City Commission Regular Meeting on 2025-03-04 6:00 PM - Mar 04, 2025

Okay. Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the City Commission meeting this March 4th, 2025. We thank you for your patience. Our afternoon meeting ran a little late. We had a lot of business to conduct, but we thank you anyway for being here and for helping to participate in tonight's meeting. We have a number of things to discuss and vote on tonight, so let's get to it. But before we do that, we have a certain procedure and protocol that we follow before we begin each meeting. For those of you who are here for the first time, we thank you for being here. And we start out our meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance and then go into presentations in which we recognize individuals, organizations, or events that are important to our community. So may I ask you all to please rise and join me in the pledge. 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 for all. Thank you. Please be seated. I'd like to invite you all to join me in a moment of silence. And during that time, I'd like us all to recognize the memory of Gloria Jackson, a wonderful lady who's been very active in our community for many decades, especially in her political life. And I knew Gloria for many years, and it's a very shame we lost such an important person in our community. So please join me in this moment of silence. Thank you. Mr. Clerk, could you please call the roll? Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glassman? Here. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Here. Commissioner Sorensen? Here. Mayor Trent Hals? Here. We have full attendance. Seconded. Thank you. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent Hals? Yes. And the minutes from the previous meeting and tonight's agenda have now been approved. So tonight we have four presentations, and let's begin. Our first presentation is with regard to Broward County Animal Care, and there will be a presentation on Tags for Life initiative. Is Doug Brightwell here? Hello, Doug. He's the director of Broward County Animal Care. He's a newly appointed director, right? Can you push the button right below at the bottom? There you go. Good evening, Mr. Mayor. I am Zachary Rankins. I'm here on behalf of our director, Doug Brightwell. He was under the weather today, unfortunately. Okay. But I have the privilege of doing the presentation. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. All right. Good evening, everyone. I'm Zachary Rankins once again, public information officer for Broward County Animal Care, the official pet adoption and animal welfare agency of Broward County government. And we're here to just talk about a few programs and initiatives that we have going on. As many of you know, we're located right here in the city of Fort Lauderdale. Our address is 2442nd Street. We have an upcoming free wellness clinic, and we really appreciate Commissioner Beasley Pittman for helping us reach out to the community. On March 21st at 1030, we will be in Tyrone Bryant Park in Fort Lauderdale. We'll be issuing out free preventatives, vaccinations, and microchips. There are a few flyers at the stand at front, and you can get more information about that. All you have to do is pre-register, and you can get your free preventatives, vaccinations, and microchips. All right, next up, we have the Broward County Animal Care. We're committed to engaging our community and certainly letting the city of Fort Lauderdale know that Broward County requires all pets and pet parents to ensure that their pets have tags. And so we recently launched our initiative, the Lifetime Tags. And so Lifetime Tags basically is a model that's similar to your auto tag. You have one number, and then you renew every year. And so we've transitioned to a Lifetime Tag where you can tag your pet and pay each year on an annual basis. Now, this is a very important resource because if you happen to lose your pet or get disconnected from your pet, by having that registration and also the microchip, we have the opportunity to connect your pet with the place that they belong, your home, and your heart. Right now, the costs are $25 and $35. And so we want to make sure that every responsible pet here in Broward County has the opportunity to get their Lifetime Tag. Once again, I'm Zachary Rankins. I definitely appreciate your time this evening. We are from the Broward County Animal Care, the county's official pet adoption and welfare agency. Before I head out, I definitely want to give a special thanks to Ms. Sophia Ali and the clerk's office for facilitating this presentation. Thank you. Well, thank you. Do those work on human beings, too? Say it again? Do those work on human beings, too? Microchip in the neck. No comments, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, sir. Okay. Comes in handy, I guess. And thank you for being here. We appreciate it. We have presentation two, which is a Smart Growth Partnership award presentation for the Uptown Urban Village. And I'd like to invite Chair Marianne Winfield of Smart Growth Partnership and Jim Hetzel, our Principal Planner of Development Services Department. If you could please come forward. Hello, Jim. Good evening, Mayor and fellow commission. Jim Hetzel, Principal Urban Planner with DSD. I'm joined by the Smart Growth memberships here. First, I want to say thank you for the opportunity to come up and speak on behalf of winning this project. As a Principal Planner who, in my career, did many opportunities where you get to work from a project from grassroots to implementation. So it's something special for me, but it's also something special for the city in this achievement of the award. And I would hand it over to actually Nadia Locke to present. Thank you, Jim. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, City Commissioners. It's a pleasure to be here with my Smart Growth Partnerships and partners, Marianne Winfield, our Chair, Courtney Crush, who you guys all know very well, and Bennett Brooks. This isn't the first time we've been here to give you an award. I think it's at least the third, but we're really pleased we have a – this award is very important to us because this particular project we have a lot of history with. We are – Marianne and Sam Poole, who's now retired, were intimately involved in the formation and the concept and the planning early on, and it's really nice to see it coming to fruition now. So our board is a collective of diverse professionals, and we support the use of Smart Growth principles, and we are here because we want to commend the city for your commitment to preserving and enhancing our quality of life while helping us protect the health and the environment of our city. This project will be recognized at our 20th anniversary. We've been in Fort Lauderdale for 20 years, and this fall we will have a banquet where we will invite the city to come and present on some of the older awards, and we hope that you will be there. So with that, we'd like to thank you for your long-term commitment to Smart Growth and present. Here, let me show you how beautiful the award is, and we'd love to present this to you. So thank you very much. Great, and thank you so much. It's a great honor to receive that on behalf of the city. Now I'd like to invite Commissioner Beasley Pittman, who's going to present a proclamation regarding Florida Flood Awareness Week here in the city of Fort Lauderdale. And I'd like to invite John Travers, Acting Deputy Director of the Development Services Department. How are you, John? You've been very patient today. Our building official. Good evening, everyone. Hello, hello, hello. How are we doing? It's too quiet in here. Hey! How y'all doing? How your mama doing? Let's lighten up a little bit. I'd like to have a little fun. But I have the privilege this evening to present the proclamation from the Office of the Mayor of the City of Fort Lauderdale. Proclamation and Recognition of Flood Awareness Week, March 3rd through the 9th, 2025. Whereas, Fort Lauderdale has been impacted by several weather in the form of extreme rainfall and tropical systems events resulting in flooding throughout the city. Whereas, this flooding caused damage and losses to homes and businesses in the area, including high-risk special flood hazardous areas and low-to-moderate-risk flood zones. And whereas, Fort Lauderdale is a voluntary participant in the National Flood Insurance Program that provides residents with the opportunity to protect themselves against flood loss through the purchase of flood insurance. And whereas, the Federal Emergency Maintenance Agency Community Rating Systems Program recognizes, encourages, and rewards community activities and programs that go above the minimum requirement for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. And whereas, Fort Lauderdale's participation in the Community Rating System enables property owners to benefit from reduced flooding insurance premiums, a result of the city's comprehensive flood plain management and stringent regulatory standards designed for mitigating flood risks and damage. And whereas, the results, the reduction of loss of life and property damage can be achieved when appropriate flood preparation, control, and mitigation measures are taken before a flood. And whereas, to ensure the health of safety and welfare of residents through the increased public education and awareness of the weather hazards and protection measures, the Florida Flood Plain Manager Association has declared the week, March 3rd through the 9th, 2025, as Flood Awareness Week, to provide critical information on Flood Awareness Week, to provide critical information on flood risks, insurance, protection, and emergency preparation. Now, therefore, we, as the City Commissioners of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, do hereby proclaim March 3rd through 9th, 2025, as Flood Awareness Week in the City of Fort Lauderdale, dated this fourth day of March, 2025, by our Mayor, Dean Trantellis. Would you like to say something? Thank you very much, Commissioner, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and other commissioners. I just want to remind this commission, too, that after our April 2023 flood, you stepped up and you created a special fund so that people who wanted to do repairs from their floods, we were able to pay for their permit fees through that special fund that you submitted. And we are still receiving applications for some of those corrections, and we're still using funds from that special fund that you set forth. So thank you very much. Great. I'm glad to hear that. Do you want the commission to come down? A day in infamy. Colleagues, come down and take a picture with us. This is recognizing all of us. John? Stephanie, repeat. She'll cry. Let's put this down so it's not in effect. One more. Got it? One more. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. David? David? Is this the same clock that I have? Do they know how many minutes they have left? Yeah. Great. Thank you, Commissioner. Now I'd like to invite Commissioner Sorensen to present a proclamation regarding National Procurement Month here in the city of Fort Lauderdale. Thank you, Mayor Glenn Marcos and Linda. Come on up. Excellent. Yeah, give them a hand. There you go. Whole procurement team. Come on. Great. We got the whole squad up here. Awesome. Yeah. And Susan. Come on. You're part of this. Yeah. Yeah. These are the people that spend all of our money. Look at this. Amazing. So this is National Procurement Month, and so we're celebrating y'all's great work with this proclamation. So whereas public procurement professionals play an essential role to assure the resourcefulness of taxpayer dollars by providing effective and efficient service while maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards. And whereas local, state, and federal procurement professionals play a critical role in maintaining open, fair, and competitive process for acquiring billions of dollars worth of goods, services, and construction projects each year, driving economic impact at the local, regional, and national levels. And whereas through the responsible stewardship of public funds, the procurement services division drives significant economic activity across the city, in the fiscal year 2024, the division processed over $1 billion, with a B, in procurements for the city of Fort Lauderdale, ensuring transparency, fairness, and impartiality to effectively facilitate the essential services that benefit all our residents. Businesses, businesses, businesses, businesses, and visitors. Whereas the procurement services division maintains the highest standards of public procurement through active membership in the National Institute of Government Purchasing, the Florida Association of Public Procurement Officials, and the Southeast Florida Chapter of NIGP. This commitment to best practices, innovation, and professionalism has resulted in recognition from peers and organizations like the National Purchasing Institute and others. Now, therefore, we, as the city commissioners of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, do hereby proclaim March 2025 as National Procurement Month. In the city of Fort Lauderdale, they did this, the fourth day of March 2025, signed, your mayor, Dean J. Trantelis. Glenn, I'll turn it over to you. I appreciate it, Commissioner Sorensen. Thank you so much. Good evening, mayor and commissioners. It is both an honor and a privilege to stand before you today as we celebrate and acknowledge the vital role that purchasing professionals play in driving the success of organizations, communities, and our economy. I would like to thank the mayor and the city commission for declaring March as Purchasing Month. This proclamation is a wonderful recognition of the hard work, dedication, and commitment of procurement professionals everywhere. Purchasing and procurement might not always be in the spotlight, but they are the backbone of every effective organization. From securing the best goods and services to ensuring that resources are used wisely and efficiently, purchasing professionals help guide organizations to complex challenges. They are problem solvers, strategic thinkers, and trusted partners in driving operational success. This month, we reflect on the value of what we do. It is a time to acknowledge the tireless efforts of procurement services division, as well as to raise awareness about the importance of ethics, as Commissioner Sorensen stated, transparency and integrity in the procurement process. These principles are essential in building strong, sustainable relationships and ensuring that public funds are spent responsibly and effectively. On behalf of all procurement professionals, I want to express our gratitude for this recognition. We continue to uphold the high standards of public procurement profession and strive to contribute to the success of our organization and betterment of our community. I want to close my remarks by acknowledging my procurement team behind me. I want to thank Linda for her support, Susan for her support, and the entire city manager's office. Thank you so much. Okay, great. Thank you so much. And thank you, Commissioner, for providing that proclamation. And now we turn to the agenda, which begins with our consent agenda items. The consent agenda is an opportunity for the City Commission to vote on multiple items all at once. And if any member of the Commission chooses to pull one of those items to discuss and vote separately, now is the time for me to ask them to pull such an item. And if you – no one has signed up to speak on any consent agenda items. So if you do want to speak on any of the items that are pulled by the Commission, now would be the time to do so. So, Commissioner Herbst, are there any consent agenda items that you would like to pull? Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? None. Vice Mayor? None. And Commissioner Sorensen? None. Okay, so there are no consent agenda items being pulled. So would someone like to move to approve the consent agenda, the items on the consent agenda? Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent House? Yes. And all the items on the consent agenda are now approved. If you are here because of any one of those items, you can now leave if you'd like, or you're welcome to stay for the rest of the meeting. Don't stampede too fast. Yeah. Moving on to M1, motion approving an agreement for the Bass Park improvements. No one has signed up to speak. Someone like to move the item? So moved. It's been moved. Do I hear a second? Second. Excuse me. I've got a frog on my throat. It's been moved and seconded. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent House? Yes. And M1 is now approved. M2. Good night, everybody. Motion approving the fiscal year 2026 City Commission priorities. No one has signed up to speak. Does anyone have any additional questions on this? There being none, someone would like to move for approval of M2? So moved. Do I hear a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent House? Yes. And M2 is now approved. M3, motion approving the change order number 22 for the construction management at risk services for the new police headquarters, Moss and Associates. No one has signed up to speak. Any questions on this? I have a question. Anyone else have any questions? Mr. Mayor, I just want to make sure from staff that this goes into the bucket of dollars that we will recoup from AECOM because of the deflection issues? Yes. This is all deflection related, and it was included in the $4.4 million budget amendment that we made a couple meetings ago. Thank you. And so how are we going to recoup this? Like at the end of the period? At the end of the construction? Yeah, at the end of the period, and then they make the claims through their carriers. Okay. It's been moved and seconded? No. No. Someone would like to move the item? Second. Move and seconded. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? No. Mayor Trent House? Yes. And M3 is now approved. M4, motion approving a First Amendment to the Comprehensive Agreement with MyPark Initiative. We have a couple people signed up to speak, but Ms. Bogdanoff, this is just for questions, right? Okay. Anyone else wish to speak on this item? There being none, would someone like to move M4? Moved. Second. M4 is now moved and seconded. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Are you playing around over there, Mr. Clerk? You got your raise, and now you think this is fun and games? It's a whole new you. Yeah. Right? A whole new you. He's leaving early tonight. Right? Panthers game starts now. I've got to get it right. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Okay. Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent House? Yes. And M4 is now approved. Moving on to M5. This is regarding the Del Mar Hotel and the Viceroy. This is a motion selecting a facade design for an approved site plan level 2 development permit application. There are several people who have signed up to speak. Is there anyone who wanted to make a presentation? Ms. Toothaker will make a presentation. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioner Stephanie Toothaker. On behalf of 201 North Federal Highway, the Viceroy, I believe that my client and Mr. Wurzak have come to an agreement. If that's accurate, I'll read that into the record. And if not, then I'll proceed with my presentation. Please read it. Okay. I'm happy to read it into the record. So this is the agreement that the parties have reached. These are the terms, Jake, that were just sent to you by Michael Wittig. The parties agree to the manufacturer, X-Tech, and system kinetic wall. Should that company go bankrupt, parties will endeavor to source like-kind manufacturer. The parties agree to 40% open percentage natural ventilation on the side facing the Del Mar. The panels will be engineered to such requirements. The parties agree to ARQ designing mood to include sky, beach, cloud-type scenery with up to 35 unique colors. The parties agree that kinetic system will encompass the entire vertical and horizontal area facing the Del Mar on top of three floors of the garage overlooking the amenity deck and to extend past the edge of their building to complete panelized system. The parties agree that the developer, the viceroy, will absorb all costs of manufacturing and installation, which will be installed prior to final certificate of occupancy, and the adjacent property owner, to the extent desired, will be responsible for any supplemental lighting, which must be approved by both parties. If you consent to that, I don't need to proceed with my presentation. Jake, do you want to come up to the podium? Yes. Tell us what your thoughts are on that. So I consent to... Just identify yourself. I'm sorry. My name is Jake Wurzak. I represent 299 North Road Master, the owner of the Del Mar. Great. Thank you. And I consent to the terms that Ms. Toothaker