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[CALL TO ORDER]
AND WELCOME TO OUR JULY 24TH COMMISSION MEETING.THANK YOU, VICE MAYOR DOMINGUEZ AND COMMISSIONER ROSEN GONZALEZ, WHERE REST OF MY, OUR COLLEAGUES WILL JOIN US MOMENTARILY.
CITY CLERK, IF YOU CAN READ US THE ZOOM INFO OR ANY INSTRUCTIONS.
DURING THIS HYBRID COMMISSION MEETING, THE CITY COMMISSION IS PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBER AT MIAMI BEACH CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE THIRD FLOOR.
THE PUBLIC MAY ATTEND THE MEETING VIRTUALLY, HOWEVER, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO ATTEND THE MEETING OR PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMON PERSON MAY APPEAR THE COMMISSION CHAMBER TO PARTICIPATE OR PROVIDE COMMENT VIRTUALLY DURING THE COMMISSION MEETING.
THE PUBLIC MAY JOIN THE MEETING BY VISITING THE ZOOM APP ON THEIR SMART DEVICE OR ON THE WEB AT ZOOM US BY TELEPHONE.
THEY MAY CALL IN AT (305) 224-1968.
THE TOLL FREE NUMBER IS 8 8 8 4 7 5 4 4 9 9 8 8 8 4 7 5 4 4 9 9.
THE WEBINAR ID IS 8 1 3 9 2 8 5 7 6 71 POUND 8 1 3 9 2 8 5 7 6 71 POUND.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WANTING TO SPEAK VIRTUALLY ON AN ITEM DURING THE MEETING MUST CLICK THE RAISE HAND ICON IF USING THE ZOOM APP, OR PRESS STAR NINE ON THE TELEPHONE TO RAISE THEIR HAND.
[R7 M A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCY COMMITTEE, AT ITS APRIL 19, 2024 MEETING, TO ACCEPT THE CITY ADMINISTRATION'S UPDATE ON THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH PARKING DEPARTMENT ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS.]
UH, COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE HAS ALSO NOTIFIED US THAT HE IS, UH, THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO CONVERT ITEM R SEVEN M TO A CONSENT REFERRAL.SO IF WE MAY DO THAT WHEN WE DO THE CONSENT, THAT WILL BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO START THE DAY WITH PRAYER.
AND WE'RE GONNA START OUR MEETING.
AND IT'S MY HONOR TO ASK PASTOR FI FIGUEROA FROM THE CHURCH, JESUS RE, MIAMI BEACH, TO GIVE US SOME WORDS OF INSPIRATION.
PSALM 118 VERSE 24 SAYS THAT THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE.
LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.
UH, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO.
EVERY ONE OF YOU ARE CALLED TO HA AND HAVE A FUNCTION AND A PURPOSE IN THIS CITY.
AND WE ARE ALL WITNESSES OF, YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB.
EVEN THOUGH THE TIMES HAVE BECOME EVEN MORE DIFFICULT EACH DAY, UH, YOU GUYS DON'T GIVE UP.
YOU CONTINUE TO, TO DO WHAT YOU'RE CALLED.
I HAVE A WORD IN THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH AND THE TITLE OF THIS DEVOTIONAL SAYS, HE WILL LIFT YOU UP BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE THAT LIFTS US UP WHEN WE NEED THE STRENGTH, THE KNOWLEDGE, THE WISDOM.
AND NEHEMIAH FOUR 10 SAYS, JUDAH SAID, THIS IS SO MUCH RUBBISH THAT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO BUILD THE WALL.
NEHEMIAH KNEW AS A GREAT BUILDER AND REBUILD UNDER HIS GUIDANCE.
THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL CLEARED THE RUBBLE AND CONSTRUCTED WALLS NONSTOP.
THEY NEEDED THE WALLS TO STOP THE INVASION FOR BEING, UH, ATTACKED AND AND ROBBED.
AND LIKE A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, YOU GUYS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE IN THE FRONT.
YOU GUYS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE, UH, DOING WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED TO DO.
YOUR PURPOSE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO LIVE IN THIS VIBRANT AND BEAUTIFUL CITY, THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
I DON'T LIVE HERE, BUT I'VE BEEN HERE FOR THE LAST 23 YEARS.
LAST TIME I WAS HERE IN THIS COMMISSION, IT WAS SEEKING PERMITS TO BE ABLE TO BE AN ESTABLISHED CHURCH IN MIAMI BEACH.
AND IT'S BEEN 23 YEARS THAT WE HAVE BEEN TOGETHER AND SERVING THIS COMMUNITY.
AS YOU GUYS SERVE, WE SERVE TOO.
THE DESCRIPTION SAYS A MONTH INTO THEIR UNENDING WORK, JUDAH, NEHEMIAH, THE STRENGTH OF THE LABORERS IS FAILING.
AND THERE IS SO MUCH RUBBISH THAT WE ARE NOT ABLE TO BUILD THE WALL.
NEHEMIAH FOUR 10, NEHEMIAH WAS DEALING WITH A GROUP OF DISCOURAGED BUILDERS.
I BELIEVE THAT SOMETIMES YOU GUYS COME AGAINST ALL THAT DISCOURAGEMENT 'CAUSE OF ALL THE PROBLEMS
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AND OF ALL THE SITUATIONS AND DIFFICULTIES THAT ARISES WITH THIS CHANGING WORLD.BUT I COME HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE AND LET US REJOICE IN IT BECAUSE GOD HAS GIVEN US A NEW DAY FOR US TO COMPLETE THE PURPOSE THAT HE HAS CALLED US TO.
AND THIS IS WHAT YOU ALL DO TOO.
AND WE THANK YOU 'CAUSE YOU'RE IN THE FRONT OF THE BATTLE AND YOU'RE TAKING HITS LIKE WE HAVE NEVER SEEN OR HEARD OF.
BUT YOU'RE NOT DISCOURAGED, LONGING TO SEE THE PROC PROGRESS.
THEY COULD ONLY SEE THE RUBBAGE THAT IS WAS NEEDED TO BE REMOVED.
HOW MANY TIMES YOU COME TOGETHER, HOW MANY TIMES YOU COME WITH IDEAS, HOW MANY TIMES YOU COME AND YOU DON'T GET TOGETHER WITH THE IDEAS, BUT YOU KEEP GOING, YOU KEEP FLOWING.
THINGS ARE HAPPENING BECAUSE YOU WILL CONTINUE.
BECAUSE WHY? YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THE PURPOSE AND THE CALLING OF GOD TO DO WHAT YOU DO AND YOU DO A GREAT JOB.
A NEHEMIAH RECOGNIZED THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE ISRAELITES AND HIS FIRST REMIND THEM.
HE FIRST REMINDED THEM THAT GOD WAS WITH THEM.
I COME TO TELL YOU THAT GOD IS WITH YOU.
YOU, WE HAVE A CHURCH IN MIAMI BEATS THAT FOR YOU EVERY DAY, FOR THE CITY GOVERNMENT, FOR THE CITY TO BE GOVERNED WITH INTEGRITY.
AND IT'S A BLESSING TO HAVE YOU ALL.
I ENCOURAGE OUR PARISHIONERS TO VOTE, TO COME OUT AND VOTE FOR COUNCILMAN FOR, UH, UH, THE MAYOR IN ALL POSITIONS FOR BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO, AND THAT'S WHAT CHANGES THING.
BUT NEHEMIAH FIRST REMIND THE ISRAELITES THAT GOD WAS WITH THEM.
I COME TO TELL YOU THAT GOD IS WITH ALL OF YOU.
AND YOU SAY, WELL, I'M NOT FROM YOUR RELIGION.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND, OR I DON'T THINK LIKE YOU, BUT GOD IS GOD.
AND HE'S OVERALL, HE'S THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, JACOB, ISAIAH, AND ALL THE PATRIOTICS THAT WERE AT ONE TIME, BUT HE'S STILL GOD AND HE'S IN HEAVEN AND HE'S THE ONE THAT COULD HELP US IN TIMES OF NEED AND TIMES OF TROUBLE.
AND I BELIEVE THAT IN TIMES OF TROUBLE IS WHEN WE MOSTLY NEED OF HIM.
BUT THIS IS WHAT NEHEMIAH DID.
HE ENCOURAGED EVERYONE TO DO EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID.
AND HE ASSIGNED THEM TO WORK IN SHIFTS SO THEY COULD GET REST REGULARLY.
YOU GUYS WORK TOGETHER EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE NOT IN IN ONE ACCORD ALL THE TIME.
YOU HEAR EVERY TIME THAT YOU COME AND MAKE THIS MEETING TO GET SOMETHING DONE TO BE OF PURPOSE.
MIAH ORGANIZED EVERYTHING AGAIN.
AND THEN HE ASSIGNED THEM AND EACH FAMILY WAS GIVEN THEIR OWN SECTION OF THE WALL TO COMPLETE.
THAT'S EVERY ONE OF YOU GUYS BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PURPOSE.
YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE A LITTLE TO, TO SOW FOR THE PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO BE BLESSED.
I DON'T WANNA TAKE MORE TIME, BUT THERE'S A PURPOSE.
TEAMWORK IS THE FUEL THAT ALLOWS COMMON PEOPLE TO OBTAIN UNCOMMON RESULTS.
AND WE THANK GOD FOR YOU GUYS.
AND UH, I THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE AND TO BE ABLE TO PRAY A BLESSING UPON YOU FOR STRENGTH AND KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING.
CAN I ASK YOU GUYS TO BOW YOUR HEADS OR YOU GUYS CAN'T? WELL, VERY QUICKLY, FATHER GOD, IN THE NAME OF JESUS, FATHER GOD, WE BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE IN THIS CITY COMMISSION TODAY.
WE BLESS THEM BECAUSE YOU HAVE GATHERED THEM AND YOU HAVE THEM WITH PURPOSE.
AND FATHER, WE ASK YOU TO GIVE THEM UNDERSTANDING, TO GIVE THEM STRENGTH, INTEGRITY, TO GIVE THEM IDEAS, STRATEGIES, AND, AND NEW FORMS OF DOING THINGS FATHER GOD FOR WE COULD ENJOY AND BE BLESSED AS WE PARTAKE IN WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MIAMI BEACH.
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OF JESUS WE CALL UNTO YOU THAT YOUR ANGELS WILL BE AROUND THEM AT ALL TIMES TO PROTECT THEM AND GUIDE THEM AND TO MINISTER TO THEM.AND THEY, THEY WOULD RECEIVE THE BLESSING THAT YOU GIVE THEM EVERY DAY TO START A NEW DAY, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE THE ONE THAT GIVES THEM THAT DAY.
AND THEY, THEY MAY COME BEFORE YOU AND THEY MAY SEEK YOU AND THEY MAY RECEIVE AS THEY SURRENDER THEIR LIVES AND THEIR VOLUNTEER, THEIR WILL TO YOU.
FATHER, IN THE NAME OF JESUS, FATHER GOD, WE BLESS THEM AND WE THANK YOU FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM IN JESUS' NAME.
THANK YOU PA THANK YOU PASTOR FOR YOUR POWERFUL WORDS.
AND THANK YOU FOR BEING IN MIAMI BEACH AND YOUR COMMUNITY FOR 23 YEARS.
AND WE LOOK FOR MANY, MANY MORE YEARS, UH, TOGETHER.
LET'S DO THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
IT'S A GOOD FOLLOW UP TO THE INVOCATION.
AND I'M GONNA ASK OUR INTERIM CITY MANAGER RAQUEL WILLIAMS, TO LEAD US.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA START THE SUT
[R9 C DR. STANLEY SUTNICK CITIZEN'S FORUM. (8:35 A.M./1:00 P.M.)]
HOUR, OR I SHOULD SAY THE HALF HOUR.OUR, OUR FIRST VIRTUAL CALLER IS JOHAN MOORE.
MR. MOORE, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS.
JOHANN MOORE, 7 1 7 JEFFERSON AVENUE.
UH, I WOULD BEGIN R MY REMARKS BY POINTING OUT THAT THERE IS ALSO AN ADAGE TO DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.
UH, MY POINT TODAY IS NOT TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF PALESTINE NECESSARILY OR AGAINST VARIOUS COMMISSION EFFORTS TO TOWARD ITSELF DETERMINATION, BUT TO PRAISE VARIOUS ITEMS BEFORE YOU ON THE AGENDA.
IN RATHER, UH, PARTICULARLY, UH, FETCHING ORDER ITEMS C FOUR A, C FOUR B, AND C FOUR C, UH, I RECOMMEND SUPPORT FOR, UH, WE THANK COMMISSIONER DOMINGUEZ FOR C FOUR A AND C FOUR B.
UH, C FOUR C IS IN FACT, UH, BEFORE YOU FROM THE MAYOR.
UH, TWO OF THOSE ARE IN FACT FORWARDED TO YOU FROM THE SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
UH, I ALSO WANT TO THANK COMMISSIONER ROSEN GONZALEZ FOR ITEM C FOUR ONE, UH, FUNDING TREE CANOPY.
UH, AN ITEM THAT HAS, UH, SUDDENLY TAKEN ON NEW IMPORTANCE, UH, COUNTYWIDE AND DISCUSSIONS ARE IN FACT, UH, UH, BEING UNDERTAKEN WITH THE URBAN FORESTER AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE TO SEE HOW WE CAN BEST SUPPORT TREAT CANOPY.
UH, I ALSO WANT TO THANK HER FOR ITEM C SEVEN AR, WHICH WOULD SUPPORT EMPLOYEES USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA ON THEIR OWN TIME AND PRECLUDE ANY, UH, NE UH, ANY, UH, NEGATIVE, UH, RESULTS FROM THAT TO THEIR EMPLOYMENT.
AND FINALLY, I WANT TO THANK COMMISSIONER FERNANDES FOR ITEM C SEVEN AS THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION WITHIN MERIDIAN COURT COMMUNITY ABOUT THESE, UH, BELEAGUERED RESIDENTS BEING FORCED OUT OF THEIR HOMES.
AND MY COMMENT TO MY CO-FOUNDER, UH, WAS THAT IT'S NOT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, SO I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO PROCEED THAT.
SO I WAS VERY PLEASED TO SEE THE COMMISSIONER ES AS SO OFTEN AS, UH, THE CONCERNS OF, OF PRECARIOUSLY HOUSED INDIVIDUALS AT HEART.
NEXT, PLEASE, PLEASE STATE YOUR STATE, STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND I'M NOT SURE WHO WAS FIRST, BUT GO AHEAD, PLEASE.
OH, YOU WANT ME TO GO? LYNETTE LONG MIAMI BEACH COMMISSIONED FOR WOMEN.
ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I STOOD HERE AND SAID THERE WAS ONLY ONE STREET NAMED AFTER WOMAN, BARBARA BEAR KAPPIN IN THE WHOLE CITY.
AND I'M PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT I, HOPEFULLY AFTER TODAY THERE WILL BE SIX.
THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT OF THIS COMMISSION.
AND I WANNA SAY THAT THE MIAMI BEACH COMMISSION FOR WOMEN WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR PARITY 'CAUSE MEN HAVE 20 STREETS, BUT WE ARE ASKING THAT WOMEN WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS GREAT CITY BE ACKNOWLEDGED.
NUMBER TWO ON MY AGENDA IS JOSEPHINE BAKER.
ON DECEMBER 23RD, 1948, THE COPA CITY CLUB OPENED.
IT IS AT 1,301 DAY BOULEVARD WHERE PUBLIC STORAGE IS.
WE HAVE THE COMMISSIONER, WOMEN DO THE HARD WORK OF MERL SHARMA GOTTEN
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PERMISSION FROM PUBLIC STORAGE TO PUT ON THEIR PROPERTY A HISTORICAL MARKER ISSUED BY THE STATE OF PHIL FLORIDA, HONORING JOSEPHINE BAKER.EVERYBODY KNOWS THE STORY THEY ASKED HER TO PERFORM, OFFERED HER A LARGE SUM OF MONEY AND SHE REFUSED UNLESS THEY INTEGRATED THE AUDIENCE.
AND THAT THEN EVERY ONE OF HER CONTRACTS SAID THE FOLLOWING, IT IS UNDERSTOOD, AGREED BETWEEN BOTH PARTIES THAT PATRONS ARE TO BE ADMITTED REGARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR, OR CREED.
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN MIAMI BEACH.
WE THINK SHE SHOULD BE SO HONORED, AND SHE INVITED HER DIFFERENT FRIENDS TO THE OPENING SO THAT SHE COULD PROVE THAT THEY DIDN'T DENY ANYONE AT THE GATE FROM NEW YORK CITY.
AND THE COST OF THE MARKER IS $2,300 PAID TO STATE OF FLORIDA, AND WE HOPE THE CITY WILL AUTHORIZE THAT PAYMENT TO HONOR JOSEPHINE BAKER AND HER PUSH TOWARD INTEGRATION ON MIAMI BEACH.
OUR NEXT VIRTUAL SPEAKER IS AMANDA.
AMANDA, STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PLEASE.
OH, HELLO, MY NAME IS AMANDA FISHER.
I'M HERE JEWISH PERSON WHO'S ATTENDED SEVERAL OF THESE RECENT COMMISSION MEETINGS.
AND WHILE I MAY NOT AGREE WITH EVERYTHING I AM FAMILIAR WITH, AND EVEN AT TIMES UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS CONDITIONED THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE MAYOR AND, UH, COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR CONCERNS ARE INFORMED BY THE PAST EXPERIENCE AND VIOLENCE FACED BY PREVIOUS JEWISH GENERATIONS.
AND THAT BECAUSE OF THIS, YOU FEEL A HEIGHTENED SENSE OF VULNERABILITY GIVEN THAT HISTORY.
HOWEVER, IT'S CRUCIAL TO ADDRESS THE ACTIONS THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS TAKEN THAT UNDERMINE OUR CORE VALUES, USING OUR TAXPAYER MONEY TO SUPPORT ISRAEL.
THEREFORE, THEREBY CONTRIBUTING TO THE ONGOING VIOLENCE AND LOSS OF LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTRADICTS OUR ETHICAL TEACHINGS AND SPEAKING OUT AGAINST THESE ACTIONS IS NOT ANTI-SEMITIC.
IT IS ACTUALLY A DEFENSE OF OUR VALUES AND OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR ANCESTORS' LEGACY THAT WE ALL SHARE.
UM, WE HAVE FACED AND OVERCOME REAL ANTISEMITISM IN MIAMI BEACH.
UH, THERE USED TO BE REDLINING PRACTICES THAT ONCE EXCLUDED JEWS FROM LIVING IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND ACCESSING CERTAIN SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL SPACES.
WE'VE WORKED HARD AND ADVANCED IN INCLUSIVITY AND EQUALITY, BUT NOW THESE RECENT MEASURES LIKE RESTRICTING FREE SPEECH THROUGH ORDINANCES AGAINST PROTESTS AND PENALIZING BUSINESSES THAT SUPPORT BDS UNDERMINE THESE HARD WON ADVANCEMENTS.
THESE ACTIONS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND THEY'RE A BETRAYAL OF OUR DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES.
SO IT'S CRUCIAL THAT THIS COMMISSION REEVALUATES THIS STANCE AND ALIGNS MORE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF SECULARISM, NON-PARTISANSHIP AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE.
THIS CURRENT PATH WE'RE ON IS NOT ONLY UNJUST, BUT IT IS ILLEGAL AND A DISSERVICE TO THE VALUES THAT YOU CLAIM TO UPHOLD.
I'M ACTUALLY GONNA EXPLAIN WHY IT IS ANTI-SEMITIC AND WHY THIS COMMISSION IS ACTUALLY ADDRESSING.
ANYWHERE WE SEE FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION OR HATE, INCLUDING ANTISEMITISM, WE ARE GONNA ADDRESS IT.
THERE ARE COMMENTS MADE IN THIS MEETING IN THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS THAT ARE SO BLATANTLY ANTI, IT'S NOT EVEN ANTI-ISRAEL, IT IS ANTI-JEWISH.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF ANY JEWISH PERSON, BY THE WAY, THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE I'M LOOKING AROUND IN THIS ROOM.
IF ANY JEWISH PERSON OR MANY PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM WOULD GO TO THE TERRITORIES THAT ARE CONTROLLED BY THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND HAMAS, YOU WOULD NOT GET OUT.
YOU WOULD NOT GET OUT WITHOUT GOING TO PRISON.
THERE IS NOT A SINGLE JEWISH PERSON IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES.
I THINK THIS WOULD SHOCK MOST PEOPLE WHO'VE NEVER BEEN TO ISRAEL.
EVERYWHERE YOU GO, THERE ARE ARABS.
20% OF THE POPULATION, 20% OF THE VOTING POPULATION ARE ARABS.
20% OF THE KNESSET, WHICH IS THE ISRAELI PARLIAMENT, THE EQUIVALENT OF CONGRESS ARE ARABS GO TO ANY HOSPITAL.
DOCTORS, NURSES GO TO ANY GROCERY STORE.
SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF LIKE, HONESTLY, IT'S INSULTING.
HEARING COMMENTS ABOUT ISRAEL AND COMMITTING MASSACRES.
WHEN YOU HAVE ONE SIDE WHERE YOU CAN'T HAVE A JEWISH PERSON OR OTHER GROUPS THAT ARE IN THIS ROOM, WE CAN GO TO ISRAEL AND YOU CAN LIVE FREELY AMONGST JEWS, ARABS, CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS, AND EVERY WALKS OF LIFE.
[00:20:01]
AND ACTUALLY UNTIL OCTOBER 7TH WHEN HAMAS ATTACKED, THERE WERE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIANS THAT USED TO COME OVER THE BORDER.THERE IS A BORDER AND THEY USED TO COME OVER THE BORDER AND WORK FREELY, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO EARN A LIVING.
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT, UH, HAD TO BE RESTRICTED.
ANYWAY, I FELT THE NEED TO EXPLAIN WHY THIS COMMISSION TAKES AND UNIFORMITY THE POSITIONS IT TAKES.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS.
AND WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TODAY ABOUT TWO THINGS.
UH, JUST REFERRING TO WHAT MAYOR MINOR JUST SAID, THE PALESTINIANS, THE 20% OF PALESTINIANS WHO LIVE IN THE, UH, IN ISRAEL DON'T HAVE THE SAME VOTING RIGHTS AS THE ISRAELIS.
THEY ARE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.
SO TO TALK ABOUT THE WAY, THE WAY YOU'RE TALKING THAT IT'S AN, THERE'S AN EQUIVALENCE, I'M NOT SURE.
FIRST I WANT TO TALK ABOUT JARED FIRESTONE.
WHY IS THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH CONSIDERING A RESOLUTION THAT WOULD GIVE JARED FIRESTONE AN ATHLETE WHO RISE A SINGLE PERSON SLEIGH HEADFIRST DOWN A MOUNTAIN, A $10,000 GRANT TO REPRESENT A FOREIGN COUNTRY? IN THIS CASE, ISRAEL, IN THE 2026 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES, A POOR RESIDENT.
I COULD SEE IT A PER, UH, A PERSON REPRESENTING A POOR COUNTRY.
I COULD SEE IT, BUT ISRAEL IS NOT POOR.
NOT ONLY DOES HE WANT TO COMPETE FOR A FOREIGN COUNTRY, HE IN UNDOUBTEDLY HAS MEANS AS IS YOUR PRACTICING LAWYER AND REAL ESTATE AGENT, AND SAYS HE HAS A STRONG FAMILY AND FRIEND SUPPORT SYSTEM.
SECONDLY, MIAMI BEACH HAS A WAD OF MONEY AND DOESN'T WANT TO USE IT TO CONTRACT WITH BUSINESSES THAT REFUSE TO SELL OR BUY FROM ISRAEL.
A CLEAR INFRINGEMENT ON FREE SPEECH.
THIS IS AN ABUSE OF POWER BY YOUR INSISTENCE, WE'RE BEING FORCED TO GIVE AWAY OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY.
AGAIN, ISRAEL BOYCOTTS AND SELECTIVE BUYING ARE LEGAL, WITNESSED THE LEGAL GREAT BOYCOTT IN CALIFORNIA.
AS YOU WELL KNOW, THE SUPREME COURT DECIDED THAT BOYCOTTS WERE LEGAL AFTER.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS VIRTUALLY IS GABRIELA.
GABRIELA, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME ONE MOMENT.
YOU ACTUALLY SAID YOU DON'T THINK YOU, YOU, YOU, I'M SORRY TO DISPUTE YOU, BUT YOU HAVE 30 MINUTES.
THE FACTS ARE 20% OF THE VOTING POPULATION IN ISRAELI ELECTIONS ARE ARABS.
AND 20% OF THE KNESSET, I'M ROUNDING OFF ARE ARAB REPRESENTATIVES.
AND BY THE WAY, IT'S INTERESTING HOW ISRAEL ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE THE FOCUS OF THE DISPUTES.
NOBODY COMES IN HERE ABOUT NORTH KOREA OR CHINA WHERE REAL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ARE HAPPENING, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THE SAME VOTING RIGHTS AS ISRAELIS.
THEY'RE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.
YOU COULD KEEP SAYING IT, BUT YOU'RE FAULT.
GABRIELA, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PLEASE.
I'M A MIAMI BEACH RESIDENT, UM, AT 7 7 0 0 TATUM WATERWAY DRIVE.
UM, AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO START BY AFFIRMING EVERYTHING THAT KEN SAID, BUT I'D MOST PRIMARILY LIKE TO SPEAK ABOUT RESOLUTION C SEVEN AG THAT WOULD AWARD $10,000 TO JARED FIRESTONE.
UM, I'M VERY DISHEARTENED TO THINK THAT IN A CITY WHERE WE'RE ARRESTING UNHOUSED PEOPLE INSTEAD OF PUTTING MONEY INTO HOUSING, THAT WE WOULD SEND SOMEONE TO THE OLYMPICS TO REPRESENT ANOTHER COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY A COUNTRY THAT IS ACTIVELY CARRYING OUT A GENOCIDE.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY DISDAIN AT ORDINANCE ORDINANCE R FIVE.
NEXT, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS.
MR. MAYOR, MY NAME IS LYNETTE CARDO AND I'M VICE PRESIDENT WITH MOFFITT AND NICKEL.
WE ARE A, UH, RESILIENCY AND ONE OF THE TOP LEADING WATERFRONT ENGINEERING AND CONSULTING FIRMS. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE'VE HAD WITH THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH AND THE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE DONE.
