City Council — Aug 13, 2025

Erik Anderson: present · Jennifer Andreu: present · Timothy J. Fadgen: present · Denise Horland: present · Louis Reinstein: present · Nick Sortal: present

Erik Anderson: present · Jennifer Andreu: present · Timothy J. Fadgen: present · Louis Reinstein: present · Nick Sortal: present

Outcome: The CRA consent agenda consists of items 1 through 2 and may be approved with one motion. (partial — some responses not in transcript)

So moved. Second. We have a first and a second.

Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Denise Horland: yes · Louis Reinstein: yes · Nick Sortal: yes

Do we have a motion on the remaining items? Motion to approve items 1 through 17, minus 2, 3, 4, and 14. Second.

Denise Horland: yes · Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Louis Reinstein: yes

Denise Horland: yes · Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Louis Reinstein: yes

Denise Horland: yes · Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Louis Reinstein: yes

Do we have a second? Second. We have a first and a second.

Denise Horland: yes · Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Louis Reinstein: no

Motion to approve. Second. And we have a first and we have a second on item 14.

Denise Horland: yes · Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Louis Reinstein: yes

I will retract my motion. Council Member Fadgen has made the motion. Council Member Horland has seconded.

Denise Horland: yes · Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Louis Reinstein: yes

make the motion for item 19. Second.

Denise Horland: yes · Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Louis Reinstein: yes

Outcome: Motion to approve. (partial — some responses not in transcript)

Second. Second. We have a first and we have a second.

Denise Horland: yes · Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Louis Reinstein: yes

Outcome: Motion to approve. (partial — some responses not in transcript)

Do we have a second? Second. Council Member Horland made the second.

Denise Horland: yes · Erik Anderson: yes · Jennifer Andreu: yes · Timothy J. Fadgen: yes · Louis Reinstein: yes

Good evening and welcome. The Wednesday, August 13, 2025, City of Plantation, CRA and City Council meeting will now be called to order at 6 p.m. Ms. Beggarrow, please call the roll.

Councilmember Anderson?

Here.

Councilmember Andreu?

Here.

Councilmember Fadgen? Here. Councilmember Horland? Here. Councilmember Reinstein?

Here.

Mayor Sortel? Here. City Attorney Ezra?

Here.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. The opening remarks and invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, will all be provided by Councilmember Andreu tonight. The floor is yours.

Thank you, President Reinstein. The invocation this evening will be brought by Pastor Samuel Berry III from Praise Tabernacle International Incorporated. Praise Tabernacle will be celebrating their 45th anniversary next month, and they really want us to thrive in 2025. I appreciate Pastor Berry for honoring us tonight and leading us in this invocation. Please, Pastor.

Make sure the green light's on there. Do you see? Just touch the button there. There we go.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we come this evening. We give you thanks. We give you honor, and we give you glory for the blessings that you have bestowed upon us. Not just the blessings that you have bestowed upon us, but the blessings that you have granted and graced to our city, the city of Plantation. We thank you tonight for the opportunity that you have provided to us to gather here in this evening in this Council Chambers. Father, we acknowledge you as the source of all wisdom. You're the source of everything. And, Father, tonight we ask that you will give us guidance. We humbly ask tonight for your divine assistance. As we begin this Council Session, Father, we cannot do it without your wisdom, without your knowledge. Father, we pray even now that you grant each Council member clarity of thought and discernment in their decisions. And grant them a spirit of unity as they work together tonight for the betterment of our community. We pray your blessings upon each person that is represented in this room, every home that is in our city, every branch of government. We thank you for them tonight. We thank you that our deliberations tonight will be guided by your will and result in a positive outcome for the betterment of the citizens of the city of Plantation. We give you glory, and we give you honor. We ask all these blessings tonight in your Son Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Don't leave, Pastor.

Well, once again, we're delighted to be here tonight. Everybody can be seated. I have the privilege and honor of pastoring and leading a great congregation in the city of Plantation called Praise Tabernacle International Church. We've been in the city now for 45 years on the corner of Northwest 43rd and Sunrise Boulevard. Praise Tabernacle is a multi-ethnic church, and our goals are to lead people into a relationship with God. Making God known to all men, no matter what creator color you are. Our goal is to make God known and to bring people into relation with Jesus Christ. And we do that through positive word. We do that through the word of God. We do that through worship. We do that through fellowship. So, we're 45 years old this year, and, of course, the church is half my age, but we're honored, and I'm honored. I've been in the city of Plantation now for two years serving as a senior leader. I came from Detroit, Michigan, and was called here to pastor, and it's been a delight to be in this city and to serve not just the members of Praise Tabernacle, but the citizens of this community. So, we look forward to partnering, and we look forward to continuing our community efforts to make the city of Plantation a better place to live for all people. Thank you.

And you're third generation?

I am a third generation pastor preacher. Thank you so much, Pastor Barry.

We also have the color guard from the Plantation High School with us this evening, and Ms. Tiana Hill will be leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance with the color guard from, I hope I don't butcher anybody's name, Briandja, Padney, Aiden, Naila, and Narija, presenting the colors. If we could all stand, please.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, President Reinstein, and thank you, students from the Plantation High School, my alma mater, class of 89. Thank you very much, President Reinstein.

I turn it back to you. Thank you very much, Councilmember Andreo. And Mayor, now items submitted by the Mayor. The floor is yours.

First off, we have a volunteer award presentation to Plantation High Army JROTC, which helped Matt Thompson, our public works director, and Mr. Thompson's going to come up and tell the story.

No, he's not. But Mr. Felix Casado, our community outreach and social media, I tasked him with putting all this together. I think we distributed over 2,000 sandbags this go-around, so a huge help was to the JROTC, and I'm not going to steal any more of his thunder, but I do want to invite Lieutenant Colonel Williams. Lieutenant Colonel Williams?

Okay. How are you? Well, then, the rest of the JROTC, make your way up. And, Felix, the floor is yours. Councilmembers and residents of Plantation, it is with great pride and gratitude that we recognize the outstanding cadets of the Plantation High School Army JROTC. This past July, during the heat and challenges of hurricane season preparations, these young men and women stepped up in a remarkable way to help our city. They worked alongside our public works team in the sandbag distribution effort, ensuring that our residents were prepared and protected for this season. Their dedication, discipline, and willingness to serve even when the work was demanding reflect not only the value of our JROTC program, but also the spirit to our community. On behalf of the City of Plantation and Public Works, we want to thank the JROTC cadets' leadership for their service. You're a shining example of teamwork, responsibility, and civic pride. We are truly grateful for your contribution, and we look forward to seeing all of your great things you will accomplish in the future. Thank you, guys. The award reads, Volunteer Award, President of the Plantation High School Army JROTC, thank you for your commitment and positive impact you've made on our community. You want to scoot some on this side? Yeah, we're going to take a picture. There we go. I've never held this smile before on this list long.

Thank you again to the members of the JROTC.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I just want to add before, as the mayor's getting ready to step up for the next one, is that this JROTC and their leadership have gone out of their way to do everything and anything they can in this city. So you're looking at a great group of leaders here and future leaders for not just our city, but for this great country. So thank you to the JROTC.

Are we able to do a couple more pictures?

Can we do a couple more pictures?

Can we do a couple more pictures?

Can it currently just show up?

No, they tell you the trick. They fix you.

Yeah, we have an average of five cadets per weekend come in.

And if there are the leadership, so our guest of honor for meritorious service award is running late. So I'm going to skip to number C, recognition of green business. Matthew's Jewelers, come on down. You here? No?

Anybody here for Matthew's Jewelers? Anybody here sell jewelry?

No? Okay. Social Security Day, we had a glitch with the proclamation. After three years, we've never forgotten one, but today we didn't print it out. I don't remember. So would you like, what do you want to do? So do you want to read it from there? Let's read the proclamation.

Okay.

So the next proclamation is for Social Security Day, sponsored by Councilmember Horland, who will present the words of the proclamation.

Great. So whereas, August 14th, 2025 marks the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act, signed into law in 1935, establishing one of the most enduring institutions in American history. And whereas, for nine decades, Social Security has transformed the lives of millions of Americans by providing critical financial protection for retirees, people with disabilities, surviving spouses, and families. And whereas, Social Security has become the foundation of economic security for generations of plantation residents, helping individuals live better, more secure, and enjoyable lives in retirement with dignity and independence in their later years. And whereas, Social Security benefits keep a substantial portion of Florida seniors, 40.6% above the poverty line. And whereas, Florida has one of the highest populations of Social Security recipients in the nation, with more than 5 million residents currently relying on Social Security to help meet basic needs such as housing, food, and health care. And whereas, Social Security contributes significantly to the Florida economy, generating nearly $93 billion annually in economic activity. And whereas, Social Security is earned by workers over a lifetime of hard work through the contributions they made from their first paycheck to the last. And whereas, Social Security has stood the test of time, providing peace of mind to people across all walks of life, regardless of income, background, or political affiliation. And whereas, as we commemorate the historic milestone, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting and strengthening Social Security for both current and future generations. And whereas, Social Security faces challenges that demand thoughtful solutions, as it remains the foundation of economic security for millions of Americans. Now, therefore, Nick Sortle Mayor and the City Council of Plantation Florida do hereby proclaim August 14, 2025 is Social Security Day in the City of Plantation and call upon the residents to join us to reflect on its importance on this 90th anniversary and to support efforts that ensure Social Security remains strong and sustainable for generations to come. And tonight, we're honored to, I'm going to introduce you to Dionne, and she has her group from AARP here. It's still light out, but when you walk outside in the dark tonight, Public Works is lighting up City Hall in red for us in honor of the 90th anniversary of Social Security. So, Dionne.

