[0:10] >> We're still short with

[0:11] one commissioner,

[0:13] but I'm sure he's on his way.

[0:16] The time is now 5:33 and it's

[0:17] board night. And we always look

[0:20] forward to listening

[0:21] to what each

[0:23] of our advisory boards have

[0:24] to say once a year. But you all

[0:26] know that you can reach out

[0:28] to us anytime. We're always

[0:29] available to talk to you,

[0:31] even though we can't talk

[0:32] to one another

[0:34] except when we're here,

[0:36] we can always speak

[0:37] to you and we're very,

[0:38] very thankful

[0:39] for your service.

[0:41] Before I get started, Madam

[0:42] Clerk, if you please call a

[0:43] roll.

[0:44] >>[CALLING ROLL]

[1:01] >> We have quorum.

[1:03] >> Thank you very, very much.

[1:04] Welcome to all again. And we

[1:05] have about an hour for this.

[1:08] We have to get through about

[1:10] 11 boards that are

[1:12] on my list. So if we could keep

[1:15] it down to about five

[1:17] to eight minutes per board,

[1:19] that'll help. And you can

[1:21] always submit supplemental

[1:24] information to the clerk. You

[1:25] could always call us

[1:27] in between. But we want

[1:30] to hear from every board. And

[1:33] then the regular city

[1:34] commission meeting begins

[1:36] at 6:30.

[1:37] But if we start a couple

[1:38] of minutes late,

[1:40] that's okay.

[1:42] So let's start with the

[1:44] Economic Development Board. If

[1:45] they would please come forward

[1:48] and if you would say your name

[1:49] and your affiliation

[1:51] with the board and you're off

[1:53] to go. There's a button there

[1:56] that says speak. You're on.

[2:01] >> Good evening. My name is

[2:03] Christopher Zaidi. I am the

[2:05] chair for the Economic

[2:06] Development Board. Good

[2:08] evening, Mayor, commissioners,

[2:09] city attorney and city clerk.

[2:16] This evening I'm here to

[2:18] present the annual board report

[2:19] during our general business

[2:21] meetings. Our monthly liaison

[2:24] reports have been a part

[2:25] of the Economic Development

[2:27] Board meetings

[2:28] to inform members relevant to

[2:30] economic activity occurring

[2:31] throughout the city. Planning

[2:33] and economic development staff

[2:35] as liaison to the Economic

[2:38] Development Board provides a

[2:39] report to the board on a

[2:41] current and upcoming cultural,

[2:47] social and developmental

[2:49] businesses activities that's

[2:51] coming to the city.

[2:53] During the district reports,

[2:55] board members discussed topics

[2:56] of business and or community

[2:58] interests for their district or

[3:00] organizations. Monthly meetings

[3:04] have been held

[3:05] on the second floor of the

[3:07] frank giving the board members

[3:09] access to the art displays and

[3:11] being displayed

[3:12] for our community. Our key

[3:15] actions. In the past year,

[3:16] the Economic Development Board

[3:18] has held five meetings. The

[3:20] board along with staff created

[3:22] a meetings calendar

[3:24] for the entire year. The board

[3:26] did not meet in July

[3:28] of last year

[3:29] for summer recess. October

[3:31] of last year for Hurricane

[3:33] Milton. November 2024 for the

[3:35] Art Festival and February

[3:38] Taste of Pines this year. So the

[3:40] board members could so that the

[3:43] Board members could attend

[3:46] those community events

[3:49] sponsored by the city. The

[3:50] Meetings the meeting held in

[3:53] June of last year we operated

[3:54] as a workshop because the

[3:56] Board did not have quorum due

[3:57] to absences and vacancies. In

[3:59] the past year we had four new

[4:01] members that were appointed

[4:05] to the Economic Development

[4:07] Board and currently we are

[4:10] going to be getting, Mr. Mayor

[4:13] will be appointing an existing

[4:15] member, Scott Joiner, later

[4:17] on this evening as designee.

[4:20] As your designee, sir Mayor

[4:21] at large, you'll also Mr.

[4:23] Mayor will also be appointing a

[4:25] new member, Dr. George McLean

[4:28] as an alternate. The

[4:31] Commission is also appointing a

[4:33] new member, Teisha Harris, as a

[4:36] regular member,

[4:38] so we still need

[4:42] to fill one seat which is great

[4:43] by the Commission. The

[4:45] Economic Development Board

[4:46] discusses valuations of

[4:48] existing commercial properties,

[4:50] new residential properties and

[4:52] the impact on the tax roll.

[4:54] Also, the Economic

[4:56] Development Board focuses

[4:57] on the discussion of the

[4:59] City's strategic planning,

[5:01] including reviewing survey

[5:04] results as well as the goals

[5:05] and objectives

[5:07] of the plan held by the City.

[5:10] Economic Board members attend

[5:12] public meetings related

[5:13] to the plan. General

[5:15] information was also provided

[5:17] and the Economic Development

[5:20] Board regarding the general

[5:22] obligation bond referendum and

[5:24] the results this past March

[5:27] election. Moving forward

[5:28] Economic Development Board will

[5:31] work with City staff

[5:33] to enhance the City's

[5:35] Economic Development

[5:37] Information Strategy 1.2.1

[5:40] in the EDSP aims

[5:42] to enhance details about the

[5:44] City's assets to the public.

[5:45] Economic Development Data and

[5:48] Events during the meetings,

[5:49] the Economic Development Board

[5:52] examined other economic

[5:54] development websites and

[5:55] provided feedback

[5:58] to staff via a survey. We

[6:00] recommend including demographic

[6:03] data in the form

[6:05] of informatics, interactive

[6:08] maps that will allow easy

[6:10] navigation and the search of

[6:11] opportunity sites and

[6:15] development projects

[6:16] in the city. In addition,

[6:19] Economic Development would

[6:20] like to include small business

[6:22] resources,

[6:24] economic development news,

[6:26] upcoming events that will allow

[6:28] for networking opportunities

[6:29] and business programs

[6:31] implementation as available.

[6:33] To conclude, the Economic

[6:36] Development Board is

[6:39] enthusiastic about the City's

[6:41] adopted strategic Plan and how

[6:43] it will influence the future

[6:45] of our city. Along with the

[6:47] Economic Development

[6:48] Strategic Plan update,

[6:50] we look forward to the plan

[6:51] to implement the other City

[6:53] Master Plan Free Sessions

[6:55] Documents. We also look forward

[6:57] to seeing the outcome of the

[6:59] newly created budget committee

[7:00] and would like to schedule a

[7:02] joint advisory board workshop

[7:04] in the near future. And

[7:06] finally, we want

[7:08] to be thankful for the service

[7:10] of our past chair, Mrs. Susan

[7:11] Meister, who served on the

[7:13] Economic Development Board for

[7:15] over a decade. So we're

[7:17] thankful

[7:18] for the expansion also

[7:20] of the trustee membership

[7:22] from the Miramar Pembroke

[7:24] Pines Regional Chamber of

[7:27] Commerce. The Chamber is

[7:29] providing solid programming and

[7:31] that supports our city

[7:32] community.

[7:34] >> Thank you very much and

[7:36] thank you for all that you do

[7:37] on the Economic Development

[7:38] Board. And I'm sure that

[7:40] Assistant City Manager Stan is

[7:42] going to take a look at the

[7:43] website suggestions that you

[7:44] have. And I want to thank you

[7:46] for your service.

[7:48] Commissioners, any questions

[7:49] of economic development?

[7:53] >> No. Thank you to the chair,

[7:54] my appointee

[7:56] to the advisory board.

[8:00] >> Appreciate it. Wonderful.

[8:03] Thank you very, very much.

[8:06] Next up will be Planning and

[8:09] Zoning Board. And I see the

[8:11] incomparable Linda Gonzalez

[8:13] coming forward.

[8:14] >> Good evening, Mayor and

[8:16] commissioners. Linda

[8:17] Gonzalez. You already said my

[8:19] name, right. Chair of the

[8:21] Planning and Zoning Board.

[8:22] This is Lee Golditch, he is our

[8:24] vice chair. And this is

[8:26] Rosalie Labez. Been

[8:27] on the board since 2018. As you

[8:29] can see from our report,

[8:32] we had quite a few members

[8:33] over the past year. We have

[8:34] three new board members and I

[8:35] have to compliment you on

[8:37] picking them because they fit

[8:39] right in from the very first

[8:41] meeting they were at, asked

[8:42] appropriate questions and I

[8:44] think we have a really strong

[8:45] board right now. We heard three

[8:47] zoning changes, 12 site plans,

[8:49] 14 zoning variances, and 25

[8:51] miscellaneous applications.

[8:53] And you have the rest

[8:54] of our report in front

[8:56] of you. As you know, we added

[8:57] accessory dwelling units

[8:59] to the code,

[9:02] which only applies to property

[9:03] that have the land and meet the

[9:05] other requirements. And so far

[9:07] we've had no one apply

[9:09] for this. Other cities are

[9:11] doing different things.

[9:14] Dallas, Texas is making it easy

[9:15] for there to be 7,500 square

[9:18] foot apartment buildings with

[9:20] eight units or less and hoping

[9:22] that smaller units can go

[9:24] in smaller places. Portland,

[9:26] Oregon is making incentives,

[9:27] incentives so that unused

[9:30] office space can be turned

[9:31] into apartments. So I think

[9:33] there are other,

[9:36] maybe other options out there

[9:38] for us to look at as far as

[9:40] adding more housing. As you

[9:43] know,

[9:46] the city is pretty much built

[9:48] out, so we'll probably be

[9:49] hearing redevelopment plans or

[9:52] repurposing buildings that are

[9:54] already there anyway. Has it

[9:56] been five minutes yet?

[10:01] >> No, no.

[10:03] I want to tell you that

[10:05] since the start of the city,

[10:07] the Planning and Zoning Board

[10:09] has played an integral role

[10:11] in the development of

[10:13] Pembroke Pines, possibly more

[10:15] than any other advisory board.

[10:17] The work that you all

[10:19] over the years has done. Has

[10:22] been. It's come out of the

[10:24] ground and people can see it,

[10:25] and it's contributed

[10:27] significantly to the success

[10:29] of the city. And I'm very,

[10:31] very thankful

[10:32] for all that you do. You're

[10:34] right, Linda. Redevelopment is

[10:36] probably going

[10:37] to be the next big thing

[10:39] on the agenda. There actually

[10:41] have been several redevelopment

[10:43] projects in the city

[10:44] during your time,

[10:46] but that's likely to be the

[10:47] next thing that people see

[10:49] where areas that have buildings

[10:51] or uses right now that have

[10:53] become obsolete

[10:55] with the advancement of

[10:56] technology and other phenomena

[10:57] that's more and more common.

[10:59] And people will want

[11:01] to reuse that land

[11:02] in different ways. So there'll

[11:04] be land use plants, there'll be

[11:05] possibly rezoning applications

[11:07] of different kinds,

[11:09] and we'll just have to meet

[11:11] that challenge as it comes.

[11:14] But I'm very, very thankful

[11:15] to all of you for the work

[11:16] that you do and for the advice

[11:17] that you give us.

[11:18] >> I should add one thing.

[11:20] Because of the new members, I

[11:21] asked staff and the assistant

[11:23] city attorney

[11:24] to make presentations about the

[11:26] application review process.

[11:28] And if there's anything that

[11:30] you would like us

[11:32] to look into, please let us

[11:34] know, because we serve

[11:35] at your pleasure.

[11:36] >> We very much appreciate it.

[11:39] >> Thank you.

[11:40] >> Commission, any questions

[11:41] for the Planning and zoning

[11:42] board?

[11:44] >> Yes, Mr. Mayor.

[11:45] >> Commissioner Good.

[11:46] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So,

[11:48] yes, the accessory dwelling

[11:49] units, that's certainly a hot

[11:51] topic not just here, but

[11:53] certainly throughout the state

[11:54] of Florida. I'm very,

[11:56] very interested

[11:57] to see how some of that plays

[11:58] out. I know that nobody has yet

[12:00] applied

[12:01] for that. I think a lot of that

[12:02] is certainly because there's

[12:04] more questions than there are

[12:05] answers right now, because it's

[12:07] a really rather new concept.

[12:08] In order to be able to either

[12:10] house our youth or our parents

[12:12] and things. I can tell you that

[12:14] I participate in a regional

[12:16] affordable housing meetings,

[12:18] which many other cities are

[12:20] demonstrating different levels

[12:23] of successes with this type

[12:24] of building,

[12:26] which is the ADU. So I know

[12:30] that they are also, you know,

[12:32] having challenges and are

[12:34] finding solutions to some of

[12:36] the questions that are being

[12:38] asked. And I'm certain that

[12:42] Mr. Stan and his team will be

[12:44] receiving more and more of that

[12:46] information and hopefully

[12:49] getting it before you all. And

[12:50] then hopefully,

[12:52] maybe we can see some more

[12:55] of those ADUs come online

[12:57] within our communities that,

[13:00] you know, really kind

[13:01] of help us with both ends

[13:02] of our families. So thank you.

[13:04] Thank you for everything

[13:06] that you all do love.

[13:08] >> I think staff is looking

[13:09] at maybe ways to better

[13:11] publicize the availability

[13:12] of this

[13:13] for certain homeowners.

[13:14] >> Yeah.

[13:15] >> Because if I wasn't on the

[13:17] PNZ board. I wouldn't know

[13:18] about it. Anyway, thank you for

[13:19] your. I have good appointment.

[13:21] >> Commissioner Rodriguez.

[13:22] >> I really do appreciate the

[13:24] PRI. The prioritization of

[13:25] housing and that very large

[13:27] issue that we have, the housing

[13:28] crisis that we have. And

[13:30] for us to be able

[13:31] to do something like the

[13:34] accessory dwelling units here

[13:36] in the city is really,

[13:37] really important. And I would

[13:38] ask because it's a possibility

[13:40] in our city, but maybe we

[13:41] haven't communicated as much as

[13:43] whether it's a partnership with

[13:44] our communications department

[13:45] or a initiative that you all

[13:48] have. And as

[13:50] to how do we communicate to the

[13:51] public that this is an

[13:53] opportunity. Most young people

[13:54] would be, you know, interested

[13:55] in this are seniors, especially

[13:57] if you have an older parent

[13:59] living with you. These are

[14:00] definitely things that people

[14:02] are out there looking for.

[14:03] It's we haven't necessarily

[14:05] reached them for them

[14:06] to apply and do that

[14:07] in intrigued with, so making

[14:09] sure that we're communicating

[14:11] to them. Maybe it's an

[14:12] initiative that you all take

[14:14] on or a partnership with our

[14:16] communications department. I'd

[14:18] really appreciate that as well

[14:19] and look forward

[14:20] to seeing it.

[14:21] >> Okay, thank you.

[14:23] >> Anyone else? Thank you very,

[14:24] very much. The next speaker

[14:25] will be the Education

[14:27] Advisory Board.

[14:36] >> Good evening. My name is

[14:37] Danielle Spradley. I am the

[14:38] chair of the Education

[14:40] Advisory Board. You guys have

[14:41] reports I'm not going

[14:43] to bore you with just reading

[14:44] it. I just want

[14:46] to highlight a few of the

[14:47] things that we did accomplish

[14:49] this year. We had several

[14:50] members who were able

[14:52] to attend the Read for the

[14:54] Record Day which was held in

[14:56] October, which obviously

[14:57] reading is a big thing we're

[14:59] trying to push. And so

[15:00] to be able to have some

[15:02] of the members volunteer to do

[15:03] that was really successful.

[15:05] Also, you know, we to do our

[15:07] Student Ambassador Day. We did

[15:08] it in February this year,

[15:10] which was a little bit later in

[15:12] the school year than we

[15:13] normally do,

[15:15] but it was really,

[15:16] really good. We were able

[15:17] to host 24 students,

[15:19] they were all juniors from our

[15:20] surrounding high schools and

[15:22] they were able to meet

[15:23] with the mayor, city manager.

[15:24] It was a really good

[15:26] opportunity for them

[15:27] to kind of. We met

[15:29] with you as well to be able

[15:30] to see what goes on

[15:32] behind the scenes and try

[15:33] to encourage them to see this

[15:35] as a potential career opportun

[15:37] as they are planning their

[15:39] futures. And so that was a

[15:40] really good event. We ended up

[15:43] feeding them

[15:44] at the senior focal point,

[15:46] the Southwest Focal Point

[15:47] center, where they had lunch

[15:49] and then they came to the

[15:50] commission meeting where they

[15:51] were recognized. So that was a

[15:53] really good event. Also several

[15:55] members have been attending,

[15:57] including Myself the meetings

[15:58] concerning the redistricting

[16:00] plans, as obviously Pembroke

[16:01] Pines,

[16:03] like every city is affected

[16:05] by these. And just to be able

[16:07] to kind of stay

[16:08] in the know and

[16:09] to add our voices

[16:11] to the conversation about what

[16:12] we think should be happening as

[16:14] these schools are being

[16:16] repurposed due to

[16:17] under enrollment. And then the

[16:19] last thing I wanted to mention

[16:20] mention was this year we were

[16:21] able to participate in a STEM

[16:23] festival which took place at

[16:24] North Perry Airport back in

[16:26] November. And so it was an

[16:27] aviation fair,

[16:28] very well attended. Several

[16:29] of the members were able

[16:31] to attend as well and

[16:32] to be able to assist

[16:33] in that event. So our

[16:35] attendance record is attached

[16:36] and we are very grateful that

[16:38] we finally have all the seats

[16:39] filled. It's been a while

[16:40] since we've been there, so this

[16:42] has been a really good board

[16:43] for this, this year,

[16:44] and we look forward

[16:46] to it again going

[16:48] into the next year. And lastly,

[16:49] I just want to. The members

[16:51] want to thank Dr. Mirage, who

[16:52] is always such a great support

[16:54] for us due to.

[16:55] For her investment

[16:57] in us and just the guidance.

[16:59] And she's the one who puts

[17:01] on the student Ambassador day.

[17:03] It could not happen

[17:04] without her and Mr. Bolinia.

[17:05] And so we're just very

[17:07] grateful. So that's it.

[17:08] >> Well, thank you very,

[17:09] very much and thanks to the

[17:11] Educational Advisory Board

[17:12] for all they do

[17:14] during this graduation season.

[17:15] Of course, all

[17:17] of us had the opportunity

[17:18] to go around and meet with the

[17:20] different schools and help them

[17:21] to celebrate as we come closer

[17:22] to the end of the year. And two

[17:24] things sort of came out

[17:26] from my discussion with parents

[17:28] and teachers and even some

[17:29] of our principals

[17:31] at the charter schools. And the

[17:32] first was the addition

[17:35] of some additional guidance,

[17:38] particularly

[17:40] in the younger grades, on how

[17:41] to study. There are many

[17:42] different study habits. Some

[17:45] kids, it comes more natural

[17:47] than others.

[17:49] But it didn't seem like there

[17:51] was a particular discussion

[17:53] on how to study early in the

[17:55] grades. I'm talking about, you

[17:56] know,

[17:59] third grade or maybe even

[18:01] earlier, I really don't know,

[18:04] or whether or not it gets

[18:06] touched

[18:07] on incrementally over, over

[18:09] time and how that would happen

[18:10] the second that.

[18:12] But it does seem

[18:14] like something that. That

[18:16] should be there. And I'm

[18:17] thinking back to my own school

[18:19] experience. I don't know that

[18:21] there was anyone there talking,

[18:22] talking to us about that

[18:23] in any sort of formal way. I

[18:25] think that that could be

[18:26] helpful for students. The other

[18:28] thing that I heard was how it

[18:31] would be great if language was

[18:32] much more conversational and

[18:35] much less grammar. There were a

[18:38] number of people who spoke

[18:41] to me and said, you know,

[18:43] I took Four years of Spanish.

[18:44] One lady said in school,

[18:46] I don't understand a word

[18:48] of it. And I took four years

[18:50] of it. And it's because the

[18:51] conversation didn't stick. She

[18:53] knows the words,

[18:54] but she wasn't able

[18:56] to pick it up. And so they were

[18:58] wondering whether or not that

[19:00] was possible. Now, of course,

[19:02] you know, whenever you make a

[19:03] recommendation in the field

[19:04] of education,

[19:06] you inevitably run against

[19:08] about maybe eight or ten rule

[19:09] books

[19:10] of regulations and other

[19:11] things. But if you and your

[19:13] board and your members would

[19:14] take an interest in that,

[19:15] I would very much love to see

[19:17] how it is that we can

[19:19] incorporate those two things

[19:20] to a much greater degree in the

[19:21] schools and even encourage the

[19:23] district schools to sort

[19:24] of do that. It's not much. I

[19:26] don't think it would take much

[19:29] effort,

[19:30] but the achievement improvement

[19:33] in both regards, I think would

[19:35] be pretty significant. So I'm

[19:37] wondering if you'll take that

[19:38] suggestion and think about it a

[19:40] little bit and see what your

[19:41] board could do.

[19:44] >> Yeah, absolutely. And I was

[19:45] just thinking about Mr.

[19:46] Arana, who is the coordinator

[19:47] of Governmental affairs and

[19:49] Legislative affairs for

[19:50] the county. And perhaps he

[19:52] comes to several

[19:54] of our meetings, and perhaps we

[19:55] can go ahead and see whether or

[19:57] not there's anything that the

[19:59] county currently has or has

[20:00] even been thinking about.

[20:02] Their focus has probably been

[20:04] more so on the restructuring

[20:05] of schools, but that's

[20:07] definitely something that we

[20:08] can have the conversation and

[20:09] even perhaps present ideas

[20:11] in that arena.

[20:12] >> Wonderful. Thank you very

[20:13] much. Any other questions

[20:14] for the Educational Advisory

[20:15] Board? Thank you very much

[20:17] for a job well done and

[20:18] for all the work that you do

[20:20] for the city of Pembroke

[20:21] Pines. The Youth Advisory

[20:22] Board is next. Welcome.

[20:35] Your name for the record,

[20:37] please.

[20:38] >> Hello, Commissioner. Nice

[20:40] to meet you guys. My name is

[20:43] Roberta Joseph, and I am the

[20:44] chair for the Youth Advisory

[20:48] Board as well as my vice chair,

[20:49] Jaden Lee, who wasn't able

[20:50] to be here,

[20:52] but he's here spirit. From

[20:53] September 2024 to May 2025,

[20:55] we've had our student second

[20:56] year of youth Advisory Board.

[20:57] We've had members from

[20:58] Flanagan High School,

[21:00] Pembroke Pines Charter High

[21:01] School, Go Jaguars, Somerset

[21:03] High School, and College

[21:04] Academy. I'd like

[21:06] to take a quick moment to just

[21:07] ask the current members that

[21:08] are here today

[21:09] to stand because they were here

[21:11] to support me and I really

[21:13] appreciate them. Okay, thank

[21:16] you so much. Now I'd like

[21:18] to go on

[21:20] to just a brief summary of our

[21:21] best accomplishment this year

[21:23] and some of our suggestions.

[21:25] So, as you guys know,

[21:27] our biggest project for the

[21:28] Youth Advisory Board was Our

[21:30] career fair and life skills

[21:31] event. This was a event that

[21:33] was basically created from two

[21:35] ideas that were merged

[21:36] together. There were a lot

[21:38] of board members

[21:39] like me who want to learn more

[21:41] about the careers that are

[21:42] in our city. Because even

[21:44] though we in high school work

[21:46] towards building a career,

[21:47] there are a lot

[21:49] of times where a lot

[21:51] of students aren't aware of the

[21:53] actual businesses that surround

[21:55] them. As well as that there

[21:56] were a lot of seniors

[21:58] on the board who wanted

[22:00] to be able to learn more

[22:01] like life Skills

[22:03] before they were able to go

[22:05] into college. Things

[22:07] like being able

[22:08] to change a tire or being able

[22:10] to eat, like, to be able

[22:12] to eat healthy in college were

[22:14] things that they wanted

[22:16] to be able to learn outside

[22:18] of the classroom. Which is why

[22:19] I'm very excited to say that

[22:21] on April 2, 2025, we had 15

[22:22] businesses come and help almost

[22:23] 100 seniors

[22:25] from our board schools. And it

[22:26] was a very successful event,

[22:27] and we're very proud of it.

[22:28] And we hope that

[22:30] for next year,

[22:31] it can be bigger and better

[22:32] to impact more students. Now,

[22:34] I'll go on

[22:35] to our suggestions. As I just

[22:36] mentioned,

[22:37] our career fair was very

[22:38] successful,

[22:39] but as all things are, there

[22:41] are still things that we want

[22:42] to fix and improve,

[22:43] which is why we want to ask the

[22:45] commission if we could make

[22:47] this event an annual event so

[22:48] that students could look

[22:49] forward to it and so we can

[22:51] reach more students that aren't

[22:52] just seniors and also invite

[22:53] more businesses to

[22:54] really create a sense

[22:56] of community

[22:57] between our youth. Also,

[22:58] another suggestion that we

[22:59] have,

[23:00] which I think you guys will

[23:02] like, is to meet with the city

[23:03] commissioners and have a Q and

[23:04] A session. There are a lot of

[23:05] members that join this board

[23:06] because they want

[23:07] to learn more

[23:08] about our city government. And

[23:10] of course, to ask you guys

[23:11] would basically be the best

[23:12] opportunity for us. So we hope

[23:13] that next year we can interact

[23:15] more and be able to learn

[23:16] from each other. As well as

[23:17] this, we want

[23:19] to develop a third place idea.

[23:20] There was a member part of our

[23:21] board who did some research, a

[23:23] class, and heard this idea

[23:24] of a third place where a lot of

[23:26] students establish school and

[23:27] work as one place, and then

[23:29] home and family as a second

[23:31] place. So we wanted the city

[23:33] to be able

[23:35] to establish a third place

[23:37] for youth like us to be able to

[23:38] socialize and just create a

[23:39] better community so that, you

[23:41] know,

[23:43] our youth can be more involved

[23:44] with the city because a lot of

[23:46] people will go their entire

[23:47] high schooler not knowing the

[23:48] city commissioners or the city

[23:50] hall or just anything

[23:51] about our city government. So

[23:53] we really want

[23:54] to engage our youth more. And

[23:55] also I'd like to lastly give an

[23:57] amazing thank you to Holly

[23:58] Bonkowski. She has been such an

[24:00] amazing mentor to all the

[24:01] members and it's just really

[24:03] uplifting to have an adult like

[24:05] her who values our opinions

[24:06] every single day and we really

[24:08] appreciate her and I'm so

[24:10] excited to work

[24:12] with her next year. So thank

[24:14] you so much, Hollywood. Also, I

[24:16] would like

[24:20] to thank the city commission

[24:23] for even agreeing

[24:24] for this board to be a thing.

[24:26] It's really important

[24:28] for adults like you

[24:29] in government

[24:30] to value the opinions of youth

[24:32] and we're really glad that we

[24:34] were able

[24:35] to create change and we hope

[24:36] to create even more change.

[24:38] And that's all thanks

[24:39] to you guys. So also a big

[24:40] thank you to you. And as

[24:42] for that,

[24:43] that is my board report. Thank

[24:44] you guys so much and I'll see

[24:46] you same time next year.

[24:47] >> Wonderful. And I want

[24:48] to thank you

[24:50] for all the work,

[24:51] you and all your members. And I

[24:52] know that Holly is taking notes

[24:53] of the suggestions which I

[24:55] think are wonderful and she'll

[24:57] work on those and bring them

[24:58] to us when that time comes.

[24:59] But I want

[25:01] to thank you so much

[25:03] for all your work and for an

[25:04] outstanding presentation.

[25:06] >> Thank you so much. Have a

[25:07] great night and have a great

[25:08] meeting. Thank you.

[25:14] >> So next we have our board

[25:15] of adjustment. Is anyone here

[25:19] from the board of Adjustment?

[25:22] Okay, is the chair here? We'll

[25:29] reschedule them. We'll

[25:31] reschedule. The next is the

[25:33] Charter Elementary Middle

[25:34] School Advisory Board? Yes sir.

[25:42] >> Good evening. My name is

[25:46] Dr. Imran Siddiqui and I've had

[25:48] the honor of serving as the

[25:50] Charter elementary and Middle

[25:51] School Advisory Board. I first

[25:53] want to,

[25:55] before I get started,

[25:57] I just want to sincerely thank

[25:59] this commission, the mayor,

[26:01] the vice mayor,

[26:02] our city manager

[26:04] for having the vision

[26:05] of providing and supporting us

[26:07] with an A rated public school

[26:09] system that's as equivalent

[26:11] to any top notch school in all

[26:12] of Broward and Dade County. So

[26:14] I want to thank you

[26:16] from the bottom of our heart

[26:18] for all our children that what

[26:19] you've done and you continue

[26:21] to do so. Thank you. And thank

[26:23] you for the vision. I know,

[26:24] Mr. George, I know what your

[26:26] vision was back then many years

[26:28] ago and we're all benefiting

[26:30] from that. Thank you again. So

[26:31] to get started, I'm just going

[26:34] to go down the 2024, 2025

[26:37] accomplishments that we've had

[26:39] as quickly as I can. We had an

[26:41] election

[26:43] of our chairman and vice chair.

[26:45] We had the annual review

[26:47] of our Sunshine Law

[26:49] presentation. We reviewed and

[26:50] approved the charter system

[26:52] wellness policy along

[26:53] with the charter system

[26:55] School Security Safety

[26:56] Evacuation Plan and including

[26:58] the reunification and emergency

[27:00] protocols. We reviewed and

[27:02] approved the Guide to

[27:04] Proactive discipline for

[27:06] Charter elementary and Middle

[27:07] Schools along with the

[27:09] proactive discipline concerning

[27:11] bullying for both the charter

[27:14] elementary and middle schools.

[27:17] We also approved the Parent

[27:20] Handbook for Charter elementary

[27:23] and Middle schools and we and

[27:25] the improvement plan for both

[27:26] the elementary and the middle

[27:28] schools. Along with that, the

[27:30] Charter system Strategic Plan

[27:31] was approved as well. We

[27:33] reviewed and approved the A

[27:34] plus Funds Distribution

[27:35] Committee Final Report to the

[27:38] Charter and elementary middle

[27:39] schools. We updated the

[27:41] Innovative Learning process

[27:42] for funding along with

[27:44] reviewing the charter system

[27:45] fundraising activities which

[27:47] includes the dress down days.

[27:49] The principal spoke

[27:50] about JAGUAR Parent Point

[27:52] series workshops and volunteer

[27:53] hours and events that were

[27:55] encouraged to parents

[27:57] to participate in. Parents were

[27:59] updated on the fast testing

[28:00] during workshops conducted

[28:02] during several meetings. And

[28:04] just to mention, our school

[28:06] system rated I believe it was

[28:08] in the top three of all of

[28:09] Broward county

[28:11] for FAS score testing. So

[28:14] that's a reflection

[28:16] of the quality

[28:17] of teachers that we have

[28:19] in our system and what all

[28:21] of you have provided us. So

[28:23] thank you again for that.

[28:25] Principals regularly reported

[28:27] on individual school activities

[28:29] and middle school sports

[28:30] accomplishments,

[28:32] recognized employees annually

[28:34] for their outstanding

[28:36] achievements and awards at

[28:38] meetings recognize the charter

[28:39] school's accomplishments and

[28:41] organizational awards presented

[28:43] to the schools and we strongly

[28:46] encourage parents participation

[28:47] to support the SOS fundraising

[28:48] efforts. There was an open

[28:50] forum that was conducted

[28:52] at the end of every board

[28:54] meeting which encouraged

[28:55] parents, guardians,

[28:57] teachers and students to raise

[28:58] any issues that they have,

[29:00] voice, praise or concerns.

[29:02] This was also an opportunity

[29:04] for parent questions

[29:06] to be answered directly

[29:08] by principals and other members

[29:09] of the city and school staff

[29:10] that were present

[29:12] at the meetings. And what we've

[29:13] noticed is year by year we've

[29:14] had a larger and larger

[29:16] presence

[29:17] at these meetings every month.

[29:19] We've encouraged parent

[29:20] communication with

[29:22] administrators and board

[29:24] members,

[29:25] maintained open communication

[29:27] with our charter school

[29:28] partners. Chartwells encouraged

[29:30] parents and guardian students

[29:32] to attend the charter High

[29:33] School Advisory board meetings

[29:35] as well. We reviewed the

[29:37] election timeline and City

[29:38] Manager's office provided

[29:40] update on every meeting

[29:42] on information

[29:43] on fundraising activities,

[29:45] upcoming events to earn

[29:47] volunteer hours and lottery

[29:49] enrollment process and results.

[29:50] The City Manager's office

[29:52] advised

[29:53] on upcoming budget process

[29:55] for the 2025, 2026 year which

[29:57] is in our next meeting. We

[30:00] participated in the budget

[30:02] workshop yearly and finally we

[30:04] supported staff

[30:06] during preparation

[30:08] for five year accreditation.

[30:12] Overall, this has been an honor

[30:14] serving on this board. I've

[30:15] learned a tremendous amount

[30:17] but again,

[30:19] this is a true blessing

[30:21] to be a part of this system and

[30:23] I can't thank you all enough.

[30:25] There is a lot that goes on

[30:26] within the system, especially

[30:29] getting our kids educated

[30:31] in the middle school, high

[30:32] school, elementary school. And

[30:33] I could not have chosen a

[30:35] better school system. So again,

[30:36] from the bottom of my heart,

[30:38] thank you. God bless all

[30:39] of you.

[30:40] >> Thank you very much

[30:41] for a great presentation and

[30:42] for all that you and your board

[30:43] do at the charter schools. Any

[30:45] questions

[30:46] for the charter middle. Okay,

[30:48] moving on. We have the

[30:49] Charter Academic Village

[30:51] Advisory Board. Welcome.

[30:59] >> Good evening, Mayor and city

[31:02] commissioners. My name is

[31:05] Michelle Reynoso. And as chair

[31:07] of the Academic Village

[31:09] Advisory Board, that's the high

[31:11] school and the middle school

[31:12] at the Academic Village, I'm

[31:15] here

[31:16] to present the annual report.

[31:18] You should have a copy of our

[31:21] report and our attendance

[31:22] record as well.

[31:24] >> Yeah, we saw it.

[31:26] >> Good.

[31:28] >> And a lot

[31:29] of the points that I'm going

[31:31] to highlight, they kind of

[31:32] mirror what was just discussed.

[31:33] But I think we have a little

[31:34] more fun

[31:36] on our board meetings. Okay, so

[31:37] I'll just highlight some

[31:38] of the accomplishments. We

[31:39] reviewed and approved the

[31:41] 2025-2030 Pembroke Pines

[31:42] Charter School System strategic

[31:44] plan. We reviewed and approved

[31:45] both the past school year's

[31:46] middle and high school

[31:48] handbooks. We held an open

[31:50] forum at each board meeting,

[31:51] which is always very, very

[31:52] interesting,

[31:54] where parents were encouraged

[31:56] to voice their concerns, ask

[31:57] questions and provide feedback.

[31:59] Principal Bay always attended

[32:00] and every single board meeting,

[32:02] and he responded

[32:04] to every parent. We also

[32:05] received with enthusiasm from

[32:06] Principal Bayer monthly

[32:08] accomplishments of the various

[32:09] academic and athletic successes

[32:12] of our charter school students.

[32:15] And we were able

[32:17] to pay very close attention

[32:18] to Dr. Pizzos report

[32:20] on the safety improvements at

[32:22] our campuses and the

[32:23] reunification process.

[32:25] After an alert, we received and

[32:28] discussed monthly updates by

[32:30] the city controller regarding

[32:32] fundraising activities and

[32:35] results. Thank you, Jonathan.

[32:37] We will review the upcoming

[32:39] school year's budget on

[32:40] Monday, June 9,

[32:42] for recommendation

[32:44] to you all. And we monitor the

[32:47] adoption

[32:49] of the updated uniform policy

[32:50] to include black slacks and

[32:52] shorts, which began this past

[32:53] school year. It seems

[32:55] to have been a hit

[32:56] with the students. So the board

[32:58] appreciates the support

[32:59] of the city commission, the

[33:00] city manager's office and the

[33:02] school principals. The final

[33:04] version

[33:05] of this report was approved

[33:07] for presentation at our May

[33:09] 12th meeting. And that's it.

[33:12] >> You all have been doing a

[33:13] great job. And you helped

[33:15] to make the Academic Village a

[33:16] better place

[33:17] for the students,

[33:18] for the faculty, for the city

[33:20] of Pembroke Pines. And I just

[33:21] want to thank you

[33:22] for everything that you do.

[33:23] >> Thank you.

[33:24] >> Any questions

[33:25] for this board? Yes,

[33:26] Commissioner Good.

[33:28] >> Very well done, Ms.

[33:29] Reynosa. So just out

[33:31] of curiosity, I know that you

[33:33] all are very resourceful as a

[33:35] team and things. And now we're

[33:37] hearing from, you know, from

[33:40] our state leadership that we're

[33:42] starting to have some shifting

[33:45] of funds that may impact some

[33:47] of these very important

[33:49] programming, you know, that

[33:52] addresses, you know,

[33:54] higher level learning, so

[33:56] to say. So have you all started

[33:58] to engage in dialogue about,

[33:59] you know, how to maybe deal

[34:01] with some

[34:04] of those shortfalls that may

[34:05] potentially be coming

[34:07] to us?