I'VE PERSONALLY BEEN ABLE TO LOBBY WITH, UM, THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH FOR THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BEACHES AND THE HEALTH AND THE RESILIENCY VALUE THAT THEY BRING.
I DO WISH, HOWEVER, TO RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT WE PULL ITEM C TWO F FROM TODAY'S AGENDA.
[00:25:01]
UM, THAT IS THE, JUST A SITUATION WHERE I FIND THAT THE, UM, INFORMATION USED FOR THAT MEMO DOESN'T TRULY RESPECT THE WISHES OF THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE.SO WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL CLOSE, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
UH, UM, C TWO F IT HAS BEEN SEPARATED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA.
IT HAS BEEN C TWO F HAS BEEN SEPARATED.
WE'RE GONNA GO VIRTUALLY TO MJ KAGAN.
MJ PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS.
AND THANK YOU FOR, UH, RECOGNIZING ME.
I LIVE AT 51 51 COLLINS AVENUE.
FOR CLOSE TO 30 YEARS, I HAVE BEEN AN ACTIVE LEADER IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY.
JUST STEPPED DOWN FROM THE JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL LEADERSHIP.
I WANT TO COMMEND COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, MAYOR MINOR AND COMMISSIONER JOE MAGAZINE FOR R FIVE AB IN SUPPORT OF ISRAEL AND OPPOSED TO BDS, UM, BECAUSE ISRAEL IS FIGHTING AN EXISTENTIAL, UH, WAR BASED ON THE ATTACKS OF OCTOBER SEVEN RIGHT NOW, I JUST RETURNED FROM MY THIRD TRIP TO THE NATION.
UM, AND IT'S AN EXTREMELY UNFORTUNATE SITUATION WHAT'S GOING OVER THERE, BUT ISRAEL IS FIGHTING THE WORLD'S IDEOLOGICAL WAR ON TERROR.
AND IF YOU LOOKED AT THE NEW YORK TIMES IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, THERE IS AN ARTICLE WHERE THE PENTAGON IS ACTUALLY, UM, THANK YOU.
YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO REQUEST ON THE ITEM THAT MOJ DANIELS JUST SPOKE ON R FIVE.
TO BE LISTED AS A CO-SPONSOR AS WELL.
HI, HOW YOU DOING? SARAH DERE, SAN HARPER NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT.
I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF, UM, MY BOARD.
UM, WE WANNA SUPPORT, UM, C SEVEN AP AND THE VISIBILITY OF POLICE IN NEIGHBORHOOD I THINK IS A GREAT IDEA AND IT, I THINK IS VERY WELCOME, UH, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
I THINK THAT WILL BE REALLY, REALLY GREAT.
I ALSO SUPPORT R FIVE B, WHICH IS THE MAURICE GIFT PARK UP PIER AND BOAT RAMP THAT BELONGS TO THE RESIDENTS.
AND I WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT IN REGARDS TO THE WATER TAXI.
THE WATER TAXI, THE RIDERSHIP HAS BEEN VERY LOW AND I UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, THE WATER TAXI HAS BEEN OFF FIVE DAYS.
I THINK IT WAS FIVE OFF FOR FIVE DAYS.
I THINK IT SHOULD BE EXTENDED.
AND I THINK THE ONLY WAY YOU'RE GONNA INCREASE RIDERSHIP IF YOU DO A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BUSINESS AND HAVE GIVE 'EM THE BUSINESS INCENTIVE IN ORDER TO GIVE THAT PASS TO ITS EMPLOYEES SO THEY DON'T BRING IN THEIR CART INTO THE CITY.
I THINK IF YOU DO THAT, THE WATER TAXI WILL ACTUALLY WORK FOR THE CITY AND WILL ACTUALLY LOWER THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THE WORKERS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE, TO THE CITY AND THE HOTELS AND EVERYTHING.
SO IF YOU DO THAT, I THINK THAT WOULD DEFINITELY GIVE YOU, GIVE IT MORE INCENTIVE FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE THE WATER.
OUR NEXT VIRTUAL SPEAKER IS ALEXI NAN, PLEASE STATE NAME, ADDRESS, AND YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.
MY NAME IS ALEX EIN, 1661 WEST AVENUE, MIAMI BEACH.
I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE, UH, I THINK ITEM FIVE, UM, R FIVE B OR D RESTRICTING ACCESS TO SHO FLOOR FOR PEOPLE THAT LIVE ON WATER.
UH, BASICALLY IF WE DON'T LEAVE, WE ARE, YOU ARE RESTRICTING ACCESS TO FOOD AND WATER.
THAT MEANS WE STARVE TO DEATH BECAUSE YOU'RE WILLING TO GIVE UP TO $5,000 TICKETS TO ACCESS TO SHORE.
THIS IS NOT DEMOCRATIC WAY OF ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM.
BUILD A MOORING FIELD, GET RID OF DERELICT VESSELS, BE CIVILIZED.
THE ABOUT DON'T LET HATRED AND RAGE TO TAKE OVER YOUR REASON.
I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA IN 2024.
THIS KIND OF A METHOD AGAINST A SMALL COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE THAT CHOOSE TO LIVE ON WATER.
DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU ARE DOING?
[00:30:03]
THEY DO, BUT THEY DON'T CARE.NEXT, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.
I GO AHEAD SIR, I'M NOT ON THE CAMERA.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO START, PLEASE? UH, MY NAME IS CARLOS LEON.
I'M THE MIAMI BEACH BORDERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT.
UM, I'M NOT HERE BECAUSE OF THAT, BECAUSE TO BE HONEST, I KNOW ONE OF THE COMMISSIONER LIKE THE EZ IS GONNA BULLY YOU GUYS TO, TO DO WHAT HE WANTS YOU GUYS TO DO.
SO MY ACCESS TO LAND WILL BE CUT OFF.
UM, ONE OF THE CONSTITUENT, GAIL TOLD ME, I DON'T HAVE POWER IN THIS CITY AND I DO NOT HAVE POWER.
BUT THE GOOD THING ABOUT THIS COUNTRY IS THAT WE HAVE FREEDOM OF PRESS AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
SO I DECIDED TO DO A NEWSPAPER TABLOID, OKAY? EXPOSING EVERYTHING THAT DAVID SUAREZ AND HIS GOODIES ARE DOING AGAINST US.
OKAY? SO 10,000 COPIES WILL BE HANDED OUT FOR FREE IN MIAMI BEACH BECAUSE I'M TIRED.
I SAT DOWN WITH EACH AND ONE OF YOU GUYS FOR THREE HOURS TO FIND A SOLUTION FOR US TO HAVE ACCESS TO LAND.
SO AS YOU GUYS DON'T LISTEN TO US, I REALIZE YOU GUYS DON'T LISTEN TO THE PARKING PEOPLE.
EVERYTHING IS TICKET, TICKET TICKET.
WE'RE IN THE ECONOMY RIGHT NOW THAT IT'S HURTING.
EVERYBODY'S HURTING IN THIS ECONOMY.
OKAY? THE RESIDENTS ARE HURTING AND YOU GUYS WANT TO TICKET THEM AND TELL THEM JUST BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHY, BECAUSE THERE'S LIKE FOUR AIRBNBS OUT THERE AND A LOT BIGGER THINGS ARE HAPPENING LIKE THE, I'M NOT AGAINST ISRAEL, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL WITH FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLE BECAUSE THAT'S THE CORE THING OF THIS COUNTRY.
AND THANK GOD THAT WE LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY BECAUSE IF NOT, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WOULD, HOW I WOULD BE HERE BECAUSE I'M SCARED OF OF HIM BECAUSE HE PASSES BY MY BOAT SEVEN TIMES, EIGHT TIMES WITH FWC SENATORS PASSING BY CLOTHES, SHOWING HIS MUSCLES.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT WHAT A COMMISSIONER SHOULD DO, YOU KNOW? AND HE LAUGHS.
DOES HE HAVE MUSCLES?
OUR NEXT PROBLEM, IT'S, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I'M THE ONE WHO HAS TO SWIM TO GET HERE.
NONE OF YOU SHOULD BE LAUGHING, BUT NOT NOW.
NOW I'M GONNA EXPOSE EACH EVERYTHING.
IT'S ACTUALLY A SERIOUS MATTER.
I LET YOU GO BECAUSE YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT COMMISSIONERS, BUT I LET IT GO.
THERE'S A, A COURT CASE THAT IT SAYS I CAN SAY ANYTHING IN, IN A PUBLIC GO.
I'LL SEND IT, I'LL SEND YOU AN EMAIL.
THANK YOU OUR OF SPEECH IN THIS, IN THIS, UH, CHAMBER.
OUR NEXT CALLER IS WAYNE ROBERTS.
MR. ROBERTS, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS, SIR.
UH, THIS IS WAYNE ROBERTS, SOUTH THE FIFTH.
UM, I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE SILVER LIGHTING OF THE DAY.
I, IT SEEMS THAT THE LIGHTING IN ON, IN THE ZOOM IS MUCH BETTER.
SO THE AUDIO VISUAL IS, IS IMPROVED.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, UM, SAN ANDREA, IT'S MY FAVORITE COOKIES IN CAPPUCCINO FROM MANHATTAN, IS APPEARING IN MANHATTAN ON FIFTH STREET, UH, WHERE THE BURGER KING IS, I GUESS IN 2025.
I WAS REALLY EXCITED BY THE CHOICE OF THE RESTAURANT.
I GUESS IT'S ABOUT 7,000 SQUARE FEET.
UM, AS FOR, UH, ANTISEMITISM IN, IN THE UNITED STATES AS PARTICULARLY MIAMI BEACH, NO, IT'S NOT A RIGHT TO BLOCK THE CONVENTION CENTER AND THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE THAT, UH, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT ARE GENERATED AT, UH, THE ART BASE ALE EVENT OR, UM, YELLING AT, AT OLD JEWISH PEOPLE AS A EXIT, UM, A SYNAGOGUE, UH, SHAME, SHAME, SHAME, THREE INCHES FROM THEIR FACE SPITTING AT THEM.
THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT DEMOCRACY, THAT'S NOT THE, THE RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, IT REMINDS ME OF 1932 WITH THIS BOYCOTT WHERE JEWS WERE BOYCOTTED FROM EARNING A LIVING IN GERMANY.
IT REMINDS ME, ME, OF THE MOB MENTALITY THAT, UH, PERMEATES, UH, 2024, UH, UH, DIRECTED BY IRAN, OUR ARCH ENEMY THAT KILLED 600,000 SYRIANS IN THE LAST DECADE.
THAT, UH, THAT DISPLACED 12 MILLION HALF THE POPULATION.
AND I DON'T EVEN WANNA TALK ABOUT LEBANON OR THE HOUTHIS THAT KILLED 600,000 YEMENIS.
[00:35:01]
OUR, I'M NOT SURE WHO WAS NEXT, BUT WHOEVER, PLEASE GO AHEAD.STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.
LISA SAKO, FOUR 40 SOUTH SHORE DRIVE, MIAMI BEACH.
I OWN TH UM, 10 PROPERTIES HERE IN MIAMI BEACH.
THREE IN PARTICULAR ARE IN NORTH BEACH.
ONE IS A FOURPLEX ON BEIT DRIVE, AND, UH, THE OTHER IS A SINGLE FAMILY HOME IN NORTH BEACH.
AND I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE PARKING DECALS FOR NORTH BEACH.
UM, ANOTHER ACTIVIST ERRONEOUSLY EMAILED ALL OF YOU THAT I'M AGAINST THE PARKING DECALS.
I AM NOT, I'M ACTUALLY FOR THE PARKING DECALS.
PREVENTING CRIME AND PROMOTING SAFETY, KNOWING WHO IS PARKING IN OUR AREA AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY ARE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE AREA, NOT SHORT TERM, UM, RENTALS OR VACATION RENTALS.
UM, PROVIDING MORE PARKING FOR RESIDENTS WHO PAY PROPERTY TAXES OR RESIDENTS WHO PAY RENT TO THEIR LANDLORDS WHO PAY THOSE TAXES.
PREVENTING DUMPING OF UNWIND, UNWANTED ITEMS IN OUR PUBLIC PARKING AND OUR PUBLIC S SWALES IDENTIFYING WHO'S COMING HERE TO DUMP BECAUSE THOSE CARS ARE NOT REGISTERED, PREVENTING COMMERCIAL VEHICLES FROM OCCUPYING RESIDENTIAL PARKING SPACES.
SEVERAL OVERNIGHT VEHICLES ARE COMMERCIAL VEHICLES AND ABANDONED VEHICLES IN OUR AREA.
PEOPLE ARE SLEEPING IN THEIR CARS AND PARKING IN THESE SPOTS OVERNIGHT.
SOME PEOPLE HAVE EVEN PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY.
AND I'VE HAD TO CALL THE POLICE TO IDENTIFY THAT SOMEBODY HAS BEEN IN OUR PERSONAL DRIVEWAY BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF PARKING IN THE AREA.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WILL COST THE CITY A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY TO IMPLEMENT, BUT I BELIEVE OVER TIME THE SAFETY OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS MORE IMPORTANT, THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THOSE LIVING IN THE AREA.
AND WE REALLY SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON RESIDENTS FIRST RATHER THAN VISITORS.
AND THAT'S WHY I REALLY BELIEVE THAT THE PARKING DECALS WILL HELP PREVENT A LOT OF THE CONTENTION AND THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING IN THIS AREA.
AND IT'S REALLY ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY LIVE IN THAT AREA.
AND LET'S DO, LIKE WE'VE DONE FOR SOUTH BEACH AND MID BEACH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
OUR NEXT VIRTUAL SPEAKER IS CHARLES FISHER.
MR. FISHER, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.
HI, MY NAME'S UH, CHARLES FISHER.
I'VE LIVED IN SOUTH BEACH FOR 16 YEARS, AND UNLIKE THE CURRENT CITY COMMISSION, I'M CHOOSING TO FOCUS ABOUT ISSUES RELATED TO MIAMI BEACH AND PURPOSELY TRYING NOT TO INVOLVE CITY POLITICS IN THE PLIGHT OF PALESTINIANS.
SO THEREFORE, I'M CALLING ON AGENDA ITEM CR FOUR, WHICH IS A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE, UH, REMOVAL OF BULB OUTS.
YOU KNOW, WE WERE TOLD BULB OUTS ARE THE THINGS IN THE INTERSECTIONS THAT, UM, THAT ALLOW PEDESTRIANS TO CROSS THE INTERSECTIONS QUICKER AND EASIER.
THEY SLOW DOWN, UH, CARS AS THEY TURN, THEY MAKE CARS GO AT 90 DEGREE TURNS.
THEY PROVIDE SPACE FOR TREES AND VEGETATION.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, IN SOUTH OF FIFTH, WHICH IS A GORGEOUS NEIGHBORHOOD BECAUSE WE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY TO MAKE IT A GORGEOUS NEIGHBORHOOD, ALL OF THE INTERSECTIONS HAVE BALL OUTS FOR A REASON.
EVERYONE WHO LIVES IN A CITY WANTS TO HAVE BALL OUTS.
SO I'M CALLING TO ASK FOR THE BALL OUTS TO BE INSTALLED ON SEVENTH AND EUCLID.
THIS PAST YEAR, A WOMAN WAS HIT AT A A BY A CAR CROSSING IN THE CROSSWALK BECAUSE OTHER CARS HAD PARKED IN THE AREA NEXT TO THE INTERSECTION WHERE, UH, THE BULB OUTS WOULD PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING.
THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THE BULB OUTS.
AND SO WE'RE HAVING PEOPLE HIT BY CARS AS THEY WALK TO GET A CAFECITO, A CORTO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AT THE LOS TOOLA.
AND SO WE NEED, WE NEED BETTER SAFETY FOR PEDESTRIANS, UH, IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO I STRONGLY OPPOSE GETTING RID OF THE BLOWOUTS.
I'M KIND OF WAITING FOR THE GO BOND, UH, UH, THAT WE ALL VOTED YES ON, WHICH CONCLUDED BOUTS AND THE REST OF THE MINGLE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD.
WHY HAS THAT NOT HAPPENED? AND NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REMOVING THEM.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF BAIT, SO WE NEED BALL BOUTS.
STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.
MY NAME IS GEORGE LINDEMAN, 2300 WEST BAY AVENUE.
I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT, UH, OF THE SAME STRETCH OF WATER SINCE 1997.
EACH YEAR, THE HEALTH OF THE BAY GETS SUCCESSIVELY WORSE.
UM, I'VE WATCHED IT OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CITY DOES NOT CONTROL THE WATERS IN THE BAY, THAT THAT'S OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, BUT WE DO CONTROL THE LAND THAT MIAMI BEACH OWN.
AND AS COMPLEX AS IT MIGHT BE, THE RESIDENTS AND THE, AND THE VOTERS MIAMI BEACH NEED TO SEE SOME PROGRESS ON THE BAY.
SO I, I WOULD, I'M ALSO A BOARD MEMBER OF SUNSET THREE, UH, ASSOCIATION.
YOU GUYS HAVE A LETTER FROM US.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO SUPPORT, UM, OUR FIVE B ORDINANCE
[00:40:01]
AS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.I KNOW IT WON'T SOLVE ALL OF THE PROBLEMS OF THE BAY, BUT IT CERTAINLY WILL BE A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
OUR NEXT VIRTUAL SPEAKER IS AMANDA.
AMANDA, DID YOU SPEAK BEFORE? YES.
OKAY, THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO MELISSA URI.
UH, MY NAME IS MELISSA URI, 2131 CALI DRIVE, UM, ALSO ON THE BOARD OF NORMAN D SHORES CONDO APARTMENTS.
AND I'M JUST CALLING IN TODAY IN SUPPORT OF THE NORTH BEACH, UM, PARKING DECAL PROGRAM.
AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK COMMISSIONER SUAREZ AND ALL THE COMMISSIONERS AND MAYOR MINOR.
STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, TWO MINUTES.
STEVE BUBBA CO IN VENETIAN CAUSEWAY, MIAMI BEACH.
UH, THANK YOU FOR NOT HAVING TREMBLING KNEES UP ON THE COMMISSION.
DEUS, THANK YOU FOR LIVING IN THE SPIRIT OF DR. STANLEY SUT.
NICK WHO DIDN'T COME, DIDN'T PROTEST DIFFERENT THINGS ON THE CITY FOR NATIONAL EVENTS, BUT ACTUALLY PROTESTED SENIOR CITIZEN HOUSING, ACTUALLY, UH, SPOKE ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE.
AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE I'M SIX MONTHS OLD.
SO THAT'S AROUND 35, 36 YEARS NOW.
AND, UM, THE CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED, I AM FRIENDS WITH DR.
I ACTUALLY WENT OUT WITH HIS LATE, UH, HIS LATE DAUGHTER AND, UH, AMONG OTHERS,
THIS CRAZY THING WITH THE, WITH THE BOATS.
I, I'D LOVE TO PULL UP ON MY BOAT AND LIVE IN MIAMI BEACH FOR YOU CHARGE IN THE BAY.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? DO IT SOMEWHERE ELSE.
GO DOWN TO THE KEYS, GO DOWN SOMEWHERE ELSE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ON MIAMI BEACH.
WE HAVE A VALUABLE PROPERTY THAT WE'RE PROTECTING.
AND I'VE SEEN THE UPS AND DOWNS AND IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AND IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS CITIZENS TO SAY, ENOUGH, LET'S PROTECT THESE PROPERTIES.
LET'S MAKE SURE ANYONE WHO WANTS TO DO WHATEVER THE HELL THEY WANNA DO ON MIAMI BEACH DOESN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO DO IT.
AND IF IT MEANS STANDING UP AND HAVING, HAVING PEOPLE ACCUSING YOU OF TAKING AWAY THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS, WHAT ABOUT OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS? WHAT ABOUT US HAVING RIGHTS? THANK YOU.
MORE THAN 30 MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED.
WE HAVE, DO WE WISH CONTINUE OR SHOULD WE GO? HOW MANY MORE CALLERS? WE HAVE THREE IN THE, IN IN ZOOM.
ERIC, ERICA, SUMMER YOU ARE NEXT.
UM, YES, SO I AM 7 1 4 1 INDIAN CREEK DRIVE, WHICH IS CALVARY CHAPEL, MIAMI BEACH.
AND, UM, I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUST BE ABLE TO COME ON AND SHARE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SMALL BUSINESSES AS WELL AS HOUSES OF FAITH.
UM, I KNOW IT WAS MENTIONED IN THE NORTH BEACH PARKING PROPOSAL PROGRAM, UM, THAT HOUSES OF FAITH WOULD BE CONSIDERED, BUT THERE HASN'T BEEN ANYTHING TANGIBLE, UM, THAT HAS COME UP OF HOW THAT'S BEING, UH, PROPOSED.
UM, SO THAT WE WOULD BE CONSIDERED TOO, BECAUSE WE HAVE CONGREGATIONS AND WHEN WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT QUALITY OF LIFE FOR MANY PEOPLE, SPIRITUAL HEALTH, SPIRITUAL, UM, CONCERNS, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND SO IF YOU CAN'T CONGREGATE, IF YOU CAN'T EVEN GET PARKING OR ANYTHING, UM, IT'S A CONCERN.
AND FOR US, WE DO HAVE OUTSIDE OF THE TRADITIONAL HOURS, UM, WE HAVE SERVICES ON SUNDAY AND WE ALSO HAVE TWO SERVICES DURING THE WEEK IN THE EVENINGS UNTIL NINE 30.
AND SO THE PARKING IS SO LIMITED, EVEN METERED PARKING, AND YOU'RE HAVING ALL OF THE SMALL BUSINESSES NOW COMPETE FOR THE SAME PARKING.
ADDITIONALLY, AS A PERSON WHO WAS, UM, IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY FOR SEVERAL YEARS, I KNOW THE FINANCIAL BURDENS OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PARK WHEN YOU NEED TO GO TO WORK.
AND YESTERDAY I WAS DOWN IN SOUTH BEACH WHERE I ONLY PARKED FOR
[00:45:01]
ONE HOUR AND IT WAS $4 AND 50 CENTS AN HOUR.AND I CAN'T IMAGINE THE HARDSHIP THAT THAT'S POSING FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIVE ON THE BEACH, BUT WORK ON THE BEACH AND THEY'RE NOT WORKING WITHIN TRADITIONAL NINE TO FIVE HOURS.
SO MY CONCERN IS AGAIN, ABOUT HOW THE SMALL BUSINESSES AS WELL AS THE HOUSES OF FAITH ARE BEING CONSIDERED IN THIS PROGRAM.
I KNOW MY TIME UP, BUT THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME.
UH, OUR NEXT CALLER HAS A SCREEN NAME OF MARTY'S IPHONE.
STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, PLEASE.
UM, I, UH, WONDER WHY AN ORDINANCE TO RESTRICT THE ACTIONS OF THOSE OF US WHO SUPPORT BDS, WHICH IS A NONVIOLENT FORM OF PROTEST, IS ON THE TABLE WHEN IN FACT THERE ARE PEOPLE IN FLORIDA AND IN MIAMI BEACH AREA WHO ARE FUNDING ILLEGAL ACTIONS IN PALESTINE.
THEY ARE FUNDING THE ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS.
THEY ARE FUNDING VIOLENCE BY ILLEGAL SETTLERS.
I'M JUST WONDERING, DO YOU REALLY THINK PASSING THE ORDINANCE AGAINST BDS WILL HELP THE STATE OF ISRAEL OVERCOME THE SHAME AND THE HORROR OF ITS GENOCIDAL ACTIONS IN GAZA? DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT THIS ORDINANCE WILL DO ANYTHING TO ADDRESS THE WORLD, THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE JUDGMENT AGAINST ISRAEL, WHICH HAS CONFIRMED SOMETHING THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE.
THE SETTLEMENTS ARE ILLEGAL, THE OCCUPATION AND ITS ADMINISTRATION ARE ILLEGAL AND HAVE TO END.
I THINK THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD BE HELPING ISRAEL IN A BETTER WAY BY ONE CALLING FOR A CEASEFIRE NOW IN GAZA.
AND NUMBER TWO, STOP FUNDING ILLEGAL SETTLERS AND SETTLEMENTS.
AND NUMBER THREE, HELP OUR FRIENDS IN ISRAEL UNDERSTAND WE ACCEPT THE STATE OF ISRAEL.
BUT THE BORDERS ARE THOSE AGREED IN 1967, NOT THE BORDERS THAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON, WHICH IS FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA.
YEAH, I'M GONNA REITERATE MYSELF, FIRST OF ALL, THE RIVER TO THE SEA MEANS THE END OF ISRAEL AND EVERY JEW, UH, ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THERE ARE 7 MILLION JEWS IN ISRAEL WOULD BE DISPLACED, KILLED.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ADVOCATING FOR.
AND IT, IT'S REALLY, IT'S HARD TO SIT HERE AND, AND HEAR YOU SAY THAT ISRAEL IS COMMITTING A GENOCIDE WHEN THERE ARE NO JEWS IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES CONTROLLED BY THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY IN KD NOT A SINGLE JEW, BUT YET THERE ARE ARABS, THERE ARE MILLIONS OF ARABS IN ISRAEL WHO VOTE, WHO ARE CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL WHO LIVE FREELY GO TO ISRAEL.
I ASK ANY PERSON LISTENING TO THIS, GO TO ISRAEL.
YOU'LL SEE ARABS EVERYWHERE, TAXI DRIVERS, DOCTORS, NURSES, LIVING SIDE BY SIDE BY THE WAY, GO TO A HOSPITAL IN ISRAEL, JUST LIKE THE HOSPITALS HERE IN AMERICA.
THERE ARE TWO PER ROOM, UNLESS YOU HAVE A LOT OF MONEY AND GET YOUR OWN ROOM.
BUT MOST PEOPLE ARE TWO PER ROOM.
AND THERE ARE ARABS AND JEWS IN THE SAME ROOM LIVING PEACEFULLY.
BY THE WAY, I HEAR ALL THE TIME FROM PEOPLE.
'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE ASSUME OR KNOW THAT I'M, THAT I'M, UH, THAT I SUPPORT ISRAEL.
THEY SAY TO ME ALL THE TIME, MANY NON-JEWISH PEOPLE, I WENT TO ISRAEL.
I'M IN SHOCK HOW PEOPLE LIVE COHESIVELY.
IT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I ANTICIPATED BASED ON WHAT I SEE IN THE MEDIA.
AND THAT'S WHY I KEEP ADDRESSING AND COUNTERING THE COMMENTS THAT, THAT WE HEAR.