Good evening, everybody. Thank you so much. Social Security is one of the most successful and widely supported initiatives in American history, helping generations of older Americans avoid poverty and live with dignity after a lifetime of hard work. In its 90-year history, Social Security has never missed a payment, and for the past 65 years, AARP has been committed to protecting and strengthening this vital program. Leaders from both parties have consistently supported Social Security, and now, more than ever, we need them to speak out, to celebrate its legacy and ensure that it remains strong for today's older Americans and future generations. This year, AARP proudly honors the legacy while continuing to fight to secure Social Security's future. We're working with leaders across the political spectrum because protecting Social Security isn't a partisan issue. It's an American priority. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the mayor and the council members of the city, the beautiful city of Plantation, for recognizing today as the 90th anniversary of Social Security by signing the proclamation. We are truly grateful for your leadership and the positive impact you continue to make for the residents in this beautiful community. Thank you again. Thank you, sir.

I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being here tonight.

Thank you, Councilmember Orland. Mayor?

A couple more. We are very proud to honor our University of Plantation Class of 2025 graduates. So if you're a graduate, come on up. And Ms. Laura, if you could come up, and I'll read names, and you'll hand out diplomas. So, haven't done this since, like, fifth grade, right? It's a long time ago, right? So, Amanda Latoura, we'll go that way, we'll go right to left. We're going to walk down the aisle, okay. Austin, we're cheap. Sorry, I'm a fur cat. No, you're good. Man. Maria Del Rosario, John Arfanis. Sir. Jill Vera, Yolanda Ochoa-Henikens, Sherry Cruz, and Linda Kovacs. We want to talk about what we did, what we did.

So, I just wanted to thank this amazing group of our residents who spent a bunch of nights with us learning about plantation and sharing what they learned with their friends and neighbors. I also wanted to thank mayor and the council and city departments who, without whom this program would not be possible. It's always a very rewarding experience, I know, for us as staff. And anyone in the room, if you're interested in signing up for the next semester, we have some applications in the back of the room. So, with that, I just want to give a big round of applause to our graduates.

This evening, I would like to recognize the following members of our department who received a meritorious service award at our September association meeting. Today, I want to acknowledge them and recognize them in front of council and go over the incident of why they're receiving the award. So, members of the fire department, when I call your name, please come forward, stand with Chief Todd. Battalion Chief Stephen Blanchard. We'll hold the applause to the end, please. Battalion Chief Joseph D'Ono. Captain Lisa Bevins, Lieutenant Jose Cruz, Lieutenant Jay Jenkins, Crew Chief Eric Campbell, Crew Chief Aaron Solis, Crew Chief Jacob Achina, Crew Chief Kevin Kasten, Firefighter Tommy Demopoulos, Firefighter Will Murray, Firefighter Carlos Colon, Firefighter Michael Bongiorno, Firefighter Gil Cheval, and Firefighter Brandon Thomas. So, here's the incident. On November 26, 2023, at 12.31 a.m., Plantation Fire Department was dispatched to an extrication, a car versus a tree, at the intersection of South Pine Island Road and Gatehouse. At 12.35 a.m., Lieutenant Jose Cruz and Crew Chief Aaron Solis arrived on Rescue 76 on scene and advised over the radio they had one car into a tree with major damage on an embankment to appear to be a canal or a lake. They immediately established command and continued all units responding code 3. Battalion Chief Steve Blanchard and Battalion Chief Joe Gennaro arrived on scene and took over command, Battalion Chief Blanchard stabilized the vehicle using an endless loop in his vehicle's winch, preventing the vehicle from sliding into the water. Lieutenant Jay Jenkins, Crew Chief Eric Campbell, Firefighter Thomas Demopoulos, on Engine 5-6, along with Crew Chief Kevin Kasten, Crew Chief Jacob Achina, Firefighter Gil Cheval, and Firefighter Brandon Thomas, on Engine 7-7, were then able to begin extrication, extricating the patient by removing the driver's door with the jaws of life and other appropriate tools. Firefighter Will Murphy, Firefighter Carlos Colon, and Firefighter Michael Burndorno, on Engine 7-6, deployed a hose line for exposures and assisted with the extrication. Lieutenant Jose Cruz and Crew Chief Aaron Solis remained in constant contact with the patient, explaining everything that was happening and reassuring her as they applied a C-collar. All members assisted with the extrication of the patient onto a backboard and continued treating her. Captain Lisa Bevins contacted Broward Health Medical Center via MedCom to provide a pre-alert for the trauma team. At 1 or 4 a.m., the patient, a 32-year-old female with significant injuries, was transported to Broward Health Medical Center as a Level 1 trauma alert. The teamwork, displayed by all members, contributed to outstanding performance of a difficult situation. Their actions, while averting personal risk to render aid, prevented further serious harm. The professionalism and dedication of our members are within the finest traditions of the fire service and the city of Plantation. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce tonight the young lady that was in that vehicle, Samantha Thompson.

Yes, I can. Thank you. Because of you guys, I got there in a significant time where the doctor was able to put me back together. I suffered a C6, C7 complete spinal cord injury. I was reminded days up until I gained consciousness that I wouldn't have my hands. I'm now able to come up on my own. I feed myself. I take care of myself. A year and nine months ago, I was fighting to breathe. And today I'm here to say thank you to each and every one of you because of how you guys acted that night and got me out of that car and as quick as you got me to the hospital, you guys took care of me. You guys saw me at my worst. I looked at the car a month and a half after the accident and I couldn't believe I was here. And again, it's all thanks to you guys and how quick you acted. I have prayed over you guys every day since I have been able to because the first month was not easy. I coded. The first month was very hard on my mom and my family. We coded a couple of times, but regardless, I'm breathing. And it's thanks to you guys.

I would like to say thank you out loud, too, because I did not plan a funeral to you guys. Come on up, man. I'm the mom. That day was probably the worst day of my life. But because of you gentlemen and young ladies, I didn't plan a funeral. I've watched my daughter fight every day for her life, for her able to be a functional person in society. She probably has more of a social life than all of us in this building. She's always on the go. She goes and sees the full moon every month on the pier, one of her favorite things to do, and that's because of you guys. She has learned how to, she has navigated Broward County bus system, TOPS, Miami-Dade bus system. Last week on a sour, not a sour note, but last week she was boxing in her chair, ended her up in the hospital again, but she did okay. She's just, because of you guys, she's here and she's doing that. And I thank you. And my boys thank you. I don't know where we would be today if it wasn't for you guys. I know I wouldn't be able to cry. I'd probably be in a home somewhere because the loss of one of my kids would have killed me. Thank you, all of you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. We have an amazing fire department, an amazing EMS. This is Team Plantation. And thank you, everybody, for being here and support, and we're glad we can celebrate. So while it would be nice to adjourn now and to end the meeting on that note, we will continue with Parks and Recreation, upcoming events and announcements. Director O'Toole.

Good evening, Council. Very quick update this evening. We only have one event coming up in the next few weeks, and that is next Thursday, August 21st, our wheelchair tennis exhibition at the Veltree Tennis Center from 630 to 9 p.m. That's a free event. And we're registering for our youth PAO sports programs in fall basketball, fall baseball, soccer, and adult athletics. is registering for flag football, basketball, kickball, and softball. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you very much. Now, with the conclusion of those items, we will now recess the City Council meeting at 632 p.m., and we will call to order the CRA meeting at 632 p.m. Ms. Begaro, are you ready? Please call the roll for the CRA meeting.

Commissioner Anderson?

Here.

Commissioner Andreu? Here. Commissioner Fajan?

Here.

Commissioner Horland? Commissioner Reinstein?

Here.

Commissioner Sortle? Here. City Attorney Ezra?

Here.

Thank you.

The CRA consent agenda consists of items 1 through 2 and may be approved with one motion. Does any member of the Commission wish to pull an item? Seeing none, do we have a motion?

So moved. Second.

We have a first and a second. I do not see any requests to speak on these items. Ms. Begaro, please call the roll.

Commissioner Anderson?

Yes.

Commissioner Andreu? Yes. Commissioner Pajan? Yes. Commissioner Horland? Yes. Commissioner Reinstein? Yes. Commissioner Sortle? Yes. Thank you.

