[0:00] Madam clerk, our meeting is not called to order. Roll
[0:04] call madam clerk, please. Mayor edwards phillips mayor, vice mayor.
[0:08] swell. Commissioner harrison.
[0:12] commissioner maxwell williams.
[0:17] here. Commissioner thomas,
[0:22] acting city manager howard here. Assistant
[0:26] city. Attorney morgan. Here.
[0:31] madam mayor. Uh, commissioner thomas is present online. Thank you so much.
[0:35] and so is commissioner harrison. Thank you so much.
[0:41] item three, discussion review of the july 22nd, 2025 city commission
[0:46] meeting agenda, madam,
[0:50] a cm. Thank you madam mayor.
[0:56] so we will move on to our city commission meeting agenda.
[1:02] our first item is consideration of resolutions on consent, agenda resolution
[1:06] 2025 dash 0 8 7 awarding and authorizing the mayor and
[1:11] the deputy city clerk to execute and attest respectfully that certain contract
[1:15] number 25 dash 310 dash 13 r to kimley-horn
[1:19] associates, inc. To provide professional engineering design services for the citywide traffic common
[1:23] project in various locations within the city of lauderdale lakes in
[1:28] the amount not to exceed $436,954
[1:33] and 49 cents. And we do
[1:37] have mr. Nasir, or I'm sorry mr. Ron, to
[1:41] provide additional details on this item through you, madam mayor. Thank you mr. Ron,
[1:56] senior attorney and the audience. Can you him madam mayor, can
[2:00] you hear me? Yes. Yes. Uh, for the record, my name is r de bronze
[2:04] director, uh, madam mayor. The before you is, uh, resolution awarding
[2:09] or contract to, uh, kim leon and associate in the amount of,
[2:13] uh, $436,000, 954049 cents
[2:19] to provide, uh, professional engineering services
[2:24] for the citywide traffic ing project. Uh, my mayor,
[2:28] uh, this item was discussed in the last workshop and staff is
[2:32] bringing it back, uh, as a formal resolution. Uh, this
[2:36] project pretty much involve the installation of traffic calling
[2:40] devices such as speed bump, roundabout and,
[2:44] uh, various location throughout the city, uh, specifically and eastgate
[2:49] northwest 24th street. There will be roundabout and speed
[2:53] bump and northgate, uh, northwest, uh, 34th, uh, street,
[2:58] northwest 35th avenue, and, uh, in oakland state, uh,
[3:02] west of, uh, state was seven on northwest 41st street and also westgate
[3:07] and, uh, northwest, uh, 33rd street. Again, it's all a combination of
[3:12] roundabout and, uh, speed bump. Uh, this project
[3:16] is funded by fdot. The entire design costs will, will be
[3:20] covered. We approved an agreement. Uh, the city commission approved an agreement last
[3:24] year, uh, to provide, uh, for funding services.
[3:29] so kim lehan was selected to, uh, extensive an
[3:33] extensive, uh, rfp process, which was monitored
[3:37] by fdot, uh, reviewed by fdot and approved by
[3:41] fdot. So we are moving forward with formal, uh, contract award
[3:46] and which will, uh, be the last step before design process.
[3:51] if you have any more questions for me, madam mayor or the board, be, uh, happy.
[3:57] thank you. Any question? Max commissioner? No, madam mayor.
[4:01] ms. Pav? Does commissioner thomas or commissioner harrison have the handout?
[4:07] madam mayor? They do not. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Ron.
[4:11] thank you madam mayor. Resolution 2025 dash 0 0 8 8
[4:16] authorizing the mayor and the acton city manager to execute the third amendment to the transportation
[4:20] system. Surtax interlocal planning agreement between broward county,
[4:24] broward metropolitan planning organization and the municipalities
[4:29] in broward county. And mr. Ron will be presenting that item through you,
[4:33] madam mayor. Thank you mr. Ron. Yeah, political establishment mayor,
[4:37] uh, the, this asylum is a resolution approving the third amendment to the tex,
[4:41] uh, program, uh, with, uh, bro county o the
[4:46] city. Again, this asylum was a workshop in the last, it was discussed in the
[4:50] last workshop. We are going getting it forward for formal resolution.
[4:54] uh, this is the third amendment to the, uh, transportation surtax pro, uh,
[4:58] program, uh, madam mayor. And that amendment was
[5:03] requested and, uh, by the be county, uh, city
[5:07] manager association because there was some issues with, uh,
[5:12] timely completion of project to the cex process. So
[5:16] all the city managers around the county were concerned and they get together with weld
[5:20] county to make some improvement. That, uh,
[5:24] agreement. So it is a well, uh, approved
[5:28] and executed, uh, item from that tournament met, which
[5:33] will help, uh, the program going forward. And pretty
[5:37] much well county, uh, county commissioner signed it on
[5:41] june 10th, and as of today, more than 51% of the cities
[5:45] around the county have already moved that
[5:49] . Uh, again, it provides some fluidity to the process.
[5:54] there are some key changes which really are good for cities. One
[5:58] of them is the, the fact that before
[6:02] the third amendment municipalities were not allowed to use surtax
[6:07] funding or great match, and that amendment will
[6:11] provide, uh, that possibility for, for cities, which is a
[6:15] good loss. And also there's a formula based, uh, model where
[6:19] they provide a certain amount, level of funding based on the, uh, cities
[6:23] population every year. So, um, if you call last, uh, meaning
[6:28] the vice mail receive a, a check from the certex that was in relation to that third amendment,
[6:32] uh, the kind head of the, of the process. So now every year, every municipality
[6:36] will receive certain amount of funds to help supplement
[6:41] not sublet, but supplement their r and m, uh, uh, funding.
[6:45] uh, if you have any more questions for me, madam mayor, be more than happy madam clerk. Acknowledge
[6:50] the presence of commissioner harrison. Noted madam mayor. Thank you.
[6:54] any questions, colleagues, any hand
[6:58] raised madam ms. Palm? No questions from commissioner
[7:02] thomas. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Thank you madam. A
[7:07] item number nine c resolution 2025 dash 0 8 9 authorizing
[7:11] the act in city manager to apply retroactively to july 1st, 2025
[7:15] for the fiscal year 2025. Cops hiring program through the us
[7:19] department of justice, office of community oriented policing
[7:24] services for the purpose of funding two sworn law enforcement
[7:28] officer positions. And we do have ms.
[7:33] sue with ms. Heidi who will present that item through you. Madam mayor.
[7:37] thank you, ms. Heidi.
[7:48] good, good afternoon, mayor, vice mayor,
[7:52] commissioner , acting city manager, deputy city clerk, colleagues.
[7:57] residents. Um, at the june 9th, 2025 workshop, the
[8:01] city commission reached consensus to apply for the fiscal year 2025
[8:06] cops hiring program chp. The application was submitted
[8:10] to the us department of justice cops office by the july 1st, 2025
[8:14] deadline. And this resolution seeks to formally approve
[8:19] the submission retroactively. So just to fund a quick funding summary
[8:23] of the grant application the officers requested, or two,
[8:27] the grand duration is three years plus one year for retention.
[8:32] the federal share match, which is what cops will pay, is up to $250,000.
[8:38] the city contribution is estimated at 866,314
[8:45] over the three years. So that is a total estimated cost at 1,116,314.
[8:54] as part of of the cops hiring program guidelines, grantees are
[8:58] required to assume a progressively larger share of the cost over the three year grant
[9:02] period. So it is estimated, as I said, that the
[9:06] cost of one officer over the three years with the grant, 558,157,
[9:12] and that is based on the highest salary and benefits for so
[9:16] officer. So this approach ensures that full funded coverage
[9:21] is insured and if you know, so there is a possibility, there
[9:25] is a high likelihood that we will have a cost savings because we don't usually
[9:29] hire cops officers at the highest rank. So
[9:33] these savings would reduce the city's required local match and overall financial
[9:37] obligation, uh, justification for the additional officers to
[9:41] enhance police presence and response times, strengthen community
[9:46] and engagement, and address rising public safety demands with federal posture.
[9:51] so as I said, the action requested is to approve the fiscal year 2025
[9:56] ops hiring grant program retroactive to july 1st, 2025.
[10:00] I can entertain any questions. Commissioner max williams?
[10:05] no question ms. Heidi, did I hear you say that $558,157,
[10:12] is that for all of the office? I wrote one, but per officer
[10:16] per officer mayor over the three year period, correct. Okay. That includes the
[10:20] city match and the grant. All right. Thank you. And
[10:24] raised. No madam mayor. Thank you ms. Heidi,
[10:28] madam. A cm thank you madam mayor.
[10:33] resolution 2025 dash nine
[10:37] zero authorizing the acton city manager to submit
[10:41] an application to the federal emergency management agency, fema for
[10:45] the fiscal year 2024, staffing for adequate fire and emergency response
[10:50] safer grant program retroactive to july 3rd, 2025.
[10:54] and ms. Heidi will al will also present that item to you. Madam mayor. Ms. Hi.
[11:00] thank you. Mad city manager protocol established. So at the
[11:04] june 23rd workshop, the city commission reached consensus to apply
[11:09] for the fiscal year 2024 safer grant program through
[11:13] fema. So the grant application was successfully, um, submitted through
[11:17] the fema gold portal, um, by july 3rd. And this resolution
[11:21] seeks to formally, um, approve the grant application
[11:25] retroactive. So funding summary of this grant application,
[11:30] we did apply for 13, um, firefighter paramedics to staff
[11:34] an additional rescue truck over three shifts. The grand duration
[11:38] is three years, and the federal share is $3,337,370
[11:46] and 40 cents over three years. The city contribution would
[11:51] be $2,000,074, $581
[11:55] over three years. So the hiring costs breakdown for fema is a
[11:59] little different from cops. Year one and two, fema pays 75%
[12:04] and in year three they pay 35%. So it still lets
[12:08] us as the city atsu a greater responsibility. Um, there
[12:12] is no retention, um, here for the safer grant versus
[12:16] . There's that. Um, however, what is required
[12:20] for this, the positions must be new full-time firefighters
[12:25] grant. We must maintain the baseline staffing levels as when we
[12:29] apply. So we cannot reduce the number of firefighters
[12:33] that we have currently. So, and we have to do that for the full three years.
[12:38] there is a condition that to accept this grant. So we have applied and this
[12:42] resolution is to approve the application. However, I must, um,
[12:47] say that grant acceptance is contingent on the acquisition
[12:51] of an additional, uh, prior rescue truck to be
[12:56] deployed with the 13 requesting officers. So, as I said, the resolution
[13:00] is to formally approve the submission of the grant,
[13:04] and as if the grant is approved and awarded, we would then have
[13:08] to deal with the, um, acquisition of a private.
[13:13] are there any questions for the ? Commissioner
[13:17] maxwell williams, please. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.
[13:21] is there a deadline to purchase the truck? So we would know
[13:26] by this, we may be awarded or we would know something
[13:30] somewhere. Um, at the end of, I would say october-ish
[13:34] this year, we would have some time to go through the grant agreement process
[13:38] and all of that. I would say maybe around a year. Um, so we
[13:42] would, but we would have to show that we would, you know, we would have to accept
[13:47] the grant mm-hmm . To, in order to proceed with the grant agreement. So I would
[13:51] definitely say by the end of this year we would need to make
[13:55] a decision through you. Madam mayor, commissioner, are they, um,
[13:59] providing funding to help us purchase this through you? Madam mayor? The grant
[14:03] does not provide for equipment, um, purchase. It's just for the hiring
[14:08] of the firefighters. So we would have to be at that cost as a city
[14:13] to you, madam mayor? Yes, ma'am. Can we find grants that could help us purchase the
[14:17] fire truck? Um, through you, madam mayor? We have looked, I have still searching
[14:21] for, um, grants that do allow for purchase of equipment. Okay. No locks.
[14:25] I haven't found anything yet. Not yet. Okay. Yeah, but we're still searching. Thank
[14:30] you, ms. Heidi, what is the projected cost
[14:34] of the fire truck? Madam mayor, I have chief packet
[14:39] here. Oh. Who can provide additional information if that's okay? Yes.
[14:43] thank you, chief.
[14:47] good evening. Good evening, madam mayor, madam vice mayor, commissioners, mad
[14:52] manager, residents and visitors of lauderdale lakes. For the record, my name is
[14:56] chaz hackett. I'm your district chief of fire rescue bso. Uh,
[15:00] the current price in today's dollars for a fire rescue vehicle, a rescue
[15:04] truck is, is basically, uh, an ambulance. Uh, and we call it a rescue vehicle
[15:08] because it's dual certified. Firefighters and paramedics, they respond
[15:13] to fires as well as furnaces. The current cost
[15:17] for a new rescue truck is approximately 650 to $670,000
[15:22] in today's dollars. Now there are different, uh, avenues
[15:26] to go ahead and, and purchase a vehicle after speaking to our fleet
[15:31] division, um, getting a better understanding of it. It could be purchased outright and
[15:35] they are trying to ascertain right now if there's like a fire engine, if
[15:39] you were to purchase it outright, there's an additional savings percentage of savings
[15:44] if you paid cash, that's option one. Option two
[15:48] is a lease to purchase, uh, and that's through
[15:52] an additional vendor. And then the third option is just to lease. Currently,
[15:57] bso fire rescue does not lease to purchase, nor do we lease any of our own vehicles,
[16:01] but that wouldn't stop us from entertaining, uh,
[16:06] a municipality from doing so. Uh, so a city could either
[16:10] lease with the vendor, lease to own with the vendor, or
[16:15] we could be the leaser and coordinate that, and you would
[16:19] just pay bso. We would pay them. Um, so today,
[16:23] if we were to put a purchase order in for a rescue vehicle, we're looking at a
[16:27] two to three year lag time to receive that vehicle. So
[16:31] my understanding, if the city were to put a deposit down today, you wouldn't have to
[16:35] fully fund that until delivery or acceptance of that vehicle. So you could be
[16:39] looking at a two or three year timeframe. Now with that being said,
[16:45] if the city agrees and applies for the safer grant and we receive a safer grant
[16:49] via, so we'll put a spare rescue here so that staffing could automatically
[16:53] go on that rescue with no additional charge to the city
[16:59] and chief. Approximately what would the cost be of the put be?
[17:03] the fire rescue vehicle? So the fire rescue vehicle in today's dollars is around
[17:08] 650,000 to $670,000. I would like to
[17:12] add that historically, if you were to purchase a new vehicle after
[17:16] five or seven years is, is your lifespan. So every five to seven years you have to
[17:20] purchase a new vehicle. In today's environment, there's a company that we're
[17:25] using that instead of repurchasing a vehicle at seven years,
[17:29] say at $700,000, we're able to retrofit that, alright?
[17:33] and it's generally half the cost of a new vehicle. So in seven
[17:37] years from now, let's say the city today purchases a vehicle or $700,000
[17:43] and seven years from now, instead of purchasing a new vehicle, we can retrofit that
[17:47] vehicle, saving the city around 350,000. I am
[17:51] speaking in today's dollar, so I don't know what inflation would be. Seven years. And we can do that up to
[17:55] three times. So when we purchase a ci, the, if the city
[17:59] purchases the vehicle and seven years from now you retrofit it, you
[18:04] could do that three times. So instead of purchasing a new vehicle every seven
[18:08] years, you're just retrofitting it every seven years for a total of three times.
[18:12] so 21 years.
[18:18] thank you chair. Thank you ms. Heidi. Madam .
[18:22] thank you madam mayor. Resolution 2025. Madam mayor. Sorry. Um, commissioner
[18:27] thomas just raised her hand. I'm back. Oh, thank you. Commissioner thomas.
[18:31] thank you so much. Good evening. Thank you madam mayor. Um,
[18:36] my question to the chief, I know he did say,
[18:40] can everyone hear me all right? Yes. Uh, commissioner, thank you so much.
[18:44] um, I know he did mention that, uh, if we applied
[18:49] for, or, you know, uh, for this
[18:53] grant and, um, it was awarded
[18:58] and we did not have the, the fire rescue truck,
[19:02] we could get something from, I guess, uh, the sheriff's
[19:07] office or bso in order to fulfill the
[19:11] grant until one is available two to three years from
[19:15] now. Um, and that
[19:19] would we have to pay, uh, for that
[19:24] truck, that fire rescue truck that is provided? How would that
[19:28] work? Please? Yes ma'am. Good evening. So we have
[19:32] spear vehicles at our facility, so we would be able to facilitate
[19:37] one of our spear vehicles, place it in the city at no additional cost to the
[19:41] city of lauderdale lakes, commissioner thomas.
[19:46] thank you madam mayor. Alright, so that would be no additional cost
[19:50] until, um, that truck, which
[19:54] is two to three years from now, is available for us.
[19:58] so we, we in turn, if I'm understanding correctly,
[20:03] would still be in contract with, uh,
[20:09] if we choose to, whether lease or purchase to lease either
[20:13] one lease to purchase. Um, we would still have to be in
[20:17] contract to purchase that, um, fire rescue truck
[20:22] while we have one currently from bso.
[20:29] so ma'am, if I'm understanding you correctly, I think your, your question was we would
[20:33] provide the, or would we provide the spare rescue vehicle
[20:37] to the city of lauderdale lakes while lauderdale lakes is under contract to
[20:42] purchase a new one? Right, because I understand,
[20:46] um, that it is two to three years through you madam mayor. It's two
[20:50] to three years that we have to wait for that fire rescue truck.
[20:55] so the stipulation we could get the fire
[20:59] rescue truck from bso, um, in fulfilling
[21:04] what the emergency that submission of the grant is.
[21:08] but after that, would we have to put forth
[21:12] money in order during or afterwards
[21:18] in order to receive the new truck? How would that work? So
[21:22] the, sorry madam mayor threw you. So the spare truck that we would put here would
[21:26] be free of charge for the two or three years that it would take in order,
[21:30] ah, the new vehicle that the city of lauderdale lakes would be purchasing.
[21:35] commissioner thomas. Thank you kindly. That's it, madam mayor. Thank you kindly.
[21:39] thank you. Thank you chief. Thank you madam.
[21:45] thank you madam mayor. Item number nine e resolution 2025
[21:50] dash nine one authorizing the mayor and act city manager
[21:54] to execute an agreement to florida resilient grant agreement with bnc diving
[21:58] services. Llc free of the canal for rehabilitation project, as is
[22:03] required per resilient florida program and mr. Nasir will present that
[22:07] I item through you madam mayor. Thank you mr. Nasir,
[22:14] honorable mayor and city commissions,
[22:18] the city manager, the audience. This agreement,
[22:23] uh, the amendment is to the agreement with our
[22:27] awarded, uh, contractor, png or cannel
[22:32] four. The location of cannel four is between 41st and 47th
[22:36] street, uh, west of 35th avenue and east of 38
[22:40] terra that's in oral estate. Uh, the project is done.
[22:45] the contractor completed the kennel log. We, uh,
[22:50] paid the contractor, then we submitted the reimbursement package to dep.
[22:54] and dep actually, uh, gave us the comment that everything
[22:59] is okay, except we need to include this additional requirement with the agreement
[23:03] that we already have with the contractor. These are actually basic thing they're
[23:07] asking us to include. As you saw in the exhibit, it includes,
[23:11] uh, solid waste, uh, disposal act, clean air act, clean water
[23:16] act, federal requirements, uh, additional requirement, um, made a product.
[23:20] we complied with everything in terms of construction, but they wanted to
[23:24] have this with the agreement with contractor. This is the first time we see this kind of
[23:29] condition that we got from dep. If you have any question,
[23:33] I can answer that. In fact, after the completion of the project,
[23:37] we invited dep, they came, they inspected and they accepted
[23:41] our construction work. That means the project work is already
[23:46] approved by dep. Any questions, colleagues?
[23:51] no. Mr. Naia, would you identify where canal for is please?
[23:55] between 41st street and 42nd street.
[23:59] west of 35th avenue. And, um, it's
[24:03] in oil estate. Grace hill.
[24:08] alright, just north of 41st street. Thank
[24:12] you. Thank you mr. Adam. Thank you mr. Oh, you
[24:16] next up too. Mr. Madam. A cm. Thank
[24:20] you ms. No questions. Mr. De thank
[24:25] item number nine f resolution 2025 dash 0 9 2
[24:29] canceling the city commission workshop scheduled for august 11th, 2025 and august 25th, 2025,
[24:35] and the regular city commission meeting scheduled for august 12th, 2025 and
[24:39] august 26th, 2025. Are
[24:43] there any questions regarding colleagues
[24:47] none and raise no, no questions madam, mme. May see
[24:52] item number 10, a consideration of resolutions on regular agenda resolution
[24:56] 2025 dash nine three, adopting a preliminary rate for storm water services
[25:00] for fiscal year 2026 and setting a date for a public hearing to establish
[25:04] the final rate and assessment role. And we do have ms. Susan
[25:08] leor to present this item through you, madam mayor, susan.
[25:19] good afternoon, madam mayor, commissioner, acting
[25:24] city manager, city clerk, city staff, members of
[25:28] the visiting audience. My name is susan gooding library and
[25:32] I am acting as your financial services consultant in
[25:36] the capacity of interim financial services.
[25:40] and I will be presenting this item.
[25:45] the process of this resolution is to establish a preliminary
[25:50] form water assessment brief for collection through the broward county
[25:54] property appraisers office, so that we are in compliance with
[25:58] deadlines and public notice report. Just overview,
[26:03] the monthly rate will be $6 and 25 cents at annual rate
[26:07] of $75 per resident for a total revenue in our fy
[26:11] 26 budget of 355,725,000.
[26:18] administrative action city staff will certify this,
[26:22] um, preliminary role to the vpa by august 4th
[26:26] and it will appear on the trim notice. The public hearing is
[26:30] set for september 15th, 2025 at the city commission
[26:35] meeting, and I would entertain any questions,
[26:39] alex and raise
[26:43] ms. Fox? No, madam mayor, no thank you. Thank you ms. Susan.
[26:48] item number, item number 10 b resolution 20 25 5 dash
[26:53] nine four adopting a preliminary rate for solid waste services for fiscal year 25 and
[26:57] 26. And ms. Susan will also present this item through you. Madam mayor susan,
[27:02] all protocol have been observed and established value
[27:06] waste assessment, which resolution is to establish the
[27:10] preliminary salary rate service charge, which will be collected three
[27:15] pa the proposed rate is $272
[27:20] per resident. Also, there's no change from uh, 2026
[27:24] to 2025. There's no change. Estimated revenue to collect
[27:28] 1,455,472.
[27:34] it also will be appeared on the trim notice to all residents
[27:39] commission approval. There will be september 15th I whole city
[27:43] be I entertaining any questions? This
[27:48] is an on your backup. Could you explain optional backyard surcharge of
[27:52] $2 and 61 cents, please?
[27:56] back, you said back charge. Back charge. It says optional backyard
[28:00] surcharge $2 and 61 cents.
[28:08] are we on solid waste? Yes.
[28:22] for you madam mayor. Um, so the optional backyard sur uh, surcharge,
[28:26] that is not something that's going to be on the trim notice per se, just the
[28:30] residential, um, pickup. But that's something that, um, is billed
[28:35] separately. Um, I believe through businesses if they choose to
[28:39] contact, um, waste management, who's our solid waste, um, farmer,
[28:43] what would the surcharge cover? What type of service? Well, everything that we
[28:47] do in the stormwater, um, I'm sorry, in the solid waste is
[28:51] for the solid waste enterprise funds. So it will cover operational costs
[28:56] as well. The
[29:00] 2 72 would not cover operational costs. It should,
[29:05] yes. Then I I'm not understanding the two we can do and,
[29:09] and madam mayor, we can do also do some research and get back to you. Uh, tomorrow please.
