OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Fort Lauderdale City Commission Conference Meeting - April 15, 2025

City Commission — Tuesday, April 15, 2025
BodyFort Lauderdale, Florida
SessionCity Commission
DateTuesday, April 15, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:55:38

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the City Commission conference meeting this April 15th, 2024.

0:06

I want to thank you all for being here.

0:11

I know everyone's excited about being here today.

0:14

So we have uh a relatively short agenda this afternoon, so uh we might might as well begin now.

0:21

We'll start with business one.

0:23

Uh this is an introduction to the size up FTL business tool.

0:28

So who's gonna be talking to us about that?

0:31

It's me again.

0:32

Hello, Daphne.

0:33

Daphne Sainville, public affairs manager for the city of Fort Lauderdale, uh, mayor, vice mayor, commissioners.

0:40

I am very pleased to present Size Up FTL, which is a new business intelligent initiative designed to support small business growth and economic development in the city, and this online tool will be available at no cost to the public.

0:56

Um, here we go.

1:03

So, because it's a new business development tool, we want to show you a quick video and how it works.

1:19

Hi, I'm J.R.

1:21

Charles, Customer Success Manager for Size Up.

1:23

While we know that any business of any size and any industry can benefit from Size Up, I want to take just a few short minutes to walk you through a use case for local business.

1:36

I wanted to also say Mr.

1:38

Charles, um, our representative and the the president's CEO is on a Zoom to talk about if you have any questions after the video.

1:46

Okay.

1:47

And who is this gentleman?

1:48

Mr.

1:49

J.R.

1:49

Charles.

1:50

Okay.

1:50

Our representative.

1:51

So it's a pre it's a pre-planned, it's a pre recorded video.

1:55

I understand that, but can we put on a bigger screen?

1:59

Ah, okay.

2:02

Yeah, that's not video for recording.

2:07

Oh, okay.

2:09

All righty.

2:12

Hi, I'm J.R.

2:13

Charles, Customer Success Manager for Size Up.

2:16

While we know that any business of any size and any industry can benefit from Size Up, I want to take just a few short minutes to walk you through a use case for a local business that can really benefit from size up's data.

2:27

Small businesses traditionally don't have access to this type of data.

2:30

This is usually reserved for Starbucks, McDonald's, Walmart, and larger corporations.

2:35

But let's look at an example of a small coffee shop that could really benefit from this type of information.

2:40

Now, I've pre-filled out information in the interest of time, but the results will be the same.

2:45

Let's take a look at a coffee shop that's making about $2 million.

2:49

We can see that's a little above average for a typical coffee shop in Fort Lauderdale, but not completely out of bounds.

2:55

The map will show us the darker areas where coffee shops make between 1.8 to 2 million dollars.

3:01

And that's what sizeup is going to give you.

3:03

Specific information about your specific business.

3:06

Size Up will also give you a trend line of businesses that are opening up here across the nation, state, and metro area.

3:13

We can even see salaries here, as well as specific salaries for specific positions here in this case, hosts, cooks, and food servers.

3:23

We can also look at the number of employees that business has.

3:26

This coffee shop has high revenue, but it's also a big coffee shop.

3:30

We can see that there are nearly twice as many people at this coffee shop than the regional ones.

3:36

We can all agree that 20 people is a small business, but this coffee shop is larger than the typical coffee shop in the city.

3:42

That's gonna result in a cost effectiveness calculation that size up provides to you.

3:47

This isn't generic.

3:48

This is about a specific coffee shop that has higher than average revenue with more employees at a higher salary.

3:55

We can also see here information such as revenue per capita, local retention, health care costs, workers' comp information that would normally be hidden from a small business owner.

4:07

We can also see that there are open hours here.

4:10

In this case, we plan to be open 55 hours a week, but we can see regionally that coffee shops are open more like 77 or even 88 hours in a week.

4:19

This next chart will show you here what days they're open and what hours they're open.

4:24

This is where size up gives data that is normally hidden.