With that being said, at 6.33 p.m., we will adjourn the CRA meeting, and we will now reconvene the City Council meeting at 6.33 p.m. Usually, the first thing on the agenda is the public request of counsel regarding municipal affairs, but I'm going to turn to our City Attorney, City Attorney Ezra, who has a couple matters.

Thank you, Council President. As we have in the past, we are requesting a strategy and litigation cost and expense session pursuant to Section 286.011 Florida Statutes for two matters of litigation. The first matter is Isaac King, et al., versus City of Plantation, case number CACE 24-017454, Circuit Court, Broward County, and the second case is Jairo Gonzalez v. City of Plantation, case number CACE 24-012962, also in Broward Circuit Court. It's my understanding that both of these matters are going to be scheduled for a shade session on August 27th, and we will provide appropriate notice and arrange a court reporter, et cetera. And thank you very much.

Thank you very much, City Attorney Ezra. We'll now continue with public requests of counsel regarding municipal affairs. Those who wish to speak, we request that you complete a speaker form. If you have not done so already, please do so. Once you have completed the speaker form, please submit it to the City Clerk, and I already have three. Once you're called, please approach the podium. Please state your name and address, and please address your remarks to the Council President, not the Mayor, nor individual members of the Council. Please keep your remarks to the allotted three minutes. If extra time will be needed to conclude your remarks, please ask for it as your time is expiring and not prior to beginning your remarks. First up, we have Mr. Buehler.

First of all, I want to acknowledge the legislative report that was presented earlier today. I hope that there would be a summary of that report available to the public because there were a lot of things mentioned, and there was even a lot of things that were left out because of time restraints. And this really affects, you know, our budgeting for the future for the city, provision of services. There was one thing that came up that was really scary, was that there was going to be a property tax by the governor, you know, a reduction in property tax and mitigation, whatever. I mean, it's political, you know. It's not really good for the economy. It's not good for our city. We can't provide our services without property tax. It's unimaginable that they would get rid of that. We just heard from the fire department up here for the great services they provide. I'm shocked to hear that that is even in jeopardy. Our fire department is one of the top-rated fire departments in the entire state, and that also reduces our insurance costs, which people don't think about. But there's an issue there called E-911, which was mentioned, and if that report was available to the public, they could at least be informed, you know. There was also the presentation for the police chief to get funding for some electronics and an electronic center for license plate monitoring and cameras. That was $200,000. I don't know if that's in the budget for next year. It's matching. They want to put $200,000 in and see if the governor will match it with $200,000. That's very important. And that's a minor amount. We have $289 million budget. Let's put that $200,000 in there. There's also the people up here talking about Social Security, and that's in jeopardy. Now, that's a federal thing, but I don't know if there's a way for the public to be more involved and educated so they know how to contact their legislatures. You know, there is a link where you can contact any of your legislatures from the city to the federal level. Real simple. If that was made public, if that was put in the water bill, it's a very simple link. Let me see. Oh, I want to acknowledge we've got a prominent plantation resident here. He literally drained the swamp and plantation. He built almost everything west of the university where I live. There used to be an alligator there in the pond, and when, you know, they filled all that marshland in and built that whole jacaranda retail and, you know, residential, and that would be Mr. Duke. Mr. Duke right here. I'm telling you, he is the man. The city owes him for a building plantation. Seriously. And do you have that much time left? I lost my coffee mug. It's silver with a green cover. My daughter's going to freaking get at me. Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much. Ms. Joanne Barr, you're next. Come on up. And, Jo Wynn, you're on deck.

I'm Joan Barr from 300 Northwest 70th Avenue, Suite 206 in the Plantation Arts Center. And I was here to address an issue about waste management and our dumpster, but I have another story I'm willing to use my time for because I was throwing something away in our dumpster and the fence that surrounds it got caught by the wind, slammed into the back of my leg, completely severed my Achilles tendon. So here I am without my phone because I was only going to the dumpster. I had to hop up the stairs to my office to call 911, and those guys were here in three minutes. So my heart goes out to all those guys who responded for that woman because they responded for me. But I'm questioning how our contracts are negotiated with waste management. I have gotten quotes from Fort Lauderdale and other providers, and it seems that what we're paying mandatorily for our dumpster that we have to have from waste management is really unfair. I can understand paying all kinds of licensing and for inspections and whatever the city needs to keep us safe and running, but I don't understand how they get to mandate who we use as our garbage disposal. And that basically is it. You've told me who to get in touch with. I just wanted to go on public knowledge here that there's a big problem. It's $1,000 more a month to go with waste management than competitors. So with that, I thank you all for the job that you're doing. I appreciate it.

Thank you very much for coming forward. And like I had suggested previously is that Ms. Morris is the go-to in our city for the contract with waste management and definitely can further answer some of those questions. So thank you. Joe?

Good evening, Joe N944, Northwest 92nd Terrace. That whole occurrence and presentation and everything from the fire department and then those impacted by that was obviously extremely moving for everyone here. We are not taking anything away from the heroic and diligent and compassionate and empathetic work that our department does. They are quite good, like really good. But they shouldn't need to be responding to some of these things because they shouldn't need to occur in the first place. That location at Pine Island and Gatehouse where that incident occurred, that roadway was recently redone by FDOT claiming to improve its safety. And we had reached out and explained that it wasn't really making much of a difference. And unfortunately, events like that still occur, and frankly, it sucks, and that's what we're aiming to do. Like that is, those are the people that we're trying to help never end up in those situations. Or if they do, they're less impactful to their lives. Now, following that, we had to present another explanation from a relative of hers. I mean, it was incredible. It's emotional, obviously. Her relative also explained that she's now learning to use the bus network and everything. That's another aspect. We shouldn't be considering that a downgrade for somebody who, for whatever reason, now can't drive or can't operate their own vehicles for decision choice or a health requirement of some kind. So those are the things to keep in mind when we talk about trying to improve our connectivity, our transportation, our walkability, our transit ability and connectedness in this city. It is truly helping people and changing lives, even if the actions and the policies that we implement don't feel like they are in the moment. And that's really what I wanted to share right now. Thank you. Relinquished back my time. Appreciate it.

Thank you, Mr. Wynn. Any further requests to speak from the Council Chambers for public requests of the Council? Seeing none, public requests of the Council regarding municipal affairs are now closed. We now move to the consent agenda. The consent agenda consists of items 1 through 17 and may be approved by one motion. I do have some from the public, but does the Council wish to pull any of the items? Two and three. I hear two and three. Any others from the Council? And I think also item number four, we are pulling at the request of staff, and I also would like to speak on three. And then we also have from the public, number 14. Do we have a motion on the remaining items?

Motion to approve items 1 through 17, minus 2, 3, 4, and 14. Second.

Hearing no further discussion on those items, Ms. Beggarow, please call the roll.

Council Member Horland? Yes. Council Member Anderson?

Yes.

Council Member Andreu?

Yes.

Council Member Fajan?

Yes.

Council Member Reinstein?

Yes. We'll begin with item two, and that will be Council Member Fajan. Thank you.

First, I would like to thank my colleagues and staff to slow down the process of the approval of this disposition of the surplus land and get public comment from AHAC, give Council time, a little bit more time to consider everything that we should be considering and make a more thoughtful decision. The time was beneficial for me. Is Habitat here tonight?

They are.

Because I have a couple questions for them, and I have a couple questions for staff. There's some things that I'd like to question.

Do you want Habitat first?

What's that?

Do you want Habitat first, sir? Yeah.

Nancy?

Nice to see you again. If you could just announce yourself for the record, please.

Nancy Robin, Habitat for Humanity.

Welcome. Thank you.

How does Habitat generally acquire their land?

The most common way is through partnerships like this.

Through a municipality or a government agency like the county or whatever. Okay. So this is pretty common, the in-kind contribution that we're going to propose. Okay. Regarding the application process, like, we're going to have a say in how we're going to prioritize that because, you know, creating the housing for our firefighters, our employees, and then going down the layers of people that, you know, teachers and nurses and such. So that will be defined when? Now or when we get further along? Or is it already defined how we plan on doing it? I think we've had some, you know, large scope discussions on that.

Yeah, question number one and that partnership answers question number two, which is yes. And in terms of defining.

You do. Well, it perpetuates it. Because one of the things we were listening to at the staff level is what was the criticism? Well, we're giving away this property or what's our ROI? So what this does is it becomes multi-generational. It serves multiple needs over that 99 years. It also does it in a way that's not excessively bureaucratic. We don't have to stand up an agency to monitor this, to process a bunch of paperwork. Do you meet this? Do you meet that? It just kind of flows with the AMIs that adjusts. It allows some accumulation of wealth, but still keeps it within that band.