[34:09] >> We did have discussion

[34:10] about this couple

[34:12] of meetings,

[34:14] and we were advised to, as

[34:16] parents, to please, you know,

[34:18] send letters,

[34:20] make phone calls. A lot

[34:22] of parents, we really

[34:24] appreciate the programming that

[34:26] our students, you know,

[34:28] exposed to, and we want those

[34:30] to continue. Anything else that

[34:31] we can do, you know,

[34:33] please let us know. We will

[34:34] definitely, you know,

[34:36] find a way

[34:37] to let everybody know. We have

[34:38] a nice turnout

[34:40] at our meetings, and we will

[34:41] let all the parents know what

[34:43] we should do.

[34:44] >> Great.

[34:45] And back to you. Anything

[34:47] that you all may come up with,

[34:48] you may tell us that maybe we

[34:50] can help as well, too,

[34:51] because we find this

[34:52] to be very,

[34:54] very important programming

[34:55] for the academic village.

[34:57] >> Yeah, definitely.

[34:58] >> Thank you again

[34:59] for being a leader.

[35:01] >> Thank you.

[35:02] >> Hard time.

[35:03] >> Yeah, exactly.

[35:05] >> Thank you very much.

[35:06] >> Appreciate it. Have a great

[35:07] night.

[35:09] >> Much appreciated. Board

[35:11] of adjustment, you ready?

[35:15] >> Yes, sir.

[35:18] >> Good evening, mayor,

[35:20] honorable commissioners. Good

[35:22] evening. Sorry that I'm a

[35:24] little bit late based

[35:26] on the fact that I am coming

[35:27] from Miami and I did catch a

[35:29] little bit of traffic.

[35:30] >> Thank you very much

[35:31] for being here.

[35:32] >> Thank you all.

[36:01] Good evening again.

[36:02] I'm your chair for the Board

[36:03] of Adjustment, Israel

[36:05] Rodriguez Soto, and I will be

[36:07] giving you a synopsis

[36:08] of the annual review in June

[36:11] of each year of course,

[36:14] as we are today,

[36:16] the advisory board of committee

[36:18] shall forward the city

[36:20] Commission a summary. So the

[36:21] summary accomplishment

[36:23] during the reporting term

[36:24] for last year is as follows.

[36:26] You, first of all,

[36:28] you have attachments

[36:29] of all the items that we have

[36:31] in front of you. So I'll just

[36:33] mention that. And therefore,

[36:35] between April 24 and March

[36:37] 25, the Board of Adjustment

[36:40] heard 94 requests for 41

[36:43] properties. The Board of

[36:46] Adjustment passed 84 motions

[36:48] and failed 10. Two of them, 10

[36:51] failed motions were appealed

[36:53] to the city commission. As per

[36:54] the city LDC, 155.311 69

[36:57] petitions, or 73.4

[36:58] of the requests, were

[37:02] to address work done

[37:06] without building permits. Last

[37:10] year and the year we have seen

[37:12] a trend going up of people

[37:13] basically actually favoring the

[37:15] fact

[37:18] of saying I'm sorry instead

[37:20] of just going

[37:22] out and do a request

[37:24] for permits. So we and the

[37:26] Board have been basically

[37:29] moving forth and ensuring that

[37:31] we start dropping that

[37:35] percentage. And we have had

[37:37] quite a success up

[37:39] to now. It was limited higher

[37:42] 69 petitions. As I said, 73.4

[37:44] of the requests were addressed

[37:45] of work done

[37:46] without a building permit.

[37:48] The Board

[37:49] of adjustments approved 89.3

[37:52] of the petitions and 9.4

[37:54] of the petitions failed. And

[37:56] then

[37:57] on 6-18-24 the ordinance number

[38:01] 2022 approved an increase

[38:02] for the front lot coverage FLC

[38:08] for driveways from 35

[38:09] to the front lot area

[38:11] to 40% allowable. That has

[38:12] helped us a lot. Thank you very

[38:14] much. Based on the fact that we

[38:16] do have very unequal lots and

[38:17] therefore now we can have a

[38:19] better understanding and a

[38:21] better I would say fair and

[38:27] reasonableness in order

[38:31] to assist those petitions

[38:33] quite well. Recommendations or

[38:37] suggestions to the city

[38:40] commissions regarding the board

[38:41] recommends that the appeal

[38:43] process suggested by member

[38:44] Jones during the 5-1-25 meeting

[38:46] and accepted by members

[38:48] of the Board of Directors. The

[38:51] appeal goes that the city

[38:52] commission to be granted only

[38:54] 5 to 0 vote or a simple

[38:55] majority. The board heard and

[38:58] denied a variance

[38:59] by a vote or 5 to 0

[39:01] on very simple majority. The

[39:02] board adjusted respectively as

[39:04] four conditions of variance is

[39:06] granted that you should take

[39:08] in consideration when they come

[39:09] to the front of you to ask

[39:11] for a review

[39:12] of what we basically disagree

[39:14] in the board of Adjustment that

[39:16] the code should inspect the

[39:18] property for compliance with

[39:19] 30 days. Within 30 days.

[39:22] Basically what I'm we're saying

[39:24] that the conditional variance

[39:26] issue when home renovations and

[39:29] alteration and the size

[39:33] increases are made without

[39:38] permits or when early owners

[39:43] made renovations alterations

[39:45] size increase could be granted

[39:49] only only as long as the

[39:51] hardship exists. And why?

[39:54] Because the property should be

[39:57] returned to prior conditions

[40:00] following the city rules and

[40:03] in that manner instead of just

[40:06] given granting them an approval

[40:08] that will basically be part

[40:10] of that property for life.

[40:12] But basically if you take in

[40:14] consideration a hardship then

[40:17] and it goes into their deeds in

[40:19] that manner and it will return

[40:22] to the existing conditions once

[40:24] that person leaves the

[40:27] property. Therefore, based on

[40:30] that I will just finish my

[40:33] synopsis

[40:36] to you and thank you very much

[40:41] for the support that you have

[40:43] given me and to the board

[40:46] throughout this year. We have a

[40:50] full staff and we're moving

[40:52] forward quite well. So

[40:53] therefore again, thank you and

[40:55] to those that I have just

[40:57] recently joined commission

[40:59] board. I do wish you a very

[41:02] successful endeavor and I'm

[41:04] sure that you will enjoy this

[41:07] quest. Thank you very much.

[41:11] Are there any questions

[41:14] for me?

[41:16] >> Thank you very much Board

[41:18] of Adjustment

[41:20] for all that you do

[41:22] for the city of Pembroke

[41:24] Pines. Any comments for Board

[41:25] of Adjustment? Seeing none.

[41:27] Thank you so very,

[41:31] very much.

[41:33] >> Thank you very much

[41:35] and have a good evening.

[41:37] >> You too. Next up will be

[41:39] Arts and Culture Board, Rose.

[41:41] >> Good evening Mayor,

[41:43] Commissioner. My name is Rose

[41:45] Colombo. I'm Chair of the Art

[41:47] Board. I would like to

[41:51] introduce my fellow members who

[41:54] are present this evening. We

[41:56] have Kit Jordan, Karen

[41:57] Corinne, Ananice Rodriguez,

[41:59] Jasmine Murias and two of our

[42:00] members were not present.

[42:02] Margo Mercado and Gloria

[42:03] Pierce are also board members.

[42:06] Okay. The Frank Art Gallery

[42:08] under the direction of Sophie

[42:10] Bonet, our chief curator

[42:12] at the Frank and also at

[42:14] Studio 18, the Frank continues

[42:15] to flourish as one

[42:17] of the premium art galleries

[42:19] in Brown County. The Frank

[42:20] offers workshops, field trips

[42:22] and special events such as

[42:23] movie screenings and musical

[42:25] events on the plaza. The

[42:27] gallery has hosted an amazing

[42:28] array of visual art exhibits

[42:30] featuring national and

[42:32] international artists and we

[42:33] are very proud that children

[42:35] and family themed events are a

[42:37] regular part

[42:39] of the cultural offerings

[42:41] at the Frank. Some

[42:43] of the art events held at the

[42:45] Frank include. Some

[42:46] of the major events held

[42:49] at the Franklin Frank include

[42:51] of Seeing and Being the

[42:53] Deering Estate at the Frank,

[42:55] Ebb and Flo, an exhibit

[42:58] exploring Womanhood, the

[42:59] Crossings, a global traveling

[43:01] exhibit and Gigi Morales, an

[43:03] exhibit organized

[43:05] by the national center for

[43:07] Children's Literature. Some

[43:08] of the children events

[43:10] Children Family events held

[43:11] at the Frank included

[43:13] Storytelling at the Frank,

[43:16] Teen Art Club, Summer reading

[43:19] party art and Yoga for Kids.

[43:21] Some of the special events

[43:25] at the Frank include In Movie

[43:27] Night on the Plaza, Savor the

[43:29] Sounds, concerts with a live

[43:31] Painting artist, Holiday Art,

[43:32] Pardon Me, Holiday Art Market

[43:35] and Family Day. The Frank

[43:37] supports artists at all stages

[43:39] of their career with various

[43:41] lectures and panel discussion

[43:43] and hands on workshops. The

[43:45] Studio 18 art complex continues

[43:47] to be a hub where emerging and

[43:49] established artists cultivate

[43:51] their skills. Some of the

[43:53] Events held at Studio 18

[43:55] include Got a Celebration of

[43:57] Art and Diversity, Naming

[44:00] Artist Takeover the Power

[44:02] within exhibit. The 19th annual

[44:04] art competition was also held

[44:09] at Studio 18 on May 24. The

[44:14] competition included 127 pieces

[44:18] of artwork created by 68

[44:20] artists who participated.

[44:22] Awards were given

[44:24] in eight categories and

[44:27] Marissa Meek's Beautiful

[44:29] Painting was chosen by the Art

[44:32] board as the 2024 Art Festival

[44:34] poster work winner. Studio 18

[44:36] held numerous lectures and

[44:38] workshops engaging the

[44:42] community and always working

[44:43] to advance the careers of

[44:45] emerging and established

[44:46] artists. Some

[44:48] of the other events Some

[44:51] of the workshop events

[44:53] for artists included FAU

[44:54] Digital Storytelling

[44:56] Showcase, Pottery Painting,

[44:58] Wearable Art, Coil Base and

[45:00] Clay Tile Workshops, Holiday

[45:02] Ornament Painting and Coffee

[45:05] and Create Workshops. The

[45:07] Pembroke Pines Art and Culture

[45:08] center continues to offer many

[45:10] year round programs and various

[45:12] workshops for children of our

[45:14] community including guitar

[45:16] lessons, musical theater and

[45:18] piano lessons. PP Topa, which

[45:21] was founded 30 years ago,

[45:23] continues to present amazing

[45:26] live theater featuring All

[45:27] Stars South Florida

[45:29] performances at the Susan B.

[45:30] Katz Theater. This season's

[45:32] shows included Barefoot

[45:34] in the Park, Death Trap and

[45:36] spelling bee. The 23rd

[45:39] Storybook Festival, which is co

[45:42] sponsored by the city and the

[45:44] Regional Library was held on

[45:46] November 16. This delightful

[45:48] children's event includes a

[45:50] book giveaway, costume parade,

[45:52] face painting and a craft tent.

[45:54] The 26th annual Art and Music

[45:58] Festival was held Nov. 2 and

[46:00] 3rd at City center and our

[46:04] festival truly featured

[46:06] something for everyone. The

[46:09] Frank held two workshops

[46:11] at the festival, Trading Cards

[46:13] with Mary Stout and Hemmed Use

[46:15] with Melanie Olivia. Live music

[46:18] was featured on stage

[46:20] throughout the weekend and an

[46:22] interactive belly dancing

[46:24] performance by the Arabian

[46:26] Roses was enjoyed by all. The

[46:30] festival also included food

[46:31] trucks, an arts and craft tent,

[46:34] the Color Bubble, face

[46:35] painting, balloon twisting and

[46:37] a bounce house and an arcade

[46:39] trailer. The seventh annual

[46:41] Student Art Competition which

[46:43] is part of the festival was a

[46:45] huge success featuring artwork

[46:46] from students at Pembrokeline

[46:48] Schools and students

[46:50] from our recreation programs.

[46:52] 243 Works of art were

[46:53] on display in the City center

[46:55] lobby and each grade level was

[46:57] given cash awards. The two day

[46:58] festival included diverse live

[47:00] entertainment and a digital

[47:02] festival booklet. Our awards

[47:04] breakfast was held Sunday

[47:06] morning

[47:08] in the beautiful mezzanine at

[47:09] City center and awards were

[47:11] given to artists in 12

[47:12] categories. Our arts and

[47:15] Cultural department were very

[47:17] successful

[47:18] in obtaining sponsorship

[47:20] for the festival. Some of the

[47:23] other very successful events

[47:26] and projects completed

[47:28] throughout the year by the

[47:30] Recreation and Cultural Arts

[47:32] Department include A new

[47:33] cultural offering is at the

[47:35] Pines Village Community

[47:37] Center. Gary Gore, One of our

[47:38] Studio 18 artists is now

[47:40] conducting two art workshops

[47:41] monthly at the Pines Village

[47:43] Community Center. One

[47:45] of the other events A few

[47:46] of the other events Storywalk

[47:47] in the Pines Spring into Art,

[47:49] Music and Children's Show

[47:52] Summer Art and Drama Camps

[47:53] Summer Symphony Series

[47:55] Biannual Art, Culture and

[47:57] Entertainment Guide Honoring

[47:59] Veterans Portrait Project

[48:02] Film Fest at Susan B. Katz.

[48:04] Let's see. The City received a

[48:06] $25,000 grant from Broward

[48:10] county to be used for the

[48:15] Caribbean American Heritage

[48:18] Festival and also utilizing a

[48:20] recommendation from the Art

[48:23] Board. The Traffic Wrap Box

[48:26] program continues using images

[48:27] of past Art Festival poster

[48:29] winners. The Art Board wishes

[48:30] to extend our sincere

[48:32] appreciation to Christina

[48:34] Sorensen and Holly Bonkowski.

[48:37] Where would we be without

[48:39] Holly? She makes our dreams

[48:42] come true and the entire

[48:44] Recreation and cultural arts

[48:45] staff. Lastly,

[48:47] of course we wish

[48:49] to thank the City Commission

[48:50] for your year

[48:52] after year ongoing support

[48:54] of the arts in Pembroke

[48:55] Pines. And that's it.

[48:56] >> Year after year, the

[48:57] Pembroke Pines Art and

[48:59] Culture Board does a wonderful

[49:01] job presenting all different

[49:02] kinds

[49:04] of wonderful presentations

[49:06] in all different kinds

[49:08] of venues throughout the city.

[49:09] And we're very,

[49:11] very thankful. You add a great,

[49:12] great dimension

[49:14] to the enjoyment

[49:15] in the city and we're very,

[49:17] very, very thankful to you.

[49:19] Thank you.

[49:20] >> Thank you.

[49:21] >> Anyone have a question

[49:22] for us in culture? Thank you so

[49:23] very much. Well done.

[49:25] Environmental Advisory Board is

[49:28] next.

[49:37] >> Good evening. Namaste. By

[49:39] way

[49:41] of my background information

[49:42] before I give the report,

[49:44] it is my honor and pleasure

[49:46] to submit this report annually

[49:48] to the board and I want

[49:50] to thank you. Last time when I

[49:53] came in front

[49:55] of the commission, I said there

[49:56] should be a volunteer

[49:58] appreciation. So I'm happy to

[50:00] report there were two

[50:02] appreciation lunches, one

[50:04] at the police department and

[50:05] one

[50:07] at the community services. So

[50:08] thank you very much. I also

[50:10] want to thank Tom because in

[50:14] his personal capacity as vice

[50:15] mayor, he gave me appreciation

[50:17] certificate. So thank you,

[50:18] Tom. So I really appreciate

[50:21] that volunteers are being

[50:22] appreciated one way or other

[50:25] because we are selfless

[50:26] workers. By way

[50:28] of background, my name is Ram

[50:32] Tiwari. I have been living

[50:34] in this city since 1988 and I

[50:37] retired from Broward county

[50:38] in 2012. And since that time I

[50:40] have been volunteering with

[50:42] different committees and

[50:45] advisory board. So now

[50:48] honorable mayor, vice mayor,

[50:51] city commissioners, city

[50:53] manager, city attorney and city

[50:54] clerk and dedicated staff of

[50:57] city because they have been

[51:00] very helpful in our working as

[51:02] advisory board. And a special

[51:04] mention is to be made the

[51:06] Planning and Economic

[51:08] development department. They

[51:09] have been giving us

[51:12] information, data,

[51:14] any request we did. So I really

[51:16] want

[51:17] to thank their department. The

[51:21] role of Environmental

[51:25] Advisory Board is to provide

[51:27] constructive advice and council

[51:29] to the city commission with a

[51:31] broad outlook towards

[51:33] environmental protection. That

[51:35] has been our focus and I have a

[51:38] vice mayor and 3, 4 members

[51:40] of the board are here. They are

[51:41] very experienced and they are

[51:43] very enthusiastic

[51:45] about the environment. They

[51:47] have discussed all kinds

[51:49] of things. But only two things

[51:51] I will mention here. You

[51:52] already have a list

[51:54] of the recommendations. We have

[51:56] been pleading for past three

[51:58] years that cities should hire a

[51:59] sustainability coordinator.

[52:01] Reason is because I was looking

[52:05] at the budget and

[52:07] in the budget I was happy

[52:08] to see that green flag approved

[52:11] by EAB is included

[52:13] in the budget. So I assume that

[52:16] budget is appreciative that

[52:18] whatever elements are there for

[52:19] the green plan that will be

[52:21] becoming part of the budget.

[52:23] But as I said, we have been

[52:25] pleading every year because as

[52:28] you will see not only

[52:31] in the budget, but Also I

[52:32] looked at the. Also I looked

[52:34] at that 2023 strategic plan

[52:37] update which has six goals.

[52:45] And I saw out

[52:50] of those six goals, three,

[52:52] four, five and six are

[52:55] indirectly related with the

[52:57] environmental adversary board.

[52:58] So I am hoping that if you have

[53:00] something

[53:02] in your strategic plan,

[53:04] if you have in your budget,

[53:06] all this data has

[53:08] to be collected by someone.

[53:10] To just give you an example,

[53:11] I wanted a data

[53:12] since city stopped recycling

[53:14] in January 2022. So I asked the

[53:16] data what was three years data

[53:19] before and what is the data

[53:21] now. And I have not been able

[53:23] to get good data because I had

[53:25] to go to utility,

[53:27] the finance. So I want

[53:30] to say that's one aspect

[53:32] of it. If we were looking

[53:34] for biosolids or things

[53:35] of that kind, food waste. So it

[53:36] is. You need someone who could

[53:38] coordinate your all elements

[53:40] whether they are in the budget

[53:42] or whether they are

[53:43] in the static plan. Please do

[53:45] consider that. So that was one

[53:47] of the strong recommendation

[53:49] which our board members felt

[53:50] that I should make it plead

[53:52] again to the board that please

[53:54] do consider hiring a

[53:55] sustainability coordinator.

[54:10] Second one was as we care

[54:11] for the environment, solid

[54:12] waste. I know there was RFI

[54:14] done by the city and what

[54:16] happened we don't know. So

[54:18] because that was a good RFI

[54:20] which included all the elements

[54:22] of solid waste management. And

[54:25] I thought city is approaching

[54:27] it the right way.

[54:30] But I don't know. Three and a

[54:31] half years we have not been

[54:32] recycling so it must be going

[54:34] somewhere. So that was the

[54:35] request also because if these

[54:37] things are there,

[54:38] we are there. So if we get an

[54:41] update about what happened

[54:42] to RFI or these kind

[54:43] of things. So I will not

[54:46] elaborate more,

[54:49] but our members are very, very

[54:51] interested that you hire a

[54:55] coordinator. The job

[54:58] description has been included

[55:02] our annual report. So please do

[55:05] consider if you cannot do a

[55:08] full time, at least do a part

[55:10] time start something. Because

[55:11] there is a lot

[55:14] of data which has

[55:15] to be coordinated at one place

[55:17] to come out

[55:20] with certain conclusions. Let

[55:25] me highlight is that EAB is

[55:31] pleased to know that our green

[55:34] plan is included and hopefully

[55:35] those elements will be

[55:37] implemented and there will be

[55:39] some funds available

[55:41] for those elements.

[55:44] Thank you very much.

[55:46] And if you have any

[55:47] questions, I will be happy

[55:48] to answer that.

[55:49] >> Thank you very much, Ram,

[55:50] and to the entire committee

[55:52] for everything that you do.

[55:53] Mr. Dodge and I had a

[55:54] conversation about the

[55:56] Sustainability officer some

[55:57] months ago, and I know he's

[55:59] been considering who he's going

[56:01] to assign that function to.

[56:05] And so I know that that

[56:07] announcement will be coming

[56:08] shortly. And I want

[56:10] to thank you for that. It's

[56:11] something that the

[56:13] administration wants to do. So

[56:15] with that, we're thankful

[56:17] to you for that,

[56:18] for that recommendation and

[56:20] for all that you do

[56:24] for the city. Thank you.

[56:25] >> Thank you. Any questions

[56:26] for Environment? Thank you very

[56:28] much.

[56:29] >> Thank you.

[56:30] >> The next board will be

[56:31] Diversity and Heritage Board.

[56:45] >> Good evening. I'm Dawn

[56:48] Prospect and I am the chair

[56:50] of the Diversity and Heritage

[56:52] Advisory Board. And I would

[56:54] like to first start off

[56:56] by thanking you guys for

[56:57] hearing our cries last year

[56:59] because we haven't had a forum

[57:00] for to have our meetings

[57:01] regularly and we were able to

[57:03] have regular meetings this past

[57:04] year. So thank you

[57:06] for that and

[57:07] for appointing members

[57:09] to fill those seats. So

[57:10] with that, we were able

[57:11] to make a few suggestions

[57:13] to the board this year. And I

[57:15] must say that we were able

[57:17] to have the Caribbean

[57:18] American Heritage Festival last

[57:21] year. Caribbean American

[57:25] Heritage Festival last year,

[57:27] which was great. And, and the

[57:29] second annual one is coming up

[57:30] on June 28th. We also were able

[57:33] to put forth to have a

[57:34] Juneteenth Festival, which will

[57:36] be now on June 20 from 6 to 9.

[57:39] We're very excited

[57:41] about that. We also propose

[57:42] to put into the budget

[57:44] to have a MLK parade, which is

[57:46] not something that the city has

[57:48] had before. So this is

[57:50] something that we are looking

[57:52] forward to be approved

[57:54] in the budget. And also,

[57:56] I know the mayor made a charge

[57:58] to us last year and also

[58:00] to a meeting a few months ago

[58:02] of putting forth a calendar

[58:03] of events for monthly events to

[58:06] showcase the diversity and

[58:07] heritage within the city of

[58:10] Pembroke Pines. And we have had

[58:11] multiple discussions

[58:12] about this and we are working

[58:14] on putting this together.

[58:15] But what we do agree on is that

[58:16] the city does have some great

[58:18] events already, but where we

[58:20] saw the downfall was that

[58:21] there's not a lot

[58:22] of advertising. We don't.

[58:24] We're not aware even within the

[58:26] members we're talking,

[58:27] and we're not aware of these

[58:29] events that are happening. So

[58:31] what I must say is

[58:32] after a meeting, I've been

[58:34] seeing more emails coming

[58:35] out and also on social media

[58:37] about the events that are

[58:38] ongoing. So I must say that has

[58:40] improved significantly just

[58:41] in the past three weeks

[58:43] since our last meeting. So I

[58:45] must commend. And I will thank

[58:46] Christina for listening to us

[58:48] and bringing this information

[58:50] over

[58:52] to the commission.

[58:53] >> I want to thank you

[58:54] for the work that you do. It's

[58:55] important to the city. This

[58:56] board is especially important

[58:58] to me. And we look very forward

[58:59] to receiving your calendar,

[59:00] and we'll talk more about

[59:02] advertising once we know what

[59:03] events you're recommending. So

[59:05] that's an important thing

[59:07] to have,

[59:09] and we look very forward

[59:11] to getting that soon. Thank you

[59:13] so very much. Any other

[59:16] questions for Diversity

[59:18] Board?

[59:19] >> Yes, Mr. Mayor.

[59:20] >> Commissioner Good.

[59:22] >> Can somebody track

[59:23] down what that noise is? Thank

[59:25] you. Maybe it's you.

[59:27] >> I just want to say y'all

[59:29] doing a really wonderful job.

[59:30] I'm very, very excited about,

[59:31] particularly the programming

[59:33] that you have coming forward

[59:35] with the Juneteenth.

[59:37] Typically, you know,

[59:39] Juneteenth is celebrated

[59:40] on the 19th, but. But I know

[59:42] that you all are doing it on

[59:44] the 20th so that you can do it

[59:45] on a Friday. The 20th is a

[59:46] Friday, and you're doing on a

[59:48] Friday evening where you can

[59:50] accommodate people's schedule.

[59:51] I've seen a little bit

[59:53] of the programming,

[59:55] and I am really excited.

[59:56] There's some really important

[59:57] people,

[59:59] some guest speakers that are

[1:00:00] coming, the programming,

[1:00:01] the expansiveness of the

[1:00:03] programming. I couldn't be any

[1:00:04] more happier than what's

[1:00:05] coming. And I only want

[1:00:07] to say that so everybody knows.

[1:00:08] June 20th. Juneteenth

[1:00:10] celebration right here at

[1:00:12] City Hall. Please, please come,

[1:00:13] because the programming that

[1:00:15] these people put together is

[1:00:16] fantastic.

[1:00:23] >> Thank you.

[1:00:26] >> I'm looking forward to it.

[1:00:28] Thank you.

[1:00:29] >> Any other comments? Thank

[1:00:31] you very, very much,

[1:00:32] and thank you

[1:00:33] for everything that you do.

[1:00:35] And the last board presentation

[1:00:36] today is our newest board,

[1:00:37] the Citizens Budget Advisory

[1:00:38] Board.

[1:00:41] >> Commission, figure

[1:00:44] out what that sound is. Some

[1:00:45] gremlins in the building,

[1:00:48] huh?

[1:00:50] >> I just don't know. Can

[1:00:51] everybody just take a second

[1:00:53] and turn their mics

[1:00:55] off and then turn them back on?

[1:00:57] Okay, go ahead.

[1:00:59] >> My name is Scott Barnett.

[1:01:02] I'm the chair of the Budget

[1:01:03] Advisory Board, the new board

[1:01:05] on the block. Mayor, city

[1:01:07] manager,

[1:01:09] and commission. I do want

[1:01:11] to acknowledge one

[1:01:12] of our board members is here,

[1:01:14] Bill Huff. I don't know if any

[1:01:15] other budget members are here,

[1:01:17] but thank you for coming

[1:01:21] and supporting this

[1:01:23] presentation. Mayor, City

[1:01:24] Management Commission. Thank

[1:01:26] you for your continued support

[1:01:28] of this community

[1:01:29] by allowing residents

[1:01:31] to have this unique ability

[1:01:32] to authentically participate

[1:01:34] in our governmental process.

[1:01:36] Truly a government

[1:01:38] by the people and of the

[1:01:41] people. I have been humbled

[1:01:43] to have been selected as chair,

[1:01:46] especially as I'm surrounded

[1:01:48] by an incredible group

[1:01:49] of fellow residents who care

[1:01:51] about the future of our shared

[1:01:52] responsibilities and have much

[1:01:53] to offer. Mayor Castillo, I

[1:01:55] also want to acknowledge your

[1:01:56] unique vision

[1:01:57] to have initiated this process

[1:01:59] over four years ago

[1:02:00] with the original District 4

[1:02:01] board that would allow

[1:02:02] residents across the city

[1:02:03] to have meaningful dialogue

[1:02:04] with the city administrators to

[1:02:06] better understand how these

[1:02:07] operations function. It can

[1:02:09] also not be understated the

[1:02:10] boldness of your leadership

[1:02:11] with the recent referendum

[1:02:12] opportunity. This is one

[1:02:14] of the most difficult things an

[1:02:15] elected official has

[1:02:16] to deal with. And while it did

[1:02:17] not pass, it was successful

[1:02:19] by creating renewed energy

[1:02:20] within our community

[1:02:21] to create a sense

[1:02:22] of transparency

[1:02:23] within our city government,

[1:02:24] especially at a time in our

[1:02:26] history when it's needed most.

[1:02:27] These are indeed tumultuous

[1:02:28] times. There is much

[1:02:29] uncertainty in the

[1:02:31] near and present future, both

[1:02:32] at the national level and

[1:02:34] especially

[1:02:36] at the state level. Yet, as we

[1:02:37] gather around the proverbial

[1:02:39] kitchen table of our home here

[1:02:42] in Pembroke Pines, we are going

[1:02:45] to rely

[1:02:47] on this commission's leadership

[1:02:48] to tackle some

[1:02:49] of the hard issues facing us

[1:02:51] in the years to come.

[1:02:52] Over the past four years

[1:02:54] of my involvement

[1:02:55] with this process, I can tell

[1:02:57] you we are indeed privileged to

[1:02:58] have a city manager and

[1:03:00] assistant managers along

[1:03:02] with city staff who continue

[1:03:03] to conduct business

[1:03:04] with integrity and a dedication

[1:03:06] to this community

[1:03:07] like no other, as was proven

[1:03:08] through their endless hours

[1:03:09] of engagement

[1:03:11] with our residents

[1:03:12] in every district

[1:03:13] over the past year. I want

[1:03:14] to personally thank everyone

[1:03:15] for exceeding our expectations

[1:03:16] in terms of their fiscal

[1:03:18] responsibility and commitment

[1:03:19] to this community. With special

[1:03:20] acknowledgment as well to

[1:03:21] Assistant City Manager and

[1:03:22] Finance Director Lisa Chong and

[1:03:23] Budget Director Leslie White.

[1:03:24] And I'd also like to take a

[1:03:26] moment personally thank our

[1:03:27] city clerks, Marlene Graham,

[1:03:28] who was proceeding

[1:03:29] over our meetings, and Ms.

[1:03:30] Rogers. They always bring a

[1:03:31] high level of professionalism

[1:03:32] to all of our city's

[1:03:34] proceedings and always keep

[1:03:35] things moving. That being said,

[1:03:36] we are going to rely

[1:03:37] on this commission

[1:03:38] to make some bold decisions

[1:03:40] in the coming year.

[1:03:41] At our most recent meetings,

[1:03:42] we were presented

[1:03:43] with a thorough explanation

[1:03:44] of the various components

[1:03:46] of the city budget, along

[1:03:47] with presentations by the

[1:03:48] police and fire departments and

[1:03:49] the pertinent capital projects

[1:03:50] that are long overdue. Our

[1:03:51] upcoming meeting will address

[1:03:52] the water utility along with

[1:03:53] the forward thinking solutions

[1:03:55] that were presented in the

[1:03:56] recent visioning meeting. What

[1:03:57] we have learned is that we

[1:03:58] cannot and should not conflate

[1:03:59] one department's needs

[1:04:00] over any other. Each department

[1:04:01] has unique funding needs that

[1:04:02] necessitate unilateral

[1:04:04] solutions

[1:04:05] of their own devices. As the

[1:04:06] saying goes. We cannot take

[1:04:07] from Peter to pay Paul. This

[1:04:08] board allows residents to

[1:04:09] better understand how this

[1:04:10] administration functions and

[1:04:11] hopefully will clear up any

[1:04:13] confusion as to its operation

[1:04:14] with the recent referendum

[1:04:15] proposal. It showed was the

[1:04:17] fact that this community

[1:04:18] deserves better clarity as to

[1:04:20] how these projects are funded,

[1:04:21] as this will elevate our

[1:04:22] understanding of how we may be

[1:04:24] able to prioritize these needed

[1:04:25] capital improvements

[1:04:26] over the course

[1:04:27] of the next year. As the city

[1:04:29] has finally reached its max

[1:04:30] potential

[1:04:32] for residential development,

[1:04:33] we can no longer depend

[1:04:34] on additional revenues

[1:04:35] to placate funding deficits.

[1:04:37] On a personal note,

[1:04:38] as a resident here

[1:04:39] for the past two decades,

[1:04:41] I've been frustrated

[1:04:42] by the reactionary nature of

[1:04:43] the government proceedings and

[1:04:44] lack of a clear way forward.

[1:04:45] And I want

[1:04:46] to thank this commission,

[1:04:47] especially also assistant city

[1:04:48] manager Michael Stam, for

[1:04:50] bringing forth a strategic plan

[1:04:51] that that now sets new

[1:04:52] parameters

[1:04:53] for the future that lies ahead.

[1:04:55] We know what we need to do,

[1:04:56] and we now have the blueprint

[1:04:57] to move this forward. We can no

[1:04:58] longer kick the can down the

[1:05:00] road and defer these needed

[1:05:01] improvements to our next set

[1:05:03] of representatives. This certi

[1:05:04] deserves better because our

[1:05:06] business community, our

[1:05:08] residents, and especially our

[1:05:09] children deserve a quality of

[1:05:11] life that only this city can

[1:05:12] provide. We must find creative

[1:05:14] funding solutions

[1:05:15] to accomplish this task. There

[1:05:16] is no other choice. Myself and

[1:05:18] the rest

[1:05:19] of the budget board look

[1:05:20] forward to providing the kind

[1:05:22] of input and perspective

[1:05:23] to tackle some of the immense

[1:05:24] challenges that will come

[1:05:25] before us. And again,

[1:05:27] we will be relying

[1:05:28] on this commission

[1:05:29] to keep a steady hand on the

[1:05:30] rudder as we ply the rough

[1:05:31] waters ahead. This will not be

[1:05:32] easy.

[1:05:33] But as a wise man once said, we

[1:05:34] don't do these things because

[1:05:36] they are easy. We do them

[1:05:37] because they are hard. Because

[1:05:38] that goal will serve

[1:05:39] to organize and measure the

[1:05:40] best

[1:05:42] of our energies and skill.

[1:05:43] Because that challenge is one

[1:05:44] that we are willing

[1:05:45] to accept,

[1:05:47] one we are unwilling

[1:05:48] to postpone and one we intend

[1:05:49] to win.

[1:05:50] >> Thank you very, very much.

[1:05:51] And it gives me a rush

[1:05:52] of pride

[1:05:54] to welcome you and your board

[1:05:56] to the family

[1:05:57] of advisory boards in the city

[1:05:59] of Pembroke Pines. I know that

[1:06:00] you will do outstanding work,

[1:06:01] and we're very, very eager

[1:06:02] to hear always what you have

[1:06:04] to offer. Questions for the

[1:06:06] Citizens Budget Advisory

[1:06:07] Council.

[1:06:12] >> A quick comment there.

[1:06:13] >> Commissioner Schwartz.

[1:06:14] >> I believe the administration

[1:06:16] could support the board a

[1:06:17] little bit better

[1:06:18] by providing presentations,

[1:06:20] minutes,

[1:06:21] documents that they're going

[1:06:23] to digest that evening,

[1:06:25] certainly more than two hours

[1:06:27] before the meeting begins. I

[1:06:29] believe it's unfair

[1:06:30] for a member of the public,

[1:06:32] let alone a member

[1:06:33] of a board, to come

[1:06:35] to a meeting,

[1:06:36] and it's just hot

[1:06:38] off the press. I do believe

[1:06:39] there's an opportunity

[1:06:43] for the administration

[1:06:44] to provide this documentation

[1:06:45] at least one week in advance

[1:06:47] to allow the board to inquire

[1:06:48] so they can have a more robust

[1:06:50] in depth and cognitive

[1:06:51] understanding

[1:06:54] of the material that's

[1:06:55] in front of them. I believe

[1:06:57] that the last meeting

[1:06:58] with police and fire,

[1:07:01] while it looked really nice,

[1:07:03] it fell short of the

[1:07:05] depthness that's most required,

[1:07:06] considering that the board has

[1:07:07] already identified the

[1:07:09] percentage

[1:07:11] of dollars that are going

[1:07:12] to our first responders. And

[1:07:14] while I can't stress enough my

[1:07:16] support for every member

[1:07:18] of this board,

[1:07:20] it is the responsibility

[1:07:23] of us as policymakers

[1:07:24] to ensure that all

[1:07:26] of our board members,

[1:07:27] regardless

[1:07:29] of where they're at, that they

[1:07:30] have all the information

[1:07:32] possible as early as possible

[1:07:33] so they can ask questions

[1:07:35] of staff in advance.

[1:07:37] >> Thank you. Mary, have you

[1:07:38] been getting your board

[1:07:40] information late?

[1:07:42] >> No, I don't believe we've

[1:07:45] been getting anything late.

[1:07:46] And considering that this is a

[1:07:48] new board and we, you know,

[1:07:50] honestly haven't had a. We've

[1:07:52] only had two meetings so far.

[1:07:54] So right now it's a process

[1:07:56] of getting to know the city and

[1:07:57] the departments, but we've

[1:07:58] received them information

[1:08:00] on time, so I don't know.

[1:08:01] >> Okay, thank you. Any other

[1:08:02] questions of the Citizens

[1:08:04] Advisory Board? Seeing none

[1:08:05] that will wrap up the

[1:08:07] presentation of our Advisory

[1:08:10] Boards. And I want to thank

[1:08:12] everyone who's presented.

[1:08:13] We're going to take a two

[1:08:15] minute recess and then we will

[1:08:17] be back to begin the regular

[1:08:19] city commission meeting. Thank

[1:08:20] you very much.