[29:16] um, madam mayor, commissioner thomas. Commissioner thomas.
[29:21] thank you madam mayor. Um, not a comment. Not
[29:25] a comment. Just wanted to ask ms. Susan to please speak up
[29:29] more. Um, she kept drifting in her presentation to
[29:33] speak directly into the mic, if I'm having that issue. Maybe
[29:37] others are. Well, thank you. Thank you, commissioner. Thank you commissioner
[29:42] madam. Mayor madam mac. I think some of those charges
[29:47] also have to do with, um, if that area has a pool, maybe a
[29:51] large patio deck, possibly rain garden
[29:55] of some sort. Okay. But msid would bring us further information. Yeah.
[29:59] thank you madam. A thank
[30:03] you madam mayor. Resolution number 2025 dash nine five
[30:07] adopting the preliminary fire rescue services assessment for rates for fiscal year 2026
[30:12] and setting a date for a public hearing to establish the final rates for fire
[30:16] rescue services and ms. Susan will also present that item through
[30:20] you. Madam mayor, our protocol established and observed this
[30:25] resolution ensure compliance with city code section 46 dash
[30:29] 2 8 8, chapter 46, and the florida statute 1 9 7
[30:35] 0.3 6 32. It serves to establish
[30:39] the city intent to fund the fire rescue service through
[30:43] a non-ad special assessment
[30:48] estimated revenue for
[30:55] we are setting the rate. Um, and this will be done
[30:59] at our, the rate will be set at our september 15th, 2025
[31:04] commission meeting. And we are also maintaining
[31:08] the current rate structure. Um, I know there was a previous discussion about
[31:13] fire trucks and all of those, um, different things, offices and the
[31:17] safer. So this will, uh, become very important
[31:21] in setting this fire rescue preliminary rate
[31:25] for the fire services to bso. And this
[31:29] will also appear on our trim notice that will be sent to
[31:33] the bcpa on august 4th, 2021.
[31:40] questions, colleagues raise hand.
[31:44] ms. Pock no, madam mayor. No thank you ms. Susan mme. May
[31:48] stand. Item number 10 d resolution 2025 dash 0 9 6
[31:52] adopt a tentative millage rate for fiscal year 2026, established
[31:57] in of a rollback rate and setting a date for a public hearing on the proposed operating
[32:01] debt service millage rates. And ms. Susan will be presenting that item to you.
[32:05] again, all protocol observe and establish
[32:09] this resolution is to ensure compliance with section 2 0 0
[32:14] 0.065 of the florida statute, establishing
[32:18] a proposed millage rate for 2026, certify the
[32:22] rollback rate and notifying broward county property appraiser's
[32:27] office. Our current millage rate is 8.6000,
[32:33] no change. There is also a voted debt service millage
[32:37] of 0.4910. There's
[32:41] no change there. Um, total proposed millage is
[32:45] 9.0910, no change. The rollback
[32:50] rate will be 8.04 to four.
[32:54] the proposed operating millage exceeds the rollback rate
[32:58] by 6.93% and this will be, um, appearing
[33:03] on the trim notice to our residents revenue
[33:07] estimated to collect from our proposed rate is
[33:11] 18,000,380 1002 68.
[33:17] if the rollback rate is utilized, it'll be revenue collected
[33:21] of 70 million 1 0 2 7 1 8
[33:27] and will be entertained. Any questions? Correct.
[33:32] raise hand. No questions. Mad. Thank you ms. Susan madam,
[33:36] a madam mayor, we do have a time, certain 5:30 pm
[33:41] that's for additional workshop items. Number five a. Would
[33:45] you like to take that item now, madam mayor? Yes. Discussion regarding supporting the newly
[33:49] formed chamber of commerce committee, future plans and needs in the establishment of the lauderdale lakes
[33:53] chamber of commerce. And mr. Patrick green will present
[33:57] that item green. And, um, actually I'll have ms. Vielka
[34:02] come to the podium. First to introduce mr. Green through you, madam mayor vca.
[34:06] good afternoon. Um, madam mayor, vice mayor, city commission,
[34:10] city attorney, uh, acting city manager
[34:14] or audience, virtual audience, colleagues and guests present for
[34:19] the record. My name is vca buchanan. I'm the economic development manager.
[34:24] this item pertains to a prior discussion with mr. Green,
[34:28] a member of the economic development advisory board. Mr. Green
[34:32] is leading the initiatives to establish the chamber of commerce here
[34:36] in lauderdale lakes today. He's joined by several members of
[34:40] the newly formed committee, which has been created to support incorporation
[34:45] of the chamber. They're present to share updates on their progress and
[34:49] outline the resources and support needed to move forward with the establishment.
[34:54] um, with that being said, madam chair, if, if you allow, uh, mr. Green is
[34:58] right here. Mr. Green,
[35:04] thank you very much. Madam mayor, commissioners, city
[35:08] manager, city the clerk, city attorney, members of the
[35:12] audience, a very special to you.
[35:17] my name is patrick green and on behalf of the business community,
[35:21] madam mayor, want to extend a hartford thanks to you
[35:26] and the commissioners, um, to the economic development advisory
[35:30] board, as well as to the members of staff
[35:34] of the city of florida lakes for your input and
[35:38] contribution to the larger lauderdale lakes team
[35:42] of commerce. It has not come to life. It is breathing
[35:46] and it's living. Um, lemme share with you, um, madam mayor, some of the
[35:50] progress that we have made since our meeting on june 25th that you
[35:55] were in attendance. We have selected a, a very dynamic
[35:59] board of nine members. Um, and these are
[36:04] trailblazers who have given their time, um, and the expertise
[36:08] to ensuring that the laws that the league stream of commerce is gonna become successful.
[36:13] um, is a president, a vice president, secretary, treasurer,
[36:18] events director, marketing director, government liaison, liaison officer,
[36:23] and the director of large. And I'm happy to share with you that we have two or four members here
[36:27] today. Uh, we have ms. Ann doza, who is our vice president,
[36:32] and we also have mr. Borough, who's our marketing director. That
[36:36] is ken over there at our first board meeting on july 8th.
[36:40] um, madam mayor, we officially adopted the bylaws
[36:45] as well as the article of in cooperation. Um, since that the
[36:49] chamber has applied to for registration, um,
[36:53] uh, to the state of florida. And we have also sought the
[36:57] 5 0 1 c3 designation, which we will do after we have gotten the approval from
[37:01] the state. Um, once registration is completed, we'll open, of
[37:05] course, a bank account, um, we're paying members
[37:10] will be able to have, um, their membership dues, uh, deposited
[37:15] and signal the full launch of the chamber. Uh, meanwhile,
[37:19] our marketing events and membership teams, um, have already
[37:24] started work, um, in making sure that the foundation
[37:28] is is clearly set. Um, our marketing
[37:33] efforts include creating a website. So we've started the process. Uh,
[37:37] we've also started the creation of the social media accounts,
[37:41] and of course there are promotional materials that we're looking at to ensure
[37:45] that the awareness came created, uh, within the
[37:49] only 650 active businesses that we have in our city.
[37:54] um, the chain was present at the last financial educational,
[37:58] uh, fear that was hosted, um, right here. Um,
[38:03] at the event we got 19 businesses gave us
[38:07] the information, um, and asked us to reach out to them
[38:11] when things have gotten off so they can become members. The membership team
[38:16] has created a very compelling value proposition,
[38:20] um, that is structured to in different investment
[38:24] tiers. So you'll have different tiers, different membership, um,
[38:28] values that they will end up getting. We have from students,
[38:33] uh, straight up to honorary levels.
[38:37] we wanna make sure that, for example, if there's a student who is or still
[38:41] in college who is, uh, business minded or business
[38:45] orientated, then we can get them inside the chamber to kind
[38:49] of start off the process of building the businesses. And,
[38:53] um, taken on the entrepreneurial spirit that they have.
[38:58] um, to build momentum, the chamber will host a monthly business
[39:02] breakfast, um, which is going to be one of our signature event.
[39:06] um, and in that, uh, breakfast will invite, you know,
[39:10] as many members as we can get. Uh, our goal
[39:14] is between now and the end of december, we are
[39:19] looking to register at least 200 members
[39:23] out of the over 650 that we have. We
[39:27] do have the database, we do have the list, we have contact information.
[39:31] and so the team is going to be working very, very hard to ensure
[39:35] that we can achieve that goal. Um,
[39:40] we know that this is ambitious, madam, madam mayor, um, but I, I
[39:44] can guarantee you that the board and the team that we have working is gonna work,
[39:48] um, as seriously to make sure that we achieve that goal.
[39:53] we know madam mayor, that the city recognizes how valuable, um,
[39:57] a vibrant chamber is. Strong chamber means
[40:02] a more robust and compensative business community, increased tax revenues
[40:06] and inviting environment for new businesses,
[40:11] and of course, greater civic engagement in keeping our city clean.
[40:16] green . There's job creation,
[40:20] um, expanded access to state and federal grant opportunities through which
[40:24] these goals. Um, madam mayor, we are asking for
[40:28] modest investment from the city and it's modest because
[40:33] we know that in other cities, the chambers that existed there,
[40:37] they did get some help from the cities to start the process off.
[40:41] we get the training wheel going until they're able to ride on, um,
[40:45] the regular wheels. Specifically, we are requesting $5,000
[40:50] to cover the cost of three monthly break fast.
[40:55] so the state will look, become sponsor of those three break fast.
[40:59] and then after that we will go ahead and use what the income
[41:03] we have generated from membership and other activities fund
[41:08] all our act activities going forward. Um,
[41:13] this investment, madam chairman, will allow the chamber apart from all the
[41:17] benefits that I outlined before, we'll also provide you with a banner at events,
[41:22] um, on our website as well as so ones
[41:26] to do at that point. We will make sure that we have that on it as well.
[41:31] um, madam mayor, this is more than a sponsorship. It's a partnership
[41:35] for growth chance of, so the seeds of a
[41:39] more prosperous la the lakes business community.
[41:44] madam mayor commissioners, we are standing at the threshold
[41:48] of something special and extraordinary for thank you for
[41:52] believing the vision and thank you for your support. Thank you in
[41:56] advance for the contribution and sure that you will make ensure that
[42:01] the city and the law ex chamber
[42:06] questions. Commissioner thomas. Commissioner
[42:11] thomas. Thank you madam mayor. Thank you mr. Green.
[42:16] your presentation is always, um, you know,
[42:20] top-notch and, um, I, I do look forward to
[42:25] being engaged in the participation and I hope my colleagues
[42:30] as well just want to clarify. You said, um,
[42:34] the sponsorship would be for the first three
[42:39] months of breakfast for the meet and greet. Is that what I
[42:43] heard you, madam chairman? Madam mayor? Uh, yes. Commissioner.
[42:50] that was commissioner. Pardon?
[42:55] madam mayor. Yes, go ahead, commissioner thomas. And the total
[42:59] amount, if I heard you correctly, is about $5,000 you're
[43:03] looking at. So, uh, to you madam mayor. So the, the total
[43:07] budget that we have is 9,600
[43:12] and I believe $56 mm-hmm . And what we're looking to
[43:17] do is we, and that will cover things like promotional
[43:21] materials and everything that is needed, um, to get the breakfast going.
[43:25] um, we didn't want to charge members, um, in the initial stages
[43:29] because we want an incentive to get people in there, as many people as possible
[43:34] so that we can try and convert them over to become members. Um, and so
[43:38] we will use that as an incentive to invite as many people in there as possible
[43:43] to be able to get them to become members. Now, once they become members, then after
[43:47] that, after the third, after the third one, then we'll look at,
[43:51] you know, other revenue, um, opportunities that we can use
[43:55] to fund all the great class going forward. Okay. Through
[43:59] you madam mayor, mr. Thomas. Thank you. Uh, mr. Green,
[44:04] uh, also with that tier, I hope that nonprofits would
[44:08] be included in that tier as well. You, madam
[44:12] mayor. Um, that is the second tier, so we
[44:16] wanna make sure that all the nonprofits who made such meaningful
[44:21] contribution to the city, um, that they're involved in this as well.
[44:26] thank you so much. Thank you madam mayor. It's
[44:31] one question of the 19 businesses from the resource fair that we
[44:35] had, have we contacted them any? And what has been the response as far
[44:39] as membership? Alright, so what we're
[44:43] looking to do, madam chairman, in addition to the list that we already have, we
[44:47] did make some initial contact just to follow up. Um, but
[44:51] in terms of the information that we can provide, we wanted to make sure that we
[44:56] can give them the value that they will get when they become members,
[45:00] um, and, and other pertinent information to allow them to become members.
[45:04] so we haven't converted them as yet, but we have made just some initial,
[45:08] you know, uh, contact just to say, hey, listen, thank you for stopping by the table.
[45:13] um, and then we look forward to providing them with additional information. Thank
[45:17] you. Mad mayor, mr. Harrison. Um, mr. Green,
[45:21] thank you for the presentation. Um, as you know, the city wants to partner
[45:25] with the newly formed chamber. Um, I'm in support of the chamber,
[45:29] I think is gonna be, uh, needed for the business community here in lauderdale
[45:33] lakes. Um, I actually think more businesses need to have a voice within city
[45:38] hall, and we haven't been doing a good job at doing that. So thank you for your leadership on this.
[45:42] um, the last discussion we had, you, you did come back and told us you would
[45:46] be coming to asking for some support, some resources to help with the initial steps, um, which
[45:50] is understandable. Uh, you mentioned some items create a website,
[45:55] um, marketing for social media. Obviously this is gonna,
[45:59] um, include creating flyers. Is there a cost associated with those items
[46:03] as well? And, and, and do you currently, uh, have the funds for those items?
[46:08] um, the funds for, sorry, through you madam mayor. Um, the
[46:12] funds for social media, the website creation, um, is taken care of already.
[46:17] um, we do have that covered. Um, and so, you know, this
[46:21] is why we are not included in anything like that in or any requests to
[46:25] be to this. Awesome. Um, have you already started?
[46:29] thank you three madam mayor. Um, I did mention last time that we also want
[46:33] to make sure we're, um, encouraging the businesses to invest as well. Have you
[46:37] raised, uh, some type of funds from the business members that are currently a part of the chamber?
[46:41] sue, you, madam mayor? Um, well, as I stated before, the
[46:46] membership, uh, committee that we have, uh, in peace right now, we have
[46:50] just about completed the value proposition that we
[46:54] want bring forward to the business community. Um, and it
[46:58] will be unfair to go to them and say, hey, listen, you know, this is what your investment
[47:02] is going to be without proving value to them. And so now that we have
[47:06] had that, um, I got the report this morning from, uh, our membership
[47:10] director and we are gonna just look at it from a board level, ensure that
[47:15] it is something that, um, is valuable to the members
[47:19] as well as well as valuable to the chamber. When we have done that,
[47:23] then that is when we start looking at getting investments from them
[47:27] to be able to help to finance some of the activities and
[47:31] functions that we're good having. Um, so to answer your question, no, not yet,
[47:36] but it is important. Madam mayor. Yeah, mr. Green, I just feel like we're
[47:40] kind of probably putting a cart before the horse on a, on a few things here. Um, I
[47:44] think we should be having that discussions first, getting those commitments first,
[47:48] setting up the membership process first. Um, those 19
[47:52] businesses that was at the financial literacy fair, we, we could have had a process to funnel them,
[47:56] get them engaged, pay membership, um,
[48:01] I mean, I'm not against us putting something towards, uh, a breakfast, but to, to do that event
[48:05] and then try to express the value at that time. You know, we've already
[48:10] invested. There's no telling if they'll, uh, you know, see the value in that.
[48:15] um, I just, I just think it's kind of, um, and, and my other question is how much would each
[48:19] breakfast cost? I know you said that should cover the first three to 5,000. How much would each breakfast cost?
[48:23] thank you. So I'll answer two questions to you management and I, um,
[48:28] so I do, I can appreciate the, the sentiments that you share about the,
[48:32] the, the cat before the the horse. Um, the thing is that
[48:38] what we don't want to do is to rush through something and
[48:42] then make errors in the process. It's a, it's a thought out process
[48:46] that we are using, um, with the nine directors to ensure that
[48:51] when we put something out there, it is real. So part of that process involves
[48:55] argument c researching some of the, um, chambers of commerce around us.
[48:59] they're gonna see what the market is, is charging for investment, what
[49:04] value they're providing based on that, then we can coin something that
[49:08] will fit and match what we have in our city. If we were to go to
[49:12] a business, for example, the 19 business that we, um, saw a couple of weeks
[49:16] ago and said to them, hey, listen, um, the cost for membership is going to be, uh, $50
[49:21] or 300, what are you giving us for that?
[49:26] well, we would need to have something to give to them. So I'm saying we have not lost them
[49:30] and we have not lost anybody. What we want to do is to make sure that the process that
[49:34] we use, um, it is proven, tested, has value for the
[49:38] persons who are receiving it, and then we can deliver. Um, the second
[49:43] question, uh, through you madam mayor, regarding the cost of the breakfast,
[49:47] the, the food itself gonna cost us, uh, around $13
[49:51] each.
[49:56] you madam mayor, how much is each breakfast gonna cost? I'm saying it's 30
[50:00] $13. $13 each breakfast is, no, no, sorry,
[50:04] sorry, you're asking for three, madam mayor, you said there are three breakfast events, correct?
[50:08] yeah. Okay. How much is each event going to cost?
[50:13] so each event is gonna run us around a thousand dollars.
[50:20] so do you mad mayor? Disagree. So the
[50:25] cost of the breakfast, we are trying to get at least, uh, around a hundred persons,
[50:29] uh, to each breakfast.
[50:33] so you're talking about, um, you're talking about on, uh,
[50:38] 300 people over the course of the three months.
[50:43] um, and so when we add in all the other stuff to promote and tools
[50:47] and so on, um, that was where our cost comes up to .
[50:52] mayor, thank you for that. Uh, mr. Green, um, again,
[50:56] it's, it's, it's kind of vague. It is costing around 3000, but you're asking for five.
[51:01] um, again, I support the chamber. I think we can, uh, put together a chamber. I think
[51:05] it's gonna be beneficial. Um, I, I personally feel like I think we
[51:09] have the network out there to somehow help with that $5,000. Uh,
[51:13] I think the city more than likely would be committed to helping towards that. But I,
[51:18] I think it has to be a partnership, like you say, where you can come back and say, here
[51:22] are the businesses that are putting skin in the game willing to invest towards this. And we need
[51:26] help from the city to help get the rest of this, uh, to reach the finish line.
[51:30] uh, I, I don't want to get into the habit of, uh, the city being every time,
[51:34] and I know we talked about this, uh, but again, we're,
[51:39] we're not over the chamber officially, so we have to work with the chamber, but I, I personally
[51:44] think you can, uh, especially if you keep network and raise some of
[51:48] the funds from the members of, uh, to, to, to host these,
[51:52] uh, breakfasts, you're looking to host disagree. Just for clarification,
[51:56] um, just to make sure that we understand where the numbers are. I, I did say 3000, 5,000,
[52:01] um, 5,000 includes the cost of the other stuff.
[52:05] so it's not just providing breakfast. Uh, we need promotional stuff
[52:09] to be able to get people there as well. Um, so the additional costs
[52:13] above what the breakfast costs would include everything else to
[52:18] get a hundred members into one, feed them, talk to them,
[52:22] get them all motivated, excited to become part of the member. Um,
[52:26] and, and, and we are not against having members having skin in the game as well.
[52:31] um, that has to be the part because the chamber is not the city.
[52:35] we are going to be having some friendly fights with
[52:39] the city, I hope sometimes to be able to get things done for the
[52:43] business community. So we don't want to feel as if the city owes us
[52:47] and we can't go to the city and say, hey, listen, what you're doing is wrong. This is a better
[52:51] way based on our own research. That's not what we're saying. But we, we think
[52:55] it is prudent for the city to partner is the business community
[53:00] to ensure that they can function. The
[53:04] benefits of a chamber is proven that when
[53:09] businesses do well in a city, the city will do well. And so
[53:13] your investment here should not be looked at as
[53:17] we are just given money. You be in a an atm, they're
[53:21] providing money for, um, uh, a chamber is an investment
[53:25] that has been made to ensure that the benefits
[53:29] can come back to the city and its resident.
[53:34] okay. And raise
[53:38] michael williams. Thank you mr. Green for that presentation.
[53:42] I think the chamber commerce is a great idea and
[53:46] I hope my colleagues will jump on board and support him with the $5,000.
[53:51] thank you. Thank you.
[53:55] thank you for your presentations. Thank you madam chair, madam a cm.
[54:00] thank you madam mayor. Thank you ms. Vca. We do have a time certain
[54:04] of 6:00 pm it is 5:54 pm would
[54:08] you like to go ahead and take the time? Certain now, madam mayor? Yes. Advi item number
[54:12] five b advisory board presentation to the city commission.
[54:16] we do have the budget advisory committee members and we
[54:21] do have ms. Mattel, dr. Mattel stevenson, dr. Stevens.
[54:27] good evening madam mayor. Our commissioner's, uh, c assistants,
[54:32] I mean our act, city manager, our city attorney, and everyone else in our viewing
[54:36] audience. I'm gonna ask the illustrious members of the budget advisory committee
[54:41] to come up. Um, we have ms. Janine young, who is our vice chair, barbara smith,
[54:46] who's our secretary, mr. Earl estelle, who is one of our members
[54:50] at large and simone shepherd, who is not here. But we had
[54:54] a very active budget advisory committee. We met and we wanna
[54:58] say thank you for at least listen listening to one of the recommendations last year that we start earlier.
[55:03] and so we stand tonight to present to you our 2026 budget
[55:07] recommendations based off of the information that we had available during
[55:12] our meeting times. One of the things we want to caution, I know that the finance department
[55:17] put in deadlines for departments to enter budgets, but it's,
[55:21] it's hard for us to completely do the work that you have set out to appoint
[55:25] us to do if those budgets are not submitted in a timely manner.
[55:29] I think that we had maybe one or two meetings that we were actually able to actually see budgets
[55:34] to work with for the departments. So our recommendations are based on the information that we have,
[55:39] we will number one, suggest that the city adopts the current millage
[55:43] rate of 8.6000. We
[55:48] also caution, and I know that we have a fire assessment that they just
[55:52] received the results for. So our, our recommendation is that
[55:56] when you get that fire assessment and that it is thoroughly reviewed with
[56:01] the chief and budget that you look at that 'cause it is our belief that
[56:05] any assessment, whether it's stormwater, water, fire, or
[56:11] it's one more stormwater, the sanitation, that those assessments
[56:16] fully support those services. Because what often happens is when
[56:20] those assessments do not, I know no commissioner wants to say we are increasing your assessment,
[56:24] but when those assessments do not support the services, you end up
[56:28] taking it from another pot of money and eventually your reserves begin to dwindle.
[56:33] so it is our thing that we support whatever the final results of the fire assessment
[56:37] analysis will, will give you. Same thing with the storm water,
[56:41] just to make sure that that's cost recovery in place so that I'm not talking
[56:45] over anybody head. It's the whole thing that whatever you charge, it
[56:49] takes care of all of those services. That's what we're recommending. So that means that if
[56:54] what we're charging doesn't take care of the services that you strongly look at and assessment,
[56:58] that will totally take care of the services themselves. Okay?