MR. MAYOR, COMMISSIONER SUAREZ.
I I I JUST WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT A FEW THINGS.
UM, I I DO THINK IT'S IRONIC THAT WE IN MIAMI BEACH AS A LEADER IN L-G-B-T-Q RIGHTS AND WOMEN RIGHTS HAVE TO ENDURE THE COMMENTS ABOUT, UH, PRO-PALESTINE, PRO HAMAS VALUES, YOU KNOW, LGBT PEOPLE, L-G-B-T-Q, PEOPLE ARE NOT ALLOWED IN GAZA.
IF THEY FIND OUT YOU ARE A HOMOSEXUAL, THEY'RE GONNA KILL YOU.
THERE'S ACTUALLY, THERE'S ACTUALLY WRITTEN ON HOW TO KILL HOMOSEXUALS IN SHARIA
[00:50:01]
LAW.SO I JUST FIND IT IRONIC THAT THE PEOPLE PRAISING HAMAS, PRAISING PALESTINE ARE IN MIAMI BEACH, WHERE WE'RE A BEACON FOR WOMEN RIGHTS, GAY RIGHTS.
WHEN ANY OF THOSE PEOPLE, IF THEY WERE IN GAZA, THEY WOULD BE EXECUTED IMMEDIATELY.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ.
AND I JUST WANNA PUBLICLY STATE AS AN OPENLY GAY MEMBER OF THIS CITY COMMISSION AND THE ONLY OPENLY GAY MEMBER OF THIS, OF THIS CITY COMMISSION, MY STA PAST SUPPORT FOR, FOR, FOR ISRAEL, FOR ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF, FOR, TO, TO BRING BACK HOME THE HOSTAGES.
UH, THIS IS A RIGHT THAT ISRAEL HAS.
AND, UH, AND I STAND IN DISMAY WHENEVER I HEAR THE, THE HATE BEING SAID IN, IN FRONT OF US.
AND SO SINCE, SINCE THE L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY WAS MENTIONED, I FEEL THAT AS AN OPENLY GAY MEMBER OF THIS, OF THIS COMMISSION, THAT I STAND UP BECAUSE THE LOVE THAT MY COMMUNITY HAS RECEIVED FROM THE JEWISH C COMMUNITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY STRONG.
SO IT'S BEEN A VERY STRONG BOND.
AND I ALSO HAVE TO SAY, AS SOMEONE THAT'S BEEN TO ISRAEL, ACTUALLY WAS INTO ISRAEL FOR MY HONEYMOON, UM, I DON'T THINK I COULD HAVE GONE, UH, SOMEWHERE ELSE, PERHAPS ON MY HONEYMOON.
I THINK, UH, THE, THE LOVE AND THE WELCOMENESS THAT ROBERT AND I EXPERIENCED IN, UH, IN ISRAEL WOULD, WOULD NOT BE, UH, EXPERIENCED, UH, ON THE OTHER SIDE.
AND I BELIEVE THE, UH, COVER PICTURE ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE IS YOU AT THE WESTERN WALL.
GOOD MORNING, NANCY DUKE, 1450 LINCOLN ROAD AND GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.
IT'S, I'M, I'M REALLY HA GLAD TO BE HERE.
I HAD TO RUSH IN BECAUSE ON MY WAY HERE, THERE WAS POLICE ACTIVITY AT THE END OF MY STREET.
AGAIN, THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON.
SO THERE WAS SOMETHING I WAS GOING TO SAY, BUT I KIND OF WANTED TO SPEAK FROM THE HEART BECAUSE AS I CAME IN, CARLOS GREETED ME DOWNSTAIRS AND HE STUCK THIS IN MY HAND AND SAID, NANCY, YOU'RE IN IT.
LINCOLN ROAD, THE END OF THE STREET, THAT STREET FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS HAS BEEN INUNDATED WITH HOMELESS PEOPLE, PEOPLE FROM THE BOATS.
I HAVE WORKED SO HARD AND TIRELESSLY, AS SOME OF YOU KNOW, I, I WANT SORRY TO CLEAN THAT AREA UP.
THESE VOTERS WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL SORRY FOR THEM.
THE MORE YOU TRY TO WORK WITH THEM, THE MORE AGGRESSIVE AND OBNOXIOUS THEY BECOME.
THEY DEMAND MORE AND MORE AND MORE.
AND YOU TRY TO BE REASONABLE OR WHAT I THINK IS REASONABLE, JUST WANTING TO HAVE A, A QUIET LITTLE AREA IN FRONT OF MY DOOR WHEN I WALK OUT.
INSTEAD, WHAT I GET IS BOAT STINGY ON THE DOCK.
PEOPLE TRYING TO DROP PEOPLE OFF.
THESE PEOPLE ARE REALLY DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH.
THE MORE YOU GIVE, THE MORE THEY WANT.
AND I'M, AND CARLOS IS THE RINGLEADER OF THE WHOLE THING.
SO I'M GOING TO SAY, GUYS, VOTE FOR, UH, DAVIS.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.
YOU WERE THERE FOR ME LAST YEAR IN THE VERY BEGINNING.
SO MY, I'M ALWAYS GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR THAT.
AND DAVID SUAREZ, YOU KNOW, MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU AS WELL.
WITHOUT YOU, I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'D BE.
YOU HAVE HELPED US CLEAN UP THAT NEIGHBORHOOD SO MUCH.
BUT PLEASE DON'T LET THESE PEOPLE COME BACK AND INVADE OUR AREA.
UM, CARLOS HAS TAKEN SOME OF HIS BOATS OUT.
SOMEBODY ELSE BROUGHT A BOAT IN, THEY WORKED ON IT.
AND THEN THE GUYS WANT TO COME ASHORE AND SIT IN THE PARK AND DRINK BEER AND CARRY ON.
IT'S, UH, IT'S A RESIDENTIAL AREA THERE.
WE NEED SOME PEACE IN THAT AREA.
OUR NEXT VIRTUAL CALLER IS LARRY SCHAFER.
BEFORE LARRY, BEFORE YOU GO, OH, I JUST WANNA THANK NANCY.
YOU KNOW, OFTEN WE, THE COMMISSION, WE HEAR FROM RESIDENTS WHO SPEND SO MUCH OF THEIR OWN FREE TIME.
AND NANCY DUKE, YOU'RE A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT.
I MEAN, I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE THE AMOUNT OF HOURS YOU'VE SPENT, UM, NOT JUST ON THIS ISSUE, BUT MAKING SURE YOUR AREA IS ADDRESSED, CLEANED UP, AND REALLY WHAT MIAMI BEACH SHOULD BE.
THIS IS LARRY SCHAEFER 2 3 3 80 FIRST STREET IN NORTH BEACH.
I'D LIKE TO, I, IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE C SEVEN C CITIZEN BILL OF RIGHTS.
I THINK WE NEED SOME TEETH IN THERE.
I THINK ELIZABETH LATON WORKED ON THAT AND IT'S REALLY GREAT TO SEE YOU GUYS CONSIDER THAT ITEM.
UH, C SEVEN AC IS A COMMISSIONER EXPENSE ACCOUNT ITEM.
REALLY GUYS, I'D LIKE TO SEE COMMISSIONER
[00:55:01]
PAY PACKAGES ON THE BALLOT SOON.UM, COMMISSIONER EXPENSE ACCOUNTS ARE ONE THING, BUT UH, YOU GUYS, YOU DON'T HAVE A FULL-TIME JOB.
YOU HAVE A MORE THAN A FULL-TIME JOB UP THERE.
SO MAYBE THE TIME, I KNOW WE CONSIDERED THIS IN THE PAST AND VOTED ON IT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DETAILS SHOULD BE, BUT MAYBE IT'S TIME AGAIN TO THINK ABOUT THAT AS YOU KNOW, ALL THE VOTERS AT ONCE.
FINALLY, NUMBER THREE, I'M IN FAVOR OF NORTH BEACH PARKING REGULATIONS.
UH, ONCE AGAIN, DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS.
I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT IS THE BEST PLAN, BUT PARKING IS A PROBLEM IN NORTH BEACH.
I SEE IT EVERY DAY AND WILL ONLY GET WORSE IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING.
AND I'M GONNA, UH, GIVE UP THE REST OF MY TIME SO THAT THE REST OF THE MEETING CAN PROCEED.
OUR NEXT VIRTUAL CALLER HAS A SCREEN NAME OF MIAMI.
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PLEASE.
LET'S GO THEN TO, UH, WITH A PHONE NUMBER OF SEVEN FIVE SEVEN.
THE LAST THREE NUMBERS, STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PLEASE.
OKAY, CALLER, PLEASE UNMUTE YOURSELF.
IT'S THE CALLER WITH THE PHONE.
MAYOR, THEY'RE NOT, NEITHER ONE ARE THERE.
SO WE CAN START ANY OTHER CALLERS.
[CONSENT AGENDA]
ARE NOW GOING TO, UH, MR. CITY CLERK WILL CALL THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS THAT ARE PULLED AND WE CAN VOTE ON THE REMAINING ITEMS. YES, SIR.THE FOLLOWING ITEMS HAVE BEEN SEPARATED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA.
COMMISSIONER BOT IS SEPARATING ITEM C FOUR S, SO IT COULD BE HEARD AT THE SAME TIME AS R SEVEN G THROUGH, UH, R SEVEN J, R SEVEN G AND J.
UH, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ IS SEPARATING C TWO B AS IN BOY AS C TWO F AS IN FRANK.
COMMISSIONER ROSEN GONZALEZ IS
[C7 AH A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, DIRECTING THE ADMINISTRATION TO TERMINATE THE CONCESSION AGREEMENT DATED MARCH 14, 2024, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH AND POSEIDON FERRY LLC (POSEIDON) DUE TO POSEIDON’S MATERIAL DEFAULT.]
SEPARATING C SEVEN.[R9 AN DISCUSS/TAKE ACTION REGARDING UNAUTHORIZED DISSEMINATION OR DISTRIBUTION OF MBPD INVESTIGATIVE INFORMATION.]
THE MAYOR HAS NOT APPROVED THE CONSENT.THE ADDENDUM ITEMS, WHICH ARE C SEVEN A QC SEVEN A AR C SEVEN A R NINE A N, AND C SEVEN A, THESE WILL NOT BE INCLUDED WHEN YOU VOTE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.
HOWEVER, THESE ITEMS, UH, THE MAYOR HAS SAID THAT HE WILL HEAR THEM AFTER FIVE O'CLOCK, I BELIEVE.
SO WITH THAT, IF I CAN HAVE A MOTION, UH, FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA, EXCLUDING SEPARATED ITEMS AND EXCLUDING THE ADDENDUM ITEMS. I'LL SECOND.
I HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ, A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER ROSEN GONZALEZ.
PASS THOSE UNANIMOUS CONSENTS AGENDA.
SO FOR THOSE WATCHING, MOST OF YOU MAY KNOW THIS, BUT I'LL GIVE A QUICK TUTORIAL.
WHAT WE HAVE ABOUT 200 ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
ABOUT A HUNDRED OF THEM ARE ON CONSENT, WHICH MEANS THEY'RE SEEMINGLY NON-CONTROVERSIAL AND SHOULD PASS THROUGH A LOT OF ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS. A LOT OF, A LOT OF REFERRALS TO COMMITTEES.
BUT EACH, MYSELF AND EACH OF THE COMMISSIONERS HAS THE ABILITY TO PULL THAT ITEM SO THAT WE HEAR IT.
UH, WE'RE ALL, WE ALL HAVE THAT ABILITY.
SO THAT'S WHY WE CALLED SOME OF THE ITEMS JUST TO MY COLLEAGUES.
UH, THERE WERE A FEW ADDENDUM ITEMS THAT CAME IN YESTERDAY, SO WE'LL PUT 'EM ON FOR TO HEAR IT.
BUT I JUST FELT BECAUSE OF THE LATE HOUR, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY AND DIDN'T JUST REFLEXIVELY APPROVE, UH, THE ITEMS ON CONSENT.
ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT PASSED ON CONSENT WAS THE APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF SPECIAL MAGISTRATE, ANNETTE PEL BAUM CANNON.
THIS IS A BIG MILESTONE AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR YEARS OF HARD WORK AND, UH, CONTINUED HARD WORK.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE CAN DO A PICTURE WITH YOU.
CAN I ADD ONE THING? I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT, UM, MS. CANNON IS ALSO OUR FIRST FEMALE SPECIAL MASTER MAGISTRATE IN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
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1, 2, 3.[R9 D OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED CITY MANAGER INTERVIEW PROCESS; INTERVIEWS OF FINALISTS: ANTHONY ALICASTRO, ERIC T. CARPENTER, TARIK RAHMANI, AND JEROME "JAY" C. WILVERDING; AND SELECTION OF CITY MANAGER.]
OUR 9 0 5 TIMES CERTAIN CITY MANAGER SELECTION PROCESS.I'LL LET THE CITY CLERK, UH, ANNOUNCE IT, BUT THEN I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO OUR CITY ATTORNEY, RICK DE PICO, TO, UH, GIVE SOME INSTRUCTIONS.
SO R NINE D IS, UH, CITY MANAGER SELECTION PROCESS, PUBLIC INTERVIEWS, AND FINAL SELECTION.
I WILL BE ASKING THAT THE FIRST, UH, CANDIDATE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BE BROUGHT DOWN AT THE MOMENT, SO THAT WAY WE'RE NOT WASTING ANY TIME BEFORE EACH.
SO I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT RICK WAS GONNA GIVE THE, UH, SORT OF THE LAY OF THE LAND HERE, BUT I'LL, I'LL DO IT.
SO BASICALLY WE HAVE FOUR CITY MANAGER CANDIDATES THAT WE HAD, UM, APPROVED AT OUR SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING.
ON THIS ITEM, WE'RE GONNA GIVE 30 MINUTES FOR EACH CANDIDATE.
EACH OF US UP HERE WILL GET TO ASK, UH, TWO QUESTIONS OF THE CANDIDATE.
OBVIOUSLY THERE'S COULD BE SOME FOLLOW UP, BUT WE, UH, REALLY NEED TO LIMIT THIS TO 30 MINUTES.
WE'VE JUST, FOR EVERYONE OUT THERE, WE'VE, I BELIEVE ALL OF US HAVE MET WITH EACH OF THE CANDIDATES.
UM, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, ACTUALLY MULTIPLE TIMES TO MEET WITH THE CANDIDATES, BUT THIS IS FOR US TO ASK, UM, MAYBE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, BUT ALSO FOR OUR RESIDENTS TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES THE CANDIDATES.
UM, WE'RE GONNA GO ONE BY, WE'RE GONNA DO ONE QUESTION EACH AROUND THE DEUS.
AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THE MOST FAIR INSTEAD OF GOING DOWN THE LINE.
UH, OUR CITY CLERK HAS A SORT OF A RANDOMIZER, SO WE'LL DO IT THAT WAY.
AND SO EACH COMMISSIONER WILL GO, I HAVE NO IDEA WHICH ORDER IT IS.
THE, THEY'RE BRINGING THE FIRST CANDIDATE DOWN.
THE FIRST CANDIDATE IS ANTHONY, ELLIE CASTRO.
HE'S A SENIOR MANAGEMENT ADVISOR CONSULTANT.
IS THERE A DRESSING ROOM HERE THAT THEY'RE BRINGING 'EM DOWN FROM
SO EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT WE'RE DOING IS ALL THE CANDIDATES ARE IN THE CITY, MAN, IN THE CITY ATTORNEY'S LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM.
THAT WAY WHEN YOU ASK THE SAME QUESTIONS, THE THEY CANNOT HEAR IT.
UH, AFTER THEY ARE, THEY FINISH, UH, BEING INTERVIEWED, WE WILL PUT THEM BACK IN THE CITY, UH, ATTORNEY'S CONFERENCE ROOM IN CASE YOU WISH TO ASK FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS.
SO THAT WAY THEY DON'T EVEN SEE THE QUESTIONS OR THE ANSWERS THAT THE OTHER CANDIDATES GAVE.
SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE, WE'RE WE'RE, THEY'RE IN A HOLDING ROOM RIGHT NOW.
NOW ARE WE GIVING AN OPENING STATEMENT TO EACH OF THE CANDIDATES? YES, I WILL BE DOING THAT.
HOW, HOW LONG IS THEIR OPENING STATEMENT BEFORE WE GET TO ASK QUESTIONS? NO, I WILL BE PROVIDING A BRIEF OPENING STATEMENT.
THERE'S NO OPENING STATEMENT FOR THE CANDIDATE.
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THAT'S ALL.THEY'RE ONLY COMING ONE FLOOR DOWN.
SO FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST TUNING IN, WE ARE DOING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS FOR OUR CITY MANAGER.
WE ARE WAITING FOR THE FIRST CANDIDATE TO COME DOWNSTAIRS.
MAYBE THEY CAN SIT, THE NEXT ONE CAN JUST SIT OUTSIDE.
THERE'S, THERE'S A BENCH IN THE HALLWAY ON THE THIRD FLOOR BY THE, I THINK THEY SHOULD.
SO AGAIN, EVERYONE, THIS IS MR. ALI CASTRO.
MORNING, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
AND THANK YOU FOR PUTTING YOUR HAT IN THE RING.
SO THE WAY WE'RE GONNA DO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE ONE QUESTION FROM EACH.
UH, WE'RE GONNA START WITH ONE QUESTION FROM EACH OF US UP HERE, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA DO A SECOND ROUND OF QUESTIONS.
THERE'S 30 MINUTES, SO OUR CITY CLERK WILL START THE CLOCK.
SO JUST HAVE THAT IN MIND WHEN YOU'RE ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS.
'CAUSE YOU MAY WANNA DO SOME FOLLOW UP.
UH, SO MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE TRY TO KEEP THEM, KEEP THEM BRIEF.
THE QUESTION IS GONNA BE ASKED, THE CITY CLERK IS GONNA PICK EACH OF US RANDOMLY, SO I DON'T KNOW WHICH ORDER IT'S GONNA BE IN.
AND THEN WE'LL DO A SECOND ROUND OF QUESTIONS.
SO OUR FIRST QUESTION FIRST ROUND, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ.
UM, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME INTERVIEWING A CANDIDATE FOR CITY MANAGER IN MY ROLE AS A CITY COMMISSIONER BESIDES THE PRIVATE INTERVIEWS.
SO IT'S AN IMPORTANT MOMENT FOR ME, BUT I WANNA KNOW MR. A CASTRO, IF HIRED, HOW WILL YOU EVALUATE CITY DEPARTMENTS TOP ADMINISTRATORS AND PROMOTE A, A CULTURE OF, OF PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING? SURE.
I, I'VE BEEN IN THIS POSITION OF HAVING TO COME INTO ORGANIZATIONS AND RUN THEM, UM, AND, AND QUICKLY HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND EVALUATING TEAMS. SO THE FIRST THING I WOULD DO IS TO HAVE DEPARTMENTAL MEETINGS AND START TO LISTEN TO THEIR CONCERNS.
UH, LISTEN TO WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE, AND ALWAYS WITH A FOCUS ON ASKING THE QUESTION, DO THEY HAVE, DO THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE MISSION IS? DO THEY UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE GOING? DO THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES TO DO IT? AND AS I'M GOING THROUGH THAT EVALUATION PROCESS, I'M ALSO, UH, REALLY FOCUSED ON LISTENING TO ATTITUDES.
ARE THEY OPTIMISTIC? ARE THEY PESSIMISTIC? UM, DO THEY, DO THEY SEE THE GLASS HALF FULL AND THE GLASS HALF EMPTY? UM, WHAT I TRY TO INSTILL DURING THIS PROCESS IS TO LET THEM KNOW HOW I WORK AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT MY PRIORITIES ARE.
AND ONE OF THE VALUE ADDED THAT I BRING TO ANY JOB, IN ANY, ANY POSITION THAT I TAKE IS THAT I, I RECOGNIZE THAT I AM THE ONE THAT SETS THE BAR IN TERMS OF QUALITY IN, IN THE LEADERSHIP.
SO I WILL BE CONSTANTLY, UH, ASKING THE TEAM TO DO BETTER AND, UH, AND, AND TRY TO NEVER BE SATISFIED WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING.
WE HAVE TO BE, WE HAVE TO BE CONSTANTLY MOVING FORWARD IN A POSITIVE WAY.
AND WE HAVE TO TRY TO CREATE A SENSE OF ENERGY AND A SENSE OF URGENCY.
UM, AND MR. ATTORNEY, I DON'T KNOW IF, IF I'M SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE MY SECOND QUESTION NOW.
NO, WE'RE GONNA, NO, WE'RE GONNA GO ON TO THE NEXT COMMISSIONER, AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU.
OUR NEXT COMMISSIONER IS COMMISSIONER SUAREZ.
I THINK I'VE ASKED YOU THIS BEFORE, ANTHONY, IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT MIAMI BEACH, WHAT WOULD IT BE? YEAH.
UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S GREAT THAT, THAT, UH, YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION AS WHEN WE MET ONE-ON-ONE, BECAUSE THERE IS A, THERE IS AN ANSWER THAT FIRST POPPED UP INTO MY HEAD, AND THEN THERE'S SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DEEPER, A DEEPER A ANSWER.
[01:10:01]
I I, I'VE, I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT HERE FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS, AND I'VE, I'VE OWNED MY PLACE HERE IN MIAMI BEACH FOR THE LAST 15.SO THE FIRST THING THAT WOULD POP UP IN MY MIND IS, IS TRAFFIC.
AND, AND SOME QUAL AS A QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE.
BUT UPON REFLECTION, IF I HAD TO CHANGE ONE THING, I THINK I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE, THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, UH, LESS ORIENTED TOWARDS LEISURE AND HAVING SOME MORE DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT, OTHER TYPES OF BUSINESSES, UM, THAT CAN ATTRACT PEOPLE TO LIVE AND WORK HERE IN THE CITY.
BECAUSE IN MY FORMER POSITION AS A AIRPORT DIRECTOR IN JAMAICA, FOR INSTANCE, WHICH IS HEAVILY TOURIST ORIENTED, I COULD SEE HOW CYCLICAL THAT IS AND HOW SUSCEPTIBLE THAT IS TO UPS AND DOWNS OF E ECONOMIES AND, AND THE TRAVEL AND THE, AND THE WORLD OF TRAVEL AND LEISURE.
SO, MY ANSWER TO YOUR COMMISSIONER WOULD BE PROBABLY, IF I HAD TO CHANGE ANYTHING, I WOULD, UH, FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, TO, TO BRING IN NEW BUSINESSES AND NEW TYPE OF, OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO WORK AND LIVE HERE IN THE CITY.
OUR NEXT, UH, COMMISSIONER UP IS COMMISSIONER ROSE GONZALEZ.
WHAT EXPERIENCE DO YOU HAVE WITH EMPLOYEE AND UNION CONTRACTS AND CONTRACT AGREEMENTS, AND CAN YOU PROVIDE ONE EXAMPLE WHERE THE OUTCOME WAS BETTER THAN EXPECTED BY THE BOARD? YEAH.
SO, UH, YES, I HAVE, UM, IN MY, IN MY AIRPORT DIRECTOR'S, UH, LIFE, UH, BOTH IN BOLIVIA AND JAMAICA, I WAS WORKING WITH, UH, WITH UNIONS.
WE'VE NEGOTIATED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.
UH, SO IN IN GENERAL TERMS, I DO HAVE, I DO HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH, UH, WITH WORKING WITH, WITH UNIONS.
AND CAN YOU GIVE ONE EXAMPLE WHERE YOU HAD A GREAT OUTCOME YEAH.
IN ANY CONTRACT NEGOTIATION? YEAH.
WELL, IN, IN A, IN A BROADER SENSE, I PROBABLY, THE, ONE OF MY HIGH PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS WAS, UM, WHEN I WENT TO, UH, JAMAICA AS THE AIRPORT DIRECTOR, I WAS ASKED TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT ON RACE AND CHARGES, UH, WHICH INVOLVED PREPARING A MASTER PLAN AND A TARIFF PRESENTATION.
AND WE HAD VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, TO CONVINCE THE JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT TO, UH, APPROVE NEW TARIFFS, WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO, UH, IMPLEMENT THE WHOLE NEW MASTER PLAN FOR IMPROVEMENTS AT OUR AIRPORT.
OUR NEXT, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE, YOU'RE UP NEXT.
ANTHONY, THANK YOU, UH, SO MUCH FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THIS.
UM, TELL ME ABOUT MIAMI BEACH 2035.
WHAT KEY FEATURES DO WE KEEP? WHAT CHANGES DO WE MAKE? BE SPECIFIC, I THINK YOU WERE ALREADY ONTO SOME OF THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UH, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? WHAT SPECIFIC TYPES OF COMPANIES OR INDUSTRIES ARE WE LOOKING AT? RESILIENCY HAVE $1.2 BILLION OF UNFUNDED CAPITAL PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE BRIDGE THAT GAP, UH, PRESERVATION, YOU KNOW, HOW IS SO IMPORTANT, BUT HOW DO WE PRESERVE, UH, SOME BUILDINGS OR DISTRICTS THAT DON'T HAVE THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY TO PERHAPS DO THAT THEMSELVES? UM, AND HOW CAN WE INCREASE THE WALKABILITY OF OUR CITY? SO JUST GIMME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THOSE.
WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF TOPICS ALL IN, ALL IN ONE.
SO, UM, LET'S START WITH, WITH THE, LET'S LOOK, LET'S LOOK AT THE FUTURE.
SO, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK THAT WE ARE AS A, AS A CITY, VERY CLOSE, UH, WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE OF, OF REALLY BEING ONE OF THE, THE BEST CITIES IN THE COUNTRY.
I THINK WE ARE IN OUR HEARTS, THE BEST CITY, BUT, BUT WE NEED TO WORK EVERY DAY TO MAKE OURSELVES THE BEST CITY.
SO I THINK WITH THE, WITH THESE, UH, GOVERNMENT, UH, WITH THE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND THIS WAVE OF CONSTRUCTION AND CAPITAL PROJECTS, WE'RE REALLY SETTING OURSELVES UP FOR SUCCESS, UH, BOTH IN JUST OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, OUR RESILIENCY, BUT ALSO ON THE, ON A, ON ANOTHER AXIS, WHICH IS, I THINK COULD BE ONE OF OUR, OUR FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE TO QUALITY OF LIFE.
