The Fort Lauderdale City Commission held a conference meeting on March 4, 2025, starting at 1:30 PM. The meeting covered a range of topics including updates from advisory boards, neighbor presentations on leaded aviation fuel and a missing person case, the presentation of the city's Net Zero Plan, a business tax study, budget engagement, and an update on the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) Phase Two project. Commissioners also discussed several administrative and policy items during their reports.
Good afternoon everybody and welcome to the City Commission conference meeting this March 4th, 2025. Well thank you all for being here today. We have a lot of exciting things to discuss and uh might as well get started. Uh we can begin with communications, but I don't have my computer to know what the communications are. So I'm sorry? Okay, but I don't know what they were because I don't have I don't have my computer just yet. So uh maybe Mr. Clerk you can recite to me what the um communication is. Okay, so for charter number one, are we working towards some sort of deadline that they have in mind as to when our work will be done? And two, would they like all of our work to be presented at one time, or would they like us to present one or more sections and incremental progress reports as we get through? Okay. Uh well I'll let everyone I'll let everyone on the commission respond if they want to. But I think the first question uh clearly is you know, since these have to be voted on by the public, the next uh the next public uh vote is not going to be until 2026. 2026 for the midterms. So I think what we need to do, Mayor, is have David figure out working his way backwards with the supervisor of elections when it needs to be to them, and then a couple of months for us to kind of thresh it out and and work on it. Right. So that would probably be the answer. So but the sooner the better because making a presentation to the commission and then having go back in the community in the back and the fourth before we finally agree on final wording and final elements. I think that the first round that was presented to the city commission last time, there were a number of non-controversial items that we could probably um uh uh reoffer uh this time around. There was some cleanup uh provisions and and there were some other provisions regarding parks and so forth that that uh we might be able to agree on without uh much controversy. Uh and then there are other provisions that I think the the commission during its uh goal setting session had indicated that they would like to see the charter review uh charter revision board um consider and then present again to the back to the commission. So so again to Commissioner Herp's point, we can work ourselves backwards, see what the deadline is, and that would be the we try to get uh get ahead of that number so that we at least have something to put on the next uh ballot, which should be March of 2026. Mayor, could I offer uh another suggestion as well? So one of the problems we ran into last time, as you all probably recall, was we got a fairly large batch of items to review and it proved to be probably too much for us to digest all at once. So you know the old expression about how you eat an elephant, it's one bite at a time. So my suggestion is we go along with the idea of having the uh the committee bring it to us as they discuss one and come to a consensus on it when they do their communications to the commission, they could say, okay, at our last meeting, we thought this one was something that we want to bring forward to you. They can bring it to us, we can discuss it in this format and say yay, nay, or modify it or or whatever. But I think if we over the course of the next you know twelve months are looking at these one at a time, it'll be an easier conversation for us to have, and I think it would give more direction to charter revision. Because I've been talking with you know my appointee, Mr. Weiss, about this, and and they want to make sure that that they are executing on our direction and don't want to go through all that again to have everything summarily rejected at the end. So in order for us to keep everybody engaged, I think ongoing feedback on a consistent uh and regular basis will be more valuable for them. So do you think that should come in the form of of just a communication or maybe do quarterly workshops or both? Well, I I think uh you know, I certainly I'm always open to both, but I think as I said, if if they have a meeting and they and they take a vote on something and they want to communicate that to us, that gives us an opportunity to sit down at our next workshop and or I'm sorry, next conference meeting and simply bring it up for discussion and decide if we want to move forward with it. So I just think that one bite at a time it will be easier and a much more effective and efficient process of thought. And I think and and not so much one provision at a time, but maybe like a group of a sure group of provisions like a tranche, like maybe a whole section we can discuss at a time, and that way we can uh we can uh uh respond to the board and and and if we decide to make any uh recommendations uh we can do so at that time. So yeah, taking it taking it in in steps might be might be the the best way. Any anyone else have any other comments? Good with that. Yeah, that that that all sounds good. Just um one question and Richard I see you you hear. Just um one question and Richard, I see you you hear um the it's my understanding the city commission shared with the charter revision board some items they'd like the charter revision board to address. Is that right? Great. So it is that are the is that on your list to review, Richard. I just want to check to see if you need further guidance from the commission or suggestions, or you've got what you need. Thanks. Good afternoon. Um first of all, I want to tell you that I'm here because I was requested to be here. I'm not the chairman of the charter review board because you've been subpoenaed, Richard. Probably subpoenaed, yes.