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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Miami-Dade Government Efficiency & Transparency Committee Meeting - November 14, 2025

BCC Committee Meetings — Friday, November 14, 2025

BodyMiami Dade County, Florida

SessionBCC Committee Meetings

DateFriday, November 14, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:14:30

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:17

Pretty quick agenda.

0:18

Madam Clerk, if you can go ahead and call the roll.

0:21

Good morning.

0:21

The clerk's office received notice that Commissioner Regalato will be absent from today's meeting.

0:25

Commissioner Cohen Higgins.

0:27

Good morning, President.

0:28

Commissioner Gilbert.

0:30

Vice Chairwoman Milian Orbis.

0:32

Good morning, President Chairman Bermudez.

0:34

Present.

0:35

Three members present.

0:36

We have a quorum.

0:37

If we could please stand in commission uh Commissioner Cohen Higgins, would you like to lead us in the invocation?

0:42

And then good morning again.

0:49

Please join me in bowing your heads in a brief prayer.

0:52

Dear Lord, thank you for the many blessings.

0:54

Please give us the guidance and wisdom to make decisions on behalf of the three million amazing residents of Miami Dade County.

1:01

It is in your name that we pray.

1:03

Amen.

1:24

Okay.

1:25

Now that we do have quorum uh madam attorney, we can open it up to uh reasonable opportunity to be heard, correct?

1:33

That is correct, Mr.

1:34

Chair.

1:35

Okay, we have one card, and then I'm gonna let anybody else that's here speak.

1:38

So I will call up.

1:40

I think it says Ian Cohen.

1:44

Ian, your handwriting is a lot better than mine because I don't really uh, you know.

1:48

Right second.

1:51

You can address for the record and then give us your comments.

1:57

Uh my name is Ian Cohen.

2:02

I A N C O H E N.

2:04

So are we good?

2:05

Yeah, you you thank you.

2:07

So thank you for the opportunity.

2:08

We have we have it here, so uh that's fine.

2:11

So thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

2:13

By way of introduction, as you guys are aware now.

2:16

My name is Ian Cohen.

2:18

I'm the president and chief operating officer for Inspected.

2:20

Inspected is a private provider operating in over three hundred almost 400 municipalities throughout Florida.

2:26

As a private provider, we we provide plan review and inspection services, just like the building departments do.

2:33

And we work directly with contractors and builders throughout the state.

2:36

The only difference between a private provider uh and uh building department is we don't work for the building department, we work in concert with the building department.

2:47

In other words, um our partnership is um documented through statute.

2:56

So we have successfully provided services throughout Florida for the last several years, delivering over 150,000 plan reviews and inspections throughout the state uh for well-known companies like Lenar, Renewal by Anderson, Apex Home Services.

3:10

Um the only place in all of Florida where this does not work is in Miami.

3:17

And it's sanctioned and approved by Bora.

3:21

To put it bluntly, the Miami Dave building departments are wasting time and money adopting and enforcing policies that are not consistent with state statutes, which has resulted in ridiculous delays, sometimes over a year, and it's increased cost for contractors working with private providers and closing out permits.

3:38

And they are doing this even though they are required by law to provide a permit discount, since we are the ones who are responsible for the plan review and inspections.

3:48

They are doing this out of fear of being replaced because contractors now have a choice.

3:53

They can either use a private provider or they can use the building department.

3:57

Now it's important to note that the licensing requirement for plan reviewers and inspection inspectors uh through a private provider and and I ask you to wrap up, but go ahead.

4:06

Okay.

4:08

In summary, let's just say this.

4:10

The city is completely indemnified from all liability when a private provider does an inspection or a plan review.

4:39

Thank you very much, Mr.

4:40

Cohen.

4:41

Anybody else uh that would like to speak at this time uh for the public's opportunity or reasonable opportunity for the public to be heard.

4:49

Please come on up, state your name and address for the record and give us your opinion in a short, succinct and concise manner.

5:00

Somebody once told me that all means the same thing.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation██████████████████████22%

Aviation And Seaport██████████████████18%

Zoning█████████████████17%

Procurement██████████████14%

Public Engagement███████7%

Public Safety███████7%

Budget Equity Analysis█████5%

Trail Development████4%

Procedural███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Miami-Dade Government Efficiency & Transparency Ad Hoc Committee Meeting

On November 14, 2025, the Miami-Dade County Government Efficiency & Transparency Ad Hoc Committee met at 10:00 AM in Commission Chambers. The meeting was chaired by Juan Carlos Bermudez, with Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins and Vice Chairwoman Natalie Milian Orbis present. Commissioner Raquel A. Regalado was absent. The meeting featured presentations on parks efficiency, an airport hotel update, and a discussion on single-trade permits, alongside a public comment period.

Public Comments & Testimony

Ian Cohen, President and COO of Inspected, a private provider of plan review and inspection services operating in nearly 400 Florida municipalities, testified that the Miami-Dade building departments are "wasting time and money adopting and enforcing policies that are not consistent with state statutes," causing delays over a year and increased costs for contractors. He stated that the city is completely indemnified from liability when a private provider performs inspections or plan reviews, and that contractors are required by law to receive a permit discount when using a private provider.

