Miami-Dade Transportation Committee Meeting – October 15, 2025
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Miami-Dade Transportation Committee Meeting – October 15, 2025
The Miami-Dade County Transportation Committee met on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at 9:00 AM in Commission Chambers. Chairwoman Eileen Higgins presided. Commissioners present: Higgins, Regalado, Bastien. Commissioners Bermudez and García were absent. The committee recognized a volunteer transit ambassador, approved a resolution for property acquisition for the Sunshine Station/Golden Glades Multimodal Transportation Facility, approved a wrong-way driving countermeasures agreement with FDOT, and approved minutes from previous meetings.
Special Presentation
- The committee recognized Ms. Catheline Ahmed-Vargas as the CITT Ambassador of the Quarter for April–June 2025. She was presented with a plaque and awarded 5,000 additional points for her volunteer service. Since joining in December 2022, she accumulated 37,750 points in Q2 2025, making her the top performer for the quarter.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public submitted speaker cards or came forward to speak during the reasonable opportunity to be heard.
Discussion Items
- Item 3A – Resolution declaring the acquisition of Parcel 1 for the Sunshine Station/Golden Glades Multimodal Transportation Facility (GGMTF) kiss-and-ride and pedestrian bridge a public necessity, authorizing acquisition by negotiation or eminent domain, and allowing an incentive offer of up to 15% over appraised value. A scrivener’s error was corrected: the scope section now notes that part of the project is in District 2 (Commissioner Bastien). The item was forwarded to the full County Commission with a favorable recommendation.
- Item 3B – Resolution approving an off-system construction and maintenance agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for wrong-way driving countermeasures at various locations in Miami-Dade County. Forwarded to the full County Commission with a favorable recommendation.
- Item 6A – Approval of the Clerk’s Summary of Minutes for the Transportation Committee meetings held on July 8, 2025, and September 9, 2025. Approved.
Key Outcomes
- Item 3A (Parcel acquisition for GGMTF) forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners with a favorable recommendation (vote 3-0).
- Item 3B (Wrong-way driving countermeasures agreement) forwarded to the BCC with a favorable recommendation (vote 3-0).
- Item 6A (Minutes) approved (vote 3-0).
- The committee adjourned after the chairwoman noted this was her last transportation committee meeting and thanked members for their collaboration.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. Annie Hall is in the house. All right, to the clerk. Would you mind uh giving us a quorum? Quorum call. Yes. Good morning, everyone. The clerk's office received notification that Commissioner Bermudez and Senator Garcia will be absent from today's meeting. Commissioner Bastien. Vice Chairman Regalado. Chairwoman Higgins. Good morning. I am here. All right, everybody. If uh you could just rise for uh a quick moment of reflection uh and prayer. Uh dear Lord, please today and every day guide us in the decisions that we make for the residents of this beautiful, wonderful county. Help us always to do the right thing so that our county and everyone who lives here thrives, and especially at this committee, that they get to where they're going safely via our wonderful transportation system. Amen. One nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. All righty. Um the attorneys. We have a special presentation for CITT. Do I start with that before um it's at your discretion, Madam Chair? You can do the special presentation first or the reasonable opportunity to be heard. Well, let's do the special presentation first. How about that? Because Javi is here, and um, I think Kathleen is here too. So um, well, as you know, every quarter, right? Every quarter, we um celebrate somebody who volunteers to ride our transit system and secret shop it. Um, and giving us feedback, and we select one of these people every quarter to be the CITT ambassador of the quarter. And this year uh we have or this year, this quarter, we're recognizing Miss Um Kathleen. Kathleen, I can't speak this morning. Kathleen Ahmed Vargas this morning. So, Javi, tell us a little bit about um Kathleen and the work she's been doing to help make uh the transit system. We'll do, and I'll invite Kathleen if you want to come up to the podium next to me. Um so, first of all, congratulations on being recognized as the CITT ambassador of the quarter for the period of April through June 2025. In honor of your outstanding volunteer service, we're happy to present you with this beautifully engraved plaque. Thank you. Back to my notes. Uh, and award you with 5,000 additional points since joining us as a CITT ambassador in December 2022, so one of our original ambassadors uh from when we initiated the program, you have demonstrated exceptional dedication. Our records show that during the second quarter of 2025, you completed feedback surveys on your transit rides, earning an impressive 37,750 points. This remarkable achievement makes you our top performer for the quarter. So thank you, Kathy, for your unwavering commitment. And uh, would you like to say a few words? Yes, um, I wanted to say thank you for making this dedicated work and you know for the volunteer opportunity to um you know. Thank you so much. And for those regular transit writers who may be watching and want to be contributors like Kathy, please consider joining the CITT ambassador program. Uh we are accepting applications. You can learn more about the program, submit an application, um, or contact our CITT ambassador program coordinator Cheryl Meisell by visiting our website, Mime Day.gov for slash CITT. In closing, uh, thank you again, Kathleen, for your service.
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