[57:03] also that we really, um, look at a replacement plan for major equipment.
[57:07] I know we've had so many conversations around equipment, but so that the city stays
[57:12] fiscally sound that you have in place or ensure that the city
[57:16] manager when you hire one put in place with those departments
[57:20] that use major equipment, heavy equipment, a replacement plan
[57:24] for all equipment. Because if you do not put a replacement plan in
[57:28] place, you wake up with a surprise and sometimes that surprise can be to the tomb of
[57:32] $300,000. So it is, it is, our recommendation is that
[57:37] all major equipment has a replacement plan in place. Also,
[57:41] I know that we've been working with a allow, um, with lost revenue, um, that covid
[57:45] money that's lingering around. Our recommendation is that
[57:49] we start looking honestly at those. I know a lot of that funding
[57:53] went to towards minor home repair rent assistance,
[57:57] and that we understand that we don't have our residents depending
[58:01] on a pot of money that after 2026 will not be available.
[58:06] and so we want to caution, um, the city on making sure that
[58:10] we're easing our, whether it's minor home repair, whether it's hardening of
[58:14] the homes, whether it's financial rent assistance, that that money that
[58:18] we reallocated for lost revenue, that we all know by the end of, I know 12 20 26
[58:24] is when some of it, all of it has to be done. That we don't depend on those
[58:28] programs. Okay. Um, other budget considerations you can read,
[58:32] but we just wanna make sure that our city is looking at the impact that tariffs
[58:36] may have on some of the equipment or services that we purchase, that we look at the impact
[58:41] even at a city of our size, that the big beautiful bill passage
[58:45] will impact. How does that impact our city? Also, we
[58:49] get the cops grants and we're all screaming about yes, you know, we do know that
[58:53] there's a cost to the city and after the fourth year, just making sure we have a place
[58:58] to do it. I know we're reapplying for those fundings, but we need to have a place since
[59:02] public safety was something that each one of you when we met with you said was a
[59:06] priority that we're looking at what is a way that we can maintain this level, even
[59:11] if cops funding go away. So we wanted that to stay at your front forefront.
[59:15] um, also wanna make sure we're creating programs that can ensure that our neighbors
[59:19] are prepared and ready for emergency situations. Um,
[59:23] one other one I wanna bring up is, oh, an analysis, right?
[59:28] an ana a full analysis of all of your positions that we have because,
[59:32] and a lot of the program modifications that we did see, a lot of it requested
[59:36] additional staff. And so my thing is, if we're currently
[59:41] not filling positions we have now, we're cre we're creating more. But that we really do
[59:45] a full analysis of all of our departments, all of the staff and where we're
[59:49] at, so that you can make sure that when things are presented to you that are for your power
[59:53] to vote on, that we're making decisions based off facts, not off our
[59:57] feelings. The other thing was to make sure that we review departmental level
[1:00:01] budgets for opportunities to look at how we reduce costs. I think we said this
[1:00:05] before, 'cause oftentimes when we have a changeover in staff, we don't know or you've
[1:00:10] not been presented, hey, you're just presented with, hey, this is something we like, we wanna start this
[1:00:14] new process. But you've gotta start asking the hard questions. What is the impact?
[1:00:18] have we spent any money on, on things that we've not used? And
[1:00:22] so we wanna just make sure that you're doing that. And so also explore
[1:00:27] new revenue sources like cares act funding, medicaid economic and recovery
[1:00:31] funding and public emergency medical transplant. So that is
[1:00:35] our presentation that we wanted to make to you guys on the recommendations on the
[1:00:39] information that we've had. Are there any questions, colleagues
[1:00:44] hand raised? No. Madam.
[1:00:49] yes, she does have her hand. Commissioner thomas. Thank you madam mayor. Thank
[1:00:53] you dr. Stevens for that, uh, recommendation. All those recommendation
[1:00:58] thoroughly, um, looked through because you had earlier
[1:01:02] time in order to, you know, assess what was given
[1:01:06] to you. Um, I thank
[1:01:10] you for that. Even some of those, uh, recommendation that you gave
[1:01:15] are to be taken, uh, thought wordly because
[1:01:21] I do see each and every one of you on the board have the city
[1:01:25] at heart. So thank you very much for that. Um,
[1:01:29] all that you recommended and, and I'm, I'm also
[1:01:33] in agreement with that, um, the
[1:01:37] assessments to take a look at our assessment
[1:01:41] when it comes to us for server service,
[1:01:46] recovery and support of those services. We don't want to
[1:01:50] maintain what we have if it's not covering
[1:01:54] the services that we do provide. 'cause I know some of the services have
[1:01:58] gone up over the years. So thank you very much for that recommendation,
[1:02:02] those recommendation by the team.
[1:02:07] thank you dr. Stevens and your team for the
[1:02:11] hard work that you have put in. I also want to thank you for inviting the mayor and commission
[1:02:15] to your meeting. It was a very informative meeting and a very sharing meeting and we
[1:02:19] appreciated the opportunity to discuss with you all what the mayor and commission
[1:02:24] would like to see as priorities in our city. And definitely the one that
[1:02:28] I, all of them, but the analysis of staff positions is one that
[1:02:32] really should be with that. But thank you so very, very much. I forgot to mention
[1:02:36] one key thing we did talk about at our last meeting. Thank you. We talked about how to get the community.
[1:02:41] madam mayor, we talked about how to get the community aboard. So next cycle, uh,
[1:02:45] we do wanna host a meeting where all of the advisory boards
[1:02:50] come to a budget workshop so that as they're making requests that they understand.
[1:02:54] 'cause sometimes we operate in silos and we only see our portion, but I think that if
[1:02:58] we involve have one meeting we talked about with every advisory board
[1:03:03] and the budget advisory board along with the commission, then I think that now we
[1:03:07] are at least engaging more of our community members in the budget process.
[1:03:15] yes. Thank you dr. Stevens and the board for, uh, presenting, uh, this
[1:03:19] and the last, uh, discussion we had was great as well. Um,
[1:03:23] I just had one thing I wanted to ask. Acting city manager, can we get all of her talking
[1:03:27] points that she had in the backup so we can review? I didn't really, uh,
[1:03:31] get a chance to read along. We don't have it in the backup, so, uh, if we could, uh, just get
[1:03:35] that shared. Sure, no problem. Will do. Thank you. Thank you
[1:03:39] dr. Stu. Thank you guys. Thanks. The ne
[1:03:44] the next madam mayor's military advisory board. We have chairperson linda
[1:03:48] huey and vice chairperson john davis.
[1:03:53] mr. Davis.
[1:04:05] good evening, uh, commissioners. Madam mayor,
[1:04:10] city clerk. In the absence of, uh,
[1:04:15] linda hughley, uh, board, uh, chair,
[1:04:19] I'm gonna make our, our presentation. I'd like to first of
[1:04:23] all thank the city for allowing us to exist
[1:04:28] for supporting and caring about the veterans in your community and
[1:04:32] people who have, have served for us
[1:04:36] all to share the freedoms that we have. I'd like to thank,
[1:04:41] uh, uh, commissioner,
[1:04:45] uh, tacy for reappointed me. I've been on the board for, for a
[1:04:49] number of years and we've done some great things in our community.
[1:04:53] this time under the leadership of our liaison,
[1:05:01] so the
[1:05:05] military affairs board, our year in review and
[1:05:09] our vision forward, the military affairs board
[1:05:14] has made real progress in strengthening bonds between
[1:05:18] our veterans and the lauderdale lakes community.
[1:05:22] this is what we've achieved and where we're headed.
[1:05:27] veterans brunch. We welcome over 60 guests, welcoming
[1:05:32] new veterans into our community and into our, our
[1:05:36] awareness of our existence, building connections and
[1:05:40] appreciation. We participated in the community garage
[1:05:45] sale, uh, we united residents and
[1:05:49] veterans in a shared vibrant space. We'd
[1:05:53] also like to make you aware of the veteran's parking spots.
[1:05:58] uh, you notice I'm parked in one tonight, a couple
[1:06:03] locations around the city. We'd like to thank the city very much
[1:06:07] providing that to the veterans in our community,
[1:06:11] a gesture that's truly va valued.
[1:06:16] the lakes news features, this spotlights our
[1:06:20] hometown veterans and, and heroes with plans
[1:06:24] to keep their stories upfront and center
[1:06:29] where we're going. Thanks to your past generosity,
[1:06:34] we've laid a strong foundation. Now we're seeking funding
[1:06:38] to power, uh, 2025 and
[1:06:43] 2026 initiatives. Uh,
[1:06:47] we're planning on outreach popups, quarterly ga gatherings
[1:06:51] where veterans feel herd and connected.
[1:06:56] newsletter resource, page a did you know, column
[1:07:01] sharing tips, benefits, and vital support information.
[1:07:07] we'd also like you to consider a veteran's memorial
[1:07:12] physical memorial in the city of lauderdale, lake lauderdale
[1:07:16] lakes. As we drive through many cities in
[1:07:20] our communities, I noticed in tamarack there's
[1:07:25] a huge veterans memorial we would like for you to
[1:07:29] consider sharing the largest
[1:07:33] physical memorial in our community, the sam brown
[1:07:37] memorial, and making it the sam brown
[1:07:41] veterans memorial because it, it, it's one of
[1:07:45] the most visible positions in, in the city,
[1:07:50] and it would truly show that we honored our
[1:07:55] veterans. We're planning other community events, luncheons,
[1:08:00] town halls, and wellness gatherings to foster connections
[1:08:04] and ease isolation, marketing and
[1:08:09] recognition, outreach tools
[1:08:13] and personalized acknowledgements that uplift
[1:08:17] the veterans in our community. In
[1:08:21] case you didn't know, lauderdale lakes has the highest
[1:08:25] number of retired vietnam veterans in
[1:08:29] broward county. Many live alone in field
[1:08:33] disc disconnected. But together we can change that.
[1:08:39] your support goes beyond funding. It's a promise
[1:08:43] of visibility, respect, and consistent care.
[1:08:48] let's keep showing up. Let's turn civic pride
[1:08:52] into daily support for those who serve.
[1:08:57] and again, thank you lauderdale lakes for your support
[1:09:01] to the veterans. Any questions
[1:09:07] henry raised? No, madam mayor. And mr. Davis, would you introduce
[1:09:11] your gentleman that's one of the members of the advisory board standing behind you?
[1:09:19] good evening. Uh, madam mayor, my name is, uh, jamal jenkins. Jenkins.
[1:09:24] thank you so very much. Commissioner max williams. Thank you, madam mayor.
[1:09:28] thank you for that presentation. And I totally agree with
[1:09:32] making the monument, uh, veteran. I know I've been working
[1:09:36] on it. We were talking about the park. We talked about so many different things. So
[1:09:41] I spoke with linda, so I think the monument would be a great idea.
[1:09:47] thank you, mr. Davis. Thank you, mr. Jake.
[1:09:51] next we have the parks and recreation advisory board, and I believe secretary crystal,
[1:09:56] crystal koman, and board member james humphrey and paul martin
[1:10:00] are present. Who you? Madam mayor.
[1:10:05] dr. Bass.
[1:10:09] hello everyone. Um, hello. Hello. Okay,
[1:10:14] how you doing? Um, I'm the chairperson. I'm gonna be presenting, um, I'm dr.
[1:10:18] cullen bass on my, the other board members I would like to state is rudolph mcken,
[1:10:23] vice chair. I have crystal, who's the
[1:10:27] second execut? Paul martin is a member at large, and also james hump,
[1:10:31] also a member at large. Being passed around is a list of
[1:10:36] support that I'm gonna be giving. I'm gonna make it short and sweet. I'm not gonna talk
[1:10:40] about everything, but I think I'm gonna just highlight certain things in this report that
[1:10:44] I think would be pertinent. But you have any questions? You can also always ask me the question
[1:10:48] again. I live in 38 21 north west 41st street, over in orio estate.
[1:10:53] now, I would like to let you know, I also, I've been on this board five
[1:10:59] long time on this park track for a long time. Wow.
[1:11:03] too long, but it's long . Anyway, um, I would
[1:11:07] like talk about the goal of the park. Most of the time people think parks is only sports,
[1:11:12] but it's not. It's a, a little bit more than just parks. Just parks. It's, it, it draws
[1:11:16] people to the community. You have a purified park. It brings a lot of people. So the goal
[1:11:21] of the board is to one, uh, routinely visit parks and community centers
[1:11:25] and report any safety programs and, or it concerns our
[1:11:29] main goal in parks and recs. It's safety, safety first.
[1:11:33] and we go out and visit the park and we see damage items or
[1:11:37] things of that nature. We report it back to our liaison, which is vince mullen,
[1:11:42] and he reports to you guys. And our one priority is safety first. No
[1:11:46] matter what, it's always about safety. Therefore, we get safety outta the way. It
[1:11:50] don't, e safety is our number one priority no matter what we do. The
[1:11:54] safety is always our top goal. Uh, second thing is to be the voice of the
[1:11:58] residents, because we all the residents, and as it relates to requests,
[1:12:03] risk programs and facilitate any services, we give back
[1:12:07] suggestions from the board. I've been doing this for years. Then we bring new projects on board.
[1:12:11] it always get approved through. All we do is recommend. We just a advisory board. We
[1:12:16] recommend it get approved through the commission. So that's the second thing. Activity,
[1:12:21] uh, attendance and support. Support events. We go by different, um,
[1:12:25] sporting events like basketball, football, whatever. It, it's, we have an event that we try to support as well,
[1:12:30] uh, and administer. Throughout the parks and human services, we, uh, suggest new
[1:12:34] programs, like I mentioned, and amenities and leisure of services to be
[1:12:38] better. How to serve our residents. Our number one goal is residents. First,
[1:12:43] it's all about the residents. If it's not the residents, I'm thinking it'll be anyone else. So we come
[1:12:47] first as a resident, and I am a resident as well. And, uh, fourth, we
[1:12:51] wanna encourage members of the community to participate as well as the support of our city
[1:12:55] program. We try to get our flyers. Don't know how often they get it out. We su we recommend
[1:12:59] it, it up to being part of policy and procedure. That's
[1:13:03] number one. Through through parks and rec. We can't mandate anything. We just make
[1:13:07] recommendation and they try to implement what we recommend or
[1:13:11] get approval through the commission. That's what we try to do. Now, the other items
[1:13:16] from the report activities, you guys can see that. Read it because it is all there in pretty
[1:13:20] well filled out. Now, our current items that we are working on is
[1:13:24] we do a lot of, um, we call 'em, we call 'em tour. I mean, we call 'em,
[1:13:28] uh, um, um, tours. We go by different parks. We, we segregate
[1:13:32] it because it's like six or seven parks. We go by three during one of our meetings. Days, month, we
[1:13:36] do the other and we see what's going on and we present that back. And, um,
[1:13:41] and I like to all, uh, leave that alone. But actually we stay breath on.
[1:13:45] positive procedures, what you guys implement. We wanna make sure that we stay on task as one group.
[1:13:49] I like what the guy said over here. Partnership. I love the word that he used. Partnership,
[1:13:53] I like that word. So we try to be partners with all the advisory board, and we try to give our input
[1:13:58] on what we can do and stay in our lane, not outside of our lane. Second,
[1:14:02] we wanna provide continued support department through attendance and recommendation.
[1:14:06] we always try to be on time and always want to be present through all of, we, we don't
[1:14:10] have too many people missing any meeting. We love our board and everybody have input.
[1:14:14] so we do have a lot of good attendance through our board. We want,
[1:14:18] we do the clean. We wanna be part of the cleanup, um, project because a lot of those
[1:14:23] parks that unmanned stipend preserve, but just, uh,
[1:14:27] unmanned park. Um, and it
[1:14:32] otis, otis gray, otis gray. So those parks that by people,
[1:14:36] the uses of the park, a lot of trash and a lot of things are out there. Beautification
[1:14:40] means a lot to the park. To me. It means a very lot. It attracts people. If you
[1:14:44] have trash and stuff, I don't wanna go to that park and bring my kids or my grandkids. I got plenty of grandkids
[1:14:49] and we wanna make sure that that stay clean. So we want to identify those
[1:14:53] issues. And they also can be a hazardous because people, these kids or somebody might
[1:14:57] pick up something and put it in their mouth. So once again, safety always come first. And
[1:15:01] then, uh, survey the residents. We go by. I talk to a lot of people. I'm
[1:15:05] a member of pine grove. I talk to people around, we all part of the city, and we find out what can
[1:15:10] we do to improve the, um, the park, what can we
[1:15:14] do? And finally, uh, I would like to mention, we, I just, we just had a short meeting
[1:15:18] and I would like to, this is the last thing, my last item I wanna be short, is that we want to showcase
[1:15:22] the park. So, um, it's not fully implemented, but
[1:15:27] I just wanna say that this is how we make our recommendation that we
[1:15:31] let it move forward as, as, and seeing can it work is
[1:15:35] that we want to showcase really well about having, um, with the joint
[1:15:39] venture, I'm also the president of the christian brotherhoodhood with piney grove. We wanna have
[1:15:43] a joint venture. You have to have with the church, we have to have a, we gotta have a collaboration with
[1:15:47] the community. We want to build from the church, not inward
[1:15:52] only. We want to build outward. So with the, the blessing, um,
[1:15:56] from the commission, always through the commission, I want, we want to have an
[1:16:00] event where that, the community, which over there, under the period, because we
[1:16:05] going through a lot this year with what's going on. We're going through a lot. And, um,
[1:16:09] cambridge square, so willie webb is over there by cambridge square. That's one of the parks that we've been,
[1:16:13] um, they've been targeting and they did beautiful renovation. The, the basketball, the basketball,
[1:16:17] golden field, things like that. And show the community what we've did. So we want
[1:16:22] to bring people out to show 'cause they don't come out if you don't have any type of event.
[1:16:26] so we're going to present events, gonna present it,
[1:16:30] and we like, would like to move forward. And, um, I would like to, uh, make
[1:16:34] a recommendation right now. And, and we want to request that, uh, we want to
[1:16:38] invite, uh, we, the mayor if possible,
[1:16:42] if not the vice mayor, but we would like to have to show that we have, uh,
[1:16:47] um, partnership with the commission and also
[1:16:51] with pine grove. I will be speaking to the pastor and all the members over there, and
[1:16:55] we will have some of the, uh, ministry and we will have the thing because they're going
[1:16:59] back to school and we would like to, um, have a day out and they can enjoy
[1:17:03] the park and see what it is. And then they can pass it back. And word of mouth is the best,
[1:17:08] best advertisement. So with that said, are there
[1:17:12] any, that concludes, that concludes our presentation.
[1:17:16] are there any questions? Yes, commissioner harrison. Thank you. Uh, thank
[1:17:21] you so much for your, uh, presentation and thank you to the, um, parks and recs board
[1:17:25] for all that you do out there. Um, uh, you, you mentioned some key things about
[1:17:29] beautification, which is a big thing for me. Uh, I had a chance to
[1:17:33] actually tour the parks and recs, uh, parks and human services department
[1:17:38] and been to some of the parks that you talked about, some of the parks you're talking about here in this report.
[1:17:42] and I totally agree. Um, cyprus preserve preservation park
[1:17:46] needs a lot of attention. Um, and I, I want to see exactly
[1:17:50] what we can do out there to not only help the park, but re-engage the
[1:17:54] community around the park so it gets utilized and it gets used. Amen. On that one
[1:17:59] of, of course, of course. It is. I'm, I'm looking forward to, um, and I'm sure my colleagues would agree to partner
[1:18:03] with you all on that. Um, also, um, you spoke about unmanned
[1:18:07] parks. I think that's very important, uh, to, to see how we can get
[1:18:11] more coverage in our parks. And I also noticed, um, that having
[1:18:15] internal maintenance staff could also be of a help with our parks as well, instead
[1:18:19] of always just waiting on public works to come over and do things when needed. If the
[1:18:24] parks department had their own internal staff to kind of rectify, take care of things, uh,
[1:18:28] I think that could be of help. So just a few observations I made in the years. I said,
[1:18:32] I've been here over 20 something years. We had that at some point. Dr. Oh,
[1:18:36] I'm sorry. I apologize. Go ahead. I didn't know. I don't apologize.
[1:18:40] go ahead. Go ahead. No speak or
[1:18:44] no? Yes, go ahead. Oh, okay. I apologize madam mayor,
[1:18:49] it wasn't my intention to be disrespectful. I go ahead dr. May. It's not my intention.
[1:18:53] go back, dr. Bass. Yes, ma'am. Okay.
[1:18:57] what you were saying is we had that in the past. I've been here, you went through a different
[1:19:02] kind of, the turnover on commission. It turns over quicker than
[1:19:06] the residents turnover. And I've been on the board, you, so if things change, not nothing bad,
[1:19:10] you have to go in the times as times go. But in the past that
[1:19:14] we did have that, that would be something that we will, uh, make a recommendation
[1:19:18] to probably revisit. But I, I definitely see where you're going.
[1:19:23] and I, I, you and I on the same page. Awesome. Thank you.
[1:19:27] raise hand. No, madam mayor. Thank you mr. Maxwell williams.
[1:19:32] thank you for the presentation. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. And once again, I apologize,
[1:19:37] but if you, if you would please dr. Bass, introduce your committee.
[1:19:42] both. I thought I did at the beginning. They're calling names we don't know.
[1:19:46] oh, good.
[1:19:50] good evening. Good evening, everyone. I'm crystal cotman. I'm the secretary on
[1:19:54] the, uh, parks and .
[1:20:01] good evening. Good morning. My name is james humphrey. I'm one of the new members.
[1:20:09] mayor, commissioner. Yes. Paul martin. Just
[1:20:14] the, the declaration.
[1:20:18] good afternoon everyone. Commissioner. Hi mayor.
[1:20:22] mayor. Well, I think
[1:20:26] it was a nice presentation, mr. Ek concern in the fox.
[1:20:31] I don't mean to take up much time, but I'm glad that you
[1:20:35] would see what we're talking about and hope everything will
[1:20:39] be taken care of. Thank you. Thank you all so much. Thank you, dr.
[1:20:44] I'm sorry. Um, I'm vice mayor, vice president of the
[1:20:48] welcome recreation vice chair. So much,
[1:20:52] and thank you ms. Events once again, let's conclude the parks and rec advisory
[1:20:56] board presentation. Y'all enjoy your day. Thank you so much. Mad
[1:21:01] a cm. Now we have planning and zoning board chairperson
[1:21:05] nicole hall. So
[1:21:13] good evening, mayor, commissioner, staff and residents. Thank you
[1:21:18] for the opportunity to speak before you. On behalf of the planning and zoning
[1:21:22] board, it's going to be very brief as the commission
[1:21:27] directly receives all the things that the planning
[1:21:31] and zoning board see. And once it comes to the
[1:21:35] planning and zoning board, it then goes to the commission. Uh, I'll just go
[1:21:39] over briefly more so for the residents than anyone else. Um,
[1:21:43] I'm so happy to see everyone in the chambers today about the
[1:21:48] florida statute chapter 1 6 3 planning,
[1:21:53] um, community planning act. That's the purpose for the planning and zoning board. It
[1:21:57] is a mandated board. Um,
[1:22:01] it's very important that our residents understand that
[1:22:06] with the planning and zoning board, that is a place for them to come
[1:22:10] to first before they come to city hall, uh, before they even call
[1:22:14] commissioners to be able to take care and ask
[1:22:18] about everyday need, uh, parking, any type
[1:22:22] of zoning issues, you know, that they may have. Um,
[1:22:27] basically our board is tasked with following the statutory
[1:22:31] and municipal responsibilities of reviewing and recommending amendments
[1:22:35] to the comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan is a live-in document.