Part of my questions is to just sort of lay out all these steps in the consideration so that everyone realizes that there was a thoughtful process to this. And from my understanding, because I thought about it theoretically. I've talked to a lot of people balancing how I was thinking about this. And I just want clarity before I have my vote on this. So, okay, you build the units. I guess there's – Habitat has a second more – you figure out what the homeowner can afford. So, let's just say for discussion purposes, the property appraises for $700,000 after it's approved, and they can afford $300,000. So, then there's a – Habitat has a second mortgage of $400,000. Okay. So, are they buying the building and not the land underneath? Or – so, they own everything. Okay. If they sell it before they restrict – you know, before it ends up the restriction – forget about the 99-year. Let's just say whatever – if we decide, like, a shorter period. So, they sell it at a market. They have to pay back Habitat. And then because of that restriction, Habitat would administer the purchase of the sale of the property from the original homeowner. Does that make sense? That's – I'm a CPA, so I can make things really confusing.

For the sale – if somebody decides to sell the home, whatever liens are on the house need to be satisfied. The affordability covenant carries with the deed. So, the house cannot sell unless the deed restriction is satisfied.

Habitat, the defined administer of that, or like if they sell the property in 15 years?

The deed restriction actually is the – when they go to get clear title, they will not be able to get clear title unless the restrictions are met.

I guess I'm trying to understand, like, does Habitat handle that sale under that example? Nope.

So, it carries with the deed. So, regardless of Habitat's involvement or not, that deed restriction –

So, is it the title agent? I mean, is that who is confirming the restriction? Yes. Yeah. Almost?

So, I guess, like, you know, Habitat does a lot of work to education, sweat equity, to make sure when the eligible family gets to purchase the home that they're ready to be a homeowner. So, how is the – like, if there was a sale of the property – and I know this is uncommon, but I can't – it's not –

If they hire a realtor to sell their property, the realtor is going to have to disclose any deed restrictions. And then, in order to get that deed restriction cleared, they would have to come before this body who placed that deed restriction to get it removed.

Okay. So, if a homeowner sells it in the 10 to 15 years, the realtor would do a pre-qualification, but then they would actually have to come to the council to get approval?

As long as it goes –

I'm sorry. Go ahead.

As long as it turns over and meets the AMI – the AMI has to be –

Well, that's what I meant by the pre-approval, the AMI criteria, which I think was 60 to 120 percent? Yeah. Okay. I'm trying to get educated and make sure I'm making the right decision for the city.

I – you know, quite frankly, I've been impressed with the process and with the forward thinking and with the intent, which is really to serve the hometown heroes of this community and provide the opportunity so that people can live and work in the community that they're serving.

Thank you. So, the other example would be, let's just say we have a 30-year restriction and they sell the property after the 30-year restriction. So, they sell the property, the habitats, mortgage gets, you know, relieved, and then they get the balance of it, and then the house can – or the townhouse can be sold at a market rate. Correct. Like a typical – Correct. All right. I really appreciate this. Bear with me. All right. So, regarding the city's contribution in kind, the in-kind contributions, one of the subsidies I'm very concerned about is that taking responsibility for the roads. I can't remember what the number was, but I think our consultant said that in order to maintain our roads, to keep our current level of service, or I forget what the rating is called, it's like $8 million a year, or it's worth $6 million a year? A little over $5. It was $5. It was $5. Okay. I'm way off. I would have lost the price.

It's still a lot of money. It's still a lot of money. But on those asks, those are all asks, and we'll look to collaborate where we can.

Okay. Well, I'm just laying out my concerns, and I have a proposal when it comes to that. Rezoning, I think that's obvious. Sure. Support with any other land restrictions, I think that's obvious. The maintenance of the common grounds, so what exactly would that be when it comes to this proposed property?

Well, it's something that we probably would not do, but the ask would be typically that we take care of, say, the trees, the shrubs, the whatever. We had a conversation where the question came up, could we take care of trash collection? Well, we don't, because that's on an individualized basis. We wouldn't have a mechanism for that. But there may be other opportunities, and just generally speaking, let's say if the stormwater could be sized beyond the needs of that community, possibly we could justify participation there, because we look for elements like that.

So these items will be down the road, and they'll come back to us for us to make a final decision on these things, particularly the importuity.

Yeah, to the extent that the city extends itself further on that, because we'd want you all to be a part of that process to understand how we're getting involved in it.

Well, one of the comments I have regarding importuity, I think it shouldn't be importuity, but aligned with whatever restriction we agree to. So if it's a 30-year restriction, the importuity ends with the 30-year restriction.

Concurrent with the deed restriction? Yes, sir. Yes. Okay.

So that we're not, you know, if it ends up being a market property in 100 years, if we stay with the 99. And I do have a comment regarding the 99-year restriction. Well, before I get to that, I'm going to make one other comment. I would like that in the proposal, I believe it's 14 to 16 units. I would like to have just a restriction that won't be more than 16 units. So when we come back for, you know, the zoning or the plaiting that we're not going to go up to, because I think the property is zoned to accommodate that they could put 21 units in there. So I appreciate that we're not going to the max density that it's zoned for.

And just to, because you referenced AHEC earlier, and we appreciated that process, because it did give the additional opportunity for public input, and also the board appreciated it, because it's something they're very enthusiastic about. But I would convey that they, the question they asked was, can you put more on the property? I was there. Okay. So I just want to put that out there.

But I have a harder vote here. I got you. So, but I would ask for a restriction. I don't think that the people that live behind where the property is going to be would appreciate a maximum residential density. I think the 14 to 16 is the appropriate amount. So that's what I would request that don't come back for more when it comes, when we get to that point in this process.

And part of the response, and I can't remember if it was Mr. Albert or Ms. Robin, but it was stated, part of the response was we need to ensure some green space, some recreation area for those residents as well. So we weren't looking to, you know, concrete the whole area.

Okay, and I didn't even think about that aspect of it. And there is green space in the illustrations that were provided in the presentation. So I do appreciate that. But regarding the restriction, the thing that I was, like, going back and forth, and maybe I was thinking a lot more about this because I'm dealing with a client that's in her early 90s. She's up north. She's running out of assets. And, you know, the sale of her house can either get her into an assisted living facility or a reverse mortgage could continue her living expenses and possibly in-house care and stuff like that. So I think if we had 16 homeowners that moved into these properties and they lived there for 40 to 50 years, that would be a huge success. And I kind of feel like if we have a 35 or 40-year restriction, I think that would be a little bit more to their benefit because if they get to that point in time, they might be at the point where they need to sell their home so they could move into an assisted living facility or do a reverse mortgage at that point. And I think if, you know, the second loan from Habitat, if it was a 99-year restriction, really would kind of curtail them. So at that kind of point in time, I think 45 years at the top, and I'm probably thinking more of a 40-year restriction instead of a 99-year restriction, is that if someone's actually there that long, that'll really enable their, you know, the rest of their life planning, you know, because it's a real concern I'm dealing with with this client that I've just mentioned. So I don't know what the rest of the council, because I think we left it at 99 and it's in there. So I really think that the restriction should be lowered, and I think 40 or 45 is a good number. And then I got one more thing, and it's probably a question for Kerry that I actually asked him about. I'm concerned, I asked our city attorney, Kerry, city attorney Ezra earlier, could the state come in in eminent domain, the property, with how to get more aggressive with our home rule, I know he can't, you know, look in the magic ball, but is that a possibility that the state could take it and then they do what they please with it when it comes to affordable housing?

And like I told you earlier. Yeah. Well, I want it on the record. Right. We've seen an erosion of home rule. We've seen the state take other action to acquire or utilize other properties of other government entities. So it is not out of the realm of possibility that legislative action could be taken to impact the city's home rule authority and result in a state eminent domain action superior to the right of a municipality.

And I guess that's kind of like my biggest concern is this is where we have the most ability to control what's going to go in there. So I really appreciate this extra time to speak because, like, I don't think I would have had this many thoughts if we had not paused the process at the last meeting. So, one, I would like my colleagues to consider reducing the 99 to either 40 or 45 and then the importuity items when we get to that.

I'm very proud of our city for taking this step. I just want to mention a couple things and comment on what Councilmember Andreu had said about the 99-year deed restrict. And while I appreciate what Councilmember Fadgen brought to the table, and I think it was very thoughtful, I, too, would like to keep the 99. I do think it's forward thinking, and I think to be able to keep that affordability component on that land is going to be important for the future generations. I do want to piggyback on your concerns, and we've talked about it on this day. It's about the overreach from coming out of Tallahassee. And it's not just this project, but I want to remind everybody, every project that comes before us, we talk about really creating the city we want to create and driving the bus on this redevelopment that we're experiencing in the city. It's more important now than ever because with Live Local 1, Live Local 2.0, and we don't know what's coming in the next session, you know, City Attorney Ezra is correct. We don't know what kind of incursion there will be on our home rule. They asked for a list of the surplus properties for a reason, and it wouldn't surprise me if they came in at some point and said, you know, you have to build, you know, XYZ administrative approval, no public input, and no council input. So I think it's really important that we do have these conversations, and we're thoughtful about what we want to see in the city. And I, for one, want to see this project in the city. So thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Horland. Councilmember Anderson.