[1:08:22] >>[RECESS]

[1:14:05] >> I'm glad you're here. No,

[1:14:07] that's okay. You don't want

[1:14:09] to speak? Okay, if we could all

[1:14:14] settle down,

[1:14:19] we have a big meeting to take

[1:14:22] to begin. Thank you very much

[1:14:26] for your cooperation. Thank you

[1:14:35] all very much. If you would

[1:14:42] take your seats. Thank you.

[1:14:44] Thank you very much. And

[1:14:52] welcome everyone to the June

[1:14:53] 4, 2025 meeting of the

[1:14:55] Pembroke Pines City Commission

[1:14:58] meeting. And

[1:14:59] before we get started, I want

[1:15:00] to give warm congratulations

[1:15:01] to the class of 2025. We had

[1:15:09] graduations last week and I

[1:15:10] believe into this week

[1:15:12] from one end of the city

[1:15:14] to the other. And we made as

[1:15:15] many of them as we can. And I

[1:15:16] can tell you that our city and

[1:15:18] our state and our country is

[1:15:20] in very good hands

[1:15:22] with these very, very talented

[1:15:23] and capable young people who

[1:15:25] bring so much

[1:15:26] to our community just

[1:15:28] by being around. But

[1:15:30] in addition,

[1:15:31] by giving us tremendous hope.

[1:15:33] And we are always very thrilled

[1:15:36] to see them do well. Nothing's

[1:15:41] more important in the city

[1:15:43] of Pembroke Pines and family.

[1:15:45] And our children are a deep

[1:15:47] source of inspiration. So we

[1:15:49] congratulate them all. Madam

[1:15:50] Clerk, if you would please call

[1:15:52] the roll.

[1:15:53] >>[CALLING ROLL]

[1:16:09] >> We have quorum.

[1:16:11] >> Thank you very much.

[1:16:13] Leading us today in the pledge

[1:16:14] and then the national anthem is

[1:16:16] Sierra Leighton. And Sierra is

[1:16:18] a 13 year old silver Trail

[1:16:20] Middle School student who also

[1:16:21] attends Music Legacy where she

[1:16:24] takes singing classes. And so,

[1:16:26] Sierra, we welcome you and we

[1:16:28] ask you to lead us

[1:16:29] in the pledge. And then if you

[1:16:31] would remain standing, please,

[1:16:32] for the national anthem.

[1:16:35] >> I pledge

[1:16:36] allegiance to the Flag of the

[1:16:37] United States of America and

[1:16:39] to the Republic

[1:16:40] for which it stands, one

[1:16:42] Nation under God, indivisible,

[1:16:43] with liberty and justice for

[1:16:45] all.

[1:16:56] >>[NATIONAL ANTHEM]

[1:18:19] >> Sierra Leighton, thank you

[1:18:20] so very, very, very much.

[1:18:26] Announcements of items

[1:18:28] to be pulled

[1:18:29] from the agenda?

[1:18:30] >> We have none, Mayor.

[1:18:31] >> Okay, we have several

[1:18:38] presentations. They are

[1:19:00] like ready to go. So this is

[1:19:10] one of my favorite kinds

[1:19:11] of presentations. Where is she?

[1:19:12] I gotta go say hello. Is she

[1:19:15] coming? She's coming up.

[1:19:37] All right,

[1:19:38] if you all can just come right

[1:19:41] around the back and look who's

[1:19:43] here. Wow. Okay.

[1:20:03] I'm going to stand right

[1:20:05] by her. Okay. Ladies and

[1:20:06] gentlemen,

[1:20:07] this is a proclamation

[1:20:08] of the city of Pembroke

[1:20:10] Pines, Florida, in honor of

[1:20:12] Yvonne Serecigni's 100th

[1:20:14] birthday. Whereas Yvonne

[1:20:28] Serecigni was born on June

[1:20:29] 23, 1925 in New Bedford,

[1:20:30] Massachusetts, and raised a

[1:20:33] vibrant French Canadian.

[1:20:34] Raised in a vibrant French

[1:20:37] Canadian household,

[1:20:39] fostering a lifelong passion

[1:20:42] for language and culture. And

[1:20:44] whereas her dedication

[1:20:46] to nursing began

[1:20:47] with her training at Bellevue

[1:20:49] Hospital in New York City, a

[1:20:50] path briefly interrupted by

[1:20:52] tuberculosis diagnosis that

[1:20:53] never damped her joyful spirit,

[1:20:56] even earning her light hearted

[1:20:59] reprimands

[1:21:00] for laughing too much

[1:21:03] during her recovery. And

[1:21:06] whereas Yvonne's adventurous

[1:21:07] and compassionate spirit led

[1:21:09] her to work at the American

[1:21:11] Embassy Hospital in France,

[1:21:14] travel across Europe, and

[1:21:16] ultimately meet her husband,

[1:21:18] her beloved husband, Enrique

[1:21:20] Sarasini, in Ibiza, Spain,

[1:21:22] continuing a long distance

[1:21:26] courtship

[1:21:32] through letters written in

[1:21:35] French and English

[1:21:37] before marrying and returning

[1:21:38] to the United States. Whereas

[1:21:41] after earning her anesthetist

[1:21:42] license through University of

[1:21:44] Massachusetts, Harvard and

[1:21:45] Harvard, Yvonne went on

[1:21:47] to serve over 30 years as a

[1:21:49] night shift,

[1:21:51] ICU and emergency room nurse

[1:21:53] at North Shore Hospital in

[1:21:55] Miami. And whereas throughout

[1:22:03] her career and

[1:22:05] into retirement, she raised a

[1:22:07] loving family that now includes

[1:22:09] her daughters, Michelle,

[1:22:12] Alisa, Suzanne, and Opalka, her

[1:22:19] grandchildren, Nicholas and

[1:22:23] Pam, Noel and Christina,

[1:22:27] Emma, Maria, Michelle,

[1:22:30] Rosalie, Elisa, Lena and

[1:22:31] Janine, and her great

[1:22:37] grandchildren, Amalia and

[1:22:41] Jacob, all while maintaining an

[1:22:43] active and spirited retirement

[1:22:45] as a Miami Heat golden oldies

[1:22:47] dancer,

[1:22:57] this lady has stayed busy. She

[1:23:00] is a language enthusiast and an

[1:23:02] active participant at the

[1:23:03] Carl Schechter Southwest

[1:23:05] Focal Point Community Center.

[1:23:09] For all

[1:23:10] of that and so much more.

[1:23:12] Now, therefore, I, Angelo

[1:23:13] Castillo, mayor of the city

[1:23:15] of Pembroke Pines, and

[1:23:16] on behalf of the City

[1:23:18] Commission, do hereby recognize

[1:23:19] and celebrate Yvonne Serecigni

[1:23:21] on the occasion

[1:23:23] of her 100th birthday.

[1:23:25] For a life richly lived

[1:23:27] with resilience, joy,

[1:23:29] service and inspiration. And

[1:23:30] encourage all residents

[1:23:32] to join me in honoring her

[1:23:33] extraordinary contributions and

[1:23:35] vibrant legacy.

[1:23:45] Congratulations to you. Happy

[1:23:47] birthday to you.

[1:23:54] Isn't that wonderful?

[1:24:03] Okay, I'm going to hold on

[1:24:04] to this so that you can. You

[1:24:07] can take this microphone and

[1:24:08] you get

[1:24:09] to say whatever you want.

[1:24:10] But remember, we're

[1:24:12] on live TV.

[1:24:15] >> I want to thank everybody

[1:24:17] for all this terrific

[1:24:19] reception.

[1:24:27] >> Thank you so very much.

[1:24:28] Commissioners, why don't you

[1:24:30] gather behind us here so that

[1:24:31] you can all be in the picture

[1:24:33] in the photo.

[1:24:35] >>[PICTURE TAKING]

[1:25:42] >> All right,

[1:25:43] we'll give them a couple

[1:25:45] of minutes. Thank you so very

[1:25:49] much. Is Denise Eyerman here?

[1:25:58] Okay. All right,

[1:26:04] thank you very much. Moving

[1:26:05] along. This is a proclamation

[1:26:08] to the city of Pembroke

[1:26:09] Pines, Florida,

[1:26:11] on the occasion of

[1:26:13] Alzheimer's Awareness Month.

[1:26:14] And if you would come forward,

[1:26:16] please. Yes, I'll get to you

[1:26:23] in a second. Okay. Whereas

[1:26:29] Alzheimer's disease is a

[1:26:31] progressive, neurodegenerative

[1:26:32] brain disorder that tragically

[1:26:34] robs individuals

[1:26:35] of their memories and leads to

[1:26:37] severe mental and physical

[1:26:39] decline,

[1:26:41] impacting not only those

[1:26:42] diagnosed, but their family and

[1:26:44] caregivers. Whereas more than

[1:26:45] 7.2 million Americans live

[1:26:47] with Alzheimer's disease,

[1:26:48] including an estimated 580,000

[1:26:51] individuals in the state of

[1:26:53] Florida, with approximately

[1:26:55] 47,800 residing in Broward

[1:26:56] County. And whereas

[1:26:58] Alzheimer's disease is the

[1:27:00] seventh leading cause of death

[1:27:01] in the United States and

[1:27:03] remains the only disease

[1:27:05] among the top 10 causes of

[1:27:07] death that cannot yet be

[1:27:08] prevented, cured or slowed.

[1:27:10] And whereas the city of

[1:27:12] Pembroke Pines recognizes and

[1:27:13] supports the efforts of the

[1:27:15] Alzheimer's association,

[1:27:16] all those who raise awareness,

[1:27:18] advocate for resources and

[1:27:19] advance research,

[1:27:21] and provide care for

[1:27:23] individuals and families

[1:27:24] affected

[1:27:26] by this devastating illness.

[1:27:28] Now, therefore, I, Angelo

[1:27:30] Castillo, mayor of the city

[1:27:32] of Pembroke Pines, along

[1:27:33] with the city Commission, do

[1:27:35] hereby proclaim June 2025 is

[1:27:36] Alzheimer's Awareness Month

[1:27:37] in the City of Pembroke Pines

[1:27:39] and urge all awareness,

[1:27:40] all residents to join

[1:27:42] in raising awareness

[1:27:44] in support of these efforts

[1:27:46] to combat the disease. And

[1:27:48] Commissioner Good. I know that

[1:27:49] this is a very important thing

[1:27:51] to you and your family. If you

[1:27:52] could come forward and assist

[1:27:54] me in the presentation

[1:27:55] of this proclamation. Let's

[1:27:59] give him a minute to join us.

[1:28:09] And with us today from the is

[1:28:11] the committee co chair

[1:28:12] for the Alzheimer's Walk,

[1:28:14] Denise Eyerman. And Denise, if

[1:28:16] you would say a few words.

[1:28:19] >> Mayor, vice mayor,

[1:28:20] commissioners and fellow

[1:28:22] residents, thank you so much

[1:28:23] for the opportunity

[1:28:24] to address you. And thank you

[1:28:26] for taking the time

[1:28:28] to recognize Alzheimer's to

[1:28:30] help raise greater awareness.

[1:28:31] My name's Denise Eyerman, and

[1:28:33] I'm honored to serve as a

[1:28:35] volunteer and committee co

[1:28:37] chair for the Alzheimer's

[1:28:38] Association. Alzheimer's has

[1:28:40] touched me personally. Aside

[1:28:41] from my mom in 2019 who

[1:28:44] suffered for 10 years,

[1:28:46] I've lost four other

[1:28:48] in addition to that,

[1:28:51] and it's just been an

[1:28:52] insidious, horrific disease to

[1:28:54] watch. I'm here representing,

[1:28:57] as the mayor said, 47,800

[1:28:59] residents of Broward county

[1:29:02] living with this disease. We

[1:29:04] have the second highest number

[1:29:06] of individuals living with

[1:29:07] Alzheimer's in Florida. It's a

[1:29:09] critical. It's critical that we

[1:29:12] raise awareness

[1:29:14] for the disease. We know the

[1:29:15] disease has physical,

[1:29:17] emotional and financial impacts

[1:29:19] on the individual and family.

[1:29:21] But there is hope. We are

[1:29:23] in a new era

[1:29:25] with treatments available

[1:29:27] for those in the early stages

[1:29:29] of the disease. And just last

[1:29:31] month, rather,

[1:29:33] the FDA cleared a blood test

[1:29:35] to help detect Alzheimer's

[1:29:38] disease. So ask your doctors

[1:29:40] about it if you need. Where was

[1:29:42] I? Hold on one sec. Right.

[1:29:50] In addition, House Bill 801,

[1:29:56] which a lot of you may not know

[1:29:58] about, was enacted in 2024.

[1:30:00] This created an Alzheimer's

[1:30:04] disease and related dementia

[1:30:05] continuing education course

[1:30:07] for law enforcement. In 2023,

[1:30:10] the Florida legislature passed

[1:30:13] House Bill 1275. The

[1:30:15] legislation established the

[1:30:17] ability for counties to Create

[1:30:20] a Persons with Disabilities

[1:30:22] registry. It is voluntary

[1:30:24] for all counties. The bill went

[1:30:27] into effect on January 1,

[1:30:30] 2024. This is so important. We

[1:30:31] have one for mental illness.

[1:30:34] We need one for dementia and

[1:30:36] Alzheimer's. My mom crossed the

[1:30:38] road at Kings Point in Tamarac

[1:30:40] shortly after my dad died. I

[1:30:43] was working downtown Miami

[1:30:47] for the courts. It was

[1:30:50] within six months

[1:30:52] before I could get a caregiver

[1:30:54] for her or move her

[1:30:56] to our home. She darn near got

[1:30:58] hit and police stopped. Didn't

[1:31:00] realize she had Alzheimer's.

[1:31:02] And this is why we did this.

[1:31:04] This is why we pushed

[1:31:05] for this. Please know there's

[1:31:07] support available

[1:31:09] in our community. The

[1:31:12] Alzheimer's association

[1:31:13] provides free education and

[1:31:15] support. We also have a 24/7

[1:31:18] hotline at 800-272-3900,

[1:31:20] that's available 365 days a

[1:31:23] year, which is run

[1:31:26] by dementia experts to handle

[1:31:27] any and all questions. You can

[1:31:30] also visit us at als.org

[1:31:33] to learn

[1:31:36] about local resources. But we

[1:31:38] hope you will join our

[1:31:40] community on Saturday,

[1:31:43] December 6 walk. Because

[1:31:49] funding has been cut

[1:31:50] off or cut down

[1:31:52] at the federal level

[1:31:54] for cancer, Alzheimer's,

[1:31:56] Parkinson's. So we got

[1:31:58] to step it up. And Broward

[1:32:01] county walked into

[1:32:03] Alzheimer's is a great

[1:32:04] opportunity to meet people,

[1:32:07] build teams, raise money,

[1:32:09] raise awareness. And I have a

[1:32:11] shout out to Jay Schechter,

[1:32:12] City of Pembroke Pines,

[1:32:14] wherever he is. Okay. He

[1:32:16] formed. Hey, Jay. He formed a

[1:32:18] team. City of Pembroke Pines.

[1:32:20] And I hope he comes back.

[1:32:23] Okay, thank you very much.

[1:32:28] >> Thank you very much. Let's

[1:32:30] take a photo together.

[1:32:32] >>[PICTURE TAKING]

[1:32:41] >> All right,

[1:32:48] the next item is a proclamation

[1:32:49] from the representatives of

[1:32:51] Florida Rising. And

[1:32:54] Commissioner Rodriguez, if you

[1:32:55] would join me. If you could all

[1:33:03] come down. And as they're

[1:33:10] walking down, Commissioner, if

[1:33:19] you would read the whereas

[1:33:21] clauses.

[1:33:24] >> And before that, I just

[1:33:25] wanted

[1:33:26] to say thank you so much

[1:33:27] to the mayor and

[1:33:29] to the commission for agreeing

[1:33:30] to do this. This group came

[1:33:31] to me a couple months ago

[1:33:32] for this proclamation,

[1:33:34] which I think is really,

[1:33:35] really important for Domestic

[1:33:36] Workers Day, not only because

[1:33:38] they came to me,

[1:33:39] but personally in college,

[1:33:40] I did work as a domestic

[1:33:42] worker, not here, but in

[1:33:43] France, nannying, cleaning

[1:33:45] houses,

[1:33:46] to make sure that I was able

[1:33:47] to pay at least a part

[1:33:49] of my college tuition. And so

[1:33:50] this is really important

[1:33:53] because of not only everything

[1:33:54] in this proclamation will give

[1:33:56] you some information and

[1:33:58] statistics as well

[1:34:00] during the presentation. So

[1:34:01] Domestic Workers Day. Whereas

[1:34:02] domestic workers, including

[1:34:04] housekeepers, nannies,

[1:34:06] and caregivers for children,

[1:34:07] the elderly, and the people

[1:34:08] with disabilities,

[1:34:10] play an essential role

[1:34:11] in maintaining the stability,

[1:34:13] health and the well being

[1:34:14] of families and households

[1:34:16] in the city of Pembroke Pines

[1:34:17] and across the nation and make

[1:34:18] it possible for others

[1:34:19] in our community

[1:34:21] to participate

[1:34:22] in the workforce and contribute

[1:34:23] to our economy. And whereas

[1:34:24] despite their invaluable

[1:34:25] contributions, domestic workers

[1:34:27] have historically been excluded

[1:34:28] from many basic labor

[1:34:29] protections

[1:34:30] under federal and state laws,

[1:34:32] leaving them vulnerable

[1:34:33] to low wages, long hours and

[1:34:34] unsafe conditions and little

[1:34:36] to no job security. And whereas

[1:34:37] most domestic workers do not

[1:34:38] have access

[1:34:39] to health insurance,

[1:34:40] paid sick leave or severance

[1:34:42] pay,

[1:34:43] and face limited protections

[1:34:44] against discrimination or

[1:34:46] exploitation

[1:34:47] in the workplace,

[1:34:48] while also encountering

[1:34:50] barriers to economic security

[1:34:51] and equitable treatment. And

[1:34:52] whereas organizations and

[1:34:54] advocates across South Florida

[1:34:55] and the nation continue

[1:34:57] to uplift the voices

[1:34:58] of domestic workers, promote

[1:35:00] fair labor standards and fight

[1:35:01] for the dignity and the rights

[1:35:02] of those who care

[1:35:04] for our families and our homes.

[1:35:05] And recognizing June 16 as

[1:35:06] domestic workers Day is an

[1:35:08] opportunity for the city of

[1:35:09] Pembroke Pines to honor their

[1:35:11] contributions and stand

[1:35:12] in solidarity with efforts

[1:35:15] to ensure their rights,

[1:35:19] safety and well being.

[1:35:22] >> Now, therefore, I, Angelo

[1:35:23] Castillo, mayor of the city

[1:35:24] of Pembroke Pines, on behalf

[1:35:26] of the city commission,

[1:35:27] do hereby proclaim June 16,

[1:35:29] 2025 as Domestic Workers Day

[1:35:31] in the city of Pembroke

[1:35:32] Pines. Encourage all residents

[1:35:33] to recognize and appreciate the

[1:35:34] dignity, labor, humanity

[1:35:36] of domestic workers

[1:35:37] in our community and to support

[1:35:38] policies and practices that

[1:35:40] ensure fairness, safety and

[1:35:42] opportunity for all workers.

[1:35:43] Congratulations.

[1:36:37] >> My understanding is they

[1:36:38] have a presentation. Okay, you

[1:36:40] can make it. It's just a video.

[1:36:43] Okay, hold on. You're on.

[1:36:51] >> Hi, everybody. I used

[1:36:53] to be a school teacher,

[1:36:55] so we're gonna have a quiz

[1:36:56] after this. I'm kidding. Good

[1:36:59] evening, everyone. My name is

[1:37:00] Isabela Oses. I proudly speak

[1:37:02] serve as the Latino

[1:37:03] constituency director at

[1:37:04] Florida Rising. I am a proud

[1:37:07] resident of Pembroke Pines and

[1:37:08] I am, most importantly, the

[1:37:10] daughter,

[1:37:12] niece and granddaughter

[1:37:14] of a domestic worker. Tonight, I

[1:37:16] speak as someone whose life was

[1:37:19] shaped, nurtured and uplifted

[1:37:20] by the hardworking women

[1:37:22] in my family who gave

[1:37:24] everything to care

[1:37:26] for others. They give their

[1:37:28] time, energy, labor,

[1:37:29] love and care to families that

[1:37:31] weren't even their own, often

[1:37:32] while their own families made

[1:37:33] sacrifices in their absence.

[1:37:37] On behalf of Florida Rising

[1:37:39] Semillas, Colombia and women

[1:37:42] working together, we want

[1:37:46] to express our deepest

[1:37:47] gratitude to this commission,

[1:37:49] our mayor, our vice mayor,

[1:37:51] and especially to

[1:37:53] Commissioner Maria Rodriguez

[1:37:57] for your bold leadership and

[1:37:59] commitment to justice.

[1:38:00] From today on June 16th will

[1:38:02] now officially be recognized as

[1:38:04] Domestic Workers Days

[1:38:06] in my city, the city of

[1:38:07] Pembroke Pines. Let's take a

[1:38:09] moment to reflect

[1:38:11] on what this means. Right.

[1:38:13] This is not just a date

[1:38:15] on the calendar of our city.

[1:38:17] This is a declaration

[1:38:18] of dignity. Domestic workers

[1:38:20] are often unseen,

[1:38:22] but their impact is everywhere.

[1:38:23] Domestic workers make all other

[1:38:25] work possible. They clean,

[1:38:26] they cook, they care. Often

[1:38:28] without sick days,

[1:38:33] without job security,

[1:38:35] and far too often without

[1:38:37] recognition or fair wages. You

[1:38:40] entrust domestic workers

[1:38:42] with the most precious parts

[1:38:43] of your life. Your homes, your

[1:38:45] children, your aging parents.

[1:38:47] And yet their labor has too

[1:38:49] often been devalued, enforced,

[1:38:51] formal, and unprotected.

[1:38:53] By passing this proclamation,

[1:38:56] Pembroke Pines is leading

[1:38:58] by example. We are saying loud

[1:39:00] and clear, your work matters.

[1:39:02] We see your labor. We are

[1:39:04] with you. We still have work

[1:39:08] to do to ensure better pay,

[1:39:09] labor protections,

[1:39:12] and respect. But today, we

[1:39:13] celebrate this meaningful step

[1:39:15] forward. This

[1:39:17] proclamation is not the end,

[1:39:19] so be ready, because it is the

[1:39:21] beginning, the beginning

[1:39:22] of a more just, more human and

[1:39:24] more compassionate city.

[1:39:25] A city that chooses to

[1:39:28] recognize and uplift the people

[1:39:30] who hold up so many others. To

[1:39:32] all domestic workers listening

[1:39:35] today, this is for you. And

[1:39:36] this is because of you. So

[1:39:37] from the bottom

[1:39:39] of my heart and on behalf

[1:39:41] of the many voices I represent,

[1:39:42] thank you for standing

[1:39:43] with my abuelita.

[1:39:46] >>[SPANISH] Let's make

[1:39:50] June 16th not only a day

[1:39:52] of celebration, but a day

[1:39:54] of continued commitment to

[1:39:56] justice and visibility and

[1:39:57] care. So now you're gonna ask,

[1:39:58] where is the data? I got it. I

[1:40:00] got it for you. Okay. So in

[1:40:04] Florida. Oh, okay. We're

[1:40:08] starting from there. Let's go.

[1:40:12] We can go down if you want.

[1:40:16] Perfect. So data wise, right

[1:40:20] now, in the state of Florida,

[1:40:22] we have 106,000, 437 domestic

[1:40:24] workers,

[1:40:26] and they play a significant

[1:40:28] role in our local economy. We

[1:40:31] are the spine. We make

[1:40:35] everything run smoothly.

[1:40:37] People take care of children

[1:40:38] while everybody else goes

[1:40:40] to work. Then we can go

[1:40:42] to the next one. Miami and

[1:40:45] Broward county account

[1:40:46] for half of the state domestic

[1:40:48] workforce. So the majority of

[1:40:49] people who practice domestic

[1:40:51] work live here. We represent

[1:40:54] about 10% of Florida's total

[1:40:58] workforce, and 94%

[1:41:00] of us happen to be women.

[1:41:03] Thank you. We can go down. So

[1:41:11] what is the economic impact

[1:41:14] of domestic workers? Right.

[1:41:15] By supporting care

[1:41:17] for older adults, people

[1:41:20] with disabilities, home care,

[1:41:21] domestic work,

[1:41:22] it allows individuals

[1:41:24] like you and I

[1:41:25] to continue participating

[1:41:26] in the economy of our city. It

[1:41:28] is a rapidly growing sector

[1:41:29] with over 2 million

[1:41:31] workers nationwide. And we also

[1:41:33] have to talk about unpaid

[1:41:35] domestic work that many

[1:41:36] of us do at home. Go next. So

[1:41:38] why is the proclamation

[1:41:40] important? We have

[1:41:42] to make domestic work visible.

[1:41:45] It helps recognize the value

[1:41:47] of the work of domestic workers

[1:41:50] and it can also shift societal

[1:41:55] perceptions and improve the

[1:41:57] conditions of domestic workers

[1:42:00] in the labor force and push

[1:42:03] for a more dignified quality

[1:42:06] of life. So what happens

[1:42:12] in our city? Pembroke Pines, we

[1:42:15] know, is a diverse,

[1:42:16] dynamic and multicultural city.

[1:42:18] Recognizing the contributions

[1:42:21] of people like my grandmother

[1:42:23] is also a celebration

[1:42:24] of the human richness

[1:42:26] of our community. And we want

[1:42:28] to build bridges of empathy

[1:42:30] among sectors that, while

[1:42:32] different,

[1:42:33] always complement each other.

[1:42:36] And then we want

[1:42:39] to send a clear message

[1:42:41] of ethical leadership right

[1:42:44] in Pembroke Pines. We're a

[1:42:45] pioneering city in the state

[1:42:47] of Florida. We see the news. I

[1:42:49] love living here. It is a

[1:42:50] gesture of moral leadership

[1:42:52] that can inspire other

[1:42:54] communities and set a

[1:42:55] precedence for our

[1:42:57] responsibility not only as

[1:42:59] leadership, but as citizens and

[1:43:00] the shared humanity

[1:43:02] of our residents. And then we

[1:43:04] want to help push, promote

[1:43:06] inclusive public policies. And

[1:43:08] recognition like this, while

[1:43:09] symbolic,

[1:43:11] can serve as a foundation

[1:43:12] for initiatives

[1:43:13] in the future and passing

[1:43:15] of local public policy. So

[1:43:16] domestic workers make all other

[1:43:17] work possible.

[1:43:18] Like I said before,

[1:43:20] you entrust domestic workers

[1:43:21] with what you care

[1:43:23] about and love the most. And so

[1:43:25] to end,

[1:43:27] domestic work is not just a

[1:43:29] job, right? It is an act

[1:43:33] of care, of community,

[1:43:36] of community, building

[1:43:40] of humanity. And honoring this

[1:43:41] work is a way to honor the

[1:43:42] values that sustain our city,

[1:43:44] our families, our respect,

[1:43:45] diversity, and justice. So I

[1:43:48] want to thank everybody

[1:43:50] for giving us this recognition,

[1:43:51] for telling people like ela que

[1:43:53] tutra vajo important. And thank

[1:43:55] you all

[1:43:56] for giving me a little bit

[1:44:00] of time to talk. I appreciate

[1:44:04] you all.

[1:44:19] >> Thank you.

[1:44:21] >> Thank you very, very much.

[1:44:22] And Commissioner Good, if you'd

[1:44:24] join me one more time,

[1:44:28] having requested this item,

[1:44:30] this is a proclamation of the

[1:44:31] City of Pensacola, Florida,

[1:44:33] declaring National Women's

[1:44:35] Veterans Recognition Day. I'm

[1:44:37] going to ask my colleague,

[1:44:40] Commissioner Tom Good, who is a

[1:44:41] veteran, if he could please

[1:44:44] read the whereas clauses.

[1:44:45] >> Thank you, Mayor. Can we

[1:44:48] invite the women veterans down,

[1:44:51] join, in America?

[1:44:59] Are there other women

[1:45:03] veterans that want

[1:45:04] to come and join us? Come

[1:45:06] on over. So thank you. Thank

[1:45:08] you for your service too.

[1:45:13] So this is National Women

[1:45:14] Veterans Recognition Day.

[1:45:16] Whereas American veterans,

[1:45:17] including the courageous women

[1:45:19] of the United States Armed

[1:45:20] Forces, have served our nation

[1:45:22] with honor

[1:45:23] during both peace and wartime,

[1:45:25] safeguarding our freedoms and

[1:45:27] continuing

[1:45:28] to contribute meaningfully

[1:45:30] to our communities. And whereas

[1:45:31] women have played vital roles

[1:45:32] in every conflict throughout

[1:45:34] U.S. history, serving

[1:45:36] in combat, medical,

[1:45:38] and command roles, efforts

[1:45:40] which were formerly recognized

[1:45:41] and advanced by the passage

[1:45:44] of the Women's Armed Services

[1:45:45] Integration Act in 1948. And

[1:45:47] whereas, this landmark

[1:45:49] legislation introduced by

[1:45:50] Senator Margaret Chase Smith

[1:45:51] and signed into law by

[1:45:53] President Harry S. Truman

[1:45:55] enabled women

[1:45:58] to serve as permanent,

[1:46:00] regular members

[1:46:02] of the military,

[1:46:04] paving the way for their full

[1:46:05] integration and career

[1:46:06] advancements

[1:46:08] within the armed forces. And

[1:46:09] whereas the state of Florida is

[1:46:10] home to approximately 160,000

[1:46:11] women veterans,

[1:46:12] including many residing

[1:46:14] in the city of Pembroke

[1:46:15] Pines, whose service continues

[1:46:17] to enrich our state and local

[1:46:18] communities and whose

[1:46:19] dedication deserves recognition

[1:46:21] and appreciation.

[1:46:26] >> Now therefore, I, Angelo

[1:46:29] Castillo, Mayor of the city

[1:46:30] of Pembroke Pines, along

[1:46:31] with the city commissioners,

[1:46:33] Do hereby proclaim June 12,

[1:46:34] 2025, as National Women's

[1:46:37] Veterans Recognition Day

[1:46:40] in the City of PembaR PineS,

[1:46:41] and encourage all residents to

[1:46:43] honor and thank all women

[1:46:44] veterans for their service,

[1:46:45] sacrifice, and lasting impact

[1:46:47] on our nation. Congratulations

[1:46:49] and thank you

[1:46:50] for your service.

[1:47:14] >> You want

[1:47:16] to say a few words? Thank you.

[1:47:18] >> Well, they did tell me I get

[1:47:19] to say something,

[1:47:22] so this is going to kind of be

[1:47:24] off the cuff but that doesn't

[1:47:25] stop me. I'm the president

[1:47:26] currently of the Broward

[1:47:27] Veterans Coalition, and I when

[1:47:30] I served, I served

[1:47:31] in the women's Army Corps. So I

[1:47:33] was in a segregated portion

[1:47:34] of the Army. And then I was

[1:47:35] also part

[1:47:37] of history where I was got

[1:47:38] to be in the regular Army. I

[1:47:40] was part of that transition

[1:47:41] in 1978.

[1:47:45] But it happened a little bit

[1:47:47] before that. The guys didn't

[1:47:49] want us. They really didn't.

[1:47:51] They didn't want us there. And

[1:47:53] it was a tough road. But women

[1:47:54] have persevered and we are

[1:47:56] leading today and still moving

[1:47:59] forward for our veterans. And

[1:48:01] anybody who's a veteran,

[1:48:03] we're going to have a function

[1:48:05] over in Weston. We have an

[1:48:09] annual Resource and Benefits

[1:48:11] Fair and we get all sorts

[1:48:13] of information to you. We have

[1:48:15] regular meetings and we would

[1:48:17] love you to attend. That's

[1:48:19] browardveteranscoalition.org.

[1:48:21] >> Thank you so very much.

[1:48:28] Thank you

[1:48:32] for your service. Next up is

[1:48:38] our amazing property appraiser

[1:48:42] in Broward County, Marty

[1:48:44] Kiar, who stopped by to, he

[1:48:48] comes every year and provides

[1:48:52] us with important information

[1:48:54] and thank you Marty for all

[1:48:57] that you do and that you have

[1:48:58] done and will do for Broward

[1:49:01] County, we love you and the

[1:49:02] floor is yours, sir.

[1:49:05] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor and I

[1:49:06] love you too and I also want

[1:49:07] to thank you

[1:49:08] for the great work that you do

[1:49:09] on behalf of the people of

[1:49:10] Pembroke Pines. We've been

[1:49:11] friends for a long time and I

[1:49:12] love seeing you as the mayor

[1:49:13] and I want to thank also all

[1:49:14] of your colleagues. Everybody

[1:49:15] up here is a dear friend

[1:49:17] of mine and I have

[1:49:18] to tell you Pembroke Pines is

[1:49:19] very special to me. I've lived

[1:49:20] in Broward County my entire

[1:49:21] life but the first place I ever

[1:49:22] lived,

[1:49:23] my parents brought me back

[1:49:24] from the hospital, was in

[1:49:25] Pembroke Pines and I even went

[1:49:27] to Pasadena Lakes Elementary

[1:49:28] School for a little bit

[1:49:29] of time and to see where

[1:49:30] Pembroke Pines has come from

[1:49:31] when I first lived here as a

[1:49:32] baby in 1977 to where it is now

[1:49:34] which the second largest city

[1:49:36] and one

[1:49:38] of the biggest economic engines

[1:49:39] in Broward County is pretty

[1:49:41] incredible. And the one thing I

[1:49:42] know about Pembroke Pines, I've

[1:49:43] never met somebody that lives

[1:49:45] here that dislikes living here.

[1:49:46] And so thank you so much, Mr.

[1:49:47] Mayor, for your great work and

[1:49:49] everybody for the great work

[1:49:50] that you all do. I also want

[1:49:51] to thank your awesome staff.

[1:49:52] As you know,

[1:49:54] there is no city manager

[1:49:55] with a more depth

[1:49:57] of knowledge than Charlie

[1:49:58] Dodge. I think Charlie has done

[1:49:59] just an incredible job. And I

[1:50:01] see his name all the time

[1:50:02] because my daughter's in

[1:50:03] competitive cheer and we always

[1:50:05] are over at the Dodge Center

[1:50:06] while she competes. And you

[1:50:07] also have without a doubt one

[1:50:08] of the best legal minds I've

[1:50:09] ever met in my life. I've

[1:50:11] always found if you ever want

[1:50:12] free legal advice, just call

[1:50:13] Sam Gore. It's the best way

[1:50:14] to get it.

[1:50:16] But he is just a great guy.

[1:50:17] And with that said, Mr.

[1:50:19] Mayor, I promise I won't take

[1:50:20] up too much of your time. What

[1:50:21] I was hoping

[1:50:22] to just quickly talk

[1:50:24] about was first, just

[1:50:25] for the residents, what we do

[1:50:26] and how we can help them. I

[1:50:27] also want to talk about

[1:50:28] property values because we just

[1:50:29] released our June 1st estimates

[1:50:31] of value

[1:50:32] for this year that you're going

[1:50:33] to use

[1:50:34] to set your millage rate on

[1:50:35] to determine the amount

[1:50:36] of money that you need

[1:50:37] to operate for the people of

[1:50:39] Pembroke Pines. And once again,

[1:50:40] as you'll see, values rose.

[1:50:41] And I wanted to talk

[1:50:42] about something I always talk

[1:50:43] about that's near and dear to

[1:50:44] my heart that I'm very

[1:50:45] passionate

[1:50:46] about and it's cracking out

[1:50:47] on title fraud. But first

[1:50:48] for the residents,

[1:50:49] there are three main functions

[1:50:50] to our office. The first

[1:50:51] function is we determine the

[1:50:52] value of every piece

[1:50:53] of property in Broward County

[1:50:54] for tax purposes, whether it's

[1:50:55] residential, commercial,

[1:50:56] tangible, personal property,

[1:50:57] or essentially assessed

[1:50:58] property,

[1:50:59] which are railroads. And the

[1:51:00] reason that's important is when

[1:51:01] people pay their property

[1:51:02] taxes, the amount of taxes they

[1:51:03] pay is the relationship

[1:51:04] between the value of the

[1:51:05] property we set and the tax

[1:51:06] rate set by you all, the

[1:51:07] County Commission, the school

[1:51:08] board, and all other taxing

[1:51:09] authorities. So the most

[1:51:10] important thing we want to do

[1:51:11] is just make sure we get it

[1:51:12] right. and as you know, Broward

[1:51:13] County is a huge place. More

[1:51:14] people live here than 13

[1:51:15] states, the District of

[1:51:16] Columbia and all US territories

[1:51:17] except Puerto Rico. That's how

[1:51:18] big it is. And we appraise more

[1:51:19] parcels than exist

[1:51:20] in many states. And even though

[1:51:21] the people in our office do a

[1:51:22] very good job and their

[1:51:24] assessments are very accurate,

[1:51:25] mistakes can occur or maybe

[1:51:26] people have information about

[1:51:27] their property that we don't

[1:51:29] have that could help us bring

[1:51:30] down their market value,

[1:51:31] which could bring

[1:51:32] down their assessed value,

[1:51:33] which bring

[1:51:34] down their property taxes. So I

[1:51:35] always tell everybody go

[1:51:36] on our website at bcpa.net. Look

[1:51:37] at your property. And if you

[1:51:38] have any concerns

[1:51:39] for the value

[1:51:40] of your property, just call me

[1:51:41] by September 17th, email me,

[1:51:42] come to us or we'll even come

[1:51:43] to you. We'll go

[1:51:44] through it together. And if we

[1:51:45] can use information to bring

[1:51:46] down your assessed value,

[1:51:47] we're always going to do it.