[1:22:40] um, it's a live-in plan that we change and we work on continuously.
[1:22:44] um, that dictates evaluation and making recommendations
[1:22:49] on zoning map changes to the land development regulations,
[1:22:53] ensuring orderly growth, acquit, excuse me,
[1:22:58] adequate infrastructure and environmental stewardship, maintaining
[1:23:02] consistency with the florida growth management act and local
[1:23:06] planning policies. So basically, we're just smart stewards, um,
[1:23:10] for development and balance and innovation with preservation and growth
[1:23:15] within our city. These are the most recent ordinances. So a lot of
[1:23:19] the ordinances that you all see that come to the commission
[1:23:23] typically goes to the planning and zoning board. First. Uh, the
[1:23:27] adoption of the mixed use overlay zoning, district ordinance, which
[1:23:31] encourages walkable integrated development combined in residential and
[1:23:36] retail office uses. Another thing, enhancing
[1:23:40] redevelopment potential along key corridors like oakland park boulevard
[1:23:44] and state road seven, updating the signage, one of
[1:23:48] the ordinances that was most recently passed. Um, simplifying
[1:23:54] signs permitting while preserving the aesthetics of the
[1:23:58] city. Improving business visibility.
[1:24:04] one other thing, uh, short term rental regulation
[1:24:09] ordinances. That's something that we just had, um, establishing clear
[1:24:13] guidelines and registration requirements for rental
[1:24:17] within our city. That's something that we recently did. Uh,
[1:24:21] creating green infrastructure and sustainable code amendments within
[1:24:25] the city, which promotes environmentally friendly development practices within
[1:24:29] our city. And we align ourselves with, uh, regional climate resilience,
[1:24:34] uh, strategies that has been out there. The comprehensive
[1:24:38] plan amendment for future land use. So typically, I like to talk
[1:24:44] just to the residents. Typically what happens is everything,
[1:24:51] yes, typically in the residents. Typically, uh,
[1:24:56] whatever use is done in the city, it is
[1:25:00] very, very important that residents understand that. Every first
[1:25:04] tuesday at 6:00 pm we meet . It
[1:25:08] is very important that you all come out, um, in order to
[1:25:13] voice your complaints, concerns regarding what we are doing within the
[1:25:17] city. Um, affordable
[1:25:22] housing strategies, uh, anything having to do with
[1:25:28] anything having to do. Uh, for example, we had a resident come out most recently
[1:25:32] that wants to look at food trucks within
[1:25:37] our city. So these are the type of things that we want the residents to understand.
[1:25:41] again, it's very important that, uh, we encourage the residents to come out. We're
[1:25:45] also on zoom, um, every first tuesday, 6:00 pm
[1:25:50] planning and zoning board. Um, another addition. One of the things that
[1:25:54] we did that was excellent this year, we did an
[1:25:59] internal document for our policies and procedures, similar to what the budget
[1:26:03] advisory board, um, mentioned in having the board
[1:26:07] go to the budget process during the budget season to do
[1:26:11] our requests. Thank you all. Any questions?
[1:26:17] grace? No, madam mayor. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Hall, madam a sim
[1:26:21] for the school advisory board. We have ms. Joel mccray. Mccray.
[1:26:34] good evening. Good evening commissioner and madam
[1:26:38] mayor. The report
[1:26:43] is going to be given, updated
[1:26:47] to you now, and
[1:26:51] I'm just going to highlight a few things that we've done.
[1:27:12] so this year for teacher appreciation, we, we,
[1:27:16] we had a partnership and an official letter of
[1:27:20] appreciation from the mayor and city commissioners. And acting city
[1:27:25] manager was distributed alongside with a breakfast
[1:27:29] reinforcing the city's commitment to supporting education.
[1:27:33] so that was given during teacher appreciation and staff
[1:27:38] as well as teachers were able to enjoy. And we appreciate
[1:27:42] the partnership with the city and dunking donuts.
[1:27:46] and as well, we wanted to ask that
[1:27:50] we want to honor dunking donuts for matching our contribution
[1:27:54] and continue partnership with the school advisory board. And
[1:27:58] we want to extend a formal invitation to the mayor and commission to join us
[1:28:03] in a special plaque presentation ceremony scheduled for monday,
[1:28:07] august 4th at 2:00 pm this recognition will
[1:28:11] underscore the importance of celebrating community partners who support
[1:28:15] educational excellence.
[1:28:23] also in the report, and I'm going not trying to read it
[1:28:28] verbatim, you can see we included a budget analysis.
[1:28:34] and our reason for being here. After careful
[1:28:38] consideration and upcoming initiatives in the growth scope
[1:28:43] of board's work, we respectfully request a $2,000
[1:28:47] increase to our current annual budget. This additional
[1:28:51] funding will enable the board to expand its impact
[1:28:55] through enhance teacher appreciation events, increase community
[1:29:00] outreach and acquisition of necessary identification
[1:29:04] materials such as personalized name tags, additional search for
[1:29:08] improve for improved visibility in the public
[1:29:13] functions and school events.
[1:29:18] and also help with our strategic vision for the 20 25 20 26
[1:29:23] year. We're looking at, um, to be able to help
[1:29:27] principal engagement, um, parent engagement
[1:29:32] initiatives, a career day mentorship, along with
[1:29:36] our teacher appreciation expansion. And when, let me explain.
[1:29:41] when we go to the schools, they think the board is there. We can buy furniture. They're
[1:29:45] asking for those things. When we are meeting with them, we
[1:29:49] know we have to tell them, you get a budget from the school board. So we're,
[1:29:53] we are at, we can only do what we can. So with our partnership,
[1:29:58] we did see a need. They sometimes ask for us if
[1:30:02] we could, um, give student incentives because
[1:30:08] they're not always able to buy ice cream for if, for honor
[1:30:12] roll or different things they want to award students.
[1:30:16] so that's why we are asking for the additional money so that we could
[1:30:20] sort of help, um, assist in those
[1:30:24] manners. And
[1:30:29] we are, we think we are, are appreciative to being
[1:30:34] a partnership. The school advisory board is honored to serve as a
[1:30:38] liaison between the city and its schools. Our effort reflects
[1:30:42] a shared commitment to excellence, equity, and engagement in education.
[1:30:48] together we can continue to ensure that our students and schools
[1:30:52] thrive. And thank you.
[1:30:56] yes, madam ma'am. Mr. Uh, just wanted to say thank you so much
[1:31:00] for all you guys do, and thank you for your, uh, wonderful and beautifully presented
[1:31:05] report. Um, and just wanted to say thank you. I'm in full favor of the
[1:31:09] increase, uh, just because of the type of work that you all do. And I'm sure you've
[1:31:13] heard of the great news that, uh, we have a few new schools that are now
[1:31:17] a's and b's within the city. So you give a round of applause for that. Yes,
[1:31:22] yes, yes. So I would like to think that the work that
[1:31:26] you guys were doing was, um, a, a nudge in the right direction to help make that
[1:31:30] possible. So we'd be more than happy to reinvest and invest some more in what you guys are doing. I know
[1:31:34] a lot of schools wanna do more for teacher appreciation with staff morale,
[1:31:38] especially right now in the district. Uh, the, that's the key part to helping us
[1:31:42] maintain aid schools. So thank you so much.
[1:31:48] commissioner thomas. Commissioner thomas.
[1:31:56] commissioner thomas. Yes. Thank
[1:32:01] you madam mayor. Um, thank you very much for your presentation, ms. Mccray.
[1:32:05] I sincerely appreciate that. In depth, um, outline
[1:32:10] of what you guys have done. I'm also in agreement with my colleague
[1:32:14] of support of that increase. But I would also
[1:32:19] ask you, when I worked in the school board, um, further out
[1:32:23] west, there's something called donors choose and,
[1:32:27] um, perhaps a recommendation to the teachers,
[1:32:32] um, to research that in order to get supplies
[1:32:36] as well as those additional things that are needed for
[1:32:40] their classroom. Um, there are things out there that
[1:32:44] teachers I know that did in order to get, um,
[1:32:49] you know, the things they weren't able to supply, whether or not they
[1:32:53] received it from the school board, but they made sure their,
[1:32:57] um, their classroom was, you know, maintained
[1:33:01] properly to assist the students. So that's just one, one of my
[1:33:06] recommendation as well that donors choose.
[1:33:11] ms. Mccray. For the board members, are they assigned to school? These
[1:33:15] board members assigned to school? Yes. We, we all are
[1:33:19] assigned to different schools. Um, I am assigned to oreo
[1:33:23] elementary, um,
[1:33:28] jennifer chambers. Condi is assigned to lauderdale lakes middle
[1:33:32] school. Lanita dawkins is assigned
[1:33:36] to park lakes elementary school. George rich
[1:33:41] and roosevelt mcclary, they have a, they work
[1:33:45] together between first, um, first baptist
[1:33:50] honey grove academy, as well as central charter and,
[1:33:56] and boy anderson. I'm sorry, richard. Thank you. Um, are there any vacancies
[1:34:00] on the board currently? No. Thank you.
[1:34:06] thank you ms. Mccray. Thank you so much. And I too am in agreement
[1:34:10] with increased to help support the resources that in our schools,
[1:34:14] who you very proud of them, max williams. And you guys know
[1:34:19] how much I support you, so words cannot you guys know that. So
[1:34:23] I'm totally in agreement with the, with the increase. And thank you for
[1:34:27] this wonderful presentation. Thank you.
[1:34:31] thank you, ms. Ree, mme. Mason. Thank you madam mayor.
[1:34:35] we do have another time. Certain, yep. Item number five
[1:34:39] c. Discussion regarding florida department of transportation consultants
[1:34:43] for mpoc slip five. And this is for citywalk
[1:34:48] sidewalk improvements project. And mr. Nasir will present you
[1:34:52] madam mayor. Mr. Nasir,
[1:34:56] evening honorable mayor, city commission,
[1:35:01] city attorney, acting city manager, city deputy city clerk, and the
[1:35:05] audience. C-m-p-o-c sleep cycle five.
[1:35:09] uh, this is citywide side of project.
[1:35:14] it is, it was awarded by mpo as a number on ranked
[1:35:18] in broward county. Now it is in the implementation phase. Initially
[1:35:23] this was estimated or designed by 2027,
[1:35:29] but, uh, dot informed us that the design will start
[1:35:33] by 2026 for this
[1:35:37] project. It is federally funded project and it has federal requirements.
[1:35:43] a lab certified project project is specific lab
[1:35:47] certification is required. They are giving
[1:35:51] us more than $300,000 for the design. And we can do
[1:35:56] an in-house design for this project. Based on our conversation with
[1:36:00] dot staff, we have to have consultant and dot
[1:36:04] already did procurement to select their consultant
[1:36:08] for district four to do the design or
[1:36:13] c sleep project that requires lab certification.
[1:36:17] and based on the meeting we had with dot,
[1:36:21] uh, we are actually approaching to you to, uh,
[1:36:26] inform that do t's preference. We use their consultant
[1:36:31] to avoid the complexities of reimbursement
[1:36:35] and other approval issues. Whatever we do, everything must be approved by
[1:36:40] dot. And in this case, if we use their procured consultant,
[1:36:45] they will allow us to do the negotiation with the consultant, though
[1:36:49] they'll be part of the negotiation. We will come to you for your, uh,
[1:36:53] for the approval. That means you are going to approve the dollar amount for the
[1:36:58] design services. But if we do our own procurement,
[1:37:03] uh, even then we have to have their approval. And the list of consultants we
[1:37:07] already have through our procurement cannot be used. It
[1:37:11] has to be standalone procurement. That must include federal
[1:37:15] requirements. But dot already did their procurement with
[1:37:20] the federal requirements, uh, for
[1:37:24] lab certified projects. And, uh, I would like to,
[1:37:28] uh, inform you that. And also I will come back with the agenda
[1:37:32] once we do the negotiation with their consultant. And if
[1:37:37] you are okay with the design fee, then you can approve it. If you don't
[1:37:41] approve it, maybe then we may need to go for the, uh, procurement,
[1:37:46] but it still will be the same without their approval. We cannot award
[1:37:50] the project without their approval. We cannot approve the dollar amount
[1:37:54] without their approval, we cannot do the construction. This project has around
[1:37:58] more than 300, uh, thousand dollars for the design. More than a hundred thousand dollars
[1:38:02] for cei though I requested that we want to conduct
[1:38:07] cei in house. Uh, we, I could not get the confirmation
[1:38:11] yet because the construction phase of this project will start in
[1:38:15] 2029. So basically there is three years time period they want
[1:38:19] to spend on design. And from our side, we are going to manage the project,
[1:38:23] but still we have to report to dt. It has some restriction, it
[1:38:27] has federal requirements. I would like to get any course
[1:38:31] inq, uh, prefer us to get, uh, with dot to
[1:38:35] use their consultant for the negotiation or not.
[1:38:40] question colleagues.
[1:38:44] mr. Nir, you use the letter.
[1:38:49] cei. What is, what does cei stand? Instruction engineering and inspection.
[1:38:54] that is the engineering during construction and also conducting inspections.
[1:39:02] and for the citywide improvement. This is just for side dog side
[1:39:07] ally, this is for the new side dog. We have some side dog gaps
[1:39:11] where we don't have side dock. We are going to put new side dog. This is solely
[1:39:16] for that for new side in different locations of the city. If
[1:39:20] you see any missing sidewalk, that means the, it will be covered under this project.
[1:39:24] well indirectly, since you're here, can you give us an update on what is happening with the
[1:39:29] sidewalks that we're repairing? Okay, this on, say for example, 52nd avenue,
[1:39:33] we don't have any sidewalk. Uh, I cannot
[1:39:37] just, if you cross, uh, c 13 canal south of that, you will see there is
[1:39:41] no sidewalk where we have a wall. So there
[1:39:46] is a missing, um, piece over there for 52nd avenue.
[1:39:50] and on 29th street where we have the school, you'll see if you walk over
[1:39:54] there, you will see on the north side there is no side. So basically we are going to put sidewalk.
[1:39:58] and also when you go to lio park, uh, there is
[1:40:02] no sidewalk. There are other areas, but some of the areas where we have the right
[1:40:06] of our issue, we cannot provide the sidewalk. As you know, some of the road,
[1:40:10] we are missing sidewalk because of the right of
[1:40:15] issue. We don't have an upper right of way to put the sidewalk. Those are the areas
[1:40:19] will be excluded. We did not include that. Otherwise, we do
[1:40:23] have right of way and we don't have sidewalk. We are going to put
[1:40:27] sidewalk under this project. We joined about sidewalks in our
[1:40:31] communities that are, have cracks or are raised and have stumps
[1:40:35] in them. That is for maintenance. It's not our project. We are doing new
[1:40:39] , not the maintenance part of it that will public works department.
[1:40:44] when you talk about crack tipping hazard, that will be a public works maintenance.
[1:40:48] thank you. Raise hand ms. Paul no
[1:40:53] longer has her hand raised. Thank you. Thank you mr. Nasir.
[1:40:57] madam . Thank you madam mayor. We would revert, we will revert
[1:41:01] back to the city commission meeting agenda. I believe that ends our
[1:41:06] time certain, correct? Correct. Thank you. Item number 10
[1:41:11] d resolution 2025 dash 0 9 6 adopted a
[1:41:15] tentative millage rate for fiscal year 26 establishment
[1:41:19] of a rollback rate and setting a date. I think we did
[1:41:23] that one. Yes we did. Yeah. We are on e. Sound familiar? We are on e resolution 2025
[1:41:27] dash 0 9 7 authorizing a contract for the interim financial
[1:41:32] services consultant. Um, madam mayor,
[1:41:36] as you know, we're in need of a qualified individual or firm to provide
[1:41:41] expert consulting and advisory services. City of lauderdale
[1:41:45] lakes has procured ms. Susan gooding library, um,
[1:41:49] as our interim financial services director and financial
[1:41:54] services consultant. She'll be providing executive level decision making
[1:41:59] and oversight of the financial services department at a rate
[1:42:03] of $130 per hour. She will be working, um,
[1:42:07] approximately four days each week.
[1:42:13] question? Nope. Mad mayor.
[1:42:17] thank you. Thank you madam. Thanks mayor. Thank you madam mayor.
[1:42:23] item number 10 f resolution
[1:42:27] 2025 dash 0 9 8 authorizing a contract for
[1:42:32] interim human resources and risk director.
[1:42:37] um, madam mayor, we also are in the need for a human
[1:42:42] resources and risk director. Currently
[1:42:46] we do have tara williams, um, serving as our
[1:42:50] fin, our human resources director and our consultant
[1:42:55] at this time. Um, were just extended her contract
[1:42:59] until december of 2025
[1:43:04] while we go out in search of a permanent human
[1:43:08] resources director. And her rate will be
[1:43:12] the current rate as it is now of $6,000 each month.
[1:43:22] no questions madam. No question. Thank you, madam. You're
[1:43:27] quite welcome, madam mayor. Item number 10 g
[1:43:32] resolution 20 25 99 ratifying the city manager's filing
[1:43:36] of the city's fiscal year 2025 period eight may and period nine
[1:43:40] june. Financial activity reports as prepared by the department of financial
[1:43:45] services for the purpose of conforming to the city's adopted financial integrity principles
[1:43:49] and financial policies. And ms. Susan will,
[1:43:53] um, gooding library will present that item through you. Madam mayor, ms. Susan,
[1:43:58] all protocol observed and established. I will be presenting may and
[1:44:02] june of 2025. You hearing me? Well?
[1:44:07] yes, as long as you don't.
[1:44:13] so I will be, um, highlighting the month of june since that encompasses
[1:44:17] the month of may. Also, the summary
[1:44:22] has been provided to you. Yes. Could you do month by month, please? Sure, not
[1:44:26] a problem.
[1:44:36] may, um, 2025 financial report,
[1:44:40] which represent, um, 67% of the fiscal year that has
[1:44:44] lapsed. And the summary states that our general fund
[1:44:48] revenue total was at 49%
[1:44:53] received. With avalor being our largest revenue,
[1:44:57] we are approximately 99% of all of that revenue coming in.
[1:45:01] thank you to our residents. Um, the general fund revenue includes
[1:45:06] franchise taxes, utility taxes, sales and use taxes,
[1:45:10] revenue, I mean service revenue permits, license fines
[1:45:14] and forfeiture and miscellaneous revenue as stated, um,
[1:45:18] in each of the, um, bulleted item, some revenue are approximately
[1:45:23] two months behind which it's our utility and our franchise taxes.
[1:45:27] miscellaneous revenue, you know, that is, um, something that comes in all year
[1:45:31] long. So at at 67% of
[1:45:35] our fiscal year expanded, we have received 49% of
[1:45:39] our revenue. The general fund expenditure is representing
[1:45:44] 40%. You always want your revenue to be more than your expenditure.
[1:45:48] so that's a plus. When our expenditure are less than our revenue that
[1:45:52] has been received commission, uh, mayor and the
[1:45:57] city commission, um, we c we, they expanded 45%.
[1:46:02] um, the city attorneys expanded at 84%. City clerk,
[1:46:06] that 56% and city manager at 60%
[1:46:10] at all of the other departments. Below that 67%.
[1:46:15] there were two departments which I will highlight, um,
[1:46:19] the city attorney and the human
[1:46:23] resources. At in may, they were actually below the budgeted
[1:46:28] amount. The city attorney, um, expenditure
[1:46:32] was 84%, which represent, or we are at 67% of the fiscal
[1:46:36] year. However, um, digging into the detail, we realize that
[1:46:41] the attorney has some major litigation that they have been going through. So
[1:46:45] they have been working that for the city. So that's why the, the, their budget,
[1:46:49] um, exceeded the 67%. Nonetheless, their overall
[1:46:54] budget, they're still within the overall budget for the year and we are hoping
[1:46:58] that, um, those litigation expenses was earlier in the fiscal year
[1:47:02] and not later in the fiscal.
[1:47:07] so we also have, um, in your summary and
[1:47:11] there's some numbers, they're very minute. I'm not sure that I will go over each minute
[1:47:16] number. I can't see them at this point in time. And so I will
[1:47:20] move on from may into june unless there's some questions regarding
[1:47:24] the may presentation. Any questions? Colleagues regarding
[1:47:28] may's furniture? No.
[1:47:32] continue. Ms. Susan? Oh no, she does. She
[1:47:36] came off. So the june 30th, 2025 represents 75%
[1:47:41] of the fiscal year that has been extended. The revenue collected at that point
[1:47:45] in time, it's 52%. Um, again, our at valor,
[1:47:49] which is our major revenue, we are collecting almost 100% of that
[1:47:54] general fund expenditure, um, was expanded at 49%,
[1:47:58] although we are at 75% of the year expanded. That is a big,
[1:48:03] that is great. You wanna be below where you're supposed to be in
[1:48:07] expenditure. You definitely wanna make sure your revenue comes in and the
[1:48:11] expenditure is below the revenue that has been collected. I
[1:48:15] just wanna make sure I highlight that. In the month of june, um,
[1:48:19] I talked about the, the city attorney and there was another department
[1:48:24] that was a little over, which was human
[1:48:28] resources. Um, there were 89% expend based on 75%
[1:48:32] of the year already gone. And that expense was a result of,
[1:48:37] there was a previous payout that we had to do for the past, um, director. So
[1:48:41] that caused the expenditure lower. Nonetheless, I expect at the
[1:48:45] end of the fiscal year, all of the departments will be below their
[1:48:49] budget expanded. Um, d-s-o-e-m-s are you showing
[1:48:54] that we are at 82% expanded and policed? 82%.
[1:48:59] and that is because the city is, um, paying those expenses
[1:49:03] in advance. So that ends my presentation
[1:49:07] unless there is any questions that I can elaborate further.
[1:49:11] any questions, colleagues? No. Raise hand? No. Madam
[1:49:15] mayor. Thank you ms. Susan. Thank you. Thank
[1:49:19] you madam mayor. Item number h resolution 20 25 100
[1:49:24] approved and authorizing the establishment of a limited time amnesty program for
[1:49:28] reduction of qualifying code enforcement liens. And we have ms.
[1:49:32] tanja mccoy development services director to present this item
[1:49:37] to you, madam mayor.
[1:49:57] good evening, madam mayor, city attorney
[1:50:02] commission city clerk. I am here to
[1:50:06] present an item that will be heard tomorrow at tomorrow's meeting
[1:50:10] and, uh, give a brief review of what this program
[1:50:14] is about.
[1:50:35] this, this res through you madam mayor. This resolution is for
[1:50:39] a code enforcement lien reduction program.
[1:50:49] I'm sorry. This resolution is for a code enforcement lien
[1:50:53] amnesty program to address outstanding code enforcement liens. This initiative
[1:50:57] is designed to encourage compliance, reduce financial burden
[1:51:01] on property owners, and approve the city's ability to resolve longstanding
[1:51:05] liens. The amnesty program will provide a temporary opportunity
[1:51:10] for eligible homestead and non-homestead property owners to settle code
[1:51:14] enforcement liens at a significantly reduced rate contingent
[1:51:18] upon meeting compliance benchmarks. Program aims to be
[1:51:22] equitable relief for property owners facing liens, incentivize
[1:51:26] compliance with municipal codes, and expedite the settlement of delinquent
[1:51:31] accounts and maintain, as well as
[1:51:35] maintain the integrity and deter of deterrent effect
[1:51:39] of the code of enforcement program as a whole.