outlined in her email, and I just want to enter one more item into the record. I submitted a file earlier today, which is a picture of what this thing looks like. So I submitted two files. I only need one of those. It's the three-page one. If someone could pull it up on the screen, and we could enter it into the record. I'm just wondering, has anyone seen it? I have not seen it. Has anyone seen it? It was one of the backup proposed screenings. Which exhibit was this? Of the backup, you're saying? Yeah. Yeah, and what I sent you, Mr. Glassman, it was one of the images on page 8, but I'm going to... This is not the item I want to enter. It's the other file. It's a three-page file. And then, Mayor, if it's okay, I would like to hear from someone on staff whether this meets all code as well. Hold on a second. Let's get to the graphic. I understand. I'm just throwing it out. Yeah, I know. Keep it back, right? Uh-huh. Okay. Thank you. Booze with the wind. Are we uploading it? Are we uploading it? Are you working on it? Who's working on it? Okay. IT. Thank God for IT. I swear to God. Mr. Shine, you're just here to look pretty. You signed up. Did you want to speak? It's not his item. Yeah, he signed up for M5. You signed up for M5. R5. Oh, it's R5. Oh, they misplaced you. Sorry. Yeah. I take it back. I have a copy on a jump drive. Would you like me to get it if that's easier? Is that easier? Okay. So while we're waiting, Mayor, if it's okay. So, Ella, could you just answer that question for me? Thank you. Yes, no problem. Have you seen this? Yes, I have. You know what's going to be shown to us? That's correct. And it meets code? Yes. Ella Parker, Urban Design and Planning Manager, as we've seen, the proposed rendering and the proposed elevations would meet the code. Great. Thank you. You're welcome. That's all. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Jake, is Kristen here? She left because she was going to leave it to me since we negotiated a mutually favorable agreement between both owners. Okay. So I think she's going to go have dinner at the Dalmar or go to book club. Well, please give her my best. I will. At the terraces, I hope. At the terrace, yes. I think it's the one maybe called Kinetic Wall, that other file there. No problem. So I want to enter the pictures into the record. It's three pages. So generally, we're going to aim for a design that looks like this. And it's going to be a real artistic feature for both the Dalmar Hotel and I hope the Viceroy as well, although the Dalmar will benefit the most because our guests will be looking at it. And I think it'll be something iconic that people will come to take pictures in front of, and actually, they're little tiles and they move with the wind. Don't you have a video? Didn't you have a video? We do. So if you scroll down in this file to the next page, you can see click to see video on the bottom, and then it should open up a link, and you could see what happens. So when the wind blows, it kind of, there you go. You'll be mesmerized when you sit at the sixth floor amenities deck at the Dalmar. Yeah, I think it's a great result for everyone. So, commissioners, thank you for your assistance. Stephanie, thank you very much. And Michael and Yossi, thank you. Okay, great. John Calabrese, did you want to speak? No. He's not going to speak either. He's not going to speak either. Okay. Those are all the people that have signed up to speak. So, okay, great. Well, we appreciate the parties coming to an agreement. Thank you. Appreciate it. Yeah, thank you so much. We're very happy that we reached a resolution. We actually reached out to this exact, the developer of this exact wall, so that's who we'll be working with, and I'm sure it'll be beautiful. Excellent. Thank you so much. And I just want to echo that. I really appreciate you all coming together on this. I think, you know, you need to be good neighbors, and this is a great way to get there. It looks like a phenomenal outcome for everybody. So, thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. Okay. Would someone like to move M5? Moved. Second. I'm moving second. Please call the roll. So, in terms of the actual motion, you're – So, the motion will – if the – the motion will have to – how do you incorporate this particular design that was described by this toothache? Just approve the party's agreement. What was it called, Stephanie? Did you leave already? We just approve the party's agreement as stated on the record. Yeah. Per the agreement on the record. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So, that's my motion. I think that's what I said. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent Ellis? Yes. And M5 is now approved. R1, appointment of board and committee members. Mr. Clerk, please read the names into the record. Yes. And prior to reading the board members, I wanted to just quickly go over – it's about that time for Broward League of Cities and the League of Cities that you all sit on. And right now, for Broward League of Cities, we have the current representative, Commissioner Beasley-Pittman, and the alternate, Mayor Trent Ellis, and second alternate is vacant. So, we'll be needing to make that. Their annual gala is Saturday, June 7th at Margaritaville Beach Resort. We don't have to have the names today. Does anyone want to be the second alternate or the first alternate? That's available, too, if anyone – when is the gala? June 7th, Saturday, 6.30 p.m. Okay. So, just keep it as is? Yeah. Okay. And if someone should awake one night and say, I want to be a delegate to the Broward League of Cities, I'd be happy to accept it. Please continue. For Florida League of Cities, the current board of director for the 10 most populous cities is Mayor Trent Ellis, and their annual conference is August 14th through the 16th in Orlando, Bonnet Creek. I should be there. Okay. All right. So, that would say this is – and then National League of Cities, current voting delegate, Commissioner Beasley-Pittman, alternate delegate, Commissioner Herbst. And that – the NLC City Summit is November 19th through 22nd in Salt Lake City. Oh, Salt Lake City. November. Can we think that far ahead? Yeah. November 19th through the 22nd. I think that's the weekend before Thanksgiving, correct? Yes. Yes. Are you still available, John? Okay. So, those are – thank you. All right. So, for tonight's resolution, Aviation Advisory Board, John Vratzinas, nominated – Vratzinas, yeah. Vratzinas. Vratzinas. Vratzinas. Got it. Thank you. Nominated by Mayor Trent Ellis. William Gilbert, nominated by Commissioner Sorensen. Lewis Gavin, nominated by Commissioner Sorensen. Central City Redevelopment Advisory Board, Antoinette Wright, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. Bobby Tinoco, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. Charter Revision Board, Nadine Hankerson, nominated by Commissioner Beasley-Pittman. Economic Development Advisory Board, Jason Hughes, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. Marine Advisory Board, Norman Beckhoff, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. Planning and Zoning Board, Sherry McCartney, nominated by Mayor Trent Ellis. Steve Gannon, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. Sunrise Key Neighborhood Improvement District, Caldwell Cooper, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. Richard Campillo, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. Mark Grant, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. Raymond Parker, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. And Sustainability Advisory Boards, Spencer Lasday, nominated by Vice Mayor Glassman. And we received one additional nomination, if we can add this to the resolution. Citizens Committee of Recognition, Bobby DuBose, nominated by Commissioner Sorensen. And that rounds it out. Okay. Are there any modifications or additions? There being none. Would someone like to move to vote on approval for these recommended nominations? Moved. Moved. Do I hear a second? Second. The resolution. Yeah, resolution. Introduced. Thank you. And that's as amended? As amended. Thank you. A resolution of the City Commission of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, appointing or nominating, if applicable, Boarding Committee members as set forth in the exhibit attached here to and made a part hereof. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent Ellis? Yes. And I want to thank each member of the community that have agreed to participate on these boards and committees. Thank you for your commitment and sacrifice of your time to our city. R2. Moving on to the resolution appointing Raquel Williams as City Manager of the City of Fort Lauderdale, effective April 2, 2025. I have a report to make to the city as I was asked to serve as a representative to the commission with regard to negotiating a contract for Raquel Williams, and I'd like to take a moment and go over that with the folks and before we begin public comment. So on February 4, 2025, the City Commission selected Raquel Williams to serve as City Manager and authorize myself to conduct discussions with Ms. Williams for the purpose of presenting items for proposed employment agreement to the City Commission for consideration. The proposed employment contract was published for the March 4, 2025 City Commission Agenda and contains in paragraph 15 a provision that provides for a prospective city manager with a grace period of up to nine months following the effective day of the employment contract to establish residency within the City of Fort Lauderdale. Let me continue to proceed with the key elements of my negotiations. Here we are. So the city followed the process that the entire commission agreed to. The search committee and search firm conducted an extensive national search. The search committee exhibited strong support for Raquel, voting unanimously to advance her name. No other candidate achieved that level of support despite their otherwise advanced years of experience. The committee saw her as a dynamic, forward-thinking choice who could move the city to the next level. She received strong public support following the candidate community forum and commission selection discussion. The salary and benefits, I believe, are commensurate to what she had in Miami Beach as acting city manager. She made $350,000 as acting manager there. According to the ICMA, compensation should reflect several items, including the complexity of the job in light of the composition of the organization and the community and cost of living in the community. The ICMA, which is the International City Managers Association, adds that pay should reflect if there is an understanding of the services provided and the nature of issues in the organization and the community. In areas where the cost of living is high and the governing body wishes the manager to reside within the community, the salary should take into account additional compensation. Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach share similar issues on coastal communities that must address aging infrastructure, climate change, homelessness, traffic, and housing affordability. Both cities experience cost of living issues. Regarding affordable housing, workforce housing, Raquel has served on the Miami-Dade Millennial Task Force and as chair of the Housing Solutions Committee and was part of the University of Miami's Community Scholars in Affordable Housing. Fort Lauderdale has wanted to diversify the local economy, and she has experience as an economic development manager in both Miami Beach and Miami-Dade and received certification from the International Economic Development Council. The Commission has wanted to continue to redevelop the Northwest, and she has experience with redevelopment in both Miami Beach and Dania Beach and received certification from the Florida Redevelopment Association. Because of the ongoing infrastructure improvements in our city, project management is of great concern. She has certification from the Project Management Institute and has experience in the field dating back to her time in Miami Gardens as a capital improvements projects coordinator. Age and experience are not the only factors in determining talent and pay. She has been recognized with such honors as, quote, badass of the year, unquote. What are we getting in for? By the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce and Black Women in Excellence by the Black Professionals Network. She was listed among the most prominent and influential black professionals by Legacy Magazine and named on 40 under 40 in economic development by the DCI Jorgensen Pace. The salary of $350,000, which I'm recommending tonight to the Commission, is not out of line when you look at the South Florida region. Miami itself pays this manager $471,000. Palm Beach Gardens pays $412,000. Pompano Beach pays $385,000. Miami Beach itself pays $375,000. And the Deputy Broward County Administrator earns $345,000 and oversees approximately the same number of employees and the same size budget as the City of Fort Lauderdale. $930 million compared to $1.1 billion. 3,411 employees compared to 2,860 employees. Further analysis more conclusively supports this point. Of particular note, the ICMA says base salary is generally related to population size. I have handed out charts to all of you. I invite you to look to the page at which we show the comparison of city manager pay and population. So if we do a population analysis, we show the proposed contract for Raquel Williams shows that she's getting $1.85 per resident based on the population of the City of Fort Lauderdale. Hollywood, they pay $2.01. Miramar, $2.11. And all the way down the line to Margate, which pays $5.18 per citizen and resulting in a $304,000 manager salary. If we did it compared to the city budget, you'll find that we are paying $3.27 for every $10,000 of spending, which is at the low end of the chart because Hollywood pays $3.75 and all the way down Margate, $11.47. Palm Beach Gardens, $15.68 based on the total budget and the amount of money that they pay their city manager. Another comparison would be the salary in comparison to the size of city staff. The proposed contract for Raquel Williams is $1.22 for every full-time employee. Miami Beach, $1.62. Hollywood, $223. Davey, $424. All the way up to Margate, $601. And Palm Beach Gardens, $653. I don't want Raquel to think we're underpaying her at this point. I feel that the amount of money that we negotiated is fair and balanced and commensurate with the neighboring cities. Some comparisons here with regard to the car allowance. If we take into consideration, previous city manager, Lee Feldman, his contract was signed in 2011 and was offered a choice between a city vehicle and a car allowance of $592. We offered a car allowance of $700. If we look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the inflation rate from $592 to today would bring it to over $850 compared to the $700 which we negotiated. Moving expenses. In Lee Feldman's contract, we provided for $10,000 for moving expenses. We did the same with Raquel, $10,000 for moving expenses. Severance pay. According to the ICMA, 88% of city managers receive severance pay for termination without cause with the most common amount of severance being six months. We've offered 20 weeks as severance. So it's a reduction in the ICMA model. With regard to benefits, the contact was intentionally designed to create incentives for a long-term relationship and disincentives for a brief relationship. Since I became mayor seven years ago, we've had – this will be our fifth city manager. So this was an opportunity for us to provide incentives for longevity and to ensure a proper incentive for her to want to continue to stay with the city commission. Therefore, the proposed contract provides for a longevity bonus of 3% on the third anniversary and 1% on subsequent anniversaries. The proposed contract provides for an IRA contribution of $7,000 after two years of service. The proposed contract provides a graduated 457 contribution based on length of service, growing from $11,750 in 2026 to $20,000 in 2028. All in all, each incentive is intended to provide a reason to want to stay with the city and continue to be our city manager in the years ahead. Retirement benefits vary greatly in South Florida. For example, Palm Beach Gardens provides not only a 24% share of the FRS pension contribution, but the 3% manager contribution. It also makes a contribution of 18% of base pay to a 401A plan. Davey contributes $27,000 a year to a 457 plan, and Coconut Creek contributes the IRS maximum to both the 401A and the 457 and contributes 1% to a retirement health savings account. Let's talk about the residency requirement. Fort Lauderdale is one of the few cities in the state that have a requirement for the city manager to be a resident of the city of Fort Lauderdale. Of course, Raquel Williams acknowledges that and will be a resident of the city of Fort Lauderdale as she can resettle her family from North Dade County to Fort Lauderdale. We've agreed to our recommendation is we agree to nine months grace period for establishing the residency. The reason why we did that is because it will take time for her to find a home, close on the home, and to be able to find an opportunity for kids to attend the proper schools. I asked for a legal opinion on what the charter says with regard to grace periods. There's nothing specific as to that. It's up to the commission to decide whether or not we wish to ask for an immediate residency or to allow for a grace period. Dwayne Spence, our interim city attorney, provided an opinion on this. We've all been provided. Each member of the commission has been given a copy of it. And while the charter omits a time frame for the city manager to establish residence in the city and, if strictly construed, would yield an unreasonable, harsh, and absurd result. Therefore, I'm recommending to the city commission that we allow for the nine months, allow her to settle. Those are the salient terms of our contract. And I have a number of people who have signed up to speak. So why don't we get that done first, and then we can have commission deliberation. So Marsha Ellison, followed by Mark Dickerman, followed by Jim Brady. Good evening. Marsha Ellison, NAACP. Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor, I want to thank you for the process that you took your time and made sure that it was well thought out, well planned, and well researched. And for all the reasons that you have outlined, and, you know, Roosevelt and I have been talking all day and over the weekend to make sure that we were all understanding how we got here. And we think that it is certainly fair, well deserved, and it will be in order for it just as the contract has been negotiated and presented in its current state. And that is on behalf of our association, certainly our community as well. And we want to thank you all for doing that. Thank you. Okay, great. Thank you. Mark Dickerman, followed by Jim Brady. Mark Dickerman, community activist, city of Fort Lauderdale resident, and friends of Michael Albetta. I won't hold that against you. Yeah, none of us will. No, none of us will. I come up here to speak in favor of this contract. My conversations with Raquel have been wonderful, informative. Other people that I've spoken with also enjoyed their conversations with her. Susan, thank you for stepping up to more meetings. I do want to point out that I do believe that your appointment of Raquel is historic for the city of Fort Lauderdale. Because I do believe she is the first black female city manager for this city. So this is a historic moment for the city. I thank you for the process. And I look forward to working with her, Carol. And welcome to Fort Lauderdale. Great. Thank you. Jim, followed by Bernadette Norris Weeks, followed by Michael Albetta. Thank you, Mayor. Jim Brady. I rise to speak in favor of the resolution. I've been a resident of the city for over 70 years. I care about the city. In my 46 years of municipal practice, I worked with a number of administrators and managers. I have a good and clear idea of what characteristics are important to sound city management. A few years ago, before I retired, I had the honor and privilege of working with Ms. Williams on a project in Dania Beach. Ms. Williams, on that project, exhibited all of the characteristics that are essential to city management and favor city management. I am confident in her demeanor, skills, and dedication to the task. I recommend her to you as your new city manager without any reservation at all based upon that experience. And lastly, let me thank each of you for your service and your collective service to the city. It's important, and we're better for it. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Bernadette, followed by Michael Albetta, followed by Melinda Bowker. Good evening. Good evening, Mayor and Vice Mayor, Commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity to have served on your selection committee for the city manager search. It was a great opportunity, and we had a chance to interview and speak with and go through so many, many resumes. And collectively, unanimously, we all believe that Raquel Williams should advance to you all for consideration. The charter, your section 4.05 of your charter in part states that the city manager shall be chosen solely on the basis of his or her executive and administrative qualifications. And so I believe that there's no doubt in the fact that you all have chosen her about her qualifications, which I will tell you, listening to her, speaking with her, and seeing how she's moving in this city, even before officially starting on April 1, it is really very enlightening. It's about her, and it's about her as a person and how she wants to present herself to this community. I cannot wait to see the dynamic changes that will occur working with you all and under your leadership for this city. I want to tell you that, and the mayor went through many of the points that I wanted to share with you, but obviously, this is the largest city within our county, and this is our county seat. Fort Lauderdale is the shining star of our county. And the fact that we would undervalue or even consider that, and I know you all are not going to do that tonight, someone who has so much experience, and as outlined by the mayor just a little while ago, anybody would be shocked. This woman is amazing. She is in a position right now, which she doesn't make a whole lot less than the salary that she's asking for, $3.50. When she was interim city manager just last year in the city of Miami Beach, she was making a salary commiserate with this. The contract that the mayor talked through is really a standard contract from the ICMA. It's one that's used a lot in terms of just the standard benefits and things like that that are in the form. And I know this because, like Mr. Brady, for many, many years I've represented municipalities, and so I've drafted many of these contracts, which look just like this. And so I will say that essentially her salary for the role and responsibilities that she's undertaking, will be undertaking, and for the effort that she's shown us so far without even starting, I think this is just a marvelous opportunity to get her started on the right foot, giving her the confidence that she deserves through a process that was a fair process and one that I am so proud to have been associated with. And finally, I'll leave you with this. I am a founder of a women's institute, and one of the things that we advocate for is pay equity for women. And so particularly when you have someone who is so accomplished and so dynamic, I think this is just a great opportunity to just show her out of the gate that you respect her, you appreciate her, and you want to compensate her appropriately. Thank you for hearing me tonight. Thank you, Bernadette, and thank you for your work on the search committee. We know that it took a lot of time out of your day. You're a very busy individual, and you brought a lot to the table and to the selection process, so thank you so much. Michael Albetta. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and Mr. Vice Mayor and members of the commission. As you know, I'm Michael Albetta, and I've been a resident of Fort Lauderdale since 1991, and I'm also the president of Lake Ridge Civic Association. And I sit on various different boards, and it's especially now, which we enter March, which is Women's History Month and Women's Month. I think, and to underscore your report, Mr. Mayor, and to hear, like, what do I say after the beautiful lady that just spoke with factual information? So I would like to just say, members of this commission, please, make history, make it happen, bring on this dynamic person who's going to change and bring the city into the future. Thank you very much. Thank you. And, Melinda, anyone else wish to speak on this item? I think Jackie wants to speak. She just signed up. I've got to sign up. Did you sign up? Here it is. Oh, yeah. Thank you. So hello, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners. Nice to see you again. Melinda Bowker. I am speaking just on my personal behalf, but I was, as you know, the chair of the city manager search committee. It was great to see one of my colleagues on that committee, Bernadette, tonight. I think between the mayor's due diligence and your work and the comments of everyone preceding me, I don't have much to add. I'm fully in support of this contract. I want to thank you all for hiring Raquel unanimously at your meeting on February 4th. I think you made a fantastic statement and a fantastic choice. I believe the mayor was the right person to negotiate this contract. The contract, I think, is very fair. I think it's competitive. I also think that you've provided an extensive analysis and benchmarking of the benefits package. The due diligence you did is impressive, and I appreciate that. Unlike the appointment of the past two city managers, Raquel's appointment has been done in a public process and a competitive process. And she rose to the top out of 94 other candidates. I applaud everything about her, her experience, her style, and also her commitment to really getting to know our city as well. She has prior to actually joining us officially. So, I just do want to say, you know, we are the county seat, as others have mentioned. We are a world-class city. We don't want to be the cheapest state in town. So, again, I applaud you for putting together a competitive package. I do know there's been some numbers floating around in the community. I just want to point out that cumulative inflation since 2020 has been 23%. So, I don't know what the numbers are for, you know, previous folks specifically, but if you're talking about $300,000 in 2020, 23% comes up to about $369,000. I just want to put that out there. I ask that the city commission unanimously support this contract, and I look forward to working with Raquel when she starts in April. Thank you. And also, thank you, Melinda, for your work on the committee. We know it was a tremendous amount of time that you had to devote to this, like you didn't have anything else to do. And 94 applications and sifting through all of that. We really appreciate all the work that you did. Thank you. My pleasure. Thank you. Jacqueline Scott. Thank you for finding my sheet, Mayor. I'm speaking on behalf of myself, and I want to share a little story with you. I had the – I received a phone call from the iconic Jim Brady months ago telling me that he knew of this woman that was going to be applying to be the city manager in Fort Lauderdale. And I said, what's her name? He told me. He said, Jackie, she is really good. I said, well, good. I want to meet her. So, I called her and asked her if she would meet with me. And she said, sure. And I can tell you, from the very first time I sat down and had breakfast with her at the Floridian, I knew she was phenomenal. And when she got up to the level of the committee, and when she got up to the level of the committee, they obviously felt the same. And I think probably everyone that's had the time, and I think probably everyone that's had the time to meet her, to talk to her, realize her intelligence, her commitment, and what she can do for our city. And I can't thank you enough for providing a contract, mayor, that shows our commitment to her, because she's not even started yet. And I think most of us know she has already made a tremendous commitment by the amount of time that she has spent here, by the number of people that she's met, and her willingness to meet with everybody. So, I just want to thank you in advance for moving this forward. Thank you, Jackie. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak on this item? Okay. Members of the commission, who would like to speak first? Anyone have any comments, questions? Comments. Yes. I'm truly excited about this opportunity, the contract that you have brought forth through the negotiation, I'm fully in agreement with. I, too, have had much conversation with Raquel, and I, too, believe that we are in a position where we, as a city, is being afforded an individual who is committed, dedicated, prepared, and able to do the job that we're looking for. And one of the things that truly just impressed me so much, you know, young lady, young lady coming in with vision, already working, taking the time to introduce herself, to meet people, ask questions, and truly be engaged with the community. And this is something that I know we need, and I'm sure that my colleagues feel the same way as what the qualifications are and what we're looking for. So, with that being said, I am in full support of the contract as it has been read and been submitted to us, and I'm looking forward to voting yes. So, let's do what we need to do. Okay. And you also have any comments? Yeah, Commissioner. Good. Go ahead. Go ahead. Commissioner Beats of Bittman, I feel the same way. Raquel, excited to have you on board. I know you've already been pouring hours and hours into working with staff, getting to understand dynamics and opportunities. We're grateful to have you, and we're grateful to have your whole family. You know, like you, I've got young kids at home, and so I know the sacrifice of a job that you're undertaking and the impact that has on your family. I know that you have to have everyone, your whole village, on board. And so, I want to thank them, even though I know they're not here at the moment, for their willingness to be part of this. And, you know, for the city of Fort Lauderdale to attract top talent like you is a reflection, I think, of Susan Grant, your help and leadership of the city. It's a reflection of our assistant city managers and city staff that showcase what an excellent city we are and one that you'd be, you know, interested in helping to lead. So, thank you, Mayor, for your work on this and really excited about the future. All right. Thank you, Commissioner. Vice Mayor. Yes, thank you, Mayor. And first, I want to also thank the selection committee for all of those hours of work. For sure, an amazing job. I thought the process was excellent and the work was excellent. I want to echo the sentiments of Commissioner Beasley Pittman and Commissioner Sorensen. Ever since the first opportunity that I had to meet Raquel, I have been nothing but impressed. This is a person who I believe is going to create the stability that we've been looking for. Yes, Mayor, you're correct. In the seven years that we've sat here, we've gone through city managers. That has to change. And I have heard criticism in the community, not a lot, but for those that are critical of this contract or this hire, I would say that if you look at this contract, the way I see it is it's a contract of high expectations. We are providing an excellent contract, but we're also saying to Raquel, we expect a lot. And I think that she knows that. So, this is a really fair, fair contract. It's a contract that not only sets high expectations, but also gives the incentives to prove that we are looking for a long-term relationship. And that is exactly what I'm hoping for. That is exactly what I believe will happen. I am fully supportive. I want to thank you, Mayor, for the negotiations of the contract. I think it's nothing but fair. You've laid out all of the reasons why there's nothing extraordinary about this contract, especially when you look at all of those cities that you mentioned in the chart for basis of comparison. So, I am fully supportive. I will say that this contract and this hire is an excellent way to kick off Women's History Month. So, to you. And I'm very excited about the relationship to come. Congratulations. And you know that my office is always available for any assistance that we can provide. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Anyone else? Yes, sir. So, I, too, am excited about the prospect of having Raquel come on board. I think she's going to be a great addition to the city. But unlike everybody else, I'm not in favor of the contract. I think it is excessively overpriced for a variety of reasons. I could go through all those, but it's clear to me where the vote is tonight. And I hate to belabor the point. There are a couple of things I do want to point out, though. First of all, we're not Miami. And comparing our prices to those in Miami, I think, is disingenuous. The second thing is the brochure that we put out for recruiting. It was very clear that it said that the starting salary is $300,000. Everybody that applied knew what it was. Next thing, when you talk about per capita expenses, those other cities that you compared us to, Mayor, are individuals who have been in those jobs for years, sometimes decades. And so I don't think that's a realistic comparison as well. But I think the largest concern I have is that legal opinion that you asked for from D. Wayne. I had an opportunity to talk with him. And as he says in his memo, the charter is unambiguous when it talks about the fact that the city manager must reside in the city during their term of office. So I think that the idea that we have some ability to waive the charter and grant a grace period, I think, is fallacious. I don't think we can do that. And, again, the conversation that D. Wayne and I had is there may be a difference in timing between appointment and start date, but the start date is the beginning of the term of office. So it's oftentimes possible where we can appoint somebody and they start in one or two months because they're wrapping up their duties and their prior employer. But once any city manager begins on the job, the charter is very clear that they must be a resident of the city. It doesn't take nine months. I moved down here from Jacksonville, and I had residency established day one on the job. I moved 300 miles and a five-hour drive. So I don't buy into the fact that somebody can't come up from an hour away and find a place to live in less than nine months. So, again, I'm not going to belabor every single point. I find many of them to be, again, overly rich. I don't support them. I don't support the contract in any way, shape, or form. I am excited to have Raquel here, but not in this form. Thank you. Okay. So would someone like to move the item? So both. Second. Second. Second. So the resolution is to appoint Raquel Williams as city manager and to accept the terms of the recommended contract. Please call the roll. A resolution is city commissioner of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, appointing Raquel Williams as city manager of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, approving an employment contract with Raquel Williams, authorizing the mayor to execute the employment contract, fixing and determining the compensation for the city manager and providing for an effective date. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Hurst? No. Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent Halls? Yes. Congratulations. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Raquel Williams. You want to say a few words? No. You have two minutes. You have two minutes. Am I on? Good evening, honorable mayor, vice mayor, vice mayor, commissioners, charter officers, neighbors, staff. I am delighted to stand before you as your incoming city manager. This moment has come with a lot of optimism and excitement for the role, and I really look forward to getting to know everyone so much better from this vantage point. I want to thank you. I want to thank the members of the search committee, Ronald Perkins, Melinda Bowker, Mary Pelequin, Earl Prisley, Bernadette Norris Weeks, Roosevelt Walters. Did I miss anybody? Did I miss anybody? You're good. I am delighted that you saw me and that you recognized that I could bring something to the table. I want to thank the mayor and each commissioner for your unanimous vote of support to select me as finalist. And tonight, for the vote to approve my contract, I will work every day to maintain your support and to earn your respect if I don't have it already. I am going to work hard to ensure that Fort Lauderdale continues on a progressive path and to bring innovation to the city and to also provide opportunities for staff and neighbors and stakeholders to excel. So I look forward to working with you all and to implementing your vision. I look forward to embracing staff and highlighting opportunities for growth and development. And I also want to thank my family. They are at home watching right now. Are they packing too? Well, I do want to make it clear I plan to invest in Fort Lauderdale. I plan to be a property owner. I do want to measure twice and cut once to ensure that my family has the right opportunity here and that we are comfortable and that we are prepared for the long haul. So I do want to say hi to my kids. They may be watching. And to my colleagues in Miami Beach, Dania Beach, Miami Gardens, anywhere I've ever worked, those who have been supportive of me from the very beginning. Thank you so much. And thank you to my future team here in Fort Lauderdale. Many of them have seen me around. They're probably already, like, kind of sick of me. And just get ready because this is only the beginning. So thank you so much again for your vote of confidence, your support, and I look forward to getting started. We are FTL. Could I indulge the commission for a quick picture? Could I indulge you for a quick picture? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, let us continue with the agenda. Moving on to R3, Resolution Accepting and Appropriation of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery. $88,051,000. Let's hurry up and approve this and get that check in a bank. Do I hear a moat? Do I have someone like to introduce a resolution? Introduce. Okay. Any questions? Please call the roll. A resolution to the City Commission of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, accepting an appropriation of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Funds in the amount of $88,051,000, delegating authority to the City Manager to enter into agreements to assist in preparation of the Needs Assessment Administrative Action Plan and the CDBG-R Action Plan, subject to compliance with the City's procurement policies, rules, and regulations. Delegating authority to the City Manager to enter into subrecipient agreements and HUD grantee agreements, subject to approval of the CDBG-DR Action Plan and approval of the processes and procedures for the administering and governing the plan by the City Commission, providing for an effective date. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes, with one caveat. So I really hope that we as a commission make sure that we set this funding aside to use as much of it as possible for City Hall. I want to make sure it doesn't get diverted into a myriad of other things around the city and see it fritter away. I totally agree with you. Thank you. Continue the vote. Is that a yes? Was that a yes? Is that a yes? That was a yes. Thank you. Thank you. Vice Mayor. I'd love to hug you. Okay. Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantel? Yes. And R3 is now approved. Resolution R4 amending Resolution No. 23-123 as amended, providing an extension for the Homeless Advisory Committee through June 20, 2026. No one has signed up to speak. Someone would like to introduce the resolution? Introduced. It's introduced. Please call the roll. A resolution, City Commission of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, amending Section 5 of Resolution No. 23-123 as amended by extending the term, of the Homeless Advisory Committee through June 20, 2026, and providing for an effective date. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantel? Yes. And R4 is now approved. R5, judicial, excuse me, this is a quasi-judicial resolution vacating a one-foot-wide by 110-foot-long portion of a drainage easement at 3201 Northeast 58th Street. Anyone wishing to speak must be sworn in, and the commission will announce any site visits, communications, or expert opinions you receive and make them a part of the record. Commissioner Herbst, do you have any disclosures? Andrew, I don't think we met on this one, did we? No, I don't think so. The one foot wasn't enough to justify a Zoom call. Okay. None. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? None. I don't have any either. And no site visit. Vice Mayor? None. And Commissioner Sorensen? None. Okay. And, Andrew, this is just to answer any questions, correct? Yes. No one has any questions. So, someone moved to close public hearing? Moved. Do I hear a second? Moved and seconded to close public hearing. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And public hearing on R5 is now closed. Would someone like to introduce the resolution? Introduced. It's been introduced. Please call the roll. A resolution of the City Commission of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, vacating the east one-foot drain of that certain platted six-foot drainage easement in Lot 47, Block 10, the landing second edition, according to the plot thereof, as recorded in Plot Book 56, page 37 of the public records of Broward County, Florida, located west of the Intracoastal Waterway, north of Northeast 58th Street, east of Bayview Drive, and south of Northeast 59th Street. All said lands being in the City of Fort Lauderdale, all said lands being in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And R5 is now approved. Moving on to R6. A quasi-judicial resolution approving a plat known as Taco Bell, Fort Lauderdale, located at 945 West Sunrise Boulevard by Harvest Square Partners. Anyone wishing to speak must be sworn in, and the Commissioner will announce any site visits, communications, or expert opinions received and make them a part of the record. Any disclosures, Commissioner Herbst? Any disclosures, Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? No disclosures. I don't recall having any either. Is this a new Taco Bell? No. Vice Mayor? None. And Commissioner Sorensen? None. Okay. The only people that have signed up to speak are people who are there to answer any questions. There being no questions, someone move to close public hearing? Moved. Do I hear a second? Second. Moved and seconded. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And public hearing is now closed on R6. Would someone like to introduce the resolution? Introduced. Resolution has been introduced. Anyone have any questions? There being none, please call the roll. And that's for approval, correct? For approval. Thank you. A resolution and city commission of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, approving a plat entitled Taco Bell Fort Lauderdale and providing for an effective date. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And R6 is now approved. PH1. This is a public hearing approving the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity for MJA 800 Group Corp to operate one luxury transport vehicle within the city of Fort Lauderdale. No one has signed up to speak. Do we have to close public hearing, Dwayne? Yes. Okay. Do I hear a motion to close public hearing? Moved. Second. We've moved and seconded. Please call the roll to close public hearing on PH1. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. The public hearing is now closed on PH1. Someone please, is that a motion? It's a motion. What is it? Motion. Approving the issuance of a certificate of public convenience. Is that a motion? Okay. Someone moved the item? Moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And PH1 is now approved, PH2. A public hearing. This is an ordinance amending the city's comprehensive plan, future land use element, transit-oriented development designation, floor area ratio. No one has signed up to speak. Someone moved to close public hearing? Moved. Second. They're moved and seconded. Please call the roll on closing public hearing on PH2. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And public hearing is now closed. Would someone like to introduce the ordinance? Introduced. The ordinance has been introduced. Any questions? There being none, please call the roll. In ordinance to the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida amending the city of Fort Lauderdale comprehensive plan, future land use element policy, FLU 1.1.12, transit-oriented development land use designation amending language related to floor area ratio for the designation, providing for severability, repeal of conflicting ordinance provisions, transmittal to the applicable reviewing agencies, and providing for an effective date. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And PH2 is now approved. PH3 is a public hearing, an ordinance amending the Fort Lauderdale comprehensive plan, future land use element, establishing the uptown urban village transit-oriented development designation. No one has signed up to speak. Someone moved to close public hearing? Moved. Do I hear a second? Second. They're moved and seconded. Please call the roll on closing public hearing on PH3. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And PH3 public hearing is now closed. Would someone like to introduce the ordinance? Introduced. The ordinance has been introduced. Any questions? There being none, please call the roll. In ordinance to the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, amending the City of Fort Lauderdale comprehensive plan, future land use element policy FLU 1.1.12 to establish the urban uptown village transit-oriented development land use designation providing for severability, repeal of conflicting ordinance provisions transmittal to the applicable reviewing agencies and providing for an effective date. Commissioner Sorensen? Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And PH3 is now approved. PH4 public hearing and ordinance amending the City of Fort Lauderdale comprehensive planned future land use map designation from employment center, industrial, commercial, and office to urban uptown village transit-oriented development. Designation for land generally bound by I-95 on the east, McNabb Road and C-14 Canal to the north, Power Line Road on the west, and northwest 57th Street on the south. No one has signed up to speak. Would someone like to move to close public hearing? Moved. Just moved. Do I hear a second? Second. Moved and seconded. Please call the roll. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trantels? Yes. And public hearing is now closed. Someone would like to introduce the ordinance? Introduced. The ordinance has been introduced. Anyone have any questions? There being none, please call the roll. In ordinance of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, adopting an amendment to the City of Fort Lauderdale comprehensive plan, future land use map designations from employment center, industrial, commercial, and office to urban uptown village transit-oriented development for the land area generally bound by Interstate 95 on the east, McNabb Road, and C-14 Canal to the north power line road on the west, and northwest 57th Street on the south, commonly referred to as uptown, all said lands being in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida, and authorizing the proper city officials to transmit the proposed amendment, supporting data and analyses to reviewing agencies, providing for severability, providing for conflicts, and providing for an effective date. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent Hollis? Yes. And PH-4 is now approved. Excuse me. OFR 1. This is a first reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 9, Building and Construction, Article 2, Permits and Inspections, Division 2. Fees of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Fort Lauderdale to establish scanning fees and reduce private provider discounts on master permit fees for services related to land development and permitting. No one has signed up to speak. Someone would like to introduce the ordinance? Introduced. It's been introduced. First, let's call the roll. In ordinance of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, amending Section 9-48 general permit fees to establish scanning fees and reduce private provider discounts on master permit fees for services related to land development and permitting of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, providing for severability, repeal of conflicting ordinance provisions at an effective date. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trent Hollis? Yes. And OFR 1 is now approved. OSR 1, second reading of an ordinance amending the City of Fort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances, Section 5-28, location of establishments permitting partial nudity and nudity of Section 5-28.1, nudity sexual conduct prohibited to update requirements for alcohol consumption for hotel use. Mayor, Mayor, so I have two or three additional changes that I need you to consider. So on page 2, which would be subsection 5. Which, this is Exhibit 1? Yes, sir, the ordinance. Okay, hold on. Page 2, yep. So on page 4 of, it's 5-28, subsection F, subsection 7. We would like to strike that subsection that reads, any alcohol sold may only be sold or served from a fully enclosed bar area located in a pool area. And similarly, on page 8, which is subsection 5-28.1, subsection L7, which is similar language, we would like to strike that as well. Also changing the language that starts in that Section L to read as follows, an alcoholic beverage establishment that allows partial nudity or nudity that is an accessory or an ancillary use to a clothing optional hotel may only offer alcoholic beverage, wine, beer, or wine for sale or for consumption on premises. If the hotel meets the following criteria. What these changes do is the language as written bars the sale of alcoholic beverage in other establishments within the hotel that aren't clothing optional. So that by removing this language and adding the language that I suggested, it clarifies that the clothing optional hotel can sell alcoholic beverage in other establishments within the hotel. But the clothing optional remains only in the pool area. Okay. Does everyone understand that? I think. Dwayne, can you do me a favor? Yes, sir. How do we define, what does our ordinance say, what is partial nudity? He knows it when he sees it. It's well defined and you can read that on page 5. I, I, I, is that implying that you don't intend to read it for us? My iPad, my iPad is out to service. I don't have it. So can you do me a favor? I don't have it. Maybe David can. Go ahead. Dwayne. I was going to put it, I was going to put it in the title for David. Okay. Partial nudity means the showing of the human male or female buttocks or any portion thereof with less than fully opaque covering. The showing of the female breasts of less than a full opaque covering of any portion thereof or the depiction of covering of male genitals in a discernible churgent state. This, this definition shall include a lower portion of the human female breasts but shall not include any portion of the cleavage of the human female breasts exhibited by a dress, blouse, skirt, leotard, bathing suit, or the wearing apparel, provided that the areolas are not exposed. Who would have ever thought you'd say that? Thank you, Dwayne. I just wanted to make sure I'm properly attired at the pool. Thank you. I'm glad to have lunch. Thank you. Okay. Any other questions? There being none. Would someone like to introduce the ordinance on a second reading? Introduced. It's been introduced. Please call the roll. And that's as amended, correct, Dwayne? Yes. Correct. Thank you. In ordinance of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, admitting subsection 5-28 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, entitled Location of Establishments, permitting partial nudity in subsection 5-28.1, entitled Nudity, Sexual Conduct Prohibited, to provide an exception for alcoholic beverage establishments that are accessory or ancillary uses to clothing optional hotels, providing for definitions, providing for severability, providing for conflicts and repeal, providing for codification and correction of scrivener's errors, and providing for an effective date. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Not present. Mayor Trental? Yes. And OSR-1 is now approved on second reading. OSR-2, an ordinance amending the City of Fort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances, Section 25, streets and sidewalks to update the sidewalk installation requirements. Scott Russell here. There you are. I want to step up and say a few words. Good evening. And as we wait for Scott, by the way, Mayor, so this is something that a number of folks in the district have raised with me. Scott's in my district, and this is something that we covered during my agenda review with them. But I've heard this from other neighborhood association presidents and other neighborhoods, so this is a larger issue than just his particular location. Mr. Russell? I live in Sunrise Intercoastal, and I'm currently building a new construction. It's a house I grew up in. My family moved here in 72. I'm tearing it down. I just want to build a single-story house, and the city is requiring me to put a sidewalk in. And Sunrise Intercoastal, there's not a single sidewalk in that entire community. And there's only one entrance in, one entrance out. It's not heavily trafficked. And it's a very – the reason I want to live there is I love to walk. What street do you live on? I'm on 8th Street. On 8th Street? Yeah. So the commissioner and myself can both attest to the fact that we walked there during our campaigns, and there's been a lot of new construction there, and I haven't seen one sidewalk. That's correct. So when did we implement this? Because there's not one sidewalk, and all the new construction has taken place there. Right. There have been seven houses built in the last year, and none of them have sidewalks, but I'm being required. Right now I'm going through the process, and I'm being required to put a sidewalk in. So, Al, is this your jurisdiction? Single – he's going to speak. Yeah, you stay there. Stay there. Single story. That's so unusual. Good evening, Al Battle Development Services. Yes. Do you want to respond to his query? Why is he being asked to put a sidewalk when there are no other sidewalks that have been required of all the new construction that's taken place over the last several years? Sure. So the current requirement is that a sidewalk has to be installed with new construction. So what we have been doing, because, as you mentioned, there are a number of newer homes that have been built. Some of them are probably in various stages of construction and may not be finished. We have been communicating an approach by which we knew these changes were coming, and we had deferred those sidewalks to be completed prior to the issuance of a seal. So that's why some of them have probably not been – haven't been installed. They were waiting to see the effects or the results of this particular ordinance change. So if this is approved tonight, there would not be a requirement for there to be a sidewalk installed, provided it meets the criteria in the current ordinance. Since I haven't reviewed this particular one, I'm going to assume that it's probably similar to the other exemptions that we provided for and that a sidewalk would not be installed here as well. Okay. So what we run into here – and this is something that I dealt with extensively when I lived over in Vic Park before I relocated back up to District 1. And we've granted waivers on somewhat of an ad hoc basis through the years, and it has not always been consistent with the ordinance code. So I'm glad to see that we're looking to get some consistency in there. But we've got a number of neighborhoods, and Sunrise Intercoastal is one, Coral Shores is another one, that are essentially cul-de-sac neighborhoods. You know, the intent that we have within our code is that we don't come out heavy-handed and require everybody to put a sidewalk in front of their house all at once. The idea is that over time, as people redevelop their properties, eventually everything will wind up with a sidewalk in front of it at some point down the road, which is fine for most of our neighborhoods that, you know, are more of a grid kind of a pattern. But for a neighborhood like Sunrise Intercoastal, where you've got one road in and one road out, it doesn't really make sense. These are not streets that have a significant amount of vehicular traffic. There's nobody driving through the neighborhood. It's not a cut-through area. Again, when I lived on 15th Avenue, that's a major cut-through from Los Olos all the way up to Oakland Park Boulevard. So I get the necessity of sidewalks for pedestrian safety and everything else, and I was a huge advocate for it. But in some of these neighborhoods, again, like Sunrise Intercoastal, like Coral Shores, where there's very limited ingress and egress into the neighborhood, I don't think it makes sense to do that. Most of these residents don't want sidewalks in the neighborhood. They like the somewhat bucolic nature of their neighborhoods. They walk in the street because there is very little traffic there. So I know we probably can't do it at this juncture, but one of the things that I think we need to consider is perhaps exempting certain neighborhoods where they just don't make sense because I think having a uniform requirement that everybody put in a sidewalk is going to be difficult. Now, I think with Scott, one of the conditions of a waiver is that it can create a drainage issue, and I believe in his particular location it will create that drainage issue. By installing the sidewalk, you say? Yeah. Okay. And I think that would meet the criteria under the existing code for a waiver. So I think he's probably okay. But I think we need to look at this in a larger context, again, about discerning what neighborhoods are appropriate for it and figuring out if there are any that just should be exempt from this in general. So I don't necessarily want to block the adoption of this tonight. There's some very good things in this ordinance that I'd like to see go forward with. But I would like to encourage this to come back for maybe revision, you know, like they do in Tallahassee, a glitch bill. And we consider some additional enhancements to it to reflect the unique characteristics of some of these smaller, again, like little cul-de-sac neighborhoods. One other thing I would like to add to this, too, is there's a proposed exception on the second page of the CAM where it talks about the proposed developments may be part of the city's five-year work plan. I think we should eliminate that. I don't think that we should allow developers to substitute city money for the requirement that they build a sidewalk in the areas where they are required to build it. So I would just offer that up as an amendment to the language for this particular ordinance. Does that create a hodgepodge development of sidewalks if that were the case? I mean – Well, no, we're going to have the hodgepodge anyway. We already have that. So all I'm saying is I just don't want a developer saying I'm not doing it because the city is going to pay for it maybe five years down the road because there's always a possibility in our CIP – when we put our CIP together, as most of you know, it's a plan. It's not a financial commitment. It's not in our budget. Right. And so we may never build that sidewalk that's in that five-year CIP in year four or year five. And I wouldn't want a developer saying, well, I'm not going to fund a sidewalk in front of my property because the city may or may not develop this property or install a sidewalk five years down the road. So I'd rather have them do it and not shift the financial burden back to the city. I think that would be ill-advised. Okay. So, Mr. Russell, it seems like you'll probably be eligible for the waiver in this particular case. Okay. That would be great. Okay. Thank you. And by the way, Susan, is there anybody that he should be talking to to make sure that this gets put into effect? I'll get his information. Thank you. Because I'm not familiar with the location, address, and permit. We can talk about that. So, Scott, make sure you get with Al Battle before you leave tonight. And, Mayor and Commission, one of the things that Commissioner Herbst just mentioned, often in the CIP, especially with things like sidewalks or roadways, it's not as granular as us defining, you know, this particular lot or block in the second or third year. Right. It's a pool of money. Usually it's a pool of money. So, it probably isn't a practicable piece in there. All right. Would someone like to introduce the ordinance introduced as amended? The ordinance has been introduced as amended. Any further questions or comments? There being none, please call the roll. In ordinance of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by amending Chapter 25, entitled Streets and Sidewalks, Article 2, entitled Construction and Repair of Sidewalks, Section 25-45, entitled Definitions, Section 25-57, entitled Specifications, and Section 25-62, entitled Requirements for New Development and Site Alterations to Modify the Criteria Requiring the Construction of Sidewalks and Providing a New Procedure for Relief from the Requirement, Providing for Severability, Repeal of Conflicting Ordinance Provisions, Codification and Correction of Scrivener's Errors, and for an Effective Date. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Vice Mayor Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Mayor Trentals? Yes. And OSR 2 is now approved on second reading. Is there any further business of the commission? Madam City Manager, do you have any additions or comments? All good. Mr. Spence? No additional comments. Okay. This meeting is now concluded. Thank you.