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SUMMARY MINUTES <br /> Regular City Commission Meeting <br /> Thursday, July 16, 2015, 6:30 p.m. <br /> City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida <br /> ATTENTION ALL LOBBYISTS: CITY LAN REQUIRES YOUR REGISTRATION PRIOR TO ENGAGING IN <br /> LOBBYING ACTIVITIES BEFORE CITY STAFF, BOARDS,COMMITTEES OR THE CITY COMMISSION. <br /> PLEASE CONTACT THE CITY CLERK FOR FORMS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. <br /> AGENDA <br /> 1. CALL TO ORDER/ ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS <br /> The meeting was called to order by Mayor Scholl at 6:30 p.m. with the following officials <br /> present: <br /> Mayor George `Bud" Scholl City Manager Christopher J. Russo <br /> Vice Mayor Jeanette Gatto City Attorney Hans Ottinot <br /> Commissioner Isaac Aelion City Clerk Jane A. Hines, MMC <br /> Commissioner Dana Goldman Deputy City Manager Stan Morris • <br /> Commissioner Jennifer Levin <br /> 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE / INVOCATION <br /> Action: Michael Gates led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Mayor Scholl called for a <br /> moment of silence for the victims of a tragic incident that occurred today in Tennessee <br /> involving the Armed Forces. City Manager Russo gave the invocation. I <br /> Mayor Scholl gave opening remarks of decorum, and noted that he had/put a new item on <br /> the agenda supporting the South Florida Mayors' Beach Alliance regarding beach erosion/ <br /> renourishment. We have been trying to heighten awareness to our beach erosion issue, the <br /> State owns the beach and the County manages the beach. The fact is thatjwe have been kind <br /> of left alone lately as far as beach erosion is concerned with an expectation level that some <br /> of the coastal communities can pay for the beach renourishment. As strong as a community <br /> we are financially, beach renourishment would probably bankrupt us over'time. <br /> Mayor Scholl said what he did was to reach out to the coastal mayors of Golden Beach, Bal <br /> Harbour, Surfside, Miami Beach, and Key Biscayne. On July 9, 2015 he along with Miami <br /> Beach Mayor Philip Levine, Surfside Mayor Daniel Dietch, and Key1Biscayne Mayor <br /> Mayra Lindsay got together in Miami Beach and called a press conference, and a whole <br /> bunch of folks showed up and we were on the 6:00 p.m. news. We talked about the fact <br /> that the beach is the biggest economic driver in South Florida, that many'of our cities names <br /> have the word "Beach" in them, and that the beach is eroding and we need relief. The fact <br /> is if the County doesn't put it on the agenda and the State doesn't look at it as a priority, the <br /> issue is going to be a recurring issue over time. The good news is we had the news <br /> conference and we got a lot of press coverage the next day in the newspapers, and his phone <br /> started to ring off the hook by the elected officials from the County. To their credit, County <br /> Mayor Carlos Gimenez and County Commissioner Sally Heyman hale been very <br /> supportive of us in this area, but they are only one vote. Commissioner Heyman handles <br /> most of the coastal communities. They have done a very good job trying to support us but <br /> the rest of the County Commission has not approved the funding in past years. It looks like <br /> this year we are going to have some funding that will be up for consideration and hopefully <br /> we can get some matching funds from the State and the federal government. <br />