Discussion Items

Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces (PROS) Presentation (Item 1E1): Director Christina White presented on efficiencies and transparency, highlighting 308 parks, 40,000 acres, and 60 recreation centers. She noted a 56% reduction in field striping costs via mobile painting robots, 154 million gallons of water saved through smart irrigation, and a 50% improvement in work completion rates after reorganizing into three regional hubs. The department has a $290 million total budget with a $124 million general fund subsidy—a $13 million reduction from the previous year. Deferred maintenance stands at over $550 million. The department asked for support in prioritizing aging infrastructure, curbing unfunded requests, and updating partner agreements.
Airport Hotel Update (Item 1E2): Ralph Sarabet from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department reported that the airport hotel project, awarded to FDR in October 2022 and with an effective agreement date of August 2023, is delayed due to an FAA height requirement that necessitated a redesign. The original presentation to the commission promised hotel operations beginning June 2026, but the agreement allows completion by 2029. The department submitted revised coordinates to the FAA on August 15, 2025, and expects a response in early 2026. Committee members expressed frustration over the lack of progress and communication.
Single-Trade Permits Discussion (Item 1F1): Lourdes Gomez (RER), Jamie Gaskin (Board of Rules and Appeals), and Edward Rojas (UMSA Building Official) discussed delays in permit closures when private providers are used, attributing them to building officials needing to perform additional checks (zoning, flood, etc.) outside the private provider's scope. Rojas noted that single-trade permits in UMSA are typically over-the-counter with 24-hour turnaround, and inspections can be done next day or same-day virtually. Private provider utilization in UMSA is in the single digits. The committee requested a written breakdown of timelines and processes.
Landfill-to-Park Proposal (Chairman Bermudez): Chairman Bermudez presented a proposal to convert an old landfill adjacent to the future regional soccer park (660 acres, approved by voters in 2012) into a park, citing successful examples in Broward County (Vista View Park) and other states. He emphasized the need for a countywide asset.

Key Outcomes

A motion to approve the agenda was passed by voice vote (all aye).
Item 6A (approval of committee minutes for February 13, March 13, and May 13, 2025) was approved by voice vote (all aye), with a scrivener's error noted that the July 2025 minutes were not included.
The committee directed the building and regulatory departments to provide a report on single-trade permit timelines and processes.
The aviation department was directed to keep all committee members informed of the FAA's response on the hotel redesign, with an update expected in early 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Pretty quick agenda. Madam Clerk, if you can go ahead and call the roll. Good morning. The clerk's office received notice that Commissioner Regalato will be absent from today's meeting. Commissioner Cohen Higgins. Good morning, President. Commissioner Gilbert. Vice Chairwoman Milian Orbis. Good morning, President Chairman Bermudez. Present. Three members present. We have a quorum. If we could please stand in commission uh Commissioner Cohen Higgins, would you like to lead us in the invocation? And then good morning again. Please join me in bowing your heads in a brief prayer. Dear Lord, thank you for the many blessings. Please give us the guidance and wisdom to make decisions on behalf of the three million amazing residents of Miami Dade County. It is in your name that we pray. Amen. Okay. Now that we do have quorum uh madam attorney, we can open it up to uh reasonable opportunity to be heard, correct? That is correct, Mr. Chair. Okay, we have one card, and then I'm gonna let anybody else that's here speak. So I will call up. I think it says Ian Cohen. Ian, your handwriting is a lot better than mine because I don't really uh, you know. Right second. You can address for the record and then give us your comments. Uh my name is Ian Cohen. I A N C O H E N. So are we good? Yeah, you you thank you. So thank you for the opportunity. We have we have it here, so uh that's fine. So thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. By way of introduction, as you guys are aware now. My name is Ian Cohen. I'm the president and chief operating officer for Inspected. Inspected is a private provider operating in over three hundred almost 400 municipalities throughout Florida. As a private provider, we we provide plan review and inspection services, just like the building departments do. And we work directly with contractors and builders throughout the state. The only difference between a private provider uh and uh building department is we don't work for the building department, we work in concert with the building department. In other words, um our partnership is um documented through statute. So we have successfully provided services throughout Florida for the last several years, delivering over 150,000 plan reviews and inspections throughout the state uh for well-known companies like Lenar, Renewal by Anderson, Apex Home Services. Um the only place in all of Florida where this does not work is in Miami. And it's sanctioned and approved by Bora. To put it bluntly, the Miami Dave building departments are wasting time and money adopting and enforcing policies that are not consistent with state statutes, which has resulted in ridiculous delays, sometimes over a year, and it's increased cost for contractors working with private providers and closing out permits. And they are doing this even though they are required by law to provide a permit discount, since we are the ones who are responsible for the plan review and inspections. They are doing this out of fear of being replaced because contractors now have a choice.

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