[5:40:11] presentation if this is a sale or rental for the live local
[5:40:16] portion and the assumption of $5 million per each unit has to
[5:40:21] be wrong. And I think we're getting hoodwinked. That being
[5:40:26] said, I am in favor of the Live Local act. I am in favor of it
[5:40:31] being on the beach. God knows there's enough property on the
[5:40:34] beach that is probably should be knocked down. And I'm in
[5:40:39] favor of having it. For renters that pay 120%. But what about
[5:40:46] 80 and 60%? Are they going to be included in this? Or is it
[5:40:49] just for the people making 120%? But when this PP3 was made
[5:40:57] years ago, there was no mention of live local. And this added
[5:41:03] bonus or whatever they're getting. And maybe this P three
[5:41:07] should be redone and bring in more developers. Now that's a
[5:41:11] whole different project. It's not what it was when it was
[5:41:15] presented to these people years ago. As for the height, as for
[5:41:22] the height of 30 stories. Me personally, having moved from
[5:41:29] Belle Harbor where the traffic is horrendous, I think it's a
[5:41:31] little bit too high, but I guess I can live with it. So in
[5:41:38] conclusion, I think this p three should be redone and or
[5:41:43] the height be reduced. And the apartments, whether they're for
[5:41:50] rental or sale, be made or developed on another piece of
[5:41:53] property on I believe this is four acres. And what happens if
[5:42:01] all these numbers that we were just presented with that none
[5:42:05] of us saw before are wrong? What is the city end up getting
[5:42:11] the way it was presented? Those numbers are fabulous, but I
[5:42:15] have a feeling they might be slightly exaggerated. Thank you.
[5:42:21] Thank you Michael. Let's go to Dennis Demartino followed by
[5:42:24] Melissa Sherman. Esteemed commission members. And I use
[5:42:35] that term for decorum purposes only. Concerned citizens. And
[5:42:39] the rest of you, here we are again. More than five years
[5:42:45] we've been coming back and forth with this. The community
[5:42:48] has vocally, physically showed their dislike of this project.
[5:42:54] They brought up every possible opportunity to tell you how
[5:42:58] wrong it is. The county has agreed with us on most of them.
[5:43:02] You failed on the density and you went around that end. You
[5:43:05] failed on the zoning and you went out on that end. You
[5:43:08] failed on the mapping and you went around on that end and now
[5:43:11] you're bringing in live local. I want to know how this idea
[5:43:14] came to be. Did somebody just have a dream in the middle of
[5:43:18] the night that they decided to do live local, or did somebody
[5:43:21] else ask them to speak for them and present it live? Locals?
[5:43:24] Not all that a great idea. It seems like a good idea, but
[5:43:27] you've got people making $100,000 to qualify for this
[5:43:30] affordable housing. It's not going to help the people that
[5:43:33] really need to be helped with housing. And there's a lot of
[5:43:37] development going on in the city right now. The Dixie
[5:43:39] corridor, the 441, there's going to be buildings there.
[5:43:42] There's going to be property. There's going to be
[5:43:44] opportunities for people. There's a high vacancy rate,
[5:43:49] buildings are closing. People are not being able to rent out
[5:43:53] or sell units. And we're going to provide more. Why? Because
[5:43:57] some realtor comes in and offers us a lot of money. You
[5:44:00] got to remember, while the while the money is going up
[5:44:02] year after year in value, the value of the money is going
[5:44:06] down and down after year. I don't know what else can be
[5:44:12] said. I just know that the land wasn't meant for that purpose.
[5:44:17] I know that the barrier island, the resiliency, doesn't
[5:44:23] accommodate much more density. I know that that the people
[5:44:30] don't want it. And I think we're working under a couple of
[5:44:35] very misleading assumptions here. One is that live local is
[5:44:38] going to help out the people that need it, and it doesn't.
[5:44:43] Another is going to bring us a lot of money stretched out over
[5:44:47] a lot of years. That goes down in value. I think the biggest
[5:44:53] misunderstanding and miss assumption right now is that
[5:44:56] we're constituents and your representatives, because you
[5:45:00] seem to represent a few people, some more than others. And the
[5:45:07] constituents, well, we don't know what we want. Melissa
[5:45:11] Sherman followed by Pam Borgio. Good afternoon, Mayor and
[5:45:20] commissioners. My name is Melissa Sherman. I'm a resident
[5:45:23] of Royal Poinciana. I'm also a public school teacher 25 years
[5:45:28] here in Broward County. I'm here tonight to ask you not to
[5:45:32] approve this project. Not because I oppose housing, not
[5:45:36] because I oppose growth, not because I believe Hollywood
[5:45:40] should pause while the rest of the South Florida changes
[5:45:43] around us. I'm asking you to vote no, because growth without
[5:45:49] trust is not planning. Growth without infrastructure is not
[5:45:54] vision. Growth without neighborhood protection is not
[5:46:00] progress. It's just a high rise. Drop from the sky and hand it
[5:46:03] to residents like an invoice. I'm asking you to vote no
[5:46:07] because live local isn't what it sounds like. When the school
[5:46:13] board of Broward County makes its rough calculations about
[5:46:16] how much a teacher makes and how many teachers they can
[5:46:19] afford for this sum of money, the dollar amount they
[5:46:21] routinely use is about $75,000. Income and benefits. With
[5:46:30] $75,000 a year, you can afford about $4,400 a month in rent.
[5:46:36] But the estimates that I'm hearing of $2,600 as being caps
[5:46:41] for what people can reasonably. Ford on a low income salary is
[5:46:47] just absurd. And you don't have to be a math teacher to be able
[5:46:51] to do those calculations. Ladies and gentlemen, you just
[5:46:54] have to be able to sit in the audience and listen. The other
[5:46:58] reason I'm urging you to say no is because this isn't just any
[5:47:02] plot of land. This is a piece of land where the city has been
[5:47:06] rushing ahead with a vote that moves away from the purpose of
[5:47:11] the land. Without fully answering to the public. We
[5:47:15] deserve a clear explanation of how this project complies with
[5:47:18] the original terms, what public benefit is being preserved, and
[5:47:23] why would you move forward before those questions are
[5:47:25] fully resolved? A land deal is not a suggestion scribbled in
[5:47:30] pencil. It's a public commitment, and before this
[5:47:33] commission takes any action, you should honor that
[5:47:36] commitment openly, carefully and transparently to residents.
[5:47:40] This does not feel like a fair process. It feels like the deck
[5:47:43] has been stacked before the public even reaches the
[5:47:46] microphone. This commission has the power to say no, not yet,
[5:47:50] not this way. Not until the public feels like this is a
[5:47:54] public process again, and not ever for private developers. On
[5:47:59] 1301 South Ocean Drive, a no vote tonight is not
[5:48:03] anti-housing. It is pro planning. It is pro resident.
[5:48:08] It is pro accountability. Please do not approve this
[5:48:12] project tonight. Say no to developing 1301 Ocean Drive.
[5:48:16] Thank you, Pamela Borgio followed by Drew Martin. Good
[5:48:25] evening, Pamela Burgio, Hollywood Hills resident. I'm
[5:48:31] just going to speak my mind. This is absolutely, totally
[5:48:36] wrong. And if I can say the few words I want to say, but I'm
[5:48:42] not going to because I'm in public right now, I'm disgusted.
[5:48:47] We're here talking about private land for the public, if
[5:48:52] that makes any sense. It was deeded to the public. It needs
[5:48:54] to be voted on by the public. We voted you into office. Yes,
[5:48:59] some of you are leaving, but that doesn't mean you should
[5:49:02] not be taking care of your responsibilities and your
[5:49:06] duties to us. We pay and we're going to suffer. You're going
[5:49:11] to suffer because you're changing the outlook of
[5:49:15] Hollywood Beach, not just that parcel, the entire beach. And
[5:49:20] this is what brings people to our community, what you're
[5:49:24] doing and how you're doing it is totally wrong. And I
[5:49:29] disrespect anybody who disagrees with me on that
[5:49:31] because you know it's wrong. Okay? And I'm getting heated
[5:49:35] over it. I've, I've controlled myself for so long and to see
[5:49:44] the people that I once respected disrespect me. It has
[5:49:49] to work both ways. And what you did last year when I wasn't
[5:49:53] even in the audience and found out after the fact of voting
[5:49:57] yourselves a raise and voting yourself, pensions and health
[5:50:01] insurance. I don't know all of it. I wasn't here that should
[5:50:04] have went to the public vote as well. This needs to go to the
[5:50:08] public vote as well. We may not agree on the project, but this
[5:50:13] project should not be at this property period. Stay with the
[5:50:18] law. Stay with what you did in the master plan. Our ordinances
[5:50:24] are laws. Everything says no. The county says no. All these
[5:50:32] numbers are an assumption. Guess what? When we assume,
[5:50:37] okay, it's it's an opportunity for money. It's not a guarantee.
[5:50:42] And Commissioner, years ago, we had a conversation about the
[5:50:47] Margaritaville project and you said, then I wish I didn't vote
[5:50:51] for it. Learn realize that there's a process that was put
[5:50:57] in place by this commission and former commissioners and prior
[5:51:02] staff, and you're going against those rules and regulations for
[5:51:05] the public. It's wrong, and I'm mad. And everybody behind me
[5:51:12] listening, wherever you're at, and I know you're not even
[5:51:14] paying attention to me because you're not looking at me. And
[5:51:18] I'm looking at each and every one of you vote the right way.
[5:51:23] Drew Martin, followed by Ann Ralston. After Ann will be
[5:51:32] Donna Green. Drew Martin, I'm here on behalf of the Sierra
[5:51:42] Club. I came a long way. I came from Palm Beach County. I
[5:51:48] prefer not to drive on I-95 to get here. Okay. I'm sorry. I
[5:51:55] came down here to oppose this project because it's just wrong.
[5:52:01] Everything about it is wrong. I don't think it'll benefit
[5:52:05] anybody. I don't think the live local, you know, it's just a
[5:52:11] loophole for developers. That's all. Live local is they can get
[5:52:16] out of meeting all the requirements. They don't have
[5:52:18] to meet the sustainability requirements. They don't have
[5:52:20] to meet the environmental requirements. You don't have to
[5:52:24] listen to the county. And, you know, I don't think it's going
[5:52:30] to produce the numbers that you think it is. Now. I saw a
[5:52:35] scientific presentation and the the assumption is in 40 years,
[5:52:41] Broward County is going to be underwater. And I don't that's
[5:52:44] not a financial term. That's a physical term. And certainly,
[5:52:51] although we hope that's not the case, this project is in the
[5:52:55] worst place to be built. When you're talking about sea level
[5:53:01] rise, storm surge, hurricanes, the higher a project is, the
[5:53:07] more windstorm damage there is. And I can tell you the, the
[5:53:11] financial benefit of a project that's wiped out by a hurricane
[5:53:17] is zero. So you're looking at zero financial benefit. If this
[5:53:23] project were destroyed. And that's not completely an
[5:53:27] unrealistic possibility, because we look at storm surge
[5:53:31] and the flooding and the fact that the coastline is receding
[5:53:39] inland is very likely that this project may be on very soft
[5:53:47] ground, and it may not be there in 40 or 50 years. These
[5:53:52] numbers depend on the project lasting 99 years. So if it
[5:53:57] doesn't, that reduces significantly the county's
[5:54:01] income. So you need to consider that when you make this vote
[5:54:05] today. Now everybody knows that the public is not in favor of
[5:54:11] this. And so, you know, the irony is, you know, in a
[5:54:17] democratic country, we are faced with the fact that our
[5:54:21] representatives often are not listening to us. And I think
[5:54:25] this will those who vote for this are basically not
[5:54:29] listening to the public, because not one person has
[5:54:32] stood up here and asked you to move forward with this project.
[5:54:36] So it's definitely not the public's in the public interest.
[5:54:40] Thank you. And Ralston, followed by Donna Green, then
[5:54:45] Andre Brown. I think I see Andre, thank you for at least
[5:54:51] holding the meeting at six where people could come. The
[5:54:56] dates that Lisa went through, all were when Covid was
[5:55:00] happening and there weren't public meetings. I think I
[5:55:03] don't know how they were done. This P three came through in
[5:55:06] January of 2020 and March of 2021, and it got signed in 22,
[5:55:12] I think when City Hall. So there's the public is not
[5:55:17] really being able to come in attendance. That's number one,
[5:55:21] Raylan, you said something about the last four years. The
[5:55:23] tax base did something. I didn't catch it. But the tax
[5:55:28] rate or the tax base in Broward County has been increasing. Not
[5:55:34] like before live local happened after this contract was signed.
[5:55:40] That shouldn't have any bearing on this particular contract.
[5:55:47] There. No offense to Mr. Bush. God rest his soul. Those are
[5:55:51] George Bush numbers. That is a projection that means nothing
[5:55:56] but a piece of paper. I can sit there and say, yeah, my
[5:56:00] checkbook has $2 million in it. That doesn't make it so. And
[5:56:05] how are you going to guarantee taxes if the state gets rid of
[5:56:10] a state income tax, then you're going to have to depend on us
[5:56:14] buying something. And guess what? When you start out
[5:56:17] pricing certain things, we're going to stop buying because we
[5:56:21] can't afford it. So that wasn't brought up at all about what
[5:56:26] happens if the state gets rid of income tax. I mean property
[5:56:31] tax. Sorry. Thank you for the correction. We are paying for
[5:56:38] the new community center. I guess that's our benefit
[5:56:41] because I know I'm not going to be living 99 years from now to
[5:56:45] see that 90 projected million dollars or whatever we're
[5:56:48] supposed to be getting. When a property gets assessed on a
[5:56:53] sale price, that's usually 10%, not 20%. David, I'm sorry, but
[5:56:57] I work there. Did it include homesteaded properties?
[5:57:02] Assuming these luxury apartments or condos, are they
[5:57:06] going to be homesteaded? Is that projected in those fancy
[5:57:10] figures? I didn't hear it. So these are questions just
[5:57:14] sitting there not lawyer. And then one other question I have
[5:57:18] which bothered me in the comprehensive plan, they list
[5:57:23] the properties that are affected by this agreement.
[5:57:26] There is one folio number in here that doesn't exist. Why it
[5:57:32] I can't find it anywhere. I've called the property Appraiser's
[5:57:35] office to research to see if it was split or combined from
[5:57:39] another property. You can still get that record. To my
[5:57:44] knowledge, and from what I found out at Bcpa, this
[5:57:48] property does not exist. I don't know why it's there.
[5:57:51] Thank you. And Donna Green, followed by Andre Brown. Is
[5:57:56] Andre here? I don't think he's here. So Mark Ross will follow.
[5:58:00] Donna. Good afternoon, Mayor and commissioners. My name is
[5:58:05] Donna Green, 526 North Rainbow Drive. I've lived in Hollywood
[5:58:09] more than 35 years, and I'm here also representing many
[5:58:14] other people who can't be here. They say insanity is doing
[5:58:19] something over and over and expecting different results. So
[5:58:23] I must be crazy because I have been here many times speaking
[5:58:28] against this project. And I guess I'm here because I'm an
[5:58:33] optimist, and I believe you all love Hollywood. What we are,
[5:58:37] what we have always loved about our city and about our beach in
[5:58:41] particular. So I'm an optimist. I believe you all care what we
[5:58:47] think, what the residents think, what the residents want. And as
[5:58:50] you can see, we're all speaking up to preserve this piece of
[5:58:55] the beach that we love and that we want to protect from a new
[5:59:03] sham, which is the live local. This, to me, is another trick
[5:59:09] and a gimmick to take away control from the residents who
[5:59:14] deserve to have a voice. We haven't been able to vote on
[5:59:18] this, and we've come many times, explained how we feel,
[5:59:23] explained why this is important, explained the value of the
[5:59:29] character of the beach and why we are marketable because of
[5:59:36] our charm. That's why we get on all of the best of lists the
[5:59:42] charm, the character, the small town feel. I know it's not
[5:59:48] going to last forever in some parts of the beach, but this is
[5:59:54] the land that belongs to the city. The deed that said it
[6:00:00] should be for public use has been talked about, and people
[6:00:04] try to use gymnastics To talk around how it doesn't count
[6:00:10] that we can still use it for a private high rise. It is wrong.
[6:00:17] That is not public. Unless someone invites me on their
[6:00:21] balcony to watch the. Because it's public. I do not believe
[6:00:27] this is a public property. You're putting a private
[6:00:32] building on our public land. So please, please consider the
[6:00:39] long term impact of what this will do to the trust of the
[6:00:45] residents. What we believe about our commission and what
[6:00:51] you do to represent us. Please keep the trust. We need that.
[6:00:59] Thank you. Thank you. Donna. Mark Ross, followed by. I think
[6:01:05] it's Patty DiBiase. Hi. How are you doing? I've been here
[6:01:17] before. Seems like five years. Doing the same damn thing. No,
[6:01:22] no, no. Everybody's saying the same thing over and over again.
[6:01:25] It's not your property to give it away. It's not. It was
[6:01:28] deeded to be given to the people of the city. It's a
[6:01:31] beautiful little place. The buildings are falling apart.
[6:01:34] It's a tilt wall building a solid concrete. And what I.
[6:01:38] What? I said they should make a damn. A rescue place for it.
[6:01:42] There's no place for people to get off the beach here. If
[6:01:45] there is this bad storm. There's no country boy air
[6:01:47] boats out there to come and save people. They don't do that
[6:01:50] anymore. There's no they're not going to get off these people.
[6:01:54] I talked to people. I know people. They're not going to
[6:01:56] leave their building. They're not going to leave it. They're
[6:01:59] going to be stuck out there. How are you going to get to
[6:02:02] them? They can't drive a truck out there. It's flooded. It's
[6:02:05] full of water. And, you know, the ocean is going to come up
[6:02:08] into there and it's going to happen. And my parents are here
[6:02:11] in the night. My grandparents are here in the 1926 hurricane.
[6:02:14] And they held hands from a wood house and they went to a
[6:02:17] concrete building. That's why they survived. And it can be
[6:02:20] hell. And we're supposed to get Andrew and they decide to go to
[6:02:23] Miami, so nobody knows where they're going to go. And that's
[6:02:26] going to happen. The building we have there right now, the
[6:02:28] community center, if the tilt wall building is solid concrete
[6:02:31] with t beam roof, I build buildings that I did the
[6:02:34] diplomat, all the windows at the diplomat. And I also did
[6:02:37] Espirito Santo in downtown Miami. When Wilma hit, we did
[6:02:41] the contract for our glass was $23 million. The Four Seasons
[6:02:46] blew the glass out of his four seasons. It hit my building 300
[6:02:49] and 306, 360 pieces of glass in fenestration. Aluminum,
[6:02:57] fenestration had to be replaced. We fixed it for $80 million. So
[6:03:01] the repair after a hurricane is ridiculous on these buildings.
[6:03:05] But either way, that building right now can be used as a, as
[6:03:08] a, as a place to get people out of here. It can be that
[6:03:11] building is big enough for two helicopter pads for for rescue.
[6:03:15] We're also going to land. It's at least one way you could get
[6:03:19] people out of the area, you know. Otherwise people are
[6:03:21] going to die from a hurricane here. It's that simple. It's
[6:03:24] going to happen. It's happened before I was here in 63. Cleo
[6:03:29] went through, you know, and it was nice. We had trees in the
[6:03:32] backyard, 2.5ft diameter, ten foot above the ground, snapped
[6:03:35] them in half like toothpicks. You know, it happens, you know?
[6:03:39] And I can't believe I'm looking at you guys even going through
[6:03:42] this again. And why are you fighting it so bad? You know, I
[6:03:46] can't believe that it's a, I hate to say corrupt, but it
[6:03:49] doesn't make any sense to you that you want to do this. It
[6:03:52] doesn't make any damn sense. I see you and I talk to you.
[6:03:57] People for five years have been doing this same thing.
[6:04:01] Everybody's doing same the same thing. You're sitting there
[6:04:03] smiling. I'm like, I don't have much respect for you. You told
[6:04:06] me, no, they're going to dump it. It's never going to happen.
[6:04:09] Yeah, it goes both ways. You remind me of Foghorn Leghorn.
[6:04:13] Thanks, Mark. By. Patti DiBiase. You'll correct me if I'm wrong
[6:04:20] on the pronunciation. Rick Goldman, you're next. Patti
[6:04:24] DiBiase, 2020, Tyler Street. Hello, Patti DiBiase. Good
[6:04:28] afternoon, commissioners. I mean, good evening. I've been
[6:04:31] here. Well, this is not the first time I've been here to
[6:04:34] speak on behalf of saving our public beachfront. We have seen
[6:04:37] the Broward Planning Council recommendation not to build on
[6:04:40] this parcel that is still community land. It is my
[6:04:43] understanding. Back in 1980, it was deeded to the city for open
[6:04:47] space recreation, public and municipal purposes forever.
[6:04:53] Families have enjoyed this beach for years, but now the
[6:04:56] battle continues. The language of the deed never intended to
[6:05:00] permit privately owned condominiums, apartments,
[6:05:03] rental, or any other form of private residential development.
[6:05:06] The financial revenue should not override the original deed.