[1:51:52] were you madam mayor, did you have any questions? Colleagues? You have any questions for ms.
[1:51:56] tja?
[1:52:00] madam mayor, mr. Harrison? Thank you. Um, could
[1:52:04] you explain how much the, um, what what you're asking for from residential
[1:52:09] and commercial if they were to opt into the amnesty program?
[1:52:13] sandra, through you, madam mayor, this program would,
[1:52:17] um, allow for a residential homestead property
[1:52:22] to, uh, receive a reduction up to 15%
[1:52:27] of the total amount. And then the non-homestead property would
[1:52:31] receive a 35% reduction. Well, 35%
[1:52:36] of the total amount is what it would be reduced to madam mayor. Mr. Harrison.
[1:52:41] thank you tanja. Um, the last, the last commission meeting we had, we, we discussed
[1:52:45] a little bit about how we can work with our business community.
[1:52:50] um, I know you drafted, uh, a proposal. You got
[1:52:54] the proposal that I sent in correct? Through you madam mayor. Yes. I know
[1:52:58] you did a side by through you madam mayor, I know you did a side by side comparison. What are the
[1:53:03] main differences between what I submitted versus what you guys brought in a little
[1:53:07] after the fact? The madam mayor. Um,
[1:53:11] the program duration, uh, the program that you submitted
[1:53:15] was from august 1st through may of 2026.
[1:53:20] the program that I submitted was from august 1st through j january 30th, 2026.
[1:53:27] the eligibility requirements is the second difference that, uh, the
[1:53:32] side-by-side identified. And, um, for
[1:53:36] those, the resolution would allow for current compliance
[1:53:40] to come into play. As well as, um, a brief
[1:53:45] review of that is, um, this a smaller application fee,
[1:53:49] $150 plus $25 for each lien.
[1:53:55] and it also include properties to be act active
[1:54:00] in litigation and mandates full payment of all hard costs. That's
[1:54:04] the program that you submitted, whereas the program that I submitted
[1:54:08] requires a sub sustained compliance, um, feature,
[1:54:13] which is asking that the homestead properties have
[1:54:17] been in compliance for a period of three months and the non-homestead
[1:54:22] properties be in compliance for a period of six months.
[1:54:26] application fees are, are higher. Um, the
[1:54:30] homestead property would pay $200 for a application fee
[1:54:35] and the non-homestead properties would pay $1,500 for
[1:54:39] an application fee. And my program particularly
[1:54:43] requests additional documentation, um, a pre-inspection,
[1:54:47] which I think is on both programs as well as a final inspection.
[1:54:52] the pre-inspection, um, would be a free inspection
[1:54:57] for my program, which would help the property owner to identify whether
[1:55:01] or not they are eligible for the program or not. And then the final
[1:55:05] inspection would come about once they, um, came
[1:55:09] back to us and said we had a couple of things outta order, we fixed those
[1:55:14] and now we would allow them to apply and do a final inspection.
[1:55:19] the third thing would be the settlement, uh,
[1:55:23] period, which was no, that was just the, what we just talked
[1:55:27] about. The 15% for non-homestead under
[1:55:31] your program and no, 10% for non-homestead, for
[1:55:35] homestead under your program and 15% for non-homestead.
[1:55:40] and then my uh, limits would be 15% for homestead
[1:55:44] and 35% for non-homestead. The re
[1:55:49] repayment period would be 30 days for my program. And I think
[1:55:53] you wanted 60 days to make the payment.
[1:56:00] thank you. Uh, I remember your feedback you gave me was commissioner our
[1:56:04] two proposals like 90, 95% similar. And um, although
[1:56:08] there are some similarities, the the last meeting there was something I honed in on,
[1:56:12] which is tanja di director. I don't want us
[1:56:16] to create it in a way to where majority of the people wouldn't qualify in the first
[1:56:20] place. So you mentioned one thing about the
[1:56:25] duration of how long they have to stay in compliance. You said that was six months,
[1:56:29] correct? Through you madam mayor, that
[1:56:34] that would be through the di duration of which they would have been in compliance.
[1:56:38] yes. So, so how long is the amnesty program you're offering?
[1:56:43] were you madam mayor? Six months. So before the,
[1:56:48] at this point, are you discussing ms. Tanja the amnesty program or
[1:56:53] the link? At this point I'm discussing only the amnesty
[1:56:57] programs and I am, um, doing a side byside
[1:57:01] comparison of the amnesty program that I
[1:57:05] proposed to commission as well as the amnesty program that commissioner harris
[1:57:10] proposed. Madam mayor? No. Commissioner harris, thank you. Just to be clear,
[1:57:14] amnesty is regarding lien reduction. Is that correct? Through you madam
[1:57:18] mayor? Yes. Okay. Amnesty is a, a form of lien
[1:57:22] reduction. How many through you madam mayor, how many programs are you offering? One or two
[1:57:27] through you madam mayor. There are two programs that I am looking
[1:57:32] at. One is the amnesty program, which is a short term program,
[1:57:37] six months, and then a lien reduction, comprehensive lien
[1:57:41] reduction program, which is a long term program that
[1:57:45] will continue on until someone tells me I can't
[1:57:50] continue it anymore. Alright, mayor commissioner harrison, um, with you're
[1:57:54] saying that they have to be in compliance for six months before
[1:57:59] they can qualify for the program through you madam mayor?
[1:58:03] yes. That's for the amnesty program. Understood. Now, if they wanted
[1:58:07] to stay in compliance for six months for the amnesty program, but the amnesty
[1:58:11] program is gonna be over in six months, wouldn't that disqualify 'em for them trying to
[1:58:15] apply for that same program through you madam mayor?
[1:58:20] at the end, this would be for, um, businesses or
[1:58:24] homeowners who are already in compliance so that they would have
[1:58:28] opportunity to participate in the amnesty program. However, when
[1:58:32] the amnesty program comes to an end in six months, they will
[1:58:36] still be able to participate in the comprehensive lien reduction program,
[1:58:41] which would be an ongoing program. So madam mayor, what's
[1:58:45] happening is you don't want 'em to be a part of the amnesty program, but the long-term program,
[1:58:49] because if someone wants to be a part of the first program, the amnesty,
[1:58:53] and they are in compliance for six months during that period of time the amnesty program is rolling
[1:58:57] out, and by the time they're done doing what you want 'em to do after six
[1:59:02] months, that amnesty program will no longer be available. Is that not correct?
[1:59:07] through you madam mayor? I would like to correct that. What I want
[1:59:11] is, uh, compliance with the code. So I am not looking to
[1:59:15] eliminate anyone I am. I would like to see
[1:59:19] a period of sustained compliance for all people that would
[1:59:24] apply to the amnesty program and then as well as
[1:59:28] the, um, but the comprehensive lien reduction
[1:59:32] program would not have that requirement. Adam mayor, a moment.
[1:59:38] thank you commissioner max. Thank you madam mayor. First of all, the
[1:59:42] fact that he brought his own program commissioner maxwell williams. Oh, sorry. Sorry. My
[1:59:46] bad. I'm I'm gimme a moment. Gimme a moment guys. Gimme a moment.
[1:59:50] 'cause I'm so upset. Okay. Um, that, let's talk about
[1:59:55] what's on here and the comparison. I'm not understanding what comparison
[1:59:59] you're talking about because I've not seen my colleague comparison.
[2:00:05] I think this program that you have, we hire you to do a job.
[2:00:09] that is what you're doing. And this program is a full
[2:00:13] proof program because they are taking, they've been taken advantage of us
[2:00:17] and now we have to nip that in the bud. I don't care about the other cities.
[2:00:21] I don't care if city, lauder hill, sunrise, whatever they're
[2:00:25] doing, who cares? We are ladale lakes. This is what we want
[2:00:30] to do. And through you mada mayor, I'm very offended
[2:00:34] by the fact that my colleague can be presenting
[2:00:38] his side of the story. Like we don't have a voice. Like we don't have a
[2:00:42] vote. So I don't even see what you, you guys are having this back and
[2:00:46] forth conversation that I have not yet to see. What
[2:00:50] his proposal, his and the, the, the fact that he brought in his
[2:00:55] proposal to overcome your proposal, to have a conversation
[2:00:59] with you back and forth and ignoring the other co people on
[2:01:04] the desk is just disrespectful. Totally. And I'm
[2:01:08] p****d. So let's focus on what you're talking about
[2:01:12] here, and this is what where we are going and I hope my other colleagues
[2:01:16] will look into this and make sure we are presenting it and
[2:01:21] enforce what you recommended because that's what we hire you to do. And
[2:01:25] if we can respect the person we hire to do a job
[2:01:30] that I think is here to better our city, then why do we have her?
[2:01:34] maybe we should not get where we should get her in a position, right? No,
[2:01:38] this is, we should, why, why are we fighting with her if that's
[2:01:42] what she's doing? So we need to stick to her thing. And again,
[2:01:47] the fact don't, the conversation with you going back and forth with
[2:01:51] something I don't even see in front of me is having his own is like his, his
[2:01:55] own day is own little group .
[2:01:59] I'm mother mayor. Really?
[2:02:03] you need just continue on mr. Max wood.
[2:02:09] anyway, ms. Sandra, go ahead
[2:02:13] with your pre we are talking about this, the side by side and what
[2:02:18] she said to you and what you get to him that needs to stop. Totally.
[2:02:23] now, when we go to his agenda on the item that is, I think it's
[2:02:27] coming up on the workshop and then you wanna cross notes, we'll address
[2:02:31] it then let's talk about this item that we have here on the resume
[2:02:35] and not this back and forth thing that you guys are, have these little sidebar
[2:02:39] that we are not privy to. Thank you madam mayor,
[2:02:44] raise hand. Ms. Bond. No, madam mayor,
[2:02:48] mr. Harris. Well thank you madam mayor. Her hand is raised now.
[2:02:52] commissioner thomas. Thank you madam mayor. I do appreciate
[2:02:56] it. I'm, I'm in agree, I'm in agreement with, um, my colleague,
[2:03:01] commissioner carlene maxwell williams. If we're on
[2:03:05] item, uh, h at this time dealing,
[2:03:10] uh, to have the comparison now, which was not in
[2:03:14] our backup, we should be dealing with this particular
[2:03:19] item that's on hand and not to jump the gun. So I'm
[2:03:23] in agreement with that, that we stick to what has been presented
[2:03:27] by ms. Tanja and then move forward, um, accordingly
[2:03:32] when it, the other presentation that has to be given.
[2:03:36] thank you madam mayor harrison. Thank you madam mayor. So
[2:03:40] sticking to the, uh, what we were talking about tanja, and I just wanted to just uh, say this
[2:03:45] for education for not just, I know you know this, but to the audience,
[2:03:49] these commissioners are the legislative arm of this city.
[2:03:53] we write the policy or we're at least supposed to write the policy. Now what
[2:03:57] we do is we hire staff to give input on said policy. But where a lot of the o'lakes
[2:04:01] has gone off the rails is we've allowed you guys staff to write the rules for us.
[2:04:06] so I wanna be very clear, the question that they tried to jump in and
[2:04:10] stop you from answering was this, the six months
[2:04:15] that you have for the length of the program, the first program is the same amount of
[2:04:19] time, the six months that you're asking them to stay in compliance before they can get into
[2:04:23] the program. You answered by saying, that is not my goal. That the
[2:04:27] question is yes or no for this scenario. If there's somebody that wants to be a part of
[2:04:31] that six month program and they are non-residential,
[2:04:36] if they comply with six months and that is over, will they yes or no be
[2:04:40] able to apply for that lien amnesty program?
[2:04:47] do you madam mayor? Yes sir. If a non-residential
[2:04:52] property is in compliance as of today, they will
[2:04:56] be eligible to apply for the amnesty program.
[2:05:03] madam mayor barry on what I'm asking madam
[2:05:07] mayor technology. Thank you. Thank you ma'am. On
[2:05:11] august 1st, you're gonna go in and do an inspection and make
[2:05:15] sure that these folks are in compliance from that point on, you're asking them
[2:05:19] to stay in compliance for six months before they qualify for the program.
[2:05:24] your program runs from august 1st to january 30th. In that scenario
[2:05:28] from when you inspect from august 1st going on and they stick to the six months,
[2:05:33] will they be able to qualify for that lien amnesty program?
[2:05:37] no, they will not. Okay. Madam mayor, you just
[2:05:42] proved my suspicion. I specifically asked you and this commission
[2:05:46] was in consensus of that to not come back with anything that would cut out
[2:05:50] the businesses. So let's talk about some other background things. Now
[2:05:54] you want to go after the businesses, you have a lean amnesty
[2:05:59] reduction of 35%, even if you took them to court, that's what you're gonna be settled with anyways. More
[2:06:03] than likely we're not discussing lien right now. Commissioner, I understand we're talking about the amnesty program
[2:06:08] that deals with liens. We're not discussing liens specifically right now we're talking about
[2:06:12] the amnesty program. Okay, commissioner, the lean amnesty program. Is that correct? Yes.
[2:06:16] I wanna make sure I'm correct. Are we discussing the lien amnesty program? Let's seen
[2:06:22] limited time amnesty program for reduction of qualifying code enforcement
[2:06:26] liens. Okay, with the amnesty but not the lean amnesty program. With this
[2:06:30] six month program, what's going
[2:06:35] on is that there are cities, not majority of them in broad 'cause majority of the cities
[2:06:39] in broad actually wanna work with the business community. We are the only city right
[2:06:43] now. We ask ourselves why we're behind, we're the only city right now that's
[2:06:47] fighting with our businesses and try to hem them up and take them to court.
[2:06:52] you wrote policy for a arm that does not, that that's
[2:06:56] supposed to be right in policy and you specifically came back with something that would disqualify
[2:07:01] them. And that's just one thing. You also, I'm sure business tax receipts
[2:07:05] as well is gonna be something included in that. If a property owner has over a hundred
[2:07:09] properties, you know it's gonna be a hassle for them to qualify for this.
[2:07:13] I asked you, could you please come back with something that would not cut out
[2:07:17] majority of the businesses and you, we know
[2:07:21] you consult with uh, I don't know what other city staff or if it's the city attorney you consult with
[2:07:25] to put together this, but what was brought back to us is not the will of the commission.
[2:07:31] now I want to say one more thing. If we decide to, to take them to court,
[2:07:36] if they decide to fight us back, all the businesses that have liens out there,
[2:07:41] we already are paying our city attorney way above target.
[2:07:47] this is not a revenue source. You have businesses
[2:07:51] in this city that want to go across the street, literally to lauderhill because they're willing
[2:07:55] to break their lease to leave because of the things that we're doing here right now.
[2:07:59] this is not cleaning up our city. This is not what you say as far as getting stuff
[2:08:03] in compliance. And I want to say one more thing to people who don't understand how the process works.
[2:08:08] we are the legislative arm of the body. We write the policy.
[2:08:12] all I was doing by bringing my own policy was my damn job.
[2:08:16] number one. You madam mayor.
[2:08:20] you madam mayor. Number one. You need to take a base outta your voice.
[2:08:25] 'cause I don't know who you're talking to. Commissioner. Commissioner me,
[2:08:29] I will get to you. Commissioner tanja. I'm disappointed. Commissioner body, disappointed
[2:08:33] to when tanja comes here, spell williams.
[2:08:38] you may just the moment I'm
[2:08:42] disappointed madam mayor, if I may finish please. I'm disappointed.
[2:08:50] are we done? We are not here. Excuse me madam mayor, may I please go? Pardon?
[2:08:54] am I I acknowledged still. I'm here. Interruption. Sorry.
[2:08:58] we are asking for a program that I, that is here to help our
[2:09:03] businesses and not only do you know that they won't qualify for the said program, not
[2:09:07] only do you know that, but out of the 100 and plus businesses that some
[2:09:11] of our people may have, they have to hustle and hassle to go get these stuff. This is not us
[2:09:15] helping them. When you look at the other cities, we care about our other cities. When
[2:09:19] we talk about a new city hall, we care about our other cities. When we look at their tax
[2:09:23] base, all the great stuff they do, we care about our cities then. And we don't understand. The main reason
[2:09:27] why other cities can do that is because they have a thriving business community.
[2:09:32] not because they have a development services director and a firm that's
[2:09:36] going after people in in courts and stuff. That's not what it's about.
[2:09:42] and you know what's funny? When things go sideways, you won't take the blame. I will. So
[2:09:46] I have to make sure I do my job. I have to. You could just find another city
[2:09:51] to work for. I'm owed to the residents. I have one more point, madam mayor, if I may
[2:09:55] thank you. One more point, my last point right now I will be back to you. Thank
[2:09:59] you. Thank you commissioner max williams. Thank you madam mayor.
[2:10:03] I'm so happy that number one, when re and
[2:10:08] led to the audience, she's not running and doing things on her
[2:10:12] own. She come to us, she has had conversation with us
[2:10:16] several times and we all had a consensus and brought it back
[2:10:20] and she brought back the information to us. Isn't that correct? Through your madam mayor
[2:10:24] sandra? Absolutely. And I specifically set the
[2:10:28] term based on a com, a comment from commissioner harrison that
[2:10:32] said to make sure it was a short term amnesty program because I originally
[2:10:38] requested it to be all year or longer,
[2:10:43] right? Right. So every thank you madam mayor, every conversation
[2:10:47] and, and through the audience here and all of you that's clapping,
[2:10:52] um, she's not making it on her own. She comes to
[2:10:56] us every meeting and she talks to every, all five of us
[2:11:00] and we all agree and that's why she put this resolution together
[2:11:04] for us to vote on it tomorrow. It wasn't that she went in her office and
[2:11:08] just write it down and then come to throw it down her throat and said, here you go.
[2:11:12] we all had a vote, including our commission here is
[2:11:16] on the days. And we all had a consensus. And I agree with what she
[2:11:21] was. So we spoke, she put it all together and that's why we are here voting tomorrow.
[2:11:25] so no, she's not doing it on her own. So I don't know what that, um, remark
[2:11:29] is. I think it's a good plan and I think, uh, my colleagues should
[2:11:34] stick with it and, and hopefully we'll have the consensus votes
[2:11:38] tomorrow period. Mayor hand raised ms. Ma.
[2:11:42] no, madam mayor chair. Thank you madam mayor. Uh, you're right. She doesn't do it on her own.
[2:11:47] um, I want to defer to the assistant city attorney. Does your
[2:11:51] office assist with the publication and the creation of said resolutions with the development
[2:11:55] services director? Do you madam mayor,
[2:11:59] our office assist with the, um, drafting of all
[2:12:03] resolutions? So that would be correct. Thank you. Uh, second correction that was made.
[2:12:08] uh, so, uh, right, she doesn't do it on her own. Uh, second correction that needs to be made.
[2:12:12] um, we did not vote in a workshop discussion.
[2:12:18] what you guys did was, you guys make it seem like you had consensus, but
[2:12:22] that wasn't true consensus. You guys took, you heard what everybody said. You
[2:12:26] looked up and you said okay, and took notes and then you went to the office with
[2:12:30] every other thing we do to take consensus. Madam mayor looks, do we have
[2:12:34] consensus? Yeah. How you guys feel? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And we take a clear
[2:12:38] consensus. We took a vague consensus that time. So
[2:12:42] my question to you, tanja, did you work with the city attorney and the
[2:12:47] firm to draft this resolution? If not, who did you work with through
[2:12:51] you, madam mayor, ms. Hand. I worked with the commission. I brought this, uh,
[2:12:55] resolution, this, uh, policy agenda to the commission
[2:13:00] on two different occasions as a workshop item. And
[2:13:04] I listened to all of the commissioners and I prepared a
[2:13:08] document that in my understanding, had the information
[2:13:13] that came from the commission. Madam mayor doesn't answer my question,
[2:13:17] did you? She just said that she works with all resolutions being formed. It's a
[2:13:21] question that requires the answer. Did you work with the city attorney
[2:13:25] and the firm to help draft this said resolution that we are looking at?
[2:13:30] do you madam mayor? Yes. Thank you. It's my duty to work with our city
[2:13:34] attorney to make sure that any document that I draft is legally
[2:13:39] reviewed. Madam mayor. No, it's your duty to do what the commission asks of
[2:13:43] the city manager to do and then tells you to do. We write the policy
[2:13:47] and you make sure it's legally sound. You guys always
[2:13:51] spoonfeed us policy and get us to nod our heads. And
[2:13:56] what I'm telling you is that this time, certain things I let happen this time, you're
[2:14:00] coming with a resolution that's going to hurt. So here's my next question,
[2:14:05] mr. Harrison. Thank you, madam mayor. Through the pre-inspection and the whole inspection of
[2:14:09] cf, they qualify. Is business tax receipts included
[2:14:13] in that said qualification? Were you madam mayor
[2:14:17] standard? Yes, madam mayor, do you ha are, aren't
[2:14:21] you? Do you think of someone? All right. If if there's someone,
[2:14:25] a property owner that has multiple businesses, individual businesses under their purview,
[2:14:30] does each of those businesses have to come in compliance with said paperwork of business, tax reviews,
[2:14:34] et cetera. So business tax receipts through
[2:14:39] you, madam mayor, sandra, all businesses operating in the city of
[2:14:43] lauderdale lakes should have a business tax receipt. Madam mayor, the question,
[2:14:47] here's a question. If you have an individual who has multiple individual
[2:14:51] businesses in his plaza, in his purview, his or her, do
[2:14:55] each of those in that scenario, do each of those require to have uptodate,
[2:15:00] business tax receipts and all paperwork in order to qualify for said program?
[2:15:10] I'm going to through you, madam mayor, I'm going to, I thought I answered
[2:15:15] that. All businesses in the city of lauderdale lakes
[2:15:19] operating, which would be all businesses in any plaza
[2:15:23] homebased businesses, uh, yes or no. Please do not interrupt.
[2:15:27] I'm sorry. Go ahead. I'm just saying it's that, just an answer. All businesses in the city of lauderdale
[2:15:33] is required to have a business tax receipt.
[2:15:37] madam mayor harrison, do you think it's fair for someone to have
[2:15:41] hundreds of people there over to go and do it? Do you think that kind of decreases
[2:15:45] the likelihood they may qualify
[2:15:55] through you? Madam mayor sandra? I do not. Okay. I
[2:15:59] believe that the businesses are responsible to make sure that
[2:16:04] all parties that's operating a business on their
[2:16:08] property has the proper code compliance
[2:16:12] as well as the business tax receipt. Commissioner maxwell williams.