4:27

It makes the invisible obvious.

4:54

And we can even click inside the map and see the contact information of these different attorneys if we have a way to reach out to them.

5:03

We can also look at supply chain.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management████████████████████████24%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████14%
Technology and Innovation████████8%
Public Engagement███████7%
Community Engagement██████6%
Community Redevelopment Agency██████6%
Public Health█████5%
Homelessness████4%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Fort Lauderdale City Commission Conference Meeting - April 15, 2025

The Fort Lauderdale City Commission held a conference meeting on April 15, 2025, at 1:30 PM (with a closed-door session scheduled for 4:30 PM). The agenda included the introduction of a new business intelligence tool (SizeUp FTL), a detailed update on the Fortify Lauderdale stormwater program, commissioner reports, and a subsequent Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) board meeting. Key decisions involved approval of methodology for ranking Phase 2 stormwater projects, consensus on repurposing District 4 park impact fees, and multiple CRA resolutions.

Discussion Items

  • SizeUp FTL Business Tool (BUS-1): Daphne Sainville, Public Affairs Manager, presented a new free online tool designed to support small business growth. The tool provides data on local market demographics, supply chains, and advertising targeting. Initial cost to the city is $12,488, with an annual cost of $9,488; no cost to the public. The tool is available via the city's public affairs website, with outreach workshops planned. Commissioners expressed support with no objections.
  • Fortify Lauderdale Update (BUS-2): Abby Koram (Interim Public Works Director) and Rob Taylor (Hazen and Sawyer) presented the two-year anniversary update on the stormwater improvement program. Phase 1 included 8 neighborhoods (5 bid, 3 in design). Phase 2 covers 17 neighborhoods, to be grouped into 12 projects across three time-based groups, with completion targeted by 2033. The proposed ranking methodology uses a 75% weight on level-of-service (model-driven) scores and 25% on neighborhood feedback, with additional subjective criteria (hydrologic connectivity, spatial distribution, construction impacts). Commissioner Pam Beasley-Pittman raised concerns about uneven neighborhood participation in feedback, and Commissioner John Herbst noted flooding in Bayview not fully captured. The commission agreed to proceed with the methodology, with staff to return a ranked list for further adjustment.
  • Commissioner Reports:
    • Vice Mayor Herbst questioned water rate tiering for multifamily buildings; Assistant City Manager Susan Grant explained the equivalent residential unit conversion factor. Staff will provide examples.
    • Commissioner Beasley-Pittman reported on the Lexus Corporate Run (4,500 participants), a homeless task force success story, and community events.
    • Commissioner Steven Glassman reported on various events, including the upcoming ribbon cutting for Ocean Prime restaurant at Las Olas Marina on April 29, 2025.
    • Commissioner Ben Sorensen reported on Honor Flight, film industry activity (e.g., MIA streaming on Peacock), and sought consensus to use District 4 park impact fees (approx. $1.6 million originally for Tunnel Top Park, now completed) for the Lauderdale Isles community center. Consensus was given to move forward with the repurposing.
  • Mayor's Report: Mayor Dean Trantalis thanked first responders for the Tortuga Music Festival, noted Fleet Week events, and raised three items: (1) review of the one-stop shop/arts park agreement with a possible termination if milestones not met; (2) a request from downtown stakeholders to reconsider alcohol serving hours on Himmarshee Street due to late-night nuisance; (3) a request for name sponsorship of the "Israel Chai" concert on May 21, 2025. The commission agreed to the sponsorship.
  • City Manager's Report: City Manager Rickelle Williams announced a spring break after-action meeting, enhanced hurricane season communication plans, staff recognition (Al Battle and Tamika McKay), and a walk-on item for Florida Panthers playoff banners.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during the conference meeting. During the CRA board public hearing (PH1), several speakers registered in support of the Legacy Village development proposal; no opposition was voiced.