[6:05:12] Finding a loophole like live local and have a percentage
[6:05:17] affordable housing still does not make this right. There are
[6:05:20] many empty units throughout the city. There are even
[6:05:23] foreclosures. Why not open those to affordable homes? They
[6:05:26] will be better centralized for families that also need public
[6:05:31] transportation. They can walk, use busses, trains. This would
[6:05:36] make better financial sense. Putting them on the beach where
[6:05:40] you need a car. And even with gas so high now driving back to
[6:05:44] the land, you know the mainland is a hardship. This is bad
[6:05:47] financial deal to use as a loophole just so you can build
[6:05:51] there. Is it really for the working class? Why not protect
[6:05:55] the beautiful piece of beach property for all the working
[6:05:59] class? In addition to what I just stated, let's look at the
[6:06:02] environmental consequences to our fragile barrier island.
[6:06:06] Affordable or not, we are still going to have mandatory
[6:06:09] hurricane evacuation. The zone will flood with saltwater
[6:06:13] intrusion. Is this a smart place to build more homes, more
[6:06:17] families that will need help during the storm, evacuation
[6:06:19] and rebuilding. If we get hit by a major storm, just like the
[6:06:23] West Coast, there are people in Fort Myers still waiting to
[6:06:27] rebuild, waiting for insurance claims. Who is going to help to
[6:06:31] rebuild? We, the taxpayers are the real working class. I beg
[6:06:35] all of you to please consider the recommendation of the
[6:06:38] Planning Council to preserve this unique oceanfront property
[6:06:42] for public use, allowing private high density
[6:06:46] development would fundamentally change both the character and
[6:06:49] the intent use that the property was deeded to us
[6:06:54] forever. Thank you. Thank you. Stephanie Burns, followed by
[6:06:59] Scott Evans, then Sylvia Meyer. Stephanie Burns, Eric Goldman.
[6:07:08] Did I skip Rick Goldman? Rick Goldman, come on up. My
[6:07:12] apologies. I moved the car too quickly. Thank you. The land
[6:07:18] we're talking about still has a deed restriction on it that
[6:07:21] says the land must be used as open space, such as a public
[6:07:24] park or some other purpose. And for the past 50 years, everyone
[6:07:28] understood what the words public purpose meant. However,
[6:07:32] today we're supposed to believe that selling our land on a 99
[6:07:36] year lease so it becomes a privately owned condo is a
[6:07:39] public purpose. If this is such a great opportunity for us, I
[6:07:43] don't know why you won't let us vote on it. But more than that,
[6:07:46] we heard about how we're going to get millions and millions of
[6:07:49] dollars if we just wait a century. But when my parents
[6:07:53] moved to South Florida and bought their first brand new
[6:07:56] three bedroom home, it was less than a century ago, and it cost
[6:08:02] $11,000. And two parents working full time struggled to
[6:08:05] pay on that $11,000 house. But eight years later, they wanted
[6:08:10] a three bedroom house. And that three bedroom cost an
[6:08:15] outrageous $23,000 in just eight years. How much it
[6:08:19] changed. But my dad said, we'll keep the windows open. He
[6:08:23] wasn't going to pay the extra 1500 to get central air. It was
[6:08:27] too much. Okay, one summer is all it took and he bought the
[6:08:31] central air later. But in more recent history, 40 years ago, I
[6:08:34] moved into South Lake and I paid an outrageous amount. I
[6:08:39] paid $109,000 to live half a mile from the ocean in South
[6:08:44] Lake. Today, Zillow says my house is worth 1,000,003. So if
[6:08:48] you think about it, in just 40 years, what a dollar used to
[6:08:53] buy then is now like $0.08, $0.09, something like that. So
[6:08:58] when we hear about the millions and millions we're getting,
[6:09:01] it's like we're getting paid in monopoly money. If the building
[6:09:04] is even standing that long, because sometimes they don't.
[6:09:07] And when we hear that this affordable housing. Imagine the
[6:09:13] waitresses on the beach could pay only 2600 a month and
[6:09:16] they'll get a studio. I don't think they're going to be
[6:09:19] standing in line for that. This is outrageous. It needs to stop.
[6:09:24] We've been against it for the past five years. Why not listen
[6:09:27] to us? Or at least let us vote on it? Stephanie Burns,
[6:09:33] followed by Scott Evans. Scott, come on up. I guess Stephanie
[6:09:39] Burns might not be here. Barnes. Stephanie Barnes no, no, Kathy,
[6:09:45] unless you want to be Stephanie Barnes today. I thought you
[6:09:48] were Kathy Dibona and we'll call you up. Scott come on up.
[6:09:53] I'll be Stephanie Barnes. Yes. Scott Evans, Park East. Love to
[6:10:03] speculative financial benefits. We get commissioners,
[6:10:08] commissioners, mayors. I know you all by first name, so we'll
[6:10:10] dispense with formalities. Happy Emancipation Day to
[6:10:14] everyone today, May 20th, 1301. Public oceanfront open space
[6:10:21] that is deeded for recreation period. Live local was formed
[6:10:29] by lobbyists supporting big developers to bypass city and
[6:10:32] county authority. I thought Home Rule was something the
[6:10:36] entire Hollywood Commission stood for. That's what I
[6:10:39] thought. Anyway, there was a letter sent to you guys by
[6:10:44] Robert Garcia, and I read it, and I thought he had a lot of
[6:10:48] good points. He wrote the legal 50 year lease ordinance and
[6:10:51] vote historical, environmental and factual basis, supporting
[6:10:56] the denial of this live local application has already been
[6:11:00] thoroughly established through the extensive review and
[6:11:04] finding of qualified professionals, city records and
[6:11:08] the properties long recognized deed restrictions, I ask that
[6:11:14] you follow the recommendations and concerns made by your
[6:11:17] Hollywood and Broward County constituents and the
[6:11:21] overwhelming public response opposing this proposal with
[6:11:25] limited support in favor of it. I think there was 1 or 2 people
[6:11:29] that did favor this last time I was here, and they were both
[6:11:33] realtors. I was one of the 250 people lined up outside City
[6:11:39] Hall during Covid to speak to the commission against this
[6:11:43] sweetheart deal and present. When Carol eviscerated the
[6:11:47] proposal. Related group submitted, many of you on the
[6:11:52] commission were ready to already rubber stamp it, which
[6:11:56] I'm shocked. We're a republic. I think you all know what that
[6:11:59] is a form of government in which the power belongs to a
[6:12:02] body of citizens entitled to vote, and their voice is
[6:12:07] exercised by their elected leaders. The citizens own this
[6:12:13] land. Let us vote November 3rd and the people will decide
[6:12:18] further. Efforts to usurp the power of the people is a giant
[6:12:22] red flag to me, and I suggest we need to dig deeper and as
[6:12:28] they say, follow the money. Sylvia Meyer, followed by Tim
[6:12:37] McVeigh. Hard act to follow over there. I need my glasses.
[6:12:46] So pushing this through, I thought I was there. I am okay,
[6:12:52] pushing this through with affordable housing does not
[6:12:55] make it more palpable when there are so many other options
[6:12:58] around the city that can and should be redeveloped. The only
[6:13:04] reason that affordable renters rentals are being considered,
[6:13:08] even though they don't seem very affordable to the people
[6:13:11] who they're supposed to reach, is just to bypass the county
[6:13:18] vote, which at this time seems unfavorable to the developer
[6:13:21] and the city. Since this contract was passed in 2022. I
[6:13:27] wonder if you've examined related as your partners in
[6:13:31] affordable housing. They're famous for their poor door
[6:13:36] because they don't want. They're famous for their poor
[6:13:40] door. They famous for amenity charges, separate amenities for
[6:13:45] affordable housing, or none at all. It was related that it's
[6:13:51] called the Set in Manhattan, which explicitly forbid rooftop
[6:13:56] access for affordable renters. Separate addresses, separate
[6:14:01] entrances, all sorts of ways to keep certain residents in their
[6:14:05] place and out of other spaces. That's how your that's your
[6:14:10] partner in getting this built with affordable housing. The
[6:14:14] fact remains that this is being slated to be built or it does
[6:14:17] not belong. This land belongs to Hollywood residents and we
[6:14:22] deserve a vote on it. The utter hypocrisy from certain
[6:14:27] commission members who rail against losing hometown rule to
[6:14:33] Tallahassee to push this forward against residents
[6:14:36] outcry is offensive at the least. And since we cannot vote
[6:14:43] in on social media, unfortunately not everybody
[6:14:46] comes out to speak, but they rail against this project on
[6:14:50] social media and they call for you guys to be voted out. So
[6:14:57] some of you are charming out since you can't be voted out. I
[6:15:00] ask everybody in the audience and who's listening to think
[6:15:04] about who the commissioners who are going to vote yes to this
[6:15:08] or supporting, and really examine those candidates and
[6:15:12] reject them. If you don't want the same reckless decision
[6:15:16] making that bypasses the support of residents, no
[6:15:20] private condo belongs on this public land. And wait until
[6:15:24] they come for a public park near you. Tim McVeigh, followed
[6:15:31] by Jeffrey Pearson. Good evening. Tim McVeigh, 4316 Van
[6:15:40] Buren Street. I have been asked by a long term resident, Robert
[6:15:44] A Jason, 3400 North 37th Street, to read the following statement
[6:15:49] into the record regarding the agenda item being considered.
[6:15:53] His statement in his entirety has been provided to the City
[6:15:56] Clerk. He writes. Dear City Commissioners, as a lifelong
[6:16:01] resident of Hollywood, Florida since 1939, I respectfully and
[6:16:06] strongly urge you to reject the latest live local proposal and
[6:16:11] the proposed 1301 condominium development concerning the
[6:16:15] property located at 1301 South Ocean Drive in Hollywood. In my
[6:16:20] opinion, the legal, historical and factual basis supporting
[6:16:23] the denial of this application has already been thoroughly
[6:16:27] established through the extensive review and findings
[6:16:29] of qualified professionals, city records and the properties
[6:16:34] long recognized deed restrictions. More importantly,
[6:16:38] I possess firsthand knowledge of the original intent
[6:16:42] surrounding the city's acceptance of this property. 52
[6:16:45] years ago, I served as one of five members on the City
[6:16:50] Committee that determined the acceptance of this property
[6:16:53] from the owner through then Chief Financial Officer Frank
[6:16:56] Stephens. The conveyance was accepted, subject to explicit
[6:17:00] deed restrictions limiting the properties used to open space,
[6:17:04] park, recreational and other public and municipal purposes.
[6:17:09] That language has never intended to permit privately
[6:17:12] owned condominiums, apartment rentals or any form of private
[6:17:16] residential development. Municipal purposes refer to
[6:17:20] legitimate public uses such as police, fire and civic
[6:17:25] facilities, not private high density residential properties
[6:17:29] operated for private gain. At that time, Mr. Stephens and
[6:17:32] owner Mr. Mailman made unmistakably clear that the
[6:17:35] donor's intent and expectations were that unique oceanfront
[6:17:39] property would remain in perpetual use for the benefit
[6:17:42] of the citizens of Hollywood. For more than five decades,
[6:17:45] that deed restricted public use has remained uninterrupted and
[6:17:49] honored. This property is not simply another development site.
[6:17:53] It is unique and irreplaceable. Public trust asset, whose
[6:17:57] historic purpose and protected status should be preserved
[6:18:00] exactly as intended by its owners and accepted by the city.
[6:18:04] Allowing residential development on this property
[6:18:07] would permanently alter its character, undermine the
[6:18:10] original deed restrictions, and weaken public confidence in the
[6:18:13] city's commitment to honoring donor intent and protecting
[6:18:17] public land. In closing, I respectfully ask that you
[6:18:20] follow the recommendatns and concern expressed by your
[6:18:23] constituents from throughout the city of Hollywood. The
[6:18:26] overwhelming public response has been strongly opposed to
[6:18:28] this public, with very limited support for it. Please preserve
[6:18:32] this project for the public purposes for which it was
[6:18:35] entrusted to the city over 50 years ago. Respectfully
[6:18:38] submitted. Robert a Jason. Thank you. Good. Good timing.
[6:18:44] Jeffrey Pearson, Jeffrey Pearson, followed by Cat Uddin.
[6:18:54] Mr. mayor, commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to
[6:18:56] speak. I'll be brief. I'm sorry. So many will say more
[6:19:01] eloquently and succinctly than I am able to, so I'll move this
[6:19:04] right along. Thank you for doing something. Many of you
[6:19:07] were involved during the City of Hollywood financial downfall
[6:19:11] period, and you rescued us from it. But what you're planning
[6:19:15] here is not the proper way to do this. You need to rework the
[6:19:20] analysis for worst case scenario, not best case
[6:19:24] scenario. The let's not have another Margaritaville. Not
[6:19:30] that you were involved in it, but the problem with
[6:19:35] Margaritaville was that so much was left on the table. Period.
[6:19:39] That's all there is to it. Okay, I have 245 story buildings
[6:19:43] about to be constructed. They've broken ground across
[6:19:46] the street from me. A lot more ad valorem is going to come out
[6:19:49] of those two buildings than will ever come out of anything
[6:19:52] built on 1301. Find a better way to do this. A better way to
[6:19:59] get out of this contract and produce income. And thank you.
[6:20:06] Thank you, Jeffrey Cat, followed by Siobhan McLaughlin.
[6:20:17] Cat Yudin. This is not the same project as it was when it was
[6:20:21] voted on in 2022. It was different in December of last
[6:20:24] year when you voted on the land Use Amendment, and it has
[6:20:27] changed quite significantly again since December. We should
[6:20:30] be asking our city attorney if the changes are so significant,
[6:20:33] could we consider a new contract with the new numbers
[6:20:36] and details? If so, our current ordinance regarding leases of
[6:20:39] 50 years or more going to a vote of the people of Hollywood
[6:20:42] should be honored. Residents are questioning how making so
[6:20:45] many units to be affordable rentals with live local tax
[6:20:49] breaks will result in the same financial benefit to the city.
[6:20:53] The city also seemed to agree that nice hotels would benefit
[6:20:56] the beach more more so than condo towers. While most local
[6:21:00] governments are fighting live local mandates, our city has
[6:21:02] now decided to force a live local project on its own
[6:21:06] constituents. Even more puzzling, the city just spent a
[6:21:09] great deal of resources, time and taxpayer money fighting a
[6:21:13] live local lawsuit on our beach a few blocks down so that we
[6:21:16] could keep the low rise character of our beach. And we
[6:21:19] won the lawsuit about a month ago. Why are we now turning
[6:21:22] around and doing it to ourselves? None of this makes
[6:21:25] any sense. The whole point of ruining this special locals
[6:21:28] area of our beach with a private tower was revenue. How
[6:21:31] can the revenue be the same if 40% of the units are affordable
[6:21:35] rentals? And speaking of affordability, a realistic view
[6:21:38] of what Broward teachers make as needed. I was a Broward
[6:21:41] teacher for 15 years, and at the end of 15 years I made
[6:21:45] about $60,000, not even remotely close to probably 80%
[6:21:50] of the annual median income in Broward. It's an insult to
[6:21:53] teachers to use us to sell this project. I'm a hero who
[6:21:58] believes in preserving this special spot, so let's not kid
[6:22:03] ourselves that these units will actually be affordable and more
[6:22:06] on the way. Oh, I'm sorry. We also have many empty units
[6:22:10] available downtown and more on the way. This project is not
[6:22:13] necessary, especially in this location. This is not smart
[6:22:16] planning. This is a mandatory hurricane evacuation zone.
[6:22:20] Sheridan Street and Hollywood Boulevard have been impassable
[6:22:22] during a regular rainstorm. A1 A is a mess, and the barrier
[6:22:25] island will continue to have major challenges far into the
[6:22:28] future as it floods with salt water on a sunny day,
[6:22:32] scientists predict a possible 2 to 7ft of sea level rise by
[6:22:36] 2100. This project will block the sun and lock us into a
[6:22:39] legal relationship with an unknown condo association for
[6:22:42] 99 years. This is public land deeded to the city for parks,
[6:22:46] recreation, open space and public purpose. A private condo
[6:22:49] tower is not public. This project will, will will affect
[6:22:53] public access because spaces will likely be taken by
[6:22:56] residents and their guests. Just like what happened at
[6:22:59] Magnolia Terrace. I'm no longer able to park at Keating Park
[6:23:02] with my annual resident parking pass, because too many condo
[6:23:05] owners were parking there. This is exactly what will happen at
[6:23:09] Azalea Terrace. Thank you to the residents who showed up to
[6:23:13] speak. Even though we know that they'll be voting against us.
[6:23:18] Siobhan McLaughlin followed by jazz hands guys. Siobhan
[6:23:24] McLaughlin followed by Drew Cariaso. Siobhan McLaughlin,
[6:23:28] 1409 Rodman Street. I sent you an email earlier today about a
[6:23:33] quote, but I'd like to add another one to it. If wishes
[6:23:36] were horses, beggars would ride. I am truly disappointed that
[6:23:41] the city staff gives you such an optimistic view of the
[6:23:45] finances and the revenue, but there is no downside to it.
[6:23:48] Once again, I feel that the city staff, perhaps because the
[6:23:52] city manager answers to you and then the managers of the
[6:23:56] various departments, answer to the City manager, we are not
[6:24:00] getting a complete and honest picture of what could be
[6:24:03] happening, and I think that is unfortunate. This project has
[6:24:07] been opposed by multiple multiple people organizations.
[6:24:13] It is just troubling that you continue to ask the residents
[6:24:18] to trust you when the trust has been betrayed, and I ask you
[6:24:23] tonight to vote no on the live local. It is not something that
[6:24:28] the residents want. It is beneath your dignity to
[6:24:33] actually go ahead and do this. When so many people have
[6:24:36] questions about the fidelity, the honesty of the project. So
[6:24:40] I thank you very much. Thank you. Drew Cariaso, followed by
[6:24:46] Tess Youngish. Commissioners and mayor. My name is Drew
[6:24:59] Cariaso, Hollywood, Florida. I don't normally come up and
[6:25:02] speak. I usually write to you, but this time I don't know if
[6:25:05] you've even read my. If you've read my either my. I don't know
[6:25:10] if you've actually read what I've written previously. So I
[6:25:13] felt that I needed to come and speak in person. Here we are
[6:25:18] again, five years and many residents, including myself,
[6:25:23] remain strongly opposed to this proposal. When this first
[6:25:26] started, Commissioner Shoham, who holds a law degree, a civil
[6:25:31] engineer, provided detailed concerns regarding why this
[6:25:34] proposal may not be in Hollywood's long term interest.
[6:25:39] I like Margaritaville, so I know some people don't, but I
[6:25:43] recall Commissioner Hernandez, you surprised me at one of the
[6:25:46] previous commission meetings and mentioned that
[6:25:50] Margaritaville plans were not fully reviewed and that because
[6:25:53] of an oversight, you would not have supported the project if
[6:25:58] you were serving on the commission. And that was
[6:26:01] because the concern of the city lost value. Opportunity lost a
[6:26:07] valuable opportunity in the parking garage, and that
[6:26:11] oversight was missed by staff. And I you really impressed me.
[6:26:14] I was like, you know what? I like that project. But you're
[6:26:17] right, we're losing that revenue because we didn't fully
[6:26:21] vet that project. Now we're facing another major public
[6:26:29] land proposal where the plans and even the benefits to the
[6:26:33] city are still do not appear clear floor space is being
[6:26:39] shifted. Square footage calculations continue to change,
[6:26:42] and the contract terms appear tied to the developments
[6:26:45] footage, calculations. They continue to change the size.
[6:26:49] Everything keeps changing. It's it's, you know, even our
[6:26:52] benefits, the long term revenue to the city is still not
[6:26:57] completely clear. We have proposals. We have an idea. But
[6:27:02] I love spreadsheets, but I don't see where those numbers
[6:27:06] were going to get those numbers at the last minute. The ad in
[6:27:11] live local provision for only a small number of units, and only
[6:27:16] for a limited 30 year or 30 years appear. I'm losing my
[6:27:21] time. We also watched major developments in stability
[6:27:25] across South Florida, including projects such as Circo Tell and
[6:27:29] which is now going into bankruptcy. Thankfully, that's
[6:27:32] not a city property. That would be a great live local. I mean,
[6:27:36] why not? Why not shift and use that? Use our places that are
[6:27:40] empty, not build something that we, the residents, have been
[6:27:43] against for five years. I remain strongly opposed to the
[6:27:49] proposed condominium development. 1301 even the
[6:27:52] addition of a small number of affordable housing units that
[6:27:55] appear designed to to make the project more publicly palatable.
[6:27:59] Thank you drew. Thank you. Vote no, please. Thank you. Tess
[6:28:03] youngish, followed by Dan Lacey. Is Tess here? All right. So
[6:28:11] we'll hear from Dan Lacey, followed by an Castaneda.
[6:28:27] Evening, everybody. Thanks a lot. Appreciate you taking the
[6:28:30] time. Dan Lacy, 1324 Arthur Street. For 24 years, it seems
[6:28:35] like we're back for Groundhog Day again. I remember standing
[6:28:38] here, I don't know, five years ago and hearing these same
[6:28:43] conversations over and over again about this project. The
[6:28:45] one thing that I can see as a as a constant thread throughout
[6:28:49] these discussions has been, please put this to a vote for
[6:28:53] the citizens by the citizens of Hollywood. Everybody's asking
[6:28:57] for that. And yet, year after year, month after month, it has
[6:29:01] never been put up for vote. I've yet to hear one good thing
[6:29:05] about this project. This is a horrible contract. The city of
[6:29:10] Hollywood becomes a landlord for 100 years, and we are on
[6:29:15] the hook to collect rents. The only people who benefit from
[6:29:19] this are the developers. They get their money up front. They
[6:29:23] walk away. We're on the hook for a hundred years. Everybody
[6:29:26] in this room will be dead before that city for that lease
[6:29:30] is up. Anything, any liability on that property, any Surfside
[6:29:36] towers collapse, any kind of storm damage we are on the hook
[6:29:40] for. We are liable for that. This is not the goose that laid
[6:29:45] the golden egg. The goose that laid the golden egg is the
[6:29:47] property. We have. Public land on. Beachfront is so rare in
[6:29:52] Florida. I could probably count on one hand in this area where
[6:29:55] those instances exist. This is a terrible deal and you're
[6:30:01] going to vote how you're going to vote. But that's your legacy.