SO AS WE DEVELOP OUR CULTURAL, UM, FACILITIES ALL, ALL ACROSS THE, THE CITY, THAT'S GONNA BE A, A GOOD FOUNDATION.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ATTRACTING BUSINESSES, UM, WE DO HAVE SOME SERIOUS CHALLENGES.
ONE, THE, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THE AFFORDABILITY OF THE HOUSING MARKET.
AND THAT IS A CHALLENGE TODAY FOR OUR LARGEST EMPLOYERS AND OUR SMALLEST EMPLOYERS.
EVERYBODY HAS A CHALLENGE TO, TO, UH, TO, UH, HAVE PEOPLE LIVE AND WORK CLOSE.
SO SINCE THEY DON'T LIVE AND WORK CLOSE, THEY HAVE TO COMMUTE, WHICH AFFECTS OUR TRAFFIC.
UM, AND, AND THE NATURE OF THE, OF THE HOTEL RESTAURANT
[01:15:01]
BUSINESSES THAT THEIR SERVICE INDUSTRY, SO THAT THE WAGES ARE, ARE, ARE NATURALLY LESS.SO THE IDEAL COM INDUSTRIES TO ATTRACT ARE THOSE THAT PEOPLE CAN WORK AND LIVE WITHIN MIAMI BEACH, BUT THEY HAVE TO BE HIGH PAYING JOBS SO THAT THEY CAN AFFORD TO LIVE HERE.
AND THAT, AND, AND THE, IT'S, IT'S AN IDEAL, THAT'S, THAT'S DEFINITELY WORTH FIGHTING FOR AND WORTH SHOOTING, SHOOTING TARGET TO SHOOT AT, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'LL MAKE THE CITY MUCH MORE VIBRANT TO HAVE PEOPLE LIVE HERE, WORK HERE, GROW UP HERE.
WHERE ARE YOU FROM? I'M FROM MIAMI BEACH.
GREW UP HERE, BORN AND RAISED.
SO I THINK, I THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT WE SHOULD BE STRIVING FOR IN THE FUTURE.
WHAT WOULD YOUR FIRST 30 DAYS AS CITY MANAGER IN MIAMI BEACH LOOK LIKE? YEAH, THE, THE, THE FIRST 30 DAYS ARE, ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
UH, WHAT I, WHAT DO I DO FIRST IS BRING IN ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS, GET TO KNOW WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES ARE, WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE, WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE, GET THEM TO KNOW ME AND MY WAY OF, OF DOING BUSINESS HERE IN THE CITY.
UM, I WOULD ALSO EXPAND THAT, THAT INFORMATIONAL EXCHANGE, OF COURSE, TO THE COMMISSIONERS, TO, TO WORK WITH EACH ONE OF YOU TO GET TO UNDERSTAND MORE DEEPLY WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES AND YOUR CONCERNS ARE.
AND THEN MORE BROADLY, WITHIN THE, WITHIN THE COUNTY AND THE STATE, START, UH, CREATING THOSE, THOSE TIES TO BOTH THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND TO TALLAHASSEE.
UM, THIS IS A MOMENTOUS DAY FOR ALL OF US.
NONE OF US, UM, PROBABLY THOUGHT THAT WE WOULD BE AT THIS, AT THIS JUNCTURE, MAKING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS FOR OUR RESIDENTS, UM, THAT WE COULD MAKE IN OUR TENURES.
SO THANK YOU FOR SUBJECTING YOURSELF TO THIS.
ANY JOB INTERVIEW IS, IS CHALLENGING.
CERTAINLY ONE IN PUBLIC LIKE THIS IS QUITE CHALLENGING.
UM, AS A RESIDENT OF MIAMI, MVH, YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE IN A CONSTANT TUG OF WAR BETWEEN RESIDENTS NEEDS AND TOURIST DEMANDS BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT AND PRESERVATION, UM, BETWEEN INCREASING DENSITY VERSUS AFFORDABLE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, AND FAILING ROADS, PROBLEMS WITH TRAFFIC MOBILITY IN GENERAL.
HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH BALANCING THOSE DEMANDS? AND WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES FOR EACH? AND I KNOW THAT'S A BIG QUESTION, BUT IT'S KIND OF THE NEXUS OF WHERE WE ARE.
SO, SO AS WE, AS WE LOOK AT, LOOK AT MIAMI BEACH, THERE, THERE IS GOING TO BE, UH, NATURAL REDEVELOPMENT AS OLDER BUILDINGS ARE REPLACED WITH NEWER BUILDINGS.
THAT'S, SO THE FIRST, THE FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS, IS BE MINDFUL OF WHAT WE PUT IN.
AND, AND ITS IMPACT BOTH ON, ON THE LOOK AND FEEL OF OUR, OF OUR CITY, NUMBER ONE, BUT ALSO THE IMPACT IT HAS ON OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, IMPACT ON, ON TRAFFIC, WATER, SEWAGE, ALL OF THOSE, THOSE IMPACTS.
UM, LOOKING, LOOKING, UM, LOOKING BEYOND TO, TO, THERE WAS A PART OF THE QUESTION ABOUT, UH, TRAFFIC AND, AND IMPACT THAT TRAFFIC IS, IS A, IS A, IS AN ISSUE FOR, FOR US, AND IT'S GONNA BE TOUGH TO DEAL WITH IT WITHOUT STARTING TO THINK ABOUT PROVIDING BETTER AND BETTER ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO TRANSPORT AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT BETTER AND BETTER WAYS OF LIMITING VEHICLES FROM COMING ONTO INTO MIAMI BEACH.
NOW, WE DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY AND ABILITY TO TOLL TO CREATE THOSE DISINCENTIVES, WHICH IS FINE, BUT WE NEED TO BE CREATING SOME, UH, SOME ALTERNATIVE WAYS THAT PEOPLE CAN PARK ON THE MAINLAND AND, AND COME OVER IN, UH, IN, IN WAYS THAT DO NOT SATURATE, WHETHER IT'S, WHETHER IT'S ON A DAILY BASIS FOR PEOPLE TO COME TO WORK HERE, OR EVEN, EVEN PARTICULARLY FOR SPECIAL EVENTS, WHICH HAVE A TENDENCY TO SATURATE OUR ROADWAYS.
THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES, BY THE WAY.
SO APPRECIATE THE, UH, THOUGHT PROCESS THAT WENT INTO THIS AND, AND, AND THE TIMING.
AND I THINK SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES MENTIONED THIS ALREADY, BUT THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT DECISION FOR OUR CITY.
UH, YOU, WHOEVER IS SELECTED WILL BE OUR NEXT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.
UM, I THINK MOST PEOPLE, AGAIN, KNOW HOW OUR SYSTEM WORKS, BUT JUST IN CASE THE CITY MANAGERS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE CITY WHO REPORTS DIRECTLY TO US, THE COMMISSION WHILE WE TALK, LET'S SAY I SEE OUR POLICE CHIEF WAYNE JONES IN THE BACK.
WELL, WE, I TALK TO HIM REGULARLY.
[01:20:01]
I'M SURE MOST OF US DO.HE TECHNICALLY UNDER THE CHARTER.
IT'S NOT TECHNICALLY, IT'S THE CHARTER REPORTS TO THE CITY MANAGER WHO THEN REPORTS TO US.
SO, UH, THE CITY MANAGER OBVIOUSLY, UH, HAS A, UH, TREMENDOUS ROLE IN HELPING US AND HELPING OUR RESIDENTS MAKE OUR CITY, UH, THE GREAT CITY THAT IT IS.
SO MY QUESTION IS, AND NOBODY WATCHING THIS MEETING WILL BE SURPRISED, THE TOPIC THAT I'M GONNA ASK ABOUT, HOW WOULD YOU ENSURE THAT MIAMI BEACH CONTINUES TO FOCUS AND ITS NUMBER ONE PRIORITY BEING PUBLIC SAFETY LAW AND ORDER ADDRESSING CRIME, WORKING WITH OUR POLICE CHIEF AND OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES? YEP.
UM, AS, AS I MENTIONED TO YOU, UH, ON, IN OUR ONE-ON-ONE MEETING, AND I, IT'S, IT'S NOT A, NOT A SECRET SAFETY, THE FEELING OF, OF BEING SAFE IN ONE'S COMMUNITY IS, IS FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR WELLBEING.
UM, AND, AND, AND OUR, AND THE VIBRANCY OF OUR OWN COMMUNITY, IT, IT, THE CREATING A BETTER AND BETTER, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY ENVIRONMENT IS ABOUT, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A TEAM EFFORT THAT JUST DOESN'T SOLELY EMBARK THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT IT DOES HAVE A MAIN FOCUS ON, ON, ON THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO I WOULD SAY THE, THERE'S, THERE'S A NUMBER OF PRIORITIES WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS, IS PROPERLY STAFFED, IS FULLY STAFFED.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY, UM, THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE COMMUNITY ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED WITH EACH OTHER, THAT THEY, AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS TO BE VISIBLE.
YOU KNOW, THERE, IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY, UH, OFFICERS CHIEF JONES CAN BRING ON BOARD IF WE, THE CITIZENS DON'T SEE THEM.
RIGHT? SO, SO YOU NEED VISIBILITY.
YOU NEED TO GIVE THEM THE TECHNOLOGY TO, TO BE ABLE TO DO THEIR JOB AND BE ABLE TO, TO DO THAT NATURAL SEQUENCE OF PREVENTION OR IN THE CASE OF, OF A, OF A CRIME, UH, ARREST AND CONVICTION.
RIGHT? UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD MENTION ABOUT, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY IS THAT I'VE, I'VE OPERATED REALTIME, UH, INTELLIGENCE CENTERS IN THE AIRPORT AND AND HIGHWAY WORLD.
SO I THINK THAT THE, OUR POLICE REALTIME INTELLIGENCE CENTER IS GONNA BE A GAME CHANGER FOR, FOR THE POLICE.
IT'S GONNA GIVE THEM MUCH, MUCH STRONGER TOOLS AND BETTER TOOLS AND SAFER TOOLS FOR THE POLICE OFFICERS, BECAUSE THE POLICE OFFICERS, WHEN THEY GO TO AN INCIDENT, HOPEFULLY, WILL HAVE A MUCH BETTER PICTURE OF WHAT THEY'RE, WHAT THEY'RE FACING AS AS THEY GO THERE.
AND ALSO, IN THE CASE OF, OF SITUATIONS THAT EVOLVE, SUCH AS, LET'S SAY THERE'S A DEMONSTRATIONS, PROTESTS, THE CHIEF, I WILL WORK WITH THE CHIEF, FOR INSTANCE, TO, TO, TO LISTEN TO HIS PREPARATIONS AND HIS PLANS.
BUT I'LL ALWAYS BE ASKING THE QUESTION, QUESTION, HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT'LL BE THERE? AND IF HE SAYS 50, I'LL SAY, GREAT, WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF STAFFING THAT YOU ANTICIPATE FOR THAT? BUT I'LL ALWAYS ASK THAT FOLLOW UP QUESTION, WHAT HAPPENS IF IT'S SET OF 50? IT'S 500, YOU KNOW? SO WITH A REAL TIME INTELLIGENCE, YOU'RE ABLE TO FIRST PLAN, BUT THEN IF THINGS START EVOLVING, THE, THE POLICE CHIEF WILL HAVE THE TOOLS TO START MOVING RESOURCES AND RESPOND BEFORE THINGS BOIL OVER.
AND THAT, AND THAT'S THE NAME OF THE GAME, IS TO TRY TO KEEP THINGS UNDER CONTROL BEFORE THEY GET TO A FLASHPOINT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ.
AND YOU'RE PROBABLY YOUR NEXT QUESTION WOULD BE, WHAT IF THE 50 DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT THE POLICE HAVE TO SAY?
UH, JUST FOLLOWING UP ON THE THEME OF PUBLIC SAFETY, AS YOU KNOW, UM, AND AS THE MAYOR JUST MENTIONED, UH, WE HAVE A VERY STRONG FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY, AND THERE IS A DIRECT NEXUS BETWEEN PUBLIC SAFETY AND RESONANT QUALITY OF LIFE.
SO TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT, UM, ON TWO SPECIFIC ISSUES, ON HIGH PROFILE EVENTS THAT ATTRACT LARGE AMOUNTS OF CROWDS AND MANAGING AND PREPARING FOR, FOR, FOR SOMETHING, UH, LIKE THAT AND HANDLING OF, UH, HOMELESS ISSUES, HANDLING OF HOMELESS ISSUES, HOMELESS ISSUES.
SO IN, IN CROWD PLANNING, AS AS AIRPORT DIRECTOR IN BOTH, UH, SOUTH AMERICA AND IN THE CARIBBEAN, I'VE, I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH, WITH PROTESTS, UH, UH, PEOPLE TRYING TO STORM THE AIRPORT AND, AND THE AIRPORT POLICE, WHICH I WAS PROUD TO MANAGE, UM, HAVING TO PREPARE FOR THAT AND RE RESPOND TO THAT.
UM, SO I DO HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE IN, IN, IN EVENT, EVENT CONTROL.
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I'VE ALSO BEEN VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN, UH, EMERGENCY OPERATIONS.SO WHETHER IT'S A CASE OF A HURRICANE IN JAMAICA, UH, FIRE, AIR AIRPLANE CRASHES IN SOUTH AMERICA, I'VE, I'VE HAD HAVE THAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE AS WELL.
SO I FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE IN THE PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, SPACE.
IN TERMS OF, OF HOMELESS ISSUE, I, I WOULD JUST, I WOULD JUST SAY THAT WE MUST STRIKE A BALANCE.
WE MUST STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN COMPASSION AND AVOIDING AT ALL COSTS, CREATING THE CONDITIONS THAT ATTRACT HOMELESSNESS.
SO WE NEED TO HELP WHEN WE CAN, BUT WE CAN'T GO TO THE EXTREME OF FALLING INTO THE TRAP OF CREATING A SITUATION THAT ATTRACTS HOMELESSNESS.
SO I THINK, I THINK WE SHOULD OFFER AS MUCH AS MANY SERVICES AS FEASIBLE TO HELP OUR, OUR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS IN THEIR, IN THEIR MOMENT OF, OF IN THEIR LOWEST MOMENT IN THEIR LIFE.
YET AT THE SAME STU, SAME TIME, THERE'S 87,000 OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ALSO HAVE TO, UM, AND HAVE THEIR OWN RIGHTS TO QUIET ENJOYMENT OF, OF, OF THEIR HOMES.
SO WE, SO IT'S ALL, IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCE, AND IT'S ALL ABOUT TREATING, TREATING OUR HOMELESS WITH, WITH COMPASSION.
BUT NOW THAT, THAT CERTAIN GUIDELINES AND RULES HAVE COME DOWN FROM THE COURTS, UM, WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE A CERTAIN ABILITY TO, TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE STRICT IN, IN, IN HELPING IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR RESIDENTS BY BEING A LITTLE BIT STRICT, STRICTER ON, ON, UH, ON PEOPLE THAT WANT TO USE OUR PUBLIC SPACE TO SLEEP.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SUAREZ.
SO MAY I GO TO THE NEXT INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONER ROSE GONZALEZ QUESTION.
SO WHEN I LOOK AT LEADERSHIP, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ASSESS AN ORGANIZATION AND UNDERSTAND WHAT NEEDS TO IMPROVE SO THAT THE ORGANIZATION CAN BE MORE FRUITFUL.
WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU IMPLEMENT IN THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE OF OUR MIAMI BEACH GOVERNMENT, AND WHAT CHANGE SHOULD, AND, AND WHAT CHANGES SHOULD THAT, UM, SHOULD THAT YIELD WITHIN A YEAR OR TWO? YEAH, OKAY.
WELL, AS I LOOK, AS I LOOK FROM THE OUTSIDE AT OUR, AT OUR ORGANIZATION THERE, THERE'S A COUPLE OF, OF, COUPLE OF CHALLENGES.
THE FIRST TIME WE TALK ABOUT MY APPROACH, MY APPROACH IS TO GIVE EVERYONE IN THE ORGANIZATION A FAIR CHANCE.
AND, AND I GO IN ASSUMING THAT THEY ARE HIGH QUALITY PROFESSIONALS.
I CERTAINLY GOT THAT FEELING FROM, FROM MEETING WITH THE ACTING CITY MAN, CITY MANAGER, AND THE REST OF HER TEAM ON MONDAY, DEDICATED PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE COMMITTED TO, UH, COMMITTED TO THE CITY AND TO, TO DOING RIGHT BY OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT BEING SAID, UM, ONE HAS TO, ONE, ONE HAS TO, UH, WORK AND EVALUATE, UH, THE TEAM ON, ON, ON THE FLY.
THE OTHER ASPECT IS THERE, THERE ARE LOTS OF, UH, VACANCIES THAT ARE, THAT ARE IN PLACE, AND WE CANNOT EXPECT AN ORGANIZATION TO FUNCTION AT FULL SPEED WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY IF WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE TO, TO, TO FOCUS AND WEAR TOO MANY HATS AND, AND BE OVERWHELMED IN WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
SO, SO I WOULD SAY THAT, THAT IN THE SHORT TERM, ONE OF THE FOCUSES IS, IS HIRING.
AND THAT, OF COURSE, BRINGS ITS OWN CHALLENGES BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT'S, WE, WE ARE AN EXPENSIVE PLACE TO LIVE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVE AWAY FROM THE, THE BEACH AND HAVE TO COMMUTE.
SO THERE ARE, THERE ARE CHALLENGES IN THAT.
SO I, I'D SAY PRIORITY ONE IS, IS MAKING SURE THAT OUR ORGANIZATION CHART IS, IS FILLED WITH THE PEOPLE WE NEED.
BUT AS WE GO FORWARD, THE OTHER IMPORTANT JOB THAT I WOULD HAVE IS TO LOOK AT EFFICIENCIES AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT DEPARTMENTS.
UM, SO LOOKING AT, LOOKING AT TOTAL NUMBERS.
SO IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT ADDING PEOPLE, IT'S ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE, UM, AND, AND THE RIGHT NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN, IN EACH DEPARTMENT.
BECAUSE AS I SAY, WE CAN'T EXPECT, UM, EXCELLENCE IN A, IN A, IN A TEAM.
THAT'S, THAT HAS TOO MUCH WORK FOR THE SIZE OF THE, OF THE, OF THE TEAM.
ANY STRUCTURAL CHANGES? WELL, I THINK, I THINK I, I, I'VE ALWAYS FOUND THAT THERE IS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
I'VE ALWAYS FOUND THAT THERE ARE ROOM FOR STRUCTURAL CHANGES.
[01:30:01]
TODAY, STANDING HERE, I HAVE ANY, ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STRUCTURAL CHANGES.BUT WHAT I WOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR IS, AS I LOOK AT THAT ORG CHART AND TALK TO EVERYONE, TRY TO ESTABLISH AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THEY CAN HONESTLY RAISE THEIR HAND AND SAY, I'M GOOD, BUT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE I COULD LIVE WITH, WITH, WITH, WITH, WITH A, WITH A SMALLER TEAM, YOU KNOW, SO, SO I WOULD, I WOULD SAY I, I DON'T HAVE ANY PARTICULAR STRUCTURAL CHANGES I WOULD MAKE DAY ONE, BUT I, I, BUT AS WE LOOK FORWARD IN THE FUTURE, IF WE PUT OURSELVES TWO YEARS FROM NOW, I WOULD, I WOULD PROBABLY VENTURE TO SAY THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME, SOME STRUCTURAL CHANGES, IMPROVEMENTS TO, TO THE ORGANIZATION CHART WHERE, WHERE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING, PEOPLE HAVE THE RESOURCES, UH, TO DO THE JOB THAT EACH DEPARTMENT HAS AND THE TEAMS UNDER THEM.
AND, AND THAT THEY FEEL A, A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY BOTH TO, TO THE OFFICE AND TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
UM, WHAT WILL YOU DO TO INCENTIVIZE BETTER ECONOMIC GROWTH? WELL,
I MEAN, IT DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU WANT TO, WHERE THAT, WHERE YOU WANT THAT GROWTH TO COME FROM, RIGHT? I MEAN, IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE DRIVERS, UM, ACROSS THE STREET, WE HAVE THE CONVENTION CENTER, UM, WE HAVE A HOTEL COMING UP BEING BUILT, WHICH WILL ALLOW THE CITY TO GET MORE AND MORE CONVENTIONS AND BETTER QUALITY CONVENTIONS, SO THAT, THAT WILL BE AN ECONOMIC DRIVER FOR SURE.
UM, BUT, BUT IN A, IN A BROADER SENSE OF LOOKING TOWARDS ATTRACTING, ATTRACTING, UH, BUSINESSES, UM, THAT, THAT HAS, THAT'S PART OF MORE OF A LONGER TERM MA MASTER VISION OF WHAT WE WANT TO BE AND WHERE WE WANT TO GO.
OUR NEXT, UH, IS COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE.
I AGREE WITH YOU, IN OUR HEART OF HEARTS, LIKE TO THINK WE'RE THE BEST CITY IN THE WORLD, BUT I KNOW I DON'T DEDICATE SO MUCH OF MY TIME BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS GREAT.
SO TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, YOU LOOK AROUND OUR CITY, WE COULD TALK ALL DAY ABOUT WHAT WE GET, RIGHT? BUT WHAT DO WE GET WRONG? WHAT CAN WE FIX? WHAT CAN YOU LOOK AROUND OUR CITY AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? I CAN DO THIS BETTER THAN THE LAST PERSON OR PEOPLE THAT WERE IN HERE.
WELL, I THINK WE, WE HAVE TO DIVIDE, EXCUSE ME, DIVIDE UP, UP IN THE, IN THE, THE LONG TERM AND THE SHORT TERM VIEW.
BUT LET'S FOCUS IN ON THE SHORT TERM VIEW.
WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WE COULD DO BETTER.
I THINK WE NEED MORE, MORE ATTENTION TO DETAIL.
WE NEED, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO WALK AROUND THE CITY AND BEING ABLE TO GUARANTEE THAT THAT'S, OUR CITY IS VERY CLEAN.
THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT OUR, OUR NEWS DISPENSERS ARE, ARE NOT IN THE WRONG PLACE ON THE SIDEWALK AND NOT FULL OF GRAFFITI.
UM, THAT, UM, SO, SO MY, SO MY, MY RESPONSE IS THAT IN THE SHORT TERM, IT'S, IT'S ABOUT THE DETAIL THAT, THAT WE ALL HAVE A SPIRIT THAT WE DO NOT ACCEPT, UH, DIRTY SIDEWALKS.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT, UH, GRAFFITI.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT, UH, THINGS IN POOR STATES, POOR STATE OF MAINTENANCE, YOU KNOW? SO I WOULD SAY THAT IN THE DELIVERY OF THOSE BASIC FUNDAMENTALS, I THINK THAT WE CAN DO, WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB.
THE OTHER, THE OTHER PRO PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE AS A CITY ARE MORE OF A LONG-TERM NATURE.
YOU KNOW, THE IMPROVEMENT, THE IMPROVEMENT OF TRAFFIC, FIGURING OUT WHERE WE WANT TO GO AS A, AS A CITY IN TERMS OF, OF OUR DEFINING OUR FUTURE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, 5, 10, 15 YEARS OUT.
THAT'S, THAT'S MORE LONG TERM.
BUT IN THE SHORT TERM, I WOULD FOCUS EVERYONE ON, ON THE DETAILS OF MAKING OURSELVES THE SAFEST AND THE CLEANEST CITY.
OUR NEXT, UH, IS VICE MAYOR DOMINGUEZ, AND FOR THE, AND WE HAVE THREE MINUTES BEFORE WE HIT 30.
UH, SO IN MIAMI BEACH, WE HAVE, UH, SIX COMMISSIONERS AND A MAYOR EACH WITH ONE VOTE.
HOW WILL YOU MANAGE REPORTING TO SEVEN PEOPLE? YEAH.
WELL, WELL, I THINK, FIRST OF ALL, I, I THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S A STRENGTH THAT THE COMMISSIONERS ARE SELECTED ON A, ON A CITYWIDE BASIS.
AND, AND, AND YOU'RE NOT AS COMMISSIONERS IN YOUR, IN YOUR SILOS REPRESENTING NORTH BEACH, MID BEACH, SOUTH BEACH, OR WHEREVER.
SO I THINK, I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A STRENGTH.
[01:35:01]
ONE, ONE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD WAY, UH, AND THAT IS, THAT IS, UH, FREQUENT AND ROUTINE MEETINGS WITH EACH COMMISSIONER, BECAUSE AS COMMISSIONERS, YOU ALSO SERVE A VERY, VERY KEY FUNCTION THAT'S ELECTED OFFICIALS.YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, A LOT OF OUR, OUR CITIZENS AND OUR FELLOW MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WILL LOOK TO YOU, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE, THEY'VE CREATED RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOU OF TRUST WITH ALL OF YOU, AND THEY WILL COME TO YOU FIRST WITH THEIR CONCERNS.
SO IT'S, IT'S PART OF THE, OF THE, UH, OF THE ENVIRONMENT OF WHERE WE GET A COMMUNITY IDEAS.
SO, SO MY MY WAY OF WORKING WITH ME TO MEET FREQUENTLY WITH EACH ONE OF YOU TO, TO UNDERSTAND YOUR PRIORITIES AND THE PEOPLE THAT, THAT COME TO YOU WITH THEIR CONCERNS.
AND WE'RE NOW AT ONE MINUTE, 38, AS PART OF YOUR PREPARATION FOR THIS, UM, JOB INTERVIEW PROCESS, I'M SURE YOU WATCHED A NUMBER OF, UH, CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS, UM, MAYBE EVEN GOING BACK BEFORE THIS, THIS GROUP WAS ELECTED, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT OUR PROCESS? IF YOU COULD, HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE AND THEN HANDLE INAPPROPRIATE EXCHANGES BETWEEN ELECTEDS AMONG THEMSELVES, UM, WITH STAFF OR WITH RESIDENTS? OKAY, SO FIRST OBSERVATION IS THAT, UH, FROM A, FROM A, A MEETING PERSPECTIVE, SOMETIMES THE AGENDAS CAN BE VERY, VERY, VERY LONG.
AND IT IS HARD FOR, IT'S TOUGH ON YOU COMMISSIONERS, AND IT'S TOUGH ON THE COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON, ON, ON A BOMBARDMENT OF DIFFERENT ISSUES.
'CAUSE I THINK A LOT, A LOT OF, A LOT OF US ARE INTERESTED IN, IN A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING.
