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HomeMy Public PortalAbout05-May 21, 2020 VWCITYOF OPA-LOCKA "The Great City" CLERK'S ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES VIRTUAL WORKSHOP (COVID-19) Thursday, May 21, 2020 5:30 P.M. 1. WELCOME/OPENING REMARKS: Mayor Matthew Pigatt called the Virtual Workshop to order at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 21, 2020. Pursuant to Executive Order No. 20-69, issued by the office of the Governor Ron DeSantis on March 20, 2020, municipalities may conduct meetings of their governing boards without having a quorum of its members present physically or at any specific location, and utilizing communications media technology such as telephonic or video conferencing, as provided by Section 120.54(5) (b) 2, Florida Statutes. An opportunity was given to the public to email the City Clerk prior to the Commission Meeting with any questions/comments/concerns on items to be heard at this evening's Workshop Meeting agenda. This meeting is being streamed live at https://www.youtube.com/user/CityofOpalocka. Since this is a virtual meeting as authorized by the Governor of the state of Florida, again, members of the public wishing to address the commission have been offered the opportunity to do so. Public comments will be included as part of the public record for this virtual meeting and will be considered by the City commission prior to any action taken. 2. ROLL CALL: The members of the City Commission appearing remotely were: Mayor Matthew Pigatt, Vice Mayor Chris Davis, Commissioner Sherelean Bass, Commissioner Joseph L. Kelley, and Commissioner Alvin Burke. Also appearing remotely were: City Attorney Burnadette Norris - Weeks, Assistant City Attorney Candice Cobb, City Manager John E. Pate, and City Clerk Joanna Flores. 3. INVOCATION: The invocation was delivered by Commissioner Sherelean Bass. 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison. 1 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — May 21, 2020 5. PUBLIC INPUT: City Clerk announced the protocols for public participation at City of Opa-locka virtual meetings. Gary Johnson, tenant president from Glorieta Gardens expressed his concerns regarding the City of Opa-locka curfew passed and enforced by the City. He stated the curfew was a violation of the resident's rights and was not in accordance with the Governor's concerns. He stated the Governor's law was to social distance, but the City has deviated from that. Mayor Pigatt thanked Mr. Johnson for his comment and encouraged residents to send in their concerns. 6. DISCUSSION ITEM: City's Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Mayor Pigatt requested City Manager Pate provide an updated report on the City's response to COVID-19. City Manager Pate reported that the City opened a COVID-19 testing site. The site was starting slow with average daily tests of 80-90 individuals while the testing site had a capacity of 200. He asserted that the State and the County were both covering the expenses of the testing site. He reported issues with regards to logistics and advertisement, both expenses which were reimbursable via FEMA. He advised that Ms. Modkins, Public Relations and Marketing, will be giving a full report in regards to advertisement. He went on to say that some residents were being adamant about taking the test, which along with the increase numbers of testing sites in the area, testing quotas were not being met. He stressed the importance in persuading residents to take the test. Ms. Jessica Modkins, Hip Rock Star Public Relations and Marketing shared her screen with a document titled PR & Marketing Report Week Ending 5/21. She reported all of the events the City had been involved in including those efforts to reach out to residents. Vice Mayor Davis commended the work of Ms. Modkins. Commissioner Burke thanked Ms. Modkins for her job thus far, but emphasized on the importance of reaching out to the residents in the apartment complexes who have been adamant about taking the COVID-19 test. 2 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — May 21, 2020 Ms. Modkins stated that she had a unique marketing plan for those particular residents and she will be presenting that strategy to the Commission shortly after. Mayor Pigatt appreciated and commended Ms. Modkins results thus far. He stressed the importance of educating residents in getting tested. He acknowledged Commissioner Burke's concern about reaching out to those apartment complexes to inform residents about testing. He further urged the residents of Opa-locka to get tested. City Manager Pate discussed additional restrictions of businesses operating based on the re- opening plan published by Miami -Dade County. Guidelines on the New Norm will be executed at the upcoming Miami -Dade County Meeting. He asked the Commission to provide their input as it relates to the city following Miami -Dade County's order. Mayor Pigatt said he was in favor of discussing the item briefly since there is a scheduled Special Commission Meeting that will be addressing the this item. Commissioner Bass reserved her comments to the special commission meeting. Commissioner Kelley asked for clarification on the County's order. City Manager Pate stated that it was necessary to wait for additional data to avoid shutting down industrial businesses. Although Commissioner Kelley understood what the City Manager was saying, he said he wanted this workshop discussion to focus on the masks and testing. Commissioner Burke asked if the City Manager needed another week before implementing the County's order. City Manager Pate explained that that the County's order would cause businesses in the City to be shut down and he wanted to make sure the City was willing to do that and if that was even necessary. He mentioned various actions the City could take to address this issue. Commissioner Bass requested an update on the latest numbers of COVID-19 cases. City Manager Pate said it was at 300. Commissioner Kelley requested more information on the financial reporting as it related to COVID-19. 