[2:16:19] thank you madam mayor. It feels like, um, through you
[2:16:23] madam mayor, that someone has some personal thing going on because
[2:16:27] I'm, I can't understand what is happening here. It sounds
[2:16:32] personal. So unless somebody knows somebody trying to help some other
[2:16:36] business in the city, something is happening because this cannot be this
[2:16:40] passion and all this for all the businesses in the city, a lot of their
[2:16:44] lakes. So it's so there is something and whatever is in the dark
[2:16:48] will come to light because something is happening. Okay? Something
[2:16:53] is happening. Why my colleague is taking such a big
[2:16:57] stand to this. Because when we were talking along the way,
[2:17:01] this wasn't the stand before, but now the stand getting stronger,
[2:17:05] the base and the voice getting harder, but, um, something is
[2:17:09] going on. Okay? And we are here. You talk enough, uh,
[2:17:13] uhuh, that's for me to determine. Listen, let me talk 'cause I'm,
[2:17:18] I'm gonna interrupt you. Okay? But he's re interrupting me. Go ahead, commissioner max williams. So we
[2:17:22] are going to stick to this. Um, I think we should have a
[2:17:26] consensus to stick to this regardless of all the stumbles
[2:17:30] that he's saying this, some, this is a personal thing that he's making personal
[2:17:35] whatever he knows whatever is going on, I don't know, but it's personal. I think
[2:17:39] this was a good plan we for, for, for ms for this young lady to be
[2:17:43] standing here with a resolution is because she came to us several times,
[2:17:47] again, as I said, and had the conversation, and even though
[2:17:51] was the mayor go around and said, do we have a consensus? Whatever, how she did it, it
[2:17:56] was said. And that's why she's bringing it forward. And I think that it is
[2:18:00] a good, um, plan and we should stick
[2:18:04] with it. Do not let anyone try to intimidate and try to
[2:18:08] change it, period. Okay? Now keep in mind, let me just one
[2:18:12] more minute. I want, I have a thought. Go ahead. You know, you, let's put example.
[2:18:17] this, this was like association
[2:18:22] when you, when they assess and said, I, I'm going to assess a million dollars
[2:18:26] to our association, and now you have to pay $2,000 a month and you ain't
[2:18:30] got no job. They don't care. They just go ahead and they foreclose on your house. They don't have
[2:18:34] no sympathy, no understanding, and there's nothing you can do. So we
[2:18:39] are gonna be hardcore here. They, these businesses have been
[2:18:43] taking advantage of us for so long for you to have a violation in
[2:18:47] the thousands of dollars. I think how much we had on the, the,
[2:18:51] the, the plaza across the street was in the millions, the disrespect
[2:18:56] of you ignoring, ignoring every single violation
[2:19:01] over and over and over. Like it doesn't matter. Like we, you have no respect
[2:19:05] for us. And I know they can't go. They talk about leaving the city. Go where?
[2:19:09] go to plantation, go to homes, go, go to wilton, manus and do that. No, you
[2:19:13] can't go there and do that. So if you feel like you wanna leave and go to
[2:19:17] the city, go ahead because maybe we'll get some other business people in
[2:19:22] here that will have respect for a city and follow the codes
[2:19:26] and follow our regulations. That's all. That's it. Madam mayor,
[2:19:30] hand raised. Ms five. No madam mayor, mr. Harrison. Thank you madam mayor.
[2:19:34] um, I'm on the side of all of the businesses in lauderdale lakes. The reason why you're hearing the
[2:19:38] base and the voice now and not before is because we tried to work with you.
[2:19:43] we asked you to go back and you took notes, went and came back with
[2:19:47] stuff that was still unattractive on the front end. What's in
[2:19:51] the dark is that they are trying to disqualify commercial businesses
[2:19:55] because these people that owe so many liens, it's gonna be a payday.
[2:20:00] and this is not a revenue source for the city. I said it last time,
[2:20:04] I tried not to be rude and so open about it, but now what you guys have done
[2:20:08] is you try to make it seem like you've workshopped it twice. So now it's a resolution. Just
[2:20:12] get us to nod heads on something and you came back with something. Again, we're
[2:20:16] on the front end. Most of said businesses will be disqualified.
[2:20:20] they will be disqualified. And you also know that it is likely they are
[2:20:24] gonna be disqualified. You also know that if you take them to court, you're more than likely gonna win.
[2:20:30] we need to work with our business community. There's
[2:20:35] nothing in the dark on my end. What I'm trying to tell you is that for all of our businesses here, how are we making it
[2:20:39] more attractive? Um, as far as people owing liens,
[2:20:44] majority of these other cities, these, um, cities have put forth programs that's
[2:20:48] way more lenient than even what I'm saying. And they have thrive, thriving
[2:20:52] businesses. Why are we going after these folks? Why are we trying to
[2:20:56] turn this into a revenue stream? Why are we trying to make it convenient for
[2:21:01] inconvenient for our businesses? That's the real question.
[2:21:05] what was put forth? Uh, ms. Tanja was not in the best
[2:21:09] interest of the businesses in the city. I spoke with you individually.
[2:21:14] I spoke with you as a group in the commission. I sent an example to help serve
[2:21:18] as some type of guideline. And then you told me it was 90%
[2:21:22] the same. And by the way, it is in the backup. It's just on the other side
[2:21:26] of the agenda, but it is in the backup. All commissioners have it and it's not 95%
[2:21:30] the same. It is gonna cut out majority of commercial owned businesses
[2:21:35] because what is going on is that there are some cities out there that
[2:21:40] allows the, and I'm sorry, I know mr. Callaway isn't here today, but I, that allows
[2:21:45] their legal counsel to take people to court.
[2:21:49] that allows the development services director to partner with that.
[2:21:54] that's what's in the dark. If people are wondering, and without making any
[2:21:58] accusations, I gave one or two chances to allow you guys to clear it up, come
[2:22:02] back with something. You didn't take proper consensus. You could watch your review.
[2:22:06] and also you came back. I specifically said, I said, we want to give out. It's like we
[2:22:11] wanna make it attractive and incentive. You got the mayor, fort
[2:22:15] lauder o dean tran is posting on his instagram, hey, you guys
[2:22:20] be a part of this amnesty program. We have businesses are loving it. They're
[2:22:24] going to come to us instead of having us chase them down
[2:22:28] just for you guys to send emails to these people, for our attorney to send emails
[2:22:33] to these people. We get charged for that. That's not a part of what we're paying him,
[2:22:39] them, sorry, the firm. We, every time you guys send them an email,
[2:22:43] we have to pay for that. And we don't want to pay for that.
[2:22:49] we want our businesses to see a lot of their lakes as a home where they can
[2:22:53] thrive. We want that to happen. This is not political
[2:22:57] for me. The political thing is when you ask someone a question, they give you lawyer language. This is not political for me.
[2:23:01] yes or no? Is this an amnesty program? At least 70%
[2:23:06] similar to what 90% of broward county is doing? The answer is no. And
[2:23:10] tanja, we're gonna remember that you brought forward something like this that was not inconsistent
[2:23:14] with how majority of cities are doing it. We're going to remember that.
[2:23:20] commissioner, commissioner max williams, you know, thank
[2:23:24] you madam mayor. I, I understand the passion. I get it.
[2:23:29] um, but there's a way, and, and, and this is a bit sidebar
[2:23:33] in what we are talking about. The, and, and I think the mayor, you should address
[2:23:37] that. The way how you speak to the staff is
[2:23:41] off the chain. The no, no, but it's true.
[2:23:46] I don't, I I, no, mr. Williams don't address the audience. Okay? I'm sorry. But it's
[2:23:50] true. You're talking to this young lady. Yes, you may not agree with what she's
[2:23:54] doing, but she's a, she's, she's a person and you're speaking to her in a
[2:23:58] very rude manner. And I don't, and you do that a lot.
[2:24:03] and that, sorry, and that you need to address that. You could, there's
[2:24:07] a, you can bring your point across, but you don't have to put that base and getting loud and
[2:24:11] talking down and to them. And that's not cool. And that's just a sidebar.
[2:24:15] anyway, with that said, I think this is a great program and we need to
[2:24:19] move forward with it. Madam mayor, just a moment. Ms. Tanja, I have a couple of
[2:24:24] questions. , if I may. Ms. Tanja,
[2:24:28] the six month compliance for
[2:24:33] non-homestead properties. Talk a little bit more about that please.
[2:24:38] through you, madam mayor. So if a non-homestead property is in
[2:24:42] compliance as of today or anytime before today, they will be
[2:24:46] eligible to apply for the amnesty program. If that property is
[2:24:50] not in compliance, then they would have to apply for the lien
[2:24:54] reduction program, which gives similar amounts off
[2:24:59] as the amnesty program. It's just a little bit more of
[2:25:03] a process in terms of review. It includes, could
[2:25:07] be the magistrate or bringing it back to the city commission
[2:25:11] for review through the lie reduction program. Whereas the
[2:25:15] amnesty program is, um, we've talked about in the
[2:25:19] past, is a program that's designed to cut all of the red tape
[2:25:24] and for you to go straight to a 35%
[2:25:28] reduction in the cost of your lien. Ms. Ms. Tja,
[2:25:33] for the non-homestead
[2:25:37] properties, they have to be in compliance at least six months
[2:25:42] prior to make an application for the program.
[2:25:47] through you madam mayor? Yes. So,
[2:25:51] so if the commission approves this on
[2:25:55] tomorrow evening, when does that window open
[2:26:01] the, through you madam mayor? The window opens on august 1st.
[2:26:06] so august 1st if approved,
[2:26:10] a non-homestead business must have been
[2:26:14] in compliance six months prior to
[2:26:18] august 1st through you madam mayor, no, six months prior
[2:26:22] to application. Six months prior to application. So
[2:26:27] if they make application august 2nd, then
[2:26:31] they must have been in compliance six months prior to august 2nd.
[2:26:36] through you madam mayor. Yes. Correct.
[2:26:40] and to you madam mayor, commissioner, master williams. And you had it for a longer time. You
[2:26:45] said you had it for a year. You started a year right
[2:26:49] through you madam mayor? Yes. My original, um, I think it was,
[2:26:53] might have been 18 months. 18 months. But after,
[2:26:58] uh, the workshop, I reduced the timeframe based
[2:27:02] on the comments that I received and sure. You might have made and under the
[2:27:06] comments that you, based upon our commissioner here
[2:27:11] about reducing the time. Yes.
[2:27:15] alright. Mad mayor, ms. Harrison. Thank you. Um,
[2:27:19] listen, we have room to negotiate on the timelines. We have the room to negotiate. My main
[2:27:23] thing to drive home was on the front end. Let's not put anything in there that's gonna disqualify
[2:27:28] most businesses. Let's make it fair to get into the program. If
[2:27:32] they don't make the program timeline within the said program, and
[2:27:36] those liens go back to the same amount we go after them. Hard.
[2:27:41] that was my proposal. Not to make the liens go away. If you're gonna do a amnesty program, make it a
[2:27:45] fair shot for people to get in and on the front end specifically asked
[2:27:49] to not make it more difficult for people to get in. The language was just changed to do exactly
[2:27:53] that. That's where my issue is. Um, the second thing I wanted
[2:27:57] to say of as far as speaking to staff, I know that was mentioned, tanja, you had the
[2:28:02] pleasure of inviting me to come speak to your staff. We had a wonderful conversation.
[2:28:07] um, I'm just passionate about this city that I grew up in, that I was born in
[2:28:11] and you know that, and we had a wonderful conversation before and after
[2:28:15] and, uh, public, uh, development
[2:28:20] services in speaking to the staff, they were happy that comm
[2:28:24] a commissioner actually came by and had a chance to hear them out. It was like a breath of fresh air.
[2:28:29] some people only applaud staff for political points. I'm gonna go check in
[2:28:33] with you. I'm gonna go hear that they need another ac unit over there.
[2:28:38] I'm gonna go hear that. They want paintings on the wall. They want to improve the work of life. I'm gonna go listen to
[2:28:42] them about that. And they had some great ideas. And a lot of those people actually do work,
[2:28:46] do live in the city of lauderdale lakes that I did not know. So now I could put a face to that.
[2:28:51] but, uh, director of development services, when we up here,
[2:28:56] being commissioners, being directors, we gotta take heat.
[2:29:00] the heat I bring on you, if I don't do that, I let things pass. I get
[2:29:04] heat from the residents and you'll be looking at somebody else this time next year, maybe, you
[2:29:08] know? So, um, please don't take it as disrespect, take it as passion.
[2:29:13] I just felt like we kind of missed the mark in doing what's in the best interest for the community, particularly
[2:29:18] our business community. And it's sensitive to me because where we're looking to
[2:29:22] go, we need a strong commercial base. Our residential base is
[2:29:26] not gonna do it enough. We need a strong commercial base, particularly people that have all of these tenants.
[2:29:31] and I wanna be very clear, you talk to a city attorney in another city,
[2:29:35] ask them, so what do you guys do for oh, amnesty
[2:29:40] program, man, they're gonna come running to you. That was
[2:29:44] the goal. And I'm afraid that we won't be able to do that. And we're gonna be the only city
[2:29:48] that's gonna be able to look up and say, hey, when they say, who was it? Because you,
[2:29:52] I'm on record, it won't be 'cause of commissioner harrison.
[2:29:57] what was asked for was not brought on the front
[2:30:01] end. It was squeezed to where majority of these targeted businesses
[2:30:07] that I suspect people are looking to take 'em to court. We are not gonna
[2:30:11] let staff run the city. Madam mayor, we're not gonna let staff run the city,
[2:30:16] not gonna let staff run the city. We need strong leadership. Nah,
[2:30:21] I first met you. I was very impressed. Still am. I think you are
[2:30:25] what the city needs, but this particular issue, I think you got it wrong.
[2:30:31] we're not gonna let staff from the city. You see, we don't have we, so I'm gonna just leave
[2:30:35] it there. That goes for all staff. Thank your commissioner
[2:30:39] harrison. Thank you. Questions hand raised? No, madam mayor.
[2:30:43] all right, thank you. Thank you ms. San madam.
[2:30:48] a cm thank you madam mayor.
[2:30:52] next we have item number 10
[2:30:57] j aye aye, resolution 20 25 1 0 1
[2:31:02] approving and authorizing the establishment of a comprehensive lien reduction program
[2:31:06] to address code enforcement through structured review pathways.
[2:31:11] and that is gonna be presented by ms. Tanja as well. Ms. Tanja,
[2:31:15] through you madam mayor. This is a resolution for
[2:31:19] a code enforcement lien reduction program to address code enforcement liens
[2:31:24] as they come about moving forward. This initiative is designed to
[2:31:28] encourage code compliance while reducing the financial burden on
[2:31:32] property owners to and improve the city's ability to resolve
[2:31:36] new as well as longstanding liens. The comprehensive lien
[2:31:41] reduction program will establish a formal process for reviewing and
[2:31:45] adjusting liens based on compliance status,
[2:31:49] property condition, and other qualifying factors for homestead
[2:31:53] and non-homestead property owners. This program
[2:31:57] aims to provide a procedural framework that will provide equitable
[2:32:02] relief for property owners facing liens instead of by compliance
[2:32:06] with the municipal codes, expedite the settlement of delinquent
[2:32:10] accounts and maintain the integrity and deterrent
[2:32:14] effect of the code enforcement program. I
[2:32:18] as, when I came into this position as the director of development
[2:32:23] services, I had several, uh,
[2:32:27] business owner as well as property owners come to me and request
[2:32:31] a process for reducing their, as I reviewed our process
[2:32:36] and the previous director's process, I identified some
[2:32:40] gaps in the process. And this, uh, these two programs,
[2:32:44] the amnesty program, as well as this comprehensive
[2:32:48] lien reduction program, will fill those gaps,
[2:32:54] judge, colleagues, hand raised madam
[2:32:58] mayor. Thank you, ms. Hunter
[2:33:03] madam. Thank you, madam mayor. Item number 10 j
[2:33:07] resolution 2025 dash zero two proven in authorizing the mayor and deputy
[2:33:11] city clerk to execute and attest respectively that certain code enforcement
[2:33:15] lien reduction in settlement agreement between the city of lauderdale lakes and marketplace
[2:33:20] plaza, llc and ms. Tanja mccoy will present this item through you.
[2:33:24] madam mayor. Thank you ms. Tanja.
[2:33:31] apologies through you madam mayor. Uh, this is a,
[2:33:35] uh, lien reduction request, an agreement
[2:33:39] that has been brought to us by the marketplace plaza,
[2:33:44] in which they would like to, um, request that their liens be reduced.
[2:33:50] and, um, they brought this to us in that request.
[2:33:54] they would like to get this completed as soon as possible.
[2:33:59] and the request is ms. Ms. Hunter,
[2:34:04] I'm sorry. And the request is, the request is for a lien reduction
[2:34:09] from $943,000 to 330,000.
[2:34:19] any other supporting information on that ms. Hunter? Yes, I do. Thank you.
[2:34:25] true you, madam mayor, commissioner max.
[2:34:29] so what's, what's the percentage for you, madam mayor? This
[2:34:33] is 35% reduction.
[2:34:43] thank tender andres
[2:34:48] ms. Staff? No, madam mayor.
[2:34:52] thank you ms. Tanja. Oh, she, she raised her hand. Yes.
[2:34:56] commissioner thomas. Thank you madam mayor. Um, with regards
[2:35:01] to this, um, reduction here, I, I
[2:35:05] know that the marketplace,
[2:35:09] they were supposed to, uh, I was inquiring whether they painted
[2:35:13] the building or not. Thought that was a part of the packet.
[2:35:18] just wanted to know if the building was painted
[2:35:23] through you, madam mayor. I am just learning about their request for painting the
[2:35:27] building. Specifically. I know that they have come into compliance
[2:35:31] with all of their code enforcement violations as of this time.
[2:35:35] that was a, um, stipulation for them to even
[2:35:39] bring this forward to commission. Thank
[2:35:44] you, mr. Madam through you, madam mayor. Thank you.
[2:35:48] I hope you'll find that out for me. Thank you. Thank
[2:35:52] you madam mayor. That ends the city commission meeting agenda. So
[2:35:57] we will transfer back over to our workshop,
[2:36:02] and we left off on item five d discussion
[2:36:06] regarding the city of lauderdale lakes healthcare benefits analysis.
[2:36:11] and we do have ms. Tara to present this
[2:36:15] item. Thank you, ms. Tara.
[2:36:26] good evening, madam mayor, vice mayor, commissioners act
[2:36:30] city, um, manager and act city clerk for
[2:36:34] the record. My name is tara williams. I am the interim hr director for the city of
[2:36:39] lauderdale lakes. In preparation for our upcoming op open enrollment,
[2:36:44] our broker, the galls benefits group, is here to present to the
[2:36:48] commission a comprehensive review of healthcare renewal market
[2:36:52] trends and historical data.
[2:37:00] mr. Again, good evening, madam. Good evening, madam mayor.
[2:37:05] uh, commissioners, city attorney, city manager and city clerk. I think there's a powerpoint
[2:37:09] presentation. Uh, mike yellen
[2:37:13] with the gellan benefits group. Thank you.
[2:37:23] alright, so mike galland with the galland benefits group, and we are here to talk about the,
[2:37:27] um, our plan and strategy as we head into open enrollment. Uh,
[2:37:31] we do have the renewal from florida blue. Uh, we're gonna shop the
[2:37:35] insurance among other carriers and then come back, uh, with some recommendations.
[2:37:40] uh, next slide.
[2:37:46] so the first thing I want to talk about is the fact that, as we all know, healthcare
[2:37:51] increases happen every single year. So even if you had great claims
[2:37:55] experience, uh, you would still experience an increase just because the cost
[2:37:59] of of, of insurance goes up every year. There's healthcare inflation,
[2:38:03] there's hospital consolidation, there are a lot of factors that go into why insurance costs
[2:38:08] go every year. And then when you add the fact that you may have an unhealthy population,
[2:38:12] which may include some employees and some, some of the dependents or on the plan,
[2:38:16] that leads to the, uh, increase in the cost of, of healthcare. Uh, next slide.
[2:38:23] uh, so this is just a few, um, uh, national healthcare trend
[2:38:27] organizations. So I just wanna show a few of what those trends are. Next slide.
[2:38:38] alright, and so, uh, these, I just talked about this. Some, some factors that are
[2:38:43] influencing trend, uh, provided consolidation. So, uh, there are
[2:38:47] hospitals all over the country that are consolidating. There's a chance that broward
[2:38:51] health may actually consolidate with, um, memorial healthcare. Um,
[2:38:55] so you have hospitals that have contracts with insurance companies. Uh, right
[2:38:59] now you're contracted with florida blue, uh, florida blue and broward health
[2:39:04] health are at a, uh, a stalling point with their contract negotiations.
[2:39:09] um, according to florida blue, broward health is asking for a 60%
[2:39:13] increase. Uh, and florida blue is saying, no, we can't agree to a 60%
[2:39:17] increase because then we have to pass that cost on, uh, to members. And so there's
[2:39:21] a stall right now. Uh, in addition, there's, um, healthcare, uh,
[2:39:25] carrier consolidation. So there's some mergers and acquisitions of, uh, health insurance
[2:39:30] companies, uh, and some health insurance companies have, have moved out of the, uh, industry including
[2:39:34] humana. So now as we shop the insurance, you have, um, I met
[2:39:39] aetna, cigna, and united healthcare. Uh, so the, the pool of,
[2:39:43] of carriers that we can go to has been shrinking advanced technologies. There's
[2:39:47] newer medications. People are living longer, um, even if they may
[2:39:51] be living unhealthy or living longer, that costs money. And then there's still some, uh, effects
[2:39:55] of the, uh, pandemic. Next slide.
[2:40:00] uh, so just some more, uh, information about healthcare entry and cost increases
[2:40:05] as it relates to medical ppo plans, hmo plans, dental plans,
[2:40:09] and, uh, pharmacy inflation. Next slide.
[2:40:16] uh, factors including, uh, influencing pharmacy trends. So, specialty medications,
[2:40:21] specialty medications are what they call coc, high technology drugs or
[2:40:25] cocktail drugs. You normally have to go to an outpatient center to get, uh, the treatment
[2:40:29] or it, it's a drug that have to be a refrigerated. Those are very expensive
[2:40:33] drugs. Um, they're covered under a lot of healthcare plans so that,
[2:40:37] um, it contributes to the cost of, uh, healthcare, insurance and drugs,
[2:40:41] as does, um, uh, price inflation on, uh, pharmaceutical drugs.
[2:40:45] next slide. And so this is
[2:40:50] a list, uh, I'm sure most of you know, you've seen commercials, uh,
[2:40:54] uh, diabetes or weight loss drugs are just super popular,
[2:40:58] super expensive. Uh, you can't watch tv without hearing
[2:41:02] a fan, a, a familiar jingle about some of these song, about some of these drugs like
[2:41:07] will gobi or ozempic. Um, and even though insurance companies have put
[2:41:11] restrictions on these drugs, so for example, there was a time where
[2:41:15] you can get these drugs just for weight loss or for diabetes. Now, insurance
[2:41:19] companies have said, only if you have diabetes can you qualify for these drugs. But
[2:41:24] they're still very expensive and it's really driving the cost of, uh, medical care
[2:41:28] and, uh, pharmacy costs. Next slide.
[2:41:38] uh, just another graphical display of some of the glp one,
[2:41:42] uh, drugs and the, uh, increases. Next slide.
[2:41:52] uh, so now we're gonna take a look at, uh, the city of lauder lakes. And your
[2:41:56] overview, just wanted to give you some background information. So we'll talk about the demographics, uh, the
[2:42:00] current plant structure, and then some budget considerations as we go forward. Next
[2:42:04] slide.
[2:42:08] so this is just a historical display of where we were in terms
[2:42:13] of the carriers that we worked with and the cost of the insurance. So the top
[2:42:17] is the hmo plan where more employees are on the hmo plan. There's only about
[2:42:21] 10 or 12 employees on the ppo plan, or the, the pos plan has out of network benefits.
[2:42:26] as you can see, we've consistently tried to keep costs as low as possible.