Councilmember Fadgen, thanks for your thoughtful questions. But like Councilmember Andre, I'm now unsure of what would a – the first-time homeowner now has been there 30-something years and they're ready to sell. What happens? What price do they get? Who sets that price? There's a deed restriction if we had beyond the – you know, if it was longer than that time. So they would capture some equity, but not as much as if it was full market rate. That's what Councilmember Fadgen is talking about. So they would still get equity, but where does the ceiling come from? Is this because of the – the audience is narrower, so it would probably keep a ceiling on that – Yeah, because the AMI would adjust. It would be our official market.

Yeah, whatever that AMI is at that time, if in 55 years from now, where is that AMI? It would have to fall within that range.

Right, so it's not the true market rate. It would be whatever that – Exactly. It would be a ceiling. It would capture something. It just wouldn't be the full value.

Yes, sir.

Then I have it. Okay. But then the effect of keeping it longer is that the next – it regenerates. We would want to do it over and over, not have it one and done, perhaps, if you will.

Exactly, and that's the balancing of interest. To understand where Council Member Fagin is talking about.

They would still do something, but then we would get to do it again for another generation, another generation, possibly another generation.

Exactly.

Thank you. So what – do we have a – we do have some people from the public, but I'd like to take the motion – see if there's a motion first before we hear from the public.

Motion to approve.

Do we have a second?

Second.

All right. Let me first call up Mr. Buehler.

Hello, Buehler, 6831 Southwest 11th Street, Plantation, Florida. I'm speaking as a member of AHAC, but not for AHAC. I've got to make that clear. I listened to Ms. Roberts when she presented us at AHAC. It was a very substantial presentation. They did cover all of the requirements for qualifying and also resale. I just want to go over a few things. You already mentioned them, discussed it, but when you do sell, you do get equity. You do get some money back. It's just limited by the MI. So if you hold a property for whatever length of time, you still are going – unless the market crashes, you're going to get some benefit from that. Again, like Ms. Horland said, generally these are first-term homeowners, and this is an opportunity for them to get into property, to have a home, to save up money. We're not talking even about 35 or 45 years. We're talking maybe 10, 15, maybe 20 at the most, and that's going to give them an opportunity to get a foothold in their finances and qualify for a loan later on. That's important. The 35 to 45-year restriction, that will not satisfy a lot of people because people – one person in the meeting made clear, we can't just give this land to, you know, to build these affordable homes. We're not giving it to them. We're actually establishing a 99-year program where it's going to recycle and recycle and recycle. No particular person actually benefits. Everyone benefits. The community benefits. I think it's important to remember that. I was going to ask if Mr. Elbert would come up and explain some of this because he knows it a lot better than I do. I don't know. Rest-of-the-life planning. I guess that's about it. I guess you guys all covered it. And I appreciate Mr. Fadgen because he's an accountant. He's a cost analysis. I really like the way he goes at the numbers. Not just this, but everything. I really appreciate that. You know, and I know he comes to these meetings really prepared, and he comes to those AHAC meetings. We're meeting on Tuesday, I'll tell you. But it's a really good plan, and we really need this. I mean, it's just great that Ms. Robin can put this program together. It's so difficult today to do it, and we've got to do it before the state comes in and takes away that property and tells us what we've got to do. So, you know, it's sort of precautionary here to move forward now and get as much as we can do for our community. But thank you very much.

Thank you. Mr. Wynn.

Good evening again. Joe Wynn, 944, Northwest 92nd Terrace. I wanted to first thank Council Member Fadgen for expressing some of those deeper price concerns, questions related. That was actually the reason why I came tonight, to pose a question about how in the presentation it was either implied or recommended that the city would be taking on the infrastructure costs of the property, and just wanted a caution on that because those numbers, those prices can go up faster than one would like or expect. And so just keeping that kind of thing in mind. And also, I've never heard of, it doesn't mean it's never happened, but I've never heard of a city-owned roadway in a community being then given back and re-privatized in some fashion. That may occur. I don't know the process for that, but typically it's they built privately with the development, and then for whatever reasons, they choose for the city to then take that on and make it a public road because they don't want to continue investing in that infrastructure for whatever reason. So I appreciated you bringing that up. Another comment by Council Member Andreu regarding people who go into townhomes as their starter. That is absolutely, I mean, I basically did, but that they're using that only as a starter and not as a potential endpoint. Again, speaking only for the experience I have in my community, every person that I know there has moved, has either been there for decades and has now gotten older and more experienced in our community, as it were, or it is older people moving into these places. And for those who have moved out, none of whom that I'm aware of have gone to a larger place. So it's not to say that never happens, but just to keep in mind that there is variety in what people are looking for. A single-family home may or may not be an end goal of every person, but obviously opening these opportunities for people is valuable. One last thing is more of a bigger picture, not necessarily directly linked to it, which is considering the infrastructure and the maneuverability and navigation outside of this area and just thinking now what that might look like in a way that doesn't add to potential vehicular conflicts, frustration of people coming and going, or even just danger areas, because this is right on the end of an acceleration slip lane. So maybe coordinating with Broward County, their traffic engineering now, so that some ideas can be started to be developed because they are not quick, to try to make sure that if this does go through, we make sure that it's safe for those people there and they have convenient access.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Wynn. Seeing no further discussion, I just want to make one other comment. Since Mr. Duke's name was mentioned and he is here, I just want to say to Mr. Duke, thank you for your thoughtful investigation and consideration regarding the property. Seeing no further discussion from the public, I would ask Ms. Begrove, please call the roll.

Council Member Horland?

We did.

Yes. Council Member Anderson?

Yes.

Council Member Andreu? Yes. Council Member Fadgen? Yes. Council Member Reinstein? Yes. Thank you.

Next up, we have agenda item number three. I did want to speak on it, but Council Member Fadgen pulled it first. Go ahead.

Thank you. First of all, I appreciate that we started this process and did a competitive bid based on your backup and me checking your math. It saved us $15,000, and I think that's worthwhile.

I ran in numbers twice just because of you. You knew I'd be looking. Yes.

So thank you for that. So just two quick questions. It seemed like the bid package was much more technically specific to what we were requesting. Was that a correct observation on my part?

Yes. The extra time and diligence served by the team collaborating with not just staff, but other market research resulted in a more refined scope for a better outcome.

Okay. I hope we'll continue that particularly when it comes to vehicles because, you know, I think we've learned through this process with some meetings that you had with Mr. Hooley from Plantation Ford. He opened our eyes that, you know, factory installed and after factory installed are two different things, and we could be getting lesser vehicles and us sort of being hoodwinked, and they don't last as long when that happens. So I appreciate that. And then the second, the other comment I have with that, so DeVal Ford won the bid. We confirmed that the vehicles that they said they're going to supply are agreed to the specifications in the bid packet.

Yes, there was two or three exceptions that they made note of within the bid packet that was presented to the Evaluation Department. They concurred that those exceptions were within the range.

That's a reasonable, bare answer.

That's correct.

Okay, that's all I had. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Fadgen. And I just wanted to make sure that on the record was one of your notations in the agenda and in the backup and for clarification is that we've talked about before making sure that our local businesses were contacted, and there is the notation in the record saying the Public Works Department informed known local businesses of this bid opportunity. I just wanted to put on the record gratitude for doing that. We do appreciate that when we have a discussion up here and we ask for certain extra steps, that you're always ready and willing to go that extra step. So thank you very much for confirming that for us. I do have a member of the public that wants to speak, but we will take a motion first before we do that.

Motion to approve. Second.

Okay, and I have Mr. Buehler.

Howard Buehler, 6831 Southwest 11th Street, Plantation, Florida. I hate to come up here and bother you guys, but this is actually just one simple question, and that is when these specs are sent out, and I know you have to discuss these things with the needs of the police department and everything, to what extent are we still working on seeing what possibilities exist for electric vehicles, EV vehicles? Because I don't think any of these are, but maybe they can be because of the nature of the specifications. But I was just hoping again in the future, because these are big budget items, $600,000, $700,000. We have them every year or every other year. And there's been, I know it took a few years for the police department to come around to get in a couple of EVs just on an experimental basis. I don't know how that's worked out, but I think it's worked out. Actually, they weren't, I think, total EVs. They were hybrids because the problem was there was concern about whether or not they could charge the vehicles, and there was also a problem with Public Works saying they couldn't build charging stations because they would have to be open to the public. I think that was the problem. But again, you know, looking towards the future, looking towards a way to mitigate global warming and actually reduce costs because from what I've read, some of these EVs are more cost-effective and better operational, you know, even on police vehicles. You know, special vehicles, they have to have special structure and performance. If we could just somehow look in the future, look into the possibilities of implementing EVs into our vehicle or, you know, inventory for the benefit, you know, of the environment and lower insurance rates. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no further comments, no further discussion, Ms. Beggarow, please call the roll.