[1:51:48] The second that we do,

[1:51:50] and this is what I love most

[1:51:51] about my job,

[1:51:52] is we give tax saving

[1:51:53] exemptions

[1:51:54] to people that qualify. And

[1:51:55] there are a lot of exemptions

[1:51:56] under Florida law that people

[1:51:57] qualify for. You have the

[1:51:58] homestead exemption, which is

[1:51:59] so very important. It

[1:52:01] basically says that if this is

[1:52:02] your primary residence,

[1:52:04] you get that exemption,

[1:52:05] which saves you about $1,000

[1:52:06] in your taxes at first. But it

[1:52:07] really protects you going

[1:52:08] forward, because every year

[1:52:09] after you have it,

[1:52:10] the value your tax on cannot go

[1:52:11] up more than a maximum of 3%.

[1:52:12] It keeps your assessed value

[1:52:13] manageable so it won't

[1:52:14] skyrocket

[1:52:15] with your market value. And

[1:52:16] once you get that,

[1:52:17] there are senior exemptions,

[1:52:18] veterans exemptions, widows

[1:52:20] exemptions,

[1:52:21] disability exemptions. There's

[1:52:22] a lot of ways to save money

[1:52:23] in your property taxes. So I

[1:52:24] always tell everybody go

[1:52:25] on our website at bcpa.net, look

[1:52:26] at exemptions. And if there's

[1:52:27] something you're not getting,

[1:52:28] just contact us by September

[1:52:29] 17th and we'll apply it

[1:52:30] to your tax bill. The other

[1:52:31] thing I wanted to quickly talk

[1:52:33] about if it's okay, Mr.

[1:52:34] Mayor, is basically where

[1:52:36] Pembroke Pines is right now

[1:52:37] when it comes

[1:52:39] to property values. As I said,

[1:52:40] just before values increased

[1:52:41] again this year. And that's

[1:52:43] because there's been a lot

[1:52:44] of new construction. And also

[1:52:45] people are paying more money,

[1:52:46] especially for single family

[1:52:48] homes than they were the year

[1:52:49] before. And so

[1:52:50] to give you an idea,

[1:52:51] the first value I want to talk

[1:52:52] about is not what you set your

[1:52:53] military on,

[1:52:54] but just an interesting value.

[1:52:56] If you took all of the

[1:52:57] commercial and residential

[1:52:58] value in Pembroke Pines and you

[1:52:59] sold it on the open market in

[1:53:01] 2024 last year,

[1:53:02] you would have got right

[1:53:04] about $32 billion. Fast forward

[1:53:05] just this year,

[1:53:06] there's been a 5.66% increase

[1:53:08] in market value to right

[1:53:09] about $34 billion. That's a

[1:53:11] pretty hefty increase,

[1:53:13] especially during a time where

[1:53:14] there's not as many sales,

[1:53:15] but people are still paying

[1:53:17] more for property. When it

[1:53:18] comes to the taxable value,

[1:53:19] that's the value that you're

[1:53:20] going to utilize, you're going

[1:53:21] to set your military on

[1:53:22] to determine the amount

[1:53:23] of money that you need

[1:53:25] to provide great services

[1:53:26] to the people of Pembroke

[1:53:27] Pines. And in 2024, the taxable

[1:53:29] value was right about $18.7

[1:53:30] billion. Fast forward

[1:53:31] to this year,

[1:53:32] there's been a 6.29% increase

[1:53:34] in taxable value to about 19.

[1:53:36] $6.911 billion. And so what

[1:53:37] that means your current

[1:53:39] operating millage rate is right

[1:53:40] about 5.690. If you keep that

[1:53:42] the same you'll get an

[1:53:44] additional $6.6 million more

[1:53:46] this year than last year

[1:53:47] in revenue

[1:53:49] to provide great services

[1:53:51] to the people of Pembroke

[1:53:53] Pines. And what's very

[1:53:54] interesting about that number

[1:53:55] is the vast majority

[1:53:57] of residents here in Pembroke

[1:53:58] Pines are homesteaded and the

[1:53:59] value they're taxed

[1:54:00] on can't go more than 3%. So

[1:54:01] the bulk of that additional

[1:54:02] revenue is being paid for by

[1:54:03] new construction and people

[1:54:05] moving into Pembroke Pines and

[1:54:06] paying top dollar

[1:54:07] for properties. There was

[1:54:08] about 92.4%

[1:54:10] of new taxable value added

[1:54:11] to the tax roll. The largest

[1:54:12] being, I think right here at

[1:54:14] 10120 City Center Boulevard, we

[1:54:16] added about $16 million and

[1:54:17] it's an assisted living

[1:54:19] facility that was put

[1:54:20] on the tax roll. And the second

[1:54:22] being an addition to Finger

[1:54:24] Lickin' Restaurant, which put

[1:54:25] about 8,900 square feet onto

[1:54:26] the tax roll for about $2.2

[1:54:29] million. There are 41,000

[1:54:31] homesteaded properties here

[1:54:32] in Pembroke Pines. You have

[1:54:33] 4,025 low-income seniors who

[1:54:35] get the value

[1:54:36] of a senior exemption. They

[1:54:37] save money. You have 354 or

[1:54:39] long-term seniors that pay no

[1:54:40] property taxes to Pembroke

[1:54:42] Pines or the County

[1:54:43] Commission. And I just want

[1:54:45] to thank you so much for that

[1:54:46] because that's an exemption

[1:54:47] that you have to adopt. And not

[1:54:49] every city has adopted it.

[1:54:50] But you all did. You had the

[1:54:51] foresight to basically say,

[1:54:53] you know what, there's a senior

[1:54:54] that's really struggling

[1:54:56] to make ends meet. They qualify

[1:54:57] and they shouldn't have

[1:54:58] to pay property taxes. It's a

[1:54:59] really great thing. I hope that

[1:55:00] every single city that hasn't

[1:55:01] adopted it follows your lead

[1:55:03] and adopts that excellent

[1:55:04] exemption because it really

[1:55:05] helps some of our most needy

[1:55:07] and vulnerable residents. you

[1:55:08] also have 1,265 American hero

[1:55:10] veterans who receive an

[1:55:13] exemption. And out of that,

[1:55:15] there's actually 587 that are

[1:55:16] totally permanently disabled

[1:55:17] veterans that pay no property

[1:55:19] taxes to Pembroke Pines or any

[1:55:21] taxing authority. You also have

[1:55:22] 10 American hero first

[1:55:24] responders who have made

[1:55:25] Pembroke Pines their home that

[1:55:27] are disabled, that pay no

[1:55:28] property taxes as well.

[1:55:30] Currently, there have been 318

[1:55:31] sales. this year in Pembroke

[1:55:32] Pines of single family homes.

[1:55:34] And the average sale price

[1:55:36] of a single family home is

[1:55:37] right about $706,313, about

[1:55:40] $10,000 more than last year.

[1:55:43] The other thing that's very

[1:55:45] interesting about that though

[1:55:47] is the average taxable value is

[1:55:49] right about $303,000, which as

[1:55:50] you can see is much lower than

[1:55:52] the sale price. That's because

[1:55:53] most

[1:55:55] of the people that live here

[1:55:56] in Pembroke Pines, they love

[1:55:58] it, they don't want to leave.

[1:55:59] They come here, they file

[1:56:00] for homestead,

[1:56:01] they get the benefit

[1:56:02] of that 3% cap,

[1:56:03] so their assessed value stays

[1:56:04] low, and so even though their

[1:56:05] market value is much,

[1:56:06] much higher because

[1:56:07] of these sales,

[1:56:08] their value that they're taxed

[1:56:09] on is capped and that's a

[1:56:10] really great thing. When it

[1:56:11] comes to condominium parcels,

[1:56:12] that's one area that we did see

[1:56:14] in Pembroke Pines where there's

[1:56:15] been a slight dip when it comes

[1:56:16] to the actual sale price. So

[1:56:17] to give you an idea,

[1:56:19] when it comes to condominiums

[1:56:20] in 2024, the average sale price

[1:56:21] for a condominium parcel was

[1:56:23] right about $237,000. Fast

[1:56:24] forward to this year,

[1:56:25] there's been a slight decrease

[1:56:26] to about $218,000 and really

[1:56:27] where I see that is in

[1:56:29] Century Village.

[1:56:30] to give you an idea,

[1:56:31] there's been about 300

[1:56:33] condominium units that have

[1:56:36] sold about 100 and Century

[1:56:38] Village, and in the Century

[1:56:39] Village condominium units,

[1:56:41] there's been

[1:56:43] about a 4% decrease in their

[1:56:44] sale price. I believe a lot

[1:56:46] of that has to do with the fact

[1:56:47] that their reserves had to be

[1:56:48] pretty significant as a result

[1:56:51] of the Surfside bill that was

[1:56:52] passed a few years ago. But

[1:56:55] what I am hoping is the

[1:56:56] legislature just passed some

[1:56:57] relief, and I'm hoping that

[1:56:58] that relief that they passed

[1:56:59] will help once again spur the

[1:57:00] condo market. in Century

[1:57:02] Village and Hollybrook and

[1:57:03] other areas that would qualify.

[1:57:04] And so I think that's very,

[1:57:05] very important. The other thing

[1:57:06] I wanted

[1:57:07] to quickly talk about, if it's

[1:57:09] okay, Mr. Mayor, is something I

[1:57:10] always talk

[1:57:11] about because it's very

[1:57:12] near and dear to my heart and

[1:57:13] because it's an epidemic,

[1:57:14] I guess you can say, and a

[1:57:16] really terrible epidemic that

[1:57:17] really hurts some of our most

[1:57:18] vulnerable people and it's

[1:57:19] title fraud. As I always say,

[1:57:20] South Florida is the title

[1:57:22] fraud capital of the world.

[1:57:24] It's the capital of the world

[1:57:25] because you have criminals and

[1:57:26] that's what they are. And what

[1:57:27] they do is they walk into the

[1:57:28] recording divisions every

[1:57:29] single day in the state of

[1:57:31] Florida. They file fake deeds

[1:57:32] on people's properties. and

[1:57:33] they take those deeds and they

[1:57:34] extort people for money or they

[1:57:35] mortgage rent or sell the

[1:57:36] property. They do it all the

[1:57:38] time. And as you know,

[1:57:39] the reason it's so easy for

[1:57:40] them is every recording

[1:57:41] division has a ministerial

[1:57:42] duty. They have to accept

[1:57:43] whatever documents filed

[1:57:44] with them. So you have these

[1:57:45] criminals, they walk in, they

[1:57:47] file a fake deed and they do

[1:57:48] something nefarious with it.

[1:57:49] So the first thing we want

[1:57:50] to do is give the people of

[1:57:51] Broward County the opportunity

[1:57:52] to fight the fraud

[1:57:53] before the fraud occurs. So

[1:57:55] in 2021, we came up

[1:57:56] with a great program called

[1:57:57] Owner Alert. As you know, it's

[1:57:58] a free notification program

[1:57:59] letting people know if somebody

[1:58:00] changed the title on their

[1:58:01] property. and here's how they

[1:58:03] can sign up. They go

[1:58:04] to our website at bcpa.net,

[1:58:05] they type in their name,

[1:58:06] they type

[1:58:07] in their email address,

[1:58:08] and they type

[1:58:09] in their parcel ID number. If

[1:58:10] we have their email address

[1:58:11] on file,

[1:58:12] that's because we had it

[1:58:13] with an exemption application,

[1:58:14] they're automatically verified.

[1:58:15] If not, they have

[1:58:16] to upload their Florida

[1:58:17] driver's license or Florida ID.

[1:58:18] If they don't have that,

[1:58:19] they have to upload a utility

[1:58:20] bill or something showing that

[1:58:21] they own the property, and then

[1:58:22] if any document legitimate or

[1:58:23] not is file changing ownership,

[1:58:24] they'll be notified

[1:58:25] instantaneously by email,

[1:58:27] by text message,

[1:58:28] they can even get a hard copy

[1:58:29] in the mail. What I'm very,

[1:58:30] very proud about is

[1:58:31] in right here in Pembroke

[1:58:33] Pines because of your

[1:58:34] assistance and your wonderful

[1:58:36] city's assistance, 50% of all

[1:58:37] of your homesteaded property

[1:58:38] owners have signed up for our

[1:58:39] owner alert program and a

[1:58:40] significant amount of your

[1:58:41] non-homesteaded properties have

[1:58:43] signed up as well. And my goal

[1:58:44] though is to get everybody

[1:58:45] to sign up in Broward County

[1:58:46] because they're to protect

[1:58:48] their most important asset,

[1:58:49] their home. And something

[1:58:51] that's very important to note

[1:58:52] for everybody that hasn't

[1:58:53] signed up,

[1:58:55] the information that we collect

[1:58:56] for your owner alert program is

[1:58:57] exempt from disclosure

[1:58:58] under the law. The legislature

[1:58:59] passed a fantastic law that all

[1:59:00] Democrats, all Republicans

[1:59:02] voted for and the governor

[1:59:03] enthusiastically signed that

[1:59:04] basically said that any

[1:59:05] information we collect, your

[1:59:06] email, your phone number, your

[1:59:08] address,

[1:59:09] even the fact that you signed

[1:59:10] up, that's exempt

[1:59:11] from public disclosure. So your

[1:59:12] alert can only come

[1:59:13] out one way and one way only.

[1:59:14] And that's to let you know if

[1:59:15] there has been a title change

[1:59:16] to your property. So I hope if

[1:59:17] anybody hasn't signed up,

[1:59:19] please sign up. It's there to

[1:59:20] protect your most important

[1:59:21] asset, your home. And when I

[1:59:22] started this program in 2021, I

[1:59:23] started getting lots of calls

[1:59:25] from residents and they would

[1:59:26] say Marty, I just got an alert

[1:59:27] from your office that somebody

[1:59:28] changed the title

[1:59:30] on my property,

[1:59:31] but I didn't do it. And then I

[1:59:32] got more and more and more and

[1:59:33] I realized how big

[1:59:34] of a deal it was. So I came up

[1:59:35] with a different idea. I wanted

[1:59:37] to work with law enforcement,

[1:59:38] build criminal cases and put

[1:59:39] the people

[1:59:40] in jail who are doing this. So

[1:59:41] I got the approval

[1:59:42] from the state of Florida

[1:59:43] to be able to do it. I decided

[1:59:44] to name my crimes against

[1:59:46] property team. I got the county

[1:59:47] commission to be great funders

[1:59:48] of it and big supporters of it

[1:59:49] to give me the money that I

[1:59:51] needed to have it. Sheriff

[1:59:52] Tony, who's a very good friend

[1:59:53] of mine, partnered with us as

[1:59:54] well and has provided us three

[1:59:56] sheriff's detectives to work

[1:59:57] with our office so we can do

[1:59:58] the job of law enforcement.

[1:59:59] And Harold Pryor has been a

[2:00:01] really fantastic partner. He

[2:00:02] assigned an assistant state

[2:00:03] attorney to prosecute the

[2:00:04] people that we bring to him.

[2:00:05] And over the past few years,

[2:00:07] we've had more than 500

[2:00:08] criminal investigations. We've

[2:00:09] had numerous arrests, numerous

[2:00:11] convictions,

[2:00:12] and we've been able to work

[2:00:13] with the court system

[2:00:14] to get property back to people

[2:00:16] in a much more expeditious and

[2:00:18] cost-efficient manner. And we

[2:00:19] work with every city police

[2:00:20] force as well. And Pembroke

[2:00:22] Pines, because it's such a big

[2:00:23] city, we've we've had a number

[2:00:24] of different criminal

[2:00:25] investigations and arrests and

[2:00:26] convictions as a result

[2:00:27] of property stolen in

[2:00:28] Pembroke Pines.

[2:00:29] But your police chief, your

[2:00:31] officers, Pembroke Pines,

[2:00:33] they've been fantastic partners

[2:00:35] with our office as we've been

[2:00:37] cracking down on the people

[2:00:38] that have been doing this. And

[2:00:40] people ask me all the time.

[2:00:42] They ask me kind

[2:00:43] of four things. They say,

[2:00:45] Marty, who are the people that

[2:00:46] do this? What kind of

[2:00:47] technology do they use? who do

[2:00:49] they target and what kind of

[2:00:51] prison sentences are the people

[2:00:53] getting that are convicted?

[2:00:54] Well, I have a few stories,

[2:00:55] one story on each

[2:00:57] of those that kind

[2:00:58] of illustrates each one

[2:00:59] of those questions but also

[2:01:01] shows how prevalent this is and

[2:01:02] the extent that criminals will

[2:01:03] go to to try to defraud people

[2:01:05] of their property. With regard

[2:01:06] to the first question,

[2:01:07] who does it? We found it's just

[2:01:08] about everybody. We found all

[2:01:09] races, religions, national

[2:01:10] origins, people

[2:01:11] of all different income levels,

[2:01:12] educational backgrounds,

[2:01:14] everybody does it. and

[2:01:15] to give you an idea, just

[2:01:17] over this last summer, we even

[2:01:18] arrested a lawyer who was

[2:01:19] allegedly helping people steal

[2:01:20] properties in Cooper City. So

[2:01:22] lots of people do it. The one

[2:01:23] common denominator is they are

[2:01:24] very, very,

[2:01:25] very smart people and they try

[2:01:27] to pick on the people they

[2:01:28] think they can best get away

[2:01:29] with it. So that's one,

[2:01:31] the way I always answer that.

[2:01:32] The second that people ask me

[2:01:34] is, what kind

[2:01:35] of technology do they use?

[2:01:36] Well, generally their

[2:01:37] technology is very primitive.

[2:01:39] Somebody walks

[2:01:40] in the recording division, they

[2:01:41] follow fake deeds. they get a

[2:01:42] courier to file a fake deed.

[2:01:43] We even had a person

[2:01:44] on death row in Georgia who had

[2:01:45] a courier file a fake deed

[2:01:46] on homes in Broward County. We

[2:01:47] didn't prosecute him because he

[2:01:48] had other problems going on

[2:01:49] over there,

[2:01:50] but it shows how easy it is.

[2:01:51] But their technology is

[2:01:53] actually getting much more

[2:01:54] sophisticated. We have an

[2:01:56] ongoing criminal investigation

[2:01:57] right now that really shows how

[2:01:58] evolving this crime is. There

[2:01:59] was a title company that got a

[2:02:00] phone call from a lady,

[2:02:01] and she said, you know what? I

[2:02:04] own this property in

[2:02:05] Hallandale Beach. It's a vacant

[2:02:07] lot. and I've had it my entire

[2:02:09] life. But you know what? My

[2:02:10] kids, they live in Michigan.

[2:02:11] They have grandkids there as

[2:02:13] well. And it's time for me

[2:02:15] to move up there and be with

[2:02:17] them and enjoy my golden years.

[2:02:18] But for me to be able

[2:02:20] to move there, I really need

[2:02:21] to sell my nest egg,

[2:02:22] this parcel in Hollandale

[2:02:24] Beach. And the title company

[2:02:25] said,

[2:02:26] of course we'll handle it

[2:02:27] for you and we'll get it sold

[2:02:29] for you,

[2:02:30] but show us you own it. So she

[2:02:31] sent over a wonderful looking

[2:02:32] passport,

[2:02:33] a wonderful looking photo ID of

[2:02:35] her driver's license. other

[2:02:36] information showing that she

[2:02:38] owned the property, but they

[2:02:39] were very smart and they said,

[2:02:41] we have to meet you

[2:02:42] in person. And she said, well,

[2:02:43] I can't meet you in person,

[2:02:44] but I can do it over Zoom. And

[2:02:45] they said, great. So the Zoom

[2:02:46] meeting opens up and there was

[2:02:47] a sweet senior sitting at a

[2:02:49] dining room table drinking

[2:02:50] coffee or tea,

[2:02:51] one or the other. And she's

[2:02:52] sitting there talking about how

[2:02:54] much she loves her grandkids,

[2:02:55] how she can't wait to move to

[2:02:56] Michigan, how she's so excited

[2:02:57] to retire. But it just so

[2:02:58] happened that as she was

[2:03:00] talking, every 30 seconds,

[2:03:02] there was a little bit

[2:03:03] of a glitch where she would go

[2:03:04] like this. But it was the same

[2:03:05] thing that made the title

[2:03:06] company very concerned that

[2:03:08] something weird was happening

[2:03:09] here. So they contacted our

[2:03:11] office, we launched an

[2:03:13] investigation, and it turned

[2:03:14] out that sweet lady sitting at

[2:03:15] a dining room table drinking

[2:03:17] coffee or tea was artificial

[2:03:18] intelligence. So they are

[2:03:19] getting very,

[2:03:21] very sophisticated. The other

[2:03:23] thing people ask me is who do

[2:03:24] they target? Well, we found

[2:03:25] they target everybody. We've

[2:03:26] had people with mega million

[2:03:27] dollar homes being targeted,

[2:03:28] and we've had people that are

[2:03:29] very low income people be

[2:03:31] targeted. we've had people

[2:03:32] with disabilities,

[2:03:33] with seniors,

[2:03:35] we've had all kinds

[2:03:36] of different people targeted.

[2:03:37] But the majority of people

[2:03:38] targeted are really our most

[2:03:39] vulnerable. They're seniors,

[2:03:41] low-income people,

[2:03:42] they are people

[2:03:43] with disabilities. They

[2:03:44] actually love the target people

[2:03:45] that don't speak English as

[2:03:46] their first language because

[2:03:47] they always try to target the

[2:03:48] people they think they can best

[2:03:49] get away with it. And there's

[2:03:51] one case that I have that's

[2:03:52] really my guiding light,

[2:03:54] why I'm so passionate

[2:03:55] about this, because the most

[2:03:56] disabled person you can imagine

[2:03:57] was the one targeted and it

[2:03:59] really illustrates what these

[2:04:00] people will do to try

[2:04:01] to hurt somebody. Let me tell

[2:04:03] you

[2:04:04] about the two people involved.

[2:04:05] The victim was about as

[2:04:07] disabled and as vulnerable as

[2:04:09] they come. He was a senior who

[2:04:10] had the mentality of a

[2:04:11] six-year-old that he had his

[2:04:13] entire life. The defendant that

[2:04:15] we arrested and she'll have her

[2:04:16] day in court,

[2:04:18] she hasn't yet been convicted,

[2:04:19] but I believe she will be,

[2:04:20] was a Miami-Dade law

[2:04:21] enforcement officer. And that's

[2:04:22] what makes me so upset

[2:04:23] about this issue, is you have a

[2:04:25] person that is so vulnerable

[2:04:26] that deserves

[2:04:27] to be protected,

[2:04:29] and the person that's supposed

[2:04:30] to be protecting him is the one

[2:04:31] that's actually defrauding him.

[2:04:32] And here's what allegedly

[2:04:34] occurred. The disabled

[2:04:35] gentleman lived

[2:04:36] with his parents. They were his

[2:04:38] caregivers in Miramar, just

[2:04:39] basically your neighboring

[2:04:40] city. And he lived

[2:04:43] with them his entire life.

[2:04:46] They passed on. And when they

[2:04:48] passed on,

[2:04:49] they left their home

[2:04:51] to their daughter, his sister,

[2:04:53] who then became his caregiver.

[2:04:55] She then passed on. And when

[2:04:57] she passed on, that's when his

[2:04:58] neighbor two doors down

[2:04:59] allegedly did what she did.

[2:05:00] The first thing she allegedly

[2:05:01] did was make a fake power of

[2:05:02] attorney so that she could make

[2:05:03] all the decisions

[2:05:04] for him financially. She used

[2:05:05] that fake power of attorney to

[2:05:06] allegedly open up a fake bank

[2:05:07] account that was getting all

[2:05:08] kinds of money

[2:05:09] from his social security into

[2:05:10] that bank account that she was

[2:05:11] using for herself. She then

[2:05:12] decided to allegedly open up a

[2:05:13] probate estate in Broward

[2:05:14] County Circuit Court to try

[2:05:15] to get everything

[2:05:17] from the sister

[2:05:18] into his name. She used that

[2:05:19] power of attorney to do it. It

[2:05:20] went

[2:05:21] through the court system. The

[2:05:22] judge signed the order and

[2:05:23] everything went

[2:05:24] into his name,

[2:05:25] including the house. She then,

[2:05:26] the first thing she did was

[2:05:28] sign over his home to her. She

[2:05:29] then started renting

[2:05:30] out the home. She started

[2:05:32] to try to take a mortgage out

[2:05:33] of the home. She was trying

[2:05:34] to get lots

[2:05:36] of other money that was coming

[2:05:37] in through his Social Security

[2:05:38] and all the other assets. She

[2:05:40] got away with that

[2:05:41] for some time. And so then she

[2:05:43] decided to do something else.

[2:05:44] She opened up a life insurance

[2:05:45] policy in his name, making

[2:05:46] herself the beneficiary. he

[2:05:47] then passed away and she

[2:05:49] received that money. It just so

[2:05:50] happened though that while this

[2:05:52] occurred was occurring, Miami

[2:05:53] Dade had an internal affairs

[2:05:54] investigation into some of her

[2:05:56] other actions and they couldn't

[2:05:57] understand how she all of a

[2:05:58] sudden had all these assets,

[2:06:00] a new house, all kinds of money

[2:06:01] she didn't have before. And so

[2:06:02] they actually sent it down

[2:06:03] to us. We investigated it. She

[2:06:04] was arrested. She'll have her

[2:06:06] day in court. I believe the

[2:06:07] evidence is overwhelming,

[2:06:09] but she will definitely, but

[2:06:10] of course you're innocent

[2:06:11] until proven guilty, but I

[2:06:13] think she will be proven

[2:06:14] guilty. when it does go

[2:06:15] to trial. The last thing that

[2:06:16] people ask me is what kind of

[2:06:17] prison sentences are people

[2:06:18] getting? Well, they're getting

[2:06:19] pretty large. Let me give you

[2:06:21] two fast examples. One case

[2:06:22] that I talk about a lot,

[2:06:23] we had a prison,

[2:06:24] actually a person went

[2:06:25] to jail recently,

[2:06:27] was a case I've spoken

[2:06:29] about before. There were a

[2:06:31] number of people that decided

[2:06:32] to use the court system

[2:06:34] to steal people's properties.

[2:06:35] The ringleader would file quiet

[2:06:36] title actions

[2:06:37] in circuit court,

[2:06:39] basically lawsuits in circuit

[2:06:40] court saying this senior, this

[2:06:41] bank, or this person no longer

[2:06:43] wanted the property. the return

[2:06:45] of service would go

[2:06:47] to the guy's buddy who was

[2:06:48] in a mobile home in

[2:06:49] Hillsborough County. And he

[2:06:51] would say, oh, yeah,

[2:06:52] I remember that senior

[2:06:53] at that bank, that person.

[2:06:54] Yeah, they don't want the

[2:06:56] property anymore. Put in this

[2:06:57] guy's name or his company's

[2:06:58] name. They sold dozens

[2:06:59] of properties throughout

[2:07:00] Barrera County. Fortunately,

[2:07:01] the ringleader was found guilty

[2:07:02] recently. He was sentenced

[2:07:03] to eight years

[2:07:04] in state prison, followed by

[2:07:05] 10 years probation. If he

[2:07:06] violates his probation,

[2:07:07] he goes to jail for life. And a

[2:07:08] minor co-conspirator I thought

[2:07:09] this was kind of interesting

[2:07:10] was found guilty. She was only

[2:07:11] given 10 years probation. but

[2:07:12] she was also ordered deported

[2:07:13] to her home country of

[2:07:14] Moldova, which is a very cold

[2:07:15] Eastern European country and

[2:07:16] she can never return to the

[2:07:17] United States. Another very

[2:07:18] recent conviction that we had

[2:07:19] involved the jury trial. And

[2:07:20] there was a man who was

[2:07:21] convicted

[2:07:22] of stealing seniors' homes in

[2:07:23] Tamarac. And he was convicted

[2:07:25] very recently by a jury

[2:07:26] of his peers. And as soon as

[2:07:27] the jury found him guilty,

[2:07:28] he walked up to the judge,

[2:07:29] to the bench, and he goes, you,

[2:07:30] Honor, I was just found guilty.

[2:07:32] When do I come back

[2:07:33] for my sentencing hearing? and

[2:07:34] Judge Odom says, well,

[2:07:35] it's actually right now. And he

[2:07:36] gave him 15 years

[2:07:37] in state prison with a 10-year

[2:07:38] minimum mandatory. So I wanted

[2:07:39] to bring those up because the

[2:07:41] prison sentences are getting

[2:07:42] very, very long and they should

[2:07:43] be because the people that do

[2:07:44] this, they target vulnerable

[2:07:46] people and they steal our most

[2:07:47] important assets. And I love

[2:07:48] talking about this everywhere

[2:07:49] because I want everybody

[2:07:50] out there

[2:07:51] to know if there's anybody,

[2:07:53] anybody that hears me talk and

[2:07:54] is watching this,

[2:07:55] that's thinking

[2:07:56] about doing this, if you do it,

[2:07:57] you may get away with it,

[2:07:59] but if we get you,

[2:08:00] you're gonna go to jail

[2:08:01] for a long time.

[2:08:02] With that said, I can go

[2:08:03] on and on and on with Mr.

[2:08:05] Mayor. I just appreciate y'all

[2:08:06] having me. And I have

[2:08:07] to tell you, before I go, I

[2:08:08] also loved your proclamations.

[2:08:09] They were so heartfelt,

[2:08:11] so warming. It started,

[2:08:12] of course, with the young girl

[2:08:14] that did a great job singing

[2:08:16] the national anthem and

[2:08:18] to see the young lady that's

[2:08:21] 100, that was so touching. And

[2:08:23] I just love the fact that I got

[2:08:25] to witness that. So thank you

[2:08:27] all for doing that.

[2:08:28] >> Well, thank you so very

[2:08:29] much.

[2:08:31] >> I appreciate it. Thank you.

[2:08:33] >> You're a beloved person

[2:08:34] in our County, and you've

[2:08:36] served us for a very,

[2:08:37] very long time,

[2:08:38] and we look forward

[2:08:39] to your every success story.

[2:08:41] So thank you so very much

[2:08:42] for being with us.

[2:08:43] Commissioners, anything for the

[2:08:44] property appraiser?

[2:08:46] >> I just want

[2:08:47] to say a thing, one thing, you

[2:08:49] know, your owner alert program

[2:08:50] and the way that you instituted

[2:08:52] the program has been received

[2:08:54] incredibly well. Almost

[2:08:58] everybody that I talked to,

[2:09:00] when they know about the

[2:09:03] program and they sign up

[2:09:05] to the program,

[2:09:06] they almost turn

[2:09:09] around and say, you know,

[2:09:10] I have a peace

[2:09:12] of mind because they know

[2:09:14] Marty Kiars

[2:09:15] on watch and he's looking

[2:09:17] for anybody who's going

[2:09:19] to be messing

[2:09:21] with their home. And that's

[2:09:23] very, very important, though.

[2:09:27] But for these people to

[2:09:29] actually say that that program

[2:09:31] actually gives them a peace of

[2:09:32] mind is a very good success

[2:09:34] story for the programming that

[2:09:35] you've done. So thank you again

[2:09:37] for doing that.

[2:09:39] >> Thank you, Tom. And thank

[2:09:41] you

[2:09:43] for the great work you do.

[2:09:44] And, you know,

[2:09:46] I'm exceptionally proud

[2:09:48] of our owner alert program.

[2:09:49] And but the reason it's been so

[2:09:50] successful is because we've had

[2:09:51] just fantastic partners in

[2:09:53] Pembroke Pines and the other

[2:09:55] 30 cities because, you know,

[2:09:56] as you know, when you serve

[2:09:58] in public office,

[2:09:59] there's a lot you can do, but

[2:10:01] sometimes the difficulty is

[2:10:02] reaching everybody.

[2:10:04] But there is no people

[2:10:05] with more of a reach to their

[2:10:06] constituency than the local

[2:10:08] elected officials. and the

[2:10:09] reason we have 50% of all of

[2:10:10] the home-stated property owners

[2:10:12] here in Pembroke Pines that

[2:10:13] have signed up is because you

[2:10:14] all have been just such great

[2:10:15] partners

[2:10:16] in helping us publicize it.

[2:10:17] The city has as well. I mean,

[2:10:19] you all allow us to come to a

[2:10:20] few places every single month

[2:10:21] where we're here no matter

[2:10:22] what,

[2:10:24] where people are signing up.

[2:10:26] You've just been great partners

[2:10:27] and that's really the only

[2:10:29] reason it's been as successful

[2:10:30] as it is. So thank you

[2:10:31] for that.

[2:10:32] >> Thank you very much.

[2:10:33] >> Thank you again.

[2:10:34] >> One comment if I could. I

[2:10:35] wanted to thank you Marty.

[2:10:36] for coming out to Sentry

[2:10:37] Village and call him out

[2:10:39] by name, Michael Albeta,

[2:10:40] for what he has done

[2:10:41] with several of my residents

[2:10:42] that did not realize that they

[2:10:43] qualified

[2:10:44] for certain exemptions,

[2:10:45] especially some residents who

[2:10:46] were chronically ill. So I did

[2:10:47] want to thank you for that.

[2:10:48] By the way, the Sentry

[2:10:49] Village Temple wants you

[2:10:51] to speak to them on a Sunday,

[2:10:52] so I need to call you. She's

[2:10:53] putting that

[2:10:54] on your radar.

[2:10:55] >> Thank you. I would be

[2:10:56] honored. And Mike, I also want

[2:10:57] to thank you as well because as

[2:10:58] you know, we have a pretty

[2:10:59] aggressive outreach department.

[2:11:00] It's our mobile exemption

[2:11:01] education. Michael Albet is a

[2:11:02] part of it. And this year

[2:11:03] they'll go to about 1500 events

[2:11:04] because we like to kind of go

[2:11:05] where the people go and where

[2:11:06] you all allow us to go

[2:11:07] to a number

[2:11:09] of different city halls,

[2:11:10] which is very helpful. We also

[2:11:11] been getting into Publixes and

[2:11:12] we of course are in a Publix

[2:11:13] in Pembroke Pines because you

[2:11:14] got us in there. And so thank

[2:11:16] you very, very much.

[2:11:17] >> I cannot tell you the amount

[2:11:19] of people we've been able

[2:11:20] to help there.

[2:11:21] >> We working on Walmart?

[2:11:22] >> Yes, Walmart as

[2:11:23] well. So actually right now

[2:11:25] we're in Publix's, Walmart's,

[2:11:26] Lowe's, and a few others. And I

[2:11:28] just find that to be really

[2:11:29] fantastic because you know,

[2:11:31] it's almost like we're kind of

[2:11:32] like the Girl Scouts. We're

[2:11:34] there, our table set up,

[2:11:35] and people sit down with us and

[2:11:36] we sign them up and it's just

[2:11:37] awesome. So thank you, Mike. I

[2:11:39] really appreciate it. And thank

[2:11:40] you for what you do as well.

[2:11:41] Hey Jay.

[2:11:42] >> How are you sir?

[2:11:44] >> I'm doing good. It's good

[2:11:47] to see you.

[2:11:49] >> It's good to see you too.

[2:11:51] >> Two things. We haven't seen

[2:11:52] each other but I had a

[2:11:55] constituent who became widowed

[2:11:57] and his wife handled all the

[2:12:00] affairs. So the next year the

[2:12:01] property, the envelope comes,

[2:12:04] doesn't know what to do

[2:12:08] with it, inadvertently lost the

[2:12:11] exemption. I contacted your

[2:12:14] office within two weeks. Not

[2:12:16] only was the exemption put back

[2:12:18] in place, but I think it was

[2:12:20] in excess of $8,000 in property

[2:12:22] tax that he had paid was

[2:12:24] returned. He was in shock. So

[2:12:28] thank you

[2:12:31] for that. I just want

[2:12:36] to thank your staff.

[2:12:39] >> Thank you, Jay. And if I

[2:12:40] could just add, I want to thank

[2:12:41] you as well because it's kind

[2:12:42] of like I said just before,

[2:12:44] there's so much we can do

[2:12:45] to help people, but the

[2:12:46] difficulty is reaching

[2:12:47] everybody and we would never

[2:12:48] have been able

[2:12:50] to help that person going

[2:12:51] through the time that she was

[2:12:52] going through if you didn't

[2:12:53] take the time

[2:12:54] to send her our way. So thank

[2:12:55] you for that.

[2:12:56] >> Well, secondly, we always

[2:12:58] encourage our residents to go

[2:13:00] out and vote,

[2:13:01] protect your vote. Perhaps you

[2:13:04] and the supervisor

[2:13:06] of elections could tag team,

[2:13:08] protect your vote,

[2:13:10] protect your property. And this

[2:13:12] way, when they're doing a

[2:13:15] registration drive, right

[2:13:16] near the Broward County, you

[2:13:18] can,

[2:13:20] you can combine the protect the

[2:13:22] house, welcome

[2:13:23] to the neighborhood type

[2:13:25] of thing. Just a suggestion.

[2:13:26] >> It's a great idea. And

[2:13:27] actually

[2:13:28] for a couple reasons. One, when

[2:13:29] people register to vote,

[2:13:30] they can also, like you said,

[2:13:31] they you know,

[2:13:33] protect their house.