[6:30:05] Now, the one thing I do have to say, and I only had a few
[6:30:08] seconds to see it, but in the numbers, the financial
[6:30:11] projections, which were, I admit, quite rosy looking, I
[6:30:15] did see that the developer is committed to $20 million in
[6:30:20] improvements on the on the public property, which sounds
[6:30:23] great, but if you read the fine print that was up there for
[6:30:26] just a couple of seconds, that 20 million is backed out of our
[6:30:29] first year's rent. So it's very disingenuous to say that, to
[6:30:34] say that they're putting this money up to improve on the
[6:30:38] property when actually, no, they're not. We are. And that's
[6:30:41] right up there. I just saw that in a couple of seconds. What
[6:30:44] else is in there that we're not seeing? I do this for a living
[6:30:48] for a big old health care system down the road. And if I
[6:30:53] can see that in a couple of seconds, I want to know what
[6:30:56] else is in this contract. This is a bad deal. The city is on
[6:31:00] the hook. The liability and exposure window is out. Is is
[6:31:04] crazy on this. Please vote your conscience. This is not good
[6:31:08] for the city. Thank you very much for listening. Appreciate
[6:31:11] it. Thank you. Dan Ann Castaneda, followed by Rachel
[6:31:19] Mazur, then Monica Pulver, then Glenn Margolis. And B Castaneda.
[6:31:32] Welcome. Hello. This is my first time doing this, so I
[6:31:35] don't know what I'm supposed to say. Hi, I live here, I love
[6:31:38] living here, I live, I work here, my husband lives and
[6:31:42] works here. My daughter lives and works and goes to school
[6:31:45] here. So I live local. You could say actually I live hyper
[6:31:48] local. I don't have a car. I ride a bicycle. So if it's not
[6:31:52] in Hollywood, I'm not going see my point? Okay, so I don't know
[6:31:57] why you guys are building another luxury condo. The
[6:32:03] infrastructure, the traffic, you're taking away stuff from
[6:32:06] the community. It's really crazy. Then you guys started
[6:32:11] putting these things up. So before I came here, like I
[6:32:13] didn't have your numbers, the way that this live local act
[6:32:16] came to be. You guys are dirty, dirty politicians. This is a
[6:32:20] dirty, dirty, dirty, tricky, tricky thing that you did. And
[6:32:24] you should be ashamed of yourselves. You couldn't get it
[6:32:27] one way and then you tried another way. You couldn't get
[6:32:29] it that way. So then what did you do? You figured out how to
[6:32:33] get it. This is a toddler having a temper tantrum saying,
[6:32:36] mommy, mommy, please. Mommy said no, you went to daddy and
[6:32:38] daddy said yes. Okay. You only guaranteeing affordable housing
[6:32:43] for 30 years. Okay. And I was like all on board. And then I
[6:32:46] heard the 30 years thing. And then you put up your numbers,
[6:32:49] your affordable housing. Hold on, you guys said. And she went.
[6:32:52] So they went so fast. 26, 61 a month for a studio. 2891 I
[6:32:59] think it was for one bedroom. What's a two two? Because I
[6:33:03] have a kid. How much is it? Two, two, 3500. What planet are you
[6:33:09] living on that you think that $3,500 is affordable rent for a
[6:33:14] family who lives hyper local lives, works, goes to school in
[6:33:19] our city. You guys, this is a joke. This is all a joke. And
[6:33:23] then I heard it was a related group. Hi, Eric. Sorry, I'm not
[6:33:26] surprised you guys are in bed with the related group. God, I
[6:33:29] had so much more to say, but, like, I got so heated. It's
[6:33:32] really sad that you what you want to do to this beautiful
[6:33:35] beach. The part of the charm of Hollywood is that we don't have
[6:33:38] skyscrapers shooting up into the sky. We actually have sun.
[6:33:41] It's ironic. Sunny Isles is named Sunny Isles. One of the
[6:33:46] things that I love most about this place is the old
[6:33:48] architecture, the buildings, the cool places that you get to
[6:33:52] see. We don't want a modern skyscraper. Like, what is that?
[6:33:56] Really? Think about what you're doing because this is not the
[6:33:59] way to grow Hollywood. You don't need to grow vertically
[6:34:02] to grow as a city. We don't need to go up. You guys can fix
[6:34:06] other things, Mr. Mayor. There's a lot of stuff you can
[6:34:09] fix downtown. Maybe you can occupy your time with that. You
[6:34:12] guys could all put your minds together and figure out a way
[6:34:15] how to bring back historic downtown, instead of building
[6:34:19] another high rise that might make you more likable. It might.
[6:34:24] Thank you so much for your time. But you guys, you have to vote
[6:34:28] no on this. Use your brains. Goodbye. Thank you. She lives
[6:34:33] in radius. She lives in radius. So sweet. Rachel Mazur. I don't
[6:34:40] know if you could follow an Rachel, but. Welcome. Hi. Thank
[6:34:44] you, thank you. Good evening everyone. I'm going to read
[6:34:48] Monica Pulver's next. I am here tonight to go on the record
[6:34:52] against this proposal to incorporate the Live Local Act
[6:34:55] into the agreement for 1301. This is a new law, the
[6:34:59] ramifications of which are not yet understood. And as new as
[6:35:02] it is, the city has already been in a lawsuit connected
[6:35:05] with this law. The term P3 refers to public private
[6:35:10] partnership as our elected officials who are elected to
[6:35:13] represent the public. I would hope that our own city
[6:35:16] government would not support a P3 project, that the public is
[6:35:20] so firmly against. The city has done a good job growing the tax
[6:35:24] base with the addition of several buildings that provide
[6:35:26] tax revenue and housing opportunities without financial
[6:35:30] liability for the city to maintain them and without
[6:35:33] costing the city public land. Four years ago, when this
[6:35:37] project was initially approved by the city and again tonight,
[6:35:40] it was clear that the financial aspect of this project has not
[6:35:43] been reviewed. The city has focused specifically and solely
[6:35:46] on gross revenue, and has not considered at all what it would
[6:35:50] cost the city. Each year and over 99 years of waterfront
[6:35:55] existence to keep this building structurally sound and in good
[6:35:58] condition. I mean, consider what we have seen with
[6:36:01] beachfront buildings when people did not want to spend
[6:36:03] the money needed to shore them up. Over time, the city will
[6:36:08] not have a choice. It will have to spend whatever is needed
[6:36:11] over the 99 years to keep this building safe. In the face of
[6:36:15] years of salt water and wind battering it on the beach. We
[6:36:18] are talking about a 400 foot building. This is completely
[6:36:22] uncharted territory for our city, so we are basically
[6:36:25] committing to spend unknown millions of dollars to protect
[6:36:28] this building. This is a commitment to write a blank
[6:36:31] check, blank checks of taxpayer money for the next 99 years in
[6:36:37] addition to the. In addition, the project has been redesigned,
[6:36:41] causing a need to reconsider how this redesign impacts the
[6:36:45] city's responsibilities and expenses for maintenance. It
[6:36:48] would be completely irresponsible to push this
[6:36:50] project forward without taking time to thoroughly examine and
[6:36:54] make transparent to the public all financial aspects that
[6:36:58] could harm our city, and to commit the city to a brand new
[6:37:02] law. Before we can truly understand how this new law
[6:37:05] could impact our future residents over the next 99
[6:37:09] years, just as we endeavor to make our parents proud even
[6:37:13] after they have passed, we have a duty to our grandchildren and
[6:37:16] future generations that we that will ultimately form our legacy
[6:37:21] in this city. If the city of New York had 99 year land lease
[6:37:25] Central Park, how would that have changed the city? What
[6:37:29] would people think of their legacy? When you consider your
[6:37:33] vote, please think of the priceless value of what this
[6:37:36] park brings to our city. Think of the recent article published
[6:37:39] in parade magazine and what makes Hollywood special. Please
[6:37:45] model our future and your legacy after Delray Beach.
[6:37:47] Let's not turn Hollywood into the next Sunny Isles. Thank you.
[6:37:53] Monica Pulver, followed by Glenn Margolis, then Kathy
[6:38:01] Dibona. Good evening commissioners. Hi, Monica. Hi.
[6:38:05] I don't normally come to these meetings, but I felt compelled
[6:38:08] for this one. Sorry, I'm a bit soft spoken when I'm not angry.
[6:38:16] My concern here is really with the fruit of the poison tree
[6:38:21] going back to the deed, the original intent of that deed,
[6:38:25] and those people who gave that property to the people of this
[6:38:29] city, that's the biggest concern, because what we've
[6:38:33] done is circumvented their wishes. And that's not legal
[6:38:37] because they put it in a legal document. So I'm not sure how
[6:38:41] the commissioners can go ahead with a project that, at first
[6:38:49] light, looks illegal to do. So that's my first concern. I mean,
[6:38:54] I'm the trustee on my grandmother's estate. If I
[6:38:58] don't follow her wishes with her money, I'm my fiduciary
[6:39:03] duties have been lost. So that's the one thing. The
[6:39:08] second thing is that the gentleman here talked about
[6:39:11] putting certain things as restricted covenants, which I
[6:39:17] makes me laugh because the original owners did the same
[6:39:20] thing, restrictive covenants, but it was circumvented by a
[6:39:25] lease because they weren't smart enough or slick enough at
[6:39:28] the time to say, wait a minute, sell or lease prohibition,
[6:39:36] because they weren't thinking like that. They didn't think
[6:39:38] that they'd be betrayed like that. So he talks about
[6:39:44] something in a restrictive covenant that doesn't mean
[6:39:46] anything anymore, does it? If you talk about where we're
[6:39:49] coming from to where we're going, developers always get
[6:39:52] their money up front. We all know that. So since you guys
[6:39:57] know for five years you've been listening to everybody say, no.
[6:40:00] My question is, why are you doing it? Mayor? Mayor, why?
[6:40:11] Why lead this if the money isn't really solid and you
[6:40:16] can't honestly say this will benefit the residents of our
[6:40:21] city, then there's another reason. And that's what all of
[6:40:25] you have to figure out for yourselves. What is the real
[6:40:29] reason? Because it doesn't look like you're benefiting us. So
[6:40:33] are you benefiting you? Yes. Thank you very much for your
[6:40:37] time. Thank you. One would think that all the slides shown
[6:40:44] by the staff show the public benefit. But hey, Glenn
[6:40:48] Margolis, followed by Kathy Dibona. Yeah, good evening,
[6:40:58] mayor and commissioners. I'm Gwen Margolis and long term
[6:41:03] Hollywood resident. I've been a ACP certified planner for
[6:41:09] almost 50 years. I've studied cities, I've studied
[6:41:13] development, transportation and emergency management. And my
[6:41:17] first concern, and it's already been covered is what about the
[6:41:22] evacuation is going to take place here? This is a mandatory
[6:41:27] evacuation zone. So now you have more people that have to
[6:41:31] evacuate. You have more shelters that have to be added,
[6:41:34] you know, and that's, that's something that will never be
[6:41:37] addressed because you're dealing with the devil with
[6:41:41] this new law, with local will probably come back and bite you
[6:41:47] and you will find out if I was the developer and I was doing a
[6:41:50] live local deal with you, I would say as soon as you sign
[6:41:55] that, I'm just going to design it how I want. I'll show you a
[6:41:58] few things, but I'm going to change them. And you have no
[6:42:02] ability to do anything because it takes the power away from
[6:42:05] the county. Sure, but it takes the power away from the city.
[6:42:10] You will not have the ability to manage this. You cannot
[6:42:14] write a local contract that will oversee, that will
[6:42:20] overarch the the powers that the developer gets by going in
[6:42:25] on this live local law. I think this is a really everybody you
[6:42:29] know, there's so many things. I mean, I'm just sitting here
[6:42:33] listening and the people here have brought up tremendous
[6:42:37] amount of of downside to this, the rosy projection figures. I
[6:42:42] didn't haven't heard anything about. How much is it going to
[6:42:45] cost. You don't just develop, you know, millions of dollars
[6:42:50] of revenue by adding a 30 story building without cost. How many
[6:42:56] additional firefighters special fire equipment will you have to
[6:43:01] purchase? How much you know? Is that all going to what are all
[6:43:05] these costs going to be? This is really not a very, you know,
[6:43:10] detailed project. And by going with this live local, you're
[6:43:15] you're really cutting off any control that the city has. You
[6:43:20] really don't want to go this way. I mean, it, aside from it
[6:43:23] being a bad project for all these other reasons, you don't
[6:43:27] want to do this live local. You really, really need to think
[6:43:31] about this. You know, if you really want to go forward, try
[6:43:34] to find another way. But, but don't get into a way where the
[6:43:40] developer runs everything, you know, you'll find that your
[6:43:44] contract, an agreement will be easily overthrown. You know, in
[6:43:48] court, I mean, the courts these days, they go with the big
[6:43:52] money people, and the developers are the ones that
[6:43:55] have the big money. You know, the city you're you're worried
[6:43:59] about making some revenue here. I think it's the downside is
[6:44:03] going to be very bad. Thank you. Kathy Dibona. Followed by Steve
[6:44:11] Welsh. Then Gladys would. Hello each and every one of you.
[6:44:18] Kathy Dibona. And I'm here today as the president of the
[6:44:20] Hollywood Beach Civic Association, as well as a 53
[6:44:23] year resident of this city, proud resident of this city.
[6:44:28] Each one of you know that I picked this up today to just
[6:44:31] you probably have seen this, but this is the Dania Beach
[6:44:34] Press latest edition. And on it, it shows how many more people
[6:44:38] we're going to have on our streets, and how many more
[6:44:42] people are going to be coming in to all of these big
[6:44:45] buildings and condos that are being built. Two eight story
[6:44:49] buildings will join. Second 101 apartment building due to open
[6:44:56] 2026. We're being squashed in the. The traffic has been
[6:45:02] horrendous. Anyway. It's been. I told I think we you and I
[6:45:06] spoke about this recently, Josh, that there are some days where
[6:45:10] it's like 4th of July down on the beach. You can't move. I
[6:45:13] can't get out to get into the street to get on a one a. It's
[6:45:17] just incredible. As far as 1301 is concerned, these fine people,
[6:45:24] your constituents, these highly intelligent people have spoken
[6:45:27] about all of this for five years over and over again. They
[6:45:32] know the numbers. I'm not a number person. You know that
[6:45:35] about me already. Can't even balance my checkbook. I'm a
[6:45:39] person that talks from the heart, and my heart says that
[6:45:42] right now, on this day, this d day, this is the day where you
[6:45:48] prove to us our people, your people, whether or not you're
[6:45:53] going to break trust. Because this is an open trust issue. We
[6:45:59] have trusted you. You've been elected to represent us, to
[6:46:03] represent what we wish, what the majority wish, over and
[6:46:07] over and over and over. Over the years. We come before you.
[6:46:14] I'm here begging at this point because I know what today means.
[6:46:18] I'm here pleading for the people that have. I can tell
[6:46:22] you in the last couple of days and nights, how many people
[6:46:26] have either called me, emailed me, texted me, stop me. They're
[6:46:32] scared. They don't want to lose this. Today you gave the awards
[6:46:39] for the preservation awards for the award awardees, and I
[6:46:42] wasn't able to be here because I had to sit in the DMV to get
[6:46:46] my license renewed. But we had our representatives here, and
[6:46:49] I'm very proud to be on the preservation board. 1301 is
[6:46:56] right next to those same buildings that we just got a
[6:47:00] preservation award for those Tudor buildings. That area, to
[6:47:04] me, should be under an overlay for preservation, including
[6:47:08] 1301. It wasn't included when we when we did the go bond, but
[6:47:13] right after the go bond was implemented, then we heard, oh,
[6:47:16] there's big problems at 1301. Why wasn't it included then to
[6:47:21] be fixed? Okay. Is that it? Thank you though for listening.
[6:47:25] Steve Welsh, followed by Gladys Wood. Then the last three
[6:47:30] speakers will be Isabel Barney. Gary J. Aju and Claudia Herzog.
[6:47:45] Good evening. My name is Steve Welsh. I am here to urge a no
[6:47:49] vote on item 23 to understand why this live, local pivot is
[6:47:55] so fundamentally misguided, we must look at the history of the
[6:48:00] developer, Jorge Perez, CEO of The Related Group. He built his
[6:48:06] immense success on the foundations of genuine
[6:48:10] affordable housing. After earning his degree, he began
[6:48:14] his career as city planner. City of Miami. He created
[6:48:19] neighborhood programs and neighborhoods that actually
[6:48:23] worked for lower income people. He successfully utilized
[6:48:27] federal subsidies to build a multibillion dollar portfolio
[6:48:32] before expanding into luxury coastal high rises. Mr. Perez
[6:48:37] knows firsthand how affordable housing is to work. It is
[6:48:43] therefore beyond comprehension why related Group is choosing
[6:48:47] to compromise its corporate legacy by working with Mayor
[6:48:51] Levy to strip Hollywood citizens of its property. This
[6:48:57] land was explicitly, explicitly and legally deeded to the
[6:49:02] citizens of Hollywood, not to Jorge Perez, not to you, and
[6:49:07] not to you. To us. Oh, there is a viable, transformative
[6:49:14] solution that would protect public access assets and serve
[6:49:20] as a monumental boon to Mr. Perez's sons, John, Paul and
[6:49:26] Nick, who now manage the firm's housing pipeline. If affordable
[6:49:31] housing is truly the driving spirit behind this pivot, not
[6:49:34] just a convenient legal shield, I challenge the developer and
[6:49:39] the city to redirect these resources where they're
[6:49:43] actually needed. I propose comprehensive alternatives,
[6:49:49] transfer the development rights away from our irreplaceable
[6:49:53] beachfront. Take the $365 million related plan to spend
[6:49:58] on a highly disruptive barrier island high rise, and deploy
[6:50:03] those funds toward true, equitable housing along
[6:50:07] Hollywood's primary transportation corridors,
[6:50:11] federal highway, Dixie highway and State Route 441, focusing
[6:50:17] on sensitive, considerate infill in these inland
[6:50:20] neighborhoods would address Hollywood's actual workforce
[6:50:24] housing deficiencies without suffocating our barrier island.
[6:50:31] Finally, because the commission appears intent on rushing this
[6:50:34] vote to ignore the public's desire to wait for a November
[6:50:38] referendum, I am also formally submitting the attached 119
[6:50:43] public record requests to the City Clerk to ensure complete
[6:50:48] transparency throughout this process. Please vote no on item
[6:50:56] 233232. Gladys would. Followed by Isabel Barney. Good evening.
[6:51:09] I'm also opposed to building a high rise condo on the 1301
[6:51:15] property, one of the last remaining locations with open
[6:51:18] space on Hollywood Beach. This project has faced significant
[6:51:24] opposition and for many valid reasons in the past, and it's
[6:51:28] shameful that the live local law is now being considered as
[6:51:31] a method to push it through. I ask that you listen to the
[6:51:36] voices of the community, the taxpayers and residents who
[6:51:39] want to preserve and protect our barrier island and
[6:51:43] beautiful beach from overdevelopment, increased
[6:51:46] traffic, and greater density. We deserve to be heard before
[6:51:51] moving forward with any application of the live local
[6:51:56] law for this project. This very controversial project, the
[6:51:59] community should be allowed the opportunity to vote to vote on
[6:52:03] it in a public referendum. Thank you, thank you. Isabel
[6:52:10] Barney, followed by got. Gary or Gary. It'll tell us, Mr. Aju,
[6:52:21] but go ahead. Isabel. Yeah. Good evening. I was going to
[6:52:26] speak for my three minutes and then decided that everything I
[6:52:32] was going to say has been said, and my only request is that you
[6:52:39] do not vote tonight. But think about everything that has been
[6:52:44] said today. And from my heart, I hope that something moves you.
[6:52:52] Because sometimes I feel like nothing we say moves you
[6:52:56] because you sit here and and it seems like you've already made
[6:53:01] your minds. And so many times I've said what I was going to
[6:53:06] say. It's not the first time. And we're all human beings. We
[6:53:11] all make mistakes. We all have passions. But there is always
[6:53:17] one right thing. And I think the right thing is to say no to
[6:53:21] this project. And there are so many other options. So just put
[6:53:28] your hand in your heart and and think with your heart instead
[6:53:33] of whatever else has been driving you until now. Because
[6:53:37] there is more than just this next project to us all. We have
[6:53:42] to move on. Thank you, thank you. Gary. Aigoo, he's going to
[6:53:48] tell me if I pronounce it correctly. And then final
[6:53:51] speaker will be Claudia Herzog. Good evening everyone. Thank
[6:53:56] you very much. I'm so proud to have such a great, brilliant
[6:54:00] neighbors. I'm not going to be as brilliant as as everybody
[6:54:04] else. I don't think I need to say no to our government. I
[6:54:11] think you know what to do. I saw some posters and I was
[6:54:17] speaking for a few years to the people. I said, what is this?