Key Outcomes

  • Fortify Lauderdale Methodology: The commission agreed to the proposed ranking methodology (75% model-driven, 25% neighborhood feedback), with staff to return a ranked list incorporating subjective criteria and commission input.
  • Water Rate Clarification: The city manager will provide examples of multifamily water rate tier calculations to verify equitable charges.
  • Park Impact Fees (District 4): Consensus to repurpose approximately $1.6 million in District 4 park impact fees originally allocated to Tunnel Top Park (completed) to fund the Lauderdale Isles community center, closing a funding gap (including a needed lift station). Staff will bring a formal action item.
  • CRA Board Actions:
    • Approved minutes of April 1, 2025 CRA board meeting.
    • Approved Resolution R1: $500,000 in CRA funding for lateral sewer connections to support affordable infill housing.
    • Approved Resolution R2: Policy for satisfaction of mortgages and releases in the Northwest Progresso/Flagler Heights and Central City CRA areas.
    • Approved Resolution PH1: Sale of multiple parcels (660, 708, 712, 716, 744, 800 NW 22nd Road and 808 NW 24th Avenue) to Central County Community Development Corporation, in partnership with Elabos Impact Capital and Broward County Minority Builders Coalition, for the Legacy Village development. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman expressed strong support for the project.
  • Closed-Door Session: The commission adjourned to executive session at 4:30 PM to discuss pending litigation in two cases (Tramon Landers v. City of Fort Lauderdale and City of Fort Lauderdale v. Terminal Ventures).

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the City Commission conference meeting this April 15th, 2024. I want to thank you all for being here. I know everyone's excited about being here today. So we have uh a relatively short agenda this afternoon, so uh we might might as well begin now. We'll start with business one. Uh this is an introduction to the size up FTL business tool. So who's gonna be talking to us about that? It's me again. Hello, Daphne. Daphne Sainville, public affairs manager for the city of Fort Lauderdale, uh, mayor, vice mayor, commissioners. I am very pleased to present Size Up FTL, which is a new business intelligent initiative designed to support small business growth and economic development in the city, and this online tool will be available at no cost to the public. Um, here we go. So, because it's a new business development tool, we want to show you a quick video and how it works. Hi, I'm J.R. Charles, Customer Success Manager for Size Up. While we know that any business of any size and any industry can benefit from Size Up, I want to take just a few short minutes to walk you through a use case for local business. I wanted to also say Mr. Charles, um, our representative and the the president's CEO is on a Zoom to talk about if you have any questions after the video. Okay. And who is this gentleman? Mr. J.R. Charles. Okay. Our representative. So it's a pre it's a pre-planned, it's a pre recorded video. I understand that, but can we put on a bigger screen? Ah, okay. Yeah, that's not video for recording. Oh, okay. All righty. Hi, I'm J.R. Charles, Customer Success Manager for Size Up. While we know that any business of any size and any industry can benefit from Size Up, I want to take just a few short minutes to walk you through a use case for a local business that can really benefit from size up's data. Small businesses traditionally don't have access to this type of data. This is usually reserved for Starbucks, McDonald's, Walmart, and larger corporations. But let's look at an example of a small coffee shop that could really benefit from this type of information. Now, I've pre-filled out information in the interest of time, but the results will be the same. Let's take a look at a coffee shop that's making about $2 million. We can see that's a little above average for a typical coffee shop in Fort Lauderdale, but not completely out of bounds. The map will show us the darker areas where coffee shops make between 1.8 to 2 million dollars. And that's what sizeup is going to give you. Specific information about your specific business. Size Up will also give you a trend line of businesses that are opening up here across the nation, state, and metro area. We can even see salaries here, as well as specific salaries for specific positions here in this case, hosts, cooks, and food servers. We can also look at the number of employees that business has. This coffee shop has high revenue, but it's also a big coffee shop. We can see that there are nearly twice as many people at this coffee shop than the regional ones. We can all agree that 20 people is a small business, but this coffee shop is larger than the typical coffee shop in the city. That's gonna result in a cost effectiveness calculation that size up provides to you.

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