WE JUST, WE HAVE, WE MAY HAVE ONE SPECIFIC TOPIC, BUT WE MAY BE, WE MAY BE, UH, UH, SO I WOULD SAY THOSE, THOSE, THOSE MEETINGS ARE, ARE THE, THE MEETINGS COULD BE THE AGENDAS COULD BE A LITTLE SHORTER.
AND YOUR OTHER, OTHER PART OF YOUR QUESTION, CHRISTIAN, WAS, UM, UH, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE, UM, HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE AND THEN HANDLE INAPPROPRIATE EXCHANGES BETWEEN ELECTEDS AMONG THEMSELVES WITH STAFF AND WITH RESIDENTS? YEAH, I, I WOULD DO THAT, UH, STRICTLY ON A ONE-TO-ONE, UH, GENTLY AND KINDLY SUGGEST THAT THEY'RE, UH, IF THEY'RE, IF THEY, IF THINGS GET TOO HOT AND THEIR DEMEANOR, UH, GETS TOO ARGUMENTATIVE, THAT THEY, THAT THEY, UH, TRY TO MODERATE BECAUSE IT'LL ALLOW FOR BETTER DISCOURSE.
AND, AND ALSO I WOULD, UH, MAKE AN EMPHASIS ON THE DECORUM FROM THIS SIDE AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE, I, YOU KNOW, PASSIONS RUN, RUN STRONG ON LOTS OF ISSUES, AND I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE TRY TO MAINTAIN FREE SPEECH, BUT WE KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR HATE SPEECH.
AND WE, AND WE KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR, FOR LANGUAGE THAT'S JUST AS INSULTING AND, AND DEHUMANIZING AMONGST OURSELVES.
SO THAT'S HOW I WOULD DEAL WITH THE COMMISSIONER.
MAY I GIVE A TWO MINUTE GRACE PERIOD FOR THE LAST QUESTION, SINCE IT'S MY QUESTION? SURE.
UH, THANK YOU AGAIN TO MY COLLEAGUES.
GREAT QUESTIONS, AND THANK YOU, UH, FOR BEING HERE.
SO, MIAMI BEACH IS A GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL CITY, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A SMALL TOWN FEEL TO IT.
WE ALL, WE ALL CONNECT WITH OUR RESIDENTS, UH, SOMETIMES ON A NEIGHBORHOOD BASIS, ON A ONE-ON-ONE BASIS.
HOW WOULD YOU CONNECT WITH THE RESIDENTS OF MIAMI BEACH, UH, TO UNDERSTAND AND ADDRESS THE ISSUES AND, AND IMPROVE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE? YEAH, I, I THINK THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, THAT I COMMEND YOU AND, AND ALL OF YOU, UH, IN, IN YOUR, IN YOUR REACHING OUT AND WORKING WITH COMMUNITY, WITH THE COMMUNITY, WHETHER THEY'RE GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS.
AND I WOULD DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
I THINK THERE'S, UH, YOU, YOU GET WHAT YOU INSPECT AND NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT.
YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND TALK TO PEOPLE AND GET AN, AN UNFILTERED VIEW.
AND AS YOU TALK TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE AROUND THE, AROUND THE CITY OF DIFFERENT, UH, AGES AND DIFFERENT, UH, RELIGIONS AND DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON LIFE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA START ACCUMULATING A LIST AND A BETTER FEELING OF WHAT THE KEY CONCERNS ARE.
I MEAN, WE'VE DONE OUR SURVEYS, WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE.
BUT, BUT BY ENGAGING WITH, WITH THE COMMUNITY, THAT THAT'S WHERE YOU REALLY GET, FEEL THE PULSE.
AND IF I'M CITY MANAGER, THAT WOULD BE MY COMMITMENT TO GO OUT AND TALK TO, TO EACH AND EVERY GROUP THAT INVITES ME TO COME TO SPEAK, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU CAN'T, YOU CANNOT LET GO.
YOU KNOW? YOU MUST, YOU MUST LISTEN BECAUSE THERE'S A RICHNESS OF OPINION, UH, AND A, AND A AND A AND A CULTURAL DIVERSITY RICHNESS THAT THAT FEW CITIES IN THE WORLD HAVE, LIKE WE HAVE.
YOU'RE A MIAMI BEACH RESIDENT, SO YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU LIVE
[01:40:01]
AND UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES, BUT I ALSO CAN TELL YOU'VE DONE YOUR HOMEWORK.SO THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR YOUR DUE DILIGENCE.
CAN YOU, US COURT MAYOR, THE NEXT CANDIDATE IS ERIC CARPENTER.
UH, HE'S THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA.
WE'RE GONNA WORK ON THAT DURING THE SUMMER BREAK.
NOW THEY'RE BOTH ON, WELL, MIAMI BEACH AGAIN, SORRY.
ERIC CARPENTER, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
AND THANK YOU FOR PUTTING YOUR HAT IN THE RING.
UM, I'M STAYING THIS TO ALL THE CANDIDATES.
UH, BEING IN THE PUBLIC EYE IS, CAN BE CHALLENGING AT TIME, BUT IT'S ALSO, I THINK I CAN, I'M SPEAKING FOR ALL OF US.
IT'S LITERALLY ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING THINGS YOU CAN, YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR LIFE AND YOUR TIME.
JUST TO, YOU PROBABLY KNOW THE PROCESS, BUT IT'S 30 MINUTES PER CANDIDATE.
IF WE GO OVER A MINUTE OR SO, I'M NOT, WE WON'T SHUT IT DOWN.
UH, EACH OF US IS GONNA GET A QUESTION.
IT'S GONNA BE DONE RANDOMLY BY THE CITY CLERK, SO I DON'T KNOW THE ORDER.
UM, SO, BUT TRY TO KEEP IN MIND THE 30 MINUTES WHEN YOU'RE ANSWERING THE QUESTION.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH TWO ROUNDS, TWO QUESTIONS FOR EACH OF US.
IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, WHAT WOULD IT BE? SO, IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE THAT WE WOULD SPEND MORE TIME FORWARD LOOKING ON ISSUES THAT WE HAVEN'T DEALT WITH YET, AND A LITTLE LESS TIME RE-LITIGATING ISSUES THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN BEFORE US AND HAVE BEEN VOTED ON, AND THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD IN A SPECIFIC DIRECTION THAT'S NOT SPECIFIC TO ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS FREQUENTLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE ARE CONSTANTLY EVOLVING AND WE'RE CONSTANTLY LEARNING FROM THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE BEFORE.
UH, AND SO WE DO GET BETTER WITH EACH ITERATION OF PROJECTS OR PROGRAMS OR, UH, INCENTIVES.
BUT THE CHALLENGE THAT WE DO HAVE IS THAT WE SPEND A LOT OF RESOURCES ON, UM, RESEARCHING AND REEVALUATING THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY IN THE PROCESS.
OR TELL ME ABOUT MIAMI BEACH 2035.
SPEAKING OF FORWARD LOOKING, UH, WHAT KEY FEATURES DO WE KEEP? WHAT DOES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LOOK LIKE? WHAT DOES PRESERVATION LOOK LIKE? WHAT IS RESILIENCY WHEN WE HAVE 1,000,000,002 UNFUNDED LOOK LIKE? TELL ME ABOUT WHAT MIAMI BEACH 2035 IS.
SO MIAMI BEACH, 2035 IS A VERY DYNAMIC AND INTERESTING CITY THAT IN SOME WAYS LOOKS VERY MUCH THE WAY IT DOES TODAY.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES MIAMI BEACH SO SPECIAL IS OUR HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
I MEAN, THERE ARE SEASIDE TOWNS UP AND DOWN THE COAST OF FLORIDA AND OTHER STATES.
AND SO WHAT REALLY MAKES US UNIQUE AND SPECIAL IS THE WAY THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO BLEND, KEEPING OUR HISTORY, WHICH IS IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO EVOLVING AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR, YOU KNOW, DIVERSIFICATION OF THE ECONOMY.
UM, MORE RESIDENTIAL STOCK WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS SERVE AS NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, AND SO WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BLEND THE TWO TOGETHER TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE.
[01:45:01]
I MEAN, SEAS ARE RISING.THERE'S NO TWO WAYS ABOUT THAT.
SO WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT SO THAT WE'RE INCORPORATING NOT JUST 20 YEARS OR 50 YEARS, BUT A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW, HOW CAN WE BE IN THE PLACE THAT WE WANT TO BE? A HUNDRED YEARS AGO WHEN THEY WERE BUILDING THIS ISLAND OUT OF THE MANGROVE SWAMPS, THEY HAD NO IDEA THAT WE WERE GONNA HAVE, YOU KNOW, $50 BILLION WORTH OF REAL ESTATE VALUE BUILT ON THIS ISLAND.
UM, AND SO, YES, IT'S A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE TO SPEND, BUT IT'S SPENDING A BILLION DOLLARS TO SAVE $50 BILLION IN REAL ESTATE.
THAT'S A GREAT RETURN ON INVESTMENT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE.
UM, WE'VE BUILT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT WE KNOW WORK.
WE KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH SEA LEVEL RISE.
WE KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH STORM SURGE.
WE KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S THE DUNE SYSTEM FOR STORM SURGE OR THE COMBINATION OF, YOU KNOW, PUMPS AND ROADWAY ELEVATION FOR SEA LEVEL RISE AND, AND STORM WATER ISSUES.
OBVIOUSLY WE'VE GOT WATER AND SEWER CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE TO OVERCOME, BUT ALL OF THAT CAN BE DONE, AND WE'VE PROVEN IT WITH SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE ALREADY PUT IN PLACE.
COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ, THANK YOU ERIC.
AND THANK YOU FOR APPLYING FOR OFFERING TO OUR CITY, YOUR WEALTH OF INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE UP TO THE SERVICE OF ITS RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS.
UM, EARLIER I WAS ASKING ABOUT, UH, HOW, HOW YOU WOULD EVALUATE, UH, THE CITY'S, UH, TOP ADMINISTRATORS, BUT I WANNA FOCUS MORE SPECIFICALLY ON THE PART OF THIS, UH, QUESTION THAT SPEAKS ABOUT PROMOTING A CULTURE OF PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING.
AND I'M SURE THIS QUESTION IS NO SURPRISE TO, TO YOU BECAUSE YOU KNOW HOW PASSIONATE I FEEL ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO PLEASE, UH, BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSITIVE.
HOW DO WE PROMOTE THAT CULTURE TO BE PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE? SO I THINK IT REALLY STARTS WITH IDENTIFYING WHAT ARE THE CORE GOALS AND VALUES OF THE ELECTED BODY OF THE CITY.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO DO SOME STRATEGIC PLANNING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL COALESCING OVER A VISION OF WHAT THE CITY LOOKS LIKE OVER THE NEXT FIVE TO 10 YEARS.
AND THEN WE NEED TO BE DOING ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO ROLL THAT DOWN TO EVERY PERSON WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR CORE GOALS AND VALUES ARE, SO THAT WHEN THEY WALK BY, WHETHER THEIR JOB IS TO PICK UP LITTER OR NOT, WHEN THEY WALK BY A CIGARETTE BUTT ON THE STREET, THEY SHOULD BEND DOWN AND PICK IT UP.
I DO IT WHEN I WALK AROUND THE CITY, MY EXPECTATION IS THAT EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD DO IT AS WELL.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT REALLY JUST COMES FROM COMMUNICATING WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO US.
YOU KNOW, IT'S SAFE AND CLEAN.
WE WANT TO BE A SAFE CITY, AND WE WANT TO BE A CLEAN CITY.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER SERVICES THAT ARE ALSO IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK OUR CORE VALUES ARE REALLY SAFE AND CLEAN.
COMMISSIONER VICE MAYOR DOMINGUEZ.
WHAT WILL YOUR FIRST 30 DAYS LOOK LIKE AS CITY MANAGER? SO MY FIRST 30 DAYS ARE REALLY GONNA BE FOCUSED ON, UM, STEADYING THE ORGANIZATION, SENDING A MESSAGE THAT WE ARE, UM, WE ARE A SOLID CITY AND WE ARE GOING TO GET THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST TO EITHER BE PROMOTED INTO POSITIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, OR WE ARE GONNA GO FIND PEOPLE TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE WAY TOO MANY OPENINGS AND KEY POSITIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THE OTHER FOCUS I'M GOING TO HAVE IS, UM, REINTRODUCING MYSELF TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, IN MY NEW ROLE, I WOULD BE REACHING OUT TO STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS ALL DISTRICTS OF THE COMMUNITY AND SEEING, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT THAT THEY SEE AS THE MOST CRITICAL PIECES OF THE PUZZLE.
UM, AND THEN THE THIRD THING THAT I WOULD DO IS I WOULD BE MEETING WITH THE DEPARTMENTS ONE-ON-ONE, TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE, EVEN MORE SO THAN I DO TODAY, SO THAT I CAN HELP THEM START TO COALESCE ABOUT WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE FOR EACH OF THEIR INDIVIDUAL ROLES AND HOW THAT ROLE, HOW THAT ROLE FITS INTO THE BIGGER PICTURE OF THE CITY.
UM, ECHOING COLLEAGUES' COMMENTS ALREADY, BUT THANK YOU FOR SUBJECTING YOURSELF TO THIS PROCESS.
AS YOU KNOW, MIAMI BEACH IS, UH, IN A CONSTANT TUG OF WAR BETWEEN RESIDENTS NEEDS AND TOWARDS DEMANDS DEVELOPMENT AND PRESERVATION, WHICH YOU'VE ALLUDED
[01:50:01]
TO INCREASED DENSITY, UM, AND THE NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING VERSUS FAILING ROADS AND TRAFFIC ISSUES.HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH BALANCING THOSE DEMANDS? AND WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES ON EACH? SO MY PRIORITIES ARE REALLY TO DELIVER WORLD-CLASS SERVICES TO EVERYONE IN EVERY REALM OF THOSE AREAS OF EXPECTATION.
UM, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PRESERVING OUR HISTORY.
UH, WE ALSO NEED TO BE MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL, UH, HOUSING AT DIFFERENT LEVELS IN THE SPECTRUM.
SO, YOU KNOW, RECENTLY IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, WE'VE BEEN GETTING MOST OF THE NEW HOUSING ALL AT A PRICE POINT THAT NOBODY WHO LIVES HERE IN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH CAN AFFORD.
AND, AND THAT'S BEEN MARKET DRIVEN.
AND I'M NOT TRYING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTROL THE MARKET, BUT I THINK THAT WE DO NEED TO INTERCEDE IN SOME AREAS TO CREATE SOME HOUSING STOCK THAT MAY NOT BE AT THAT ULTRA HIGH PRICE POINT.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE TO BE MAKING SURE THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE BACKBONE OF THE CITY, OUR WATER, OUR SEWER, OUR STORM WATER SYSTEMS ARE AS ROBUST AS THEY CAN POSSIBLY BE.
WE HAVE SYSTEMS IN PLACE RIGHT NOW THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED OUR CRITICAL NEEDS.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING COMMITTED TO FUNDING THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
AND WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH $85 MILLION WORTH OF WATER AND SEWER CRITICAL NEEDS.
UH, YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN SOME OF THE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES ON 41ST STREET, ON THE VENETIAN ISLANDS.
UM, WE ARE GETTING THINGS DONE SO THAT WE DON'T LOOK LIKE, UM, OTHER CITIES THAT I WON'T NAME IN THE AREA THAT HAVE HAD MAJOR ISSUES WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE FRONT AND CENTER ON THE NEWS FOR NOT SO GOOD THINGS.
UH, WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO FIND OURSELF IN THAT CATEGORY.
AND SOME OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, EVEN NOBODY PROBABLY REALIZES, BUT THE 54 INCH REDUNDANT FORCE MAIN THAT WE BUILT HERE IN 2015 IS THE ONLY REASON THAT WE DIDN'T END UP ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NEWS WHEN SOMEBODY DRILLED THROUGH OUR EXISTING 48 INCH LINE ON FIFTH STREET.
UM, AND THAT HAPPENED ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, MAYBE, ACTUALLY, PROBABLY FOUR YEARS AGO NOW.
UM, BUT BECAUSE WE HAD THAT REDUNDANT FORCE MAIN AND WE WERE ABLE TO CHANGE, THE FLOW WENT OFF WITHOUT A HITCH.
UM, AND THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO BE PROACTIVE ABOUT, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE SO THAT WE CAN BE THE CITY THAT NOBODY HEARS ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE PROBLEMS. COMMISSIONER ROSA GONZALEZ.
SO MANY TIMES UP HERE WE FIND OURSELVES LEGISLATING GUM REMOVAL OR PRESSURE CLEANING, AND THESE ARE THINGS THAT SHOULD JUST HAPPEN WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT, AND WE SHOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE CREATING POLICIES SURROUNDING THIS.
YOU'VE BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME, YOU'RE THE HEAD OF PUBLIC WORKS, I'VE KNOWN YOU FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, CLOSE TO A DECADE.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR ORGANIZATION AND THE INEFFICIENCIES THAT WE HAVE, WHAT STRUCTURAL CHANGES WOULD YOU MAKE AND WHY? SO AS FAR AS STRUCTURAL CHANGES, I THINK THERE ARE, THERE ARE A FEW PIECES OF, OF INFORMATION THAT NEED TO FIT TOGETHER.
UM, AND I THINK THAT MY PREDECESSOR DID A GREAT JOB OF, UM, OF PUTTING TOGETHER THE NEIGHBORHOOD AFFAIRS DIVISION SO THAT THERE WAS A GROUP IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE THAT WAS CUTTING ACROSS SILOS AND TALKING TO PEOPLE OUTSIDE IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO COMMUNICATING BACK TO THOSE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS, WHAT ARE THE CRITICAL NEEDS IN EACH OF THOSE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES? UM, AND WE NEED TO DO MORE OF THAT.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO FILL IS THE, THE PERMIT COORDINATOR POSITION, WHICH AGAIN, WILL RESIDE WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AFFAIRS DIVISION, UM, AND WILL SERVICE THE, UH, COMMUNITY THAT IS STRUGGLING WITH BUILDING PERMITS.
WE'LL GIVE THEM ONE POINT OF CONTACT TO COME TO WHEN THEY GET STUCK.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO STREAMLINE OUR PROCESSES AND THOSE WILL BE, UM, THINGS THAT WE GET BETTER ON.
BUT WE HAVE TO CHALLENGE EACH AND EVERY GROUP IN THE CITY TO BE THE BEST VERSION OF THEMSELVES.
AND I THINK THAT'S BACK TO THE COMMENT ABOUT STRATEGIC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, WORKING THAT INTO EVALUATIONS SO THAT PEOPLE'S, YOU KNOW, EVALUATIONS ON A YEARLY BASIS AND THEIR MERIT INCREASES ARE TIED INTO WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE.
[01:55:01]
EVERYONE HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN ROWING THE BOAT IN THE SAME DIRECTION.MAYOR MINOR, THANK YOU AGAIN, ERIC.
UM, YOU AND I HAVE SPENT HOURS TALKING ABOUT LAW AND ORDER PUBLIC SAFETY, AND WE'RE A SAFE CITY, BUT MY VISION, OUR COLLECTIVE VISION IS WE WANNA BE THE SAFEST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES.
HOW DO WE GET THERE? SO I THINK IT'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU AS A COMMISSIONER ARE ALREADY DOING.
UM, IT'S FUNDING OUR POLICE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE ALL THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
UM, IT'S ABOUT HELPING THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, BECAUSE YOU, AS THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY AND PERCEPTION IS REALITY.
YOU KNOW, THE STATS TELL A STORY THAT WE ARE A SAFE CITY, ABSOLUTELY.
BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY FEELS SAFE WHEN THEY'RE WALKING THE STREETS.
WE WANT THEM TO FEEL SAFE WHEN THEY GO TO EVERY CORNER OF OUR CITY.
THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANYWHERE THAT PEOPLE WALK DOWN THE STREET AND THEY DON'T FEEL SAFE.
AND SO IT'S A COMMUNICATION TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND HELPING THEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE PERCEPTION MIGHT BE DIVERGENT FROM REALITY, AND HOW WE CAN HELP ADDRESS THE PERCEPTION ISSUE AS WELL AS GETTING THE BAD GUYS, WHICH I THINK OUR TEAM HERE AT MIAMI BEACH IS UNPARALLELED.
WE DO AN AMAZING JOB OF WHENEVER THERE'S A CRIME COMMITTED, WE HAVE PEOPLE UNDER ARREST AND IN JAIL WITHIN 24 HOURS, 95% OF THE TIME.
UM, AND THEY GET THE OTHER 5% SHORTLY THEREAFTER.
SO THEY ARE AMAZING IN THAT REGARD.
WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO ADDRESS THE PERCEPTION CONCERNS.
THAT'S THE END OF THE FIRST ROUND OF QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, IS THAT A RECOGNITION OF YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT?
UM, WE NEED TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE OUR TARGET VERTICALS? WHERE, WHO DO WE WANT TO BE ATTRACTING TO THE CITY? DO WE WANT TO BE IN THE EDUCATION ARENA? DO WE WANT TO BE IN, UM, YOU KNOW, MED TECH? DO WE WANT TO BE IN FINANCE? UM, AND HOW DO WE GET MORE OF THOSE COMPANIES TO LOOK AT MIAMI BEACH AND DECIDE THAT THEY WANT TO MOVE THEIR BUSINESS HERE? WE'RE RIGHT NOW AT A, AT A POINT IN TIME WHERE THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPANIES THAT ARE LEAVING SOME OF THE OTHER MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS, AND WE JUST NEED TO CONTINUE TO SHOW THEM WHY WE'RE ATTRACTIVE, WHY WE HAVE ALL THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIVING AT THE CEO LEVEL.
WE HAVE GREAT ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS.
WE HAVE AN EDUCATED WORKFORCE.
WE NEED TO SHOW THEM THAT WE HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THAT'S ANOTHER PIECE OF IT, I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO REALLY FOCUS.
AND, AND MAYBE IT'S NOT UNDER THE TEXTBOOK DEFINITION OF AFFORDABLE, BUT IT'S ATTAINABLE HOUSING.
IT'S HOUSING FOR THE WORKFORCE THAT THEY'RE GONNA WANT TO BRING.
BECAUSE IF, IF THEY HAVE A, A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS THAT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD IN MIAMI BEACH, IT'S GONNA BE A NEGATIVE.
AND, AND WE'RE, IT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT PUTS US BEHIND OTHER AREAS THAT MIGHT BE MORE ATTAINABLE.
COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE, THANK YOU AGAIN, ERIC.
UM, IT'S GREAT TO TALK ABOUT ALL THE THINGS THAT MIAMI BEACH, UH, GETS, RIGHT? AND WE COULD SIT HERE ALL DAY, AND THAT'S WHY WE ALL LIVE HERE, WORK HERE.
WHAT DO WE GET WRONG? WHAT, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US WHERE YOU'RE SAYING, YES, I HAVE MY INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE, WE'VE GOTTEN TO THIS POINT, BUT THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO DO TO ENSURE WE DON'T MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO BECAUSE WE'VE COME UP SHORT IN THIS AREA.
SO, UM, RATHER THAN MAYBE TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE, LET ME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PAST.
WHEN I FIRST GOT TO THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, UM, I THINK WE HAD BANKRUPT AND PUT OUT OF BUSINESS THE LAST FIVE OR EIGHT CONTRACTORS THAT HAD DONE ANY MAJOR WORK WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, WE HAVE A CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT TO DO CONSTRUCTION IN, UH, ALL OF THE WORST POSSIBLE CONDITIONS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF TO DO
[02:00:01]
CONSTRUCTION, HIGH POPULATION DENSITY, NO STAGING AREA, HIGH GROUNDWATER TABLE, POOR SOIL CONDITIONS, UM, TRAFFIC, UM, YOU KNOW, CLOSE BY RESOURCES.ALL OF YOUR MATERIALS ARE GONNA HAVE TO COME IN FROM A LONG DISTANCE.
ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE CHALLENGING.
AND SO I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO SHOW CONTRACTORS THAT WE ARE A CITY THAT WANTS TO DO BUSINESS WITH THEM, AND THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO A LOT OF BUSINESS AND THEY SHOULD BE PRICING THEIR WORK AGGRESSIVELY, AND WE'RE GONNA GET OUT OF THEIR WAY AND LET THEM DO THEIR WORK.
UM, WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO MICROMANAGE OUR CONTRACTORS, UM, AND IT LEAVES US IN A SITUATION WHERE MANY CONTRACTORS DON'T WANT TO COME BACK TO MIAMI BEACH.
I'VE SEEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN WHERE WE HAVE A CONTRACTOR THAT BIDS THREE OR FOUR JOBS ALL AT THE SAME TIME, AND THEY GET TWO OF THEM OR THREE OF THEM, AND THEY DO THOSE THREE JOBS, AND THEN THEY'RE LIKE, I'M DONE.
WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN BE MORE USER FRIENDLY, UM, AND GET THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST CONTRACTORS IN HERE COMPETING SO THAT WE'RE GETTING THE BEST VALUE FOR THE MONEY SPENT FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ.
UM, AS I WAS MENTIONING EARLIER, UH, THERE IS A STRONG FOCUS, AS YOU CLEARLY KNOW, UH, IN OUR CITY ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND WITH FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY, THERE'S A DIRECT NEXUS, UH, WITH QUALITY OF, OF LIFE ISSUES.
UM, YOU KNOW, TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR VISION FOR HANDLING, UH, OUR HIGH PROFILE EVENTS, THE INFLUX OF LARGE AMOUNTS OF CROWDS INTO OUR CITY, UH, AND AS WELL, THE HANDLING OF HOMELESS ISSUES.
WOW, THAT'S, THAT'S A, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE CHALLENGING.
UM, SO OBVIOUSLY WE ARE A WORLD-CLASS CITY, AND PART OF THE REASON THAT WE ARE A WORLD-CLASS CITY IS BECAUSE WE HOLD WORLD-CLASS EVENTS, AND WE HAVE A BIG FOOTPRINT AND A BIG BRAND.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO, UH, UNDERSTAND AND RESPECT THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE'VE BUILT OVER TIME WITH A LOT OF THOSE EVENTS.
I THINK WE CAN BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SELECTIVE WITH FUTURE EVENTS THAT WE PARTNER WITH BECAUSE WE ARE SUCH A BIG BRAND THAT WE BRING VALUE TO THEM JUST LIKE THEY BRING VALUE TO US.