Council Member Horland? Yes. Council Member Anderson?

Yes.

Council Member Andrew? Yes. Council Member Fajan? Yes. Council Member Reinstein? Yes. Thank you.

Next, we have agenda item number four, and staff has requested to pull that and bring something to our attention.

Good evening, Council, Mayor, City Attorney, Samira Shalans, City Engineer. I have with me Winston Lucky from Keith & Associates. We have a brief presentation about this item, but before the presentation, I want to remind everyone, Cypress Road from East Acre to Northwest 74 is a corridor that was identified in the multimodal transportation plan. There was some recommendation of transportation element improvements within the corridor, including the construction of a gap of sidewalk next to the Holly Canal, and some signalization improvement and roundabout improvement. We took a multi-phase approach on one intersection, which is Fig Tree and Cypress Road, due to the unique characteristics of that intersection. So we pulled that intersection. We did a phase one, which is a traffic study and studying the unique characteristic. We did some alternatives that we're going to be presenting to you today, and we're in front of you to present these alternatives and pick your brain on the best alternative and hopefully authorize the design of the best alternative. With that said, Winston, I will help you.

Thank you very much for this opportunity to present this analysis that we performed. As we mentioned earlier, this is the intersection of Cypress Road and Fig Tree Lane. It's a unique intersection. It's what we call an offset intersection because the roads do not intersect directly. It's also a unique situation where it includes also a roundabout and several islands for traffic control. Now, this intersection, being unique as it is, we went out, did our field reviews, and there was noticeable traffic issues out there with sight distance and with vehicles mounting the roundabout or the islands, whether it be regular vehicles or emergency vehicles, this intersection causing potential issues for incidents such as accidents, which we don't want to have. As you'll notice, if I'm looking from different angles, it's not a clear sight distance for anyone on this intersection. So we did a traffic study overview of this. We first looked at it from the easiest ways of putting in a signal, which is the typical easiest one. We looked into that. We did an analysis of all the various requirements for warrants, which we studied to determine if a signal would be viable at this intersection. But based on the traffic data that we have and the analysis done in our study, that was not feasible and would not meet the required warrants for a traffic signal, meaning we were not able to install a traffic signal inside of this location. So we proceeded to our next alternative, which would be a roundabout. We analyzed the potential roundabout and found that, yes, that would meet the requirements and the needs of this intersection. And with that, we came up with two alternatives for this. Alternative one is what we call a peanut design, which is basically two roundabouts smashed together for all intents and purposes. And what we did, we looked at how this would function. Now, in this particular alternative, we were able to stay within the right-of-way, maintain all the existing utilities in this corridor, so that we did not affect any utilities. We did not need to acquire any right-of-way, and we can control the movement of the traffic within that area adequately and safely throughout there. However, we did determine that it would be difficult for heavier vehicles, such as garbage trucks, delivery trucks, and especially emergency vehicles to navigate that. They would have to mount the central island there, which is not desirable based on the criteria set by the plantation fire department. But it is still navigable, and everyone can still move around it, but they will be mounting at different locations. What we did is we looked at one further step. We took that same alternative, but in this one, it turned out that we are impacting some utilities, which would be a fire hydrant, some drainage, and majorly a FPNL distribution power pool that's right on the southwest corner of the intersection. That would be impacted, as well as now we'll be hugging the right-of-way for each of the turns inside of there. But, however, the benefits of this, it allows the vehicle to safely navigate the whole intersection, controls it, provides traffic calming, as well as the opportunity for enhancement of the area, some with landscaping opportunities within that roundabout, and also eliminating all the existing conflicts that exist there. We took a comparative analysis for both of these alternatives using FDOT statewide averages for cost, coming up with an average cost of, looking at 10,000-foot level, it's about $5 million versus $7 million. Sorry, $500,000. Sorry, $500,000. My mistake. I'll keep going. $500,000 versus $700,000. That's what happens when you wait for them. So it's about a $200,000 difference. And that biggest difference in cost would be mainly the utility locations. So with that, we did one other step, and we evaluated it through several criteria ranging from purpose and need and engineering, assigning a value to each one of those items. As you can see, alternative one had a score of 45, and alternative two had a score of 52, because it provided a better solution overall, geometrically and functionally, for this project. Now, overall, this project, once approved, will be incorporated into an existing project that we have ongoing in this city of Plantation. We have a triple-R project, well, safety improvements in the area from Northwest 4th Street all the way down to East Acre Drive. We are doing several improvements. The first one is at Northwest 7th, where we're converting the existing span wire signal into a master arm signal, providing better signals, improvements in that area, as well as that we're having a proposed roundabout at 69th, where that intersection is a four-way stop. We'll now convert that into a roundabout, as well as provide, a little bit south there, a mid-block crossing to connect the residential to the existing mall on the other side of the roadway. And further down, we'll also be doing the, hopefully, the fig tree lane intersection for that. We also have other improvements along the corridor, where we will be doing some ADA improvements, as well as we'll be doing lighting improvements at the signals, sorry, at the roundabouts, and at the mid-block crossing for this project, as well as miscellaneous landscaping and throughout the limits of it. On this project, currently, we're at 30%, sorry, we submitted 30%. We're currently 45% complete, heading towards our 60% submittal. You can see we're just going through all of the items there that needs to be addressed, and we're hoping to hit our November 20th, 2025, submittal 60%, with a final concurrence from the city for 100% submittal, and then final sign and seal in April of 2026. And with that, if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer that.

So we're requesting two things. Number one, your consensus of the alternative, the preferred alternative. We are recommending alternative number two, which is the wider peanut roundabout. And number two, if you please, if you can, authorize us to proceed with the design and authorize the change order so we can proceed with the design.

Thank you very much. Josh, can you go back to the map picture that has the intersection that we're talking about, please?

I don't think it's, is it back up? Oh, it's coming.

Four or five.

Nope, keep going back. Yeah, at the top there. So just to be sure that I understand why you came up with alternatives one and two, because the green space that we're looking at, the land that we're looking at, that's private property. Those are homeowners.

There is what we call corners. These are within the right-of-way. So the roundabout, the entire construction of the roundabout will continue to be within the right-of-way. So there will be no impact to private property. There will be impact to driveway.

I understood that, yep. So my question was really the opposite, was to confirm that the reason why you have designed those peanut-shaped roundabouts is to not impact the private property, because the green space that we're looking at is private property. So, again, just talking out loud with everyone here, right, is that if those homeowners would want a, what I'm going to say is a more regular, more common roundabout, just a circular.

What it is currently, to what Councilmember Reinstein, or Council President Reinstein was talking to, the relocation of mailboxes, before the culvert collapsed, there's really nothing from a resident mailbox thing in that area that would need to be moved. But I think you were talking about the whole length of the corridor where there's mailboxes along the street, because when we put a sidewalk in, those are the things that might have to be removed. And actually driving down there basically almost every day, because whether I come to City Hall or I go to Publix or whatever, from my office on East Acre, I see, I'm wondering, like, how some of the trees are going to be affected. So we're not even really at that point where, because I think it's going to be, the plan is to be, the sidewalk will be on the north side. Correct. Okay.

So on that note, since we advanced the design, so we have some idea of some of these encroachments. We started identifying some of the questions that may come up, some of the properties that we need, specific engagement. Because one particular property I'm very familiar with, they have beautiful landscaping with lighting installation that will be affected by the sidewalk installation. So we will do target engagement with these property owners. But when we have developed plans, so we can have, as I said before, answers to prospective questions. There's going to be more. But to Council Member Reinstein, if before and after engagement is preferred, I will.

So on Alternate 1, that basically has no landscaping. How does the garbage trucks, the fire trucks, how do they traverse that? They go over the. They cannot go over. Yeah, so if they go over it, then everyone's going to go over it.

And that was our base of making Alternative 2 our preferred.

So Alternative 2, it would be landscape, so there would be, like, some sort of natural barrier, so people wouldn't go over it. They would actually drive around it.

Actually, there will be two barriers. There will be the curb that the fire department can go over, but then there will be a D curb that no other vehicles can go over. So there is two stops. There is the first yellow line, and there is the second yellow line. So there is a wider concrete apron.

Oh, so they can cut the curb. Correct. Okay, so the garbage truck and the fire truck can't necessarily make that turn, but when they hit that first yellow, that's how they have the proper radius to get around the corner. Okay. My consensus is Alternative 2. So I think that's all I have. Thank you.

Councilmember Horland.

Thank you, Mr. President. You bring up a great point about the engagement, but I'd rather follow the timeline right now, because to Ms. Shailon's point, I do think it's going to be important that you're able to answer those concrete, those questions with concrete answers once we develop the plan, and it's not just conceptual. So having said that, I would go with Alternative 2 as well. I'm ready to support that.

Agreed.