[6:54:21] And everybody was explaining a little bit, and I trust you
[6:54:24] guys. I said, this thing is not going to happen at all. This is
[6:54:28] just common sense. And I never heard not even one person who
[6:54:32] was in favor of this. Never, never. So I didn't, I didn't
[6:54:38] thought this is my first time engaging into this. I never
[6:54:41] thought this is going to be even this far. Today is my
[6:54:44] first time and I'm very surprised. Before Margaret Bill,
[6:54:50] before I was hanging out every weekend over there and because
[6:54:54] of the project, I was not involved. But I needed to move
[6:54:57] to Freedom and Freedom Street together with the dogs. It's
[6:55:03] okay, I'm with my kids, but because of this project, I
[6:55:07] think I'm going to need to move even further. Or I don't know,
[6:55:10] but I think it's going to change my habits with my family
[6:55:13] as well. So thank you very much. You know what to do, I'm sure,
[6:55:17] and thank you. She had to leave. All right. Thank you. That
[6:55:24] concludes public comment. I appreciate everybody that came
[6:55:27] out. All right. Now we'll have an opportunity for the City
[6:55:32] Commission to ask any questions of the city staff or just
[6:55:37] discuss the item. Ultimately, a motion will be made and we will
[6:55:40] take a vote on this resolution, and that will end the meeting.
[6:55:43] Since this is the last item on today's agenda, let's begin
[6:55:47] with Commissioner Shuhan. Thank you, mayor. First, I just want
[6:55:56] to thank all the residents that came out tonight. You've
[6:55:59] touched on so many of the issues that I have in my notes
[6:56:02] as well. And so I really just want to thank you for your
[6:56:07] ongoing dedication to making sure the city is doing what's
[6:56:12] right. So thank you, Lisa. My first question is for you. And
[6:56:21] one of the speakers mentioned poor doors. And for those that
[6:56:26] don't know, in buildings in other cities, we've never had
[6:56:29] anything like this in Hollywood before. When housing that's
[6:56:34] affordable is built within a condominium or other market
[6:56:40] building, oftentimes the developer will have separate
[6:56:44] entrances for people that are on the lower income, or they
[6:56:49] won't be allowed to use the amenities in the building, or
[6:56:51] they have to have amenity fees. Do we know in this particular
[6:56:57] project, if there's assurances that all amenities will be
[6:57:02] available to all residents and that there will be no distinct
[6:57:06] entrance, and that the condos and apartments will be evenly
[6:57:10] distributed throughout the building? Either Elisa or city
[6:57:20] manager, whoever. I mean, we haven't. As I mentioned earlier,
[6:57:26] the design has not been submitted. There have been some
[6:57:31] preliminary discussions. Guys, please don't interrupt. Please.
[6:57:34] Jazz hands or maybe like this, I don't know. There have been
[6:57:39] some preliminary discussions about the design, but nothing
[6:57:43] has been formally submitted in regard to the design, the
[6:57:49] amenities. I understand there will be amenities for both the
[6:57:55] condos as well as the rentals, separate amenities. That really
[6:58:00] hasn't been hasn't been discussed in great detail. So
[6:58:08] until really the submit a plan and a design, we don't have all
[6:58:14] the answers. Thank you. I'm going to get back to that. I
[6:58:18] think, mayor, in the interest of time, I am going to start
[6:58:24] with my objections to the resolution. And then what I
[6:58:29] would like to conclude with is if you guys are going to pass
[6:58:33] this resolution, because I will not be supporting it. My
[6:58:37] suggested changes to it to avoid things, just like we were
[6:58:41] talking about poor doors and things like that, which
[6:58:43] actually I had submitted to staff about a year ago, the Bal
[6:58:46] Harbor ordinance that bans those. But we haven't gotten
[6:58:49] around to passing that yet, so I'll come back to that. So my
[6:58:57] first comment is we should not be invoking the live local act
[6:59:02] as a municipality in the state of Florida, and I cannot
[6:59:07] support the way we are proceeding. Are we as a
[6:59:12] commission dedicated to fighting home Rule, really
[6:59:16] going to invoke this live local act, all to circumvent what was
[6:59:21] legally and contractually required an anticipated. When
[6:59:26] this agreement was signed, city and county review were a part
[6:59:30] of this contract. So the live Local act can be used to create
[6:59:37] affordable housing in appropriate locations. As many
[6:59:40] of these residents said, it should be near appropriate
[6:59:44] infrastructure, like public schools, where we have none of
[6:59:46] those on the barrier island. The Live local act is a huge
[6:59:53] erosion of the ability of Florida cities and counties to
[6:59:56] govern themselves, and the use of it by our commission as a
[7:00:00] tool to undermine home rule anywhere is a slap in the face.
[7:00:05] And contrary to the objectives of the Florida League of Cities,
[7:00:09] our neighboring Florida cities and our counties. But no more,
[7:00:14] especially here in Hollywood, where together, the seven of us,
[7:00:19] with our staff and our outside counsel, have thus far defeated
[7:00:23] the improper use of the Live Local Act. It is a huge mistake
[7:00:28] to support this course of action with unknown, absolutely
[7:00:33] unknown and permanent ramifications. Once this
[7:00:38] building is built, that piece of public open space is gone,
[7:00:42] and to be the first city to sacrifice community park and
[7:00:47] open space pursuant to the Live Local act is shockingly wrong.
[7:00:55] Don't do it. And then really, a huge question how demaris can
[7:01:04] we have a resolution tonight based on a law that does not
[7:01:08] even exist? Guys, please do the jazz hands, please. Yes, please.
[7:01:21] The way that the resolution is drafted, it allows the use of
[7:01:24] live local to the extent that that use is applicable to the
[7:01:27] contract. If there is no if this is not signed into law by
[7:01:31] the governor, then live local would not be allowable. We're
[7:01:35] talking about tonight. It's not even even if the governor
[7:01:39] approves it, it doesn't go into effect until July 1st. That's
[7:01:42] correct. Secondly, adding density notwithstanding of how
[7:01:48] we got here tonight, which is simply to avoid the ordinary
[7:01:52] and anticipated county oversight of any project in
[7:01:56] this city, and especially those in fragile environments. My
[7:02:01] concerns throughout this review process remain. It is a
[7:02:05] terrible location. To add increased density. We are
[7:02:09] doubling the density that this commission approved less than
[7:02:13] six months ago, when we approved 25 units per acre for
[7:02:17] a grand total of 111 units. This is an at risk area for
[7:02:23] climate catastrophe and for sea level rise. It is a barrier
[7:02:27] island and a hurricane evacuation zone to add 200, and
[7:02:32] is at least a 210 units. The proposal before us adding
[7:02:38] another 100 units from what we just decided in January, makes
[7:02:45] these concerns even more alarming. And that's on top of
[7:02:49] what these residents have talked about forever. The
[7:02:52] original deed district restrictions, which we
[7:02:56] stretched to get this far, and also whether it's truly, really
[7:03:00] a proper P3, which is something that includes publicly
[7:03:05] available benefits, these private condos and these rental
[7:03:08] units will not be available to the public under the current.
[7:03:14] Please do not make any noise under the current Comprehensive
[7:03:20] Development agreement, rentals are expressly barred. The
[7:03:26] original P3 approval was critically based on the
[7:03:28] inclusion of only luxury condominiums and no rentals.
[7:03:33] And contrary to the erroneous assertion in tonight's draft
[7:03:37] resolution, the CDA, which is the Comprehensive Development
[7:03:41] Agreement as signed, precludes rentals. It says in the event
[7:03:45] that the developer determines that despite the developer's
[7:03:49] best commercially reasonable efforts, the private facilities
[7:03:53] cannot be developed as a condominium. With the agreement
[7:03:56] within the The agreed time frames, the developer shall
[7:03:59] have the right to convert the private development to a rental
[7:04:02] project. And that is it. And not only hasn't that been done,
[7:04:06] this developer, along with its partner at the city, has done
[7:04:11] nothing for five years to try to get the project that is
[7:04:15] originally set forth in CDA approved. They submitted a
[7:04:18] joint application with the city years ago, let it expire and
[7:04:23] has done nothing since. There is nothing pending before the
[7:04:27] county at all right now. That has to do with the original
[7:04:31] plans other than the the the map change. Adding 40% rental
[7:04:39] units after a contract that doesn't allow rentals is a
[7:04:43] profound change to the original development agreement. As
[7:04:47] stated, 100% luxury condos. It also takes away the city and
[7:04:53] county approvals that were legally and contractually
[7:04:57] required. And like I said, the live local preemption has not
[7:05:04] even been approved yet. And not only that, the live local act
[7:05:09] did not even exist when this P3 was brought to our attention to
[7:05:15] amend this, this agreement in a way that is presented to us
[7:05:21] tonight is tantamount, in my opinion. And I've only been
[7:05:25] doing construction law for 35 years, tantamount to a cardinal
[7:05:30] change. It is material, and it is so profound that it falls
[7:05:35] outside of our original contract, increasing the
[7:05:39] density, relying on a statutory scheme that didn't exist at the
[7:05:43] time of the agreement or that the lease was signed. Adding
[7:05:47] rental units constitutes a new agreement, and as such, the
[7:05:53] ordinance that this Commission agreed to in October of 24,
[7:05:58] requiring any lease of this property for 50 years or more,
[7:06:02] it must be approved by the majority vote of the city.
[7:06:07] Electors voting on such proposal. Yes, this commission
[7:06:12] and God bless all of you. We did the right thing in October
[7:06:17] of 24, and that was Commissioner Clary. It was the
[7:06:20] right thing to do. The the charter vote had gotten screwed
[7:06:23] up, and we self-imposed on ourselves the botched charter
[7:06:29] language with this new ordinance. Any agreement that
[7:06:32] we reach to add rental units under the Live Local Act at
[7:06:36] this density has to go to a vote of our residents. And the
[7:06:42] good news is that, per our city clerk, we have sufficient time
[7:06:46] to get it on the ballot for November, I believe, she said.
[7:06:49] The June 8th is the deadline. Should we ignore our own law
[7:06:54] that we put in place in October of 24, any taxpaying resident
[7:07:00] will likely be able to follow suit to properly enforce our
[7:07:05] ordinance. The financial backup. And David, you know how much I
[7:07:16] love you. It is sorely, sorely lacking. The deal presented to
[7:07:21] us tonight has no real backup other than $1,800 a square foot
[7:07:28] for these units, and it is absolutely a fantasy and
[7:07:33] unrealistic. Forgive my skepticism, but in December and
[7:07:38] I mean December of 25, when we sat here, the financial
[7:07:43] overview of this project without an affordable housing
[7:07:48] component projected 1.83 billion over the life of the
[7:07:54] project. I have that that was from December. That has
[7:07:59] increased by $1 billion since December. It's impossible.
[7:08:06] Additionally, there has not been a single sale on the
[7:08:09] barrier island for $1,800 a square foot ever. You all
[7:08:16] recall that the driving issue for this P3 is generating
[7:08:20] revenue. When we first listened to these proposals, we spent
[7:08:25] hours and hours analyzing the value. Why aren't we demanding
[7:08:30] that now? What is the rush? Get us a true valuation. Bring in
[7:08:37] an independent entity to value this. We would be breaching our
[7:08:42] duty to vote on this today. The P3 statute 2550655 D requires
[7:08:48] that the city perform an independent analysis of a
[7:08:52] proposed P3, which demonstrates cost effectiveness and overall
[7:08:57] public benefit before the contract is awarded and as a
[7:09:01] commission. With the magnitude of the changes today, we must
[7:09:05] demand that same exact level of analysis. The rise and fall of
[7:09:14] this city does not depend on a single project. The city has a
[7:09:25] lot of needs. It always has. We always figure out a way to get
[7:09:32] the most important ones done, but to sell our recreation and
[7:09:36] commercial space when things get tight is a terrible
[7:09:40] solution. Whoever here said you are selling the golden goose is
[7:09:45] correct. We've done it to Margaritaville. We're going to
[7:09:50] do it here. It'll be Garfield next. And whoever said, be
[7:09:54] careful. They're coming to your district next. Because as soon
[7:09:57] as we run out of beachfront property. Well, the beach is
[7:10:01] going to be coming to district two and then district three. So
[7:10:05] those will be beachfront two. We cannot sell our open space
[7:10:12] to make up what we see as shortfalls that we know,
[7:10:16] because we have the most amazing budget staff. We meet
[7:10:19] it every single year, and it is disingenuous for this
[7:10:24] commission to suggest to the public that we have to do this.
[7:10:27] We do not have to do this. Where is the draft amendment to
[7:10:36] the lease? And I'm going back to why in God's name are we
[7:10:39] doing this? Two years after the idea popped up, the original 99
[7:10:43] year lease is completely structured around luxury condos.
[7:10:47] It says the tenant intends to develop private facilities of
[7:10:51] the project into a condominium, and upon completion, transfer
[7:10:55] the individual condominium units to condominium owners.
[7:11:00] After recording the condominium declaration, tenant shall
[7:11:03] assign the lease to the Condominium Association, which
[7:11:07] will assume all rights and obligations of the tenant. The
[7:11:12] documents define a residential building as a luxury
[7:11:16] residential building. The ability to sublease by the
[7:11:21] tenant, which is in essence a related group, is allowed only
[7:11:27] to the extent those sub tenants are consistent with a luxury
[7:11:34] condominium. The Comprehensive Development Agreement defines
[7:11:38] private facilities as luxury rental condominium. This
[7:11:43] proposed amendment again changes all of it, and this is
[7:11:46] a profound change that requires a voter referendum. This
[7:11:53] amendment is missing crucial details, and here are just a
[7:11:56] few. And honestly, I got a lot going on right now and have not
[7:12:01] had a chance to go through all of this. But who is going to be
[7:12:04] the landlord to these 84 units per section 2550657 A seven the
[7:12:10] rights and responsibilities of the parties to a P three in the
[7:12:15] course of the project operation have to be identified in the
[7:12:20] agreement. There is no identification in the agreement
[7:12:23] as to who is going to be responsible for these rental
[7:12:28] units, who is actually physically going to maintain
[7:12:31] the live local apartments? We have had so many concerns about
[7:12:36] condo associations. When we initially considered this, we
[7:12:40] were so worried, how is this condo association going to take
[7:12:44] care of our precious beachfront? And now we're injecting a
[7:12:48] second entity, a landlord of live local apartments. There's
[7:12:53] no discussion of short term vacation rentals, which is a
[7:12:56] huge discussion. The lease currently prohibits rental of
[7:13:00] any unit for less than six months. How does that work?
[7:13:05] With 84 rental units? We do not. As a city of Hollywood, which I
[7:13:13] am so deeply proud to sit here and serve with you guys. We
[7:13:17] never needed a local live, local agreement to build
[7:13:20] affordable housing here in Hollywood. We've done it. We've
[7:13:25] done it time and again on our own with creative financing and
[7:13:29] at every step, people have come to us. Commissioner Gruber, you
[7:13:34] suggested it on several projects and we did it. If you
[7:13:37] need any evidence that this is simply a workaround to avoid
[7:13:41] local oversight, just look at orange Brook, another P three
[7:13:45] where we put in on our own a demand for affordable housing.
[7:13:51] If we wanted affordable housing at this site, we could have
[7:13:55] gotten it without any loss of home rule, without any tax
[7:13:59] incentives, without any financial sacrifice or strings
[7:14:02] attached as they are to a live local project. But we didn't
[7:14:06] because we wanted luxury condominiums in that location.
[7:14:10] So let's not be disingenuous. The need for affordable housing
[7:14:15] and hero housing, whatever we call it, is great, but it has
[7:14:19] nothing to do with why we're here today. We just added 8000
[7:14:24] units along Federal Highway and 4300 to 441. And what I think
[7:14:31] has not been discussed at all. If anyone falls into this 80%
[7:14:38] to 120% Ami, please come live on the barrier island, because
[7:14:43] if you search today to rent anything on the barrier island
[7:14:49] under $2,600 a month, you will find 100 units available today.
[7:14:58] So why are we building for that bracket of income? It's not
[7:15:05] needed. It's there over a hundred units and all of them
[7:15:08] are larger than the 500ft?!S micro units that are proposed
[7:15:14] today. And none of them, I assure you, have poor doors or
[7:15:19] separate entities. And they let all of their residents come
[7:15:23] through the same door and use the same pool. The real need in
[7:15:28] Hollywood. And I'm going to ask Pat, Chris to put up the slide.
[7:15:33] The real need. If we want to address a need for affordable
[7:15:36] housing on this island, if we really want to be productive
[7:15:40] and follow through with the suggestions that we've often
[7:15:42] heard here, is make that housing available for the
[7:15:47] lowest of income who actually work on the island cooks,
[7:15:52] waiters, hostesses, housekeepers, all of that. This
[7:15:57] is a go to the rental page. One is owner. Yes. This slide come
[7:16:04] from Broward County. It was prepared by Fiu's. Urban and
[7:16:13] Metropolitan Studies Department. But this is the document that's
[7:16:16] used in the county. And you will see in the category of 80
[7:16:23] to 100% median income. We have a surplus in the city of
[7:16:26] Hollywood of 2500 units. But you look at extremely low
[7:16:30] income. That's where the need is, 6800 units. And it's been
[7:16:35] discussed on this on this dais. If we really wanted to do
[7:16:39] something incredible, let's allow the cooks, the maids, the
[7:16:44] waitresses to give up their cars and live on the barrier
[7:16:48] island. But that's not what we're doing because that's not
[7:16:52] really, really the concern. I said proper affordable housing,
[7:17:03] especially hero housing, should be near all the things that are
[7:17:08] important transportation, medical schools, etc. that is
[7:17:14] not the case here. If we do move forward, I hope you demand
[7:17:19] that the resolution is fixed and this is what I'm coming
[7:17:24] back to, because I have been on this dais too many times trying
[7:17:29] to convey that this is not a good deal for the city of
[7:17:33] Hollywood. The dollars are unrealistic. Like I said, the
[7:17:38] $1,800 is not real. It's not real. Six months ago, we. We
[7:17:45] looked at 1.8 billion. And today it's whatever it was,
[7:17:51] it's so fantastical. But if this commission does decide to
[7:17:58] move forward, I suggest one, two, three, four, five changes
[7:18:04] to the current resolution. And I'm very serious about this.
[7:18:07] And I hope if you guys vote that you will put these changes
[7:18:11] in there. The first is get rid of the 80 to 120 Ami and make
[7:18:16] it under the 30%. There's plenty of units on the island
[7:18:20] under $2,600 are at $2,600, and they're available right now.
[7:18:26] Make the threshold for those people that really need it,
[7:18:29] where there's a very serious deficit in Hollywood. Number
[7:18:35] two, stop the delay tactics. As I mentioned, nothing has
[7:18:40] happened on this project for years except talk, talk, talk.
[7:18:45] The amendment must expressly state that there will no longer
[7:18:49] be any statutory tolling for, quote, emergency orders issued
[7:18:54] due to hurricanes and other parts of the state. This
[7:18:58] project could have been built by now, but because the
[7:19:02] developer has taken advantage of delays, because a typical
[7:19:06] requirement in an agreement like this was inadvertently
[7:19:09] omitted from the original agreement, we have been taken
[7:19:13] advantage of. All we have to say is no statutory delays. It
[7:19:17] has to be true force majeure, where the developer's ability
[7:19:21] to proceed is physically hampered by the city or by
[7:19:26] Mother Nature. It has to be fixed. Otherwise there's going
[7:19:29] to be three more hurricanes. Nothing's going to happen in
[7:19:34] Hollywood and you're going to lose another four years. I'm
[7:19:37] serious. This is a critical amendment. So number one, lower
[7:19:41] the Army percentage. Number two, stop the delay tactics. Number
[7:19:45] three, please do not proceed with this amendment to the
[7:19:50] Comprehensive Development Agreement without making sure
[7:19:53] that disgraceful poor door policies are barred. I don't
[7:19:57] think any of you want to be known as the poor door landlord,
[7:20:02] implying that our heroes or our busboys aren't fit to walk
[7:20:06] through the same lobby or swim in the same pool as the
[7:20:09] wealthier residents. No segregation, no separate
[7:20:14] amenities. All residents in any city building get to use the
[7:20:17] same amenities, demand that the affordable units are
[7:20:21] distributed throughout the building. No segregation for
[7:20:27] reclaim the unencumbered parcels. So if you'll recall
[7:20:30] the original agreement, there was no density allowed at the
[7:20:35] community center. So the developer asked and the city
[7:20:39] agreed to bring in surrounding park parcels that we could
[7:20:43] transfer that density from to get to what then became 111
[7:20:48] units. When we passed the Lupa in December. If you proceed
[7:20:53] under the live Local act, all of the density that we gave to
[7:20:58] the project should be returned to the city in this amendment.
[7:21:02] Get rid of it. If you are swap. If you are getting your density
[7:21:07] under the live local, which for those that don't know, allows
[7:21:10] the highest density anywhere in the city to be used on our
[7:21:14] barrier island, then none of the additional parcels that
[7:21:17] were referenced in the Comprehensive Development
[7:21:20] Agreement are needed any longer, and we should take them out so
[7:21:24] they're available for the future to the city,
[7:21:28] unencumbered. And then finally, this was one that I just picked
[7:21:32] up during the presentation on slide 12 of Lisa's presentation,
[7:21:38] there was a comment in the. In the amendment that was a one
[7:21:45] way up. Slide 12. Nothing in this section shall limit or
[7:21:58] impair the city's contractual obligations to the developer.