[2:42:30] um, when you look at the, the cost of insurance now
[2:42:34] compared to the 20 22, 20 23 year, I'm sorry, the 23, 24 year when
[2:42:39] we were last with admin, we actually reduced costs. Um, so this
[2:42:43] just gives you a, a, a, a display of what you've been paying going
[2:42:47] back to 2019 when we start first started working, uh, with the city of dale lakes. Next
[2:42:51] slide. And then this chart
[2:42:55] shows that when we transitioned from humana to abed,
[2:43:00] we increased the value of your insurance. So, for example, um,
[2:43:04] the co-insurance amount was 50%. So if you had to go to the
[2:43:08] hospital under humana, you would have to meet your deductible of $2,000,
[2:43:13] and then you would be responsible for 50% of the cost after your deductible.
[2:43:18] so if the cost was $10,000, you pay 50% of $5,000.
[2:43:23] so by moving the admin, we lowered the co-insurance percentage from 50% to 20%.
[2:43:28] uh, we reduced the out-of-pocket maximum. So in a worst case scenario, the amount
[2:43:32] that you paid went lower. Uh, we decreased the, um, the
[2:43:36] cost, uh, and lower copayments for items like mris. So
[2:43:40] we wedu we increased the level your benefits while reducing costs. Next
[2:43:44] slide. Then when we transition from
[2:43:49] admin to florida blue, we did the same thing. We lowered your deductibles,
[2:43:53] uh, to less than 2000, down to 1000. Um, we lowered
[2:43:58] your copayments. We lowered the copayments for your pharmacy services. So again,
[2:44:02] we, we increased the value of your insurance while decreasing costs.
[2:44:07] uh, next slide. Uh,
[2:44:11] some of the benefits of transitioning from admin to florida. Blue advent is a florida,
[2:44:15] uh, based, uh, insurance carrier, whereas florida blue is part of
[2:44:19] the blue cross blue shield network. National insurance, we enhanced the benefits, reduce
[2:44:24] your costs, um, expanded access, um, and, uh,
[2:44:28] there was a $10,000, um, fund for wellness dedicated
[2:44:32] to wellness to help build a culture of wellness here in the city of lauderdale
[2:44:36] lakes. And then, uh, florida blue has a florida blue foundation. They wanted
[2:44:40] to be a great business partner to the city of lauderdale lakes, and they donated $100,000
[2:44:45] to the city of lauderdale lakes to help improvements and your, um, senior
[2:44:49] care and alzheimer's center. So they try to be an overall, uh, good
[2:44:53] business partner. Next slide. Uh,
[2:44:57] so this slide is, uh, part of your renewal from florida blue. Just some demographic
[2:45:02] information just showing that the majority of your employees are in the employee only
[2:45:06] category and the incurred period and the paid period
[2:45:11] that the insurance company used to evaluate, uh, and determine what your renewal
[2:45:15] will be for next year. Next slide.
[2:45:19] so here we'll talk about the, uh, claims distribution, uh, next slide.
[2:45:26] so, uh, every, every, uh, insurance, every group that's covered
[2:45:30] under insurance, typically, um, 80% of
[2:45:34] the cost comes from 20% of the group. So the majority of any given
[2:45:38] population will be generally healthy, but then you'll always have approximately
[2:45:43] 20% of a group that will generate the bulk of the cost. Someone has diabetes,
[2:45:47] somebody has cancer, somebody has some rare disease that will drive, you
[2:45:51] know, the, the majority of the cost. So the reason why you have group health insurance
[2:45:55] is 'cause the majority of the group should cover, uh, the one or two people that
[2:46:00] has, uh, large claims. Next slide.
[2:46:05] uh, in this particular case, um, there's potentially 26
[2:46:10] large claims, um, coming from the, uh, city of lauderdale lake.
[2:46:14] so, um, the last, uh, the third column to the left shows
[2:46:18] what the total amount paid is so far. And the last two columns shows
[2:46:23] what the estimated costs will be or, or potentially could be for
[2:46:27] these large claims. So 26 is large for a group of about 140
[2:46:32] employees and about 85 90 on the health plan. Uh, next slide is a continuation
[2:46:36] of, uh, some of those conditions. So again, 26, uh, potential
[2:46:41] large claims. That's really what's driving, uh, the cost of the insurance. Next slide.
[2:46:47] uh, and if you look here, these are the chronic conditions in every
[2:46:51] single category, coronary heart disease, uh, congestive heart failure,
[2:46:57] diabetes, hiv, we are above the average for the
[2:47:01] book of business of florida blue. So we're, we're, we're
[2:47:05] very much exceeding what they see as normal for their book of
[2:47:09] business. So again, that's what's driving, uh, the cost of insurance for this particular
[2:47:14] renewal this year. Next slide.
[2:47:19] and then this is, uh, a financial calculation that most of
[2:47:23] the insurance companies use to arrive at their renewal numbers. So
[2:47:27] by september 30th of this year, the, the, the plan year
[2:47:32] when it ends florida blue expects to collect, um, about
[2:47:36] $1 million in premium from, um, the city of lord o'lakes.
[2:47:40] they expect to pay out $1.3 million. And so the, the
[2:47:45] required re renewal, uh, is about 34%, but
[2:47:49] they're only requesting a premium of 1.239 million.
[2:47:53] so they expect next year to pay out $1.3 million. That's a projection for the next
[2:47:57] plan year period. But they are, um, requesting 1.239
[2:48:02] or a 23% increase. Now, the 23% increase is not their final offer.
[2:48:06] they're willing to negotiate, come down, um, something that's reasonable
[2:48:10] that will fit your budget, but based on the claims, that's what it's, what's being called for as
[2:48:14] of today. Our next slide.
[2:48:18] um, so this is the renewal. You're, again, the majority of your employees are on the hmo plan,
[2:48:22] about 95, 98 employees. And that plan is
[2:48:27] expecting a 22% increase. Um, there are eight employees
[2:48:31] on the pos plan, which has out-of-network benefits. That is a, uh, 37%
[2:48:36] increase of overall, uh, the increase is about 23%. And, and
[2:48:40] if you look at these numbers, um, for the hmo plan, even though it's 22%
[2:48:44] above this year, it's only 8% above the year before last.
[2:48:48] and for the pos plan, it's only 13% above the year before last, because
[2:48:52] we received a significant dis discount or decrease last year when we transitioned
[2:48:57] from advent to florida to blue. Next slide.
[2:49:02] uh, so this is, uh, this is the, uh, a graphical display of how much
[2:49:06] year over year. Um, so you'll see that we had a little bit of a dip when we
[2:49:11] went, went to florida blue. So we did save money about 14% last year.
[2:49:15] and, and now again, we're going, uh, about 8% above the year before last, next slide.
[2:49:20] and the next slide is a graphical display of the pos plan. So, again, a dip.
[2:49:25] so we went down and kind of matched, uh, the 22, 23 numbers
[2:49:29] last year. And then now we're going back up and again, there's room to negotiate
[2:49:33] with, uh, florida blue. Next slide. So
[2:49:37] this is just, uh, a project timeline. So the activities we plan
[2:49:41] on, uh, doing as we lead up to open enrollment. So we did issue an rfp,
[2:49:46] it's in the hands of the insurance carriers. I've, me, uh, aetna, cigna,
[2:49:50] uh, and unitedhealthcare. Uh, when we did shop the insurance a couple of years
[2:49:54] ago, both, uh, cigna and, um, uh,
[2:49:59] aetna declined the quote. So they received your renewal, they received the data, they said, nope,
[2:50:03] we're not interested, we didn't want your business. Um, so there is a chance that that could happen
[2:50:07] with any of the carriers. Uh, that leaves us with less leverage than to negotiate
[2:50:11] with florida blue. But again, they, they wanna be a good business partner and work with us. But what
[2:50:15] we wanna do is make sure that we get all the information and the results back to you in a
[2:50:19] timely manner so that everything happens in time for successful,
[2:50:23] uh, open enrollment. Uh, next slide. So
[2:50:28] this is just a graphical display of the, uh, of the process. So
[2:50:32] right now we're just waiting on getting the results back, uh, from the carrier market.
[2:50:36] we'll summarize it, work with hr, work with your staff, and then we should be able to bring something
[2:50:40] to you, uh, by the time you come back for your first meeting, um,
[2:50:44] in, uh, september. Uh, that concludes
[2:50:48] the presentation, and we're here to answer any questions.
[2:50:54] henry? No, madam mayor, I have one question, mr. Galen. Yes.
[2:50:58] you said that the projected increase would be about 23% this year, but it
[2:51:02] may be negotiable. Yeah, so that's the should be used to negotiate.
[2:51:07] uh, so just the fact that, um, we've only been with, um, florida
[2:51:11] blue for one year, so there's no, there's no advantage to them
[2:51:15] to lose, um, city of lauder o'lakes as a client after the first year.
[2:51:19] uh, they won't, they certainly don't make any money. It takes about three to five years for a carry to make money
[2:51:23] once there a change. Uh, number two, they know that they're at a disadvantage since they're
[2:51:28] no longer contracted with, uh, broward health. So they are still in negotiations
[2:51:32] with, with, uh, broward health, and they're try trying to get them back in the network. They're gonna do
[2:51:36] whatever they can to keep their current clients, including the city of lloyd lakes. Also, you know, they, they
[2:51:40] do have a concern for the city. They did that, uh, donate a hundred thousand dollars,
[2:51:45] uh, to your senior center. So they want to continue to be a good business partner. Another benefit,
[2:51:50] um, a distinguishing factor of florida blue versus the other insurance
[2:51:54] companies. Cigna, aetna, and united healthcare are all publicly traded company.
[2:51:59] they're driven by the, the profit margin. Uh, florida blue is
[2:52:03] a not-for-profit company, so it's not the driving, obviously, they wanna make a
[2:52:07] profit, but they're not, uh, they're not accountable to wall street like
[2:52:12] these other, uh, areas.
[2:52:16] madam mayor, commissioner thomas. Commissioner thomas. Thank you madam
[2:52:20] mayor. Um, thank you for that presentation, mr. Gillum.
[2:52:25] um, you know, you did show, and as
[2:52:29] you said, a couple of the other insurance carriers
[2:52:33] are not as robust or not as, um,
[2:52:37] accommodating to the city of lauderdale lakes because they did not,
[2:52:42] um, come on last year. Um, so I don't know, in
[2:52:46] terms of them coming on this year, I, I'm not
[2:52:50] on the plan, but from what I see, um,
[2:52:55] I do see the benefits of, um, florida blue, but
[2:52:59] I've heard, also heard complaints and that deals with one of
[2:53:03] my biggest concern when you presented was
[2:53:08] some of the health issues that are going on amongst
[2:53:12] our community that really needs to be addressed from
[2:53:16] not only personal but citywide, you know, with the heart
[2:53:20] disease and all of that. Um, so thank you for the presentation
[2:53:26] and awakening me to even some of the, um, crucial
[2:53:30] needs that with our health issues that are going on here.
[2:53:35] and, and that's a big issue all around with getting carriers to
[2:53:39] really take on, um, those, those issues
[2:53:43] that we have, especially when it comes to how much they
[2:53:47] have to pay out. Uh, and I did not know that florida blue was
[2:53:51] nonprofit. So thank you so much for your presentation,
[2:53:55] your elaborate presentation. You're welcome. Thank you,
[2:53:59] commissioner. Thank you, commissioner thomas. I just wanted to say something, uh, briefly.
[2:54:04] mayor, vice mayor, commissioners, um, shahi, jar galen with galen benefits
[2:54:08] group. Um, just kind of the historical outlook. Um, and
[2:54:12] kind of speaking to, uh, commissioner thomas' comments. That's why when we,
[2:54:16] um, you know, engage these different, uh, insurance carriers, we talk
[2:54:20] about wellness programs, it's very important that we not only talk about the
[2:54:24] cost of insurance, um, but we kind of work and negotiate wellness,
[2:54:29] um, benefits when you all were, were with humana. Humana before they, um,
[2:54:33] in essence, um, left the market. Um, and we had that 63%
[2:54:38] increase before they exited the market. That's why we moved you to, to avmed
[2:54:42] after looking in the market and kind of understanding the cost and benefit
[2:54:46] analysis that, um, mr. Galen just went through. So these weren't arbitrary moves with
[2:54:51] humana. You all had, um, a wellness platform. Obviously
[2:54:55] no city could absorb a 63% increase, so we moved you to avmed at
[2:54:59] that time. Um, and they didn't have, um, you know,
[2:55:03] a wellness program per se. And so in, and kind of making the move to blue cross,
[2:55:07] blue, florida, blue, rather, we wanted to ensure that you all had that wellness
[2:55:12] option and that's why we negotiated those dollars. So they could be that culture
[2:55:16] of wellness that's developed with incentives, et cetera, um,
[2:55:20] so that the employees are incentivized to take better care of themselves.
[2:55:25] and we've been working with hr to, um, put together a health fair as well as bio
[2:55:29] biometrics day. Um, we've discussed in the last couple months, um, to encourage
[2:55:33] folks to be, um, empowered to understand their own health, um,
[2:55:38] you know, status so they can actually take action. So I just
[2:55:42] wanted to kind of bring that, uh, forward that we, we weren't happy when we saw the
[2:55:46] statistics, and that's why we are very active and engaged in negotiating the wellness
[2:55:50] additional benefits. Thank you.
[2:55:54] thank you. Mad . Thank you madam mayor.
[2:55:59] thank you. Thank you, mr. Power. Item number five,
[2:56:04] e discussion regarding approving the adoption of trailhead park by the
[2:56:08] kiwanis club of lauderdale lakes under the city's adopt a park program to
[2:56:12] be administered by the parks and human services department. And that item is
[2:56:16] being sponsored by commissioner carlene maxwell williams, commissioner maxwell williams.
[2:56:20] thank, oh, yes, ms. . So this program been going on
[2:56:25] for thank you madam mayor. Um, a long time since
[2:56:29] we start, since I started here in 2021 or something,
[2:56:33] right? What year?
[2:56:37] sarah had a mayor, erica, since 2022. 22.
[2:56:42] and the park was still under grounds. And we put the application on the
[2:56:46] website, um, asked, and we did a call out for would,
[2:56:51] who would like to adopt a park, and we had the qantas club of lauderdale lakes
[2:56:55] was the only application that was submitted. And now that the park
[2:56:59] is completely done, we are now wanna move forward
[2:57:03] in, um, getting them inducted and, um, having them,
[2:57:08] um, taking care of the park. So pass it over to ms.
[2:57:13] , ms. Erica, miss erica.
[2:57:17] good evening, madam mayor. Um, commissioners, acting city manager.
[2:57:22] um, city clerk, um, madam mayor, commissioner maxwell williams pretty
[2:57:27] much said everything. I was gonna say, . Um, so we're just seeking authorization
[2:57:31] to move forward with the adopt a park with kiwanis club, adopting a,
[2:57:36] the trailhead park. Um, as the commissioner
[2:57:40] said, gowanus club of lauderdale lake submitted an application
[2:57:44] in 2022. They have since expressed their continued
[2:57:48] interest and resubmitted a an an application in may. Um,
[2:57:52] this item went through the cra board in june for approval.
[2:57:57] we spoke to our parks advisory board, so now we're here, um,
[2:58:01] bringing it to the commission for us to bring it back for approval.
[2:58:06] commissioner harrison, um, I'm in full support
[2:58:11] of this, uh, project we're looking to do. I'm actually excited
[2:58:17] with some base. I'm actually excited for this project. I, and, and I think,
[2:58:21] uh, this is our first time we're actually, um, having somebody adopt
[2:58:25] one of our parks. Is that correct? Are you madam mayor erica? Yes. I'm
[2:58:29] so excited, uh, for the kiwanis club. In doing so, kudos to them. I'm also a, a proud
[2:58:33] member of the kiwanis club, um, and, and serve on their community outreach committee.
[2:58:38] so, uh, I, I just, uh, want to give kudos to the club and
[2:58:42] kudos to you, erica, for facilitating this process and making this happen in
[2:58:46] the city. So thank you. And
[2:58:50] joys, ms. F? No, madam mayor. Alright, thank you. Thank
[2:58:54] you, ms. Erica. Thank you. Um, a
[2:58:58] thank you madam mayor. Item number five f discussion regarding
[2:59:03] utilizing the dentist project for the continuation of the
[2:59:07] steam program in accordance with the city's procurement code section 82 dash
[2:59:11] 3 58, a 11 educational
[2:59:15] or academic programs in an amount not to exceed $30,000 for
[2:59:19] fiscal year 2026. And ms. Lockett will present that item
[2:59:23] for you. Madam mayor. Ms. Erica protocol established for the record, erica
[2:59:27] lockett, director of parks and human services. So madam mayor commissioned
[2:59:31] the city of lauderdale lakes, launched a pilots, um, stem program
[2:59:36] in october of 2024 to march of 2025,
[2:59:40] and we utilized less rev lost revenue funding.
[2:59:45] um, this was a successful program. It had a positive impact on the community.
[2:59:50] a total of $24,000 was utilized for the pilot program.
[2:59:54] so I'm before you today to ask that we continue the program from
[2:59:58] october, 2025 to may of 2026.
[3:00:02] that would take us through the majority of the school year. Um,
[3:00:06] and the total cost of the project is $29,000.
[3:00:11] so we just wanted to come to the mayor, come before the mayor and commission, because
[3:00:15] we know it's over the city manager's threshold to ask could we
[3:00:19] utilize the program? Mad mayor.
[3:00:23] thank you. Uh, I'm in support of this program. I've had the pleasure of following
[3:00:27] what the, um, the dentist project has been doing.
[3:00:32] so they have a strong social media presence. So I see the robotics they work with and the steam,
[3:00:37] um, science, technology, engineering, arts and math. So I,
[3:00:41] I appreciate the fact that they, um, are in including
[3:00:46] all five of those things within that. So, um, I'm in support of this, I
[3:00:50] think $30,000 if that helps us reach more kids and sustain the project and the program.
[3:00:54] I'm in favor. Thank you.
[3:00:59] thank you erica. Madam mayor, now? Yes. Yes. Commissioner thomas.
[3:01:04] yes. Thank you so much, madam mayor. Um, I'm also in favor of
[3:01:08] this, and I'd like that added a, the arts
[3:01:13] included into this program. Um, I, I would also
[3:01:18] love for us to even meet some of the, the prior
[3:01:23] steam, uh, participant that has benefit
[3:01:27] from this program, if that can be arranged.
[3:01:32] erica, you madam mayor? Yes. Yes, ma'am. We'll, we'll make
[3:01:36] it happen. Thank you, miss erica. Thank
[3:01:40] you ms. A c thank you, madam mayor.
[3:01:46] next we have item 5g, discussion regarding the process and procedure for
[3:01:50] hiring a new city manager. And this item is being sponsored by mayor
[3:01:54] veronica edwards phillips, thank you so much. As you know, we are in the process of
[3:01:58] hiring a new, we are in the process of seeking a firm
[3:02:04] to assist us with hiring a city manager. And it's a methodical process, and
[3:02:08] we need an update as ms. Oh, mr. Za. Mr.
[3:02:13] zam? Yes, madam.
[3:02:20] good afternoon, madam mayor. Uh, commissioners, uh, acting city manager,
[3:02:25] a city clerk, uh, members of the audience and colleagues. My name za pepper.
[3:02:30] I'm the procurement administrator for the city of lauderdale lakes. Um, madam
[3:02:34] mayor and commissioners, just to give an update on this item, um, through
[3:02:38] direction from the city commission, uh, staff did go out on our
[3:02:43] platform demand star, uh, issue solicitation for an executive firm
[3:02:47] to select a firm so that they, that firm will assist us in selecting a city manager.
[3:02:51] um, we did go out and bids did close earlier in july.
[3:02:56] um, we sent it out to 867
[3:03:00] vendors. Um, out of those vendors, 11 vendors would've
[3:03:04] quoted, we did publish, um, an
[3:03:09] an evaluation on the platform that did not include figures, and
[3:03:13] that was done intentionally. We did not want to misguide anyone. Reason for that
[3:03:17] is that we received bids as low as 10,000
[3:03:21] and as high as 39,000. We didn't want to give false hope at the end
[3:03:25] of this process. The vendor that we select must be lowest
[3:03:29] costs, responsible and responsive. We have already determined
[3:03:34] costs. We have determined responsibility already. Now we responsiveness,
[3:03:38] sorry. Now we want to make sure that they're responsible, that they're capable of meeting
[3:03:43] our scope, meeting our requirements, and we are ensuring that, you know, the
[3:03:47] firm that we select is the firm that we wanna work with. We have also indicated prior
[3:03:51] that before bringing to commission, we will bring our shortlist to the city
[3:03:55] attorney for guidance as well to make sure that we've made that selection correct
[3:04:00] and that we are comfortable with the selection that we have made available for any
[3:04:04] questions and raise no
[3:04:09] questions, madam mayor, madam mayor. Mayor, I just wanna say thank you. Was, um, you,
[3:04:13] you always present very well and you, you come pretty on point. So thank you for your presentation as
[3:04:17] well, madam mayor, we just wanna put on point, again, a note to the commission.
[3:04:21] this is going to be a very long process. Um, we wanna make sure that the commission is
[3:04:25] aware of that because, uh, I have asked, um, hr to
[3:04:29] sit with me. So we are individually going through every single proposal
[3:04:33] page by page, whether it be 50 or a hundred, whatever. We are going through each
[3:04:37] page to make sure that we see every proposal in detail. And
[3:04:42] it is gonna be a lengthy process and we just wanna make sure that the commission is aware of that. Thank you for
[3:04:46] that, mr. Um, this is a very methodical process and we appreciate
[3:04:50] all the due diligence that you ought. Thank you so much, madam.
[3:04:56] thank you madam mayor. Item number five h discussion regarding the
[3:05:00] purchase of software subscriptions from shy international corporation
[3:05:04] using the naspa alternate contract. Source number
[3:05:08] 4 3 2 3 0 0
[3:05:12] dash two three dash npo dash a cs and executed
[3:05:17] contract number ctr 0 6 0 0 2 8 competitively
[3:05:21] procured by the state of arizona for software value added
[3:05:26] reseller, products and services provided by the applicable software publishes and manufacturers
[3:05:31] in an amount not to exceed $40,000 per fiscal year for software
[3:05:35] subscriptions and contingency of 5% for any upcoming increases
[3:05:39] for a final amount of $42,000. And mr. Zam
[3:05:43] will be presenting this item. Good afternoon again,
[3:05:47] um, protocols, established members commission.
[3:05:51] um, this item, it's an item regarding a discussion
[3:05:56] that was held, uh, about a month ago regarding shai international,
[3:06:00] uh, or rather dell, uh, software. Shai international is that
[3:06:04] like walmart of softwares and they also do hardware programming as well.
[3:06:09] um, hardware products. Shai international is a vendor that
[3:06:13] the city has, um, purchased from, uh, multiple times in
[3:06:17] the past as well. Uh, they have a competitively bid cooperative contract
[3:06:22] where the city enjoys premium pricing, not just regular pricing, but discounted pricing,
[3:06:26] um, from this vendor for various software. Over time,
[3:06:31] the city purchases software to protect our equipment
[3:06:35] and our data that we store regularly, uh, over time as well.
[3:06:40] these subscriptions may be a one year subscription, two year, or sometime three years.