So I'll just finish off that clearly it sounds like the consensus is Alternative 2, and so be it. I just want to state one more point is that my concern is that while you will now have something concrete to bring to the residents, it will be concrete based on Alternative 2, as opposed to hearing what their thoughts were. But so be it, you have a consensus from the rest of the council. Yeah, I did want to speak. I didn't see you. Go ahead. Yeah. Councilmember Anderson, jump in.

Just a good question. My vote is towards the consensus of two also. And when you talk about the two different yellow curbing there, and I think you called it an apron, and I'm thinking there's, I know of a place that's got a roundabout that has that. So if you have a boat trailer, and if the back wheels, as you're cutting, they could go up on that apron just like a garbage truck or something would.

Correct. When, if you see on the last. Or a lawn trailer, any kind of trailer. Yes. When you, if you see the last bullet over there, it's a large vehicle does accommodate SU-40 or firetruck. So this is. But I don't know what that means. Yeah, that's an engineering term for a larger vehicle. So the firetruck is one of them, but SU-40 accommodate a larger vehicle that includes a school bus, a garbage truck, a Amazon truck.

Well, those are long fixed axle. When you have a trailer, it turns, and if you cut, if it's a sharp turn, your trailer will catch the curb. Now. So that's why I'm specifically asking about a trailer.

Again, there is engineering, you know, I don't want to over-promise and under-deliver also. There is some engineering requirement for certain geometry. The idea also behind this design is to create some kind of traffic calming element. This is a residential community, and we want to start discouraging some commercial property. So if it is a grass-cutting commercial with a trailer, this is not the right route for you. But if it is somebody who has a vehicle with a boat that you're pulling a trailer, through the engineering design, we will ensure that the turning radii will allow that movement.

Okay. Thank you. My vote's for two.

Do we have a motion?

Motion to approve.

Do we have a second?

Second.

We have a first and a second. Ms. Beggarro, please call the roll.

Council Member Horland. Yes. Council Member Anderson. Yes. Council Member Andreu. Yes. Council Member Fajan. Yes. Council Member Reinstein. No. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Next up, we have item 14. I believe that the only person is from the public. I don't think anybody pulled it from, um, um, hold tight. Do we have a motion on, uh, on 14?

Motion to approve. Second.

And we have a first and we have a second on item 14. Mr. Buehler, are you still present? Mr. Buehler has left the building. Uh, is there any further, uh, discussion? Any further comments on item 14? Seeing none, Ms. Beggarro, please call the roll.

Council Member Horland. Yes. Council Member Anderson.

Yes.

Council Member Andreu. Yes. Council Member Fajan. Yes. Council Member Reinstein. Yes. Thank you.

I feel like I should have said Buehler. Buehler. Sorry. Missed it. Missed that opportunity. Um, I believe we are done with our consent agenda items and we now move to quasi-judicial items and I will turn to City Attorney Ezra to read the procedures.

Yes, sir. The City Clerk will swear in all witnesses before, before speaking. Please state your name and whether you have been administered an oath. Any speaker may be cross-examined. If you refuse to be cross-examined, your testimony may not be considered. Cross-examination shall be conducted in a courteous manner. The material in the City Clerk's agenda packet will be made a part of the record. City staff will make the first presentation followed by presentations from the applicant, any affected parties, and the public. The elected officials may set reasonable time limits for speakers. The hearing will then be closed and the matter decided. The City Council's decision will be delineated in its motion and rendered in writing by way of a development order, resolution, or ordinance evidencing its decision. City Council may also decide to continue the matter to a designated time to allow for additional additional research or review.

Thank you very much. And do we, uh, do we need to swear on any witnesses? Do we have any witnesses that wish to speak? Uh, please, please rise now. If you wish to, uh, speak on any of these items, if you even think that there's a possibility on any of these items that you may wish to speak. And Ms. Beggar will swear on the witnesses.

All right. Those of you who don't want to speak, please stand. Raise your right hand. Um, do you swear or affirm that the evidence you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? All right.

Uh, Council Member Horland.

Mr. President, I'd like to ask my colleagues if anyone needs to see the presentation because I'd like to make a motion to approve.

I, we're, we're on item 18. I don't need to see any presentation on item 18.

I, I do need to make a comment.

Uh, go ahead.

I need to make a Jane Jennings disclosure. Um, I met with the applicant and it will not have an effect on my vote and I'll make the motion if you don't mind. Motion to approve.

So Council Member Horland has retracted her motion.

Did you make the motion? I did make the motion. You were asking if so. Okay. Then I second. Yeah, but it's fine. I thought you were asking if people.

Hold on one second. Hold on one second. Um, working it out with Council Member Horland.

I will retract my motion. Go ahead. But if you'd like to approve, then I'll set it up here.

Council Member Fadgen has made the motion. Council Member Horland has seconded. Is there any discussion from the public? Any comments from the public? Seeing none, Ms. Beggarow, please call the roll on item 18.

Council Member Horland. Yes. Council Member Anderson. Yes. Council Member Andreu. Yes. Council Member Fadgen. Yes. Council Member Reinstein. Yes. Thank you.

Uh, next we have, um, items 19, 20 and 21, which will be each taken separately, but they all go together, is there any discussion, uh, any comments on item 19, 20 or 21 from the dais?

I don't need the presentation, but someone else.

Any, any discussion requested from the public on items 19, 20 or 21? Um, so I think we can forego the, um, forego the presentations and for, um, item 19, I will make the motion for item 19.

Second.

Seeing no discussion, please call the roll on item 19.

Council Member Horland. Yes. Council Member Anderson. Yes. Council Member Andreu. Yes. Council Member Fadgen. Yes. Council Member Reinstein.

Yes. Item 20, again, just an opportunity, any further discussion on item 20? Seeing none, do we have a motion?

Motion to approve. Second.

Second. We have a first and we have a second. Seeing no further discussion, Ms. Bedgaro, please call the roll on item 20.

Council Member Horland. Yes. Council Member Anderson. Yes. Council Member Andreu. Yes. Council Member Fadgen.

Yes. Council Member Reinstein. Yes. Thank you. Item number 21, again, seeing no further discussion, no further comments from the public. Do we have a motion? Motion to approve.

Do we have a second?

Second.

You can have it.

Council Member Horland. Yes. Council Member Horland made the second. Seeing no further discussion, Ms. Bedgaro, please call the roll on item 21.

Council Member Horland. Yes. Council Member Anderson. Yes. Council Member Andreu. Yes. Council Member Fadgen.

Yes. Council Member Reinstein. Yes.

Thank you very much. As you all know, we will be looking for a new police chief with Chief Harrison's retirement. And I just want to map out the timeline for you all. We've looked at both deputy chief candidates. We think they're very good candidates. I plan to interview them in the next week or two between me and Jason. And then we will have a panel of HR and fire because fire has to work closely with police and a retired chief, police chief, to kind of help vet everything too to make sure that we got. I think they're both really good candidates. I'm not going to box myself in totally, but everything but. Yeah. And I would like to have it announced by October 5th so that would give the person a month or two to work with the chief and or we find a replacement for the D.C. vacancy that's going to open up. So that's where we're at on. And I thought you don't want to know questions or anything?

That's the mayor of a question.

Go ahead, Council Member Fadgen.

You said a retired chief. Why not an active chief from another agency? Jasoni?

Or both.

Actually, I wouldn't mind both.

Well, they might owe Chief Harrison money. And then they might.

Our main interest was having somebody in that position, whether they're current or retired, where it's not going to be somebody who's 30 years out of the game, but somebody who has managed an agency of a similar size. Because one of the conversations the mayor had is we see a certain aspect, but if you're not in law enforcement, if you haven't served in that position, you really don't know everything that goes on there.

And that's what our discussions was is that, you know, you'll ask good questions, but you don't know what you don't know. Exactly. Saying what I would be in the same situation. So I think it's important to have a chief that's close to retirement, you know, not long, like you're set out of retirement. But I was also, but why not consider an active chief somewhere?

I think from our perspective, tomato, tomato. You know, if it's a chief that's two years out versus an active.

Is it too much to ask to have a retired chief and an active chief?

I mean, you know, we'll consider it. I mean, but the other thing is we wanted to keep.

I don't want to make it too cumbersome.

We want it to be an intimate group. So we want to have a flow of conversation, you know, so we don't want to get too cumbersome with that.

So the envision is a panel discussion, like the panel members wouldn't have individual time with each of them.

That's not, we didn't anticipate that.

I'm just asking. Yeah.

I mean, one of the provides, Jason, you know, councilman Fadgen, maybe the chief has walked up. You may be able to offer some assistance or thoughts on this.

So what you want is an unbiased, someone that obviously both deputy chiefs are part of the Broward County Chiefs of Police Association. So I had mentioned a suggestion that we get a retired chief, not someone that has been out of the process for a long time. And I've actually come up with one that I think is a phenomenal person.

Outside the area or?