3 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — May 21, 2020 Mayor Pigatt requested an update on the finances and expenditures regarding COVID-19, the overall fmancial picture and the funds available to tackle the crisis. He also requested an update on the parks and recreation events, including online events for children. He further stated that he wanted to discuss the Mask Ordinance and those changes discussed in a prior meeting. Robert Anathan, Budget Director for the City of Opa-locka reported that the City acquired 36,000 masks for $23,000, the thermal sensors cost $10,000.00 and police overtime was much lower compared to the first two weeks of the crisis, however, he expects another $10,000. He added all of the sums and the prior expenses of $131,000.00 for a new total of roughly $175,000 which 75% were reimbursable by FEMA. Gerri Lazarre, Financial Consultant for the City of Opa-locka reported an estimated $177,668.10 in expenses for administrative overtime and the police estimates were $75,718.5 for a total of $253,387.15 in personnel cost related to COVID-19. Commissioner Kelley requested City Manager Pate to provide a written report with the numbers previously given by Ms. Lazarre Mr. Anathan stated that the staggered employee overtimes were not incremental to the city, while it may be a loss on productivity. Mayor Pigatt commended Ms. Lazarre for the audits completed in 18 months. He also thanked Mr. Anathan for the clear financial picture. He requested an update on the call center, calling infrastructure and recreation engagement. Nelson Rodriguez, Director of Information Technology for the City of Opa-locka said he was waiting on the State to approve the resolution on the call center to start the project. However, the details have been analyzed and he is prepared to move forth with this project upon State approval. Mayor Pigatt requested an update on the Parks & Recreation Department. Charles Brown, Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Opa-locka said that the Summer Program was in Phase I. He explained the number of youth that could be accommodated at the parks facilities while following social distancing guidelines. He expressed his concerns about the restrooms and the spread of COVID-19. As it relates to the seniors, he advised that the city would only accommodate approximately ten (10) seniors at a time. Commissioner Bass asked Mr. Brown what was the ratio of kids to staff. 4 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — May 21, 2020 Mr. Brown said it would be approximately 1 to 10 to maintain 6 feet apart. Commissioner Kelley suggested moving the discussion regarding parks and recreation to the next meeting as he had a large number of questions that would take some time and the current 10 minutes limit of the meeting could have been an obstacle for the rest of the discussion. City Manager Pate requested City Clerk Flores to add the discussion to the agenda for the next meeting. Mayor Pigatt agreed parks and recreation required a longer discussion. He stated he was hesitant to have children being in an enclosed space taking into consideration that schools had not figured out a plan as of yet. He said he would like to have guidelines in writing before moving forward with any in -person recreational activities. He asked if there was anything to be discussed relating to the mask mandate. City Manager Pate stated the mask ordinance was put on the agenda for the meeting on next Thursday. City Clerk Flores stated it was on the agenda for June 4 instead of the following Thursday. Mayor Pigatt expressed his concerns relating to the curfew enforcement information presented about twenty-nine (29) arrests and four (4) notices to appear. Chief James Dobson, Opa-locka Police Department reported that there were neither arrests nor notices to appear in the last week. He reported only one (1) business was not in compliance for failure to enforce face coverings, for which the business was closed. Commissioner Kelley shared his concerns about police officers going from one extreme to another. He stated he received complaints about curfew and social distancing and he is concerned that there were no warnings given out. Vice Mayor Davis reserved his time to allow the City Manager to respond. City Manager Pate said he had not directed the police department to not enforce the curfew. At the very least, they could have given out promises to appear. However, that would be up to the discretion of the officer and supervisors as to whether to arrest or cite the offender with a notice to appear. Vice Mayor Davis stated the policy seemed to be correct, but enforcement needed to be addressed. 5 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — May 21, 2020 Mayor Pigatt concluded the meeting as there was a special commission meeting at 6:30 pm. 7. ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the City Commission, it was moved by Commissioner Burke, seconded by Vice Mayor Davis to adjourn the virtual workshop at 6:30 p.m. Matthew A. Pigatt Mayor ATTEST: Jo Flores City Clerk 6 Virtual COVID-19 Workshop Meeting Minutes — May 21, 2020