[3:06:44] it's just so happens that in fiscal 26 these
[3:06:48] subscriptions will all come to an end. Around the same time, uh, staff
[3:06:52] is bringing to the commission a request for approval that when this happens, we
[3:06:56] have your approval to go ahead not using the city manager's approval limit,
[3:07:01] but rather coming to you for permission that we can go ahead and procure these software
[3:07:05] programmings from this particular vendor, uh, at the prices that they gave
[3:07:09] us. Now, because we are a little bit away from the
[3:07:13] end time, we are unable to get prices right now from the vendor.
[3:07:18] some subscriptions will expire a couple months lower down, but we want
[3:07:22] to be ready in 2026, uh, in october that we can start these negotiations
[3:07:26] with the vendor, making sure that we get the prices. We are anticipating
[3:07:30] a 5% increase from what we have right now, and what we pay now
[3:07:34] will cover us as, as stated there. Some will go for one year, two year, and
[3:07:38] three years. Um, uh, I'm available for any other
[3:07:42] questions. I do also have with me online, um, kurt or it manager if there
[3:07:46] are any additional questions as well.
[3:07:52] any questions? Commissioner thomas.
[3:07:58] thank you madam mayor. Um, mr. Assam, thank you for that.
[3:08:02] I'm just looking at on the backup, um, your total
[3:08:07] says 32,000. Uh, what is current
[3:08:11] $346 and 99 cents
[3:08:15] and you are requesting 40, 42%. Is
[3:08:19] that in anticipation of an increase?
[3:08:24] agree, madam chair. That is correct. Uh, we are anticipating a 5%,
[3:08:28] uh, we are going to 40,000 because we know what it might be,
[3:08:33] but again, we are not sure, uh, vendors are unable to give us a solid quotation
[3:08:37] at this time. But because of the timeframe and we want to make sure that we don't
[3:08:41] have any lapse with delayed meetings or, or this meet, this item being pushed from
[3:08:45] agendas because of other items as well. We want to make sure that our software, that our
[3:08:49] systems are up to date, uh, that it is protected. Uh, that's why we are bringing it now.
[3:08:56] thank you madam mayor.
[3:09:04] I'm sorry, questions? No. Any other questions? No,
[3:09:08] that's madam city manager. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, anne.
[3:09:12] thank you. Number five I discussion regarding
[3:09:17] authorizing the purchase of additional licenses in accordance with the terms and conditions of the interlocal
[3:09:21] purchasing system tips cooperative program, contract number two one zero three zero three,
[3:09:27] telephone and communications data systems and solutions from ringcentral, inc. And amount
[3:09:31] not to exceed $30,000 for the, the annual cost of the licenses
[3:09:36] and services. And mr. Za will present this item to
[3:09:40] you. Commissioner, go ahead. Good afternoon. Once again, protocols established,
[3:09:45] um, members of the commission and audience as well.
[3:09:49] uh, this item is regarding our telephone system. Uh, a couple, a couple
[3:09:53] years ago, the ct moved away from our regular phone system and moved into ringcentral.
[3:09:57] ringcentral is not that regular phone system where we can pick up transfer calls, but
[3:10:01] it does a multiple, does multiple other features with it. Uh, that helps staff
[3:10:05] in multiple functions as well. Um, at the time this
[3:10:10] resolution was done long before I was here. Uh, it was an agreement in
[3:10:14] place for an annual subscription to maintain the services, which
[3:10:18] was below the city manager's limit, and that was all well and fine. Over
[3:10:22] time, the city has increased in staff. Um, increasing
[3:10:26] in staff means that we had to purchase additional licenses. Licensing meaning
[3:10:31] for new staff, they need new phones, they need a new number, and that's why now
[3:10:35] the licenses increased. We do have to involve staff at times, but in
[3:10:39] pr at this point in time, there is an invoice pending, approved pending approval
[3:10:43] that we need to pay, which has in gone over the city manager's limit by a little bit
[3:10:48] in anticipation of what may happen before the agreement, the 60 month term
[3:10:52] that we have with this vendor, which expires in 2027. We want
[3:10:56] to make sure that we have that covered limit from the commission as well as permission. Uh,
[3:11:00] the commission knows, uh, what your, uh, what you have in sight. As for
[3:11:05] staff increases as well, we want to have that approval limit not exceeding
[3:11:09] $30,000. If we need to increase in more licenses, uh,
[3:11:13] for more staff members that may come on, we have that approval. So it's twofold.
[3:11:18] we can say one, to pay what we have now, which has exceeded the city manager's limit. It's
[3:11:22] at, uh, 26,000 thereabout, but we want to have that allowance as well.
[3:11:26] if we need to increase. Again, the vendor doesn't have to wait for us to come to commission
[3:11:30] for approval, but maxing at 30,000, it doesn't go beyond 2027,
[3:11:35] just around the time before it expires. We will be negotiating with the vendor again,
[3:11:39] once more for terms and conditions as well. Any questions?
[3:11:43] madame? My hand raised?
[3:11:48] no, madam mayor, thank you. Thank you mr. Za. Thank you. Adam
[3:11:52] . Thank you madam mayor. Item number five j. Discussion regarding
[3:11:56] first baptist church, piney grove, back to school bash use of the city's logo
[3:12:00] sponsored by mayor edwards phillips. Thank you sir, very, very much. Good evening colleagues.
[3:12:05] before I start my discussion, I would like to say that I do
[3:12:09] worship at first baptist church, piney grove, but this is not a, a
[3:12:13] personal request that I am making. The first baptist church, piney
[3:12:17] grove is asking to utilize and partner with the city of
[3:12:22] lauderdale lakes for its back to school bash, which will be held
[3:12:26] on august 4th from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm
[3:12:30] they're asking for the city to have a resource table
[3:12:35] at the back to school bash so that they can receive information those who are
[3:12:39] participating, the community, the students, the parents. So they're
[3:12:43] asking for use of the logo, of course, also to have
[3:12:47] a resource table there. And they're also asking for sponsorships
[3:12:52] in the discussion of sponsorships. I am not asking the city to provide
[3:12:56] the resources for sponsorship that I will provide the resource sponsorship
[3:13:01] out of my funds. Any questions about madam
[3:13:05] mayor? I just wanna say I'm support of this back to school
[3:13:09] bash. I think they should be able to use our logo. They've done so much for the city
[3:13:14] and, um, I live right across the street, so I'll be looking forward to walking over when they have it.
[3:13:18] thank you andre, to you, madam mayor.
[3:13:23] mayor, I am all for it. And race?
[3:13:27] no, madam mayor. Thank you. Thank you madam.
[3:13:32] you're welcome. Madam mayor. Item number,
[3:13:39] um, adam ac. Thank you.
[3:13:44] item number 5k. Discussion regarding hosting a florida
[3:13:48] licensing on wheels, also known as flow event as a commissioner initiative
[3:13:53] and is sponsored by commissioner maxwell williams. Commissioner maxwell williams. Thank
[3:13:57] you madam mayor. So I had this idea about, uh,
[3:14:01] I found out about the flow van and I wish, I think it's a great idea
[3:14:06] to, um, what flow van is, is with the florida license, um,
[3:14:10] the florida highway safety and motor vehicles. They have this big bus
[3:14:14] where they go from different cities and, um, provide
[3:14:18] the outreach that you can get your driver's license renewed and
[3:14:23] other things that you can do at the dmv, which, you know, that long
[3:14:27] line and that long waiting that's been going on. So this will really
[3:14:31] help in our city and help our residents, um, to get their
[3:14:35] license, renew their license, and other things that comes along with, with
[3:14:40] the program. Any questions?
[3:14:44] colleagues? How often would they be hand raise? Um, no,
[3:14:48] no matter ma'am, how often would they be? Our, um, I am have not worked out the logistics
[3:14:52] with them. We are still in the process of negotiating how
[3:14:56] and when and how, how often. So once I, uh, get that
[3:15:01] together, I'll bring it back to the commission to address. I think this is a great
[3:15:05] idea. If you've ever had to go to the dmv for any reason,
[3:15:09] you know how long it takes. Even if you have an appointment, it seems
[3:15:13] as if about 30, 40, 50 other people have the same appointment time that you do.
[3:15:18] so this is great. Thank you. Commissioner max. Madam a sin.
[3:15:23] thank you, madam mayor. Item number five
[3:15:30] l discussion regarding use of vacant green space at
[3:15:34] bella vista community for lake space as a commissioner in initiative.
[3:15:38] and this is sponsored by commissioner harrison. Commissioner harrison. Thank you, madam mayor.
[3:15:43] so this event, um, that I'm looking to, um, host and bring to the community
[3:15:47] is called lake space, which is supposed to be a space
[3:15:51] where the community can come out and showcase their talent, uh, but also have
[3:15:55] a, a business pitch competition where individuals can pitch their businesses and
[3:15:59] get support from the community on what it is they're looking to do. Um, this
[3:16:04] is in partnership with, um, the bella vista apartment complex.
[3:16:08] they have a beautiful green space lawn in the middle of their community. And this just
[3:16:12] goes back to the theme. I'm trying to bring events to the community. Um, we have
[3:16:16] a great strategy bringing people to our parks, but making it more intimate I think would be great.
[3:16:20] um, they love the idea and they, uh, looking forward to working with us.
[3:16:25] um, I told him, of course, you've gotta follow protocol, go through commission, but, um,
[3:16:29] that's the sum of the event. We're looking to have the event on november 8th, which is a
[3:16:34] saturday. That gives us enough time to promote recruit talent,
[3:16:38] also get sponsorships for, um, set event lake space.
[3:16:47] that's it. Commissioner, uh, thomas has her commissioner.
[3:16:51] thomas, thank you so much. I had raised my hand
[3:16:55] for the last, um, the, I think item,
[3:17:00] item, what is it? Item the one, commissioner carlene. But I'll move
[3:17:04] on. Um, could you tell me just a little bit more
[3:17:08] about this initiative? Um, commissioner harrison.
[3:17:13] thank you. Of course. So what we're looking to do is, um, bring the show mobile
[3:17:18] over onto this lawn. And, uh, that is gonna work as
[3:17:22] a stage. We're gonna do outreach to the different communities in lauderdale lakes between
[3:17:26] now and november to see who has any specific talent, whether it be singing,
[3:17:30] drawing, um, et cetera. Um, as well as people who have small
[3:17:34] businesses, uh, that's looking to pitch their, um, business to the community.
[3:17:38] uh, we'll assemble a panel of judges, which are residents of the community, as
[3:17:43] well as it's a big, beautiful field in the middle of the community. So we also want
[3:17:47] to have, um, a lot of vendors and tents. Uh, there's also gonna be a kids
[3:17:51] corner where a corner of the field is gonna be specifically for kids activities.
[3:17:55] and we're also gonna be seeking a partnership from several nonprofits to,
[3:17:59] uh, be a part of, uh, this, whether it's by tabling
[3:18:04] or however they'd like to contribute. Uh, this would be an initiative, uh,
[3:18:08] by me as a commissioner. Uh, and I hope that answers
[3:18:12] your question, commissioner thomas. Thomas. Thank you, madam mayor.
[3:18:17] um, I, I'm trying to get a picture of where exactly I know
[3:18:21] where bella vista is. Where exactly is this
[3:18:25] open field that you would have this stage?
[3:18:30] thank you. So if you're at bella vista, imagine being in
[3:18:34] front of the library. There's a gazebo, like a covering where
[3:18:38] people sit down. It's a circular sitting down thing. There's a whole field
[3:18:42] between the library and the leasing office of bella vista apartments.
[3:18:50] okay. I, I thank you madam mayor. Um,
[3:18:54] I, I'm just trying to see the traffic
[3:18:58] in that area, because I know that when we do have,
[3:19:02] uh, something at the ecc, there is no parking space
[3:19:07] or anything, and that's in that same vicinity. I, I'm
[3:19:11] just trying to picture, I know you're trying to get engagement
[3:19:15] from the others within that location, but I don't know
[3:19:19] the logistics of, um, that location
[3:19:23] for the, what, the crowd you're trying to draw. If you're only,
[3:19:28] um, directing it towards the general
[3:19:32] vicinity of where they are, then perhaps yes, it would work.
[3:19:37] but, um, that's just my view in seeing where it's being located.
[3:19:44] yes. Yeah, no, that's a great point. Um, and bella vista, of
[3:19:49] course, um, would think the same thing along those lines. And we're working with them. They feel like
[3:19:53] they can make it happen. Uh, we feel like we can make it happen. And yes, it will
[3:19:57] be marketed, um, first and foremost to that bella vista community. This is an added
[3:20:01] thing for, for their residents as well. Um, so ideally,
[3:20:05] most people attending would just have to walk downstairs and, um, join
[3:20:09] the event. Thank
[3:20:14] you, madam. Uh, through you, madam mayor. Sorry,
[3:20:18] commissioner carlene through you, madam mayor. I, it, it's a great idea,
[3:20:22] but I would ask you to look at the, um,
[3:20:26] area space because you said recently you're looking for,
[3:20:30] um, to showcase talents from all around. So
[3:20:35] if people are being showcased, obviously they're gonna bring,
[3:20:39] um, along family members, friends,
[3:20:43] whatever with them. I'm just, my concern is the
[3:20:48] capacity to house all of those different people there
[3:20:53] as opposed to a vincent tous park. 'cause it, it's
[3:20:57] a small area, even though you have a gazebo and all
[3:21:01] of that, it's still a small area. So that's just my,
[3:21:05] uh, my thought, especially when we have events
[3:21:09] by the ecc. There's no parking at all.
[3:21:14] mayor? Yes, thank you. No, uh, commissioner thomas, you make a great point.
[3:21:19] um, there, there's actually an ample amount of parking spaces within bella
[3:21:23] vista. And like I said, we're working with the, um, community, the residential
[3:21:27] community, the leasing office, and they're looking at the same thing. They believe it's
[3:21:31] feasible. Uh, when we do events at the ecc, there's parking specifically
[3:21:36] for the ecc, but bella vista is saying they will work with us to actually help
[3:21:40] designate parking for what we're trying to do. So, uh, some of the concerns you're
[3:21:44] saying is, is, is valid, but it's also been looked at. And, um, I do agree
[3:21:48] it will be a great event for the community. Thank you. Thank you, madam mayor
[3:21:53] jackson williams. Thank you.
[3:21:58] thank you, madam mayor. Sam, madam mayor. I can say one more thing. I just wanted to
[3:22:02] add it in. This is also a added benefit to what the city's trying to do. 'cause
[3:22:06] bella vista is actually located within the cra district. So, um,
[3:22:10] I think this is along the lines for the goals of the cra as well. Just wanted to add it in.
[3:22:16] uh, sorry, one more thing. If I may, uh, this, I, I also wanted to request
[3:22:20] this as well be a golden rod, uh, for tomorrow, being that it'll
[3:22:24] give us, uh, enough time to not only consider it, but also to, um, promote
[3:22:31] to you madam mayor. Commissioner max williams. When is this event
[3:22:35] for november 8th, if we wait until the next time we meet in
[3:22:40] september, my concern is that we won't have enough time to recruit the talent and, um,
[3:22:44] also, uh, do the event the best way possible. So, requesting a golden rod for
[3:22:48] tomorrow to you, madam mayor, what are you asking for
[3:22:52] from the city to use the logo? What, what are what are we asking for
[3:22:57] that it need to be a golden rod? Are we asking for something from the city?
[3:23:02] thank you, madam mayor. This is gonna be a com uh, commissioner initiative. So the logo would
[3:23:06] already be on there. Um, as well as this will allow the city permission
[3:23:10] to be able to promote the event from now, like any other initiatives. So instead
[3:23:15] of wait till september to do that, um, this will give us enough time to do that from now,
[3:23:20] mayor. So you, you would like a golden rod to approve
[3:23:24] it as your initiative and that's it. Yes, ma'am.
[3:23:31] are you, may I ask that question again, commissioner
[3:23:36] master williams, to make sure that I understood what your question is?
[3:23:40] mm-hmm . Was your question. Commissioner maxwell williams
[3:23:44] to commissioner harrison's request for a golden
[3:23:48] tomorrow just to approve that as his initiative or to
[3:23:53] approve the, not approve because we cannot vote. But to
[3:23:57] you are in favor of the initiative. I'm not in favor, I'm, I just
[3:24:01] wanted to answer questions. The clarification, just if that, so he's,
[3:24:05] I just wanted to understand if you, you want us to do a golden rod just to
[3:24:10] say, oh, this is his initiative and just add it on? No, no. This his
[3:24:14] initiative mr. Harrison, right. Commissioner harris?
[3:24:18] no. Oh, we all have initiatives. I did the swim to commissioner initiative
[3:24:22] that has to be promoted to be done the right way
[3:24:27] for this to be, uh, waiting until the next meeting in september and we approve it
[3:24:31] again. The city cannot put it out that, hey, we're doing something in the bella vista community.
[3:24:35] so I'm asking for a golden rod so we can approve it tomorrow instead of waiting to approve
[3:24:39] it in september. So we have enough time to promote the event
[3:24:45] again. And I, I do apologize. You know, I gotta
[3:24:49] understand this. When is the event again? When is it? October,
[3:24:54] november 8th. So november 8th. If we, if say this comes in
[3:24:58] on, in september, the first meeting in september, you
[3:25:02] have all of october to promote it. So end of half
[3:25:07] of september, a month and a half. So I'm not sure why we need to do
[3:25:11] a golden rod tomorrow. Madam mayor, thank you. I I don't want
[3:25:15] to belabor the point too much. Um, we usually need a month and a half to plan events.
[3:25:19] it's just a consideration of being able to promote this in time.
[3:25:23] the more time you have to promote an event, the more successful the event is gonna be.
[3:25:28] if you feel like we could do it a month and a half, I don't think that's the right way to
[3:25:32] make sure this event is gonna be its most successful. So there was
[3:25:36] a golden rod request a little earlier before. I'm making a golden rod request as well for this
[3:25:40] item to see if we can consider, um, approving it now so we have enough time
[3:25:44] to promote for this event. My thoughts is I do not have a concern
[3:25:49] about the goldenrod request. My concern is about the space
[3:25:53] and the numerous activities. I'm in favor of the event,
[3:25:57] but my concern also is about the space. But I have no problem with the goal. Thank
[3:26:01] you, madam mayor.
[3:26:06] thank you. Very hand raised, ms. P, so make sure we don't yeah, no, madam
[3:26:11] mayor mme. May soon. Thank you so much. Um, item
[3:26:15] number five m discussion regarding diaper bank distribution
[3:26:19] for national diaper dis distribution week, sponsored by commissioner
[3:26:23] harrison, ms. Harrison. Thank you madam mayor. So the fort, the greater fort
[3:26:27] lauderdale diaper bank has a wonderful initiative where, um, they set up
[3:26:32] shopping, give out diapers for free. Um, I think this would be an amazing thing to bring
[3:26:36] to our community. Um, people are
[3:26:40] spending a bunch of money on diapers and there's currently no
[3:26:44] state funding to cover exclusively diapers for infants. So we have a huge gap,
[3:26:49] um, and I believe our community could benefit from this. I'm looking to do this to
[3:26:53] kick it off during, uh, national diaper week, which is
[3:26:57] between september the week of that week of september, I think 13th to 21st.
[3:27:02] I'm looking to do it that saturday, september 20th. This isn't gonna cost
[3:27:06] the city anything. Uh, the greater fort lauro diaper bank is gonna come and set up,
[3:27:11] and this will be something that we're looking to do on a recurring basis.
[3:27:16] commissioner, colleagues, henrys,
[3:27:21] no matter mayor, is this a golden rod also? Commissioner, do you have a comment,
[3:27:25] commissioner? Yeah, I'm asking is this is a golden rod also? He did not request a golden oh, okay.
[3:27:30] just asking. I just want to comment. Commissioner harrison, I think this is
[3:27:34] a great, great event. My sorority
[3:27:38] has participated in the event before here in lauderdale lakes. As a matter of fact,
[3:27:43] we met at northgate park, all of the
[3:27:47] sorority chapters came together, donated diapers,
[3:27:51] we put them and organized them into bags, and then we gave them to the diaper bank. So that thinks
[3:27:55] a great, awesome. Thank you. Through you matter. Mayor, I just wanna say I would love to partner with, uh,
[3:27:59] them and you all as well, if they're open to it. Um, but I, I think it would be a great
[3:28:03] thing looking at the statistics and the disparities. Thank you, madam mayor. Commissioner thomas. Commissioner
[3:28:08] thomas. Thank you madam mayor. Just wanna say I'm in favor of it.
[3:28:14] thank you madam. A thank
[3:28:18] you madam mayor. Item number five
[3:28:22] n discussion regarding an amnesty program sponsored by commissioner
[3:28:26] harrison harrison. Thank you, madam mayor. Uh, there was some discussion earlier
[3:28:30] about, uh, a previous plan. We're talking about this one. This is just a draft
[3:28:35] proposal that I wanted to submit, um, in a good spirit of
[3:28:39] exercising the powers that we do have as, uh, legislators being
[3:28:43] the policy arm of municipal government. Um, it's just a
[3:28:47] draft, uh, but the main core pieces of it is kind
[3:28:52] of what's key, uh, which I think is gonna be beneficial to how we move about,
[3:28:56] um, any type of lean amnesty program. Now, I
[3:29:00] think we can always debate as to how much the application fee is gonna be. I think
[3:29:04] there was a another, um, suggestion of $1,500. I think that's okay.
[3:29:09] um, however, going back to my previous comments on the front
[3:29:13] end, there is very little to stop people from being able
[3:29:17] to participate in this program. Also, this program, um,
[3:29:21] was aiming to be in line with what, not just the surrounding cities, but
[3:29:25] numerous cities throughout broward is doing at the moment. Um, we want to
[3:29:31] work with a program that can be, uh, valuable to our community.
[3:29:36] um, another part here, it says 10% of the liens face value
[3:29:40] for residential and 15% of the lean value for
[3:29:44] commercial. That's obviously negotiable. Again, this is just a draft, but I think
[3:29:48] this is a good place to start. Um, looking at 35% for commercial
[3:29:53] businesses and anything different from that, that's just not consistent with what other cities are
[3:29:57] doing. And we have to be mindful. A lot of our business owners here in the city have
[3:30:01] businesses in other cities, and they feel the disparity. So I think 35%
[3:30:05] is a little too high. Um, what's proof that 35% might be too
[3:30:09] high is that it was discussed that there's a settlement
[3:30:14] agreement and that agreement is at 35%. So
[3:30:18] we're willing to settle for that. How is that a amnesty program amount? But,
[3:30:22] uh, 35% is just a little too high for, um, for any lean amnesty
[3:30:26] program. I encourage my colleagues instead of belaboring the point. I think we had great discussion
[3:30:31] and debate earlier, um, to just read the backup, read
[3:30:35] the backup, and just kind of just in your human mind, ask
[3:30:39] yourself, is this a human thing to do that, um, the city of lauderdale lakes is
[3:30:43] trying to do, uh, when people wanna do business in the city of lauderdale lakes, we have
[3:30:47] to ask ourselves, are we business friendly? Not just in how
[3:30:51] we say it, not just in where we put our faces or what we choose to spotlight, but
[3:30:55] what are we doing when we create policy? And
[3:30:59] I think that's key. So, uh, I won't belabor to point too much, but, uh, it's in the backup and
[3:31:04] I encourage your colleagues to, um, glean over it whenever you get a chance. Thank you, madam mayor. Colleagues,
[3:31:08] any questions or any discussion and raise?
[3:31:14] thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you madam. Thank you madam mayor.
[3:31:19] and that completes the workshop agenda. Thank you so much. Thank
[3:31:23] you everyone. Goodnight.