[7:22:01] Granted, under the original agreement, the First Amendment
[7:22:04] or any subsequent city approvals, I would ask Damaris,
[7:22:07] unless there's some good reason otherwise, that this be mutual,
[7:22:11] that none of our none of the developer's contractual
[7:22:16] obligations, you know, are impacted or impaired either. So
[7:22:21] that's my one, two, three, four fifth suggestion that if you're
[7:22:25] going to proceed with this, make sure these five changes
[7:22:27] are in there. So we are home Rule heroes. And that means we
[7:22:33] don't support or invoke state state laws like the Live Local
[7:22:38] Act that undermine our ability to control our destiny by home
[7:22:43] rule. And that should apply whether it's Hollywood, Broward
[7:22:46] County, or any other Florida municipality or county. Let the
[7:22:51] Comprehensive Development Agreement, as we agreed to in
[7:22:54] 2022, just run its course. With the current scope of work and
[7:22:58] the 25 units per acre that you just approved in December, tell
[7:23:03] the developer that, per the contract, as required, they
[7:23:07] must make at least a reasonable commercial effort to satisfy
[7:23:12] the Comprehensive Development Agreement in its current form.
[7:23:16] That is what Hollywood and Related agreed to, and the Live
[7:23:20] Local Act will be here. It's not going away. We know it's
[7:23:23] getting worse every year. It will be here. If for some
[7:23:26] reason the county does not grant the density change, then
[7:23:31] proceed with live local if that's what we choose to do.
[7:23:34] But why would we do it now? Why would we do it now? Otherwise,
[7:23:39] please just send it to the voters. It's a great
[7:23:43] opportunity to do what is right for our engaged, intelligent
[7:23:46] and concerned residents. If both parties. Agree that the
[7:23:52] Live Local Act is a way to go, send it to the voters. As I
[7:23:57] mentioned, I believe June 8th is the deadline to get it on
[7:24:01] the ballot. And I think, as I mentioned, that regardless of
[7:24:07] what we decide, that it absolutely will be subject to
[7:24:11] the ordinance that we enacted in October 24th, because to
[7:24:16] convert this from a straight P three with all 100% luxury
[7:24:20] condos to now 40% apartments under a law that didn't exist,
[7:24:26] creates a profoundly different project, and it is subject to
[7:24:31] the laws that we imposed on ourselves. So that's it. I hope,
[7:24:36] if nothing else, that at least these changes get put into the
[7:24:41] amendment if you choose to vote on it. But I ask that you just
[7:24:45] let the document, as it stands, run its course. Thank you.
[7:24:48] Thank you, Ray Lynn. During the presentation, staff had pointed
[7:24:52] out that the next step in this process is for the staff to
[7:24:57] work with council and amend the Comprehensive Development
[7:25:00] Agreement and the ground lease, and it may include subjects
[7:25:04] that Commissioner Shuhan had brought up today. I don't feel
[7:25:08] like it's appropriate in this resolution to get into the
[7:25:12] details of what would be, you know, deeper analysis into the
[7:25:16] amendments that need to be made to the C, D, A and the lease
[7:25:19] agreement. So I don't see a reason. Mayor, why would you
[7:25:22] agree to something before you know the impact to everything?
[7:25:24] Why? What is all this, all this, all this guys, all this
[7:25:29] resolution is doing is expressing the city
[7:25:31] commission's agreement and intent to be willing to use the
[7:25:35] Live Local Act subject to this coming back, where does it say
[7:25:39] subject to it says we're letting them proceed under live
[7:25:42] local. What am I missing? But really, why don't you go ahead
[7:25:45] with regards to what's next in the process? Yes. So there is
[7:25:50] the ability to proceed under live local for the issue of the
[7:25:54] density. But the comprehensive agreement which governs our
[7:25:58] business arrangement and the ground lease have to be
[7:26:01] modified. And so those will come back with the opportunity
[7:26:05] to adjust terms in any way the Commission would like. What
[7:26:12] they're what they're are we breaking it into pieces like
[7:26:15] that? Why shouldn't this commission give have the
[7:26:19] opportunity to see every change that's needed before live local
[7:26:24] becomes a part of this deal? We're happy to do it afterwards.
[7:26:28] In other words, this is just to express the intent and then see
[7:26:31] the details. Then let's make. Then I will I suggest a six
[7:26:35] change to the amendment, and that is that it does not go
[7:26:38] into effect until until the Comprehensive Development
[7:26:42] Agreement and the lease are properly amended to accommodate
[7:26:45] it. In other words, you're biting off pieces before you
[7:26:48] know what you're eating. That's the practical impact of this
[7:26:51] anyway. Nothing happens without an amendment. No it isn't mayor.
[7:26:54] You're giving the developer the opportunity to build a live
[7:26:57] local act under the ordinance. That cannot happen without city
[7:27:01] approval. And tonight we would be giving city approval for a
[7:27:04] live local act on our property. Except that the difference is.
[7:27:07] And I'll pass it on to Commissioner Biderman next.
[7:27:10] Except that the difference is in this case, we are the
[7:27:12] property owner. We are a party to a P three. It's not some
[7:27:15] live local act on private property that runs its own
[7:27:18] course under the statute. Here we are the landlord here we get
[7:27:22] to agree to approve the design, the site plan and the terms of
[7:27:25] our lease agreement. So I disagree respectfully with the
[7:27:31] once this is agreed to tonight, there is no taking back the
[7:27:36] ability for this project to be a live local act project. I'm
[7:27:39] fine with that. Let's go to Commissioner Biderman, let's go.
[7:27:44] Commissioner Commissioner Biderman, please don't. I
[7:27:47] thought there were people in front of me, but okay, so it
[7:27:51] was it was addressed about the parking. And can somebody
[7:27:58] clarify how many parking spaces we're going to have? Because
[7:28:00] with more units you need more parking spaces. But somebody
[7:28:03] said something about we're not having more parking spaces.
[7:28:05] It's the same amount of parking space as the original agreement.
[7:28:09] Just to be clear, the actual design and site plan are not
[7:28:13] before you tonight. And the you know, that has not been
[7:28:17] determined yet. So the amount of parking spaces that would be
[7:28:21] required are not have not been determined at this point in
[7:28:26] time. So that would be something that could be
[7:28:29] negotiated. If there's a concern that the parking is
[7:28:31] deficient. So I have a problem with that because we need to
[7:28:40] make sure there's a surplus of parking above what there is now,
[7:28:44] right. That's what we that's what we kept promising. But now
[7:28:49] we are getting an additional 84 units without 84.5 more parking
[7:28:56] spaces. Yes. AM I right? There? As there isn't a a finalized
[7:29:05] design and site plan yet? Is your request to have additional
[7:29:09] parking for the live local units? Is that what you're
[7:29:11] asking for? So if the parking calculation is one and a half
[7:29:16] parking spaces per unit, then we need 122 more parking spaces
[7:29:22] above what was already promised, right? Yes. If yes. Okay, so
[7:29:29] we're not giving up that opportunity by approving this
[7:29:33] amendment about requiring more parking, because the live local
[7:29:38] doesn't. Give up that requirement of so many parking
[7:29:46] spaces per unit. Yes, it does, it does. It does tell us the
[7:29:50] terms of our agreement control, the approval of the site plan,
[7:29:54] and through the ground lease and the development agreement.
[7:29:57] Right, right. Yes. We would have to agree with the design
[7:30:01] and site plan process will determine the level of parking
[7:30:04] that is required for the building. Approving a live
[7:30:07] local doesn't give up our ability as a legislative body
[7:30:11] to approve the site plan. And that's up. That's correct.
[7:30:18] There are some. Andrea Winget, Director of Development service
[7:30:22] I just wanted to add to what the city manager was saying is
[7:30:25] that you're not in a regulatory capacity tonight approving a
[7:30:30] live local. You're in your landlord tenant being asked to
[7:30:36] approve concepts of adding affordable housing and adding
[7:30:40] another tool to the contract, which includes live local. And
[7:30:43] I'm not sure if that helps with some of the conversation, just
[7:30:46] an expression of intent. It doesn't. But I believe that the
[7:30:50] way I understand this, the fact that we're the landlord gives
[7:30:54] us more power than a typical. A live local landlord. That's
[7:31:00] correct. And we're not giving up any of that landlord. Right.
[7:31:04] Tonight, the only thing that you are allowing tonight is the
[7:31:08] use of the Live Local Act to provide density through the
[7:31:12] provision of 40% of the units for affordable or workforce
[7:31:18] housing. But by doing that, we're not giving up any
[7:31:22] legislative powers. That's my question, I guess. I'm sorry I
[7:31:27] had to buy, by the landlord's approval of doing a live local
[7:31:36] project. What powers are we stripping of the legislative
[7:31:41] body? It's not really the legislative. It's really the
[7:31:45] contract where we're under contract with the P three
[7:31:48] partner and those. That contract determines our
[7:31:53] relationship and what we are authorized to approve and what
[7:31:56] to review. And that's the full scope of a site plan and design
[7:32:00] and everything else. And by doing this, we are reclaiming
[7:32:03] our home rule by taking the home rule local, as opposed to
[7:32:10] giving it to the county or allowing the county to control
[7:32:13] what we do locally. And in this case, in this case, this the
[7:32:19] way that live local works when it is municipally owned or
[7:32:24] government owned property, you have you're wearing essentially
[7:32:27] two hats and you don't see any of the rights that you have as
[7:32:32] a owner of the property. You, in this case, are regaining the
[7:32:37] right to control the residential density on the site,
[7:32:41] which in Broward County is controlled by the county. And
[7:32:46] so in this case, Live local brings that back to you as a
[7:32:51] landlord. Okay. And like Commissioner Quintana, I love
[7:32:58] the idea of mixed use housing, mixed income housing, where we
[7:33:03] have income level, different income levels living in the
[7:33:05] same concept. And we've talked about that in other buildings.
[7:33:09] So I agree with Commissioner Quintana on that. It was said
[7:33:16] earlier about that this building isn't going to be
[7:33:21] sustainable because it's live local. Is that true? I mean,
[7:33:26] we're going to be still living by, you know, the Florida
[7:33:29] Building Code and all those things. Yes, absolutely. The
[7:33:33] requirement, the all of the requirements that are currently
[7:33:36] in the comprehensive agreement stay there with the exception
[7:33:40] of the provisions that are being amended tonight. And
[7:33:43] those relate to the number of units being provided and the
[7:33:48] type of unit with the 84 units being the live local units or
[7:33:55] hero housing. Okay, so the live local doesn't allow them to
[7:34:02] skip our local building codes or our requirements, like our,
[7:34:06] you know, green building codes and stuff like that. That's
[7:34:12] correct. And there are going to be South Florida building
[7:34:16] standards, normal FEMA floor elevation, right? All of those
[7:34:21] things. So in other buildings are knocked down by a hurricane.
[7:34:24] Theoretically, this building is still going to be standing,
[7:34:26] standing because it is built better, more modern. Okay. Yes.
[7:34:37] It was said earlier about how the taxpayer should decide, but
[7:34:40] the last time I checked, all seven of us live in Hollywood.
[7:34:44] We all pay taxes in Hollywood. I believe we all own homes and
[7:34:50] we pay our property taxes anyway. And it's it's hard to
[7:34:58] believe that residents would criticize our staff, that we
[7:35:02] don't know, that our staff doesn't know what we're talking
[7:35:04] about. But yet the staff member singular at the South Florida
[7:35:11] Planning Council or Broward County Planning Council. Knows
[7:35:17] better than what our staff knows. I didn't interrupt y'all.
[7:35:24] Don't interrupt me, please. So it's kind of hypocritical to
[7:35:29] tell our staff how much we appreciate them and then say,
[7:35:32] you don't know what you're talking about and back the bus
[7:35:35] up over them. And I spoke to Bob Gibson multiple times over
[7:35:41] the years. I know him better than probably everybody in this
[7:35:44] room. Maybe not everybody. And I spoke to him on April 26th,
[7:35:51] 2021, when this first became a thing, but there was no
[7:35:56] opposition to it yet. And Bob told me some of the stuff
[7:36:00] that's in the letter, the only thing that was said today, and
[7:36:04] the only thing that I saw in the letter online that he said
[7:36:08] for sure was the fact that you're they're not making more
[7:36:13] green space. But what he did tell me at the time, and which
[7:36:16] was confirmed in the minutes that were read at the last
[7:36:20] couple of hearings, is that the deed was written to be vague.
[7:36:25] And the minutes that were read at the meeting said that the
[7:36:29] commission could do with what they want with this property.
[7:36:33] That's what was in the minutes. And that's what Bob Gibson told
[7:36:36] me on April 26th, 2021 at 2 p.m. I know it's hard to
[7:36:42] believe. I know the date and time, but I looked up my notes.
[7:36:46] And I spoke to Bob Gibson two nights ago after I saw the
[7:36:50] letter and we discussed it and he said, oh, I sent that letter
[7:36:56] to the Broward County. I didn't expect everybody to see what it
[7:37:01] said in it. So I would love to see Bob Gibson tell all of us
[7:37:07] what was written in a letter, because I don't know that it
[7:37:10] wasn't prompted by somebody, because some of what's written
[7:37:14] in the letter isn't factual. And I'm going to end with this,
[7:37:19] and I'm going to agree with Donna Green. I prefer to be an
[7:37:23] optimist and believe that the numbers that staff gave us are
[7:37:27] going to pan out to be accurate. And the residents, 20 years
[7:37:31] from now, five years from now, 50 years from now, are going to
[7:37:35] remember the five commissioners or six commissioners that vote
[7:37:39] yes on this and that make this go forward are going to believe
[7:37:45] that we did the right thing because they're going to
[7:37:48] benefit from the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars
[7:37:51] that are going to improve every neighborhood, from Liberia to
[7:37:55] Hillcrest to Beverly Park to Driftwood Boulevard Heights and
[7:37:58] Playland Estates, because those are the neighborhoods that need
[7:38:01] improvements. The beach has 400 some odd million dollars worth
[7:38:04] of improvements over the last 30 years. It's time the rest of
[7:38:07] the city gets improvements. Thank you, thank you. Could
[7:38:14] could the Sergeant at Arms please remove him? Please
[7:38:18] remove him. Let's go ahead now to Commissioner Quintana. Thank
[7:38:26] you. Mayor. Raelyn. When we started the discussion, can you
[7:38:37] clarify for me? You said the latest amendment to the Live
[7:38:40] Local Act allows cities to determine. Could you just
[7:38:45] clarify that for me? The latest amendment to the Live Local Act
[7:38:53] includes government owned lands as places where live local
[7:38:59] developments can be built. And so in this particular case,
[7:39:03] because this is government owned property, the. It now
[7:39:08] allows live local to give us control over the density issue.
[7:39:13] And as the owner of the property, the landlord. We have
[7:39:17] ultimate control over design, site plan and kind of what goes
[7:39:22] on our property through the business agreements, the
[7:39:27] comprehensive agreement that we have now, we have an existing
[7:39:31] comprehensive agreement. So that is at at base what they
[7:39:35] what we've already agreed to. And there are aspects of that
[7:39:39] that need to be modified in order to address this. And we
[7:39:44] are fully committed to working to bring those modifications
[7:39:48] forward. But but there is a an agreement that's already in
[7:39:53] place. Okay. So is that latest version of the live local? Is
[7:39:58] that the same thing I'm looking at? Adam, the House Bill 1389.
[7:40:05] Is that the same thing that Raelyn is referring to? That's
[7:40:09] correct. Okay. So at so here's I'm just going to read a couple
[7:40:13] of lines from the beginning. And my. I'm not an attorney,
[7:40:16] let me just say that. But it says it's an act relating to
[7:40:20] affordable housing, amending state statute. 125 blah, blah,
[7:40:25] blah, and one, six, six blah, blah, blah, requiring,
[7:40:30] requiring that counties and municipalities authorize and
[7:40:37] multifamily and mixed use residential uses and allowable
[7:40:40] uses. So it means that the city cannot say no. Correct. Because
[7:40:47] we're required to authorize mixed use and multifamily
[7:40:53] development. Correct. The word says requires sorry. So the the
[7:41:00] city, you know, there's multiple layers of approvals in
[7:41:05] these projects and, and live local, you know, addresses
[7:41:11] where residential development can go in areas that are not
[7:41:17] typically have that don't typically have that land use or
[7:41:23] zoning that would allow multifamily or mixed use
[7:41:26] residential development. And so in order to promote affordable
[7:41:31] housing and allow it in more places than local regulations
[7:41:36] might typically allow it, that's what live local. So
[7:41:39] there's a difference between allow and require for me, you
[7:41:42] know, like that means different things to me when it says
[7:41:46] requires that municipalities allow it on their property,
[7:41:51] that's what it says. And then further down, it says that this
[7:41:55] new version prohibits municipalities from restricting
[7:42:00] the height or restricting the. Through other the height or
[7:42:08] blah, blah, blah, dimensional means requiring certain
[7:42:11] setbacks. So we can't control the setbacks, we can't control
[7:42:15] the step backs. This new bill says that that cities. But. So
[7:42:25] how is that different? Somebody help me understand because
[7:42:27] we're the landlord, but we're also the municipality. The
[7:42:30] municipality can't control. So then it says further there's
[7:42:37] that's in here. But then then that's the House bill, then the
[7:42:41] Senate bill. 962. It limits the cities ability to restrict
[7:42:49] height, density or design. Hello, design. So I'm wondering
[7:42:56] the changes that have happened to the design. I mean, I think
[7:42:59] the new design for this project is so much better than what we
[7:43:02] got the first time around. I have to say, I agree that it's
[7:43:05] much better, but if this Senate Bill 962, which I guess is that
[7:43:10] Adam, clarify, please tell me tell me if I'm wrong. Sure, if
[7:43:13] I could. So ultimately, both the Senate and the House
[7:43:18] approved House Bill 1389, 962 was substituted for 1389. So
[7:43:24] that is the bill that is currently has been approved by
[7:43:27] the legislature and is waiting. Governor. Action, which one?
[7:43:30] The. 913, not. 962 that's correct. So the enrolled. So we
[7:43:34] would still be able to control design as long as the bill
[7:43:37] doesn't state that then. Yes. And but but we would still have
[7:43:42] restrictions on controlling height setbacks or setbacks.
[7:43:46] Correct. So the city wouldn't be able to control that stuff
[7:43:50] with the new live local version. Yes. It follows House Bill 1389.
[7:43:55] The language that's spelled out there would be. Okay. Yeah. So.
[7:44:00] Thank you for clarifying that. I totally I wrote down RaeLynn
[7:44:05] at your introduction when you talked about the challenges
[7:44:08] that we have with having to upgrade our utilities. And it's
[7:44:13] one of the things that I've been losing sleep over and the
[7:44:15] cost of that, and how much of a hardship it's going to be on
[7:44:19] our residents. And the idea that bringing in this money
[7:44:23] could help offset that hardship. You knew that. I was going to
[7:44:28] hear that. That's why you said it. I yeah, so I just made note
[7:44:36] of it. Then the next thing I wrote down was you said there
[7:44:39] was a decline in the growth of our tax rate over the last. I
[7:44:46] didn't catch that number of years. Can you tell me what
[7:44:49] that means? So the rate of increase in our overall taxable
[7:44:55] value has has gone down. Each year. We were seeing a steady
[7:45:00] increase of our taxable value. One year might be 7%, and next
[7:45:04] year it was 8%. And we were in double digits for a while. For
[7:45:07] the past four years, that rate of increase has declined. So
[7:45:12] you're referring to like when Marty Care comes and does his
[7:45:16] okay. So what happens if, David, you spent so much time with me,
[7:45:27] helping me understand those numbers? I wish that we would
[7:45:31] have had enough time to really do that with our residents so
[7:45:37] that it wasn't because the slides did go by really fast.
[7:45:40] And I, I, as a resident, would not have been able to
[7:45:44] understand that without the ability to sit down with you.
