City Council — Sep 10, 2025

Erik Anderson: present · Jennifer Andreu: present · Timothy J. Fadgen: present · Denise Horland: 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.

Motion to approve the consent agenda. Second. We have a motion, a first and a second, and I don't have any comments for the consent agenda.

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

Do I have a second? Second. Second from Councilmember Fadgen.

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

Second. We have a motion and we have a second. And just to be sure that the motion and the second is in consideration of the entirety of our discussion as to how to move forward.

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

We have a motion. Do we have a second? Second. I have a motion and a second on Item 3.

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

Do we have a second? Second. Second by Council Member Horland.

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

Motion to approve. Do we have a second? Second.

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

Okay, we're ready to begin. Again, good evening and welcome. The Wednesday, September 10, 2025, City of Plantation City Council meeting is now called to order at 6.30 p.m. Ms. Beggaro, 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.

We're going to begin with opening remarks and the pledge led by Councilmember Horland, followed by items submitted by the mayor. The first proclamation that will be up, we're going to reverse it. It will be National Service Dog Month, also by Councilmember Horland. So, Councilmember Horland, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. Giovanni DiPietro DiBernadone, better known to all of us at St. Francis of Assisi. Not just a religious figure and founder of the Franciscan order, but the Italian mystic and poet, who is oftentimes reduced to simply being a lover of animals, but was a true servant of the people. Something that any of us who go into public service aspire to be. St. Francis was a remarkable historic figure who 800 years ago this year composed of the Canticle of the Creature, something sometimes called the Canticle of the Sun, which is considered to be the first great poem written in vernacular Italian. In it, Francis, who was nearly blind and quite ill at the time, gives thanks to the sun, the moon, and the stars, the wind and rain, and sister, Mother Earth, all of which sustains us. He was ahead of his time, and much like adherence to Buddhism, he viewed nature as interconnected with humans, encouraging responsible action toward the environment and all living things. In the midst of composing the Canticle, Francis heard about a political fight that was broken out in his city between the mayor and a local bishop. He was moved to address the discord in his Canticle, for he believed we are all created to be peacemakers, reconcilers, and lovers, and that when we are selfish, divisive, polarizing, and unforgiving, we're not praising the creator, but according to Francis, we're also not being fully human. Eight hundred years later, that middle-evil text seems to be more relevant than ever. In a time when we see political divisiveness and violence, as we did today, attacks on our environment, the poor and disadvantaged amongst us, and yes, those huddled masses yearning to be free. So to paraphrase the words of St. Francis, I implore that we are all made into instruments of peace, and where there is hatred, may we all so love. And now would you please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. And may I ask Canine Companions to join me at the podium, please?

How are you?

Thanks for having me, John. Thank you for being here. Thank you. And I did steal the proclamation from Council Member Fadgen. I'm always a little jealous he gets to do it. It's teamwork. But this is important tonight because it is the 50th anniversary of Canine Companions. Whereas the City of Plantation believes in the joyful, transformative power of the human-canine bond and the inclusivity of all citizens, And whereas in the United States, 70 million adults have a disability, and only 16,000 service dogs from accredited training programs exist nationwide, and the need is growing. Whereas 50 years ago, Canine Companions started the concept of service dogs for people with physical disabilities in Santa Rosa, California, creating a new kind of support for disability. Whereas since that first placement in 1975, Canine Companions has provided task-trained service dogs to adults, children, and veterans with disabilities, And facility dogs to professionals working in health care, criminal justice, and educational settings. And whereas Canine Companions is a non-profit organization that enhances the lives, that's right, of people with disabilities by providing expertly trained, you're not there yet, service dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships free of charge. And whereas Canine Companions and their service dogs empower people with disabilities to lead life with greater independence by providing best-in-class training, ongoing follow-up services, and a deeply committed community of support. And whereas National Service Dog Month aims to educate our community about the benefits of service dogs and the laws protecting their handlers. And whereas the City of Plantation continues to work toward becoming an inclusive community in which all citizens and their trained service dogs are embraced. And now, therefore, Nick Sortelmayer and the City Council of Plantation, Florida, do hereby proclaim September 2025 as National Service Dog Month in the City of Plantation and call upon all residents to celebrate service dogs and be respectful of the rights to safe access in our community afforded to the adults, children, and veterans who lead more independent lives because of their assistance. And now you may bark.

Thank you so much. My name is Carol Montiel, and I'm on leadership with Canine Companions of Southeast Florida. And today we've brought a service dog who is actually Lancaster II, who is a facility dog. And we also brought Marcy, who is a puppy in training. So you can see the difference. Eventually, she will become like he. And they do over 60 commands, which is just amazing for all the children and adults that they care for. And I'd like to say this is a free service. It takes the dogs two years to train, and they're worth quite a lot of money when they finish. However, they are given free to anybody that applies and is able to pass the train. Yes, thank you. I just would like to say also, we have an issue with everybody now calling their dog a service dog. And that makes it a little difficult for our dogs when truly we need to take them with us where we go. And they go into a restaurant, for example, and they're met with a growling dog. So although I don't live in plantation, I'm very happy to say that I have been very pleased to notice that in plantation, you've been very careful about making sure that the dogs are service dogs if they do come. Thank you so much. And one last thing, we've just started taking, we're going to be placing not only service dogs for other illnesses, we're now starting to train dogs for diabetes. So if you know anyone that has diabetes that would need a service dog, they can apply to caninecompanions.org. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for being here. Thank you, Councilmember Hoyland. I'm going to actually ask, I'm going to put Monica Knapp on the spot here for a second. Monica, there's a program that we have at our library that involves a special time with the dog, with the service dog, I believe. Can you mention that to the public?