UM, WE OBVIOUSLY NEED TO MAKE SURE WHEN WE'RE BRINGING LARGE VOLUMES OF PEOPLE INTO THE CITY, THAT WE'RE NOT, UM, DIMINISHING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR PRIMARY FOCUS AND ARE HERE WITH US EVERY DAY.
UH, SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THAT WORK COLLABORATIVELY.
UM, AND, AND SOME OF THAT IS WHAT DRIVES US TO HAVE TO HAVE THE SIZE POLICE FORCE THAT WE HAVE, DESPITE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, ONLY A, A COMMUNITY OF, YOU KNOW, 89,000.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S REALLY A FUNCTION OF LEVERAGING OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS WHEN WE CAN TO HELP US WITH SOME OF THESE HIGH PROFILE EVENTS.
UM, AND IT'S HAVING THE POLICE RESOURCES TO NOT JUST DEAL WITH THE EVENTS, BUT ALSO DEAL WITH THE DAY-TO-DAY QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOMELESSNESS IS A PROBLEM THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
IT'S A PROBLEM HERE IN MIAMI BEACH.
IT'S A, IT'S A REAL CHALLENGING PROBLEM BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE COMPASSIONATE, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO BE, UM, VERY FAIR WHEN WE'RE DEALING WITH THE RESIDENTS IMPACTS ALONG WITH THE PEOPLE THAT ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
UM, AND SO WE NEED TO SET SOME VERY CLEAR GROUND RULES AS TO WHAT'S ACCEPTABLE AND WHAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE HERE IN MIAMI BEACH.
AND THEN WE NEED TO ENFORCE THEM.
VICE MAYOR DOMINGUEZ, YOU KNOW THIS ONE ALREADY FROM HAVING WORKED IN THE CITY, BUT, UH, WE HAVE A MAYOR AND SIX COMMISSIONERS.
HOW WILL YOU MANAGE REPORTING TO SEVEN PEOPLE? UM, VERY CAREFULLY.
AND ALL OF YOU NEED TO BE KEPT IN THE LOOP ON INFORMATION YOU NEED TO BE, YOU KNOW, THE FOCUS OF THE ORGANIZATION.
[02:05:01]
HAS SERVICES THAT WE NEED TO PROVIDE, BUT WE NEED TO PROVIDE THEM IN A MANNER THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE VISION AND VALUES OF THE ELECTED BODY OF THIS CITY.YOU SET THE POLICY DIRECTION AND WE FOLLOW IT.
UM, AND SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME THAT, OR WHOEVER YOU SELECT, UM, TO BE THE NEXT CITY MANAGER, THAT THEY'RE A UNIFYING FORCE AND THAT THEY HELP ALL OF YOU, UM, WORK TOGETHER TO SET A VISION OF THIS CITY THAT THEN ALL 2,600 EMPLOYEES CAN WORK TOWARDS.
BECAUSE I DO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE AN AMAZING WORKFORCE THAT WANTS TO DO WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO.
THEY JUST DON'T ALWAYS UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT IS.
AND SO WE NEED TO COLLECTIVELY SET OUR GOALS AND VALUES AND THEN WORK TOWARDS IT.
COMMISSIONER B, UM, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE FOLLOWED A LOT OF COMMISSION MEETINGS,
UM, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT OUR PROCESS, IF YOU COULD, AND HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE AND THEN HANDLE INAPPROPRIATE EXCHANGES BETWEEN ELECTEDS AMONGST THEMSELVES OR WITH STAFF OR WITH RESIDENTS? SO, UH, I GUESS THIS IS, THIS IS MY THIRD OR FOURTH CHANGEOVER IN COMMISSIONS.
UM, AND, AND THERE'S ALWAYS A LEARNING CURVE.
AND SO IT, IT, THERE'S, THERE'S A PROCESS THAT YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH, UM, AND IT'S JUST HELPING PEOPLE GET THROUGH THAT LEARNING CURVE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
BECAUSE I DO THINK THAT YOU, YOU ALL SEE THINGS A LOT MORE SIMILARLY THAN IT MAY ALWAYS COME ACROSS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'D ALWAYS RATHER PRAISE IN PUBLIC AND, AND CRITICIZE IN PRIVATE, BUT THAT CAN'T ALWAYS BE THE CASE.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS WE CAN FIND A WAY TO KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL AND CONSTRUCTIVE, THAT'S MY GOAL.
UM, AND IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO, UH, CAN I OR ANYBODY NECESSARILY AFFECT THAT WHEN YOU'RE THE BOSSES AND WE'RE THE, UM, THE PEOPLE THAT REPORT TO YOU, COMMISSIONER ROSE GONZALEZ.
MY INITIAL QUESTION WAS, UH, WHAT EXPERIENCE DO YOU HAVE WITH LABOR OR UNION NEGOTIATIONS, WHICH I KNOW YOU DO.
UM, SO I'M GONNA PHRASE IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
ONE OF MY LARGE BIGGEST CONCERNS IS OUR UNFUNDED PENSION LIABILITY.
UM, AND THE FACT THAT IF WE HAPPEN TO HAVE SOME SORT OF ECONOMIC DOWNTURN, WE WOULD BE IN A PRECARIOUS FINANCIAL SITUATION IN.
IN THE PAST, WHILE YOU'VE BEEN, UM, IN THESE LABOR NEGOTIATIONS, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE REALLY A CONCESSION, THAT YOU'RE REALLY PROUD OF THAT YOU GOT AND MOVING FORWARD, HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ADDRESS THIS SO THAT WE, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THE CITY IS NOT PUT IN ANY, UM, DANGEROUS FINANCIAL POSITION BECAUSE OF LABOR CONCESSIONS? SO, UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS IN ANOTHER HOUR OR TWO, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN LABOR NEGOTIATIONS RIGHT NOW AND, UM, WE HAVE, WE HAVE GOTTEN SOME, UH, I THINK VERY GOOD CONCESSIONS ON MANAGEMENT RIGHT SIDE.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY HERE ALL THE CONCERNS OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS, BUT WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THOSE CONCERNS, STILL MAKE THEM FIT WITH THE FINANCIAL NEEDS OF THE CITY.
UM, AND WE NEED TO EMPOWER OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON WHAT'S IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CITY, WHILE STILL RESPECTING THE MEMBERS OF THE BARGAINING UNITS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE ME TOO CLAUSES OR, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES TO YOU NOT, UM, HAVE UNSCHEDULED LEAVE THAT CAUSES OVERTIME OVERRUNS IN SOME OF THE DEPARTMENT BUDGETS, UH, THAT I THINK WE'VE GOTTEN CONCESSIONS ON.
UM, BUT I THINK MORE IMPORTANTLY THAN ANY OF THAT IS TELLING THE FOLKS IN THE BARGAINING UNITS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARDS THE SAME GOAL.
[02:10:01]
SAT ON THE FIRE AND POLICE PENSION BOARD FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS, UM, IF THAT PENSION LIABILITY GETS OUT OF CONTROL, WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME REALLY HARD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT PENSION LOOKS LIKE IN THE FUTURE.AND THAT'S NOT IN ANYBODY'S BEST INTEREST.
UM, WE NEED TO CONTROL IT NOW.
WE NEED TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE GOING TO HELP US DOWN THE ROAD AND, YOU KNOW, STICK TO THOSE DECISIONS.
AND I THINK THAT WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF THAT OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.
WE'RE IN A VERY DIFFICULT TIME RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE'RE SEEING SUCH HUGE INFLATION.
UM, AND THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT COST OF LIVING ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY THAT EVERYBODY'S EXPERIENCING.
AND SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PROVIDE FOR THE WORKFORCE SO THAT THEIR MORALE AND THEIR PRODUCTIVITY CONTINUES TO BE STRONG, BUT STILL KEEP THAT WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES OF THE CITY.
AND I HOPE THAT ANSWERED BOTH QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU AGAIN, ERIC, AND THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES, UH, FOR THE QUALITY, UH, OF QUESTIONS.
SO WE'RE A LEGISLATIVE BODY, BUT I KNOW MYSELF AND ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES SPEND A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME AND OUR ENERGY IN CONNECTING WITH OUR RESIDENTS, RESPONDING TO EMAILS, GOING TO COMMUNITY MEETINGS, UM, TO DEAL WITH THE QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES, NOT ONLY CITYWIDE NEIGHBORHOOD BY NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT SOMETIMES LITERALLY STREET BY STREET, HOUSE BY HOUSE, CONDO BY CONDO.
HOW WOULD YOU WORK ON CONNECTING WITH THOSE RESIDENTS? MANY RESIDENTS KNOW US, THEY KNOW OUR NAMES.
THEY MAY NOT KNOW THE CITY MANAGER.
HOW WOULD YOU INTERACT WITH RESIDENTS AND BETTER ADDRESS THE QUALITY OF LIFE, LIFE ISSUES THAT, UH, WE'RE LOOKING TO IMPROVE? SO I'LL, I'LL START BY SAYING I THINK THE PRESIDENTS OF ALMOST ALL THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS HAVE MY CELL PHONE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE WAY TO START.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY I MENTIONED BEFORE WHAT I WOULD DO IN MY FIRST 30 DAYS, IT WOULD BE REINTRODUCING MYSELF TO THE COMMUNITY.
UH, I DO HAVE THE BENEFIT OF HAVING, UH, QUITE A FEW RELATIONSHIPS AND, AND PEOPLE WHO ALREADY KNOW ME, UM, I THINK MOST, IF NOT ALL OF THEM THAT YOU WOULD TALK TO WOULD SAY THAT THEY'VE DEALT WITH ME AND THAT THEY TRUST ME AND THAT I RESPOND.
I MAY NOT ALWAYS TELL THEM EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR, BUT I'LL ALWAYS GIVE THEM AN HONEST ANSWER AND A TIMELY ANSWER.
AND I THINK THAT THAT IS THE COMMITMENT THAT IS MOST IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO WHAT I SAID ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNIT, THE, THE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO KNOW THE WHY.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE ON A DAILY BASIS AS A MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT, UM, THAT MAY NOT BE INTUITIVE TO THE THE LAY PERSON.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE WHY WE'RE DOING THINGS AND, AND HELP THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S NOT JUST AN ARBITRARY DECISION, THERE IS A GREATER GOOD THAT WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING TOWARDS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT WHEN WE EDUCATE PEOPLE, IT IS TO EVERYONE'S BENEFIT BECAUSE I THINK THAT THEY UNDERSTAND OUR CHALLENGES AND WE UNDERSTAND THEIR CHALLENGES, AND TOGETHER WE CAN FIND THE BEST POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS.
THANK YOU, YOU, ERIC, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
AND IF I COULD JUST, JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF, UM, AND, AND YOU KNOW, LIKE ALL NEGOTIATIONS, NOT EVERYBODY WALKED AWAY FROM IT GETTING EVERYTHING THAT THEY WANTED, BUT I WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE DISCUSSIONS AROUND THE GATES ON NORMANDY SHORES, AND THAT WAS AN ISSUE THAT WAS GOING ON 20 YEARS.
AND I AM GLAD TO SAY THAT AFTER RESOLVING THAT IN 2020, WE'VE NOT HEARD ANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE GATES AND THE ACCESS TO THE GATES ON NORMANDY SHORES.
UM, SO I CONSIDER THAT ONE OF MY, UM, MOST REWARDING SUCCESSES, EVEN THOUGH MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT.
THAT WAS A FEUD THAT HAD GONE ON FOR 20 YEARS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO RESOLVE.
THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME,
UH, GOOD, GOOD FOND MEMORIES AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR ROUGHLY 10 YEARS OF SERVICE TO MIAMI BEACH.
I'VE ENJOYED EVERY MOMENT OF IT.
ERIC, YOU'RE GONNA BE ESCORTED BACK UNLESS THE MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? THANK YOU.
WE'RE BRINGING OVER THE THIRD, UH, THE THIRD CANDIDATE.
HE'S THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA.
[02:15:26]
THANK YOU, TARIK.ARNOLD
I HOPE WE'VE, UH, TREATED YOU WELL WITH OPEN ARMS AND HOSPITALITY.
I THINK, UH, YOU'VE GUYS TAKEN CARE OF US AND IT'S AN HONOR TO BE HERE TODAY.
SO I THINK YOU PROBABLY KNOW HOW THE PROCESS IS GONNA GO, BUT JUST IN CASE, UM, YOU'LL HAVE ABOUT 30, YOU'LL HAVE 30 MINUTES.
WE WON'T CUT YOU OFF OF THIS A MINUTE OVER.
UH, WE'RE EACH GONNA ASK, UH, TWO QUESTIONS.
WE'RE GONNA START WITH ONE QUESTION EACH AND GO DOWN THE ROW.
OUR CITY CLERK IS GONNA PICK ONE OF US TO START RANDOMLY.
UH, SO JUST KEEP IN MIND THE 30 MINUTES THOUGH, 'CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A TOTAL OF ABOUT 14 QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ, THIS IS US.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UH, A LARGE ORGANIZATION.
UM, AND WE HAVE, UH, A, A STRONG, UH, SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM.
IF HIRED, HOW WILL YOU EVALUATE CITY DEPARTMENTS AND TOP ADMINISTRATORS? AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ON HOW YOU WOULD PROMOTE A CULTURE OF PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING.
UH, FERNANDEZ, THIS IS A REALLY GREAT QUESTION.
I THINK, UH, UH, AS THEY SAY, YOU NEVER GET A SECOND CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION.
SO I THINK, UH, UH, OUR MEETING AS A CANDIDATE WITH THE EXECUTIVE TEAM, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS SHORT, BUT WE GOT A SENSE OF THE TYPE OF EXECUTIVE TEAM YOU ALREADY HAVE.
UH, I'VE GOT A SENSE THAT YOU HAVE, UH, MULTIPLE STAFF WHO STEPPED IN TO FILL THE VOID AND THEY DO AN INCREDIBLE JOB.
UM, UH, AND THERE'S ALWAYS THE QUESTION ABOUT WHEN YOU COME IN AS A CITY MANAGER, THE RESUME IS ONE THING, BUT YOU AS A PERSON IS A DIFFERENT THING.
AND I CONSIDER MYSELF GENERALLY INTERESTED FIRST ON PEOPLE BEFORE WE GET INTO THE DETAILS ABOUT COMPETENCIES.
IT'S REALLY PROBABLY NOT FAIR FOR ANY PERSON TO TAKE TWO, THREE WEEKS TO ASSESS WHETHER A PERSON IS SUCCESSFUL OR NOT.
SO YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO USE QUALITATIVE INFORMATION AS WELL AS QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION.
AND YOU HAVE TO COMBINE THE TWO TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
UM, UH, I THINK I HAVE SHARED WITH, UH, WITH ALL OF YOU MY THINKING THROUGH, UH, WHAT WOULD BE A 90 DAYS PROCESS AS A CITY MANAGER.
UH, THE NUMBER ONE THING I WANT TO IS THE ORG CHART THAT YOU HAVE NOW AS YOU ARE GETTING READY TO ADOPT THE BUDGET IN SEPTEMBER.
AND IT IS, UH, A LEVEL OF INTERIM POSITION.
SO THE FIRST ROLE WOULD BE FOR ANY CITY MANAGER IS TO EVALUATE THE, HOW THE INTERIM POSITIONS FARED OUT IN TERMS OF OUTPUT.
THAT WOULD BE MY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY AS WELL.
AND, UM, QUITE HONESTLY, I THINK YOU WILL HAVE MEMBER OF STAFF WHO ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN CONTINUING AT THE POSITION.
AND YOU HAVE SOME STAFF WHO ARE REALLY NOT INTERESTED.
THEY REALLY WANT TO GO BACK TO THEIR FORMAL POSITION.
UH, WE'LL TAKE ALL THESE, UH, UH, UH, ASPECT IN CONSIDERATION, UM, AS A CITY MANAGER.
AND I THINK WE COLLECTIVELY NEED TO KEEP THE CONSTITUTION, THE INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE THAT THE CITY NEEDS.
AND, UM, FOR THE POSITION THAT ARE BEING, UM, ENOUGH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION THAT THE PERSON HAS SUCCEEDED A INTERIM ROLE, AND THEY HAVE, UH, THE CHANCE TO BE PROMOTED.
I'LL BE THE NUMBER ONE PERSON TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH CONTINUES TO GET THE RESULTS FROM THESE INDIVIDUALS.
UH, AND I'M GOING TO TAKE ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT DECISION, WHETHER IT FAIRS OUT OR NOT, IT STOPS WITH ME.
AND WHEN THE POSITION IS FULLY VACANT, WE ARE GOING TO BE AGGRESSIVE AS A CITY OF MIAMI BEACH TO ATTRACT TALENT.
UM, I DO NOT BELIEVE IN TRADITIONAL, UH, GOVERNMENT HIRING.
UH, REALLY WE HAVE TO MAKE PHONE CALLS AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REACH OUT TO THESE INDIVIDUALS THAT WE THINK WILL BE THE NEXT INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, THE CITY THAT SHOULD BE, AND THE CITY THAT IT IS.
UH, UH, WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE ALSO DO A, A GREAT JOB MARKETING WHAT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH OFFERS IN TERMS OF BENEFITS, IN TERMS OF THINGS THAT, UH, REALLY MAKE CITY OF MIAMI VISIONS THE TOP CITY IN, IN, PROBABLY IN THE NATION.
SO ALL THIS INFORMATION WOULD BE FOR ME AS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE.
UM, AND AGAIN, ALL THE DECISIONS, UH, WOULD BE, UH, AT THE EXECUTIVE TEAM LEVEL, BUT AGAIN,
[02:20:01]
I WOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THOSE DECISION WHETHER THEY WORKED OUT OR NOT.IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, WHAT WOULD IT BE? THAT'S A REALLY GREAT QUESTION.
I THINK NUMBER ONE IS THE BUILDING THE BRIDGE WITH THE COMMUNITY.
I THINK AS A CITY MANAGER, IT'S ESSENTIAL TO KNOW HOW THE CITY WORKS.
I THINK ALL THE CANDIDATES YOU HAVE INTERVIEWED, THEY KNOW EXACTLY THE INTERSECTS OF HOW GOVERNMENT WORKS, HOW DEPARTMENT WORKS, HOW THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND HOW THE LEGAL ASPECT OF IT WORKS.
I THINK THE MIAMI BEACH, UH, REALLY DESERVE A CITY MANAGER THAT'S GOING TO CARE AS MUCH ABOUT THEM AS YOU CARE ABOUT THE INTERNAL ORGANIZATION AND YOU'RE WILLING TO GO AND, UH, PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE TO ALL TYPE OF RESIDENT, ALL TYPE OF BUSINESSES, ALL TYPE OF COMMUNITIES, AND KNOW THE COMMUNITY YOU SERVE.
I BELIEVE THAT IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE COMMUNITY YOU SERVE, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT THEY REQUIRE AND THEY EXPECT FROM YOU.
SO, UH, AND AGAIN, ALL OF THAT GOES UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE CITY COMMISSIONS AND THE MAYOR, OF COURSE.
UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE MY PRIORITY NUMBER ONE.
AND THAT'S BASICALLY A BRANDING IMAGE OF THE CITY HALL.
WE HAVE TO MAKE THE CITY HALL NOT A BLACK BOX THAT'S KNOWN LOCAL GOVERNMENT NATIONALLY.
LIKE WE DO A LOT OF GREAT WORK, BUT WE DO NOT DO GREAT WORK OF INCLUDING THE PUBLIC IN KNOWING HOW WE DO WORK AND HOW THINGS ARE.
IT WOULD BE MY MOST PRIORITY TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY THAT I SERVE AND THAT THEIR CONCERNS, I'M AWARE OF THEM AND I KNOW I WALK THE STREET THEY LIVE IN, I GO TO THE SHOPS THEY GO TO, I LIVE THOSE, UH, CONSTRAINT THEY GO THROUGH FOR ME TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO TAKE THE PRIORITIES AND TAKE THE ESSENTIAL STEP TO FIX THEM WITH MY TEAM AT THE CITY HALL COMMISSIONER ROSE GONZALEZ.
SO TRICK YOU HAVE, UM, EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN GOVERNMENT WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR ORGANIZATION, AND I KNOW YOU JUST SAID THAT YOU THINK WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF OUR IMAGE AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PUBLIC AND MIAMI BEACH, WHICH I ACTUALLY AGREE WITH.
'CAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF SKEPTICISM SURROUNDING THE GOVERNMENT.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOW OUR CITY'S BEING RUN RIGHT NOW, COMPARED TO HOW YOU WOULD RUN IT, WHAT ARE, WHAT IS, WHAT IS, WHAT ARE SOME STRUCTURAL CHANGES THAT YOU MIGHT MAKE? UM, I THINK NUMBER ONE, UH, UH, DR. GONZALES IS THAT, UH, YOU ARE AS GOOD AS YOUR TEAM.
SO CHANGING THE IMAGE WILL REQUIRE REALLY WORKING HARD ON CHANGING THE CULTURE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
NOT TO SAY THAT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH AND CITY HALL IS NOT, I'VE MET WITH YOUR STAFF.
I THINK THEY'RE DEDICATED, THEY'RE SMART.
THEY WANT TO DO, I BELIEVE, LIKE YOU MENTIONED IN MY RESUME, I WORKED WITH MULTIPLE CITIES, WHETHER IN SEATTLE OR IN LA AND I FIND THAT THERE IS THIS COMPONENT OF FEAR SOMETIMES IN STAFF AND THEY WANT TO DO MORE, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW IF THEY CAN.
THEY WANT TO REACH OUT, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY LEGALITY OF THINGS, THE POLICIES, ET CETERA.
AS AN CHIEF EXECUTIVE, I AM REALLY AGAINST STATUS QUO.
AND I SAY THAT EVEN FOLKS WHO WORK WITH ME NOW WHO PROBABLY ARE WATCHING THIS IN LA BUT, UH, I LIKE TO HAVE MY STAFF HAVE CONFIDENCE.
I'M AS GOOD AS A CITY MANAGER IF MY STAFF CHANNEL THAT SAME ENERGY AND SAME CONFIDENCE IN MAKING SURE THAT WE EDUCATE THEM AND WE TRAIN THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE FORMIDABLE OF WHAT THEY DO.
IT'S ONE THING TO KNOW YOUR JOB.
IT'S ANOTHER THING TO EXPLAIN YOUR JOB TO THE CONSTITUENTS, TO MAKE GREAT PRESENTATIONS, TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE POLICIES ARE NOT HOLDING YOU BACK.
AND WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE IN TERMS OF IT'S HR POLICIES, LEGAL POLICIES, FINANCIAL POLICIES.
WE NEED TO GIVE THAT CONFIDENCE BACK TO OUR STAFF AND OUR STAFF WILL BECOME OUR AMBASSADORS TO THE CITY.
UH, WHEN YOU DO THAT, AND AGAIN, I'LL GO BACK AS A CITY MANAGER AND EXECUTIVE, I WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL OF IT.
WHETHER IT WORKS OR NOT, IT'S NOT ON MY STAFF.
I WANT THE STAFF TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
AND WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR STAFF AT THAT LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE AND COMPETENCY, THEY CAN BE YOUR AMBASSADORS AT THE COMMUNITY.
THEY'RE THE ONE WHO ARE GONNA GO OUT THERE.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE A TEAM SPORTS.
THEY BELIEVE IN THE TEAM, THEY WIN, AND THEY WANT THE TEAM TO WIN.
AND IF THE COMMUNITY GETS WHAT THEY WANT, AND WE'RE GONNA START DOING THINGS THAT ARE NEW, IT'S NOT JUST DOING THINGS THAT WE DO ALL THE TIME AND WE HAVE TO EXPERIENCE SOME SORT OF REIMAGINING OUR BRAND WITH OUR COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO SEE WHAT IS THAT BRAND IS GOING TO BE.
SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE CAN DO ALL OF THAT, BUT WE CAN
[02:25:01]
ONLY DO IT IF WE GIVE THAT COMPETENCY AND CONFIDENCE AND HAPPINESS.THANK YOU FOR THROWING YOUR HAT IN THE RING.
THIS IS, UH, AN ONEROUS PROCESS AND DOING IT IN PUBLIC MAKES IT EVEN MORE FUN.
I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
UM, WE ARE IN A CO AS A CITY, WE ARE IN A CONSTANT TUG OF WAR BETWEEN THE RESIDENTS NEEDS AND THE TOURIST DEMANDS BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT AND PRESERVATION, BETWEEN INCREASED DENSITY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING VERSUS FAILING ROADS AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE.
HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH BALANCING THESE DEMANDS AND WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES FOR EACH? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER BAT.
I THINK THAT'S THE, THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION FOR EVERY CITY GOVERNMENT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
THAT'S WHAT MAKES CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, UH, AN ATTRACTIVE CITY, AN INTERNATIONAL CITY.
MY ANSWER TO THAT IS BASICALLY YOU CAN'T REALLY ACHIEVE AFFORDABLE RESULTS AND EXCEED OR MEET YOUR RESIDENT EXPECTATION BY USING THE SAME POLICIES AND THE SAME TOOLS WE HAVE NOW BECAUSE IT IS EVIDENT THAT IT'S NOT MOVING US AT THE SPEED AND ALSO THE ACCOMPLISHMENT WE WANT.
AND THAT'S STUDIED ACROSS, UH, UNIVERSITIES, ACROSS RESEARCHERS THAT THERE IS A NEED OF INNOVATION.
AND INNOVATION IS REALLY NOT BUYING A PIECE OF SOFTWARE THAT GOING TO IMPROVE YOUR PROCUREMENT OR OTHER THINGS.
INNOVATION IN TERMS OF POLICY INNOVATION IN TERMS OF LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION, OF RETHINKING WHAT GOVERNMENT REALLY SHOULD BE TO SERVE THE CONSTITUENTS YOU SERVE.
SO FOR ME, MY FORMULA TO THAT IS ONE, COMPASSION.
I MEAN, AS A LEADER, YOU HAVE TO COME IN AND REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE TO DO SOME LISTENING AND YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOUR STAFF, TO YOUR TEAM TO, TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES BECAUSE THE INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS ARE AND HOW THINGS, UH, THE THINGS THAT WE GOOD AT, THE THINGS THAT WE'RE NOT GOOD AT.
UH, THE NUMBER TWO IS BASICALLY ANALYTICS.
I THINK I'M, I'M AN ECONOMIST BY PROFESSION.
I'M NOT A PLANNER, I'M AN ECONOMIST.