[7:45:46] And even then, you know, it's not an easy thing to grasp if
[7:45:50] it's not your every day. But but I mean, what if the one of
[7:45:59] the questions I asked myself is like, what if the values go
[7:46:03] down and the projections that we're making is not what it
[7:46:09] ends up being? And to what extent do we have assurances
[7:46:16] from the developer that the city won't end up losing that,
[7:46:22] you know, and, and losing what we're counting on to make this
[7:46:26] worth it? Because if we're going to. I mean, that's the
[7:46:29] thing I've my I've said, if we're going to do this where
[7:46:32] we're going to give up this, this public land, then we have
[7:46:35] to be really in a good place about knowing where it's going
[7:46:39] to be worthwhile to make this sacrifice. And so, you know,
[7:46:45] what provisions are, are we putting in place so that the
[7:46:49] developer is making our city whole? Should something change
[7:46:52] in the conditions? RaeLynn maybe you could talk about the
[7:46:56] minimum guarantees. And even if this were a lesser dollar per
[7:46:59] square foot, you know, if $1,800 weren't achievable and
[7:47:02] it's $1,200 a square foot, which Hollywood Beach is
[7:47:05] getting all day long, it's still $60 million on the top
[7:47:08] side. I mean, even if you reduce the assumption at 1800,
[7:47:12] which pushes the needle for luxury, but nonetheless,
[7:47:15] looking forward four years from now, it's probably a fair
[7:47:18] figure. But if it were, if it were not to materialize, you're
[7:47:21] still at at the first year, 14% of gross sales being at $60
[7:47:26] million range. And then subtract from that the cost of
[7:47:28] the community center, the public community center. And so
[7:47:32] you're still you're still at a high figure. And the agreement
[7:47:36] itself, the original agreement, I believe, has a minimum 35 as
[7:47:39] a floor, but we're all day long going to be at 50 plus even in
[7:47:43] a worst case scenario. In my mind, the mayor's correct. He's
[7:47:47] he's remembering that the terms and the comprehensive agreement
[7:47:50] where we did set a floor of 35 million. So that that is the
[7:47:56] minimum that we would be achieving in the upfront years
[7:48:00] in that in that initial initial rent, in those initial payments,
[7:48:05] the 35 million is the floor there. And then, you know, I
[7:48:10] mean, like anything there, the tax revenue will be based on
[7:48:14] the value of the property. So, you know, the tax revenue
[7:48:19] typically has increased over the years. And that, you know,
[7:48:24] that is why Dave figured that at 3% because that's typically
[7:48:30] what we've seen in terms of, of growth, right? To add to that,
[7:48:36] excuse me, and to answer your question specifically, as
[7:48:40] Raelyn said, and the mayor said, there is a there's a floor of
[7:48:45] 35 million. So we did take a look and said, what would
[7:48:49] happen if that 1800 didn't materialize? And we ran the
[7:48:53] numbers at 1200 significantly lower, and it still generates
[7:48:59] over the over the first year, that closing number, instead of
[7:49:04] being nine, 98 million, would be 62 million at 1200 a square
[7:49:11] foot. And I'm sorry. Go ahead, go ahead. Sorry. And so the the
[7:49:21] 2.7 billion number would change to 1.9 billion if all of those
[7:49:28] rental costs and sale costs came down to 1200 square foot,
[7:49:32] instead of 1800 square foot. And 1200, we think is very low,
[7:49:36] very conservative. So even if it dropped all the way to that,
[7:49:41] we're still talking about 1.9 billion coming to the city
[7:49:44] based on the 126 and the 84 units. Okay. Thank you. So I do
[7:49:58] think it's important if we have information about how the 84
[7:50:04] units are going to be maintained, to share that
[7:50:09] information. I think as much as as we can share, we should. So
[7:50:17] I expect those terms would be in the modified agreement.
[7:50:21] Absolutely. So the ground lease, the comprehensive agreement
[7:50:25] governs and is the controlling document during this during the
[7:50:30] entitlement and development construction phase, essentially.
[7:50:34] And then at that point, the ground lease kicks in and
[7:50:39] governs the the remainder of the the term of the agreement
[7:50:43] and kind of becomes the controlling document. So the
[7:50:48] ground lease will have to be modified. I believe the plan
[7:50:53] for and, you know, it's interesting to me because when
[7:50:55] this was originally being. This was originally proposed as a
[7:51:01] rental. The entire. Their original proposal was a rental.
[7:51:06] And it was, you know, a luxury rental. And when it switched to
[7:51:11] a condominium, then the concern started to be raised. Well, how
[7:51:15] will we possibly work with a condominium association versus
[7:51:20] at least with a rental? You have one management company
[7:51:25] managing all of the rental units. And so we're only in
[7:51:28] business essentially with one entity that's managing all the
[7:51:32] rental units. And how will we handle that in a condominium?
[7:51:36] And now that we've added the rental back in that concern,
[7:51:39] you know, is sort of coming, you know, flipping on its head.
[7:51:43] So in reality, the rental unit, very similar to how we did at
[7:51:49] University Station with the public parking garage and the
[7:51:52] Barry University piece, that is a retail component. We condos
[7:51:58] out our public portion of the parking garage. So just like
[7:52:03] you can have a residential condominium unit, you can turn
[7:52:08] into a condo unit. Those 840 housing units, and then they
[7:52:15] will be sold as, as a, as a unit. The 84 individual unit
[7:52:21] sold as one unit to a company, and it will likely be a related
[7:52:28] company. They have an affordable division. And so it
[7:52:31] will likely go to that division to be managed like they manage
[7:52:37] hundreds, really thousands of other affordable housing units
[7:52:41] across South Florida, Texas, Arizona, I mean, New York, you
[7:52:46] know. The affordable housing units will be kept at at the
[7:52:57] affordable rate for 30 years correctly. That's correct. Yes.
[7:53:01] So the leases for 99 years. So what happens to those 84 units
[7:53:06] at the end of 30 years? You would we would have the
[7:53:12] opportunity, as the landlord at that time, provided that some
[7:53:17] legislation hasn't changed. We haven't extended live local to
[7:53:22] negotiate what we would like to have happen to those units at
[7:53:25] that point. And would we be negotiating with the the
[7:53:29] company that owns those units at that point, whether they
[7:53:32] would stay as affordable or and we control that if we would
[7:53:38] like right now, the lease will call for them to be managed as
[7:53:43] affordable, but all of that would be governed in the lease.
[7:53:45] And we right now, the commitment is just for 30 years
[7:53:48] right now. And yes, under live local. That's what the
[7:53:53] entitlement minimum of 30 years live local. Yes. The affordable
[7:53:56] housing is for a minimum of 30 years. That's because there's
[7:54:00] lots of places in Broward County where it's 50. Yes, they
[7:54:03] are getting. Anyone who develops under live local is
[7:54:07] getting a benefit. And in order to get that benefit, to be able
[7:54:11] to use live local, they must maintain that affordability for
[7:54:15] the 30 years, right. So at the end of 30 years, then the, the
[7:54:21] entity that owns the 84 units would then either choose to,
[7:54:27] you know, depending on how negotiating negotiations go
[7:54:31] with us, either choose to keep it rental or choose to make
[7:54:34] them market rate units. They will do whatever is required by
[7:54:40] us as the landlord in the ground lease, and we can
[7:54:45] discern that now. And we could amend that in the future, but
[7:54:51] they would be required to manage those units in the way
[7:54:56] that is provided for within the ground lease, not now, but in
[7:55:00] the amendment to the ground lease. Okay. I just have to say,
[7:55:04] I mean, it's hard for me to I will absolutely, under no
[7:55:11] circumstances approve anything that has separate entrances for
[7:55:15] people who are in the affordable units. Any.
[7:55:20] Absolutely. Under no circumstances will my name go
[7:55:22] on anything of the sort. And I. A Commissioner Shuhan said a
[7:55:30] couple of the things that I had written down, because a lot of
[7:55:35] the. We have an excess of projects built at 120%. I do
[7:55:42] get to speak right, I do, I do have time, I can speak, it's
[7:55:46] okay. All right. So so we have an excess of 120%. What we
[7:55:51] don't have is for 60 and and below. And so when I look at
[7:55:59] the chart that shows what the 80 to 120% is for a single
[7:56:08] person, that's between 71 and $106,000. Our teachers make 50,
[7:56:18] 51, 51,000 as starters. Our police officers. Would be, I
[7:56:30] believe, at this. Oh my gosh, where is that post-it note
[7:56:33] where I had that? Yeah, I think they would be yeah. 65. And so
[7:56:41] a lot of our city employees would not. They don't make the
[7:56:47] 80%. They would not be able to afford these units. I have the
[7:56:55] categories here somewhere in my notes, but a lot of our our
[7:57:00] professional people would not be able to. So I would request
[7:57:03] that this the Army be lowered. And so as it stands right now,
[7:57:12] and without knowing the answers to some of the questions that
[7:57:15] we had about what will be in the comprehensive agreement,
[7:57:18] I'm not going to be approving this. I'm not going to vote yes
[7:57:21] for this either until that stuff is clear for me. Thank
[7:57:24] you, Commissioner Quintana. Let's go to Commissioner Gruber.
[7:57:29] Thank you. Just to touch on the if it was a 120%, am I correct?
[7:57:36] If it was a single income person, one teacher, single
[7:57:40] income, they wouldn't be in that bracket. But if it was a
[7:57:43] police officer and a teacher couple parents, then they would
[7:57:47] be exactly in that bracket. So it, it does get into there. And
[7:57:53] you know, the 30 to 120% Ami is not something that the city of
[7:57:59] Hollywood decides. That's federal HUD and the state. And
[7:58:03] they decide it's a quantitative objective thing and those
[7:58:06] things qualify. So it's, it's not it's not us putting it out
[7:58:09] there saying that this is what it is that comes from above us.
[7:58:12] And we don't have a say in that formula. I wanted to city
[7:58:17] Attorney, if you could just read. I just want to digress
[7:58:20] for a second. I think it's important. Can you read the
[7:58:23] deed restriction, please? I think it's ten words. Yeah.
[7:58:30] Sorry. I just need to find that. No worries. Happy to read it.
[7:58:34] So I don't know the exact words offhand. I think it's a
[7:58:37] community space, a community, open space, parks. And to the
[7:58:41] extent that we're talking about municipal purposes or public
[7:58:44] purposes, right. Any public or municipal purposes. So case law
[7:58:48] would say that the use of leasing, public, sorry, leasing
[7:58:55] public property, even if that use is to lease it for private
[7:58:58] purpose, may still qualify and still qualify as municipal
[7:59:03] purpose. And in this case, there is the community center.
[7:59:08] That was the initial public purpose that the city was
[7:59:12] obtaining, the former that used to be the sales center for the
[7:59:15] building that they built next door to 27 story towers. I'm
[7:59:18] talking about the community center that is proposed under
[7:59:21] the P3. Got it. That's the public purpose, certainly, that
[7:59:25] the city has received. Got it, got it. So I just I just want
[7:59:28] to go back because, you know, if you had tuned into this when
[7:59:31] we started at 6:00 and never really paid attention to any of
[7:59:34] this, one would think that we are taking away the park, the
[7:59:39] community center, the parking, the public beach, and just
[7:59:43] putting a tower. Right. I see Steve, you're shaking your head.
[7:59:46] Yes. Right. But see, that's not the case. And I'll tell you, I
[7:59:51] go to that beach more often. As much, if not more often than
[7:59:56] anyone in this room. That's the beach I go to. I've been going
[7:59:59] there for 50 years. I surf there, I go there with my
[8:00:02] family. I go there with my friends, and I know what's
[8:00:05] there. There's an old community center. We did our Diamond
[8:00:08] Service awards in there a few weeks ago. I was in there.
[8:00:12] There's no windows. I felt like I was in a one star rehab
[8:00:16] facility for seniors. That's my opinion of it. And that's what
[8:00:19] a lot of my friends and family feel about it. It's been there.
[8:00:22] It's served a great purpose. It's been amazing. There's a
[8:00:25] playground there. I don't take my nieces and nephews there.
[8:00:27] It's it's, you know, long overdue for some repairs. The
[8:00:31] bathrooms, when we're at the beach and one of us need to go
[8:00:34] there, we just go home, you know, it's like that those need
[8:00:37] to be repaired as well. And there's a surface parking lot.
[8:00:40] And when this was first proposed, if you were to tell
[8:00:42] me we were getting rid of all of that and just putting a high
[8:00:46] rise, I would have said absolutely not. And when the
[8:00:48] deed restriction was explained to me, I said, what are we
[8:00:51] getting to replace? What's there? Can someone pull up the
[8:00:55] slide of the picture of the proposal of the project? It's
[8:01:01] in here somewhere. So I'm passionate about this beach as
[8:01:11] well. This is this is where I go, okay, you all can laugh. It
[8:01:14] says more about you. That's fine. You know, you can laugh.
[8:01:17] This is it's I I'm glad I made you laugh. Levity is good,
[8:01:21] right? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It's one of the few
[8:01:28] places I can surf. So I'm stuck going there. Do you have the
[8:01:33] picture? Yeah, we'll bring it up. Okay. Well, anyway, until
[8:01:36] we get to the picture. So my question was, what are we going
[8:01:41] to do to replace these which were given to us and with that
[8:01:45] deed restriction. So what do we have there? The new community
[8:01:49] center, which from what I understand and someone can
[8:01:52] correct me if I'm wrong and this is the only thing I'll
[8:01:55] accept, is now much larger. It's got ceiling to floor glass
[8:02:01] two stories high overlooking the ocean. Is that correct? I
[8:02:06] don't know if the. Eric, do you want to tell me that or images
[8:02:10] in Lisa's presentation? It was was it was Lisa's presentation.
[8:02:16] It's important, I think that that we take a look at this
[8:02:19] because really, had you just come to this for the first time
[8:02:22] and watched these last three hours, that's really what you
[8:02:25] would think, that we're just replacing all of these things
[8:02:28] with a high rise and not and not keeping the public
[8:02:30] amenities. Just wait a minute for that. I'll wait for it. Yep.
[8:02:36] Well it's up. That's not it. It's a picture. No, it's a
[8:02:39] picture of the rendering. Come on. Sorry. No, no important.
[8:02:45] Wait. There we go. No, no. Next one. There you go. Okay, so I'm
[8:02:52] sure all of you in this room are extremely familiar with
[8:02:54] what's there now, right? So the community center is that front
[8:03:00] building that that's not for just the new residents that
[8:03:04] that's going to be for the community. That will be the
[8:03:07] nicest municipal community center in all of South Florida.
[8:03:11] Okay. I'm the commissioner for district four. We don't have a
[8:03:14] community center. My my residents and I know there's
[8:03:18] none of you here. There was one. He had to leave. You know, our
[8:03:22] majority of them are in favor of this. They are. You guys can
[8:03:25] say nobody wants it, but they are in favor. And they've come
[8:03:28] to past meetings and spoken and they've been jeered at by you
[8:03:31] guys, just like you do to me. But that's fine. I'm an elected
[8:03:34] official. You can do it to me. But I tell them, don't worry,
[8:03:38] you don't have to come here. You know, you just tell me what
[8:03:41] you want and I'll do it, okay? Because. Is there anyone here
[8:03:44] from district four right now? Raise your hand if you are
[8:03:46] district five. All right. There's. Yeah. Anyway. Anyway.
[8:03:49] Anyway, so that's the new community center. I view that
[8:03:51] as as. Excuse me. Let's not have a back and forth from the
[8:03:57] audience. Trust me about what I'm saying. That's the new
[8:03:59] community center. I view that as a significant improvement to
[8:04:02] the public, right? If you look to the right Harry Berry Park,
[8:04:06] correct me if I'm wrong, but is that slated to be increased in
[8:04:09] green space when they remove the surface parking lot and put
[8:04:13] those parking spaces in the garage? Yes. So there will be
[8:04:19] more green space increase in green space, right. So parking
[8:04:23] garage will now encompass the public parking that we had.
[8:04:27] Correct. That's well between the parking garage and the
[8:04:31] surface parking that will be along Azalea Street and Surf
[8:04:36] Road, you will have together the total parking. So is it
[8:04:40] it's my interpretation that the public square footage available
[8:04:46] after this project is built will be significantly increased
[8:04:50] between the community center, the park. The green space will
[8:04:53] be increased because that condo building is going in the air on
[8:04:58] top of the parking garage. So it's not taking any available
[8:05:02] square footage. We've now increased by doubling the
[8:05:05] height of the community center, the community center space. Now
[8:05:08] that's got views of the ocean. And we have the park now. I'm
[8:05:12] sorry, but I respect all of you for coming out here. But the
[8:05:16] fact that you need to vilify me for thinking that I like that
[8:05:20] it it's concerning, you know, but that's okay. You're you
[8:05:24] know, you can have your opinion. I voted on this project before
[8:05:28] this phase of affordable housing came into it. And for
[8:05:31] those of you who don't know, I'm on the Affordable Housing
[8:05:34] Advisory Committee. And we do have a housing crisis. So as
[8:05:38] far as if we're able to add some, you know, 84 units of
[8:05:45] 120% Ami and a teacher and a police officer can move there.
[8:05:48] I'm I'm okay with it. I actually see an improvement to
[8:05:51] the project and why that particular. But no, I'm going
[8:05:56] to listen a little more. Yeah. All right. Thank you so much.
[8:06:00] They can't afford it. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you,
[8:06:04] Commissioner Gruber. Two people making that money. Yes. Look.
[8:06:08] All right. I have commissioners, I have Commissioner Vice Mayor
[8:06:14] Kolody in the queue. And then I'll give an opportunity to
[8:06:17] Commissioner Hernandez, who hasn't spoken. And then those
[8:06:19] that already spoke will have an opportunity. Let's go to
[8:06:22] commissioner vice mayor. So first I, I feel obligated to
[8:06:26] set the record straight. Steve Walsh, it's not the mayor who
[8:06:29] suggested it was me to put live local on this, to be for
[8:06:34] discussion. And it was seconded. You pointed out the mayor,
[8:06:36] we're not going to go back and forth. I am putting it on the
[8:06:40] record that it was. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It's
[8:06:43] okay. I'm the one body. What does it matter? Just come on,
[8:06:46] Gracie. It's okay. Excuse me. Okay. Then let the record speak.
[8:06:51] It's fine. So I'm the one who suggested this to come forward
[8:06:57] for discussion. Me and me alone. Clare. Garrett, you're 100%
[8:07:01] correct. I have been true. I have sat up on this dais for
[8:07:04] almost 14 years. I have been true to the residents of the
[8:07:08] city of Hollywood, not just district three, and not against
[8:07:11] anyone. We have hard facts that we've been faced with, and how
[8:07:18] this discussion came about was for the past couple of
[8:07:21] commission meetings, we have talked about a $2 billion
[8:07:25] stormwater master plan. We've talked about how we're going to
[8:07:28] increase everybody's water bills to pay for septic to
[8:07:32] sewer, who aren't going to get it for almost 30 years. Donna,
[8:07:35] you and I, we're not going to get something. We're not going
[8:07:38] to get sewer for 30 years, but we're going to pay $200 more a
[8:07:41] month for that. We have seniors, over 3000 seniors who have
[8:07:44] lived in this city and paid their bills and are living
[8:07:49] paycheck to paycheck, and we're going to force them out if they
[8:07:53] are not the special ones who have a trust or who have
[8:07:58] financially sound income. And believe you me, I know a lot of
[8:08:02] them who do not have the money to afford to have this increase.
[8:08:06] We are an old city. We are forced to make these hard
[8:08:11] decisions to help move the city forward. We're state mandated
[8:08:16] by some of this stuff, such as septic to sewer. Some of the
[8:08:20] things are out of our control and some of the things are in
[8:08:24] our control. How this came about. Years ago, we brought in
[8:08:29] CBRE because of me. Again, I suggested sell City Hall, sell
[8:08:35] the circle, redevelop it, and let's make it something great
[8:08:38] so that we can generate funding to come into this city. What
[8:08:42] that caused is we have to look at everything because we are. I
[8:08:48] guess you would say we have to be fair across the board. And
[8:08:52] what that did is turned into a workshop. And we looked at all
[8:08:56] the properties that we have in the city of Hollywood that we
[8:08:59] own that can be redeveloped. And we were given a perfect
[8:09:04] scenario of what this would look like, what that would look
[8:09:07] like. You can redevelop this area. You can redevelop that
[8:09:11] area. And the top one was 1301. That was number one. Pam, you
[8:09:20] could shake your head. No, but that was the number one
[8:09:24] presentation. And unfortunately as which was stated today,
[8:09:27] people can change their minds. But at that time and
[8:09:30] Commissioner Quintana was not here, I don't think
[8:09:33] Commissioner Gruber was here at the time, but at that time, and
[8:09:37] I'm bringing up, people could change their mind. And that's
[8:09:39] the right we have, Commissioner Shoham said. Super Bowl of
[8:09:43] Super Bowls, we thought it was going to be great. We're going
[8:09:46] to have a great community center. We're going to be able
[8:09:49] to do it. But that was as a development on that site. Today,
[8:09:53] we hear a lot of conflicting don't touch it at all. Don't do
[8:09:58] anything. Leave our community center as it is. But prior we
[8:10:03] had, yeah, we can generate funding. We could do something
[8:10:06] better for the community. We can make it better. And this is
[8:10:09] what it's evolved to. That shows that it's liquid and it's
[8:10:15] fluid, and decisions are constantly being made. This
[8:10:20] project definitely signifies Home Rule, and I have been a
[8:10:24] Home Rule hero for over 13 years. I go to state, I fight,
[8:10:30] I try to make sure that vacation rentals don't affect
[8:10:33] us, along with Commissioner Shoham, along with everybody
[8:10:36] else here. I actually said we all need to go because one
[8:10:41] voice isn't enough. We need all of our voices, and there are a
[8:10:45] lot of problems that we have that we're faced with in the
[8:10:48] city. And what got me into this job, which, let me tell you,
[8:10:53] six months, is looking really good after tonight. But what
[8:10:57] got me into this job is the financial urgency that this
[8:11:00] city and the prior leaders set forth. We are faced with losing
[8:11:05] our fire department, our police department, our general
[8:11:08] employees were leaving by the drones. Our city wasn't safe.
[8:11:11] We were in financial urgency of $34 million. And if anybody
[8:11:18] doesn't know, because I'm sure everybody does their homework.
[8:11:21] I'm married to a cop, 30 year veteran. It was devastating.
[8:11:26] And when you talk to the individuals, the firefighters,
[8:11:29] the police officers, the general employees, they were
[8:11:34] devastated. And those are by decisions that were made by the
[8:11:37] city. And I swore to get up here and make sure to make it
[8:11:40] right. I swore to get up here and be the voice of the people.