Sure. You can sign up in the children's room. I think right now we have four different dogs. The children read to the dog for about 20 minutes. They read out loud. To the dog, it helps children with fluency and confidence. We've also, over the few years we've been doing this program, had adults who wanted to become more fluid in English read out loud with the dog as well. So we do take adults too.

Thank you very much for sharing it. I figured you would be capable of responding on the spot to that, so thank you. So next up we have a proclamation for Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. I had the honor of presenting this proclamation earlier today at the Plantation Chamber of Commerce Luncheon to Nicholas Children's Center, who is front and center in the fight against pediatric cancers. However, I wanted to take the moment tonight to dedicate the proclamation to the memory of Reagan Mize. Reagan was a young girl from Plantation who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, which is commonly known as DIPG. She was diagnosed at five years old. A DIPG is a highly aggressive and difficult-to-treat brain tumor that primarily affects children. Reagan's parents, Mark and Andrea, Mark also being a member of our fire rescue, a lieutenant in our fire rescue service here in Plantation. Reagan's parents fought tirelessly for her through surgeries, treatments, and experimental trials. Sadly, she passed away from the disease in 2020 at the age of seven. Her family has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and fund research for DIPG in Reagan's memory and through the Chad Tuff Defeat DIPG Foundation and the DIPG Collaborative. So since we presented it to Nicholas Children's Center today, I wanted to put on the record the name of Reagan Mize, and this is in her memory.

Thank you.

We'll next call up Parks and Recreation, Parks and Recreation Director Tricia O'Toole.

Good evening, Council Members, Mayor, City Attorney. A couple of upcoming events we have for the Parks and Rec Department. This Saturday, September 13th, from 10 to 1, is our first Family Fit Fest. That's at Central Park at Field 3. We are having different field games and events, so come on out and join us for that. Also starting this Saturday, continuing through the month and the month of October, is our Central Park Nature Pals program. That's for kids ages 3 through 5. It'll take place the second and fourth Saturday of the month. Residents are $20. Non-residents are $30. On Sunday, September 21st, Nature BioBlitz at the Plantation Preserve Linear Trail from 12 to 2. Pre-registration is required. That's a free event. And Thursday, September 25th, Senior Hispanic Heritage Month event at Jim Ward Community Center from 12 to 2. In our Aquatics Division, the Plantation Swim Team is hosting tryouts on Tuesday from 3.30 to 4.45. And registration is currently open for the American Red Cross Lifeguard Certification Class, which takes place September 19th through September 21st. In our Athletics Division, PAL is registering for Fall Baseball and Adult Athletics registering for Flag Football, Basketball, Kickball, and Softball. Thank you.

Thank you very much. We are now going to recess the regular council meeting at 6.44 p.m., and we will call to order the CRA meeting. Ms. Beggarow, do you want to call the roll for the CRA? Sure. Okay. So we are going to call the roll officially for the CRA portion of this meeting. Ms. Beggarow.

Commissioner Anderson. Here. Commissioner Andreu.

Here.

Commissioner Fajan. Here. Commissioner Horland. Here. Commissioner Reinstein. Here. Commissioner Sortle.

Here.

City Attorney Ezreal. 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, or do I have a motion?

Motion to approve the consent agenda. Second.

We have a motion, a first and a second, and I don't have any comments for the consent agenda. So, Ms. Beggarow, please call the roll.

Commissioner Anderson. Yes. Commissioner Andreu.

Yes.

Commissioner Fajan. Yes. Commissioner Horland. Yes. Commissioner Reinstein. Yes. Commissioner Sortle.

Yes.

Thank you.

We will now move to public requests of the commissioners regarding the CRA, and Mr. Conklin has requested to speak. There's no yielding back, but thank you very much. With that being said, at 6.45 p.m., we will adjourn the CRA meeting, and we will move right into the regular council meeting, reconvening at 6.45 p.m.

New record.

Ms. Beggarow, are you ready? So, we're going right into it. A public request of the council regarding municipal affairs, and guess who's going to be called first? Mr. Conklin. First one in. You get called first. So, thank you, Mr. Conklin. With props.

Dennis Conklin, 4581 Northwest 6th Court. I'd like to take a moment of silence. I'd like to take a moment of silence. Since we last met, on August 22nd, Ukrainian Irena Zarkusty was murdered. August 28th, an 8-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl and 18 students were, two were murdered and 18 were shot. And today, Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA was assassinated. So, I'd like to take a minute. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and perpetual light shine upon them. On a happier note, next week, it's the commemoration of the ratification of the United States Constitution. And we completed 16 schools in plantation, and we've discovered two homeschool pods. And I'm asking if anyone knows of any homeschool pods in plantation, please contact me, 954-581-6240. We can get the constitutions for your 8th grade students and the lessons plan and everything. We're good to go, and it can happen just like that. I also, because I didn't have people for Lauder Hill schools and Lauderdale Lake schools, I did their schools as well. Today is 2007, days since the public health emergency was declared and the lockdowns, closings of schools, houses of worship, mandatory masking and shots, officially called countermeasures. Creation of essential and non-essential Americans, and the loss of our unalienable, God-given individual rights. I mention that because that has not ended. They ended the national emergency, but the public health emergency has never ended. The closing price of gold today was $3,657.70. The CAF for which I've referred to, the 2024.

Mr. Conklin, just because your time is finishing, do you have a public request that you also want to get in before the time finishes?

Yes. Thank you for keeping me on track. I would request that the city elected officials and administration act as faithful fiduciaries of the general employee's defined benefit pension plan, and incidentally for the police officer's defined benefit plan, and compare with other Broward municipal plan managers. I've submitted over and over to you the top 10 schools, excuse me, top 10 municipalities by-

Would you like 30 seconds to finish your- 30 seconds.

Go ahead. I've submitted to the city, the top 10 populated cities of Broward County, plus one that's a nearby city of us, and they're doing terrific plantation is in the bottom three of those top 10, and I encourage you to shop around. And I've mentioned that Dave Ramsey has a program. He goes for the military, he goes to the schools, he goes to businesses, he goes to municipalities and all sorts of governments, and it basically educates their staff on the opportunities to own their retirement benefit assets and not own IOUs. Thank you, Mr. Conklin. And I yield back, thank you.

No time to yield back, but thank you, Mr. Conklin. I don't see any other members of the public, so I'm going to make one last call. Are there any further members of the public that wish to make a request of council regarding municipal affairs? Seeing none, public requests of the council regarding municipal affairs are now closed. We will now move to the consent agenda, consisting of items 1 through 11, and they may be approved by one motion. I have one request of the public for item 10 to be pulled. Do I have any other requests from the dais? 2, 3, and 10 will be pulled. Do I have a motion for the remainder?

Motion to approve items 1 through 11, minus 2, 3, and 10.

Do I have a second? Second. Second from Councilmember Fadgen. Seeing no further discussion, Ms. Beggarrow, please call the roll.

Councilmember Andrew?

Yes.

Councilmember Fadgen? Yes. Councilmember Horland? Yes. Councilmember Anderson? Yes.

Councilmember Reinsen?

Yes.

Thank you. We'll begin with Councilmember Horland on item 2.

Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. Spencer, you didn't need to get up. It's more for Parks and Rec and really general discussion with my colleagues, but thank you. I'll save you on that one. Again, since we're not able to discuss this, I did speak to Ms. O'Toole about a couple ideas in looking at the holiday decorations and talking about the parade. And I'd like to throw a couple of things out there for consideration. You know, it would be awfully nice if the parade ended at City Hall and City Hall was already decorated. So a couple of options, and again, it would be something that Parks and Rec, I don't think we'll be able to achieve it this year, but perhaps since this is a two-year contract, is either moving up the date for the decorations or moving the date of the parade. Because, you know, we put all this work into it, and it's a holiday parade, and I think for people to be able to come to City Hall and see all the decorations, I think it would be important. The other consideration that I had is to change things up a little bit, and I don't know how anyone feels about this, but other municipalities do a nighttime parade, which I think would be, you know, amazing to have vehicles lit up with lights. I don't know if we'd be able to accommodate the crowds, but I think it's something that should be a discussion item. So I wanted to hear what everyone's thoughts on potentially both of those proposals, either decorating earlier, moving the parade date for next year, so that we can also perhaps lessen the impact on staff.

So I have just a question, and I'll call on my colleagues. Councilmember Horland, based on, I thought I heard two different kind of proposals, but to the extent that if the purpose was to have the public enjoy the lighting and the display by moving it up, you'd have to move the parade to later. They'd have to go together, because otherwise you wouldn't see it earlier in the day.

And that was part of it, sure.

I do want to ask maybe a question. I mean, my first thought is for the chief, for the police department. Any concerns with having a nighttime parade? And while you're coming up, I'm going to call on Councilmember Fadgin, followed by Councilmember Andreu.

I appreciate you bringing this up. I think I mentioned this at the strategic planning, that I thought it would be a great idea to move the parade to late afternoon, so it ends at dusk, light up the city hall at the conclusion of the parade. In addition to that, having city hall lit up during Thanksgiving, so when a lot of our kids that are in college or have moved out of the area come home, it creates another memory and something that they have to do during Thanksgiving weekend, because the parade's generally the weekend before Thanksgiving. So, I am all for this, you know, there's a lot of businesses just to the west that have unused parking lots, we can coordinate with them, we could probably even coordinate with Plantation Walk about tramming people over, I think there's a whole bunch of ways we can get this accomplished. I hope you're not going to rain on my parade, no pun intended, but this is something, you know, I've been up the Boca Raton for their holiday parade, I think they do it like basically the first week of December, and it's a whole event, like, you know, everyone is, you know, attends that parade, it's a big deal. So, I like the idea of the 4th of July being in the morning, and then having this evening parade with us lighting up city hall after the last person marches through, so I'm for this.

So, combine the light up city hall event with it as well.

Yeah, get it decorated for the parade on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, like the parade normally is, and then have it like a dusk parade kickoff, step off maybe 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock.

Before we go to you, Chief, I'm going to call on Councilmember Andrea in case there's more to respond.

Thank you, President Reinstein. I like the ideal, too. I worry that maybe we won't have the same participation rate, but I'm curious to see. I would like to try it and see, you know, if we still have the same number of participants and residents. So, I think it would be great to combine both activities as well, and just do something new and fresh. So, yeah, I'm really excited about it. The only, my only worry then is the contract we have before us today. I'm sure that the vendor, I don't know if the vendor will hold their pricing now because we would be changing, I guess, the length, right, of, right. So, I guess you would have to go back out and see if the vendor would be willing to do that.

Correct. We will have to look at it. Mr. Spencer, you're right. Charles Spencer, Procurement Director. Thank you. Always a pleasure. We'll have to go back. If you were talking about doing this maybe in the second year, we would need to talk to the vendor because we're extending the timeline from December 6th to the earlier part of just before Thanksgiving is what I think I'm hearing. So, there will be a small amendment. So, there may be a cost associated with that.

I trust your negotiation skills that maybe you can keep that cost of minimum.

Of course. Councilman O'Hoyland.

And I think that's understood. If we're going to extend it for two weeks, there would be a cost to it. But I really do think that, as you said, I'm something fresh, and I would like to see us be able to combine the events if we could.

Chief, the question regarding an evening parade.

Or does.

I would prefer that, you know, up to sunset so that we do have the light, but it's at the end of the day. A parade, as you well know, is so stretched out. I would prefer the light from that aspect. But, yeah, late afternoon, dusk, that would be fine.

Thank you, Chief. Yes, sir. Easy enough. Yeah. Councilmember Fadgen.

And I think that makes perfect sense because, you know, if we start, if we step off at 4 o'clock, that time of year it will be dark by 6. The parade will be done, and then we'll be ready to light up without too much delay.

So.

Timing. Timing is everything.

Yeah.

I love this idea. The other thing that I would add, especially, I feel this way even before this change, but even more so now if we're making such a change, is that I think we can do a lot better with reaching out to the public about this event. You know, these parades are, I think, both Fourth of July and the Holiday Parade are two of the most amazing events that we have in our city that we've been doing. You know, tradition. I remember as a child leaving our house and walking to Broward Boulevard to see the parade, and, you know, when we go to our businesses, especially the ones that are connected with the Chamber of Commerce, we should see some type of poster in their window of every single business that we have a connection to, especially those that are connected with the Chamber of Commerce that is advertising this. I think it's good for them, it's good for us, and we would then get such a greater participation from our public who can enjoy some of these amazing things we're doing. So I'm just going to throw that out to the administration and Parks and Rec is that, in terms of advertising, that we're reaching further and wider than we're doing. Mayor?

Real quick, I looked it up. Sunset on November 22nd is 529 p.m.

This year or next year? It'll be next year.

I would think it'll be pretty close to the same.

Yeah, okay.

But, so the point being, 530, you can hit the lights. So if you're planning it that way, that's a lot better than 6.

Right.

Yeah. Very good. So in terms of item number two, Councilmember Warren.

Yes, so what I'm hearing is we have a consensus, so I'd like to ask administration and Parks and Rec and police and fire and everyone to just really take a look at that and bring something back for next year in regards to combining those two events and moving it to the late afternoon. So I appreciate everyone's support for that. I know that we did touch upon it in strategic planning. Ms. O'Toole?

If I may, I just want to make sure I understand that we want to leave it on the same weekend, November 22nd, 23rd, somewhere. Okay, I just didn't want to interfere with actual Thanksgiving weekend, but I want to make sure that's not your recommendation or intention.

As long as we can extend the contract for next year, it will add two weeks to it. Okay. Okay. And, yep, I wanted to. We won't take money away from the shade structures and the playgrounds to do so. Thank you very much for the artificial turf fields. Thank you. And we appreciate you being open to trying something new.

Yeah, and my whole thing, I wanted to make sure PD was okay with it. Obviously, we collaborate with them. I would like to note Chief will be retired by then, so he might be saying sure now.

I see a future grand marshal in the picture there. He's already been asked and he's already declined. Well, we're going to have to have him reconsider that, Chief. He needs a new title from Chief to Grand Marshal. I think that sounds like it's a good title, change.

We'll have a year to plan and also some lead time to promote that to the public that there will be a change. So I appreciate that.

Do we need an amendment to the current agenda item, Mr. Spencer?

Because this is being presented to you all and the city has an executed agreement, what I'll do is go back to the company. Mr. Spencer, one moment.

Can I just ask for quiet in the chambers, please?

Thank you. I'll go back to the firm and relay what your desires are of the November 22nd and see if they can extend it and see what that cost would be. I'm going to try to get it at no cost. But as I said, there will probably be a minimum change. Goodwill is for a holiday parade. That's going to be my effort. That's going to be my effort. It would be a humbug. But with your approval of this change, I don't believe I need to present this back to city council for approval with the amendment or the minor adjustment in price.

I think if the motion is made appropriately, that would accept.

You certainly can approve it and direct staff to amend the contract within certain parameters or whatever you deem appropriate.

A motion to approve the contract with the direction to amend the contract with those extra two weeks. Great.

Thank you. Second.

We have a motion and we have a second. And just to be sure that the motion and the second is in consideration of the entirety of our discussion as to how to move forward. Seeing no further discussion, Ms. Beggarow, please call the roll on item two.

Councilmember Andreu?

Yes.

Councilmember Fadgen? Yes. Councilmember Horland? Yes. Councilmember Anderson? Yes. Councilmember Einstein?

Yes.

Thank you.

Next up, we have agenda item three, Councilmember Fadgen.

Thank you. It's probably not for you, Charles. Really, just kind of a question regarding, I was reading it and it's kind of interesting. It had a little bit of a history of the preserve and, you know, looking at the wetland permit that created the wetland around up the spine of the course. And then the monitoring plan, there was like a five-year monitoring plan that had to be reported. I don't know if it was to the state or the Army Corps of Engineers.

Samira Shalancity engineer to Broward County. Quarterly reports are filed to Broward County surface water life.

For the first five years. Yes. Not continuous. Not now.

Continuous monitoring.

So we report quarterly? Yes. Quarterly. So what are we reporting?

So there is actually a consultant engineer, Miller Legg. They are on quarterly basis. They inspect that permit parameter from a planting perspective because there is a required planting part of the wetland.

And I think that's kind of where my question was going, like, is there a continuing, because what I read in the permit in the monitoring plan, it was for the five years and then it kind of ended. I didn't know there was continuous. Oh, it is continuous. So I was just curious, what kind of maintenance are we doing to make sure that invasive species are not getting in there? Was this reestablishing a wetland because, you know, at the beginning of the 20th century, we're three feet underwater, or was this a creation of a wetland?

No, no. The wetland permit that was attached to this contract is just informative for the contractor, for the vendor, to be aware, hey, we have a permit.

But it isn't about the aquatic weed and algae management. It's more about are we going into the preserve and seeing that the native plants that were put in there are still there? Yes. So nothing invasive has gotten in there? Correct. We're cleaning up the garbage that might float in there and stuff.

As I stated, there is a consultant, an environmental consultant, who visits the preserve on a quarterly basis. We, in Stormwater, we coordinate with that consultant. Actually, in several occasions, we walked through together. The consultant had performed their inspection. They provided specific treatment and specific areas that need additional attention, and we provided that service.

When you say we, do you go out there with them?

Bill Mulder, the Stormwater manager, did.

I want a boot day.

Hmm?

I want a boot day.

It's raining, so you may get a call from me.

Hey, it's been five years. I'm waiting. But I wouldn't mind tagging along if that's possible at one point.

Definitely. Next time we will.

If you can share that date with all of us. Definitely. That would be dangerous. And then I guess the same thing would be for Volunteer Park.

Definitely.

Okay. This really didn't have anything to do with this particular item. It really had to do with, I was just curious about, like, what's the ongoing maintenance? What are we doing to make sure that we're, that it is a special thing? Because when you're out there golfing, you do come across a lot of the wildlife. There's a lot of rabbits out there. Correct. Came across a snake the last time I was out there. Don't really like that. I'm like Indiana Jones. But it's something I just want to make sure that we're doing everything.

And I just want to add, it's highly regulated. We submit the reports to Broward County. They review the environmental engineer report. And if we're not meeting the regulation, there are consequences of that. So we're in compliance of the government.

Okay.

Good, good, good, good. You answered everything I wanted to know. With that, I'll make a motion to approve. Thank you.

One moment, please. Councilmember Anderson.

Hi. Hi. I wasn't going to pull it, but since it was pulled, I'll comment on it. So it's, if you go into the supporting material, it does show all the waterways and so forth. I don't remember looking as deeply, maybe because it's like a 118-page contract, and I looked into all the attachments and looked at the lakes. It made me realize a lot of the area around plantation aisles, that's all seawalls. Correct. So what weeds are they really taking care of?

So it's not necessarily weed. I know it's algae also. It's the contractor's inspection and maintenance, or algae growth maintenance. So part of the price or the scope of services is to inspect, and if there is an issue, to treat. So we're getting the inspection and the treatment part of the unit price we're getting. So as you alluded, that area in plantation is a tidal area and surrounded by seawall. So the vendor, on a monthly basis, either they deploy boats or by foot, they inspect every waterway per the contract provision, and they write a report. If maintenance or treatment is needed, they provide the treatment, and they provide monthly report. Once we receive all that documentation, the stormwater manager, on a monthly basis, take this report, follow up with the vendor. If we're not satisfied with the service, we will do corrective action. As you've seen in the backup material of this item, the current vendor is performing satisfactory. Therefore, we're recommending renewing the contract with them.

Okay. So I read it differently, that they would do 12 months of service, meaning they would drive around with their boat and spray what was necessary. I didn't know the inspection would count, and only if it was warranted, if they warranted it, that they would then treat it.

Actually, they do similar to the pool treatment. They take a sample of the water, and they have a quick test of the pH and certain other parameter, and that's how they create the secret sauce for that particular waterway.

Okay. Another question. This may be separate. This was aquatic weeds and algae. But when I've noticed it's always, but whenever there's a high wind event, not necessarily that it's blowing coconuts off, but it stacks the debris all to one side of a lake, that's when you can clearly see this a lot. Rather than it being 360 degrees of the lake, it's all on one way because of the prevailing wind for a long period of time. So I'll see it at wherever there's a pipe or a drain. You'll have 30, 40, 50 feet of coconuts and styrofoam and everything. Is the waterway cleanup any part of this, or is that a separate whole thing?

So the scope of services is inspection and treatment of the algae. There is line item, pardon me, I forgot the line item, for additional services and additional...

Oh, $130 an hour or something at the bottom, I saw that.

However, our staff, our stormwater staff, are aware of these areas and chronic areas, and through our monthly and rotating maintenance schedule, through our repurchase, you guys authorized us to purchase a mechanical harvester. We deployed the mechanical harvester several times in specific areas. So we're doing ourselves a lot of times? We're doing the maintenance because we are aware of a specific chronic area that's not necessarily algae or weed specific.

That's a lot of the coconuts. Correct.

Because people plant coconuts and they just drop tons and hundreds and hundreds. Bags of coconuts and other trash. Actually, last week, staff were on one of the waterways of Sunrise Boulevard and 65th, just across the street from the high school, and I personally inspected that. And how many... They collected 11 bags of trash in that particular waterway.

Okay. I'm satisfied. Thank you.

Councilman Randjaya.

Thank you. I was just going to add to President Fadgen's question that our... Yeah. I'm sorry. Councilmember Fadgen's question to state that we also have students from South Plantation Environmental Magnet that also go out there and work with staff from the city on those invasive species and removing them, because I know that I was a part of that last year. So, just to do that plug for the South Plantation Firm Magnet as well. Can I...

Can I... One more follow-up? Is that okay, President Fadgen?

Oh.

Councilmember Anderson.

I'm not positive of the answer, but when you look at the map, you have it broken down my section, then you have a full map. There's areas that have tons of water, and there's no treatment at all, and I assume it's the way the neighborhood was formed, and it's probably the HOA's job to form... to cover that. But I would assume much like... But I'm thinking like Jacarana Lakes. Jacarana Lakes takes care of the lakes. Correct. But the city takes care of the road. Correct. The other neighborhoods, the neighborhood takes care of the road. So I'm just confused on how that...

It depends on how the subdivision have been developed through site plan. So there is waterways that are owned and maintained by the city. There are certain waterways under this contract is privately owned, but there is an executed maintenance agreement between certain entities, whether it is private entity, such as the E-Lake in Park East and City of Plantation. We maintain that per the agreement that was executed. There is several agreements between City of Plantation and FDUT, for example, on the maintenance of certain waterways. So we don't own these waterways, however we maintain them. The majority of City of Plantation private community, the waterways within the community is owned and maintained by the homeowners association or the individuals if there is no homeowners association. The waterways that we are responsible, the majority of them are owned by City of Plantation. And the seven waterways that are not owned, we have a maintenance agreement executed between these entities and City of Plantation.

Thank you. Thanks for your time.

Thank you very much. Council Member Fajin, want to make the motion now?

Motion to approve.

We have a motion. Do we have a second? Second. I have a motion and a second on Item 3. Seeing no further comment, Ms. Beggro, please call the roll.

Council Member Andreu? Yes. Council Member Fajin? Yes. Council Member Horland? Yes. Council Member Anderson? Yes. Council Member Einstein? Yes.

Item 10, Mr. Conklin, you've requested. To pull Item 10.

Then it's Conklin, 4581 Northwest Sixth Court. Actually, I kind of blew it up. I meant to do 11. But the CRA, I've often suggested certain businesses to go into that area, which was in the gateway. And I mentioned Ollie's, the bargain outlet. And really, the properties are there. Because of the taking along State Road 7 and everything, the properties aren't suitable for it. But in the Midtown, there's been development in the Ensign Asian Market area. And the store right next to it has been vacant for years, 76, 76 Peters Road. And that's about the size of an Ollie's bargain outlet. And that's basically what I wanted to talk about Midtown. It's already passed. So, they spent $1,800 in the Gateway on water and wastewater. So, I'll yield back my time. And just maybe we can get Ollie's a little bit into the Midtown, not out on the East Side. Thank you. Yield back.

Thank you, Mr. Conklin. Do we have a motion? To approve. Motion to approve. Item 10 by Council Member Fajin. Do we have a second?

Second.

Second by Council Member Horland. Seeing no further discussion, Ms. Beggarro, please call the roll.

Council Member Andreu.

Yes.

Council Member Fajin. Yes. Council Member Horland. Yes. Council Member Anderson. Yes. Council Member Reinstein.

Yes. Next up, Legislative Item 12, an ordinance creating Section 26-9, Bulk Water or Wastewater Service. City Attorney.

Yes, sir. This is first reading of an ordinance of the City of Plantation, Florida, creating Section 26-9, Bulk Water or Wastewater Service, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Plantation, providing for severability, codification, conflicts, and necessity. Effective Date.

Do we have a motion?

Motion to approve.

Do we have a second?

Second.

Seeing no discussion, Ms. Beggarro, please call the roll.

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

Comments by the Mayor.

First off, thank you to all staff, including finance and every department head on the budget. Everybody looked and worked very well together. Number two, we've been studying schools. Laura Carpavia-Chutti and administration have worked hard. Laura, do you want me to read this whole thing? I'm going to skip. So, as you know, they're looking at a number of schools and redefining our schools, plantation, middle, plantation, higher included. Council Member Horland has requested an opportunity to discuss the subject in advance of the community meeting for the district on September 25th. So, we will set aside time for you to converse at the next council meeting, September 17th. So, I hope we have a good talk about it. So, I wanted to ask the next week. Is that I meaning you or I meaning me? Okay. So, I wanted to ask that next week you come prepared with your input. Why are you hearing from our residents when it comes to schools? What are you hearing from business? What do local schools need to do to meet the community expectations and prepare students for academic success? Sounds good? That's it. Thank you all.

May I address the mayor?

Do you need an hour or do you want to wait to your own comments? 1100 Northwest 9th. Well, it's his thing.

Go ahead, Council Member Hines. You said we could reach out. I mean, we know we can reach out to people to find out. I wonder if that's something the city could be asking for input from the residents that you could be soliciting it rather than through us. Good idea. Yeah.

We also are trying to engage EAB, too, because you're each assigned to a school.

But we're – I'm talking broader because EAB is definitely – they work with us and they're in it and wouldn't know it. But it's the broader people. We want to know what everybody's saying.

And we're also trying to find a way to reach people who do not attend those schools. Right. That's what I'm – yes. Yeah, that's a hard – people who attend the school is easy. Outside of the bubble. That's what I'm saying. Plantation Middle has a PTA of 1. You know, Plantation High has a PTA of 20. We've got to get beyond that. Yeah. Yeah. No, great idea.

Council Member Hines, do you want to speak on that point?

So we all probably, I think, met with the vendor that's doing the branding and marketing and serving us. And there were a few questions related to the schools, so maybe she can share that data with us at this upcoming meeting. If you have that as well, that could be helpful. Council Member Horland.

Thank you. Quickly, I want to thank Laura, administration, and the mayor for putting the agenda. I thought it was important for all of us to have the conversation ahead of the community discussion. But I think specifically, and to Council Member Anderson's point, we need to know why people are not sending their children to those schools and what would get them back in the door. So I think if we could put something out, and I appreciate the administration putting out the social media post regarding it, but maybe we'll step it up and ask for some feedback to be emailed.

That's a great point, because only half the people are on social media. Right. Right. However, we can try to reach them. Half the people are on this thing and half are. Right. So how do we get the other half?

So thank you for that.

Anything further, Mayor? Council Member Orland, why don't you go right into your comments, please?

Thank you, Mr. President. Since we're speaking at schools, I want to congratulate our own Jesse Valenzuela, EAB member, who was appointed as vice chair to the Broward County Public Schools Parent Involvement and Community Engagement Task Force. So we're very excited that plantation is going to have a voice as the vice chair on there. I wanted to ask quickly if anybody was available at 1030 on Friday to present this proclamation. I had attempted to – this is for the National Federation of the Blind. They invited me to their picnic in the beginning of August, and then the recipient did not show up. She was sick that day. I have a conflicting meeting at 1030 Friday at the Police Outreach Center. So if anyone's available, I would appreciate it. No, you can't. Mayor?

Where is it?

It's at the Police Outreach Center. Council Member Fadgen? Friday. Okay. That's true. September 15th is coming up, right?

If you don't mind, leave it as it is, and I'll walk through City Hall, too, because instead of an elected doing it, maybe I can get a staff.

Okay, if we can get somebody to – I would appreciate that. Thank you very much. I believe every elected official received an email from Broward League of Cities this week, leading when Broward, why I ran for office. It's a quick video series, 30 to 45 seconds. I would really love for my colleagues to participate. We really want to hear why people ran for office as we're – yes. Yes. Go ahead. You want to? May I? I'll take your comment.

Council Member Andreyu. Thank you, President Reinstein. I wanted to know – I did receive that, Council Member Horland, and wanted to know. I think it's a great initiative. I was wondering, could we submit a joint video production produced by our own Felix and Michelle? So I don't know if they could schedule a time where they do it with so many other ones, and we could – like we did with, you know, the Relay for Life and the Holiday one. And coordinate it so that we could just do one joint, the City of Plantation one. I think that'd be great. I'm sure they have some very creative ideas.

So perhaps the mayor can arrange that for the next meeting. We just need to, yeah, get these – get them into Broward League of Cities. When's the deadline? Deadline is October 1st.

October 1st.

We won't have another meeting, though. September 17th. Yeah, it'd have to be next week. Right. Okay. Okay. So we'll see what we can do. Thank you for that, Council Member Andreyu. Solid waste update. We had a meeting this week of the – the master plan will be presented to the governing board to be voted on on Friday the 19th. There is a meeting next week that I'll be attending. I think a lot of us had gone out when waste management came in with a concrete crusher. So there's a meeting next week of the C&D subcommittee, of which I am somehow now a part of, figuring out how we can get the construction and demolition debris out of the landfills because we really feel that's low-hanging fruit, something that the cities can do quickly. They are going out for RFPs. There's a lot of moving parts to this, but the thing that we've asked this week is that we need to start coming back with some dollars before the cities vote on this master plan so that we understand what the financial commitment is. So that is moving along. Tomorrow, South Florida Regional Planning Council has a business case for transit-oriented development with affordable and workforce housing. It's an all-day conference. And I just want to mention, because I think we all have been – put ourselves in roles of mentoring. And there was a young woman who attended our last council meeting, Sarah Ramirez, plantation resident, who emigrated here from Cuba and decided she wanted to be a planner. And she came. I invited her to that meeting. We had the MMG project. She sat through the entire meeting. It was very eye-opening for her. But Michael Alpert in the planning department and Dan Holmes welcomed her in to Shadow, and she'll be attending this conference with me tomorrow. So I love that the city has embraced her, and I love that she wants to go into planning. So anyway, lastly, 24 years ago tonight, thousands of families went to bed not realizing their lives were about to change the next day. So September 11th tomorrow, I'd like everyone to just take a moment and keep those families in your thoughts. So thank you very much, Mr. President.

Thank you, Councilmember Horland. Councilmember Anderson.

Chief, you don't need to do it now. We're meeting next week. Could you give us an update where we are with the speeding ticket cameras in school zones? I just thought we were due for September. I know it keeps getting delayed, but I just don't know where we are. I know it's a final few. You can – yeah.

Real quick, we're waiting on two more approvals. That's what I thought. We're just down to a couple. From County, I think it is. It's Broward County. We're waiting on two more. And once we get the approvals – All right, you mean he came up. Once we get the approvals, we'll plant them, and we hope to get the trial period – You'll plant them? What do you mean you'll – Put them on the – Yes.

Well, they still need to be deployed. There's some out there from a city's right-of-way standpoint, but from a county or state, we still need to get –

You're right. So it's just the devil and the final details, getting there the last couple. And then we will turn them all on at the same time.

Yes, sir. And, of course, we're going to have the public service announcement and the 30-day – Hold harmless. Yes, sir.

Warning.

Warnings. Mm-hmm. Councilor President Reynstein. Mayor. Body cams.

Oh, well, our body cams have officially started, so we've got a few out there as we speak.

Are you recording us right now? No. No.

But a lot going on with the department. We've rolled out our new RMS that went out – go live today. Body warning cameras went out live today. We did train the trainer yesterday. We had our first batch today, so we're moving along. So it's a good – very good time right now for us.

Busy, but good. Yes. Thank you, Chief.

That's it for me. Thank you.

Councilmember Fragment.

I've enjoyed this so much, I think we should come back Friday for a 5 o'clock meeting. So see you Friday.

That's all I got.

Councilmember Aranjayo.

Thank you. Monday, September 15th, begins National Hispanic Heritage Month, and the theme this year is Preserving Legacies, Building Futures, Empowering Communities Through Heritage. So let's all honor our Hispanic residents and our shared values and culture. And if you did not see it on social media, I'll be hosting Runway for a Cure, a fashion show that is featuring survivors of cancer, not just breast cancer primarily, but of cancer. And that's going to be Saturday, October 4th at Broward Mall at 2 p.m. If you're interested in modeling, and we want male models too, please let me know. So it's for a great cause, and we have Daily Thread in Broward Mall that will be sponsoring all of the fashion. So you'll look great and raise awareness. I want to thank Chief also. He's going to have the car out there, the wrapped car for breast cancer in October as well. And we'll be featuring some celebrity models. So join us for some fun, information, and education as we raise awareness and find a cure. And I was surprised Mr. Conklin did not mention. I just want to extend our condolences to Council Member Lee Hillier's family. Many of us did attend the wake last week, and so we keep them in our thoughts and prayers as well. Thank you. Mayor, you have something to say?

Real quick, yeah, 501 Friday, on behalf of Samira, I'm to ask, do people want to see a presentation or not? A brief one? Okay. A brief one? I'm just asking what the Council wants, and tell Samira what she wants, and she'll plan it.

I don't need, you need a, you want a brief one? Okay. No. I don't need a full presentation.

I think the consensus is that it's not necessary for the dais.

Just be ready to discuss it. You owe me one.

I think maybe have one in the backup, right, for the public, and then we probably don't need to go through it in its entirety. I think our goal should be back.

Very good. Thank you. Mayor, I'm glad I called on you then for that one. I'd like to finish up with Council Member Horland, rightfully so, mentioned tomorrow, September 11th. Um, the Plantation Fire Department, uh, some of their volunteers conduct a ladder climb at UFC Fit Gym in Plantation Walk. It'll be the third annual 9-11 ladder climb at 6 p.m. at, again, at UFC Fitness. So if you're available to cheer them on, uh, they, uh, that would, that would be very nice. Uh, I want to also, uh, recognize that the Friends of the Plantation Library had their first meeting on Monday for the new season, and they had, uh, a author, Rick Lokenbach, author of Navigator Down, a Jewish POW in Nazi Germany, and, uh, it was a wonderful presentation, and so, um, they're off to a great start with the, uh, Friends of Plantation Library. And then I also wanted to add, to put on your calendar, that on September 20th, um, John Way Martial Arts is doing a free community event with a free workshop for kids and adults, and, um, they're having one for, uh, a bullying response, one for women's self-defense, and one for men's self-defense. And so they've been a great partner with the city, and so they wanted to make sure that, uh, the community was aware. Um, Mary wanted to, was there something else? Uh, with that being said, 7.29 meeting is adjourned.