AND THAT'S HOW I ENTERED THE REALM OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
THE REASON WITH THAT, I WAS TRAINED TO KNOW THAT I HAVE TO USE, LIKE I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION.
THERE IS A SAYING THAT YOU CAN'T MANAGE SOMETHING IF YOU CAN'T MEASURE IT.
SO EVERYTHING WE DO IS MEASURABLE.
SOMETIMES IT TAKES THE PERSON TO KNOW HOW TO MEASURE THOSE PROCESSES.
UH, THE SECOND PART IS, AS A LEADER, WHEN YOU HAVE A PLAN, IS IT REALLY ENOUGH TO HAVE A PLAN? IN MY OPINION IS NOT.
I THINK YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THAT PLAN TO YOUR STAFF.
THEY HAVE TO SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.
THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS IT YOU REALLY FOLLOW ON YOU TWO, WHAT IS THAT DESTINATION LOOKS LIKE AND HOW ARE WE GONNA DO WORK AGAIN? AND IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU'RE EXPLAINING THAT YOU'RE GONNA CHANGE RADICAL THINGS AT THE CITY.
I THINK YOU JUST HAVE TO CHANGE THE APPROACH, THE MENTALITY, HOW YOU THINK, HOW WE TAKE RISKS AS STAFF, HOW WE HOLD EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE.
AND NUMBER FOUR, I'M AN ADVOCATE OF WHEN POLICIES ARE, ARE ADOPTED AT THIS DAAS THIS IS OUR MARCHING ORDERS AT THE CITY.
I HOLD MYSELF AND MY STAFF ACCOUNTABLE TO THOSE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE AT THIS DAAS.
AND I HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE, TO THE COMMISSION AND TO THE MAYOR TO TELL YOU WHERE WE AT.
AN EXAMPLE, I THINK YOU HAVE AN ITEM TODAY ABOUT THE PARKING CHANGES, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND IT'S A PILOT PROGRAM FOR ONE YEAR.
YOU ASSESS YOUR COST, I THINK YOU SAID ABOUT $240,000 TO KIND OF MONITOR THIS MO THE THE PILOT PROGRAM.
BUT YOU ALSO, IN ONE YEAR, WE HAVE TO COME BACK AND SEE HOW DID IT FARE OUT NOT ONLY FOR OUR RESIDENT, BUT ALSO FOR THE BUSINESSES.
WE HAVE TO COME BACK WITHIN A YEAR AND GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION THAT THIS, THAT MAKES YOU DECIDE WHETHER THIS STAYS PERMANENT OR MAYBE WE SHOULD RETHINK THE PROGRAM.
I, I REALLY FEEL COMFORTABLE DIVING INTO ALL ASPECT OF GOVERNMENT.
I'M NOT GONNA COME IN AND PREPARE IT.
THAT'S ONE THING YOU WILL TAKE FROM ME.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMPREHENSIVE.
I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW YOU'RE, YOU'RE AVERAGING OVER THREE MINUTES PER ANSWER AND SHORTEN QUESTION.
ALL THE CANDIDATES WE'RE STICKING, I MEAN, WE CAN GO A COUPLE MINUTES OVER, BUT, BUT THANK COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN MIAMI BEACH CITY.
UM, TELL ME ABOUT MIAMI BEACH 2035, UH, MAYBE IN PARTICULAR WITH YOUR FOCUS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UH, WHAT ARE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIFICALLY LOOKS LIKE? UH, TELL ME ABOUT HOW WE, UH, FACILITATE PRESERVATION AND FUND SOME OF THESE,
[02:30:01]
UH, LARGE UNFUNDED CAPITAL PROJECTS, INCREASED WALKABILITY.I, I'LL LEAVE IT TO YOU, BUT TELL ME WHAT MIAMI BEACH 2035 LOOKS LIKE.
UH, COMMISSION MAGAZINE, UH, MIAMI 2035 WILL BE, UH, THE NUMBER ONE CITY IN, IN GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES.
UH, AND WE WILL HAVE THINGS TO SHOW FOR IT NOT ONLY BY THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND THE SPEED OF THINGS WE'RE GONNA BE DOING AND THE THINGS THAT THE, THE WORLD WILL SEE THAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING, WHETHER THE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY LEVEL WITH THE SEA LEVEL RISING, THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS, WE NEED, UH, TO SUSTAIN HOW THE WORLD IS CHANGING THE CLIMATE CHANGE.
WE'RE ALSO GONNA SHOW THE WORLD THAT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH IS THE CITY THAT WAS ABLE TO MAKE THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AN EXAMPLE FOR NATIONWIDE TO FOLLOW THE PLACE WHERE THE COMMUNITY AND THE COMMISSION AND THE CITY HALL ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS AND MAKE THE LIFE OF OUR CITIZENS AND ALSO OUR RESIDENT TO BE THE BEST.
UH, WE, I'M, I'M IMAGINING THAT THE CITY MIAMI BE, SHOULD BE A BENCHMARK FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO SEE.
AND I THINK THE WORLD IS WATCHING HOW WE'RE GONNA HANDLE THIS MEGA PROJECT WE HAVE AND ALL THESE CLIMATE CHALLENGES WE HAVE.
UH, MY VISION IS THAT I WILL, WITH MY TEAM AND WITH THE COMMISSION, WILL CREATE A, A TRANSPARENT AND A FEASIBLE SUCCESSION PLANNING THAT WE ARE A CITY THAT EVERYBODY WANTS TO WORK FOR.
AND WE ARE THE CITY THAT IS KNOWN OF CULMINATING TALENT AND KEEPING TALENT.
UH, MY IMAGINATION FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH IS GONNA LEAD THE WORLD IN, UH, IN, IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WE'RE GONNA SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF TRAFFIC.
WE ARE GOING START FIRST AND FOREMOST WITH THE CLEANLINESS AND THE HOMELESSNESS ISSUES.
'CAUSE TO BE HONEST, NOTHING ELSE WILL MATTER IF WE DON'T SOLVE THAT PROBLEM FIRST, IF WE DON'T REALLY TAKE RADICAL AND INNOVATIVE AND FIRST KIND OF POLICIES TO SOLVE THAT ISSUE OF THE IN-HOUSE POPULATION.
AND WE ARE GOING TO LEAD EVERYBODY IN THE SOUTH FLORIDA AND FLORIDA, WHETHER IT'S THE COUNTY, THE STATE, AND EVERYONE ELSE.
AND THEY WILL TAKE US SERIOUSLY AND THEY WILL SEE THAT WHAT WE SAY WE DO AND ALL THESE FUNDINGS AND GRANTS THAT WE SPEND THEM ON TIME AND WE STAY ON PROJECT ON TIME.
WHAT WILL YOUR FIRST 30 DAYS AS CITY MANAGER LOOK LIKE? YES, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
I THOUGHT ABOUT IT THE LAST MONTH.
UM, IF I'M PICKED AS A CITY MANAGER, WHAT I'LL DO, I THINK NUMBER ONE FOR ME IS, UH, I WILL GET TOGETHER WITH MY STAFF, ALL STAFF.
I'M GONNA INTRODUCE MYSELF TO THEM.
I WANT 'EM TO SEE WHO I AM, WHO MY FAMILY IS, WHY I CHOOSE MIAMI BEACH.
I THINK THE SECOND WOULD BE TO MAKE SURE THAT MY 1 0 1 WITH THE CITY COMMISSIONS AND THE MAYOR ARE ESTABLISHED AND THEY ARE FIXED.
AND WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A WAY TO KNOW HOW WE WORK TOGETHER.
UH, AND TAKE THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND YOUR STYLE AND HOPEFULLY YOU WILL TEACH ME A FEW THINGS THAT YOU MAKES THE MEETINGS, UH, GO FRUITFUL.
UH, THE NUMBER THREE IS, UH, WE'LL MEET WITH MY TEAM ON A REGULAR BASIS.
I WILL TAKE SERIOUSLY ALL THE CHALLENGES THAT EVERY DEPARTMENT IS GOING THROUGH, AND I'M GOING TO WORK REALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES AND THE SUPPORT THEY NEED.
AND I'M NOT GONNA FORGET THE FACT THAT I'M ALSO NEED TO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO THE COMMUNITY, AND I WANT 'EM TO KNOW WHO I AM AND WHY THEY THINK I SHOULD BE THE, THE, THE, THE PERSON THAT WORKS WITH THEM TO TAKE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH FORWARD.
UH, I WILL FOLLOW YOUR LEAD ON THAT AS WELL, BECAUSE I THINK YOU KNOW THE COMMUNITY WAY BETTER THAN ME AND YOU KNOW, WHO THE LEADING PERSON I NEED TO MEET WITH AND THE ORGANIZATION I NEED TO MEET WITH.
AND I MAKE SURE THAT'S PART OF MY 30 DAYS AS A CITY MANAGER IN CITY OF, UH, MIAMI BEACH, MAYOR MINOR.
THANK YOU AGAIN, TARIQ, YOU KIND OF ALLUDED TO IT IN YOUR PRIOR ANSWER AND WE DISCUSSED IT YESTERDAY, POLICE VISIBILITY, HOMELESSNESS, TOP PRIORITIES FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
HOW DO YOU GET US THERE? HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU ELEVATE? AND AGAIN, WE'RE A SAFE CITY, BUT HOW DO YOU ELEVATE US TO THE NEXT LEVEL WHERE BECOME THE SAFEST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES? UH, IT'S GOING TO REALLY BE A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE, THE MAYOR, THE COMMISSION AND MYSELF AND, AND THE, AND OUR NEW, UH, POLICE CHIEF WAYNE.
UH, NUMBER ONE IS WE, UH, GO INTO MAKE SURE THAT OUR POLICIES ARE ENFORCED, UH, AT THE CITY LEVEL.
UH, I THINK IT WILL BE, UH, UH, LIKE I MENTIONED, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE MY PRIORITY, NUMBER ONE, TO FIND A AND TO STAY CONSISTENT ON TACKLING THE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS AS WELL AS PUBLIC SAFETY.
I THINK, UH, I HAVE, I HAVE SEEN ALL CITIES, WHAT THEY'VE DONE WITH THE UNHOUSED, AND THERE IS NOT ONE SOLUTION THAT'S GONNA FIT ALL.
ENFORCEMENT IS PART OF IT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO TACKLE THE ROOT CAUSE
[02:35:01]
OF WHAT MAKES THE UNHOUSED COME INTO OUR CITY.AND WE HAVE TO PUSH HARD, NOT ONLY WHAT THE CITY CAN DO AND HOLD EVERY OTHER AGENCY AROUND US ACCOUNTABLE.
I THINK IT'S ABOUT TIME RIGHT NOW.
IT'S THE NATIONWIDE THAT THE CITY, THE COUNTY, THE STATE.
WE NEED TO HAVE SOME SORT OF A SYSTEM THAT TRACK THESE INDIVIDUALS.
THE REAL TIME DATA THAT WE CAN SEE WHAT THEY AT AND HOW THEY'RE MOVING AROUND OR WHERE THEY COME.
I THINK THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE IS THAT WE DON'T CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER.
OUR POLICE OFFICER, SURE, THEY DOING THEIR BEST, BUT HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL CONNECTED AS GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND WE HAVE TO PUSH FOR THAT AS A CITY.
AND I'M GONNA PUSH FOR THAT AS WELL TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A REAL TIME REPORT ABOUT ALL THESE INDIVIDUALS.
UM, I'M VERY SORRY TO SAY THAT I SAW THAT VIDEO, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT HAPPENED, UH, IN, IN MIAMI.
BUT THAT, UH, TO THAT LADY, AND IT REALLY TOUCHED ME, THAT COULD BE AVOIDABLE.
I THINK WE SHOULD NOT LET THAT HAPPEN IN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
AND THAT WOULD BE MY PRIORITY TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS SAFE AND THESE DECISIVE ACTIONS AS A CITY MANAGER WILL BE MY PRIORITY TO DEAL WITH THE UNHOUSED.
WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE SECOND ROUND OF QUESTIONS.
I'M SORRY, WE'RE AT 10 MINUTES, JUST SO YOU KNOW.
UM, AND SO LEMME JUST, UH, PIGGYBACK A LITTLE BIT ON THE SUBJECT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, PLEASE, IF, IF YOU ASK, UH, PROBABLY ANY ONE OF US, WE'LL PROBABLY TELL YOU, PUBLIC SAFETY IS, IS OUR TOP PRIORITY.
UH, AND THERE'S AN NEXUS BETWEEN PUBLIC SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES.
UH, SO, SO, YOU KNOW, TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT, ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR DIRECT EXPERIENCE ON HOMELESS ISSUES AND ALSO ON HANDLING, UH, LARGE PROFILE EVENTS THAT TEND TO ATTRACT LARGE AMOUNTS OF CROWDS.
UH, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ, AND I'LL START WITH THAT.
UH, SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
UM, INSTEAD OF CARSON, I THINK WE, WE ARE HOME OF DAILY GALAXY.
UH, WE HAVE GAMES EVERY WEEKEND AND WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE COMING TO OUR CITY.
SO IT'S OUR PRIORITY TO MAKE SURE SAFETY OF OUR RESIDENT AS WELL AS OUR VISITORS IS A PRIORITY NUMBER ONE.
UH, WE DO PUSH A LOT OF MONEY INTO THAT PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE, UH, THROUGHOUT EVERY BUDGET PROCESS.
IT'S THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY FOR US TO SEE HOW MUCH RESOURCE WE GO THERE.
AND SOMETIMES RESOURCES SPENT DOESN'T MEAN EFFECTIVELY HOLDING THE LINE IN TERMS OF DID WE RECEIVE RESULTS.
I'M A RESULT ORIENTED PERSON, AS I MENTIONED.
I NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT ALLOCATING AND PUSHING WHETHER STAFF OR WHETHER PUSHING THE POLICE OFFICERS TO GIVE US REAL DATA.
I AM MORE ABOUT RETURNING INVESTMENT.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THAT, THAT THAT SAFETY IS NUMBER ONE? HOW DO WE COUNT FOR THE HOMELESS? HOW DO WE TRACK THEM AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS SOME SORT OF DATA THAT SHOWS THE ELECTED OFFICIAL THAT THERE IS AN ACCOUNTABILITY IN TERMS OF REPEAT OFFENDERS OR THINGS, FOLKS THAT THEY DON'T WANNA, THEY'VE BEEN PROVIDED HELP, BUT THEY DID NOT ACCEPT IT.
UH, UH, WE DO ALSO NOW, UH, FROM WHERE I CAME FROM IS THAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS PRIORITY NUMBER ONE.
UH, WE'RE EXPECTING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE TO COME TO CARSON FOR THE OLYMPICS, LA 28, AND IT'S A PRIORITY NUMBER ONE.
SO I'M VERY FAMILIAR, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, THAT THE, THE, THE, THE, THE SOLUTION HERE COMES AT THIS DAIS.
BUT REALLY IN A COLLECTIVE EFFORT, IT HAS TO BE ALSO INCLUDING THE NONPROFIT AND OTHER AGENCIES THAT ARE ALSO WORKING ON THE IN-HOUSE POPULATION AS WELL AND OTHER COUNTIES.
THE NEXT ONE IS COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, BUT I'M GOING TO GO TO COMMISSIONER ROSA GONZALEZ.
SO CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH, UH, LABOR AND NEGOTIATIONS AND CONTRACTS AND WHAT YOU WOULD DO TO HELP US REMEDY ANY PENSION LIABILITIES THAT ARE UNFUNDED IN THE FUTURE AS YOU MOVE FORWARD? OR SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED IN A LABOR NEGOTIATION IN THE PAST THAT YOU THOUGHT WAS A GREAT CONCESSION FOR YOUR BOARD? UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
I THINK, UH, MY RELATIONSHIP, UH, WITH THIS SUBJECT IS VERY INTIMATE.
I THINK I'M VERY FULLY AWARE OF IT.
I WORKED ON IT EVEN AS I WAS, UH, THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERS.
I THINK IT'S PART OF THE BIGGER QUESTION.
WHAT ARE THE, THE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS GOING TO EXPIRE? WHAT THEIR COMPONENT FROM THE FINANCIAL ASPECT TO THE ASPECT, WHAT IT HELPED ME THE MOST IS THE RELATIONSHIP I HAVE WITH THE UNION PRESIDENTS, UH, BASED ON TRUST, BASED ON TRANSPARENCY, AND BASED ALSO WHAT'S GOOD FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.
I BELIEVE UNIONS PLAY A HUGE ROLE INTO MAKING SURE THAT OUR STAFF ARE GETTING WHAT THEY NEED.
AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNION AND THE EXECUTIVE TEAM IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE.
[02:40:01]
I ALSO THINK THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE MOST CITIES, SOMETIMES THEY DEFER THE FACT OF TAKING CARE OF THEIR STAFF TO UNIONS.AS AN EXECUTIVE, WE SHOULD BE TAKING OFF OUR STAFF AS WELL.
I NEED TO HAVE THEIR BENEFIT IN MIND AS MUCH AS THE UNIONS ARE.
I NEED TO WANT WHAT'S GOOD FOR THEM FINANCIALLY AND QUALITATIVE LIFE AND WORK EXPERIENCE AS THE UNIONS ARE.
SO WHEN WE MATCH THAT GOAL, EVERYTHING ELSE BECOMES EASY BECAUSE WE HAVE THE SAME COMMON GOAL IN MIND.
THE FINANCIALS BECOME JUST PART OF THE PROCESS.
WHAT CAN THE CITY AFFORD AND HOW CAN WE DO THAT? UNFUNDED LIABILITIES IS A HUGE PROBLEM IN, IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, ALL HEARD ABOUT COPPERS.
I'VE BEEN EXPERIENCED FOR FINDING ALL SOLUTIONS.
SO HOW CAN WE DO THAT? UH, UH, THE SOLUTIONS FOR THAT.
UH, I, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY ALSO TO WORK WITH MY CITY OF CARSON TO ISSUE PENSION OBLIGATION BONDS, FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE, UH, IT WAS THE TIME AND EFFECT OF IT AS WELL DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND THE CITY WAS PAYING ALMOST SEVEN TO $8 MILLION A YEAR FOR UNFUNDED LIABILITIES THAT GOES UP, UH, TO TREMENDOUSLY EVERY YEAR.
WE EITHER CONTINUE THAT PATH OR WE FUND IT THROUGH A PENSION OBLIGATION BOND AND MAKE OUR PAYMENT FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS AS A $5 MILLION.
AND WE TOOK THAT PATH AND THAT CUTS OUR BUDGET CONSTRAINT TO TWO TO $3 MILLION DURING THE PANDEMIC WHERE NOBODY KNEW HOW THE STATE OF YOUR REVENUES WILL BE.
AND THAT GAVE THE COUNCIL AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE THAT ACCESS FOR SOMETHING ELSE THAT THE CITY NEEDS.
AND WE'RE AT FOUR 50 TARIK, UH, STILL.
WHAT WILL YOU DO TO INCENTIVIZE BETTER ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MIAMI BEACH? A GOOD QUESTION.
I THINK THAT I, A, A, APPROACHING THAT SAME QUESTION, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ IN, IN, IN CARSON, UH, MY NUMBER PRIORITY FOR ME WAS TO MAKE THE CITY THE, THE, THE MOST FRIENDLY BUSINESS IN THE STATE.
OKAY? UH, EVERYBODY COMPETE FOR THAT HONOR.
AND I THINK I, I WILL PURSUE IT EVERY YEAR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE CRITERIA THAT MAKES US THE BUSINESS FRIENDLY CITY IN THE STATE.
NOT ONLY THE STATE, BUT ALSO THE UNITED STATES.
UH, AND NUMBER TWO, TO DO THAT, YOU CANNOT REALLY ACHIEVE THAT WITHOUT TACKLING OTHER THINGS LIKE SUCH AS PUBLIC SAFETY.
PUBLIC SAFETY HAS AN IMPACT ON EVERYTHING WE DO.
UH, ATTRACTING DEVELOPMENT, ATTRACTING TALENT, KEEPING TALENT, ET CETERA.
SO, UH, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT I WOULD BE TAKING CARE OF AS A CITY MANAGER IF I AM YOUR CITY MANAGER, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MEET THAT ATTRACTIVENESS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND THEN ALSO SUSTAINABLE AND RES AND, AND, UM, MANAGEABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AS WELL.
THAT'S NOT GONNA TRIGGER AN IMPACT ON OUR ISSUES SUCH AS TRAFFIC AND HOUSING, ET CETERA.
I JUST TOOK A BITE OF MY BREAKFAST.
AS PART OF YOUR PREPARATION FOR THIS JOB, YOU MAY HAVE, I'M SURE YOU WATCH A FEW OF THE CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS.
WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE PROCESS IF YOU COULD, AND HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE AND THEN HANDLE ANY INAPPROPRIATE EXCHANGES BETWEEN ELECTEDS AMONG THEMSELVES OR WITH STAFF OR WITH RESIDENTS? I THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
I, I DID, UH, ALSO SEE ERIC WALKING WITH A REALLY HUGE, UH, FILE.
AND I SAW YOU GUYS ALSO WITH THAT AS WELL.
SO THAT TELLS YOU THAT THERE ARE SERIOUS ITEMS THAT YOU GUYS ARE TACKLING AND, AND THERE ARE OF IMPORTANCE.
I THINK WHAT I WILL, WHAT I WILL SAY, I'M, I'M JOKING ABOUT THAT, BUT IN SERIOUS NOTES, WE'RE GONNA THROW EVERYTHING AT THAT IN TERMS OF FACILITATING AS YOUR CITY EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PRIOR MEETINGS WITH STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE ITEMS ARE NOT BACKLOGGED AND WHEN THEY COME TO THE DICE ARE READY FOR CLARITY.
SO WE ARE NOT GONNA COME WITH ITEMS AS YOUR TEAM THAT MISSING INFORMATION.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU WANT TO TACKLE AN ISSUE OF POLICY, BUT YOU HAD A QUESTION ABOUT GRANTS AND WHAT'S THE IMPACTS ON IT AND SOMETHING ELSE.
WE WOULD BE BETTER PREPARED FOR THOSE SO THE ITEM WON'T SPILL OVER TO THE NEXT MEETING.
UH, NUMBER TWO, PERHAPS WE CAN DISCUSS AS A GROUP THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY.
HOW CAN WE USE TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION, NOT JUST THE ITEM, BUT ALSO SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS AND EXHIBIT IN A FORMAT THAT HELPS YOU SEE THE INFORMATION YOUR WAY.
YOU LIKE IT? I THINK MY 1 0 1 WITH THE, WITH THE COMMISSIONS AND THE MAIL WILL BE ESSENTIAL OF HELPING ME GET INTO A, AN AGENDA THAT IS MANAGEABLE, AN AGENDA THAT IS PRODUCTIVE, AND IT'S READY TO BE DISCUSSED AND ADOPTED AT THE DAY OF THE MEETING.
[02:45:02]
TO THANK YOU FOR THIS, UM, IT'S GREAT TO TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.SO WELL, UH, WE ALL BELIEVE WE'RE A WORLD CLASS CITY.
THAT'S WHY WE LIVE HERE, DEDICATE SO MUCH TIME.
UH, BUT WHAT DO WE GET WRONG? WHAT, WHAT SELL US ABOUT, YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS IS GREAT, BUT I CAN DO THIS BETTER.
I DON'T THINK YOU'RE DOING ANYTHING WRONG.
I THINK THIS COMMISSION AND THE CITY HAS A COMPASSION FOR WHAT YOU SEE.
THE FUTURE IS, WE MAY DISAGREE ON THINGS, BUT THERE IS A COMMON DENOMINATOR THAT EVERYBODY WANTS THE CITY TO BE THE BEST, THE SAFEST, THE CLEANEST AS WHAT IS THE BEST FOR OUR KIDS.
I THINK WHAT I WILL SEE IS HOW CAN WE, UH, BE BETTER AT, UH, SOLVING THIS PROBLEM COLLECTIVELY.
UM, ACTUALLY FOR THAT REASON, I GOT MYSELF A BOOK, WHICH I, I HAVEN'T STARTED READING IT, WHICH IS A FRICTION FIXER BY BOB SUTON FROM STANFORD UNIVERSITY.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT COMMUNITIES ARE NEEDED.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE RIGHT, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE WE'RE TAKING TOO LONG TO FIX.
AND THE COMMUNITY IS RUNNING IMPATIENT.
SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CITY MANAGER THAT'S AWARE OF THAT, THAT IS AWARE OF WHAT IS THAT IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE COMMUNITY, ABLE TO SEE HOW THEY FEEL, AND GO BACK TO THE CITY MANAGEMENT AND CHANNEL THAT NEED.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT I THINK THE, THE, THAT PROBABLY WOULD HELP MOVING THINGS FORWARD.
MAY I GIVE A FOUR MINUTE GRACE? SORRY ABOUT THAT.
SO MIAMI BEACH HAS, UH, SIX COMMISSIONERS AND ONE MAYOR EACH WITH ONE VOTE.
HOW WILL YOU NAVIGATE REPORTING TO SEVEN PEOPLE? I THINK I WILL NAVIGATE THAT BY TRANSPARENCY, UH, COLLABORATION AND, UH, IN TERMS OF ACCOUNTABILITY.
AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.
HOW DO I HELP MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE TO MEET YOUR NEEDS AND TO MEET YOUR STANDARDS? AS A CITY MANAGER, THAT WOULD BE MY PRIORITY, NUMBER ONE.
AND YOU ALL HAVE EXPECTATIONS OF WHO THIS PERSON SHOULD BE AND WHAT THIS PERSON SHOULD DELIVER FOR YOUR COMMUNITY.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY GUIDING PRINCIPLE ON HOW I'M GONNA MANAGE ALL THESE MEETINGS AND ALL THE NEEDS THAT YOU HAVE.
MY GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR AND YOUR CONSTITUENT IS PERFECT.
MEANING THAT WE TACKLING THESE ISSUES AND I'M LISTENING AND WE'RE PROVIDING THE STAFF AND THE RESOURCES TO TACKLE THEM AND BUILD THE TRUST BETWEEN THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, THE CITY HALL, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY.
THAT WILL BE MY PRIORITY NUMBER ONE.
MAYOR MI THANK YOU AGAIN, TARIQ.
UM, MIAMI BEACH IS A GREAT CITY.
WE'RE A UNIQUE CITY IN MANY WAYS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES US UNIQUE IS THAT NOT ONLY ARE WE A GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL CITY, BUT WE HAVE A SMALL TOWN FEEL TO IT.