[2:13:34] But let's say, for example,

[2:13:35] they don't have a homestead

[2:13:37] exemption. One thing we like

[2:13:38] to look at is,

[2:13:40] are they a voter? Because it

[2:13:41] shows that it's their primary

[2:13:42] residence where their driver's

[2:13:44] license is, too. And so,

[2:13:46] you're right, if we go out

[2:13:47] with Joe Scott's office and

[2:13:48] somebody registers to vote,

[2:13:50] maybe they just bought a home.

[2:13:52] We can actually sign them up

[2:13:53] for a homestead exemption

[2:13:54] at the same time.

[2:13:55] >> So they get

[2:13:56] to vote and they get

[2:13:57] to save money. It's a great

[2:13:58] idea. Thank you, Jay. Thank

[2:13:59] you. I appreciate it.

[2:14:01] >> Thank you so much

[2:14:02] for all the information. And

[2:14:04] thank you for presenting also

[2:14:05] at the League cities event

[2:14:07] recently. There you talked a

[2:14:08] little bit about what's going

[2:14:10] on at the state legislation. I

[2:14:11] was wondering if you could

[2:14:12] present a small bit because I

[2:14:14] know the legislation is

[2:14:15] endlessly changing and we don't

[2:14:16] even, you know,

[2:14:17] we haven't even honed in

[2:14:19] on a budget yet.

[2:14:20] But if you have any kind

[2:14:21] of insight as to how it may

[2:14:23] affect cities like Pembroke

[2:14:24] Pines with the legislation

[2:14:25] they've put forth affecting

[2:14:26] property taxes,

[2:14:27] of course.

[2:14:28] >> No, of course, that's a

[2:14:30] great question and thank you

[2:14:31] for your service, Maria. I was

[2:14:32] very proud when you got

[2:14:33] elected. Just

[2:14:34] like everybody here,

[2:14:35] you worked so hard, walked to

[2:14:36] so many doors and really earned

[2:14:37] it. I think it's really just

[2:14:38] wonderful and I love the fact

[2:14:40] that you brought, you know,

[2:14:41] the really nice people here

[2:14:42] that from, I think, rising,

[2:14:43] Florida rising. I think it's

[2:14:45] amazing that 50%

[2:14:46] of all home workers live here

[2:14:47] in Broward and Miami-Dade.

[2:14:48] That's an incredible number.

[2:14:49] That really is.

[2:14:51] But you're right, you know,

[2:14:52] as you know, there is a lot

[2:14:53] of conversation in Tallahassee

[2:14:54] with regards

[2:14:55] to property tax relief. And

[2:14:57] just a little history, it kind

[2:14:58] of started, you know, a number

[2:14:59] of months ago when there was a

[2:15:01] tweet and Governor DeSantis

[2:15:03] retweeted something that said

[2:15:04] eliminate property taxes. And

[2:15:06] it kind

[2:15:08] of started a big conversation

[2:15:09] in Tallahassee as

[2:15:10] to what they should do

[2:15:12] with regard

[2:15:13] to property taxes. And it was

[2:15:14] interesting watching the

[2:15:16] session this time. The governor

[2:15:17] had advocated

[2:15:18] for the elimination

[2:15:19] of property taxes. The House

[2:15:21] Speaker advocated

[2:15:22] for the reduction

[2:15:23] of the sales tax from 6

[2:15:25] to 5.25%. And the Senate

[2:15:26] President

[2:15:28] at the time advocated

[2:15:29] for a study on the elimination

[2:15:31] of homesteaded property taxes

[2:15:33] and what that would do. So it

[2:15:35] doesn't look

[2:15:36] like anything is going

[2:15:38] to pass this year, of course,

[2:15:39] because it's

[2:15:42] over the budget is about

[2:15:43] to be finalized. But the

[2:15:44] House Speaker did put together

[2:15:46] a select committee with regard

[2:15:47] to studying somebody to put

[2:15:48] on the ballot. And it looks

[2:15:50] like what they all seem

[2:15:51] to be focused

[2:15:53] on is homesteaded property

[2:15:54] taxes at this time. I haven't

[2:15:55] seen anything new with regard

[2:15:57] to commercial property taxes or

[2:15:58] commercial assessed values.

[2:16:00] And so there are a number of

[2:16:01] different proposals that were

[2:16:03] put out there. One, the speaker

[2:16:05] looked at a $500,000 homestead

[2:16:07] exemption. We did run the

[2:16:08] numbers on that. And what was

[2:16:10] interesting

[2:16:11] about that is if that were

[2:16:12] to pass, Yes, people would save

[2:16:14] a lot of money

[2:16:16] in their taxes,

[2:16:17] but conversely,

[2:16:18] a significant amount of the

[2:16:20] revenue that you all collect

[2:16:21] would go away. For example,

[2:16:23] the county commission would

[2:16:24] lose about 30% of its revenue

[2:16:25] and the cities would lose a

[2:16:27] greater portion. I think if I

[2:16:28] remember Cooper City was

[2:16:29] about 60% of its revenue,

[2:16:31] which is a big number. So I do

[2:16:32] believe that something will be

[2:16:34] put on the ballot in November

[2:16:35] of 2026. It just depends

[2:16:37] on how big it's going

[2:16:38] to be and what they're going

[2:16:40] to target. And, you know, I

[2:16:42] think one thing that would make

[2:16:44] it very hard, you can't really

[2:16:46] eliminate property taxes

[2:16:48] without replacing it

[2:16:50] with something else. There's

[2:16:53] about $55 billion of property

[2:16:54] taxes are collected statewide

[2:16:56] throughout the state of

[2:16:58] Florida. And those $55 billion

[2:16:59] fund your most important

[2:17:00] services, your police, your

[2:17:02] fire, it funds all, all your

[2:17:03] entire general fund is funded

[2:17:04] through,

[2:17:06] advocating property taxes. And

[2:17:07] so if you were

[2:17:09] to eliminate everything,

[2:17:10] you would have

[2:17:11] to increase the sales tax

[2:17:13] to possibly 12%, 13%,

[2:17:14] or they would have

[2:17:15] to put an income tax

[2:17:17] on the ballot. I don't think

[2:17:18] any of that is on the table.

[2:17:20] So I do believe that they may

[2:17:21] put something on the ballot

[2:17:22] that's more targeted towards

[2:17:24] targeted relief so that people

[2:17:26] can continue to be able

[2:17:27] to function as a government,

[2:17:29] but maybe provide people some

[2:17:30] opportunities. And I'll just

[2:17:31] give you one example

[2:17:33] of one proposal that Marie

[2:17:34] Woodson Marie Woodson is one of

[2:17:36] my most favorite state

[2:17:38] representatives on the face of

[2:17:39] the earth. I think she has a

[2:17:41] portion of Pembroke Pines.

[2:17:42] >> Yes.

[2:17:44] >> And she's on the select

[2:17:45] committee, it's a 37 member

[2:17:47] committee that's actually

[2:17:48] looking

[2:17:50] at property tax relief. And a

[2:17:51] proposal that she's proposing

[2:17:52] that she's bringing to them is

[2:17:54] to give targeted relief where

[2:17:56] it's needed. And it's really

[2:17:58] needed

[2:17:59] with first time home buyers.

[2:18:01] They're the ones that really

[2:18:02] see the big increases in

[2:18:04] property tax because if you've

[2:18:05] been in your property

[2:18:07] for a long time,

[2:18:08] you're protected by the Save

[2:18:09] Our Homes assessment cap,

[2:18:11] so your taxable value is much,

[2:18:12] much lower than your market

[2:18:14] value. But somebody that's

[2:18:15] never owned a home before,

[2:18:17] they buy a property, they pay

[2:18:18] at the top values. They have

[2:18:20] very large increases

[2:18:21] in their taxes. So one thing

[2:18:23] that she's proposing,

[2:18:24] for example, is a super-sized

[2:18:25] homestead exemption for a

[2:18:26] first-time homeowner that

[2:18:28] basically says that the first

[2:18:29] year you would get a 30%

[2:18:30] reduction

[2:18:31] of your market value up to

[2:18:32] $250,000. that would start you

[2:18:34] at a pretty big chunk that you

[2:18:35] would have some relief. And

[2:18:37] what's neat about her proposal

[2:18:38] is it's not revenue neutral,

[2:18:39] but the cities and the counties

[2:18:41] wouldn't lose any money. And

[2:18:42] the reason being is because the

[2:18:43] person that buys the property

[2:18:44] is probably buying

[2:18:46] from a person like me or

[2:18:48] yourself that had been

[2:18:49] in their homes

[2:18:50] for a long time. And, you know,

[2:18:52] and because they're getting

[2:18:53] that exemption, they're, you

[2:18:55] know, I guess they're not,

[2:18:56] they won't be paying,

[2:18:58] less than what we paid

[2:18:59] for ours,

[2:19:01] if that makes sense. So the

[2:19:03] cities won't be getting

[2:19:04] additional revenue, they just

[2:19:06] won't lose any revenue. I think

[2:19:07] something

[2:19:09] like that is very targeted. It

[2:19:10] could actually help the people

[2:19:12] that really need it and also do

[2:19:13] it in a way that doesn't

[2:19:14] handicap local governments

[2:19:15] being able to operate

[2:19:17] in a way that they need to

[2:19:18] for the people. And so I think

[2:19:19] there may be some things

[2:19:21] on the ballot in '26. I'm just

[2:19:22] hoping that whatever they put

[2:19:24] on there is targeted,

[2:19:25] that helps the people that

[2:19:26] needs to help, and also gives

[2:19:27] our cities and our counties and

[2:19:29] our schools the ability

[2:19:30] to continue operating

[2:19:32] in the way that they need to,

[2:19:33] to make this the best place,

[2:19:34] the best state to live

[2:19:35] in the country.

[2:19:36] >> Mr. Property Appraiser

[2:19:37] again, thank you so very much

[2:19:38] for your very comprehensive

[2:19:39] presentation and we always look

[2:19:41] forward to seeing you and thank

[2:19:42] you again.

[2:19:43] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank

[2:19:44] you so much.

[2:19:50] >> Okay, now we have the

[2:19:51] District 1 and 4, Natalie

[2:19:53] Belmonte, Great Yards Award.

[2:19:54] Commissioners, if you'll join

[2:19:55] me.

[2:20:09] >> I'd like to invite the

[2:20:10] Graham family and the

[2:20:12] Mirabella family down

[2:20:14] to the podium.

[2:20:35] >> How you doing?

[2:20:38] >> Congratulations. I think

[2:20:39] you've got a great job.

[2:20:41] >> He's got a great job.

[2:20:42] >> Right ahead.

[2:20:48] >> So while I'm queuing this

[2:20:50] up, Mayor. Family from

[2:20:56] District 4. Okay,

[2:20:58] but we will get this one.

[2:21:02] >> Yep.

[2:21:04] >> So, Mayor, if you look

[2:21:05] at the screen right now,

[2:21:07] this was from last month. They

[2:21:08] weren't able to attend,

[2:21:10] but you can see this is in

[2:21:12] District 4. This is the

[2:21:14] mirabel family. It's just a

[2:21:16] beautiful house. They did a

[2:21:17] phenomenal job

[2:21:19] of promillads and a bunch

[2:21:20] of different material

[2:21:21] in here. This is over in

[2:21:24] District 4 in the Encantada

[2:21:26] neighborhood. And then we have

[2:21:28] the Graham family. And again,

[2:21:31] I mean, just going above and

[2:21:32] beyond.

[2:21:34] I know it, Commissioner. But

[2:21:35] we're just so fortunate

[2:21:36] everybody, they put this time

[2:21:38] into their yard and just It

[2:21:39] really reflects

[2:21:40] in our community.

[2:21:42] So we're really proud.

[2:21:43] >> Well, that's wonderful. So

[2:21:45] what's your secret

[2:21:47] to this beautiful yard? What's

[2:21:48] the secret?

[2:21:49] >> It's hard work. Lots

[2:21:50] of money.

[2:21:52] >> He's the one that does the

[2:21:56] work.

[2:21:57] >> So who gets the 50 bucks?

[2:21:59] You or you? I think Home Depot

[2:22:00] ends up with it

[2:22:01] in the long run, but

[2:22:03] Congratulations, beautiful

[2:22:05] home.

[2:22:08] >> Touching the hands of

[2:22:09] greatness. Amen. Let's take a

[2:22:10] photo,

[2:22:12] please.

[2:22:16] >>[PICTURE TAKING]

[2:22:24] >> Thank you very much.

[2:22:31] >> Mayor, in August we'll

[2:22:32] have our district 2 and our

[2:22:33] district 3 winner

[2:22:34] since we don't,

[2:22:36] we're not meeting in the month

[2:22:38] of July. So we'll have two more

[2:22:41] next month.

[2:22:44] >> Are there representatives

[2:22:47] from the drainage districts

[2:22:48] here? Okay, if you can come

[2:22:49] forward. So we're getting

[2:22:50] into hurricane season,

[2:22:51] everybody. And

[2:22:52] in preparedness,

[2:22:54] I asked representatives

[2:22:55] from the South Broward drainage

[2:22:56] district and also from the

[2:22:57] South Florida Water

[2:22:58] Management District

[2:22:59] to give us an update on where

[2:23:01] we stand and where they stand

[2:23:03] in terms of preparedness and

[2:23:05] how we can work together

[2:23:06] to get

[2:23:08] through this hurricane season.

[2:23:09] So if you can state your name

[2:23:12] and affiliation and we'll begin

[2:23:13] the presentation.

[2:23:16] >> Thank you, Mayor. My name is

[2:23:17] Julio Tejeda with South

[2:23:19] Florida Water Management

[2:23:20] District. I handle their

[2:23:22] external affairs. It's

[2:23:23] basically just their

[2:23:24] communications

[2:23:26] between you guys,

[2:23:28] the local government level,

[2:23:29] county level,

[2:23:31] with our district.

[2:23:32] >> Welcome.

[2:23:33] >> Thank you very much. So,

[2:23:34] like I said, good evening,

[2:23:36] basically, mayor and

[2:23:37] Commissioners, City Mayor,

[2:23:39] City Manager as well. So let's

[2:23:41] begin with a little bit

[2:23:42] of background, a little bit

[2:23:44] of History, why we are here.

[2:23:46] So in 1926 and 1928, we had two

[2:23:48] devastating hurricanes. So that

[2:23:49] was the Great Miami Hurricane.

[2:23:51] and the Lake Okeechobee

[2:23:52] hurricane. These hurricanes

[2:23:54] caused a great deal

[2:23:58] of devastation,

[2:24:00] caused the dikes

[2:24:01] around the lake

[2:24:04] to basically break,

[2:24:05] and that water flowed south,

[2:24:07] causing great deaths. About

[2:24:09] over 2,000 deaths happened

[2:24:11] during that time frame. Lots

[2:24:12] of devastation to crops,

[2:24:14] housing, multiple,

[2:24:16] multiple damages

[2:24:18] on that. so due to this, the

[2:24:20] Army Corps of Engineers decided

[2:24:22] to work on the largest

[2:24:23] infrastructure project

[2:24:25] of the time. This was the

[2:24:27] Central and Southern Florida

[2:24:29] Flood Control and the Hoover

[2:24:31] Dike. So in that history, so

[2:24:36] in 1949, this new system needed

[2:24:40] to be maintained. There needed

[2:24:42] to be some sort of an agency

[2:24:44] to take care

[2:24:46] of this system afterwards,

[2:24:48] operate it,

[2:24:51] manage it. once the Army Corps

[2:24:53] developed it. So in 1949, the

[2:24:55] legislature brought

[2:24:57] into existence a Central and

[2:24:58] Southern Florida Flood

[2:25:00] Control District. This was

[2:25:01] tasked to basically operate

[2:25:03] this new system and improve it

[2:25:04] over time. A little bit later

[2:25:06] on in 1972, those duties were

[2:25:08] greatly expanded, allowing us

[2:25:10] to do a little bit more work

[2:25:12] and basically be able

[2:25:14] to manage that along with that.

[2:25:15] There was a definite need to

[2:25:18] put a little more flood control

[2:25:20] into the rest of the of

[2:25:23] Florida. So there was five

[2:25:24] additional drainage districts

[2:25:25] created. So water management

[2:25:27] districts. So 1977, that's the

[2:25:30] big day. That's when we

[2:25:35] officially got renamed from

[2:25:37] Central and Southern Florida

[2:25:39] Control District to South

[2:25:40] Florida Water Management

[2:25:43] District. who we are today. We

[2:25:47] manage 18, 000 square miles.

[2:25:49] That's 31 of the state's total

[2:25:50] land area and 16 counties

[2:25:52] overall. So here we go. So here

[2:25:55] is our governing board. This

[2:25:56] governing board basically

[2:25:57] dictates how we operate,

[2:25:59] what we do,

[2:26:00] and basically how we can help

[2:26:02] during flood times and how we

[2:26:03] keep everything operating.

[2:26:05] on all those times. These guys

[2:26:06] are appointed

[2:26:08] by the governor and they come

[2:26:09] from a little bit

[2:26:10] of different walks. Some

[2:26:11] of them are former military,

[2:26:13] some of them are landowners,

[2:26:14] some of them come

[2:26:16] from the environmental realm.

[2:26:17] So a little bit going back

[2:26:18] here. So we have 2,000 plus

[2:26:21] miles of levees and berms that

[2:26:23] we managed, 900 upwards of 900

[2:26:26] flood control infrastructure.

[2:26:27] So that would be structures and

[2:26:30] 89 of those would be pump

[2:26:34] stations. So you can see here a

[2:26:41] little bit of difference how

[2:26:46] the berms we have monitoring

[2:26:50] stations and how that those

[2:26:52] structures operate overall. So

[2:26:55] to get a little more technical

[2:26:56] background, so we have what are

[2:26:58] called gated structures. These

[2:27:00] structures only allow water

[2:27:02] to move to gravity. So

[2:27:04] basically as that tide comes

[2:27:06] down, water within the canal as

[2:27:07] it's rising, we are able

[2:27:09] to release it. Once that sea

[2:27:11] level starts to come up,

[2:27:12] like we're having a little bit

[2:27:14] of sea level rise every year,

[2:27:16] that potential of water release

[2:27:18] is we're losing it. We're not

[2:27:20] able to release as much as we

[2:27:21] were able to back when the

[2:27:23] original structure was created.

[2:27:26] We're currently working

[2:27:27] on upgrading a lot

[2:27:29] of these coastal structures,

[2:27:30] which are currently operating

[2:27:32] as gated structures

[2:27:33] through gravity alone.

[2:27:35] into pump stations. This allows

[2:27:37] us to move water

[2:27:38] through gravity still, but to

[2:27:39] regain that capacity that we've

[2:27:41] lost, we are adding some pumps

[2:27:43] to that. So those are the two

[2:27:45] main type

[2:27:46] of structures that we operate.

[2:27:48] Some of those gated structures

[2:27:50] are being upgraded

[2:27:51] to pump stations. That does not

[2:27:52] mean that we are going

[2:27:54] to move more water,

[2:27:55] increase that capacity

[2:27:57] of release. It is only

[2:27:58] to regain what has been lost

[2:28:00] over the years. so we like

[2:28:02] to refer

[2:28:03] to flood control as a little

[2:28:05] bit of a partnership. So we

[2:28:06] have your local drains. That

[2:28:07] would be your swales, that

[2:28:10] would be your storm drains.

[2:28:11] That is all

[2:28:13] at the local level. That is the

[2:28:15] first basically infrastructure

[2:28:17] that the rain hits as soon as

[2:28:19] it hits the ground.

[2:28:21] Basically, that is your main

[2:28:22] flood control operation.

[2:28:24] From there, it would move to

[2:28:26] either a drainage district or a

[2:28:27] county level Canal. which are

[2:28:29] your smaller canals that you'll

[2:28:32] see along the streets. They're

[2:28:34] smaller, capable

[2:28:36] of moving smaller amounts

[2:28:38] of water out

[2:28:39] of the neighborhood,

[2:28:41] and then they move

[2:28:42] into the primary system,

[2:28:44] which is the first tier system,

[2:28:45] which is what we operate.

[2:28:47] These are your main canals that

[2:28:48] flow west to east,

[2:28:49] moving the large volume of

[2:28:51] water and creating that flood

[2:28:52] control capability. We like

[2:28:54] to say that everything needs to

[2:28:55] move together. your local

[2:28:57] drainage,

[2:28:58] your neighborhood drains need

[2:29:00] to stay clean. The secondary

[2:29:02] system needs,

[2:29:03] those culverts need to stay

[2:29:05] clean so that water can move.

[2:29:07] If not, these things to start

[2:29:09] to back up. We at South

[2:29:10] Florida Water Management

[2:29:12] District, that primary canal

[2:29:14] system is always ready to take

[2:29:15] on water. We're currently and

[2:29:17] constantly doing maintenance

[2:29:19] on that system, making sure

[2:29:20] there's no blockages and

[2:29:23] without, we're ready

[2:29:24] to accept that water coming

[2:29:26] from you guys. so let's give

[2:29:29] you a little bit of background

[2:29:30] in what we do whenever there is

[2:29:31] a storm coming or a heavy rain

[2:29:33] event coming

[2:29:34] like we've had just recently.

[2:29:36] Realistically, we have a

[2:29:38] meteorologist

[2:29:40] at our headquarters in West

[2:29:42] Palm Beach that monitors water

[2:29:44] and storm that's about to drop

[2:29:45] on the district overall any

[2:29:47] of these 16 counties and our

[2:29:48] water managers, which observed

[2:29:49] the,

[2:29:50] the whole operations are able

[2:29:52] to gauge what levels our canals

[2:29:53] are at. Are they

[2:29:54] at their low stage,

[2:29:55] at their high state? Every

[2:29:56] single canal has different

[2:29:58] peaks and different levels. As

[2:29:59] you know, you may know,

[2:30:00] Florida has different levels

[2:30:02] and elevations. We had

[2:30:03] original, you know, those

[2:30:04] streams which are where the

[2:30:06] canals currently lie. So 42

[2:30:07] hours to 48 hours,

[2:30:08] we start that drawdown. We

[2:30:10] start

[2:30:11] to move that water down. As I

[2:30:12] mentioned, due

[2:30:14] to the sea level rise,

[2:30:15] we've had a bit

[2:30:16] of a wrench thrown

[2:30:18] in that works because we've had

[2:30:19] to start drawing

[2:30:21] down a little bit earlier just

[2:30:23] to be able

[2:30:24] to get the proper capacity out

[2:30:26] of those canals. Now, flood

[2:30:27] control. Flood control is a

[2:30:29] little bit complicated when it

[2:30:30] comes to when we get a report

[2:30:31] of flooding. A lot of the

[2:30:33] flooding concerns that we

[2:30:34] receive,

[2:30:36] we get residents calling

[2:30:37] different, you know,

[2:30:38] municipalities calling, hey,

[2:30:39] we're having flooding,

[2:30:40] we're having water backup. And

[2:30:42] then we send a team

[2:30:43] out there and we see, hey,

[2:30:45] the streets flooded out,

[2:30:47] your swells are flooded out,

[2:30:48] water is backing up

[2:30:50] into the streets.

[2:30:51] Realistically how we see it

[2:30:53] at our level since we handle

[2:30:55] the main large primary system,

[2:30:56] we see this as a good location

[2:30:58] for the water to be held. It

[2:30:59] might not be great because

[2:31:00] residents can't move

[2:31:02] around as much but this is

[2:31:03] basically where the water

[2:31:05] moves. Those roads,

[2:31:07] those swales are used to move

[2:31:09] that water funnel it into,

[2:31:10] like I said,

[2:31:12] your neighborhood drains

[2:31:13] into the local canals, and out

[2:31:14] to us. And that's the most

[2:31:15] important thing. As long as

[2:31:17] those drains and that water can

[2:31:18] move, we are good

[2:31:19] to go. A little bit of ponding

[2:31:20] here and there is bound

[2:31:21] to happen

[2:31:22] during very large storms. As

[2:31:23] some of you may know,

[2:31:24] your local drainage may only be

[2:31:25] able to handle so that's your

[2:31:27] storm water system. Your drains

[2:31:28] can only handle

[2:31:29] about five inches of rain

[2:31:31] in a 24-hour period.

[2:31:33] After that, you will start

[2:31:35] to see a little bit

[2:31:36] of water standing

[2:31:37] on that road. so here are some

[2:31:38] of our challenges. As I said,

[2:31:40] you know, those canal blockages

[2:31:41] can happen. Those storm drains

[2:31:42] can back up with leaves,

[2:31:43] branches, different things like

[2:31:44] that that do end up there will

[2:31:45] cause up a large backup. And as

[2:31:47] soon as one

[2:31:48] of those tiers backs up,

[2:31:49] it impacts all the way back.

[2:31:50] So if something

[2:31:52] at the county level or at the

[2:31:53] drainage district level starts

[2:31:55] to back up,

[2:31:56] it you're gonna see it here

[2:31:58] at the local level in your

[2:31:59] neighborhood. so we have a

[2:32:01] annual maintenance plan

[2:32:03] basically going

[2:32:05] through observing trees,

[2:32:06] anything that may be falling

[2:32:08] into the canal, we look

[2:32:09] into the backyards

[2:32:11] of residents, try

[2:32:12] to see what they're planting,

[2:32:13] we do try

[2:32:15] to keep a certain area

[2:32:16] of clearance between that water

[2:32:18] and the residents backyard just

[2:32:19] to avoid anything

[2:32:21] from falling in. And that's

[2:32:23] basically all I have

[2:32:25] for you guys, feel free to ask

[2:32:26] me any questions and that's my

[2:32:27] information there, feel free

[2:32:28] to reach out.

[2:32:29] >> So thank you very much and

[2:32:31] we're very, very thankful. If

[2:32:32] someone from the drainage

[2:32:33] district here as well,

[2:32:35] if you could come forward,

[2:32:36] we're happy to hear from both

[2:32:37] of you. One of the concerns

[2:32:38] that we had when we had

[2:32:39] Tropical Storm ETA was that it

[2:32:41] was reported to us that the

[2:32:44] canals were simply overwhelmed.

[2:32:45] They were simply too high and

[2:32:47] the gravity that the water

[2:32:48] movement relies upon couldn't

[2:32:50] work because it was backed up.

[2:32:51] What are we doing now? Because

[2:32:53] even though they described that

[2:32:54] story as a 1000 year storm,

[2:32:56] was it a hundred year storm or

[2:32:58] 100 year storm? Even at 100

[2:33:00] year storm,

[2:33:02] I don't feel that lucky. And

[2:33:03] we're seeing more and more

[2:33:05] rain. So what are we doing?

[2:33:09] What lessons did we learn

[2:33:11] from that event that we can

[2:33:13] sort of use going forward to

[2:33:16] try and keep those canals lower

[2:33:17] so that our system sort

[2:33:19] of can discharge? Because

[2:33:21] here's the issue. We're so

[2:33:23] close to the,

[2:33:25] we're the last stop on the

[2:33:27] Everglades and you know,

[2:33:30] we're competing with all these

[2:33:31] other cities that are dumping

[2:33:34] water into your canal. And so,

[2:33:37] I'm sort of curious to know

[2:33:40] from your perspective. And then

[2:33:42] I'm going

[2:33:43] to ask drainage district, what,

[2:33:44] what they're doing, what,

[2:33:46] what have you all been doing

[2:33:47] since ETA in order

[2:33:49] to keep that

[2:33:50] from happening again?

[2:33:57] >> So what we've been basically

[2:33:58] doing is, like I mentioned,

[2:33:59] we've been up trying

[2:34:01] to upgrade those structures

[2:34:02] to be able

[2:34:03] to move water not only

[2:34:05] during that low tide,

[2:34:06] but be able to move it 24 hours

[2:34:08] a day with those upgrades

[2:34:10] to have pumps

[2:34:11] in those locations. That's what

[2:34:12] we've been doing mainly

[2:34:14] at the South Florida Water

[2:34:15] Management District. I know

[2:34:17] that the drainage district has

[2:34:18] done a little bit more work

[2:34:20] on their end, but Lewis will be

[2:34:21] able to talk a little bit more

[2:34:22] on that end.

[2:34:23] >> So what are the metrics

[2:34:25] on the improvements

[2:34:26] from your capital projects?

[2:34:27] What are the metrics

[2:34:28] in terms of,

[2:34:29] is there an X amount of

[2:34:30] additional water that you all

[2:34:32] feel that you can move now that

[2:34:33] you weren't be able,

[2:34:34] that you weren't able

[2:34:36] to do then because

[2:34:37] of these improvements? Are

[2:34:38] there metrics associated

[2:34:39] with this?

[2:34:40] >> So there are metrics. I

[2:34:42] don't have them exactly

[2:34:43] off the top of my head,

[2:34:44] but I can get those definitely

[2:34:45] to you to see what the enhanced

[2:34:47] capacity is. Like I said, over

[2:34:48] the years we've lost capacity.

[2:34:49] That discharge capacity that

[2:34:51] originally was built into the

[2:34:52] system has been lost due

[2:34:53] to sea level rise. So the

[2:34:54] amount of time that we have

[2:34:56] to discharge has been lost. But

[2:34:57] I don't have the exact numbers

[2:34:58] for you.

[2:35:00] >> I would appreciate it if you

[2:35:01] could send that over to us,

[2:35:03] Mr. Dodge, if you would,

[2:35:04] if you would, if you would

[2:35:05] receive that and share it

[2:35:07] with the city engineer. I'd

[2:35:09] like to be able to know, I'd

[2:35:10] like the entire commission to

[2:35:12] know what additional capacity

[2:35:13] we can rely on if we get a

[2:35:15] serious flooded storm

[2:35:16] like that. Commissioner

[2:35:18] Hernandez lives

[2:35:19] in a community where.

[2:35:22] >> We were underwater

[2:35:24] for four days after ETA.

[2:35:26] >> Yeah. And I was the district

[2:35:29] commissioner there

[2:35:30] at the time. And it was very,

[2:35:32] very frustrating because

[2:35:34] everybody was running around

[2:35:36] to do this, but doing the best

[2:35:37] that they can. But the canals

[2:35:38] were just so high that the

[2:35:39] drainage. The drainage system

[2:35:41] could not work. The gravity

[2:35:42] didn't allow it. The water was

[2:35:43] above where the

[2:35:45] discharge had to happen. So it

[2:35:47] backed up. I wouldn't even be

[2:35:49] surprised if we got canal water

[2:35:50] coming into.

[2:35:52] >> Mayor, I think.

[2:35:56] >> Didn't the state allocate

[2:36:00] additional pumps?

[2:36:03] >> Yeah, but the pumps went

[2:36:04] to the drainage district.

[2:36:06] Right now, I'm asking him

[2:36:07] about his canals. So that data

[2:36:08] is important for us to have so

[2:36:10] that we can have a better

[2:36:12] assurance of. And I know that

[2:36:15] you guys work hard and these

[2:36:18] storms are difficult and I know

[2:36:20] that you have meteorologists

[2:36:24] and I'm merely an economics

[2:36:25] graduate. However, I have

[2:36:27] to tell you, I believe,

[2:36:29] and I'm not Kreskin,

[2:36:31] but I believe we're going

[2:36:32] to get more rain and I need

[2:36:34] to understand how we are going

[2:36:36] to deal with that

[2:36:38] on some metric level. So if you

[2:36:39] could provide that information.

[2:36:41] I really appreciate it and I

[2:36:42] really, really enjoy your

[2:36:44] presentation. I'm thankful

[2:36:45] for it. If you could come

[2:36:47] forward on behalf of the

[2:36:48] drainage district and offer

[2:36:50] your presentation, then

[2:36:51] commissioners,

[2:36:52] we can open it up for some

[2:36:54] questions and then we have a

[2:36:55] long agenda tonight. Go right

[2:36:59] ahead.

[2:37:00] >> Sure. Good evening, Mr.

[2:37:01] Mayor and Commissioners, City

[2:37:03] Manager, appreciate being here.

[2:37:05] >> Your name

[2:37:07] for the record?

[2:37:09] >> My name's Louis Ochoa,

[2:37:10] district director over at

[2:37:11] South Broward Drainage

[2:37:12] District. I've been

[2:37:13] at the district almost 30

[2:37:15] years, so I'm pretty familiar

[2:37:16] with the growth of Pembroke

[2:37:17] Pines and how it was all

[2:37:19] constructed. Very familiar

[2:37:20] with the overall. So you guys

[2:37:22] asked us to come and talk

[2:37:24] about the Atlantic hurricane

[2:37:25] season. On average

[2:37:27] over the last 30 years,

[2:37:28] we can expect anywhere

[2:37:30] from approximately 14 named

[2:37:32] storms, approximately seven

[2:37:34] hurricanes, and of those, three

[2:37:36] are approximately major

[2:37:37] hurricanes. The many different

[2:37:40] agencies have forecasted

[2:37:42] predictions for 2025 ranging

[2:37:43] from 10 to 19 named storms,

[2:37:45] six to 10 hurricanes and two

[2:37:48] to five

[2:37:50] of them being major hurricanes.

[2:37:51] Since Hurricane Andrew in

[2:37:54] 1992, there have been 13 major

[2:37:58] hurricanes that have hit

[2:37:59] landfall in Florida. In 2024 we

[2:38:01] had two. Hurricane Helene which

[2:38:03] hit Perry, and Hurricane

[2:38:05] Milton which hit Siesta key.

[2:38:07] So that's 13 storms in 32 year

[2:38:09] period. It's about 40% chance

[2:38:11] that one makes landfall. The

[2:38:15] district is an independent

[2:38:17] special taxing district. We

[2:38:19] were established

[2:38:22] by state legislature back in

[2:38:24] 1927. Were governed under

[2:38:26] Chapter 298 of the Florida

[2:38:29] Statutes as a water control

[2:38:31] district. We were originally

[2:38:32] known as the Hollywood

[2:38:34] reclamation district until

[2:38:36] 1986 when our name changed

[2:38:38] to the South Broward Drainage

[2:38:40] District. And we have a seven

[2:38:42] member elected board of

[2:38:44] Commissioners. The local

[2:38:47] drainage district. Our district

[2:38:49] covers portions

[2:38:50] of five cities. At the north

[2:38:53] end we have southwest ranches.

[2:38:55] We cover the majority of

[2:38:57] Pember Pines and majority

[2:38:59] of city of Miramar. We have two

[2:39:01] small slivers, town of Davie

[2:39:02] and the city of Hollywood. Our

[2:39:04] overall area is 72 square

[2:39:06] miles. We have over 7,500 acres

[2:39:08] of lakes and we serve over

[2:39:10] 270,000 residents. Here you'll

[2:39:12] see a slide discussing the flow

[2:39:15] of how your asking

[2:39:16] about flow. So let me explain a

[2:39:18] little bit about the flow. Our

[2:39:20] system is the secondary system

[2:39:21] we discharge into. The primary

[2:39:23] primary system is South

[2:39:26] Florida Water Management

[2:39:27] District canals which is a C11

[2:39:29] canal on Griffin Road. And then

[2:39:31] you have the C9 canal

[2:39:32] along the Dade county line.

[2:39:33] Pembroke Pines, Commissioner

[2:39:34] Rodriguez's own and district

[2:39:35] and a small portion of Chapel

[2:39:38] Trails and Vice Mayor

[2:39:40] Hernandez's zone flow north

[2:39:42] to the C11 canal. Okay. All

[2:39:46] that water flows

[2:39:49] to our SA pump station. We have

[2:39:52] control structures

[2:39:55] with floodgates that go

[2:39:57] into that canal system. All the

[2:39:59] other areas,

[2:40:02] the other districts flow south

[2:40:04] into the C9 canal. They go

[2:40:05] through our pump stations, our

[2:40:08] S1, S2, S7, all the way

[2:40:09] across the board from

[2:40:11] University drive

[2:40:13] to towards US 27. As Julio

[2:40:16] mentioned,

[2:40:20] a three tiered system. They're

[2:40:21] the primary. We communicate

[2:40:23] with them

[2:40:25] during storm events. They

[2:40:27] monitor the meteorological

[2:40:28] conditions. They coordinate

[2:40:29] with the local drainage

[2:40:30] districts and municipalities.

[2:40:32] On many occasions when there's

[2:40:33] a storm event notified,

[2:40:34] they'll have a 298 call and

[2:40:37] they'll bring everybody in.

[2:40:38] They'll talk about the

[2:40:39] conditions that we're

[2:40:41] expecting, what to expect.

[2:40:42] They'll talk about their

[2:40:44] operations and how much they're

[2:40:45] going to be able

[2:40:46] to lower the water,

[2:40:48] what the conditions are, if

[2:40:49] there's any restrictions that

[2:40:50] we may have or any other agency

[2:40:52] may have and we can answer

[2:40:53] questions back and forth and

[2:40:54] talk

[2:40:56] with the the water managers

[2:40:57] on plans in order

[2:40:58] to improve the discharges. So

[2:41:00] we are the secondary and the

[2:41:02] tertiary system is the city and

[2:41:03] the homeowner associations.