[8:11:44] I didn't promise anybody anything contrary to what
[8:11:47] anybody thinks that I promised the police, the world. Feldman.
[8:11:52] All the statements that were made. What I promised was to be
[8:11:55] educated, to learn and to do what's best for all, not for
[8:12:00] some. And what I heard today, and the emails that I've gotten,
[8:12:06] I've had people tell me on the email, do you think that a
[8:12:12] multi-million dollar individual wants to live with a rufous
[8:12:16] with a dirty shirt? Do you think that's appropriate?
[8:12:19] That's that's so not right. And I will tell you, I am the core
[8:12:23] of the epitome of being right for people. We talk about
[8:12:28] infrastructure and flooding. Cat, you got to do something.
[8:12:32] We can't get the money from mid air. And I got to sit on my
[8:12:36] hands so that my hands don't misconstrue the middle finger,
[8:12:39] that everyone thinks that now is like a joke in the city of
[8:12:42] Hollywood. But it takes a leader to be able to sit up
[8:12:48] here, to be able to take the emails, listen to all sides,
[8:12:54] and make a decision to move us forward. This is definitely
[8:12:58] Home rule, what we did today, or what we plan on doing, or
[8:13:02] what I did and what everyone agreed to, is being able to put
[8:13:06] the ball in our court for us to make a decision as a city of
[8:13:10] Hollywood for our residents, all of our residents, to be
[8:13:14] able to make decisions. And as you heard today, we're talking
[8:13:17] about being a landlord. We get to make those decisions, not
[8:13:21] the county and not the state. Even though the state now has
[8:13:26] mandated live local, we're taking that before it gets any
[8:13:29] worse, and we're making a decision that makes us better.
[8:13:36] The county has made some really challenging decisions in the
[8:13:40] years past. E 911. To this day, I still get calls, I get emails
[8:13:46] how terrible it is. I was the only no vote on that decision.
[8:13:52] But the difference of opinions. Here we are with 911 with all
[8:13:59] the issues that we still face. The tower Commissioner and I
[8:14:02] was a joke. We were Thelma and Louise fighting not to put the
[8:14:06] tower in Westlake Village. The county won on that one. Is the
[8:14:12] tower there? Yes. Is it going to? Cause we don't know what
[8:14:16] the future holds. Everyone said it would cause problems. Now
[8:14:18] we're talking about 5G. We talk about all of these things that
[8:14:23] what we're faced with today and what the future holds. None of
[8:14:26] us will know. We don't have a crystal ball, but we are
[8:14:31] presented with the opportunity to protect home rule, to make
[8:14:37] decisions and really have the wherewithal and the leadership
[8:14:41] to make sure that we are financially sound. Now, I agree,
[8:14:46] shockingly, the numbers may be a little inflated. Okay, but
[8:14:52] let's go. Let's just ignore the presentation that was giving.
[8:14:56] As far as the numbers being inflated. When this deal was
[8:15:00] struck back in 2022, we had the same people here yelling at us
[8:15:04] not to make this decision. The decision was made. Why not?
[8:15:09] Because my pockets are getting lined or anybody else's pocket
[8:15:12] is getting lined. It's because we have to worry about our
[8:15:16] legacy and our future. And you may say giving away the beach
[8:15:20] is going to ruin your legacy. And I'm going to be the worst
[8:15:23] commissioner ever Hollywood has seen. Well, I, I don't have a
[8:15:26] crystal ball. Maybe that's going to be true and maybe
[8:15:29] that's not. But if you can see the presentation and thank you,
[8:15:32] Commissioner Gruber, for bringing it up. We now have
[8:15:35] become competitive with other cities for people to come to
[8:15:39] Hollywood to enjoy our community center, to enjoy our
[8:15:43] park, to enjoy our beach. And it's almost shocking for me
[8:15:51] today to even be sitting up here because I hate this. And
[8:15:55] usually I'm like the crying commissioner. I get all
[8:15:57] emotional and upset because I have empathy and I care. But
[8:16:02] what I will say is today we were talking, we had a workshop
[8:16:05] that we've been here since 9:00 this morning. We had a workshop
[8:16:09] today talking about the SWA does anybody know what that's w
[8:16:13] a is out there by show of hands. Okay. We had to sit here and
[8:16:18] talk about the SWA28 cities have to join and a lot of the
[8:16:22] cities are not joining because of the fear factor.
[8:16:28] Commissioner shoe is on the SWA board. She spoke in positivity,
[8:16:32] the positivity of it. But I will tell you. That even in
[8:16:38] itself is a scary risk. But we're taking hopefully I agree
[8:16:43] we're going to take the risk of the unknown, but we're putting
[8:16:46] the city with the SWA at risk as well if we make that jump. I
[8:16:51] don't have anybody out here saying don't do it. You're
[8:16:54] leaving it on our backs. Why? Because we know the financials
[8:16:56] of the city. We know the future burdens that we are causing,
[8:17:02] but we have to come up with a way to pay for all of that. So
[8:17:05] we're in the position where we have to make these tough
[8:17:08] decisions and to villainize us and tell us that we're wrong.
[8:17:12] We've tried to come out creative and come up with
[8:17:15] different ways, like selling City hall like or re 99 year
[8:17:20] leasing city hall. And this 1301 came about and the deal
[8:17:26] was, we want a community center, we want green space and we want
[8:17:30] to protect our beach. And that is exactly what's happening. In
[8:17:35] addition, we're getting more housing to fill the needs and
[8:17:38] the demands that our county is seeing. So whoever keeps
[8:17:48] speaking, I think it's Siobhan by saying it under your breath,
[8:17:50] please respect the process. Speaking out loud is so
[8:17:55] disrespectful. And again, we've asked you not to say it. We've
[8:17:58] asked you not to keep repeating yourself and Siobhan, out of
[8:18:02] all the respect you know I have for you, it's wrong to keep
[8:18:06] jumping out. The vote was made for this project in 2022. It
[8:18:11] does not constitute to be placed for a vote. And to be
[8:18:15] quite honest, I'm not in favor of that because guess what? If
[8:18:19] the city of Hollywood falls on hard times in the future, we
[8:18:24] are handcuffed. But because I do value respect of our City of
[8:18:29] Hollywood residents, I'm the one who said the mess up
[8:18:34] happened. Let's enact it for the next two years until it
[8:18:37] does go to a vote. So this project is not going for a vote
[8:18:42] because it has already been voted on. And I believe that
[8:18:45] that will create a legal issue, and I'm not willing to go down
[8:18:49] another legal battle. Anyways. I'm not here to make enemies.
[8:18:55] I'm not here to pick sides. What I think myself and every
[8:19:01] commissioner up here feels is that we have to do what's best
[8:19:06] for the city, so that we don't ever find ourselves and say,
[8:19:11] damn, it should've, woulda, coulda. It may not be the best,
[8:19:15] but we are getting a darn good project. That's fitting. All
[8:19:19] checking all the boxes. With the exception of the affordable
[8:19:23] housing. But we have to generate funding and that's
[8:19:25] where we went with it. So I hope that you respect that. It
[8:19:29] is not to damn anyone or to say I got you, or to be
[8:19:34] disrespectful, or to pull the wool over your eyes. It's about
[8:19:36] how do we move the city forward and how do we do it financially
[8:19:40] and economically, and being a leader and making these tough
[8:19:43] decisions. That's all I have. Thank you, thank you. Let's see.
[8:19:50] Everyone has spoken except Commissioner Hernandez. So
[8:19:52] before I call others, I'll call on you, Commissioner Hernandez.
[8:19:55] Thank you. Mayor, I want to thank all of the residents that
[8:19:58] are still here, because quite a few of you know, quite a few of
[8:20:05] you come. They say what you have to say. And when it comes
[8:20:09] time for us to deliberate, you get up and leave. And then they
[8:20:14] wonder. They claim that we don't listen to them, when in
[8:20:18] fact they just get the information when they actually
[8:20:20] see it on the video, on the TV because they don't want to stay
[8:20:24] yet. We have to stay. I like to ask the city attorney a couple
[8:20:29] questions. The. The and, and Commissioner Gruber ask you to
[8:20:35] get what the wording on on that thing says you like. I like I
[8:20:39] like to go back to that. Do you have them by any chance, please?
[8:20:42] Yes I do, Commissioner. Okay. This conveyance is for Open
[8:20:49] space Park recreational and other public and municipal
[8:20:53] purposes. Now, I did respond to Commissioner Gruber. I heard
[8:20:55] you. I heard you respond, but my question is, is the income
[8:20:59] that this building would generate covers the latter of
[8:21:02] that which you just read? Yes, yes. Public and municipal
[8:21:06] purposes are considered very broad under Florida statutes.
[8:21:10] And case law has shown that leasing of public property
[8:21:14] constitutes. Okay. Thank you. And this is the reason that I
[8:21:18] wanted to go. Could you could you please go to slide number
[8:21:23] 13? Okay. Let's go to 14 then. There we go. If I go through
[8:21:35] these numbers as rosy as they may be by some of you guys
[8:21:41] standards, by the way, and I'm okay with something like that.
[8:21:44] Can I ask you another question? How many votes do you need for
[8:21:47] this resolution? 4 or 5. Four. Okay. Deduction from gross
[8:21:52] amount developer contribution community center. That's $20
[8:21:56] million that would come of our income. Is that correct?
[8:22:01] Somebody just answer me. Not not from the day it was just
[8:22:05] somebody from from staff, if you don't mind. I just want the
[8:22:08] people to realize this is that money come from our income.
[8:22:10] It's my understanding that it does. Yes. Okay. David, can you
[8:22:14] okay, let the record reflect that Mr. Keller is saying yes.
[8:22:19] That comes from our income and the initial rent to the CBRE
[8:22:23] payment is $9 million. Is that correct? Really? Yes. So the
[8:22:29] initial rent is $10 million. And then he netted out the the
[8:22:34] the commission that's owed to CBRE. And that gives you the
[8:22:39] 9,000,039. So when this deal closes, CBRE will be getting $9
[8:22:43] million. No, no, no, we will be getting $9,000,039, 39 $39,399.
[8:22:50] They will be getting just under just a little over 900,000, I
[8:22:54] believe. Okay, so they get 10%. Okay. So correct. That's that
[8:22:59] was some of my question. By the way. Here is where I'm going to
[8:23:02] disagree with some of my colleagues in the dais. Please
[8:23:06] don't get mad at me. If the income of that property lives
[8:23:13] up to what the deed restriction that you have. I want the $20
[8:23:19] million for sunset. I want the $20 million for a community
[8:23:23] center in my district or in district four that doesn't have
[8:23:27] one. District one already has multiple community centers, and
[8:23:33] they don't want the building anyway, so why should we reward
[8:23:36] them? No disrespect to you guys. No matter what we do or what we
[8:23:41] say, you're going to agree. So I prefer to have that $20
[8:23:46] million to go to a community center and district four.
[8:23:50] District two, or for us to be able to develop sunset golf
[8:23:53] course, please. I and this is where you and I may disagree on
[8:23:58] some of this thing, but we have better use of that money than
[8:24:02] to continue to give a community center to the people that don't
[8:24:06] want the development. And no matter what happens, they're
[8:24:10] not going to want that development. Can we go back to
[8:24:12] picture 21, if you don't mind, because I've been out, by the
[8:24:15] way, drew, you were 100% correct. But I was here with
[8:24:21] Margaritaville. I voted no at the time, and I highlighted
[8:24:24] because I read all the pages of the contract and I highlighted
[8:24:27] the shortcomings. And by the way, the Margaritaville was a
[8:24:31] request for proposal that went to no loan, no no money. Then
[8:24:36] it went to a $10 million loan, and then it went to a $10
[8:24:40] million giveaway. And it wound up being a $28 million giveaway
[8:24:44] without ever going to a referendum. And the same people
[8:24:49] right here, right now that are opposing this, we're jumping up
[8:24:52] and down for Margaritaville. They thought it was the best
[8:24:55] thing ever because it was a developer that they liked, and
[8:24:59] I'm okay, I'm putting that behind me. But at the end of
[8:25:02] the day, these are the same people that are here that were
[8:25:04] jumping up and down for Margaritaville. Well, I'm just
[8:25:08] saying, not all because some of you were not here, but they
[8:25:11] were jumping up and down for Margaritaville and they weren't
[8:25:14] listening to anything against it. This development, this
[8:25:18] developer listen to the people and says, we don't want you to
[8:25:22] encumber the park. And I wasn't here at the time. I did not
[8:25:28] vote for this, just by the way, so I can go either way on this,
[8:25:32] but I want the $20 million for somewhere else. You guys don't
[8:25:35] want the development anyway. We should not reward people that
[8:25:37] are not willing to take a settlement. This is a
[8:25:40] settlement. It's an agreement, maybe a bad agreement to some
[8:25:42] of you, but it's the best agreement that we can come up
[8:25:45] with under the conditions that the city is. When it comes to
[8:25:48] finances, we need $2 billion. We're getting people that
[8:25:51] cannot afford their water bill because of the rates that are
[8:25:54] currently are right now. And by the way, just news. Newsflash
[8:25:58] to everybody, the water bill over the next five years is
[8:26:02] going up 125% because of the needs that we have, just so
[8:26:07] that, you know, because I want you guys to hear from me. I'm
[8:26:11] the bad guy today. I'm going to keep it real. AM I crazy about
[8:26:16] the live local agreement? No. Would I change some of this old
[8:26:22] resolution? I would make it simple, simple, good enough for
[8:26:25] everybody to understand and for it to cover the legal ground. I
[8:26:28] would say the City Commission is willing to entertain the
[8:26:31] live Local act for this development agreement,
[8:26:35] modifying the terms. In other words, we're not getting into
[8:26:39] an agreement right now. We entertaining the getting into
[8:26:42] that agreement, and that would satisfy everything that I've
[8:26:45] heard here so far today. And I will keep us in the up and up
[8:26:50] with you guys, the resident. But if the developer agreed not
[8:26:54] to encumber the park, which the original drawing did, the
[8:26:58] developer also agreed not to shade the beach. The developer
[8:27:02] also agree, yes, with our money to do a community center so
[8:27:07] that the youth can still be on that site. The developer has
[8:27:11] bent over backwards. Are they going to make money? Yes,
[8:27:16] that's their business. Their business is to make money. Our
[8:27:20] business as commissioners is to do what we feel is best for all
[8:27:24] of the city of Hollywood. And for some of you guys that
[8:27:29] demand respect, but yet treat other people's without any
[8:27:32] dignity. I don't know why you feel that you can receive what
[8:27:36] you don't give. All of us here do not agree on everything. I
[8:27:42] love my wife. I don't always agree with her. I love my
[8:27:45] daughter. I don't always agree with her. But we have to treat
[8:27:48] each other with the level of dignity because we're
[8:27:51] colleagues and we expect certain professionalism. The
[8:27:53] same thing with staff. I don't always agree with our city
[8:27:57] attorney and she will tell you, I do not always agree with the
[8:28:00] city manager, and she will tell you all of our staff. They will
[8:28:05] tell you that when I don't agree with them, just like I'm
[8:28:07] speaking to you right now, I speak to them. We don't have to
[8:28:13] agree, but we have to respect each other and we have to agree
[8:28:16] to disagree. You may not agree with what I'm asking, but I am
[8:28:20] telling this commission we have better use of that $20 million
[8:28:24] than what you see right there, because the people that are
[8:28:27] voting, which is us, we're not ever going to please these
[8:28:32] people ever. So if you guys don't mind, please oblige me
[8:28:38] and use those $20 million, which is going to be used for
[8:28:41] public purpose for Sunset golf course. So, so that we don't
[8:28:45] continue to hang on to try to see how we're going to be able
[8:28:48] to do that. And let's make Karen Caputo proud to be able
[8:28:52] to give her the park that she was looking for and she was
[8:28:55] trying to do. That's 40 acres of development of green space.
[8:28:58] Every one of these people here said they want the green space
[8:29:01] that's keeping green space. With that $20 million that is
[8:29:05] being generated out of that parcel, and whether we get $1.9
[8:29:09] billion or we get it $1 billion, or we get $750 million, which
[8:29:14] is lower and lower and lower, it's more than what we're going
[8:29:17] to get for that parcel if we sell it today. And by the way,
[8:29:21] regarding the nine year lease, you're looking at the
[8:29:23] individual who is the chair for the for the not only the
[8:29:26] development review more years ago, but for the charter review
[8:29:30] committee that drove the ballot language that we're looking to
[8:29:35] put on the ballot this November so that we no longer have 99
[8:29:39] year lease. So any of you that think that what I'm coming is
[8:29:43] the left field. No, I do not like 99 year lease. I did not
[8:29:48] vote for this, but yet I can I can recognize that it's a good
[8:29:52] deal, good business deal. Unlike the other deal that it
[8:29:55] was 99 years that I didn't think was a good deal. We're
[8:29:58] getting the revenue out of this parking, whatever parking,
[8:30:02] public parking revenue generates. We're getting it.
[8:30:05] We're not getting it out of the other 99 year lease. The
[8:30:08] question came up today. How many parking spaces are going
[8:30:11] to be upped because of the 84 live local workforce housing?
[8:30:17] We don't know that. I was told that we're going to generate
[8:30:20] whatever it requires plus whatever we have. That's what I
[8:30:24] was told by the developer. The developers are listening to
[8:30:26] what we have to say. I'm being told by our attorney, I don't
[8:30:30] know if you want to come up and say anything or not, but I had
[8:30:34] a meeting. I do while this Keith Poliakoff for the
[8:30:38] applicant. While the site plan is not completed, it's being
[8:30:42] worked on. We are providing more parking than that's there
[8:30:47] today. Right now it's approximately 131 spaces. I
[8:30:50] think there's 80 something spaces there today. The live
[8:30:54] local units are parked within the garage just like the condo
[8:30:59] units. So the garage floor plate is bigger because of the
[8:31:02] live local units. It does not impact in any way the public's
[8:31:06] parking spots, which the city will control. That's more than
[8:31:09] required by the agreement that surface spots outside of the
[8:31:13] the existing building. So that does not change at all. Those
[8:31:17] are the cities control parking spots. Thank you. And that's
[8:31:20] what I wanted the residents to know, that at least when I had
[8:31:24] a meeting with them, which wasn't face to face, it was
[8:31:27] virtual. I asked those questions because in the
[8:31:30] downtown, parking is at a premium. It's just like how it
[8:31:33] is on the beach, and I'm trying to see if we can Keaton Park,
[8:31:36] see if we can do another level of surface, couple of level of
[8:31:40] surface for the residents and need parking, overnight parking
[8:31:42] to be able to park there. I'm trying to work out what the
[8:31:45] residents needs, but sometimes it's hard to fulfill those
[8:31:48] needs. Number one, when we don't have the money. And
[8:31:51] number two, when we have to fight for everything that we
[8:31:53] need in order to get it. So I, I will begrudgingly, and I
[8:31:58] would ask you, you know, the commission to consider removing
[8:32:03] those $20 million for that community center so that we can
[8:32:09] use it for Sunset Park, so that we can use it on district four
[8:32:13] that doesn't have one, and we can use it with people that
[8:32:16] would actually appreciate it. So if this and I will vote for
[8:32:21] this, but I would I want you guys to just consider that
[8:32:24] because that's not something that is on the table today, but
[8:32:29] it's something that it's on my mind because I don't foresee us
[8:32:32] having to bond $2 billion for septic to sewer, having to bond,
[8:32:37] $2 billion for storm water retention and storm water
[8:32:41] drains, and doubling the prices of the water and sewer rates of
[8:32:48] our residents, and finding the money to do something with
[8:32:51] Sunset Park. And it would be a shame to have that place lay
[8:32:54] there for the next 20 years, because we don't have the money
[8:32:57] when we actually have it here right now. And if the developer
[8:33:00] wants to do something like that as an amenity for those
[8:33:03] residents, so be it. Do it on your dime, but don't do it with
[8:33:07] the rest of the city's. When we have needs, real needs and
[8:33:10] these people, they have two community centers that we spend
[8:33:13] good money right now to do. That's where I want to go with
[8:33:16] that money. And I don't I don't have to agree with you guys.
[8:33:19] You don't have to agree with me. But that's where I really
[8:33:23] prefer that those $20 million go, I gotcha. So look, I just
[8:33:28] think it presents a legal question that I think staff and
[8:33:31] the city attorney have to come back to us as to whether or not
[8:33:34] the public purpose of the P three, you know, is sufficient.
[8:33:37] What's sufficiently be covered if we were to remove the
[8:33:39] community center element, suffice it with the park or
[8:33:42] integrate the community center into different, you know, a
[8:33:46] different, a different, you know, layout of the building
[8:33:50] and preserve dollars to be invested, for example, in
[8:33:53] sunset and not invest $20 million in what we see in front
[8:33:57] of us, but rather a different integrated community center
[8:34:00] within, you know, if the building footprint were to
[8:34:02] change and maybe, you know, get the best of both worlds, I mean,
[8:34:05] you could do anything with, with the property. I mean, in
[8:34:08] terms of how you could architecturally design it. So
[8:34:12] but we're not deciding that today. And I think we need some,
[8:34:15] some guidance as to what the parameters might be. Okay. Yeah.
[8:34:20] Oh, I didn't I didn't know you were still not on. Hold on. Go
[8:34:24] ahead Peter. Thank you. And that's the reason that I asked
[8:34:26] you at the beginning, if the rent of that building
[8:34:30] constitute a public purpose. And she answered, yes. Do we
[8:34:33] need more in writing? You said that just by leasing it, it's
[8:34:37] sufficient. So go ahead. So what I spoke about was what
[8:34:42] constitutes a municipal purpose. That's a different question
[8:34:44] from what would constitute a new project under the P three.
[8:34:48] And it would require more research. No. The P three had
[8:34:52] nothing to do with public purpose. The public purpose is
[8:34:54] whether we are getting income. And you said leasing would
[8:34:56] cover that. And that's okay. If you need to backpedal, that's
[8:34:59] fine. But at the end of the day, that's how I started my
[8:35:02] question before I made my statement. And if if we are
[8:35:05] able to lease the land and that income that defines as a public
[8:35:10] purpose under that particular restriction, then we're cover
[8:35:14] that. We don't have to build that. And by the way, we don't
[8:35:17] have to have that kind of elaborate thing. And maybe the
[8:35:20] developer would be saying, we're willing to throw that in
[8:35:22] and we can use that $20 million somewhere else. The fact is, we
[8:35:26] need that money for something different. I mean, you could
[8:35:28] increase the parking, increase the size of the amenity deck,
[8:35:31] integrate the community into that. And, and it would be in
[8:35:33] there and there would be more money left over. Yeah, correct.
[8:35:36] So that's my point. My point is in, in that's something that we
[8:35:39] haven't looked at, but we as a commission need to entertain
[8:35:42] that. Quite frankly, there's other needs in the city of
[8:35:46] Hollywood and they need to be addressed. We're not ever going
[8:35:48] to please the people that came in front of us. So is that a
[8:35:52] motion to approve the current resolution? For now, Peter, for
[8:35:54] now, it is. All right. We have a motion. Can I have a second,
[8:35:58] please? I have a motion in a second. Let's go for second
[8:36:01] round comments and then we'll take a vote on the motion.
[8:36:03] Commissioner Shuhan. I lost my. Hang on. I just have to open
[8:36:14] the sheet. I was hoping, Commissioner Hernandez, you
[8:36:24] would. What you had said about considering live local. Because
[8:36:31] as I read the amendment, it says and I've lost it on my
[8:36:38] computer here, but it says we are authorizing the developer
[8:36:43] to proceed under live local period. That's it. So I was
[8:36:51] going to suggest, because I certainly. And by the way, I
[8:36:56] don't have a problem with amending my motion to. The City
[8:37:01] Commission is willing to entertain the Live Local Act
[8:37:05] for this modification, for this development agreement
[8:37:09] modification. And and if it becomes law, I'm okay with
[8:37:14] something like that because it move the project forward. And
[8:37:19] if it doesn't become law, we don't have a binding commitment.
[8:37:25] But by the way, one of the things that you talked about,
[8:37:28] and by the way, I apologize because I know at your time was
[8:37:31] that this developer has done nothing. This developer has
[8:37:33] done nothing because number one, county administration. Well,
[8:37:41] there's, there's a, there's a legal word. They recanted their
[8:37:44] letter of approval, triggering other maneuvering that had to
[8:37:49] do with the with the development from the developer.
[8:37:53] And it's like a chess game. Everybody thinks they're going
[8:37:56] to win and they move their pieces. You move your horse,
[8:37:59] you move your tower, you move your bishop. So while the
[8:38:02] county was doing their movement in chess game, so were they.
[8:38:06] They went to Tallahassee and changed the law. And now it
[8:38:11] appears that the chess game is in their favor. And this is
[8:38:14] what I see happening when it comes to this development. And
[8:38:18] no, I was not here at the time, but I keep an eye on what
[8:38:22] happens in the City Commission. I have for the last 40 years,
[8:38:25] long before I was a commissioner. Why? Because the
[8:38:28] devil is in the detail. And this is the reason I asked my
[8:38:31] question before I make my statement. At the end of the
[8:38:34] day, if it's okay with the with the second of the motion to do
[8:38:38] something like this, this part that I just read doesn't do
[8:38:42] anything any different than all of this other stuff comes in
[8:38:46] here, and that is that the City Commission is willing to
[8:38:49] entertain the live Local Act for this development agreement
[8:38:55] modification. And if and and it becomes law, I don't know. You
[8:39:00] may want to weigh in on something like this, or we can
[8:39:03] just go like this. Okay. You said no, no, no, don't withdraw.
[8:39:07] I'm just asking if you're willing to. Let me just tell
[8:39:09] you what the what the what the language is that we'd be
[8:39:12] inserting into, into the agreement under this First
[8:39:14] Amendment basically says it. It says verbatim design review
[8:39:17] process, section 5.5 on page three. Notwithstanding anything
[8:39:20] to the contrary contained herein, meaning the rest of the
[8:39:23] Development Agreement, if authorized, if authorized by
[8:39:26] law at the time of sign off submission, the parties agree
[8:39:29] to develop the project in conformity with section
[8:39:34] 166.04151 Florida Statutes the Live Local Act, as may be
[8:39:37] amended from time to time. So if is the operative word, I
[8:39:39] believe that's what the issue is. If it's already in there,
[8:39:42] if authorized by law, go ahead. I stand by my motion. Thank you
[8:39:49] Carol. Go ahead if you like. Well, I mean, I was going to
[8:39:53] suggest. Yeah. Tracy, there's a motion on the table. It would
[8:39:55] be my recommendation that we propose a time certain to have
[8:40:01] a real legal analysis, a real financial analysis, and a
[8:40:05] proposed amendment that, were it, to go forward with an
[8:40:11] affordable housing component, that it not have poor doors,
[8:40:14] not be segregated, that we get rid of the ability to have
[8:40:17] statutory delays. I mean, I really don't think we have
[8:40:20] enough information to vote on this. Well, we're not voting on
[8:40:23] on a complete amendment right now. Just just an amendment,
[8:40:27] notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if
[8:40:30] authorized by law at the time of sign off submission, that
[8:40:33] just means DeSantis signed it, right? That's it, which we know
[8:40:36] is probably going to happen. Right? So if there is a live
[8:40:39] local act at that time, then the parties have agreed to
[8:40:43] develop it per the live Local act. So it's not iffy. It's not
[8:40:47] iffy. But we still have to amend the agreement, the
[8:40:50] amendment to the agreement. There's going to be another
[8:40:52] revealing. Go ahead and talk about the other amendment again.
[8:40:57] There absolutely will be another amendment to the
[8:40:59] agreement because there are several provisions that will
[8:41:03] need to be modified to the comprehensive agreement and the
[8:41:07] ground lease and the development team fully
[8:41:12] anticipates that and expects that they are seeking certainty
[8:41:17] tonight from you all that that they can use the density
[8:41:21] through the live local statute in order to proceed with
[8:41:27] finalizing their plans, moving the project forward,
[8:41:31] negotiating the ground lease changes, and the Comprehensive
[8:41:34] Development Agreement changes, which we are the landlord. I
[8:41:38] understand, Ray Lynn, but once you sign this right, then the
[8:41:43] next go round where we're asking for very reasonable
[8:41:46] things to be put into the Comprehensive Development
[8:41:49] agreement, we have already agreed that the project can
[8:41:52] proceed per the Live Local Act. So when the developer comes and
[8:41:56] says, hey you guys, I have to have separate entrances, I have
[8:42:00] to keep these apartments separate. We are not going to
[8:42:03] have any leverage because we've already agreed that the
[8:42:07] building can be developed per the Live Local Act. My point is,
[8:42:12] let let's just postpone this to a time certain so that we have
[8:42:16] one amendment to the Comprehensive Development
[8:42:18] Agreement. Let's make sure all of us understand what it is
[8:42:22] that we're agreeing to. That's what I'm saying. Yes, I hear
[8:42:27] you. This clearly isn't enough because it doesn't. It doesn't
[8:42:31] it? We end up in a position that conflicts with our
[8:42:35] contract right now, which says no rental. So obviously,
[8:42:38] there's a lot of things in these documents that have to be
[8:42:42] corrected. And the question is, once you agree to one thing,
[8:42:46] you lose the ability to negotiate these future things.
[8:42:49] So what I would suggest is that we postpone this until a time
[8:42:56] certain when council has time to do a full legal analysis on
[8:43:00] whether or not the magnitude of these changes aren't, in fact,
[8:43:03] a whole new agreement, because the live Local act didn't even
[8:43:07] exist when the contract was signed. That staff has an
[8:43:11] independent financial analysis not pulling $1,800 for. It's
[8:43:16] never happened on the barrier island before, and not $1
[8:43:20] billion more than they presented to us six months ago.
[8:43:25] Personally, I do not feel comfortable at all that this
[8:43:31] Commission has accurate or sufficient information to
[8:43:35] decide whether it should or should not agree that this
[8:43:38] should be a live, local act project. That's all I'm saying.
[8:43:42] I would say, well, give yourself the opportunity to see
[8:43:46] all the information. So the city manager is correct that
[8:43:51] given the evolving nature of the current project, another
[8:43:55] amendment would be required. And at that time, once there is
[8:43:58] some idea of what the project would look like, the proposed
[8:44:02] project, then there would need to be amendments to the CDA in
[8:44:06] order to make that something that we're able to move forward
[8:44:10] with. This is not binding. Why don't we have the P three
[8:44:13] partners state their agreement to that understanding on the
[8:44:16] record. Mayor Keith Polyakov again for the P three partner.
[8:44:24] There's no doubt that the final site plan has to come back
[8:44:27] before this commission. There was a long discussion probably
[8:44:31] an hour ago about, you know, whether or not state law would
[8:44:35] allow the developer to do what everything, anything they would
[8:44:37] want under the under the live local statute. Yes. If it
[8:44:41] wasn't city land, that would be correct. You're the owner of
[8:44:44] the land. You guys dictate what is built there. So you agree
[8:44:48] that there needs to be a second amendment to the C, D, A and
[8:44:52] the ground lease 100%. There has to be the final site plan,
[8:44:55] which it will be within. The amendment needs to come before
[8:44:58] you. You know, the the design needs to come before you to
[8:45:01] make sure that it can be built as we've desired. But if you
[8:45:04] answer my question straightforwardly, please. So
[8:45:07] I'm sorry, Mr. Polyakov, does the developer agree that there
[8:45:11] will be one entrance for all residents in this building and
[8:45:15] one set of amendments? I'm not agreeing to that. That's.
[8:45:21] Listen, there are buildings all over the United States. You go
[8:45:23] to hotels everywhere. There's an entrance to the tower, not
[8:45:26] owned by the city, not owned by the city. And there is condo
[8:45:29] entrance and apartment entrance and A, B, C and D. Let's not
[8:45:32] let's not get over ourselves too much. All right, all right.
[8:45:37] We have a motion and a second Commissioner Shuhan feels
[8:45:40] differently. Who's next in the queue? Commissioner Biederman?
[8:45:44] So I kind of agree with Commissioner Shuhan about the
[8:45:48] dual entrance. Unless it's not like, obviously dual. You know,
[8:45:53] I mean, it is. So it is then fine. That's going to come back.
[8:45:57] Commissioner Shu talks about how you know what the delays
[8:46:00] are, but yet she wants to delay the process even more. So I
[8:46:04] don't get it. Let's vote on it today. Let everybody go home.
[8:46:08] We're going to have another meeting. Everybody's going to
[8:46:10] come out and be against the project again. That's just the
[8:46:13] way it is. Cat. It's 10 to 10 time stamp for when you go to
[8:46:20] do a video clip of what I'm going to say, because I know
[8:46:23] that's coming. Can you put up the chart that Commissioner
[8:46:30] Shuhan called for earlier? 10 to 10 mutual respect. That's
[8:46:38] respect. I'm I'm letting her know this is the time to start
[8:46:41] recording mutual respect, you two. Buddy, I've. I've seen
[8:46:46] what you've written. Please, please, please. Enough!
[8:46:49] Together. Stop. All right, so I understand, you know, and I had
[8:46:54] an interview with the Sun-Sentinel three and a half
[8:46:57] years ago. And I try to explain why I believe that this project
[8:47:03] is good for affordable housing. Believe it or not, it's coming
[8:47:09] right back, full circle. So we have a housing shortage. It's
[8:47:15] all about supply and demand. You give more supply demand to
[8:47:19] cover the demand. The prices come down a little bit and it's
[8:47:23] a trickle down. You create $4 million condos. Somebody that
[8:47:27] could afford it is going to buy that instead of a $3 million
[8:47:30] condo. Human nature. And it goes down the line by not
[8:47:35] providing more luxury housing, it takes away moderate priced
[8:47:41] housing or market rate housing. Same thing with this. Maybe we
[8:47:45] have a surplus of moderate income rental housing of 2500.
[8:47:51] And we have a. A need for the extremely low. But if we create
[8:47:57] more moderate income housing, then it's going to take people
[8:48:02] away from some of the extremely low or the very low that will
[8:48:07] free up that property for somebody that can only afford
[8:48:10] that. That's what I believe. That's what the statistics show.
[8:48:14] You create more, you move people up the line. Everybody
[8:48:17] wants the next best thing. They want better than what they
[8:48:20] could afford, and you're going to move people up the line,
[8:48:23] freeing up cheaper housing for people that could afford that.
[8:48:27] That being said, first of all, thank you for commissioner, for
[8:48:31] vice mayor, for being a leader, not a follower. I'm sure your
[8:48:34] residents appreciate that, as well as many other residents. I
[8:48:39] we had a meeting at Driftwood Community Center last night.
[8:48:41] For those of you that keep saying everybody in the city is
[8:48:44] against this, I asked the 15, 20 people that were there, does
[8:48:49] anybody against. 1301 I had to go and explain a little bit
[8:48:53] what's going on today. And one person in the room said she's
[8:48:58] against it because she wants more information about it.
[8:49:02] Nobody else in the room was against it. So it's very
[8:49:05] disingenuous to say everybody in the city is against it. The
[8:49:09] majority of residents is against it. The majority of the
[8:49:11] people in this room that are residents of Hollywood may be
[8:49:15] against it, and that might even be pushing the line. So I'm
[8:49:21] supporting this. I'm okay with the whole. As Commissioner
[8:49:27] Shuhan put it, the poor door entrance, because I think that
[8:49:30] it should be one entrance. But I'm ready to vote on it today.
[8:49:36] Let's move this forward. Let's get some housing built and
[8:49:40] let's improve the community center. Let's improve the city
[8:49:45] because we keep hearing the city is, you know, dilapidated.
[8:49:48] The city's falling apart. You know, there's too much of that.
[8:49:51] Let's improve the city. We got to improve the city. All right.
[8:49:55] And there's plenty of money there to build a community
[8:49:57] center and Sunset Park, because there's at least $60 million
[8:50:01] coming in. If we're spending 20 million on a community center,
[8:50:04] there's going to be money left over to build out Sunset Park
[8:50:09] and a community center and other things. All right, let's
[8:50:12] hear final comments by Commissioners Gruber, Vice
[8:50:14] Mayor and Commissioner Hernandez, if any, and we'll
[8:50:16] take a vote. Anything? Okay. Vice mayor? Anything else? Yes.
[8:50:21] Yes, mayor, I just wanted to also highlight we. We went to a
[8:50:28] meeting the other day that was here on the second floor, and
[8:50:31] it was about development and what's happening and, and the
[8:50:35] demands. And Sandra Eisenhorn really made a great. And I
[8:50:40] thought that's where you were going with this slide. You have
[8:50:44] the multimillion dollar apartments. But those
[8:50:49] individuals have demands for hairdressers, mechanics,
[8:50:55] waiters, waitresses, and the list goes on and on. And to
[8:51:01] create a a community, that's basically what this is. You're
[8:51:08] going to have your multimillionaires buying these
[8:51:11] homes. Maybe they're not living there, maybe they're just
[8:51:12] renting, but when they come into town, they're going to
[8:51:15] need a nurse. They're going to need a police officer, they're
[8:51:19] going to need a hairdresser. They're going to need a
[8:51:22] housekeeper. They're going to need every average to medium
[8:51:28] service income bearing person. And so when we talked to or
[8:51:35] when we listened the other day, there is a demand and a need
[8:51:40] for high end living. And there's also a demand and need
[8:51:45] for affordable living. And then there's that thing in between.
[8:51:49] And really and truly, we're meeting, we're checking the box
[8:51:52] on all of them. So how this has formulated into just a high
[8:51:58] rise that everybody didn't want. I don't agree with getting rid
[8:52:02] of the community center, because that's part of how we
[8:52:05] push this project forward. And now we're going to take
[8:52:08] something away. I'd rather give than take away. And yes,
[8:52:13] Commissioner Biederman, the generated funding I had
[8:52:17] suggested that the generated funding go towards septic, to
[8:52:21] sewer, go towards infrastructure, all the
[8:52:24] stormwater drainage and help burden the costs that are going
[8:52:27] to be increased to our residents who can't afford it.
[8:52:30] Instead of pushing them out. But in negotiations, I would
[8:52:35] like to also add one caveat. And now I'm going to change it
[8:52:39] up. We're talking about affordable housing. I have been
[8:52:43] a strong proponent for senior living and veterans, mainly
[8:52:48] seniors. Is there a way we can carve out a certain amount, 10%,
[8:52:53] 15% of the affordable living to help meet senior housing and
[8:52:58] then maybe 10% for veterans? Is that something we can negotiate
[8:53:03] into it? When you have seniors that possibly could fit in that,
[8:53:10] but I would rather see a senior citizen who's worked their
[8:53:14] entire life who are now getting pushed out because of our
[8:53:17] increase in prices, be able to to live on the beach and see
[8:53:21] the sunrise and see the sunset and be able to commingle with
[8:53:24] individuals and they possibly may make that. AM I because
[8:53:28] they're affording their own home? And possibly they sell
[8:53:31] their home, but also the veterans. I don't know how we
[8:53:35] can arrange to meet that. And I don't know the developers here,
[8:53:39] but we talk about the demands and needs. And here's a project
[8:53:42] that's supposed to be community based. Let's make it community
[8:53:45] based. Then if we're going to go to a live local, let's
[8:53:49] address 10% to the veterans, 10% to the seniors, then we're
[8:53:53] really checking the boxes. Yeah. Well, look, if if that's
[8:53:57] permissible under the law, let's when that when this comes
[8:53:59] back under the Second Amendment and we have the terms of the
[8:54:03] agreement in writing, then let's staff bring us options on.
[8:54:07] If we can dictate, you know, allocations of the of the of
[8:54:12] the workforce units, you know, by, you know, age or by, by
[8:54:16] veteran status and what have you, let us know what the
[8:54:19] options are between now and then. All right. Thank you,
[8:54:21] Commissioner Hernandez, to close and we'll take a vote.
[8:54:24] Thank you mayor, you guys are going to make me vote against
[8:54:27] my own motion. And I wasn't I wasn't kidding when I'm saying
[8:54:32] that that $20 million could be used somewhere else. I'm not
[8:54:37] talking about rewarding bad behavior. I'm talking about
[8:54:41] real needs somewhere else. For that $20 million. Commissioner
[8:54:46] Biederman, you talked about the other $60 million. The other
[8:54:50] $60 million are going to serve a public purpose, which is
[8:54:52] going to be help some of the bonds that we're going to need
[8:54:56] for the septic to sewer conversion throughout the city
[8:54:58] of Hollywood and the storm drainage, you know, if you if
[8:55:02] you guys are hell bent on spending those $20 million for
[8:55:06] that particular luxury community center, it well, it
[8:55:13] doesn't seem to make a difference what it's been
[8:55:16] promised. When there's other needs, they don't care for, you
[8:55:19] promise? They don't think that you're doing the right task.
[8:55:22] Staff with showing us a. And the developer showing us a site
[8:55:26] plan that has a reduced cost, integrated community center
[8:55:30] with an expanded, you know, in the in the expanded amenity
[8:55:34] deck and parking garage that they might be willing to pay
[8:55:37] for, for the expanded facilities for the project. I'm
[8:55:40] willing to entertain that, but I'm just saying, please don't
[8:55:42] zero out my idea because this is the, the, the ability that
[8:55:45] we're going to have probably within the next 10 to 15 years
[8:55:49] before we can get any money to do anything for the, the parks
[8:55:52] that we actually need in the community center. I'm not just
[8:55:55] talking about myself. District four doesn't have one. I have
[8:55:59] one Fred Lippman, multi-purpose Centers. And when it was closed,
[8:56:02] we you know, they were the armories in district three. But
[8:56:05] it is it so but at the end of the day, we have a park that
[8:56:11] has the ability to do. We don't have to buy the land. We just
[8:56:15] have to allocate the money. There is a need in different
[8:56:18] communities that will be grateful and very appreciative
[8:56:21] of something like that. Happening when somebody else is
[8:56:23] getting millions of dollars is saying, don't do it. So let's,
[8:56:27] let's, let's see that option. Let's see that option on what
[8:56:30] what that looks like to help reduce the cost or eliminate it.
[8:56:33] The developer might be eager to, you know, get a get, you know,
[8:56:37] a larger footprint on the property for, for the project.
[8:56:39] All those in favor of the income that you were expecting
[8:56:42] to generate by having a first class venue in that location,
[8:56:45] well, you guys don't want it anyway. All those in favor of
[8:56:48] the resolution, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Show the
[8:56:53] resolution passing five two. That concludes our meeting
[8:56:55] today. Thank you all. This meeting is adjourned to be
[8:56:59] continued.