Good morning.

Um the clerk's office received notification that Commissioners Cohen He and San Regalada will be absent from today's meeting.

Commissioner Gilbert.

Vice Chairwoman Minelorvis.

Chairman Bermudez.

Present.

One member present.

We don't have a quorum.

Okay.

We are we don't have a quorum, but that doesn't keep us from moving forward with presentation.

So we're gonna start uh and uh start with uh the invocation of the Pledge of Allegiance like we always do.

So if you could all please everyone thank you for this day bringing us together.

Thank you for the opportunity to say these young folks work and do better for our community.

In your name, right?

Anyway, through the flags of America, and to the Republic for which to stand one nation under God and indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you so much, Roy.

And by the way, that is the highest ranking invocation we've had here in a long time.

So maybe it'll get me up there a little bit quicker.

So thank you, Roy.

Thank you very much.

Because he's an important guy.

All right.

So uh the I want to thank all of you that are here, including you know, in the back, uh uh the director who I'm appreciate you being here, and Manny also uh for being here.

And um we're gonna have uh these young men and women, oh, and the county at sorry if I forget the attorneys, I don't want you guys.

Can we we're gonna do the presentation, which is not gonna technically have a meeting, but I appreciate you guys being here.

Just found out uh one of you is responsible for the Great Flag Football League in Miami Lakes, so we gotta give you credit.

Always uh give you a shout out.

And um, but one of the things that's important is to hear from people uh that I've emphasized anyways, and I think also the uh the mayor and the administration is to hear from as many people in Dade County as we should.

Uh from the perspective of how to make our county government more effective.

And uh these young men and women that you're gonna hear from, which is why I asked them to be here to make their presentation, are uh focused, and I wanted them to talk a little bit about it and then do the presentation because they've got some uh they've done some fantastic things with um uh thanks to the administration uh going and visiting some of our airport, port, etc.

But the most important thing I think is they have actually they're an example of what America should be.

Everybody talks about celebrating 250 years.

We're not gonna be around for another 250 unless civics and the understanding of how government works in a democracy continues to be focused on in this country.

Uh and this county, which has many people, including myself that come from places that lost the democracy, uh, should know better than others that uh individuals uh like the young men and women you're gonna hear from uh are uh the everybody says the future, because you guys always hear that.

Oh, you're the future, you're the future.

That's what I tell my three kids too.

But the reality is you're the present, not just the future.

Okay, because good ideas come at any age.

I don't care if you're 15 or 85.

And the bottom line is there should be uh no reason why anyone discounts the ability of young men and women to be able to participate in the process.

So I applaud not only the four of you, but uh your your group for participating in this process.

So we are gonna see your presentation, but I'd like to start by you guys coming up, introducing yourselves, and then telling us a little bit about your organization, and then we'll go to the presentation if you don't mind.

Come on up.

I'm gonna have to ask you all to give your name and address for the record, because that's the way it works.

So you introduce yourselves, even though I've met you.

Good morning, everyone.

Uh my name is Clint John, and I reside at 19611 Northwest 12th Avenue, Miami Gardens, Florida.

Good morning.

My name is Robert Rojas, and I live in Miami Lakes.

Good morning, my name is Sophia Bougain and I reside in 210 Sea View Drive, Kibiscaine, Florida.

Uh I'm the president of Virtuum Popular Incorporated and a proud freshman, as I said, at Miami Northern Senior High School.

For Tutum Populo, our organization is Latin for Virtue to the People, and is a nonprofit founded in 2022 by a high school freshman at High Lee and Miami Lakes, Murza Costa, who is now a freshman at Harvard to empower uh Miami Dade youth through civic engagement, leadership development, and economic literacy, having raised over 200,000 to date to fuel this mission.

Through our Strive 305 economic fellowship, our students study the systems that shape our local economies.

After months of field research and direct conversations with business owners, we are here today with one concern.

Miami Dade County is approaching a generational economic transition that we are probably not prepared for.

Originally, our solution focused heavily on certificate of use reform, but after conversation, we realized the issue was bigger than one section.

The real issue is preserving legacy businesses before they disappear.

So we adapted because we're teaching uh our fellows that policy is not a straight line.

Before we dive into a brief overview, we want to thank the mayor's office and her team, specifically Lourdes Gomez, Edward Rojas, Christopher Christopher Hudwack Walker, uh Thomas Tomas Alcala, and others who sat down with us and stress tested these ideas.

And of course, to our mentor, Manny Sid, uh, who has been in the trenches with us throughout this process, and finally this committee and Commissioner Bermudez for taking youth-led policy seriously.