YOU GET TO KNOW THE RESIDENTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
HOW WOULD YOU CONNECT TO THE RESIDENTS? WE ALL DO THAT HERE.
HOW WOULD YOU CONNECT WITH THE RESIDENTS AND MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE FIRST NAME BASIS, KNOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND EVEN BEYOND AND CONNECT WITH THEM TO IMPROVE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE.
I, I, I THINK I, UH, THANK YOU ARNOLD RAMER FOR THAT QUESTION.
AND I, I, I THINK I ALLUDED TO IT AT THE BEGINNING, UH, OF WHAT I THINK ME PERSONALLY AS CITY MANAGER JOB HAS BECOME, IT'S AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE JOB.
I THINK, UH, BEING ABLE TO CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY AT ALL SORTS OF LEVELS AT THE RESIDENCE LEVEL, BUSINESS COMMUNITY LEVEL, AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT LIVE AND WORK IN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
UH, I PRIDE MYSELF REALLY IN, UH, WORKING ON THAT ASPECT.
EVEN AT MY CURRENT ROLE WHERE I CAME FROM, UH, I HAVE BUILT STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL CONSTITUENTS.
I THINK IT'S NOT REALLY FAIR FOR THE ELECTED OFFICIALS FOR YOU GUYS TO BE GETTING CALLS ABOUT THINGS YOU NEED TO FIX OR YOU NEED TO ATTEND TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS THAT I'M NOT AWARE OF.
SO I THINK THAT FOR ME, IT WILL TELL ME THAT I'M NOT DOING ENOUGH.
IF THE CALL WENT TO YOU AND YOU KNOW ABOUT IT BEFORE I KNOW ABOUT IT, I KNOW THESE THINGS HAPPEN.
BUT FOR ME, THAT'S THE PRIORITY NUMBER ONE, WHEN WE BUILD THAT TRUST AND YOUR CITY BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE A CITY MANAGER THAT THEY CAN CALL AND THEY WILL GET THINGS SERIOUS.
AND THERE'S NO IMPORTANCE OF WHAT THAT ITEM IS, WHAT THE ISSUE IS.
THAT WILL BE MY PRIORITY NUMBER ONE.
UH, I WANT FOR THE KIDS AND THE FAMILIES IN MIAMI BEACH, WHAT I WANT FOR MY FAMILY AS WELL.
SO I THINK THAT'S GONNA DRIVE ME TOWARD THAT.
I HAVE A 9-YEAR-OLD AND, AND I KNOW HOW IMPACTFUL IT IS TO HAVE THE SAFEST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, THE
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CITY WITH THE BEST PARKS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND TO HAVE THE CITY THAT HAS THE BEST COMMUTES, THE BEST HOUSING AFFORDABILITY.I KNOW THESE ARE ALL PEOPLE THINK THEY'RE NOT SOLVABLE.
I THINK, I THINK THEY ARE SOLVABLE, UNSOLVABLE PROBLEMS. AND FOR ME, THAT'S WHAT DRIVES ME HERE, REALLY TO FLY FROM LA TO HERE.
'CAUSE I THINK MY PASSION FOR PUBLIC GOVERNMENT STARTED WHEN I WAS A TEACHER FIRST, UH, MIDDLE SCHOOL.
AND, UH, I DID THAT FOR A YEAR AND A HALF WHEN I SAW THE IMPACT ON THE KIDS.
IN THEIR EYES, WHEN THEY LEARN SOMETHING AND THEY KNOW YOU CARE ABOUT THEM, THAT RELATIONSHIP MADE IT FOR ME, PROBABLY THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY CAREER.
UH, WHEN YOU SHOW UP TO THEIR SOCCER GAMES AND THEY SEE YOU THERE AND THEY SAY, MR. ROMANI, YOU'RE THERE.
I DON'T EVEN, I I'M FROM IRAQ, I DON'T PLAY BASEBALL.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW THE RULES, BUT I WILL GO.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT WHEN I SEE THAT CONNECTION, EVERYBODY WINS.
I WANT FOLKS TO SAY, WHEN WE DO THINGS, THEY GO AND SAY, THIS IS THE MOMENT THAT I FELT THE MOST PROUD TO BE A RESIDENT AND A BUSINESS OWNER OR HOMEOWNER TO SEE MIAMI BEACH.
THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO BE DRIVING ME AS A CITY MANAGER.
I LOVE BASEBALL, BUT I WON'T HOLD THAT AGAINST YOU,
UH, NO, THANK YOU FOR PUTTING YOUR HAT IN THE RING AND, AND FOR COMING HERE FROM LA AND FOR YOUR PREPARATION, WHICH IS REALLY EVIDENT FROM FROM YOUR ANSWERS.
MAYOR, OUR NEXT, UH, CANDIDATE IS JAY WILING.
HE IS A FORMER COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY.
HE IS FROM STOCKHOLM, CALIFORNIA.
GOOD MORNING, MAYOR MINOR, MIKE.
YOU, WE HAVE TO GET THE MIC ON.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW WHEN I'M TURNING ON MY MIC? OH, THERE WE GO.
AND, AND GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS.
YOU'RE OUR LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UM, JUST TO GO OVER THE PROCESS.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE 30 MINUTES.
IF YOU GO OVER A MINUTE OR TWO, WE WON'T, WE WON'T HOLD IT AGAINST YOU.
UM, THERE'S GONNA BE A SERIES TWO QUESTIONS FROM EACH, EACH OF US UP HERE.
WE'RE GONNA DO ONE ROUND, AND THEN WE'LL DO A SECOND ROUND.
OUR CITY CLERK IS GONNA RANDOMLY SELECT AND GO IN THAT ORDER.
UH, BUT JUST KEEP IN MIND IT'S ABOUT 14 QUESTIONS FOR 30 MINUTES.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR GET 'EM ALL IN FOR BEING HERE AND, UH, FOR, FOR PUTTING YOURSELF, UH, THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
JAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE CITY THAT WE ALL LOVE.
AND YOUR TRIP ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UH, TELL ME ABOUT MIAMI BEACH 2035.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT, WHAT'S OUR 10 YEAR PLAN? UM, WHAT CHANGES, WHAT DOES NOT IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, UH, CAPITAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, UH, WALKABILITY, WHO ARE WE 10 YEARS FROM NOW? WELL, YOU'VE GOT QUITE A FEW CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT ARE IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
OVER 50 OF THEM IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.
UH, WE DID TOUR ON MONDAY AND GET TO SEE SOME OF THOSE THINGS, UH, INCLUDING GIBB PARK.
AND I KNOW WITH THE BOND ISSUANCES THAT YOU ALL DID, UH, ABOUT A YEAR AGO, THAT YOU ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND FURTHER INTO ARTS AND CULTURE AND TO GET MORE INTO THE, UH, RESONANT BASED AND, UH, THE TOURIST BASED, UH, THE THINGS THAT ARE GETTING AWAY FROM THE, UH, SPRING BREAK EVENT WHERE YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE THAT.
I KNOW YOU, YOU ALL WENT THROUGH A GREAT DEAL TO BREAK UP WITH SPRING BREAK, AS I I READ IN THE NEWS.
AND SO WHAT I SEE HAPPENING IS, UH, MORE DEVELOPMENTS, SMART DEVELOPMENT.
I KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE TRYING TO BECOME A SMART CITY.
YOU'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR YOUR RESIDENTS.
UH, YOU'RE TRYING TO MAINTAIN A GOOD FISCAL STRENGTH AND AT THE SAME TIME TRYING TO MAINTAIN A GOOD LAW ENFORCEMENT ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS AND OTHER THINGS THAT WOULD IMPACT THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR YOUR RESIDENTS.
SO WHAT I SEE IN THE FUTURE IS CONTINUING DOWN THAT PATH.
I KNOW YOU'VE GOT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IN PLACE, WHICH IS THE, THE OVERRIDING PLAN THAT EVERYTHING, UH, EMANATES FROM,
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AND THAT YOU CONTINUE TO MODIFY THAT EVERY FIVE YEARS.SO I COULD SEE THAT BEING MODIFIED A COUPLE TIMES AS, UH, THINGS EVOLVE, UH, BETWEEN NOW AND 2035.
COMMISSIONER ROSEN GONZALEZ, COMMISSIONER BOTS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THIS AND FOR THROWING YOUR HAT IN THE RING.
AND AS I SAID TO YOUR COMPATRIOTS JOB INTERVIEWS ARE NEVER FUN.
DOING IT IN PUBLIC IS EVEN LESS SO.
SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR TOUGHING THIS OUT.
UM, WE AS THE CITY ARE IN A CONSTANT TUG OF WAR BETWEEN RESIDENTS NEEDS AND TOURIST DEMANDS BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT AND PRESERVATION, BETWEEN INCREASED DENSITY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND FAILING ROADS AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES.
HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH BALANCING THOSE DEMANDS? AND WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES ON EACH? WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
AND I THINK EVERYTHING IS A BALANCE WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO RESIDENTS QUALITY OF LIFE, UH, ECONOMIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH AND, AND ROBUST ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT CAN SOMETIMES COME AT THE POTENTIAL QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES.
AND AS YOU TRY TO EXPAND IT AS SOMETHING THAT MAY BE GOOD FOR TOURISTS AND, AND PEOPLE WHO VACATION HERE, IT COMES AT THE EXPENSE OF RESIDENTS WHO, WHO LIVE HERE IN THESE OTHER HOMES AND WHERE THEIR FAMILIES RESIDE.
AND, UH, I'LL JUST GIVE A VERY BRIEF EXAMPLE OF THAT.
I LIVE IN A COMMUNITY CURRENTLY THAT IS A VERY ROBUST LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION CENTER BECAUSE WE'RE JUXTAPOSED BETWEEN TWO MAJOR FREEWAYS.
WE HAVE AN INLAND PORT AND AN AIRPORT, AND THE DESIRE OF THE CITY THERE, AND TO A DEGREE THE COUNTY WAS TO LET'S EXPAND OUR LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION 'CAUSE IT'S GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY.
AND WHAT YOU WIND UP IS WITH CONGESTED TRUCKS ON THE ROAD, UH, BROKEN UP, UH, HIGHWAYS AND, AND ALSO AIR QUALITY ISSUES.
SO I'M VERY, VERY SENSITIVE TO HOW WHEN YOU PUSH IN ONE DIRECTION, IT MAY COME AT THE COST OF THE OTHER.
AND I THINK THE BEST WAY TO ADDRESS THAT IS TO GET INTO THE COMMUNITY, TALK TO YOUR RESIDENTS.
I KNOW YOU HAVE VOCAL, VERY VOCAL RESIDENTS HERE.
I'VE WATCHED COMMISSION MEETINGS AND SEEN A LOT OF THE PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT HAVE COME THROUGH AND, AND TO PAY ATTENTION WITH THAT AND TRY TO BALANCE THAT ALONG WITH YOUR STRATEGIC PLANS SO THAT YOU CAN POTENTIALLY ALTER THOSE PLANS IF YOU NEED TO.
LIKE COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE MENTIONED IN A, IN A 20, 20, 35 TARGET, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO KEEP FORWARD SO YOU DON'T GO AFTER ONE AT THE EXPENSE OF OF THE OTHER.
AND I THINK THAT'S A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN YOU COMMISSIONERS, UH, YOUR, YOUR CITY MANAGER OFFICE AND LIKE I SAID, A VERY ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT FROM THE RESIDENTS.
SO I KNOW YOU'VE STUDIED OUR GOVERNMENT AND YOU'VE KIND OF LOOKED AT ITS STRUCTURE AND I WAS WONDERING, AS YOU LOOK AT OUR ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE, WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU MAKE SO THAT WE WERE MORE EFFICIENT? WELL, THE, I, I DID LOOK AT YOUR STRUCTURE AND YOUR, YOUR, YOUR CITY STRUCTURE'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I HAD EXPERIENCED AS COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR SAN JOAQUIN.
AND EVEN IN THE TWO CALIFORNIA COUNTIES I WORK FOR, THE FIRST THING THAT I WOULD ADDRESS BEFORE I WOULD ACTUALLY GO AFTER THE STRUCTURE WOULD BE FILLING THE VACANCIES IN THE INTERIM POSITIONS THAT ARE THERE.
UH, WE DID MEET WITH THE TEAM ON MONDAY.
WE MET PROBABLY WITH TWO DOZEN OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM AND MANY OF THEM ARE DOING DOUBLE DUTY.
AND WHAT I WOULD TRY TO FOCUS ON BEFORE I STARTED SHUFFLING THE DECK, SO TO SPEAK, IN THE STRUCTURES, MAKING SURE THAT THOSE POSITIONS WERE FILLED TO THE DEGREE THAT WE COULD, SO THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THE REAL NEED FOR ANY KIND OF RESTRUCTURING THAT'S HAPPENED.
UH, I'VE GONE BACK, UH, THROUGH YOUR HISTORY ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AND I SEE, YOU KNOW, AT, IF YOU GO BACK FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO, YOU HAD FOUR ASSISTANTS THAT EVOLVED DOWN TO THREE, THEN IT EVOLVED TO TWO ASSISTANTS WITH THE DEPUTY.
I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT THE THINKING WAS THAT WENT BEHIND THAT.
SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS GOT SWITCHED AROUND.
I SEE THE WAY THAT THINGS ARE SET UP NOW ARE, ARE STRICTLY BY FUNCTIONAL AREAS.
AND THAT LOOKS PRETTY REASONABLE TO ME FROM AN OUTSIDER LOOKING IN.
BUT AS I SAID, THE FIRST THING I WOULD FOCUS ON IS MAKING SURE THAT WE HAD BODIES IN THE POSITIONS THAT WERE ALREADY THERE SO YOU COULD PROPERLY EVALUATE HOW YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHANGE THINGS.
AND OF COURSE, ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE CHANGED, I WOULD BRING IN FRONT OF THE COMMISSIONERS AND MAKE SURE YOU ALL WERE COMFORTABLE FOR IT WITH IT BEFORE I STARTED PUSHING ANY INITIATIVES ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
UH, TELL US WHAT YOUR FIRST 30 DAYS AS CITY MANAGER WILL LOOK LIKE.
MY FIRST 30 DAYS AS CITY MANAGER WOULD PROBABLY LOOK IN TWOFOLD.
UH, THE FIRST THING THAT I WOULD WANT TO DO IS LEARN AS MUCH ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION IS, I WOULD SAY THREEFOLD.
LEARN AS MUCH ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION AS I POSSIBLY COULD, BECAUSE AS MUCH, UH, RESEARCH THAT I DID IN ANTICIPATION OF THIS INTERVIEW, THAT'S STILL GONNA BE ONLY A FRACTION OF WHAT I'M GOING TO NEED
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TO KNOW.THE OTHER THING, WHICH I THINK IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT IS TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE FOLKS HERE AND BY THE FOLKS, I MEAN YOU ALL AS COMMISSIONERS, THE DEPARTMENT HEADS, THE TEAM I WOULD WORK WITH, AND JUST AS IMPORTANTLY THE RESIDENTS.
UM, I TYPICALLY, I'VE BEEN ELECTED TWICE.
I SERVED FOR EIGHT YEARS IN MY CAPACITY, UM, BEFORE BECOMING COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR IN SAN JOAQUIN.
AND I CAN TELL YOU HOW CRITICALLY IMPORTANT IT IS TO GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT THEIR ISSUES AND CONCERNS ARE.
AT THE SAME TIME, YOU DO WANT TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.
AND SO I WOULD WANT TO ADD VALUE FROM IMMEDIATELY WHEN I CAME ON BOARD.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD WANT TO DO IS HELP RECRUIT THE POSITIONS THAT ARE, UM, OPEN NOW.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU ALL ARE GONNA HAVE THINGS THAT ARE GONNA COME UP RECURRING ON YOUR SCHEDULE.
YOU'RE GONNA HAVE BUDGETING THAT'S GONNA HAVE, I KNOW THAT'S OUTSIDE THE 30 DAYS, BUT I WOULD START TO PREP IN ANTICIPATION SO THAT WHEN THOSE CRITICAL THINGS LIKE THE, UM, ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT AND THE BUDGETARY PROCESS START, THAT YOU ARE WELL PREPARED SO THAT YOU COULD BE A VALUE ADD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT.
IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, WHAT WOULD IT BE? IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, IT WOULD BE, AND WHEN YOU SAY THE CITY, I'M GOING TO ASSUME THAT YOU'RE MEANING THE CITY ORGANIZATION AS OPPOSED TO THE CITY ITSELF.
AND I THINK THE CITY IS BEAUTIFUL.
I, WE'VE TOURED FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS.
UM, I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE ISSUES REGARDING, UH, HOMELESSNESS AND SOME CRIME AND, AND ALL OF THAT AND HAVE HOLD A VERY, VERY HIGH STANDARD.
BUT I WOULD SAY THAT THE BRANDING OF MIAMI BEACH IS VERY, VERY STRONG.
AND, UH, I WOULD CONTINUE DOWN THAT PATH.
THE THINGS I WOULD FOCUS ON INTERNALLY IS, UH, TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER AN EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT, AN EFFICIENT OF AN EFFICIENT CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, AND CREATING A SOLID LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE.
IF YOU LOOK DOWN BACK THROUGH MY RESUME AND THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT I'VE DONE IN MANY OF THE POSITIONS THAT I'VE BEEN IN, INCLUDING MY LAST POSITION AS COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, IT IS TO BUILD A STRONG TEAM AND TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT TEAM TO FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY.
WE'VE PUT IN NEW SYSTEMS, WE'VE FIXED THINGS LIKE A BROKEN CIP PROGRAM AND WE'VE DONE THINGS THAT FORTUNATELY YOU ALL ARE HAVING IN PLACE NOW, BUT I THINK THE BETTER ORGANIZATION THAT YOU CAN BUILD INTERNALLY FROM THE CITY GOVERNMENT, THE MORE EFFECTIVE THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO SERVE YOUR RESIDENTS AND DO THE THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO DO BEST FOR, FOR YOUR FOLKS.
SO I WOULD FOCUS INTERNALLY FIRST TO DO THE BEST THAT WE COULD DO AS A TEAM AND TRY TO CONTINUE TO BUILD THE STRONG BRAND THAT MIAMI BEACH CURRENTLY HAS WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING THAT WOULD DAMAGE THAT BRAND.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, JAY.
UH, SO YOU JUST MENTIONED BUILDING A BETTER ORGANIZATION, UH, INTERNALLY.
UM, AND I'VE BEEN ASKING, UH, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR FELLOW CANDIDATES, UH, IN THIS, IN THIS PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW THEY EVALUATE OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS AND HOW THEY PROMOTE A CULTURE OF PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING.
TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR APPROACH, UH, WITH THAT.
UH, BECAUSE OFTENTIMES WE DO FIND OURSELVES, UH, BEING VERY REACTIVE, UH, AND IT'S PART OF BEING A RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT, BUT, BUT HOW CAN, HOW CAN YOU PROMOTE A CULTURE OF MORE PROACTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING SO WE DON'T HAVE TO BE CALLING YOU, YOU KNOW, FRIDAY NIGHT, SATURDAY MORNING, UH, AND AND DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS ON THE WEEKENDS? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
AND SO MY PERSPECTIVE ON THAT AND WHAT I'VE DONE IN THE PAST IS YOU NEED TO SET A REALLY GOOD TONE FROM THE TOP AND THE BETTER TONE FROM THE TOP THAT YOU CAN SET, THE BETTER CULTURE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE IN AN ORGANIZATION.
AND A GOOD CULTURE, IN MY OPINION, EQUATES TO A GREAT ORGANIZATION.
AND FOR ME, LEADERSHIP AND SPEAKING OF ME AS A CHIEF EXECUTIVE IN THE ROLE THAT I HELD LAST IS YOU HAVE TO LEAD FROM THE FRONT AND YOU HAVE TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
AND YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU'VE GOT GOOD CHARACTER AND THAT YOU'RE COMPETENT IN WHAT YOU DO, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN RELY ON YOUR DECISION MAKING PROCESS IN ORDER TO BUILD TRUST AND INSPIRE
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THE PEOPLE THAT REPORT TO YOU.UM, ALONG THOSE LINES, I THINK YOU NEED TO LISTEN VERY INTENTLY TO THE FOLKS AROUND YOU, AND YOU NEED TO BE APPROACHABLE AND HUMBLE ALONG THAT PROCESS SO THAT PEOPLE ARE COMFORTABLE COMING TO YOU WHEN THEY HAVE PROBLEMS AND ISSUES WITHOUT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT THEY'RE GONNA SHOOT THE MESS THAT YOU'RE GONNA SHOOT THE MESSENGER.
AND I THINK TO THE DEGREE THAT YOU CAN GET THAT KIND OF A CULTURE DEVELOPED IN YOUR ORGANIZATION, THE BETTER THE ORGANIZATION'S GONNA BE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FOUND IN MY LAST ROLE WAS THE LEADERSHIP, UM, TEAM DID NOT ACTUALLY HAVE ANY FORMAL TRAINING IN LEADERSHIP.
SOME OF THE PEOPLE HAD BEEN THERE FOR TWO DECADES AND HAD NOT HAD, YOU KNOW, AND, AND COMING FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AS YOU ALL KNOW FROM MY BACKGROUND, PROBABLY TWO THIRDS OF MY BACKGROUND IS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
WE HAD A LOT OF TRAINING AND, AND LEADERSHIP AND NEGOTIATING AND, AND SOFT SKILLS LIKE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.
AND, UM, I ACTUALLY BROUGHT OUTSIDE TRAINING, UH, ACTUALLY FRANKLIN COVEY, I'M GIVING 'EM A PLUG RIGHT NOW, CAME IN AND THEY WERE VERY GOOD IN, IN BEING ABLE TO, WE SEQUESTERED OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND GOT THEM THEIR TASTE BUDS WEDDED SO THAT THEY COULD UNDERSTAND FORMALLY HOW THAT WORKS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, LEARNING IT ON THE JOB MAY NOT BE THE BEST WAY TO DO IT.
AND IT CAUGHT ON REAL WELL TO THE POINT WHERE I HAD LEADERSHIP TRAINING EVERY QUARTER FOR THE MANAGEMENT TEAM AND I WOULD BRING IN DIFFERENT OUTSIDE VENDORS TO GET THAT TRAINING GOING.
AND IT CAUGHT ON SO WELL THAT THE DEPARTMENT HEAD MANAGERS WHO WERE THE SUBJECT OF THE TRAINING, UH, PUT THAT TRAINING IN AND ACTUALLY DROVE IT DOWN THROUGH THEIR ORGANIZATIONS.
THAT CHANGED THE ORGANIZATION AND IT CHANGED IT FAST AND IT CHANGED IT WELL.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S HOW I BELIEVE YOU GO ABOUT DOING THAT.
SO NUMBER ONE CONCERN FOR OUR RESIDENTS IS PUBLIC SAFETY, LAW AND ORDER.
AND WHILE WE'RE A SAFE CITY POLICE VISIBILITY ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS, REDUCING CRIME TOP PRIORITIES, HOW WOULD YOU WORK WITH OUR COMMISSION, OUR POLICE CHIEF, TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES? WELL, I WOULD FIRST OF ALL WORK WITH THOSE FOLKS AND GET A HANDLE.
AND MAYBE IN THE FIRST 30 DAYS AS COMMISSIONER B HAD SUGGESTED, UNDERSTANDING REALLY THE GRANULARITY OF WHAT THOSE ARE, BECAUSE I HAVE FOUND IN THE JURISDICTIONS THAT I'VE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT JUST ABOUT ANY LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS PUBLIC SAFETY NUMBER ONE, FISCAL HEALTH NUMBER TWO, AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE STRETCHES ACROSS EVERYTHING.
AND SO WHAT I WOULD DO IS WHAT I DID IN SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, I WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR SHERIFF AND WITH OUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DEMANDS WERE ON THOSE DEPARTMENTS.
WE HAD, UM, IN MY COMMUNITY, WE HAVE MUCH GREATER CRIME, MUCH BIGGER HOMELESS ISSUE, AND WE ALSO HAVE A FENTANYL PROBLEM.
AND SO I WORKED WITH THOSE DEPARTMENT HEADS SO THAT WE COULD UNDERSTAND AND MAKE OUR BOARD AWARE OF HOW CRITICAL THOSE PROBLEMS ARE, WHAT THE PROPOSED SOLUTIONS ARE WITH THOSE DEPARTMENT HEADS, THE SHERIFF OR THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, AND SEE IF WE COULD AFFORD TO GET THEM THE RESOURCES, IF THOSE, YOU KNOW, THEIR, WHAT THEY WERE DESCRIBING WAS JUSTIFIED.
AND IN TWO CASES THAT I COULD CITE, WE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH THE SHERIFF TO CREATE A SPECIAL SERVICES DIVISION THAT WORKED ON NOTHING BUT GANG VIOLENCE WORKED, WORKED ON HOMELESSNESS, AND ALSO WORKED ON FENTANYL.
AND IN COLLABORATION WITH THAT, WE GOT OUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY SO THAT WE WEREN'T JUST CATCHING AND RELEASING CRIMINALS THAT THE DA ACTUALLY DID THE PROSECUTION AND WE GOT THEM EXTRA HELP AND A SPECIAL FENTANYL AND INTERVENTION TEAM.
AND THAT INTERVENTION TEAM DIDN'T JUST GO AFTER THE PEOPLE WHO SOLD THE FENTANYL, BUT WE HAD ACTUAL DIS DISTRICT ATTORNEY INVESTIGATORS THAT WOULD GO UP THE FOOD CHAIN TO TRY TO GET THE PEOPLE WHO ARE EVEN BRINGING IT INTO OUR COMMUNITY AT THE TOP LEVEL AS A PREVENTATIVE MEASURE.
WE HAD DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS GO OUT INTO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
THEY WOULD EVEN GO AS FAR AS THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND TRY TO GET THESE KIDS BEFORE THEY WERE INVOLVED IN FENTANYL AT ALL, SO THAT THEY ARE, WE HAD A, A THEME CALLED ONE PILL CAN KILL SO THAT THEY WOULDN'T EVEN WANT TO TRY IT IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES WE WERE FINDING OUR YOUNGSTERS WOULD, WOULD HAVE AN OVERDOSE ON THEIR VERY FIRST TRY.
NOW YOU MAY NOT HAVE THAT PROBLEM HERE IN MIAMI BEACH, BUT THOSE ARE THE TYPE OF THINGS THAT I WOULD WORK WITH AND FOCUS ON TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESOURCES