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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-07 - City Commission NWCEO Meeting Minutes-Y. CITY OF S RISE Minutes of the Northwest Council of Elected Officials Hosted by the City of Sunrise June 7, 2021 @12:00p.m. via Zoom CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Sunrise Mayor Michael J. Ryan at 12:05p.m. Mayor Ryan welcomed all in attendance. PRESENT: Mayor Scott Brook @ 12:47pm Coral Springs Mayor Arlene R. Schwartz Margate Commissioner Anthony Caggiano Margate Commissioner Ken Cutler Parkland Commissioner Jordan Isrow Parkland Mayor Michael J. Ryan Sunrise Lourdes Lawrence, Administrative Aide Sunrise Salvatore Ciolino, Citizens Specialist Sunrise APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Upon motion by Parkland Commissioner Jordan Isrow and seconded by Margate Commissioner Anthony Caggiano minutes of the May 10th, 2021 meeting hosted by the City of Coconut Creek were approved unanimously. Mayor Michael Ryan welcomes and thanks the group for joining the Zoom call as this is a great opportunity to "see" each other. Mayor Ryan opens up the floor to the group. Commissioner Caggiano speaks on the Solid Waste issue which has been discussed in his municipality — he thanks Greg Lawson and members of the Broward League of Cities for coming out to their commission meeting and speaking on the subject. Commissioner Caggiano understands that this is a very significant issue so he is seeking guidance on how to get the other municipalities understand that this is a very crucial decision to make — this is a decision that cannot be delayed any further. Back and forth discussion ensued. --. Commissioner Caggiano thanks Mayor Ryan on the way he addressed it and explained it. Commissioner Cutler mentions this is a foreshadowing a number of issues as we eventually come up against as municipalities not just in this county but in other counties as we encounter sea level rise and other issues that the State will be facing. The erosion of home rule and other factors are going to play dramatically to what we are dealing with, this is only a foreshadowing of that. Mayor Ryan mentions that the home rule assault was stunning this past session and agrees that it will not change. Back and forth discussion ensued on sea level rise, salt water intrusion in the aquifer — financially and environmentally. Mayor Schwartz it does come back to a matter of trust 1 Minutes of the Northwest Council of Elected Officials June 7, 2021 and agrees with Commissioner Caggiano as she has seen and been around for a while to feel the mistrust. Back and forth discussion ensued. Mayor Schwartz mentions that she attended Hispanic Vote a couple of weeks ago and Joe Scott, Supervisor of Elections showed up. Mayor Schwartz explained that she believes Mr. Scott now gets that municipalities are not happy with the numbers. When Greg Ross asked him point blank "show us where the numbers came from?" Mr. Scott couldn't provide a response. She continues with providing an example: City of Margate was charged $18,000 for the last election and now Mr. Scott's office sent Margate the new number for $88,000, then changed it again to $38,000. Mayor Schwartz asked Mr. Scott "are you running a deficit in your department?" Mr. Scott responded with "no". Mayor Schwartz does not know where the numbers came from or even the idea to charge the municipalities. Mayor Schwartz continues how most municipalities moved their elections to November instead of March so lower the election costs. Mayor Schwartz continues that she has an issue with defraying the cost for those who have March elections. Mayor Schwartz thinks Mr. Scott finally heard it for more than one city, but that's a real issue when he can't explain where his numbers come from. Commissioner Isrow agreed with Mayor Schwartz and expressed the same concerns when Mr. Scott came to Parkland to give his explanation. Mr. Scott expressed to them that his numbers were tied to SOE's data. Commissioner Isrow mentioned that Mr. Scott's predecessors were making decisions arbitrarily without any real justification or tied to the data. Commissioner Isrow questioned Mr. Scott and requested the data that pointed to the new numbers, but Mr. Scott could not provide that data. To Commissioner Isrow that response is very concerning — Mr. Scott may be trying to make improvements in his department and Covid-19 most likely played a big role in the funding issues, however, Commissioner Isrow believes municipalities should be given valid meaningful numbers. Commissioner Isrow did ask Mr. Scott what the process will be by which the municipalities are going be able to challenge or object to this change, the implementation? — Mr. Scott said "just call me and we will work together". Commissioner Isrow does not sound like a formal process that municipalities can proceed. Mayor Schwartz did mention after back and forth discussion that Mr. Scott's final word was "I am right" meaning he is right with his numbers. Back and forth discussion ensued. Commissioner Caggiano mentioned that he posed the question to Mr. Scott, how can you be out there looking to defend people's right to vote, and to make it easier to vote. Having no problem having a 10% turnout versus a 75%, and he truly had no problem, with the cities that had only 10% turnout. Back and forth discussion ensued. Commissioner Isrow mentioned that perhaps sending a group unified. A letter can be sent to Mr. Scott and have it on record and these types of conversations are not just one-on-one or behind closed doors discussions. Mayor Ryan clarifies that Ms. Traci Callari has pulled together a group to meet with the Clerk's Association because they're really the keepers of the analysis and are very detail oriented. Ms. Callari pulled together some folks to be representative, what I've heard is, we need to be probably doing this over the summer because it could come up in the county commission budget process in September. Mary Lou Tighe with the Broward League is working to get everybody together. Cities will have to get together in August 2 Minutes of the Northwest Council of Elected Officials June 7, 2021 to pass resolutions in opposition, sending it out the County Commission and making it clear that this is an effort to two impair our budgets. Back and forth discussion ensued. Mayor Ryan welcomes Mayor Brook as he joined the meeting. He continues with speaking about his passion — Mental Wellness. Coral Spring is going to be doing some unique things in the near future on the mental wellness movement. Aside from being Mayor he has started the Mental Wellness Networking Alliance. Mayor Brook continues with his personal experience with losing his mother to suicide and a teenager in the Coral Springs community who recently lost his life to suicide. Mayor Brook's thought is that mental wellness is also an economic driver, let alone something we all strive for, but there's still that stigma that's often associated with mental illness. The organization is there to help change the dialog, share about education and advocacy, and make sure people feel listened to and know that it's OK not to be OK. So we help connect the dots with NAMI 211 in other organizations. If anyone is interested in becoming a part of that or learning more about it, you can e-mail me or text me and I'm happy to get you involved — Mayor Scott's number is 954-494-9872. Mayor Scott Brook reiterated that he is part of this organization not in his official capacity as Mayor. He believes that we are not turning a corner on Covid, but we're about to have the trial in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Shooting and it is imperative to have a need for people to feel comfortable speaking about their challenges and or seeking resources, and there's a need for us as listeners, to make sure those people are heard and not feeling ashamed. Back and forth discussion occurred regarding the Marjory Stoneman Douglas case and how and when it will take place. Mayor Schwartz points out that the case will most likely take place sometimes in September. Commissioner Ken Cutler confirms what Mayor Brook pointed out, that he knows firsthand from speaking to a lot of the teachers, and some of the students, this year is the freshmen class that was at the school, during the tragedy. This case will sort of reawaken the sleeping dragon, in terms of their own personal trauma and tragedy. It will be very tough for our community for a while. All present agreed. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Ryan announced that he hopes to "see" everyone at the next Northwest Council of Elected Officials and wishes everyone a great day. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:55 p.m with a motion from Commissioner Caggiano and seconded by Commissioner Isrow with all present in favor of adjournment. 3 Minutes of the Northwest Council of Elected Officials June 7, 2021