[2:41:05] The role of the district is to

[2:41:07] maintain and operate the

[2:41:09] secondary system. We provide

[2:41:11] water quality and discharge

[2:41:13] control behind our pump

[2:41:15] stations and control

[2:41:17] structures. We handle

[2:41:18] permitting and inspections

[2:41:20] within our jurisdictional

[2:41:22] boundaries. We monitor and

[2:41:24] operate our local facilities,

[2:41:26] our pump stations,

[2:41:27] control structures. We

[2:41:29] coordinate with South

[2:41:30] Florida. We respond to resident

[2:41:32] concerns and most importantly

[2:41:35] the pre storm and post storm

[2:41:36] activities that we're going

[2:41:37] to talk about. The tertiary

[2:41:40] System is an important role,

[2:41:42] like Julio mentioned, has

[2:41:44] to do

[2:41:45] with your local drainage, you

[2:41:47] know, your roadway drainage,

[2:41:49] drainage within the community

[2:41:51] behind commercial developments

[2:41:52] like you see here

[2:41:55] in this picture. That's behind

[2:41:56] the BJ's shopping center. They

[2:41:59] were not familiar

[2:42:01] with how their system worked.

[2:42:04] Water 3ft high

[2:42:07] in the retention areas, a foot,

[2:42:10] 2 foot of water

[2:42:12] in the parking lots. Staff went

[2:42:13] out there, found the structure

[2:42:14] that was blocked up,

[2:42:16] cleaned it up,

[2:42:18] and you can see the before and

[2:42:19] after

[2:42:21] of what that looks like. It's

[2:42:22] important that everybody be

[2:42:23] familiar with how their

[2:42:25] drainage system works. Look

[2:42:26] at the plans. Where does all

[2:42:27] this water go? What do we have

[2:42:28] to do

[2:42:30] to keep it open and flowing?

[2:42:31] It's very, very important. As

[2:42:32] part of that, the district has

[2:42:33] a five year operation and

[2:42:34] maintenance permit that we have

[2:42:35] all the property owners or

[2:42:37] subdivisions prepare and

[2:42:38] basically they go through,

[2:42:39] have an engineer come out,

[2:42:41] verify their system is fully

[2:42:42] functional,

[2:42:44] have a contractor clean line,

[2:42:45] clean structures. We go out

[2:42:46] to a joint inspection,

[2:42:48] make sure it's all

[2:42:49] like it needs to be, and

[2:42:50] basically give them a clean

[2:42:51] bill of health

[2:42:52] for the next five years, making

[2:42:54] sure their system is

[2:42:55] functioning as it was

[2:42:56] in the initially intended.

[2:42:58] Okay. As mentioned, the

[2:43:00] district's main function is

[2:43:01] stormwater management. Our goal

[2:43:03] is always

[2:43:04] to keep the stormwater moving,

[2:43:05] flowing, keep,

[2:43:06] keep it operational. We have

[2:43:08] seven stormwater pump stations,

[2:43:09] all automated, all serving

[2:43:11] Pembroke pines. We have 27

[2:43:14] gravity fed floodgates

[2:43:15] in our system. 25

[2:43:16] of those serve Pembroke pints.

[2:43:18] We do aquatics and vegetation

[2:43:19] removal

[2:43:22] of district owned water bodies

[2:43:23] at our pump stations and

[2:43:24] control structures. We handle

[2:43:26] culvert inspections in the

[2:43:28] primary system and again the

[2:43:29] five year operation and

[2:43:31] maintenance program. Our

[2:43:32] primary pump stations, as I

[2:43:34] mentioned, are automated 24/7.

[2:43:36] They're redundant systems.

[2:43:37] When I say redundant,

[2:43:39] for example, on the left you

[2:43:41] have our S1 pump station on

[2:43:42] University Drive. It has four

[2:43:43] pumps. Of the four pumps,

[2:43:44] three of them can be operated

[2:43:47] at a certain time depending

[2:43:49] upon the levels of the canal.

[2:43:51] One of them is a backup. So you

[2:43:52] can always rotate engines out.

[2:43:54] We have a SCADA system. It's

[2:43:56] our telemetry,

[2:43:57] it's our eyes and ears,

[2:43:58] where we can monitor

[2:43:59] from our phones,

[2:44:02] computer and have readings

[2:44:04] on water elevations,

[2:44:05] the amount

[2:44:07] of rainfall that we get,

[2:44:09] if the pumps are on,

[2:44:11] what the RPMs are

[2:44:13] on the engine, the oil

[2:44:15] pressure, our gear drives are

[2:44:16] functioning, our diesel

[2:44:18] engines, which are our cat,

[2:44:20] 3304, 3306s, 3126s. You know,

[2:44:22] we have emergency backup

[2:44:23] generators at each

[2:44:25] of the stations and we also

[2:44:26] have a mobile backup generator

[2:44:28] as well. Pump station flow

[2:44:30] capacity RS1 that we talked

[2:44:31] about can move 47,500 gallons

[2:44:34] per minute. We're allowed

[2:44:36] to discharge three pumps

[2:44:40] at a given time into the C9,

[2:44:42] so our ranges go from 31,000

[2:44:44] gallons per minute per pump up

[2:44:45] to RSA, which is 75,000 gallons

[2:44:47] per minute. Or we can run two.

[2:44:48] So total pump capacity

[2:44:49] into the C9 Canal is 628,650

[2:44:51] gallons per minute. When

[2:44:52] everything is operational and

[2:44:54] into the C11, we can do

[2:44:55] 150,000 gallons per minute

[2:44:57] to our pump station. That does

[2:44:59] not include our control

[2:45:00] structures that are gravity

[2:45:02] fed.

[2:45:03] >> Okay.

[2:45:05] >> We have an ongoing

[2:45:07] maintenance program where we

[2:45:08] pull our pumps

[2:45:10] on a seven year cycle. So we'll

[2:45:11] take the pumps out at the end

[2:45:13] of the pumping season,

[2:45:15] take them out,

[2:45:17] get them looked at. So we'll

[2:45:18] pull two, three depending upon,

[2:45:20] depending on the site,

[2:45:21] there could be four a year.

[2:45:23] And they'll go out, they'll go

[2:45:25] to the shop, they'll replace

[2:45:26] bearings, check the line shaft,

[2:45:28] anything else that could be

[2:45:29] damaged or repaired, the

[2:45:31] impellers or what have you get

[2:45:33] taken care of at that time.

[2:45:35] Along with the pump station

[2:45:36] maintenance, we do routine

[2:45:38] startups and testing. We do

[2:45:39] maintenance inspections and

[2:45:42] then we do updates

[2:45:43] to our facilities,

[2:45:44] whether it be our roof,

[2:45:47] our exhaust systems, control

[2:45:48] panels and engine rebuilds

[2:45:51] after 6,000 to 8,000 hours

[2:45:53] of operation. We talked

[2:45:56] about automated floodgates.

[2:45:59] Floodgates are a gravity,

[2:46:01] it's a gravity fed system. So

[2:46:05] if you're,

[2:46:11] if your downstream is lower,

[2:46:13] your upstream is higher,

[2:46:15] you can open up the gate,

[2:46:17] move the water. And again,

[2:46:18] we can do that physically

[2:46:20] on site. We can do that

[2:46:21] from our phone. We can do that

[2:46:23] pretty much anywhere. I mean

[2:46:24] I've been

[2:46:26] in the district almost 30

[2:46:27] years. I've monitored and open

[2:46:29] things

[2:46:30] in my honeymoon. I've done

[2:46:31] stuff in Canada, I've done

[2:46:33] stuff all over the United

[2:46:34] States. So whenever I've

[2:46:36] traveled. So we're definitely

[2:46:37] on call here. Referring

[2:46:39] to tropical storm ETA, you see

[2:46:40] one of Silver Lakes floodgate

[2:46:42] on the left, you have our

[2:46:44] normal, normal conditions,

[2:46:45] what the gate looks like and

[2:46:48] the tropical storm ETA. You can

[2:46:49] see the vast amount of water,

[2:46:50] how high the water got

[2:46:53] during that storm. Now that

[2:46:54] storm,

[2:46:55] that specific area was reported

[2:46:57] to have more than 20 inches

[2:46:59] of rain. It is more than 100

[2:47:01] year storm event. We're talking

[2:47:03] about a 200 plus because

[2:47:05] the 20 inches plus fell

[2:47:06] in the 48 hour instead of a 72

[2:47:08] hour period. Our SCADA system,

[2:47:10] I talked about that being our

[2:47:12] eyes and ears.

[2:47:13] Our SCADA system allows us

[2:47:16] to check water levels upstream,

[2:47:18] downstream, lets us open gates,

[2:47:20] lets us turn pumps on,

[2:47:23] turn pumps off,

[2:47:27] identify what the RPMs are

[2:47:29] in engine, if it's running. We

[2:47:31] talked

[2:47:33] about getting phone calls. We

[2:47:35] have an extensive alarm system.

[2:47:36] So if I get 2 inches of rain at

[2:47:38] any location where we have our

[2:47:40] telemetry system, we'll get a

[2:47:42] phone call no matter what time

[2:47:44] of night,

[2:47:45] no matter where you are. And

[2:47:46] that'll be continuous. Whether

[2:47:48] it be pump station one,

[2:47:50] whether it be pump station

[2:47:52] three, everyone can keep going

[2:47:54] off as long as you got the

[2:47:56] calls. And you'll have

[2:47:58] to clear them in order to make

[2:48:00] sure that you acknowledge that

[2:48:02] the alarm was taken. So again,

[2:48:04] we have alarms for rainfall.

[2:48:05] If our pumps are running

[2:48:07] for more than 30 minutes

[2:48:09] because they turn

[2:48:10] on automatically,

[2:48:12] we get a phone call. If the

[2:48:14] station is supposed to turn on

[2:48:15] or it's running and it fails,

[2:48:17] we get a phone call. So a lot

[2:48:18] of different features,

[2:48:20] alarms that we are privy

[2:48:22] to because of our telemetry

[2:48:23] systems. A big benefit that the

[2:48:25] district has water level

[2:48:27] recorders. We talked

[2:48:28] about how important it is to

[2:48:30] know the water level so you can

[2:48:32] manage the water. We have 29 at

[2:48:34] our pump stations and control

[2:48:36] structures and we have 15

[2:48:38] remote locations. So a total

[2:48:39] of 44 water level recorders.

[2:48:41] 2003, the district was

[2:48:42] fortunate to have some grant

[2:48:44] funding and we purchased two

[2:48:45] mobile pumps which you'll see

[2:48:47] here deployed

[2:48:49] in the pictures. We have a 24

[2:48:51] inch and a 20 inch pump. These

[2:48:52] pumps can be pulled

[2:48:54] out and it's a form

[2:48:56] of resiliency. If one

[2:48:58] of our pumps were to go down

[2:49:00] at our pump station, we can

[2:49:01] deploy the pump and be able

[2:49:04] to move water. Now the one

[2:49:06] caveat with these pumps is I

[2:49:07] can't just take it to a

[2:49:09] neighborhood and just drop it

[2:49:11] in the, in the lake and lower

[2:49:13] the level. We actually have

[2:49:14] to have the,

[2:49:16] the area prepared. You have to

[2:49:17] have a bottom that the pump is

[2:49:20] going to sit in. It's got

[2:49:22] to be submerged

[2:49:23] by a certain amount of water

[2:49:24] before you can turn the pump

[2:49:26] on and operate. You also have

[2:49:27] to be able

[2:49:28] to have enough discharge hose

[2:49:30] to get it across from point A

[2:49:31] to point B. So it's not ideal

[2:49:32] to put across University Drive

[2:49:33] or other roadways. So things

[2:49:35] have to be prepared and planned

[2:49:36] ahead and be ready to go.

[2:49:37] That we've

[2:49:39] done all of our stuff at

[2:49:40] our pump stations and we're

[2:49:42] looking at other alternative

[2:49:43] locations where

[2:49:44] we could put these pumps.

[2:49:45] We talked about aquatics and

[2:49:47] vegetation control. This is a

[2:49:48] big issue when it comes

[2:49:51] to moving water. You can see

[2:49:52] the vast amount

[2:49:53] of vegetation that's

[2:49:55] in the canal. We have to remove

[2:49:57] that vegetation so it doesn't

[2:49:59] block up our flow path. You

[2:50:01] know those trash racks,

[2:50:03] those boards that you see there

[2:50:05] in front of the pump station.

[2:50:08] We either move manually

[2:50:10] with our rakes. We have a wedo

[2:50:12] boat that will move vegetation

[2:50:13] to central Broward Water

[2:50:15] control District. We also have

[2:50:17] a grapple truck. We have two

[2:50:19] of them actually that come out,

[2:50:21] remove vegetation, debris.

[2:50:23] We're on call 24/7.

[2:50:24] Like I mentioned. Staff will go

[2:50:26] out up to 35 mile an hour

[2:50:27] winds. They're instructed

[2:50:30] to go out and do what we need

[2:50:32] to do. Culvert inspections. We

[2:50:34] talked

[2:50:36] about primary inspections. So

[2:50:38] we looked at the system when it

[2:50:40] gets installed other than

[2:50:41] permitting. We're out there

[2:50:42] observing the construction and

[2:50:44] gets all put in place. Here you

[2:50:45] have

[2:50:47] on your left the city center

[2:50:48] on seventh apartments,

[2:50:50] the entrance. Those are dual

[2:50:51] 96 inch culverts that were

[2:50:53] installed there. And then there

[2:50:55] was a 10 foot 6 inch culvert

[2:50:57] that was installed on Pembroke

[2:50:59] road and our C4 canal which is

[2:51:01] approximately. It's the pipe

[2:51:02] that goes between Grand Palms

[2:51:04] and Silver Shores underneath

[2:51:06] Pembroke Road. Just

[2:51:07] on the east, on the west side

[2:51:09] of the overpass SPD we

[2:51:10] performed a slip liner. We were

[2:51:12] able to get some funding

[2:51:13] for this large slip liner.

[2:51:15] This is

[2:51:17] at our S1 pump station. This is

[2:51:20] triple 96 inch pipes. Just

[2:51:22] north of our pump station. We

[2:51:24] had some pipe failure,

[2:51:26] some pipes getting older,

[2:51:28] fatigued

[2:51:30] over time and we needed

[2:51:31] to do a repair. We got some

[2:51:33] emergency funding

[2:51:34] in and we're able

[2:51:35] to fuse together 84 inch pipe,

[2:51:36] 113ft long and float in three

[2:51:38] different three new pipes

[2:51:39] in which are going

[2:51:40] to basically serve,

[2:51:42] serve that area for at least

[2:51:43] 100 years. We identify choke

[2:51:44] points. When I say choke points

[2:51:45] in canal systems. This picture

[2:51:47] actually is in the city of

[2:51:48] Pembroke Pines and Southwest

[2:51:49] Ranches. Excavator there. And

[2:51:51] then you see here on the left

[2:51:52] another control structure.

[2:51:53] Storm mode. We talked

[2:51:55] about storm mode. Once a named

[2:51:56] storm or storm is out there,

[2:51:57] you get that, that cone,

[2:51:59] that cone is out there.

[2:52:00] Everybody jumps

[2:52:02] into active mode, right? So you

[2:52:04] have, I mean out here through

[2:52:05] the years we've seen anytime

[2:52:07] two to four storms a year.

[2:52:08] We're buying water,

[2:52:10] we're buying batteries,

[2:52:12] we're buying plywood,

[2:52:13] we're getting prepared for

[2:52:15] storms because we know what's

[2:52:16] coming, right? So we coordinate

[2:52:18] with South Florida Water

[2:52:20] Management district. Again the

[2:52:21] 298 calls. Drawing down the

[2:52:23] water levels is extremely

[2:52:24] important. The lower you get

[2:52:26] the level, the more capacity,

[2:52:28] extra capacity you're gonna be

[2:52:29] able to generate, right? So

[2:52:31] there's what's called control

[2:52:33] elevation,

[2:52:36] which is where we pump the

[2:52:37] water down to get the water.

[2:52:39] That's where our pumps

[2:52:40] automatically shut off. Then

[2:52:41] with coordination with South

[2:52:43] Florida, if they give us the

[2:52:44] green light in order to create

[2:52:46] additional storage capacity, we

[2:52:47] will discharge a couple days if

[2:52:49] we can, and get the levels

[2:52:50] down 6 inches below, 8 inches

[2:52:52] below. Whatever we're allowed

[2:52:54] to do to get the levels down to

[2:52:56] create that additional storage

[2:52:58] capacity throughout the overall

[2:52:59] basin. We talked about 7,500

[2:53:01] acres

[2:53:03] of lakes. I dropped a little

[2:53:04] bit of water in

[2:53:06] at our pump station,

[2:53:08] but it's not just. It's got to

[2:53:10] go all the way the overall

[2:53:11] area. So it's a large area you

[2:53:13] got to cover in order

[2:53:14] to move the water. So our

[2:53:15] facilities, South Florida

[2:53:17] Water Management District, we

[2:53:18] coordinate with them and

[2:53:19] continuous monitoring the

[2:53:20] storm. And also we communicate

[2:53:22] with the city of Pembroke

[2:53:23] Pines. Post storm is very

[2:53:25] similar. Monitoring the

[2:53:26] facilities,

[2:53:28] inspecting the canals to make

[2:53:30] sure that there's no blockages

[2:53:33] in the canals, tree debris,

[2:53:36] what have you. We have

[2:53:37] contracts post storm contracts

[2:53:39] in place

[2:53:43] with vendors already secured

[2:53:45] for debris removal and

[2:53:46] cleaning. So if there is a

[2:53:48] named storm,

[2:53:50] we can communicate

[2:53:52] with them and get them

[2:53:54] on call and ready to go. So if

[2:53:57] something comes in,

[2:53:59] if we can't handle it,

[2:54:01] we can get a contractor

[2:54:03] to take care of it. We respond

[2:54:04] to resident concerns,

[2:54:06] and then we do our post storm

[2:54:07] drawdowns, get everything back

[2:54:08] down to control. That being

[2:54:09] said, I can answer all your

[2:54:10] questions.

[2:54:12] >> I want to thank you

[2:54:13] for a great presentation. I

[2:54:15] want to thank you both for

[2:54:16] everything that you and your

[2:54:18] team does

[2:54:19] to keep us high and dry. One of

[2:54:20] the things that I have seen is

[2:54:22] shopping center parking lot

[2:54:23] flooding. It's a huge problem

[2:54:25] in western Pembroke Pines,

[2:54:26] but I've seen it in eastern

[2:54:27] Pembroke Pines as well.

[2:54:28] What are we doing to keep

[2:54:29] those drains clear? I'll give

[2:54:31] you an example. The public's

[2:54:32] on 184th after any even, you

[2:54:35] know, not a name

[2:54:36] storm, but after a

[2:54:38] hard rain that puddles up

[2:54:43] for days. What are we

[2:54:48] doing to get these shopping

[2:54:51] center owners

[2:54:52] to clear that out? Because you

[2:54:53] got senior citizens,

[2:54:55] you got other folks,

[2:54:56] you lose the parking,

[2:54:58] it becomes a problem going

[2:54:59] through the area. What are we

[2:55:02] doing to get that fixed?

[2:55:05] >> Those areas obviously are

[2:55:06] the property owner's

[2:55:07] responsibility right now. That

[2:55:08] being Said the Publix that

[2:55:09] you're referring to,

[2:55:11] we have met with the property

[2:55:12] manager and they've done some

[2:55:14] improvements to their system.

[2:55:15] Behind the Publix, there's a

[2:55:17] large retention area goes

[2:55:18] across the whole width

[2:55:19] of the parking lot from 184 all

[2:55:21] the way to like,

[2:55:23] 1-80-ballpark. So all that area

[2:55:25] is flat area, barely pitched.

[2:55:27] And they let the grass grow.

[2:55:28] They don't maintain it. You

[2:55:30] know, you get tree clippings

[2:55:32] after tree clippings or grass

[2:55:34] mowing clippings, trash. It all

[2:55:36] builds up. They've done some

[2:55:37] modifications, I want to say

[2:55:39] about four or five years ago,

[2:55:41] and actually brought a

[2:55:43] contractor out and cleaned

[2:55:45] out the swale at our request

[2:55:46] in order to help improve that.

[2:55:48] But it's a continual cycle.

[2:55:50] They need

[2:55:52] to do.

[2:55:56] >> I gotta tell you, do you

[2:55:58] have, like, inspectors that go

[2:55:59] out and look at these? I don't

[2:56:01] know. I'm asking, like,

[2:56:03] after a hard rain, to see where

[2:56:05] the huge puddling is, because

[2:56:06] it happens there constantly.

[2:56:12] >> We have staff that goes

[2:56:14] out to. There are certain

[2:56:16] shopping centers that we know

[2:56:18] are prone for flooding. West

[2:56:20] Fork is one. There's one

[2:56:22] Monday. We had three and a half

[2:56:24] inches of rain over at Silver

[2:56:25] Lakes, Floodgate Pines

[2:56:26] Boulevard and 178th area.

[2:56:29] Across from that is the Pollo

[2:56:31] Tropical, the Jiffy Lube, the

[2:56:33] Chevron. That whole shopping

[2:56:35] center was flooded. There was

[2:56:37] 18 inches of water

[2:56:39] across the parking lot. Staff

[2:56:41] went back in there. There's a

[2:56:43] retention area in the back

[2:56:44] where basically all the water

[2:56:46] flows out

[2:56:48] into this large holding pond.

[2:56:51] Right. So it holds all this

[2:56:53] water, and once the water gets

[2:56:54] a certain elevation,

[2:56:56] it meets its water quality,

[2:56:58] it's allowed

[2:57:00] to discharge and go out. But

[2:57:01] what happens is they're not

[2:57:03] maintaining their system. So

[2:57:05] they've got oak trees lined

[2:57:06] on both sides.

[2:57:07] >> So is that something you

[2:57:08] have jurisdiction over? Is that

[2:57:10] a code system? Does any code

[2:57:11] matter? What is that? Who gets

[2:57:12] them to fix this problem?

[2:57:14] >> Well, it can be a joint

[2:57:16] thing. I mean, it's really the

[2:57:18] property manager. Right. So

[2:57:19] what we're going to do,

[2:57:20] I had staffed in 2ft

[2:57:22] of water removing leaves off of

[2:57:23] this grate so that the parking

[2:57:24] lot would drain. We're meeting

[2:57:26] with the property manager

[2:57:27] to have a conversation

[2:57:28] with them. Now, the problem is

[2:57:30] property managers change every

[2:57:31] six months. So if they're not

[2:57:32] meeting with the people doing

[2:57:34] their landscaping, they're just

[2:57:35] blowing the leaves and the

[2:57:36] clippings into these areas and

[2:57:37] not bagging it continually,

[2:57:39] it's going to continue.

[2:57:40] >> I'm wondering if you would

[2:57:41] be willing to meet

[2:57:43] with the representatives with

[2:57:45] code and see what it is that

[2:57:48] they can do together. I'm

[2:57:50] constantly getting complaints

[2:57:51] from all parts of Pembroke

[2:57:52] Pines that

[2:57:54] after strong rains, there are

[2:57:55] parking lots that are flooded

[2:57:56] for days, for days. And there

[2:57:58] are drains there. So

[2:58:00] something's not.

[2:58:02] >> To interrupt,

[2:58:09] but if there's flooding,

[2:58:11] if there's flooding going on,

[2:58:12] we'd like to know about it

[2:58:14] because we're very familiar

[2:58:15] with the drainage system.

[2:58:17] >> So, see,

[2:58:18] that's why we have plans

[2:58:19] to meet with the code

[2:58:20] enforcement officer.

[2:58:21] >> Maybe what we need is a

[2:58:23] survey after a hard rain and so

[2:58:25] that you can see it.

[2:58:26] But if you get even an inch

[2:58:28] of rain, which happens here

[2:58:29] frequently,

[2:58:31] you'll see it's all

[2:58:33] over the city. So, Mr. Dodge,

[2:58:34] could you make a

[2:58:36] note to do that? Thank you

[2:58:37] very, very much. And I want

[2:58:39] to thank you all

[2:58:41] for what you do.

[2:58:43] Commissioners.

[2:58:45] >> Thank you, ma'am. Mr.

[2:58:46] Ochoa, thank you. 30 years

[2:58:49] already, huh?

[2:58:50] >> Yes, sir.

[2:58:52] >> So that means you were here

[2:58:53] for the no name Storm in

[2:58:56] 2000.

[2:58:57] >> Yes, sir.

[2:58:59] >> That was the last time that

[2:59:01] University Canal breached.

[2:59:04] Remember, cover the entire

[2:59:06] road. As a result of that, the

[2:59:07] drainage district started

[2:59:09] digging deeper. FDOT was just

[2:59:13] here

[2:59:15] at the last meeting talking

[2:59:18] about the improvements,

[2:59:20] and they've committed

[2:59:21] themselves to working with you

[2:59:23] to ensure that water shedding

[2:59:25] isn't going to be an issue.

[2:59:26] It's a shame the mayor's not

[2:59:28] here to hear this, but North

[2:59:29] Perry Airport is a huge

[2:59:30] collection of water. And if it

[2:59:31] wasn't for that airport,

[2:59:33] Pines Village and the

[2:59:34] surrounding area would have a

[2:59:35] foot or more

[2:59:36] in their driveway. The issues

[2:59:38] out west, 20 inches of rain.

[2:59:39] You're not a magician,

[2:59:40] certainly not a miracle worker.

[2:59:41] And I was a little disappointed

[2:59:42] years ago when the drainage

[2:59:43] district was being blamed

[2:59:45] for that historic event.

[2:59:47] Because when you have

[2:59:49] hydrostatic pressure coming

[2:59:51] from the lake,

[2:59:52] when you have wind coming out

[2:59:54] of the southeast,

[2:59:56] the water is not going

[2:59:57] to drain out to Miami. The wind

[2:59:58] has to stop. So our senior

[3:00:00] chief meteorologist John

[3:00:01] Morales at NBC 6 has made

[3:00:02] national news. Not sure if you

[3:00:06] saw the story or not, but he

[3:00:11] said yesterday that because

[3:00:15] of the gutting of the

[3:00:18] National Weather Service, that

[3:00:20] we will not be able

[3:00:22] to predict where storm is going

[3:00:24] to turn like Dorian. He said

[3:00:27] specifically, if we had Dorian

[3:00:30] today, based

[3:00:33] on the staffing level,

[3:00:36] which is between 18

[3:00:40] to 40% reduction

[3:00:42] in workforce,

[3:00:45] we won't know if Dorian is

[3:00:46] hitting South Florida. He also

[3:00:48] said that 17%

[3:00:50] of the weather balloons,

[3:00:52] the ones that drop all the

[3:00:53] data, will not be available.

[3:00:55] He also said that the hurricane

[3:00:57] hunters won't be going

[3:00:59] out as often. So quite frankly,

[3:01:01] gentlemen,

[3:01:03] I don't know how you're going

[3:01:04] to do your job,

[3:01:05] because it's based on

[3:01:07] prediction. I don't know how

[3:01:08] the meteorologists that you

[3:01:10] have on staff in Palm beach is

[3:01:12] going to be able

[3:01:13] to do their job, unless you're

[3:01:15] a magician or a psychic.

[3:01:17] Because there's one thing that

[3:01:19] can't change, okay? And that's

[3:01:21] the Everglades. That watershed

[3:01:22] flow is only going

[3:01:24] to go so fast, historically.

[3:01:26] I know that Griffin Road

[3:01:27] Pumping Station can do what?

[3:01:31] 40 million gallons in

[3:01:33] an hour? Is it in an hour.

[3:01:35] I've seen that discharge 60

[3:01:37] million gallons a minute. A

[3:01:39] minute. 40 million a minute, 1

[3:01:40] million. Let alone what's

[3:01:42] happening

[3:01:43] with the gravity fed stuff. So

[3:01:45] historically, if you lived

[3:01:46] in florida in the 1920s,

[3:01:48] if you were east of US 1, you

[3:01:49] were above ground. Everything

[3:01:52] else is a swamp,

[3:01:54] ladies and gentlemen. So what

[3:01:56] this agency does on a daily

[3:01:59] basis is nothing short

[3:02:01] of a miracle,

[3:02:02] considering how many McDonald

[3:02:05] cups get thrown out the window

[3:02:06] and how many drains get stuck.

[3:02:08] It's so bad with the change

[3:02:09] in environment. We have

[3:02:12] manatees now in Pembroke

[3:02:13] Pines. We know this. They're

[3:02:15] actually breaching our canals.

[3:02:17] And they're living

[3:02:18] in our canals because

[3:02:20] of sea level rise and the

[3:02:22] change

[3:02:25] in the overall environment. So

[3:02:27] I applaud what you are doing. I

[3:02:29] am praying that this 40%

[3:02:32] number, we don't see it this

[3:02:33] year because the federal

[3:02:35] government has absolutely put

[3:02:37] us in danger. And I don't see

[3:02:39] any changes happening. When the

[3:02:41] head of FEMA doesn't know that

[3:02:42] there's a thing called

[3:02:45] hurricane season, I don't know

[3:02:48] how that's even possible. So I

[3:02:50] appreciate what you're doing as

[3:02:53] far as. And I also want

[3:02:56] to shout out to

[3:02:59] Representative Robin

[3:03:01] Bartleman. When she first got

[3:03:02] elected, I asked her to get

[3:03:04] with Ronnie Bergeron and learn

[3:03:07] about the water network and how

[3:03:09] it worked. And so we were able

[3:03:12] to get these temporaries.

[3:03:14] But you're right,

[3:03:17] they're limited. If it's

[3:03:18] underwater, you can't do it.

[3:03:20] We are in a region. So unless

[3:03:23] everything works correctly,

[3:03:24] there will be areas, God

[3:03:27] forbid, Coral Springs, if they

[3:03:28] lose power, they're

[3:03:30] like a salad bowl. They're just

[3:03:32] going to fill up. But

[3:03:34] at least here in Pembroke

[3:03:36] Pines, we have an

[3:03:37] administration, Carl Kennedy

[3:03:39] and staff who vacuums drains

[3:03:41] constantly. I want to thank

[3:03:43] Carl Kennedy for that. And

[3:03:46] here's the thing, colleagues.

[3:03:48] We just heard from the Board

[3:03:50] of Adjustment tonight. The

[3:03:52] biggest thing that's impacting

[3:03:55] our city is the Paving

[3:03:56] of driveways. It's the uneven,

[3:03:58] the non permitted work causing

[3:04:02] hills and valleys holding this

[3:04:05] water. And we've already heard

[3:04:07] the testimony of Mr. Ochoa that

[3:04:10] commercial property owners

[3:04:12] aren't doing their part

[3:04:15] to maintain property. So yes,

[3:04:17] we have a responsibility to

[3:04:19] ensure that our streets are

[3:04:21] passable,

[3:04:23] that our houses are livable

[3:04:25] in the shortest amount

[3:04:27] of time, allowable

[3:04:29] under science. But you can't

[3:04:31] make the water go any faster if

[3:04:32] you're pumping it out off of

[3:04:34] Griffin Road. That's head

[3:04:36] pressure that's going

[3:04:38] to keep our lakes up. So you

[3:04:39] can only do so much. You can

[3:04:41] displace it, but it has

[3:04:42] to be moved to the south. And

[3:04:44] until they get Tamiami fixed,

[3:04:45] we have a major issue in the

[3:04:47] Everglades right now. The water

[3:04:48] is just backing up. If we have

[3:04:50] another Etta, God forbid we had

[3:04:52] an Etta for a longer period

[3:04:54] of time,

[3:04:56] that water can't get out. It's

[3:04:58] going to back up against

[3:05:00] Tamiami and you're going

[3:05:02] to find overflow

[3:05:04] in all the industrial areas

[3:05:06] along U.S. 27. So we have a

[3:05:08] crisis right now when it comes

[3:05:10] to understanding how this is

[3:05:11] going to work. And I,

[3:05:13] and I'm asking the governor to

[3:05:15] ensure that y' all have the

[3:05:17] resources necessary that

[3:05:19] there's enough advance notice

[3:05:20] for a declaration of emergency

[3:05:22] so you can do your job, because

[3:05:23] I don't know how else we're

[3:05:26] going to be able to do it. We

[3:05:28] can't rely on the federal

[3:05:30] government this hurricane

[3:05:32] season. Thank you.

[3:05:34] >> Thank you, Commissioner. I

[3:05:35] appreciate those comments and

[3:05:37] like to remind people that when

[3:05:38] we occasionally go

[3:05:40] to use the men's room, we can

[3:05:42] hear every word that's said

[3:05:44] because there are speakers back

[3:05:45] there. So I didn't miss a word.

[3:05:47] And I think part

[3:05:49] of the discussion that's,

[3:05:51] that's happening here is that

[3:05:53] we rely on them

[3:05:55] to keep us dry. That's their

[3:05:58] job. It's their only job. And

[3:06:00] so what we need

[3:06:02] to do is we need to figure

[3:06:04] out how we can team together.

[3:06:06] Not to say, oh, shucks,

[3:06:09] there's nothing we can do

[3:06:11] but how to come up

[3:06:12] with a plan.

[3:06:14] If they need land

[3:06:15] to store water, then that has

[3:06:17] to be confronted. If they need

[3:06:18] more equipment

[3:06:20] to improve conveyance,

[3:06:21] then that's what needs

[3:06:23] to be done. But it can't just

[3:06:24] be that we don't meet and

[3:06:26] organize. And so we know that

[3:06:29] there are pockets

[3:06:30] of flooding all through the

[3:06:32] city. I think we need to

[3:06:34] inventory them because what I'm

[3:06:35] hearing is that sometimes we're

[3:06:37] not aware of what those are.

[3:06:38] Let's identify what those are,

[3:06:40] and let's start chipping away

[3:06:42] at how we can improve that

[3:06:43] situation. And that's what this

[3:06:45] discussion is about.

[3:06:47] Commissioner Rodriguez, you had

[3:06:51] your hand up.

[3:06:53] >> No, I didn't. Okay, well,

[3:06:55] I was going to say something,

[3:06:56] but it was along the lines

[3:06:57] of what Commissioner Short

[3:06:58] said.

[3:07:00] >> Okay, Commissioner Good.

[3:07:02] >> Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. I

[3:07:03] gotta say...

[3:07:09] >> I see your hand. Go ahead,

[3:07:13] Commissioner Good.

[3:07:15] >> I didn't know if I had my

[3:07:17] hand.

[3:07:18] >> No, go ahead.

[3:07:19] >> I want to say to both

[3:07:20] of you, great presentation.

[3:07:22] Lewis. In particular, very

[3:07:23] impressive you presenting the

[3:07:25] South Broward Drainage

[3:07:26] District. I know that the,

[3:07:28] the South Florida Water

[3:07:30] Management District is working

[3:07:31] with the Army Corps of

[3:07:33] Engineer. And I do also know

[3:07:35] that even Broward county has

[3:07:36] even chipped

[3:07:38] in a couple million dollars

[3:07:39] to accelerate some

[3:07:41] of these programs that deal

[3:07:42] with the, you know,

[3:07:44] your pumps that are discharging

[3:07:46] at certain points

[3:07:47] to move the water

[3:07:49] within your canal system. So

[3:07:50] kudos to that. And I know that,

[3:07:53] you know, South Broward Drains

[3:07:57] District, and I say this

[3:07:58] with confident knowledge, is

[3:08:00] probably the best drainage

[3:08:02] district in all of Broward

[3:08:04] County. The way that you were

[3:08:06] designed, the way that you

[3:08:08] operate, very, very the best.

[3:08:10] It is the best in class in all

[3:08:13] of Broward County. So thank you

[3:08:14] for that. You know, act of God

[3:08:15] is an act of God. But Mayor, I

[3:08:17] gotta say one thing. I'm very

[3:08:18] impressed

[3:08:20] with your deductive approach to

[3:08:22] this because I do believe that

[3:08:24] we can help

[3:08:26] in regards when you

[3:08:27] start moving more towards the

[3:08:29] code support. One

[3:08:31] of the things that was spoken

[3:08:34] to and kind of went over,

[3:08:36] but it's real, it's called that

[3:08:37] five year operating permit,

[3:08:39] you know, whenever the

[3:08:41] district, you know,

[3:08:43] accepts design and the

[3:08:46] construction,

[3:08:49] you know, every five years,

[3:08:51] these owners

[3:08:53] of the systems are supposed to

[3:08:56] come and get a recertification.

[3:08:57] And Mr. Ochoa went ahead and

[3:09:01] expressed how some of that is.

[3:09:03] But sometimes there's not

[3:09:04] compliance, you know,

[3:09:06] and you could chase

[3:09:08] after these people for years

[3:09:09] and years and years and years.

[3:09:11] I don't know specifically what

[3:09:13] the Sopper Hour Drainage

[3:09:16] District's enforcement arm is,

[3:09:17] but I don't know that you have

[3:09:19] a code enforcement magistrate

[3:09:21] situation sort of

[3:09:22] like what the city does. And if

[3:09:24] there's a way for code

[3:09:25] to connect with that where

[3:09:26] there's clearly a failed

[3:09:28] operation,

[3:09:30] the city might be able

[3:09:32] to help that compliance

[3:09:34] by bringing it into the city's

[3:09:35] code enforcement process

[3:09:38] in order to be able

[3:09:39] to get that owner

[3:09:41] to get that shopping plaza

[3:09:42] to be more responsible to what

[3:09:44] the drainage district has given

[3:09:46] them an operating permit for.

[3:09:48] So I mean, I hope that that

[3:09:49] dialogue works well

[3:09:51] into the advantage

[3:09:53] of being able to allow

[3:09:55] as Sapphire Drainage

[3:09:58] District partners with South

[3:10:00] Florida Water Management

[3:10:01] District. I would love to see

[3:10:02] the south us actually us as a

[3:10:04] city partner with the south

[3:10:06] by our drainage district

[3:10:08] to assist

[3:10:11] in that compliance element.

[3:10:12] Because I think that is, Mr.

[3:10:13] Mayor, what you picked up on

[3:10:18] and you did that intuitively

[3:10:21] and that was really excellent.

[3:10:25] And I will support anything

[3:10:28] like that that comes

[3:10:29] before this commission.

[3:10:31] >> Thank you, Commissioner.

[3:10:33] Vice Mayor, anything?

[3:10:35] I want to thank you

[3:10:37] for your presentation. There is

[3:10:38] a one resident who wants

[3:10:40] to speak on this item. And then

[3:10:41] we're going to move to

[3:10:43] Commissioner to. I have one

[3:10:44] item for request to speak. And

[3:10:46] then that's three minutes. And

[3:10:48] then we're going to move on

[3:10:49] to Vice Mayor's item for which

[3:10:51] there are people here. And I

[3:10:52] want to thank you all

[3:10:54] for being patient.

[3:10:56] >> Hi, my name is Gil Lerner.

[3:10:57] My address is 19. I'm actually

[3:10:58] going

[3:11:00] to use my commercial prop 6900

[3:11:01] Pembroke Road. And the reason

[3:11:02] I'm using a commercial property

[3:11:03] is because Commissioner

[3:11:05] Schwartz was sort of co-

[3:11:07] mingling the responsibilities

[3:11:09] of the federal government as

[3:11:13] well as the private property

[3:11:15] owners. Now, as a private

[3:11:18] property owner and an

[3:11:21] engineering contractor that

[3:11:22] does install those catch basins

[3:11:24] and drain lines,

[3:11:26] there's a very easy solution to

[3:11:28] it because I've got a car wash

[3:11:30] at one of my gas stations and

[3:11:31] it requires a catch basin.

[3:11:33] Now, every month they. I'm

[3:11:35] sorry,

[3:11:38] every quarter I am required

[3:11:39] to report to Broward County.

[3:11:42] I'm sure you may be familiar

[3:11:43] with it that the catch basin

[3:11:46] has been pumped out,

[3:11:47] cleaned and is

[3:11:49] in good working order. Now that

[3:11:51] can simply be applied

[3:11:52] to the standard catch basins

[3:11:54] to each property. Now, I don't

[3:11:56] know that the Broward county

[3:11:57] has the capacity

[3:11:59] to do those inspections,

[3:12:02] but I do believe the city does.

[3:12:03] And it's very easy to just go

[3:12:05] out annually just

[3:12:06] like the fire inspections.

[3:12:07] Make sure those drains have

[3:12:09] been cleaned out. And an

[3:12:10] inspector has signed, an

[3:12:12] engineering contractor has

[3:12:13] signed off that those drain

[3:12:15] catch basins and drain lines

[3:12:17] are not caked and operating

[3:12:18] accordingly. So there's nothing

[3:12:20] parking lot floods. And if

[3:12:22] there are violate the guy let

[3:12:24] make sure he fixes his drains.

[3:12:26] That's part

[3:12:28] of owning property. If I own a

[3:12:30] property, I gotta change my

[3:12:31] drainage and it cost me

[3:12:32] $200,000. That's the part

[3:12:34] of doing business. And I really

[3:12:35] think code enforcement could

[3:12:37] assist Broward county if they

[3:12:38] don't have the wherewithal

[3:12:40] to do those annual inspections,

[3:12:41] at least

[3:12:44] on a quarterly basis.

[3:12:46] >> Thank you very,

[3:12:47] very much.

[3:12:50] >> Yes, that's just my two

[3:12:52] pennies to the try

[3:12:54] to situation. Thank you.

[3:12:57] >> Thank you very much. And I

[3:12:58] want to thank you both

[3:12:59] for your your presentations.

[3:13:00] And we'll be coordinating

[3:13:01] together to see what else we

[3:13:03] can do and let's hope for a

[3:13:05] drier summer than than we had

[3:13:06] before. Now we're going

[3:13:07] to be moving on to requests

[3:13:10] from the public. Mr. Lerner,

[3:13:13] you are recognized. You put

[3:13:15] in a form.

[3:13:17] >> I just wanted to thank the

[3:13:19] chair, the dream of district

[3:13:20] for doing the great job that

[3:13:21] they do. Okay, thank you.

[3:13:22] >> You're

[3:13:25] on your name and address

[3:13:27] for the record.

[3:13:28] >> Again, my name is Gil

[3:13:29] Lerner. My address is 1958

[3:13:30] Northwest 74th Avenue,

[3:13:31] Pembroke Pines, FL 33024. I'm

[3:13:34] here tonight due to. It doesn't

[3:13:37] bring me joy to have to come up

[3:13:39] here and say what I've got to

[3:13:43] say tonight. I've had a

[3:13:45] violation on my property and

[3:13:48] it's been well over a year. I

[3:13:49] said it's creeping on,

[3:13:52] maybe even two years. And I'm

[3:13:54] trying to understand how code

[3:13:58] had arrived to my property.

[3:14:00] Since the laws have changed,

[3:14:02] it's got to come

[3:14:04] from a person. No more

[3:14:05] anonymous tits and asking the

[3:14:09] code. The head of code, Larry

[3:14:13] Diaco, I believe is his name. I

[3:14:15] sent him an email not too long

[3:14:17] ago after a lean certification

[3:14:20] hearing that we couldn't make

[3:14:21] due to my mother having an

[3:14:23] emergency surgery. And I was

[3:14:26] going to request a rehearing,

[3:14:30] but I don't know how to go

[3:14:32] about that. I was going

[3:14:35] to ask the clerk how

[3:14:37] to do that, but moving on,

[3:14:39] I asked him for transparency on

[3:14:41] the matter and he said he

[3:14:43] needed 10 more days. That put

[3:14:46] me in a position where I had

[3:14:47] to petition the courts

[3:14:48] to invoke my appellate rights

[3:14:50] to the lien certification. And

[3:14:52] with that being said, I believe

[3:14:54] that was strategically planned

[3:14:56] to ask for 10 more days

[3:14:58] to get an answer to me

[3:15:00] about transparency. Now I still

[3:15:01] haven't gotten the answer.

[3:15:03] Whether he's cooking one up or

[3:15:05] not, I don't know and I don't

[3:15:07] really care. But it's obvious

[3:15:09] to any average minded

[3:15:11] American

[3:15:15] that what is going

[3:15:19] on is not right. Now

[3:15:22] for two years to have or let's

[3:15:23] just call it a year and then

[3:15:25] to ask for 10 more days

[3:15:28] to come up with an answer for

[3:15:29] transparency. I don't think he

[3:15:32] himself, as the head of the

[3:15:33] code enforcement department

[3:15:34] knows how that anonymous tip

[3:15:36] came about and why

[3:15:39] administration opened it up.

[3:15:41] I'd love to have answers

[3:15:43] to it. And Mr. Carl Kennedy

[3:15:44] does a wonderful job.

[3:15:46] Although South Florida Water

[3:15:48] Management District was here

[3:15:50] and their inspector was out at

[3:15:51] my property and completely

[3:15:53] debunked the assessment that an

[3:15:57] issue I had on my property was

[3:15:59] in compliance. If you do a

[3:16:02] survey,

[3:16:04] the numbers don't lie. And it

[3:16:06] will. With all due respect.

[3:16:09] Sometimes people make mistakes.

[3:16:11] I don't know what it is,

[3:16:14] but I don't think the South

[3:16:17] Florida Water Management

[3:16:19] District makes mistakes. And I

[3:16:21] would love

[3:16:22] to present that email,

[3:16:26] but I haven't been able to.

[3:16:28] >> Thank you. The city

[3:16:29] attorney.

[3:16:30] >> Yes, Mayor, Just

[3:16:31] to give you a quick reference,

[3:16:32] the speaker before you this

[3:16:33] evening has chosen his

[3:16:34] destination. He has retained

[3:16:35] legal council.

[3:16:37] We are in the middle,

[3:16:38] that being.

[3:16:40] The city, with a litigation

[3:16:42] matter now with Mr. Lerner and

[3:16:44] his lawyer. The matter is

[3:16:45] currently pending in the

[3:16:46] Broward Circuit Court. I would

[3:16:47] caution the members

[3:16:49] of the commission

[3:16:50] into responding

[3:16:51] to any questions this evening

[3:16:52] at the advice of your council

[3:16:53] in connection

[3:16:54] with preparing for, and also

[3:16:55] in preparing the city for

[3:16:56] whatever actions it will take

[3:16:58] with regard to the matter

[3:16:59] currently pending and will be

[3:17:00] guided accordingly. If you

[3:17:01] wouldn't mind, Mr. Mayor,

[3:17:03] commission. Thank you.

[3:17:04] >> Thank you for your

[3:17:06] testimony. I have three

[3:17:08] additional

[3:17:10] members signed up

[3:17:13] to speak,

[3:17:14] but they're all signed up

[3:17:15] to speak on the FPNL matter.

[3:17:17] Those are Deborah Wilson,

[3:17:18] Etta, Yvonne Fernandez and

[3:17:19] Alberto Salvi. So if you don't

[3:17:23] mind, I'm going to call

[3:17:25] Commissioner Vice Mayor

[3:17:26] Hernandez's item up,

[3:17:27] and then you can testify as

[3:17:29] part of the item. Is that fair

[3:17:31] enough? Okay. So, Vice Mayor,

[3:17:32] you're recognized.

[3:17:37] >> Well, it's a discussion

[3:17:38] item. And possible action

[3:17:39] regarding FPL seeking a new

[3:17:40] rate increase. This is item

[3:17:42] number 15, Mayor.

[3:17:44] >> Yes.

[3:17:45] >> Okay. Briefly. And I want

[3:17:47] to thank you all

[3:17:48] for coming out, particularly

[3:17:49] because I made the mistake

[3:17:51] of telling you it'll be fast.

[3:17:52] You'll come at the beginning

[3:17:54] of the agenda. That's my bad. I

[3:17:55] didn't realize that the

[3:17:57] drainage district is here. I

[3:17:58] owe you all coffee. And I'm

[3:18:00] sorry. I'm very sorry. So I did

[3:18:03] want to mention. And I spoke

[3:18:07] with Yvonne and she'll be up

[3:18:08] here. But also I wanted

[3:18:10] to thank our city manager and

[3:18:12] City Attorney, Sam Gorn,

[3:18:13] for speaking with me

[3:18:15] on this. I have a very. I want

[3:18:17] to be very clear what I'm.

[3:18:19] What I'm trying

[3:18:21] to do here tonight. Number one,

[3:18:22] as a city commissioner, I have

[3:18:23] zero authority. I am not a

[3:18:25] member of the Public Service

[3:18:28] Commission. This is not an item

[3:18:29] before the City Commission.

[3:18:31] This is not an Item before

[3:18:32] Broward county, it's

[3:18:33] before the Public Service

[3:18:34] Commission. However, each

[3:18:37] of us up Here represents

[3:18:39] roughly 47,000 residents.

[3:18:41] 13 of mine are in

[3:18:43] Century Village. The mayor

[3:18:45] knows it well. He represented

[3:18:46] it for probably 20 years.

[3:18:48] 13,000 residents in 141

[3:18:50] buildings. Who actually Marty

[3:18:52] Kiara was here earlier and

[3:18:54] mentioned the challenges with

[3:18:55] Century Village properties

[3:18:57] because before the Surfside

[3:18:58] state laws changed in the wake

[3:19:00] of that tragedy, the average,

[3:19:07] and this is according

[3:19:09] to the president of the Master

[3:19:11] association for Century

[3:19:12] Village residents there were

[3:19:14] paying approximate numbers of

[3:19:16] about $350 per month in

[3:19:17] maintenance fees and insurance

[3:19:19] rates. That number is now north

[3:19:20] of 700, some a little bit

[3:19:21] higher, some on the lower end

[3:19:23] of 700. And then I have other

[3:19:25] residents who live in single

[3:19:26] family. I didn't forget you

[3:19:27] guys. I'm just focusing a lot

[3:19:29] on Century Village because

[3:19:31] they're the ones that I know

[3:19:32] are most impacted who live

[3:19:33] on fixed incomes. And I am not

[3:19:35] somebody that is here

[3:19:36] to be overly critical of FP and

[3:19:37] L. I know some

[3:19:40] of you read my op ed in the

[3:19:41] Sun Sentinel or heard me

[3:19:43] on radio this morning. My first

[3:19:45] job out of college was with

[3:19:46] FPL. I've had different stints

[3:19:49] where I've worked with FPL,

[3:19:50] not in house,

[3:19:52] but as a contractor, as a

[3:19:54] consultant, and during

[3:19:56] Hurricane Irma when I worked

[3:19:57] for former Miami Dade Mayor

[3:19:59] Carlos Jimenez. We were

[3:20:00] inseparable in that emergency

[3:20:02] operations center. I want

[3:20:03] to be very clear and stated

[3:20:05] here on the record record,

[3:20:06] just like I did in that opinion

[3:20:07] piece. I think FPL is an

[3:20:09] exceptional company that is

[3:20:10] committed

[3:20:11] to renewable and clean energy.

[3:20:12] And they have very, very,

[3:20:15] very talented folks that I know

[3:20:16] personally, many of them,

[3:20:17] whether they work in Juneau

[3:20:19] beach or South Florida. So I,

[3:20:20] I would ask. Obviously some

[3:20:21] of us are frustrated

[3:20:22] with the rate increase request,

[3:20:24] but I'm not here to bash

[3:20:25] Florida Power and Light. I

[3:20:27] respect them very,

[3:20:29] very much as a company.

[3:20:30] However, I do need

[3:20:32] to as a commissioner,

[3:20:34] give my residents voice

[3:20:36] and have this discussion item.

[3:20:38] I'll let the conversation

[3:20:39] flow because there's five

[3:20:41] of us up here. We obviously

[3:20:42] haven't been able

[3:20:44] to have a discussion

[3:20:45] about this before. My intent is

[3:20:47] for us to hear directly

[3:20:49] from them. And Yvonne will

[3:20:51] speak. She's with AARP who

[3:20:52] opposes the increase. But also

[3:20:54] a possible action which it's

[3:20:55] here. Whether it's a letter,

[3:20:57] whether it's a resolution, I

[3:20:58] don't know. I can't say that

[3:21:00] it's up to the five of us. But

[3:21:02] I did want even though again,

[3:21:04] it's got nothing to do

[3:21:05] with the City of Pembroke

[3:21:07] Pines in the sense we cannot

[3:21:08] approve or reject it or amend

[3:21:09] it. I heard from enough

[3:21:11] residents that I wanted them

[3:21:12] to have this opportunity

[3:21:14] to speak and for us to consider

[3:21:16] whether or not there is some,

[3:21:18] even if it's largely symbolic

[3:21:20] action that we take as a city

[3:21:22] commission, Mr. Mayor.

[3:21:25] >> Commissioners, anyone wants

[3:21:27] to speak on this?

[3:21:29] We'll do one round,

[3:21:30] and then we'll listen

[3:21:32] to the public. And then,

[3:21:33] if you wish,

[3:21:34] we can have another round.

[3:21:35] Commissioner Good.

[3:21:37] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I

[3:21:39] believe that the path that the

[3:21:40] vice mayor is on

[3:21:43] a good path

[3:21:46] to consider. The only one

[3:21:48] of the questions I have

[3:21:49] on this is,

[3:21:50] when is the FPL going

[3:21:53] before the PSC

[3:21:55] for the rate increase?

[3:21:57] >> If from what I received,

[3:21:58] the information I received from

[3:22:00] the company and I have been

[3:22:02] speaking with them is in

[3:22:03] August. However, obviously,

[3:22:04] there are public hearings that

[3:22:06] take place and motions back and

[3:22:08] forth because it is a judicial

[3:22:09] body that they're in front of

[3:22:11] with the PSC. But as

[3:22:14] of right now, I believe it's

[3:22:17] in August and that's the

[3:22:18] introduction

[3:22:19] of the rate increase.

[3:22:24] >> Well, they've already filed

[3:22:25] the request for the increase.

[3:22:26] Those would be the hearings

[3:22:27] which can last as long FPS see

[3:22:28] the five commissioners

[3:22:30] determine.

[3:22:33] >> So August is like the first

[3:22:35] public hearing to say?

[3:22:36] >> If I'm not mistaken.

[3:22:38] Well, public hearing is public

[3:22:40] but the first hearing at the

[3:22:41] Florida Public Service

[3:22:43] Commission, my understanding,

[3:22:45] is in August.

[3:22:47] >> Yes.

[3:22:51] >> Mr. Mayor,

[3:22:52] to the city manager, one,

[3:22:56] what meetings do we have in

[3:22:59] July and August?

[3:23:02] >> We have our regular meetings

[3:23:04] in August. July is

[3:23:05] traditionally our summer break.

[3:23:07] >> So the first Wednesday in

[3:23:10] August would be a regular

[3:23:12] meeting for us, right?

[3:23:15] >> Yes.

[3:23:17] >> Vice Mayor, I think that

[3:23:18] maybe we can do this as a two

[3:23:21] prong approach. You know, you

[3:23:24] mentioned a letter and a

[3:23:26] resolution. You know, I don't

[3:23:28] know if you would consider

[3:23:30] maybe doing a letter with a

[3:23:32] time limit response response.

[3:23:34] And in August, the first

[3:23:36] meeting in August, we take up a

[3:23:42] resolution.

[3:23:46] >> That's why I brought it

[3:23:48] to you guys. So I'm fine

[3:23:50] with that. I'd love to hear

[3:23:51] from Jay, Maria, Commissioner

[3:23:53] Schwartz, and Rodriguez as

[3:23:56] well, but I was looking more

[3:23:58] for direction. I don't know

[3:23:59] when they can speak,

[3:24:01] though. I did.

[3:24:02] >> Yeah. I want to hear what

[3:24:05] they're gonna have. We're gonna

[3:24:07] have one round, and then. And

[3:24:10] then we'll go to the public.

[3:24:12] Commissioner Schwartz.

[3:24:15] >> Thank you, Mayor. Vice

[3:24:17] Mayor, I say this because you

[3:24:20] work the industry just

[3:24:23] for the public to understand.

[3:24:25] This comes up every four years,

[3:24:29] that it's not just FPL, it's

[3:24:30] teco, it's Duke. All the

[3:24:33] utilities have a round,

[3:24:35] and they happen to come up all

[3:24:40] at the same time. Generally

[3:24:42] speaking,

[3:24:43] the governor has no authority

[3:24:45] over the outcome. Can't

[3:24:47] override, can't veto. But the

[3:24:50] governor does have the

[3:24:51] appointment process for the

[3:24:53] Public Service Commission. And

[3:24:55] over the years, whether it's

[3:24:57] Governor DeSantis, Scott,

[3:24:59] Charlie Criss, and so forth and

[3:25:02] so on, members of the Public

[3:25:03] Service Commission have changed

[3:25:05] over time. So

[3:25:07] Governor DeSantis vetoed a bill

[3:25:11] last year that would not have

[3:25:14] protected homeowners

[3:25:15] for solar power. And so

[3:25:19] through the governor's office,

[3:25:22] the governor is letting the

[3:25:24] Public Service Commission know

[3:25:26] the feelings of the governor.

[3:25:34] Now, whether or not they,

[3:25:36] they follow that path,

[3:25:39] they're an independent agency

[3:25:41] and they can do what they want.

[3:25:43] With respect to FPL, yes, they

[3:25:44] filed and they're the last one

[3:25:46] because they're the largest.

[3:25:48] They have more utility

[3:25:50] customers than the other two

[3:25:52] combined. But the other two

[3:25:56] have already received their

[3:25:58] increases. It's just that their

[3:26:00] increases that they've received

[3:26:02] has a sunset. I believe one

[3:26:04] of them is 18 months, the other

[3:26:06] one might be as short as 12.

[3:26:08] And it was

[3:26:10] for hurricane recovery only.

[3:26:12] That being said,

[3:26:13] the percentage based on my own

[3:26:15] independent research and

[3:26:17] forgive me, Vice Mayor, there

[3:26:21] wasn't anything in the backup

[3:26:22] for me to go through,

[3:26:24] so I kind of just kind

[3:26:25] of hit the books and looked

[3:26:27] on my own. But the percentage

[3:26:31] that FPL is requesting is very

[3:26:34] similar to what Tico and Duke

[3:26:39] have received,

[3:26:43] except the FPL is looking at a

[3:26:45] four year extension and it's

[3:26:47] not a storm related recovery.

[3:26:49] It's an infrastructure based

[3:26:51] upon factors such as the

[3:26:52] exploding population

[3:26:53] of the region in which they're

[3:26:54] currently servicing. So the

[3:26:56] Public Service Commission has

[3:26:57] received no less than 30

[3:26:58] organizations opposing a four

[3:27:00] year billion dollar increase.

[3:27:01] >> Nine billion.

[3:27:03] >> I apologize. Nine billion

[3:27:05] over this four year period.

[3:27:07] Now what's interesting is

[3:27:08] historically, I mean,

[3:27:10] I've been here for 13, the

[3:27:15] mayor's been here for 20.

[3:27:18] We've never had a Public

[3:27:22] Service Commission utility

[3:27:24] discussion in the past,

[3:27:27] nor has there ever been a $9

[3:27:29] billion request because it's

[3:27:31] the largest in U.S. history.

[3:27:33] Those are the facts. Okay, So I

[3:27:38] believe it would be,

[3:27:43] I think it would be

[3:27:44] in our best interest. Letters

[3:27:47] and resolutions aren't

[3:27:49] necessarily paperweight, but

[3:27:52] public input is certainly

[3:27:55] easier to say. Look, we had

[3:27:58] this city commission held a

[3:28:00] local event where local folks

[3:28:04] can come

[3:28:06] out because they're not going

[3:28:08] to Tallahassee. They are

[3:28:10] certainly not going

[3:28:11] to travel. They're not going

[3:28:13] to get on buses and go

[3:28:15] through that expense.

[3:28:16] But if we can provide a forum

[3:28:18] for them, I think we've done,

[3:28:20] I think we've.

[3:28:21] >> I did want to say that they

[3:28:23] did have a local foreman.

[3:28:24] Well, I'll let her speak

[3:28:25] to it. But I know it was

[3:28:27] in the city of Hollywood. So

[3:28:28] they have had that opportunity.

[3:28:30] >> Yeah, allow me. Okay.

[3:28:31] Well, Hollywood may have had

[3:28:34] that. Pembroke Pines hasn't.

[3:28:37] So if we have like

[3:28:39] Commissioner Good says we have

[3:28:40] generally till August, we can

[3:28:43] certainly open up chambers and

[3:28:45] have the ability

[3:28:46] for the public

[3:28:47] to speak because

[3:28:49] it does require us

[3:28:51] to alert people

[3:28:52] of what's happening. Okay. Now

[3:28:55] everything's out in the open.

[3:28:56] There's been a lot

[3:28:58] of coverage thus far,

[3:29:00] but sometimes, you know,

[3:29:01] if you missed a three day news

[3:29:02] cycle, you may not know what

[3:29:04] happened. So I think there's an

[3:29:05] opportunity for us maybe

[3:29:06] to have a, let's call it a

[3:29:08] workshop format where we can

[3:29:10] invite the public Mayor,

[3:29:13] first meeting of August, let

[3:29:15] them speak. And then we package

[3:29:16] that up and, and send it off

[3:29:18] to the Public Service

[3:29:20] Commission with their

[3:29:21] testimony. I don't know if

[3:29:23] a resolution or a letter

[3:29:25] drafted by the city attorney or

[3:29:27] the city manager embraces the

[3:29:28] folks

[3:29:29] in which we're basically trying

[3:29:31] to provide them an opportunity

[3:29:33] to get more information out on

[3:29:35] the table.

[3:29:39] >> I appreciate those thoughts.

[3:29:41] I understand what you're

[3:29:42] saying. Here's the couple of

[3:29:43] reasons why I've brought it

[3:29:45] forward. Number one, you're

[3:29:46] absolutely right. I did my own

[3:29:48] research and the city of

[3:29:50] Pembroke Pines has not had this

[3:29:51] discussion before.

[3:29:53] But we also haven't had what is

[3:29:55] to be the largest rate increase

[3:29:56] not in the history of

[3:29:57] Florida, in the history

[3:29:58] of the United States. That's

[3:29:59] number one. Number two, I don't

[3:30:01] think it's very challenging.

[3:30:02] If you go through the PSC

[3:30:05] docket and others, bottom line

[3:30:11] is four years ago they had a

[3:30:13] rate increase. There was a

[3:30:14] settlement, that settlement.

[3:30:16] Yvonne knows better than I do

[3:30:17] the, the exact numbers. What I

[3:30:20] am saying is I don't think my

[3:30:22] residents, at least in

[3:30:23] Century Village, Commissioner

[3:30:24] Good, Hollybrook, wherever else

[3:30:26] they see the numbers,

[3:30:27] the same electrical usage and

[3:30:29] this, these numbers come from

[3:30:31] Lisa Chong and City Manager

[3:30:32] Charlie Dodge. The average

[3:30:33] Pembroke Pines resident. I'm

[3:30:35] not talking about a business

[3:30:36] because businesses are

[3:30:38] in a different category. Is

[3:30:39] facing up to $240 more per year

[3:30:41] in electrical fees. If this is

[3:30:42] approved within four years of

[3:30:44] 2029. You're right, it is a

[3:30:45] four year phased in. I could go

[3:30:46] on. I did this in 2005

[3:30:47] for the company. I sat

[3:30:50] in PSC meetings. So I'm well

[3:30:53] aware of the process. And

[3:30:55] by the way, that process back

[3:30:57] then was very different

[3:30:59] from what it is today. What I

[3:31:01] am basically saying is,

[3:31:03] and you could say no. What I am

[3:31:05] hoping to get consensus

[3:31:07] on here is number one,

[3:31:09] that the City Commission speak

[3:31:11] with one voice. Whether it's a

[3:31:12] letter or not. We have no.

[3:31:14] Whether we hold a forum or not,

[3:31:15] the city of Pembroke Pines has

[3:31:16] zero weight in the decision

[3:31:17] of the Public Service

[3:31:18] Commission or if there's

[3:31:20] there's been settlements

[3:31:22] in the past between parties or

[3:31:25] if there's a setup,

[3:31:27] we have no weight. But I do

[3:31:28] think it's incumbent upon the

[3:31:29] five

[3:31:30] of us as elected officials,

[3:31:31] each one of us

[3:31:32] from a district and the mayor

[3:31:34] at large throughout the city,

[3:31:35] to at least say, based on the

[3:31:36] information that we have seen,

[3:31:37] which Al Salvi, who's here

[3:31:39] from by district,

[3:31:40] attended that meeting. Based

[3:31:41] on what I've read,

[3:31:43] when you actually read the

[3:31:44] docket, based on what has been

[3:31:46] reported and it's not just been

[3:31:47] in a three day news cycle,

[3:31:49] this was filed in the middle

[3:31:50] of February. I find it. And if

[3:31:52] no one supports me, I'll do it

[3:31:54] on my own. I find it incumbent

[3:31:55] upon me to say my residence

[3:31:57] in Century Village and others,

[3:31:59] they can't pay 240, 250 more

[3:32:00] dollars per year.

[3:32:02] >> Mayor and Vice Mayor, I'm

[3:32:04] certainly not debating you.

[3:32:05] First of all, I oppose the

[3:32:07] increases personally as an

[3:32:09] individual and certainly I have

[3:32:11] no issues advocating my

[3:32:13] position on social media. The

[3:32:15] Public Service Commission needs

[3:32:19] to review the rod

[3:32:20] of FPL and I think they're

[3:32:22] going

[3:32:23] to come. I think they're going

[3:32:25] to wind up with a settlement. I

[3:32:26] don't believe there's going

[3:32:28] to be a rate increase.

[3:32:30] However, it is incumbent upon

[3:32:31] us to provide an education

[3:32:33] component. Whether it was filed

[3:32:35] in February or it was in the

[3:32:37] Sun Sentinel yesterday,

[3:32:39] there are thousands of people

[3:32:40] in this city who have no idea

[3:32:42] that there is going to be a

[3:32:44] potential rate increase. So if,

[3:32:46] if a letter written

[3:32:49] by the city attorney and

[3:32:51] by the city manager,

[3:32:55] if you believe based upon your,

[3:32:57] your consulting experience

[3:33:01] from, from 2005 is going

[3:33:04] to make a positive difference

[3:33:08] in changing their mind,

[3:33:10] I fully support that. I'm also,

[3:33:12] I'm also, I'm also.

[3:33:14] >> This is just first round.

[3:33:15] >> I understand. So I'm not

[3:33:17] making the motion, Mayor. I'm

[3:33:18] not but the Vice Mayor is

[3:33:20] asking my opinion.

[3:33:21] >> There's other information

[3:33:22] that's coming forward. So

[3:33:24] before let's just issue our

[3:33:26] first impressions and then I

[3:33:27] believe because again,

[3:33:28] there's no backup. Okay.

[3:33:29] There's no backup here. I

[3:33:31] received a letter

[3:33:33] from the AARP. I'm sure most

[3:33:35] of us have okay with,

[3:33:37] with their position. I agree

[3:33:38] with their position,

[3:33:40] but I believe that there is.

[3:33:41] If we can have 17 town halls

[3:33:43] on a bond referendum,

[3:33:44] we can certainly do something

[3:33:48] over the summer to advise our

[3:33:50] residents that they need to pay

[3:33:54] attention and the process

[3:33:55] in which they

[3:33:58] can submit their information

[3:34:01] directly to the Public

[3:34:03] Service Commission through the

[3:34:04] regular channels. I think as

[3:34:05] an, I would think fully support

[3:34:08] education about how you go

[3:34:12] about doing that process,

[3:34:15] whether you're a resident or a

[3:34:18] business. Because at the end

[3:34:19] of the day, we're all paying

[3:34:21] for it one way or the other.

[3:34:22] So those are my comments and

[3:34:24] I'll wait

[3:34:25] for round two.

[3:34:26] >> I'd like to hear from

[3:34:27] Commissioner Rodriguez.

[3:34:28] Again, I want

[3:34:30] to be very clear. 2005 was my

[3:34:31] first experience. I've had

[3:34:32] experience with this company

[3:34:34] for 21 years. Again, I think

[3:34:35] they're a wonderful company.

[3:34:36] However, why I've brought this

[3:34:37] up is each one of us is going

[3:34:38] to have impact

[3:34:39] in their district. And I think

[3:34:40] it's important if we have that

[3:34:41] opportunity. Whether it's a

[3:34:43] letter, again, this is a

[3:34:44] Public Service Commission item.

[3:34:45] It has nothing to do with

[3:34:47] Broward County, Pembroke Pines

[3:34:48] or any of the 430

[3:34:49] municipalities we have in the

[3:34:50] state. I'm asking if there

[3:34:52] would be support

[3:34:53] to sign a letter, each

[3:34:55] of us or as a city body.

[3:34:57] However, Sam, you tell me how

[3:34:58] that would be or

[3:35:00] at a later point to

[3:35:01] Commissioner Goods Point, as

[3:35:03] we're getting into August,

[3:35:05] to basically put on record that

[3:35:06] the second most populous city

[3:35:07] in Broward county with 171,000

[3:35:09] residents, has concerns and

[3:35:11] would hope that there would be

[3:35:13] either a modification, a

[3:35:14] rescinding or an outright

[3:35:16] rejecting of any kind of rate

[3:35:17] increase that would negatively

[3:35:18] impact our families

[3:35:20] at this time. To your point

[3:35:22] on the bond, why it failed,

[3:35:23] I put it in my article. More

[3:35:24] than likely is folks didn't

[3:35:26] want to pay more because they

[3:35:27] could not pay more when folks

[3:35:28] are getting kicked

[3:35:30] off their homeowners insurance,

[3:35:32] when folks are having issues

[3:35:34] in Century Village or anywhere

[3:35:35] else with insurance rates. And

[3:35:37] this is where as much as I want

[3:35:39] to invest in a company like

[3:35:41] Florida Power and Light and

[3:35:42] they deserve to be able

[3:35:43] to present their case,

[3:35:45] which they have at public

[3:35:46] meetings where these folks have

[3:35:47] been plus in emails,

[3:35:49] plus right now, as a matter

[3:35:53] of fact, to your point,

[3:35:55] what you could say

[3:35:57] to the psc, any one

[3:35:58] of the folks

[3:36:00] in here that is a Florida

[3:36:03] resident can email the Public

[3:36:05] Service Commission or call them

[3:36:07] today. And not just

[3:36:08] about the rate increase. If I

[3:36:10] feel that I'm not getting

[3:36:11] proper service

[3:36:14] of any utility, not FPL, any

[3:36:16] utility, I can call the

[3:36:17] Public Service Commission

[3:36:20] tonight as a resident

[3:36:23] of the state of Florida. So I

[3:36:24] wanted to clarify that.

[3:36:25] >> Commissioner Rodriguez.

[3:36:26] >> I think we can find a

[3:36:27] balance between parts

[3:36:28] of that each of you bring

[3:36:30] forward. I think a letter is

[3:36:31] necessary and something that we

[3:36:32] can do a little bit faster,

[3:36:33] but probably based on some of

[3:36:34] the information that we

[3:36:36] received from residents here.

[3:36:37] So a letter from all of us,

[3:36:38] as you said on,

[3:36:39] highlighting most importantly,

[3:36:41] not the fact that the

[3:36:42] investments may or may not be

[3:36:44] necessary because we. I

[3:36:46] personally, I'm not aware of

[3:36:47] exactly the investments being

[3:36:49] posted

[3:36:51] for this rate increase,

[3:36:53] but mostly because

[3:36:55] of the impact that it would

[3:36:56] have on our residents. I think

[3:36:58] we're going to hear from the.

[3:37:00] The people here and we can put

[3:37:02] a part of that in our letter.

[3:37:04] If then during the summ,

[3:37:06] we get the opportunity

[3:37:07] to hold some kind

[3:37:08] of town hall, some kind

[3:37:09] of informational meeting,

[3:37:11] that would be great. We do have

[3:37:12] to do that, I believe,

[3:37:13] alongside FPL, because while

[3:37:15] they have the information and

[3:37:16] we need to hear their side,

[3:37:18] whether it's that or having or

[3:37:19] mobilizing our residents to

[3:37:23] attend what is already being

[3:37:24] set up in these town hall in

[3:37:26] these public hearings. I'm not

[3:37:27] sure of any future dates,

[3:37:28] if there is one,

[3:37:29] maybe that can be the way.

[3:37:30] Instead of us taking

[3:37:31] on the charge of,

[3:37:32] of doing that, what is the next

[3:37:33] public hearing? Can we mobilize

[3:37:34] our residents to attend,

[3:37:36] to hear

[3:37:37] from that side and explain some

[3:37:38] of their grievances

[3:37:39] against the rate increase? And

[3:37:41] so that communication,

[3:37:42] we can also post about it on

[3:37:43] our social media personally and

[3:37:45] both from the city, because

[3:37:46] people,

[3:37:47] our channels are also a way

[3:37:49] for people

[3:37:50] to know what's going on

[3:37:52] in other levels of government.

[3:37:53] In my opinion, we did the same

[3:37:55] when the state legislation was

[3:37:56] looking at decreasing funds

[3:37:58] for AP classes,

[3:38:00] because our students really,

[3:38:01] really like those AP classes

[3:38:04] their parents did. And so we

[3:38:05] mobilized our parents to reach

[3:38:07] out to the governmental agency

[3:38:09] that was focusing

[3:38:10] on that.

[3:38:11] >> There may be solution

[3:38:13] on that too, I read.

[3:38:14] >> Yes, but looking forward,

[3:38:15] I think merging those ideas,

[3:38:17] I think we don't have to do

[3:38:18] more work than is already being

[3:38:19] done by FPL

[3:38:21] in their public hearings. We

[3:38:22] need to just make sure that

[3:38:23] people are getting

[3:38:25] to those public hearings.

[3:38:26] Because that's the point.

[3:38:28] People don't know that there's

[3:38:29] a public hearing. And it's our

[3:38:31] job to. To vocalize that and

[3:38:32] communicate that

[3:38:33] to our residents, then that is

[3:38:35] what I think moves the needle

[3:38:36] forward. Just

[3:38:38] to summarize,

[3:38:39] I think a letter would be

[3:38:41] great, including some

[3:38:42] of the commentary from the

[3:38:43] public here today as our Pines

[3:38:45] residents, if we need

[3:38:46] to a resolution

[3:38:47] down the line, because that is

[3:38:48] obviously a more formal way

[3:38:49] of going

[3:38:51] about voicing our opinions. But

[3:38:52] I think informing the residents

[3:38:53] on a larger scale is first and

[3:38:54] foremost, because if there is

[3:38:56] another public hearing,

[3:38:57] they can attend or maybe part

[3:38:59] of the letter be requesting one

[3:39:00] that could be in Pembroke

[3:39:02] Pines, something along those

[3:39:04] lines that we can work

[3:39:06] in partnership rather than kind

[3:39:07] of taking on the burden

[3:39:08] of doing that ourselves.

[3:39:10] Because we are simply advocates

[3:39:11] for our residents rather than

[3:39:13] the people obviously voting

[3:39:15] on this.

[3:39:16] >> Thank you.

[3:39:20] >> I appreciate you. Thank you.

[3:39:22] >> I want to hear

[3:39:24] from the public, however,

[3:39:25] I have to say this, Vice

[3:39:27] Mayor, I'm very proud of you.