Well, actually, this individual worked for our city, so he knows the city. He worked for our police department. He left here as a deputy chief and became chief of police for Pembroke Pines. He subsequently recently left that position, became a director of the Emergency Operations Center over in Pembroke Pines. He left the city in 2001 in January. One of our deputy chiefs was hired in August of 2001. There is no conflict to that. And with an active chief, they know we've worked with all of them. So I just think that, so that there's no perception of favoritism or anything like that, you're going to get an unbiased.

I agree with that. How long was he the chief at Pembroke Pines and how long has he been retired from being

the chief? He hasn't been retired very long. And he was the police chief over there for, he was two weeks shy of 18 years.

Oh, he beat you.

Yes, he did. And again, I just think you're really going to get someone that's very knowledgeable. He's still active with Pembroke Pines. And he knows our city.

Some of my concerns are being relieved. I feel like this is probably one of the most important decisions that we're going to have to be involved in. And you're leaving the department in great shape. And we want the next person to come in to maintain that and then assess where we can get it even to the next level, which I'm sure you would be hoping for. You want to see us go to the next level. So, all right, thank you.

Yes, sir. Councilmember Anderson, did you want to speak on this point?

Yes. You mentioned the two deputy chiefs, but are you also interviewing outside the department? I seriously, seriously doubt we will need to do that. You're just going to stay with two candidates?

Yeah, I think with the bench they have and with everything put together and for the department, I think they're plenty, plenty qualified. So, I mean, you know, there's never a never. We may talk to both of them and there may be some disqualifying thing. But based on everything I see right now, I don't see it. And just to clarify real quick too, and it's going to be our decision, as much as we love Chief Harrison, it's not going to be his decision. Yes. And when a new chief is appointed, the deputy chief will be the selection of the new chief. It's got to be his person in there. It's got to be somebody they're comfortable working with in their decision that way. So, and we're dead on the same on that. Oh, yes, sir. We're dead on the same on that.

Both very highly qualified. Yeah. Just, it's a great selection. Thank you, Chief.

Yeah, I'm really comfortable. Thank you, Mayor. Mayor, anything further? No. Councilmember Anderson.

I think that button instead of this button. Just, we had a very good opening for first day of school. I know several of you visited. I actually didn't visit a school for one of the first times. Yeah. I was too busy, too busy with before care. I had to be at my office for all that stuff. So, that's it, though. That's all right. Councilmember Horland.

Councilmember Horland.

Thank you, Mr. President. A couple of things. Customer service. Often, that first touch often sets the tone for the entire experience. And I want to give a couple of shout outs tonight. I've already spoken to the directors, but there was a leak outside of homeowners property. I mean, it could be minor considering everything else that goes on with rain events in the city. But I told Mr. Polio today, her first point of contact after me, and I gave her the number to call, was Reggie. And Reggie, when he answered the emergency line, was just terrific. And she was texting me about just how good he made her feel about the situation and the response. So, thank you, Mr. Polio, for that. Public works. You may have seen my social media posts, but Clint came out the other night. And Matt Thompson left his home and followed and came into the neighborhood and rescued three ducklings who had fallen into the stormwater drain. They were making quite a racket. Mom was making quite a racket. And it really, it just shows what the city does in going above and beyond. And with the rain we had that night, those ducklings probably wouldn't have survived because they couldn't get out of there. So, it's a small thing, but it's not a small thing. So, again, customer service, and Clint was terrific. And I asked him how he liked his job, and he was enjoying it, and he's out there. Because Mr. Thompson implemented a one-to-nine shift, and we hadn't had that before. So, somebody going around the city and servicing, you know, on a Saturday, making sure the city's clean, and I think that's really important. And finally, to Parks and Rec, we had a long-time resident reach out to me. I did not know the family, but her dear friend had passed away, who, again, parents had been very involved in the community, former principal of Plantation High School. And, unfortunately, the woman had lost her battle with brain cancer. And they wanted to plant a tree in her honor. And I have to tell you, now we have two trees because now there's a tree for the father. But the customer service that this family received has just grown exponentially in how they feel about this city. And that started with Micheline and Mike Ambrosio and Jason Gouge. And it was Ray. I went out there for the first tree planting. Ray and Mike and Andreas. They were just terrific. And what really touched me is when they were planting the tree, they asked me to offer my condolences to the family because they were so involved and invested in what they were doing. And it's just, again, that customer service, it's the things that residents don't often see. Very quickly, I am heading up to Florida League of Cities tomorrow. It should be a robust discussion about ad valorem taxes. So I hope to bring back some information for you. If you did not have a chance, I don't know who went out to see the new concrete crusher out at the 8601. Okay, fascinating. Really, you know, I had to wear both hats and think about Solid Waste Authority and how we are trying to keep those materials out of the landfill. But I want to touch upon a discussion I had with the demo, the gentleman from the demo company. You know, we talk about the redevelopment and oftentimes residents don't want to see anything going up at 8601. But we had an abandoned building sitting there for a very long time. And the head of the demo company said he had never seen that amount of vandalism and vagrancy in a building and plantation. So that's the type of thing that people are not aware of. When we talk about the Bank of America across the street where we had vagrants and people abusing drugs behind that, oftentimes we have to balance that, you know, that redevelopment so we can clean the Bank of America that's going to reduce its switch footprint, MMG project. You know, he's talked to me about how that has increased in South Florida where they go into buildings and they sometimes have to bring a firearm with them because there are people living inside the building and they threaten them with broken glass. And so I just wanted to bring that up. It was really interesting to see that process. But, again, the importance of redeveloping some of these abandoned buildings in our city. And then, finally, I had the opportunity to not only tour our golf course at the Preserve this week, but also go over to the Reno over at Jacaranda Country Club to kind of see where we might want to be, where we might not want to be if they're making some mistakes out there. And so it was really interesting. I learned a lot about the bimini grass that's going in, right? I saw those raised eyebrows and, you know, and the thatch. And, you know, it's all about the grass and the drainage and ahead of our renovation in a couple of years. I would encourage everybody to go out there and do the same. So that's all I have, Mr. President. Thank you.

Great. Thank you. I'm going to jump in. And before I work our way down here is that first I wanted to say publicly, great job by the Chamber of Commerce today. The Plantation Chamber, Greater Plantation Chamber of Commerce had their monthly luncheon, and the Plantation Police Department was represented there, was presenting there. And, you know, we have such an amazing community engagement team with our Plantation Police Department. And they weren't all presenting today. Today was really just a special presentation regarding some business fraud. But just again, you know, we're talking about what the chief has created here in Plantation, and it was definitely on display today. And so thank you to the Police Department and to the Chamber. I'm going to follow Council Member Horland with some shout-outs and also some recognition, is that hopefully some of you have seen that throughout the City of Plantation we now have unveiled and are exhibiting our Purple Heart City signs. And I must, must publicly say that Matt Thompson and his team and Trisha O'Toole and Parks and Felix and...

They fixed it. The resident called me, so they're very happy that the box was resettled. So thank you to that. I actually blew off work twice over the last two weeks. I went golfing at the Preserve, and that's what you can do when you're self-employed. But the course looks really, it's in good shape. When I was out there for the, I think it was the Fire Association tournament, my foursome had comments about the condition of it. And, you know, at this point what they're doing out there is, you know, pretty extraordinary because it is at end of life and there's only so much they can do. But I felt like it looked really good and I had a good time. And the last thing, we all got the text or the email last night. You know, our former assistant city clerk, Aisha Robinson, unexpectedly passed away, way too young. So I just wanted to offer my condolences to her family. And she was with the city for a little while and a very sad occasion. I believe she had a daughter, so my condolences. And thank you.

Thank you. There are maybe, I don't know, I haven't been back there, but I brought some nothing but cake. We want to welcome them to plantation. I'm so excited that they have joined us. And so I went over there and introduced myself and asked them to join the Chamber of Commerce and hopefully do an official ribbon cutting. But they are located here at Broward and 70th in the Plantation Plaza there. I'll be going to the demo tomorrow. So I look forward to that, Council Member Horland, and seeing exactly what's taking place and learning more about that project and what they're doing with the waste. I also wanted to mention that the Broward Junior Sierra Club is hosting a Jeopardy event this Saturday, the 16th from 12 to 4 in Fort Lauderdale.

I think that was canceled. I think it's being postponed. Yes. So double check on that.

Okay. I didn't get the postponement, but okay. And the phosphate film is also being held at North Regional Library Saturday, August 23rd at 3 p.m. I won't be able to attend that event, but I told them I would announce it. And really exciting, our Fort Lauderdale Alumni Chapter of Alpha Psi Fraternity, they're hosting a Tip a Noop at Anthony's Coal Fire Pizza and Wings on Pine Island, Friday the 29th, all day from 1130 a.m. to 10. So don't cook, go for lunch, go for dinner. But all the proceeds from that event are going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. So anybody who can support them on the 29th, go over to Anthony's and have some pizza or wings. That concludes all of my announcements. Thank you.

With that conclusion at 8.13 or 8.12, according to the back one, meeting is adjourned. Is adjourned?

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