[3:39:29] You are giving voice to people

[3:39:30] in the city that have. That

[3:39:32] have a concern. And I have tons

[3:39:34] and tons of respect for that.

[3:39:35] If it's this commission's wish

[3:39:37] to ask me on your behalf

[3:39:38] to write to the president

[3:39:40] of FP&L and invite the company

[3:39:43] to come to Pembroke Pines

[3:39:45] for a very respectful,

[3:39:46] informative town hall where

[3:39:48] they explain why this 9 billion

[3:39:52] is necessary. Because we have

[3:39:54] such regard for our residents

[3:39:57] and because we have a healthy

[3:40:02] amount of respect

[3:40:08] for the company that keeps us,

[3:40:12] quite frankly, from entering

[3:40:14] into the dark ages again. I'm

[3:40:16] happy to do that. I'm happy

[3:40:18] to write to the president of

[3:40:20] the company and say all the

[3:40:25] things that

[3:40:27] on your behalf that the Vice

[3:40:29] Mayor has said in his op ed.

[3:40:31] We have great respect and

[3:40:33] regard and we've been partners

[3:40:35] with FP&L for decades.

[3:40:37] However, what's up with this?

[3:40:39] Nine million bucks. Nine

[3:40:40] billion bucks. And we'd

[3:40:42] like you to come here and talk

[3:40:43] to our residents and explain it

[3:40:45] to them. And then based

[3:40:46] on what we hear

[3:40:47] from the company and based

[3:40:49] on what we hear

[3:40:53] from the residents,

[3:40:57] we can follow Commissioner

[3:40:58] Good's recipe,

[3:41:00] which I think is the right one,

[3:41:02] and decide what, if any,

[3:41:04] next steps is appropriate

[3:41:06] for the city to take. That's

[3:41:09] where I think I am right now.

[3:41:11] But I want to hear

[3:41:13] from the residents. And so I

[3:41:14] know that you represent aarp.

[3:41:15] Is that it? If you could come

[3:41:18] forward and give your name and

[3:41:21] your affiliation. There's a

[3:41:27] button there that'll turn the

[3:41:28] mic. Your name and affiliation,

[3:41:30] please.

[3:41:36] >> Yes, my name is Yvonne

[3:41:37] Fernandez and I represent AARP

[3:41:38] Florida as the Senior

[3:41:39] Associate State Director for

[3:41:42] Advocacy.

[3:41:46] >> Welcome to Pembroke Pines.

[3:41:47] >> Thank you. I really

[3:41:48] appreciate, and I want

[3:41:49] to say that I concur with

[3:41:50] Mayor Castillo that the work

[3:41:52] of Vice Mayor Hernandez had

[3:41:53] been really a surprisingly good

[3:41:55] surprisely support for the work

[3:41:57] that AARP had been doing

[3:41:59] in regards to FPL. I'm going

[3:42:01] through my talking points

[3:42:02] because I don't want to let

[3:42:04] out any of the points that are

[3:42:05] very important

[3:42:07] for our organization.

[3:42:09] But then I would like

[3:42:10] to expand a little bit on the

[3:42:11] Commissioner's comments

[3:42:14] regarding the work that had

[3:42:15] been done on the field

[3:42:17] with our organization.

[3:42:19] I stand before you today not

[3:42:21] just as an individual,

[3:42:23] but as the voice

[3:42:25] of the millions of Florida

[3:42:28] residents facing the largest

[3:42:30] electric rate increase in

[3:42:32] United States history. And this

[3:42:36] is a very heavy lift because

[3:42:38] really we work

[3:42:40] with many other, as you said,

[3:42:41] many other utility companies

[3:42:43] across the United States. And

[3:42:45] we have a team dedicated just

[3:42:46] to work on these projections.

[3:42:49] And every single utility

[3:42:51] company is waiting

[3:42:52] to see how this play off.

[3:42:53] Florida Power and Light is

[3:42:54] proposing an unjustified rate

[3:42:55] hike that will

[3:42:57] disproportionately affect our

[3:42:59] seniors, low income families

[3:43:01] and those living

[3:43:03] on fixed incomes.

[3:43:05] Under this proposal,

[3:43:06] the minimum base bill for

[3:43:08] residential customers would

[3:43:10] jump from 25 to $30 monthly.

[3:43:12] That will be on the base. And

[3:43:15] this actually will be

[3:43:17] regardless of how much energy

[3:43:21] the customer is using. So

[3:43:23] everybody is going

[3:43:24] to feel the effect

[3:43:26] of this high. But even more

[3:43:27] concerning is that FPL is

[3:43:28] seeking an excessive 11.9%

[3:43:30] return on equity. That's the

[3:43:31] base of of the proposal. Far

[3:43:33] beyond the national average.

[3:43:41] That is 9.5%. That's the reason

[3:43:48] why all the utilities company

[3:43:52] in the nation is waiting

[3:43:58] to see this flagrant push for

[3:44:04] profit will make essential

[3:44:09] necessities like electricity,

[3:44:12] food, transportation, medicine,

[3:44:15] every single expense

[3:44:18] of already struggling families.

[3:44:20] And I want

[3:44:25] to point that the city of

[3:44:27] Penro Pines, as you say,

[3:44:28] the second most populated

[3:44:31] in the region,

[3:44:35] but also is home of 19,479 ARP

[3:44:37] households. And this is

[3:44:39] approximately 28%

[3:44:44] of the total household

[3:44:45] in your city. So it's a good

[3:44:47] reason, including me,

[3:44:49] including you,

[3:44:51] including my mother

[3:44:52] in law and many other

[3:44:54] of my family members. So really

[3:44:55] it is going to impact it. And

[3:44:57] ARP represent the third part

[3:44:58] of your household. And it is a

[3:45:00] good reason for us

[3:45:02] to be excited

[3:45:04] about what you could do. Many

[3:45:06] of these older adults that

[3:45:08] income restricted and they will

[3:45:09] be the most affected.

[3:45:11] Definitely all this rate are

[3:45:12] going to affect a person that

[3:45:13] don't get those incomes raising

[3:45:14] every year when you are

[3:45:16] retired, you probably won. We

[3:45:18] recognize and appreciate the

[3:45:19] leadership of city officials

[3:45:21] in standing up

[3:45:31] for their constituents.

[3:45:33] Especially those who would be

[3:45:34] hit hardest by this proposal.

[3:45:35] As public servant,

[3:45:37] you have the power

[3:45:39] to be a voice

[3:45:41] for your residents. That's why

[3:45:42] we know that the residents rely

[3:45:45] on strong leadership

[3:45:47] to protect them

[3:45:52] from corporate overreach.

[3:45:54] With all respect,

[3:45:57] FPL is not thinking

[3:46:01] about the impact

[3:46:03] of the person that is receiving

[3:46:04] $1,400 a month

[3:46:08] to leave when they are thinking

[3:46:09] to on the profit

[3:46:11] on the investors. I don't think

[3:46:13] with all respect that they are

[3:46:15] going to convince anyone

[3:46:17] different that it is the

[3:46:20] Fair. Way to go. We urge you

[3:46:22] to advocate on behalf

[3:46:25] of your community by signing a

[3:46:27] resolution that encouraged the

[3:46:28] Public Service Commission to

[3:46:29] consciously study FPL ray

[3:46:31] proposal and demand that the

[3:46:34] Public Service Commission reign

[3:46:39] in the excessive return

[3:46:41] on equity that's the base

[3:46:42] of the hike. That's why it's in

[3:46:44] our opinion so important that

[3:46:46] you as electors,

[3:46:47] leaders and leaders

[3:46:48] of a community like Pembroke

[3:46:49] Pines could send a note

[3:46:50] for the PSC. Floridians deserve

[3:46:51] fairness and accountability.

[3:46:53] No unchecked corporate grid.

[3:46:54] This is not simply an issue

[3:46:55] of balancing interest. It is a

[3:46:56] matter of justice. On behalf

[3:46:57] of AARP Florida, I ask you

[3:46:59] to take action, speak for those

[3:47:00] who cannot be here and stand

[3:47:01] with your residents. Thank you.

[3:47:26] >> Thank you so very,

[3:47:27] very much.

[3:47:29] >> Mayor, I would like

[3:47:30] to just expand this on the

[3:47:31] information. I understand your

[3:47:33] concern for the communication

[3:47:35] and education of the customers

[3:47:36] of APL. AARP had been working

[3:47:38] from the beginning, before even

[3:47:39] the proposal was filed. We have

[3:47:42] been working with our members

[3:47:43] and as you can tell, 30% of

[3:47:44] your household have been

[3:47:46] receiving information from AARP

[3:47:48] consistently explaining the

[3:47:51] effect and the reason how this

[3:47:53] proposal has been built up to

[3:47:55] pledge so people can sign and

[3:47:57] understand the process and

[3:47:59] understand what means this

[3:48:00] proposal. They send the

[3:48:02] comments and we are printing

[3:48:03] out every single pledge. Last

[3:48:05] year we did it when other

[3:48:07] proposals like this happened

[3:48:08] two years ago. I'm sorry. And

[3:48:11] we delivered to the meeting

[3:48:14] in August boxes and boxes of

[3:48:18] all the customers signing and

[3:48:20] asking how important is

[3:48:21] to keep low rates

[3:48:23] on the proposal. So education

[3:48:25] has been done,

[3:48:26] the hearing has been done for

[3:48:28] the public service collision.

[3:48:30] Now they need to hear

[3:48:31] from leaders. So that's why

[3:48:33] we're respectfully asking you

[3:48:36] and we literally, you are the

[3:48:41] first city that opened that

[3:48:48] opportunity. Thank you, Vice

[3:48:53] Mayor. We are really thrilled.

[3:48:56] As you could tell,

[3:48:58] all these volunteers on your

[3:48:59] residence had been kind enough

[3:49:01] to be for this long session.

[3:49:02] Very good. Hundred years, we

[3:49:04] don't celebrate every day that

[3:49:05] beautiful birthday,

[3:49:06] but had been kind enough to

[3:49:07] stay here because it matters.

[3:49:21] >> Thank you very,

[3:49:22] very much.

[3:49:23] >> Thank you.

[3:49:24] >> I want you to know I gave

[3:49:26] you additional time because

[3:49:27] you're wearing red and all

[3:49:28] of you are wearing red. So I

[3:49:29] have a feeling that many

[3:49:31] of you have the same point

[3:49:33] of view. Is that

[3:49:34] about right?

[3:49:36] >> Yes, sir.

[3:49:37] >> However, each

[3:49:38] of you has a chance to speak.

[3:49:39] And if there's something that

[3:49:40] you'd like to say that you

[3:49:42] didn't hear already,

[3:49:44] please let us know. The

[3:49:45] consensus that I'm hearing here

[3:49:47] is that we are going to engage

[3:49:48] in a correspondence

[3:49:50] with FP&L inviting them to

[3:49:51] Pembroke Pines

[3:49:53] to explain themselves

[3:49:55] on this issue. We're all going

[3:50:03] to listen very carefully,

[3:50:05] have an opportunity

[3:50:06] to ask questions, and then this

[3:50:08] commission will decide what

[3:50:10] next steps we will take

[3:50:11] on behalf of the residents.

[3:50:13] And I think that that's a very

[3:50:14] good approach at dealing

[3:50:15] with a problem like this over

[3:50:16] which we have no direct

[3:50:18] authority. So I want

[3:50:19] to thank you all

[3:50:20] for your advocacy. We are very,

[3:50:22] very persuaded by

[3:50:24] what you're saying. And we want

[3:50:25] to move this thing

[3:50:27] forward expeditiously. I'd love

[3:50:34] to see a,

[3:50:35] a public hearing held in

[3:50:36] Pembroke Pines of some kind,

[3:50:37] town hall meeting. However it

[3:50:38] is that we frame it sooner

[3:50:39] rather than later.

[3:50:40] >> Mayor, I did want to add,

[3:50:41] though.

[3:50:42] At the appropriate time,

[3:50:44] when I make the motion that,

[3:50:45] that letter that we're talking

[3:50:46] about, it's fine to send

[3:50:48] to the president of Florida

[3:50:50] Power and Life.

[3:50:51] >> However, my preference is,

[3:50:52] of course, that the decision

[3:50:53] making body is the public

[3:50:54] service.

[3:50:56] >> It's FBNL that's going

[3:50:57] to have to present. They're not

[3:50:59] going to come here.

[3:51:00] >> No.

[3:51:02] >> We can do all those things.

[3:51:03] >> Yes.

[3:51:04] >> Okay. Does anyone want to

[3:51:05] say something that we haven't

[3:51:06] heard already? Mr. Salvi,

[3:51:07] please. Madam Clerk, could you

[3:51:08] hand him a microphone,

[3:51:09] please? Thank you.

[3:51:10] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank

[3:51:12] you very much.

[3:51:15] >> Your name for the record,

[3:51:18] please.

[3:51:33] >> My name is Al Salvi. I'm a

[3:51:34] resident of Pembroke Pines,

[3:51:36] Silver Lakes. I'm going

[3:51:37] to say a couple

[3:51:39] of extra things, Mr. Mayor, and

[3:51:42] thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor and

[3:51:45] commissioners today

[3:51:47] for hearing me out. I'm here

[3:51:48] with my colleagues from aarp.

[3:51:50] I'm an AARP member and I'm a

[3:51:52] volunteer. But I want

[3:51:53] to thank the city,

[3:51:55] the great city of Pines. I'm

[3:51:56] very proud to be a resident

[3:51:58] of Pines, being supported by

[3:51:59] such great leadership and our

[3:52:01] leaders. A special thank you

[3:52:03] to Mr. Mike Hernandez, our vice

[3:52:04] mayor, for bringing this as a

[3:52:06] forefront issue and

[3:52:07] spearheading it and

[3:52:09] for bringing attention

[3:52:11] to this very important issue.

[3:52:12] Now, I'm going to say a lot

[3:52:14] of things that may be a little

[3:52:16] bit different than my colleague

[3:52:17] Yvonne. Obviously, this will

[3:52:19] impact 5.8 million people which

[3:52:21] are FPL ratepayers. All right?

[3:52:23] But I am going to talk about a

[3:52:24] little different. I'm going

[3:52:26] to talk about me and how it

[3:52:28] impacts me as a person,

[3:52:30] as a simple person. Okay. I'm

[3:52:31] here

[3:52:32] by today and thanking my

[3:52:33] support of my colleagues. The

[3:52:34] back. We just Spent a couple

[3:52:36] hours here today, and I really,

[3:52:37] really am grateful

[3:52:39] for the support. So I want

[3:52:40] to thank them for doing that.

[3:52:41] But I am opposed to this rate

[3:52:43] increase that will be

[3:52:45] commencing on January 26th

[3:52:46] through 2029. As we talked

[3:52:48] about it, and Jay mentioned

[3:52:49] that it's going to be,

[3:52:50] or everyone mentioned about a

[3:52:58] $9 billion increase

[3:52:59] for the FPL,

[3:53:01] which is a base rate of 22%,

[3:53:02] from 25 to $30 a month. $20.

[3:53:03] 25 to $30 on the base rate,

[3:53:05] which is going

[3:53:06] to affect us no matter what.

[3:53:08] Okay. Which is going

[3:53:10] to accurately account to me

[3:53:11] for about another $360. Now I'm

[3:53:13] going to go

[3:53:15] into something personal,

[3:53:16] and I want everybody to

[3:53:18] understand where I'm coming

[3:53:19] from. Okay? My Social

[3:53:20] Security Cola increase in 2025

[3:53:21] was 2.5%. My COLA increase

[3:53:22] projected for 2026 will be

[3:53:24] 2.3%. That's what I'm hearing

[3:53:25] about. That's not substantially

[3:53:27] a lot of money for someone in

[3:53:28] Social Security. And I'm here

[3:53:30] also representing seniors in

[3:53:31] Century Village, which Mike and

[3:53:32] I know very well, that are

[3:53:34] hurting really big time. And

[3:53:35] I'm a senior,

[3:53:37] but also a disabled senior,

[3:53:38] and I'm really hurting

[3:53:40] by this. And right now, one

[3:53:42] of the things I want

[3:53:44] to talk about,

[3:53:45] and specifically I want

[3:53:47] to mention is about this

[3:53:49] demonstration that I have here.

[3:53:51] That medication right there,

[3:53:55] okay, on 2024, I paid $20

[3:53:57] for it. Right? Now, this

[3:53:58] medication that you see right

[3:54:00] there, which is 28 pills

[3:54:02] in that bottle, cost me $450

[3:54:04] in 2025. Why? Because Medicare

[3:54:06] has dropped it

[3:54:08] off the formulary. So I've gone

[3:54:09] from something critical

[3:54:11] in my life from $20 to $450 a

[3:54:12] month. Now I can't afford it.

[3:54:14] So the way I get these pills is

[3:54:16] through my doctor. He gives it

[3:54:18] to me as samples. You see,

[3:54:19] there's no prescription

[3:54:21] on it. These are samples that I

[3:54:23] have to ask my doctor.

[3:54:24] In order

[3:54:26] to get healthy or stay healthy,

[3:54:28] in order to survive, I have to

[3:54:30] get samples because I can't

[3:54:32] afford that. So how do you

[3:54:33] expect me to pay $360 more

[3:54:35] annually for FPL? And all they

[3:54:36] do is provide electricity.

[3:54:38] What this is going to do

[3:54:39] to me is I'm going to have

[3:54:40] to make choice. Either I

[3:54:41] survive on that or I pay my

[3:54:43] electric bill. Now, they're

[3:54:44] both needed and critical

[3:54:47] for someone like me. Same thing

[3:54:49] for seniors. Well, these are

[3:54:50] the choices that we all have

[3:54:54] to make as seniors. Now, some

[3:54:55] of us gonna have

[3:54:57] to determine are we gonna stay

[3:54:58] on that medication or we're

[3:55:01] gonna have to skip doses or

[3:55:03] we're gonna have

[3:55:04] to stop eating,

[3:55:06] or we're gonna have to pay

[3:55:07] electric bills that are higher,

[3:55:08] all because

[3:55:09] of corporate greed. And that's

[3:55:10] why I need your support as

[3:55:11] leadership. And you're all

[3:55:13] great people,

[3:55:14] and you're all great leaders.

[3:55:15] And I know you understand and

[3:55:16] you know I'm a simple man, and

[3:55:17] I'll support each and every one

[3:55:18] of you here. But I need your

[3:55:19] support as both myself as an

[3:55:21] individual for the seniors in

[3:55:22] Century Village and in

[3:55:24] Pembroke Pines, as great

[3:55:25] residents they are.

[3:55:27] But I also want

[3:55:28] to support my colleagues

[3:55:30] in aarp, which are supporting

[3:55:31] me as an organization because

[3:55:33] they know what's the right

[3:55:34] thing to do. So I asked this

[3:55:36] committee and this commission

[3:55:37] to consider a resolution or

[3:55:39] letter, a formal letter

[3:55:41] to the psc. Okay? Right. Now,

[3:55:42] I've attended several PSC

[3:55:44] hearings,

[3:55:46] and it's been a disgrace.

[3:55:47] Every single one of the people

[3:55:48] that have gone up there have

[3:55:52] been business owners all

[3:55:54] in favor of FPL. And the reason

[3:55:55] they're in favor is because

[3:55:57] they're going

[3:55:58] to pass those costs directly

[3:55:59] on to us. So we're going

[3:56:01] to get double hit. We're going

[3:56:02] to get it

[3:56:03] in the personal life,

[3:56:04] and we're going to get it from

[3:56:05] businesses because they're not

[3:56:06] going to absorb that. They're

[3:56:08] just going to put it

[3:56:09] on their cost and say, hey,

[3:56:10] you know what? We're getting an

[3:56:11] 11.9%. We're going

[3:56:13] to pass that right down

[3:56:15] to the customer. Let them pay

[3:56:17] for that 11.9. Just

[3:56:18] like corporate,

[3:56:20] everything else corporate. And

[3:56:23] I'm asking you right now, guys,

[3:56:25] we're going to get hit hard.

[3:56:29] It's the largest increase

[3:56:31] in US history, and people

[3:56:33] like me will not be able

[3:56:34] to get through it. I may have

[3:56:35] to move out of Pembroke Pines

[3:56:37] if this continues

[3:56:38] in this forum,

[3:56:39] because everyone knows the cost

[3:56:40] of living has gone up.

[3:56:42] But my cost

[3:56:43] of living adjustments for

[3:56:44] Social Security is at 2.3%.

[3:56:46] The numbers are not

[3:56:47] sustainable. Thank you very

[3:56:48] much.

[3:56:49] >> Thank you, Mr. Salvi. Very

[3:56:50] powerful. Thank you very much.

[3:56:51] And thank you for your love

[3:56:52] of community. Yes, ma' am. If

[3:56:53] you can come forward and that's

[3:56:54] all right. If you could just

[3:56:56] push that button. You give us

[3:56:57] your name and address

[3:56:58] for the record, please.

[3:56:59] >> Good afternoon. My name is

[3:57:00] Deborah Wilson. I live at

[3:57:01] 13001 Southwest 11th Court,

[3:57:02] which is in Century Village.

[3:57:03] So thank you, Mr. Hernandez,

[3:57:04] for being our representative.

[3:57:06] I'm here today to tell you guys

[3:57:07] there's no way now,

[3:57:09] probably me personally, I may

[3:57:11] be able

[3:57:12] to absorb the price hike and

[3:57:15] Just have to decide to do a

[3:57:17] little less than what I had

[3:57:19] planned on doing at this stage

[3:57:21] of my life. But however I know

[3:57:24] my neighbors that won't be able

[3:57:26] to. And so I stand here

[3:57:28] before you and I won't go

[3:57:30] through my whole speech that I

[3:57:31] have prepared. But I do want to

[3:57:34] tell you not only do I am I

[3:57:36] retired,

[3:57:38] I'm also a cancer survivor.

[3:57:40] Three times cancer survivor.

[3:57:46] >> God bless you.

[3:57:47] >> Blood cancer, cancer

[3:57:48] of the bladder,

[3:57:50] last one was cancer

[3:57:52] of the uterus. They had to do a

[3:57:53] complete hysterectomy. I stand

[3:57:55] before you a person that my

[3:57:57] medical bills and my medicine

[3:58:00] and all treatments that I have

[3:58:02] to have is the biggest impact

[3:58:03] on my pocket

[3:58:05] in the last five years. I've

[3:58:07] had to decide, no,

[3:58:09] I'm not going on vacation. I'm

[3:58:11] making sure that I can pay my

[3:58:13] bills. The last notification

[3:58:15] that I got from Cleveland

[3:58:18] Clinic says now that if I don't

[3:58:19] have the money that I have

[3:58:21] to pay in order

[3:58:23] to see the doctor, they will

[3:58:26] reschedule my appointment.

[3:58:28] They're not going to let me go

[3:58:29] see the doctor unless I pay the

[3:58:31] amount that needs to be paid

[3:58:33] to the doctor. This is their

[3:58:36] new thing. So I don't have a

[3:58:38] choice. I know that FPNL is a

[3:58:39] wonderful company, I agree.

[3:58:41] But it's a monopoly. We don't

[3:58:44] have a choice. When the egg

[3:58:46] price went up to $10, I told my

[3:58:48] son, guess what? We're going

[3:58:51] for cereal. We're not eating

[3:58:56] eggs every morning. We can make

[3:59:00] those kind of choices

[3:59:03] for the prices of groceries.

[3:59:05] We can't make that kind

[3:59:08] of choice for the price of 40

[3:59:09] pound life. We need the power.

[3:59:12] I don't know if anyone here

[3:59:14] in Florida that could live

[3:59:15] without ac. I know I can't. So

[3:59:17] I thank you. This is not, you

[3:59:18] know, a bashing. We're not

[3:59:20] trying to bash Florida Power

[3:59:22] Life. We're just asking them

[3:59:27] to be fair and to be just and

[3:59:30] that they look again

[3:59:32] at their increase. And just so

[3:59:34] that you know, I've been

[3:59:36] to three, two. I'm sorry, two

[3:59:39] of the commission,

[3:59:41] the public commission forum.

[3:59:42] There was one today online.

[3:59:44] There are two tomorrow online

[3:59:46] at 10am and at 2pm. There are

[3:59:48] also forms that the public can

[3:59:53] complete and send

[3:59:55] to them because just like Al

[3:59:56] said, there were people there

[3:59:59] that our fourth Florida Power

[4:00:01] light and they are saying it's

[4:00:02] okay for them

[4:00:04] to raise their rate.

[4:00:09] Of course they're not going

[4:00:13] to have to pay it. They're

[4:00:14] going to pass it down

[4:00:16] to the customers.

[4:00:17] But we who have to pay have

[4:00:19] to Let the commissioners know,

[4:00:20] hey, this is not okay

[4:00:21] with us. Unless we get

[4:00:23] multitude of people saying this

[4:00:25] is not okay, it's going

[4:00:27] to pass. And if it passes,

[4:00:28] we're going to have to pay. I

[4:00:30] thank you and have a good

[4:00:31] evening.

[4:00:33] >> Thank you very, very much

[4:00:34] for your important and

[4:00:36] penetrating comments. Vice

[4:00:39] Mayor, I would turn to you now

[4:00:42] for a motion,

[4:00:43] however it is that you'd like

[4:00:44] to make it.

[4:00:49] >> One point of clarification

[4:00:50] from Commissioner Good. Your

[4:00:51] recommendation was two tiered.

[4:00:52] I forgot because we spoke a

[4:00:55] little while ago.

[4:00:56] >> You spoke

[4:00:58] about a letter and then.

[4:00:59] >> Yes, I stated that the

[4:01:01] letter would be time certain

[4:01:03] response. And if you know,

[4:01:05] based on either the response or

[4:01:08] no response,

[4:01:10] then we would have a decision

[4:01:12] to make to...

[4:01:14] >> Make a resolution and the

[4:01:16] letter to whom? Because we've

[4:01:19] heard PSC, we've heard FPC,

[4:01:26] PSC.

[4:01:28] >> And to add to that, I think

[4:01:29] just like we would do when any

[4:01:31] petition, every one

[4:01:32] of us signs that letter.

[4:01:34] >> Okay, so I have

[4:01:35] to repeat this all back. So I

[4:01:43] may ask you for something. My

[4:01:45] motion is to prepare a letter

[4:01:47] on behalf of the City of

[4:01:49] Pembroke Pines Commission. Nod

[4:01:51] your head if I'm saying...

[4:01:53] Yes?

[4:01:56] >> Yeah, I would say not

[4:01:59] on behalf, but from the City

[4:02:03] of Pembroke Pines.

[4:02:04] >> My motion is a letter

[4:02:06] from the City of Pembroke

[4:02:07] Pines Commission to the

[4:02:09] Public Service Commission

[4:02:11] opposing a rate increase. The

[4:02:13] proposed rate increase date

[4:02:16] certain of July 31st.

[4:02:20] >> I thought the date certain

[4:02:23] was well for them to P and L.

[4:02:25] We're never going

[4:02:27] to get a response from the

[4:02:31] Public Service Commission.

[4:02:32] >> I would have to disagree

[4:02:34] with that. Public Service

[4:02:35] Commission regulates the

[4:02:37] utilities.

[4:02:38] >> Well, most likely they're

[4:02:41] going to say thank you

[4:02:44] for writing to the Public

[4:02:45] Service Commission. We have

[4:02:47] your letter and we wish you

[4:02:48] well. Yes, probably what we're

[4:02:49] going to get.

[4:02:51] >> But you're on record.

[4:02:52] >> But my understanding was,

[4:02:53] and then, and indeed we are.

[4:02:54] However, my understanding was

[4:02:56] that there was a desire

[4:02:57] for inviting Florida Par and

[4:02:58] Light to come to Pembroke

[4:02:59] Pines. Great.

[4:03:00] >> So we could do two letters.

[4:03:01] How about this? Here's my

[4:03:03] motion. My motion is,

[4:03:04] and you tell me if I'm wrong,

[4:03:05] Tom. A letter from the City

[4:03:06] of Pembroke Pines Commission

[4:03:07] to the Public Service

[4:03:08] Commission opposing the rate

[4:03:09] increase. And also a letter

[4:03:10] from the mayor of the City of

[4:03:11] Pembroke Pines on behalf

[4:03:13] of the City Commission

[4:03:14] to the president of Florida

[4:03:15] Power and Light inviting them

[4:03:17] to have a public forum

[4:03:18] within the City of Pembroke

[4:03:19] Pines explaining and justifying

[4:03:20] their rate increase prior

[4:03:21] to their hearings in August

[4:03:22] of 2025 in front of the

[4:03:23] Public Service Commission. I'm

[4:03:24] looking at Commissioner

[4:03:25] Rodriguez.

[4:03:26] >> Is there a second?

[4:03:27] >> Second.

[4:03:28] >> There's a motion and a

[4:03:29] second. Any discussion?

[4:03:30] >> I would simply ask, Vice

[4:03:31] Mayor, you being this close to

[4:03:33] the issue and having done this

[4:03:34] research,

[4:03:35] if you could together

[4:03:36] with the city attorney,

[4:03:37] craft this language

[4:03:38] for this letter

[4:03:39] on our behalf, are you willing

[4:03:40] to do that?

[4:03:41] >> Yes.

[4:03:42] >> Thank you very much. Any

[4:03:43] further discussion? Any

[4:03:44] from the public seeing? None.

[4:03:45] All those

[4:03:46] in favor say aye.

[4:03:47] >> Aye.

[4:03:48] >> Any opposed? Show passes

[4:03:49] unanimously. Thank you very

[4:03:50] much for your item. There's no

[4:03:55] commission audit report. There

[4:03:59] are no appeals of the Board

[4:04:00] of Adjustment. I will be

[4:04:01] appointing the following

[4:04:03] regular member and alternative

[4:04:05] member to the Economic

[4:04:06] Development Advisory Board,

[4:04:08] Scott Joiner, presently an

[4:04:10] alternate member,

[4:04:11] will be appointed to serve as

[4:04:13] the regular member. I want

[4:04:15] to thank Norm Taylor

[4:04:18] for his years of service

[4:04:19] to the city of Pembroke Pines

[4:04:22] on that board. He is unable to

[4:04:24] continue serving and we wish

[4:04:26] him all the very, very best.

[4:04:28] Additionally, I am appointing

[4:04:29] George McLean, who applied

[4:04:32] to serve as the alternate

[4:04:34] to the Economic Development

[4:04:37] Board. I want to thank both

[4:04:39] of them. The consent agenda

[4:04:42] today.

[4:04:46] >> Mr. Mayor?

[4:04:47] >> Yes, sir?

[4:04:48] >> I'm sorry.

[4:04:49] Before we do consent, because

[4:04:50] we're doing board appointments.

[4:04:51] Why don't we just do item 14?

[4:04:52] >> Yes, sir, 14.

[4:04:53] >> We have item 14 in front

[4:04:56] of us. Hold on. Commission

[4:05:01] appointment

[4:05:03] of one regular member to the

[4:05:05] economic development board

[4:05:07] for a two year term pursuant

[4:05:08] to chapter 32.123 (C) and the

[4:05:10] applicant is Tisha Harris

[4:05:11] Baker. Is there a motion?

[4:05:19] >> So moved, Mr. Mayor.

[4:05:21] >> Moved by Commissioner

[4:05:22] Good. Is there a second?

[4:05:23] >> I'll second.

[4:05:24] >> Seconded by Commissioner

[4:05:26] Rodriguez. Any discussion?

[4:05:27] >> Yes. A quick question.

[4:05:28] >> Yes.

[4:05:29] >> For the applicant.

[4:05:31] >> The applicant here?

[4:05:32] >> Yes.

[4:05:34] >> Can you come forward,

[4:05:36] please? Your name and address

[4:05:39] for the record, please. If you

[4:05:43] could just press the...

[4:05:48] There's a button there that...

[4:05:51] You're on.

[4:05:53] >> Tisha Harris Baker. 9956

[4:05:54] Southwest 16th Street.

[4:05:55] >> Commissioner Schwartz.

[4:05:57] >> Thank you so much

[4:05:59] for the application

[4:06:00] in the resume. Your employer?

[4:06:02] >> Right.

[4:06:05] >> Did you have to go

[4:06:10] through any process to serve

[4:06:11] on a city board? Is there any

[4:06:12] prior approval required?

[4:06:14] >> No.

[4:06:17] >> Okay. And you're aware

[4:06:19] of the time and day

[4:06:21] of the meetings?

[4:06:23] >> Yes.

[4:06:24] >> There won't be a conflict

[4:06:25] with your current employment,

[4:06:27] correct?

[4:06:29] >> No. Correct.

[4:06:31] >> I'm happy

[4:06:33] to support you.

[4:06:35] >> Thank you. Any further

[4:06:36] discussion? All those

[4:06:37] in favor say aye.

[4:06:38] >> Aye.

[4:06:39] >> Any opposed? It passes

[4:06:40] unanimously. I want to

[4:06:41] congratulate you and thank you

[4:06:42] for your service to the City

[4:06:43] of Pembroke Pines. And we'll

[4:06:44] all be talking soon.

[4:06:46] >> Thank you very much.

[4:06:47] >> Thank you.

[4:06:48] >> Congratulations. Good night.

[4:06:51] Thank you

[4:06:52] for staying and thank you

[4:06:53] for pointing that out, Vice

[4:06:55] Mayor. That was a very elegant

[4:06:56] way to get all

[4:06:58] of the appointments done. The

[4:07:00] consent agenda today, well,

[4:07:01] it consists of items 1

[4:07:03] through 13. What's your

[4:07:09] pleasure? Are there any pulls?

[4:07:13] >> Without objection.

[4:07:17] I motion to approve the

[4:07:19] consent agenda.

[4:07:20] >> Are there any pulls? A

[4:07:22] motion's been made

[4:07:23] to approve the consent agenda.

[4:07:24] Is there a second?

[4:07:25] >> Second.

[4:07:27] >> Seconded by Commissioner

[4:07:29] Rodriguez. Any discussion? Any

[4:07:30] from the public? Seeing none.

[4:07:32] All those

[4:07:33] in favor say aye.

[4:07:34] >> Aye.

[4:07:35] >> Any opposed? Show passes

[4:07:37] unanimously.

[4:07:38] >> City Manager's report?

[4:07:47] >> No items, Mayor.

[4:07:51] >> City attorney report?

[4:07:53] >> Not tonight, Mayor,

[4:07:55] but thank you.

[4:07:57] >> Thank you so very much.

[4:08:00] Reports

[4:08:02] of the league and MPO. Any

[4:08:04] reports?

[4:08:05] >> No specific reports. Just a

[4:08:06] reminder,

[4:08:08] from my understanding,

[4:08:10] there is a meeting, a

[4:08:11] director's luncheon tomorrow.

[4:08:12] >> Yeah. And that would be the

[4:08:13] Broward League?

[4:08:14] >> Yes, I will be attending.

[4:08:15] All y'all can can go. What I'd

[4:08:16] like to see going forward,

[4:08:17] Mayor, if possible, is that the

[4:08:18] league agenda be shared with

[4:08:20] the entire commission going

[4:08:23] forward. Right now,

[4:08:25] it's a link that we're getting,

[4:08:29] and unless the director can't

[4:08:31] make it, then the alternate.

[4:08:35] It's relatively easy for

[4:08:38] Cellie

[4:08:41] to go ahead and send that

[4:08:46] to us. And that would just be

[4:08:47] my general request. I'm also

[4:08:48] requesting that the city

[4:08:49] attorney, through the league,

[4:08:51] advised the most recent OIG

[4:08:52] scenario. There are cities that

[4:08:54] are currently unaware of the

[4:08:55] Form 9, and we certainly want

[4:08:56] to make sure that they're aware

[4:08:57] of that and that will be it.

[4:08:58] I'll report back

[4:09:03] in two weeks.

[4:09:18] >> Thanks. Commissioner

[4:09:19] Rodriguez, could you ask the

[4:09:22] league to copy all the city

[4:09:24] commissioners on the.

[4:09:26] >> Yeah, moving forward.

[4:09:28] I can do that.

[4:09:32] And then their annual

[4:09:34] appointment meeting. Sorry, I

[4:09:35] forgot the name of it,

[4:09:38] but it's Saturday.

[4:09:39] >> The State League.

[4:09:40] >> The swearing in for

[4:09:41] Broward.

[4:09:42] >> Oh, the swearing in for

[4:09:43] Broward. Right.

[4:09:44] >> That's going to be at

[4:09:45] Margaritaville this Saturday.

[4:09:46] >> Is everybody going? Are you

[4:09:48] going, Commissioner Good?

[4:09:49] >> I'm going. I'm just having a

[4:09:52] tough time

[4:09:54] with the dress code.

[4:09:55] >> Yeah.

[4:09:56] >> Description.

[4:09:57] >> What is the dress?

[4:09:59] >> It's Margaritaville.

[4:10:01] >> So it's suit and tie.

[4:10:03] >> Sandals.

[4:10:05] >> Yeah.

[4:10:08] >> Okay. Anything else?

[4:10:09] Anything

[4:10:11] from the MPO this time? Okay,

[4:10:17] this meeting's adjourned.

[4:10:18] Thank you.

City Commission on 2025-06-04 5:30 PM - 5:30 PM Board Night Workshop and 6:30 PM Regular Commission Meeting [Or at such time as the Board Night Workshop adjourns.] Item 8 - Exhibit 1 was revised on 6-3-2025. ITEMS PRE-7 was updated and Exhibit 1 was adde

Agenda

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