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HomeMy Public PortalAbout10-October 04, 2018 Special Commission Meeting CITY OF OPA-LOCKA "The Great City" CLERK'S ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING Thursday, October 04, 2018 1:00 P.M. Sherbondy Village Auditorium 215 Perviz Avenue Opa-locka, FL 33054 1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Myra L. Taylor called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. p.m. on Thursday, October 04, 2018 in the Auditorium at Sherbondy Village, 215 President Barack Obama (Perviz) Avenue, Opa-locka, Florida. 2. ROLL CALL: The following members of the City Commission were present: Mayor Myra L. Taylor, Vice Mayor Joseph L. Kelley, Commissioner Timothy Holmes, Commissioner John Riley and Commissioner Matthew Pigatt. Also in attendance were: Acting City Manager Newall Daughtrey, City Attorney Vincent Brown, and City Clerk Joanna Flores. 3. INVOCATION: The invocation was delivered by Mayor Myra L. Taylor. 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison. 5. PUBLIC INPUT: Agenda Items Only Brian Dennis, 821 NW 54th Street, Miami, FL, said that what is going on in the City is sad and something needs to be done. The commission is trying to bring a new manager when the majority will be leaving next month and it is not right. Dorothy Johnson, 13724 NW 22nd Place, Opa-locka, FL, said that the commission should leave a legacy for the next generation to explore. She told the commission they should be ashamed of themselves for their actions in the last couple of meetings. Shalonda Rivers, 13875 NW 22nd Avenue, Opa-locka, FL, said that she has been coming to the meetings for years to complain about the living conditions at Cordoba Apartments. The current manager told staff to remove the running fines from the complex. She does not feel that it was legal and for this reason she is not in support of this manager. Nathaniel Wilcox, 3111 NW 135th Street, Opa-locka, FL, said that he is disgusted about the leadership in the City and he thinks it is pathetic. It does not make sense. The people who have Special Commission Meeting Minutes—10/04/2018 1 been here for years, wasting time need to go; the attorney also needs to go. He said everyone needs to work together to get out of the hole it is in. He will start to pay more attention to what is going on in the City. George Saurez, 1341 Dunad Avenue, Opa-locka, FL, said the state needs to look into any violations that may have been done because the current manager should not be here. Shame on the commission for helping to bring her back here and giving her a contract. The grip that the commission has on the City will soon be loosened. Natasha Ervin, 670 Dunad Avenue, Opa-locka, FL, said it is a shame that the commission is doing this at this time and it is ridiculous. She said the manager does not need a contract at this time when a new commission will be coming in next month. She asked Chief inspector General Eric Miller to do his job and stop letting the commission do what they want to do with the residents in the City. The F.B.I. needs to speed up the process and come and remove those that do not need to be on the dais. Eric Redmon, Villa Francine, Opa-locka, FL, said the manager should be given a chance to do the job. Calvin Russell, 1210 Peri Street, Opa-locka, FL, said that he has been around for a long time coming to the commission meetings. He asked that the commission do a better job of making decisions on behalf of the residents. 6. RESOLUTIONS: a) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA- LOCKA, FLORIDA, APPROVING AN EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (EXHIBIT "A") BETWEEN THE CITY AND YVETTE HARRELL AS ACTING CITY MANAGER; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.Sponsored by Mayor Taylor The above resolution was read by Attorney Brown. It was moved by Commissioner Riley, seconded by Commissioner Holmes for discussion. Commissioner Riley said that everyone needs to focus on what is best for the City. The five year recovery plan needs to be complete and the audits are past due and need to be done immediately. He does not want the City to become insolvent. Commissioner Pigatt asked if the contract can be amended for one year. Mayor Taylor asked that everyone be allowed to speak and then she will come back to his amendment. Vice Mayor Kelley said that the City needs to hire a professional manager and scare tactics should not be used in this situation. He asked why a two year agreement is being given. Also why is she being allowed to reorganize staff? Some sort of retreat should be done if the organization is going to be restructured. That may not be beneficial to the employees. Serving as CRA Director should be done without compensation. There is no money to give separately for insurance so that should come out of the agreement and the same thing goes for a car allowance as the former manager did not receive this. The City is in a financial emergency and cannot afford any extra money going out. The City had done away with credit cards so he does not know why that is in the agreement. Special Commission Meeting Minutes—10/04/2018 2 Commissioner Riley said that he was not using scare tactics and he was just speaking on what is going on. Vice Mayor Kelley reiterated that the City needs to hire a professional manager. Commissioner Holmes said the previous manager was given an opportunity to prove himself and he did not so therefore he was terminated. He will continue to make decisions on behalf of the City. Mayor Taylor said everyone keeps speaking on hearsay and that is not fair. The bashing of the commission should not be so if people are not clear on what they are talking about. If anyone wants to know what is going on with the commission they should ask so they can know. A motion was made to amend the agreement from twenty four months to twelve months. It was moved by Commissioner Pigatt, seconded by Commissioner Riley for discussion. Vice Mayor Kelley said there is no need to do this at this time when a new commission is coming in and he wants to put it on the record. An agreement is not needed at this time and nothing will happen in thirty days that calls for the manager to have an agreement; she can do the job without it. There being no further discussion, the motion on the amendment passed by a 4-1 vote. Vice Mayor Kelley No Commissioner Pigatt Yes Commissioner Riley Yes Commissioner Holmes Yes Mayor Taylor Yes Commissioner Pigatt asked the attorney if the agreement superseded the charter. City Attorney Brown said, "No." Commissioner Pigatt asked how the agreement was drafted. City Attorney Brown said it was revised from an existing agreement that was previously used. Commissioner Pigatt asked that the credit card be taken out of the agreement since it was discontinued with the City as a whole. Mayor Taylor said she is going to leave that in because the manager is the CEO and may need it. Commissioner Pigatt asked if the car allowance can be taken out of the agreement. Mayor Taylor said that is the privilege of the manager to have a car. Commissioner Pigatt said that he does not like how this process was handled and hopes there will be a change in thirty two days. There being no further discussion, the motion on the resolution passed by a 3-2 vote. Vice Mayor Kelley No Commissioner Pigatt No Commissioner Riley Yes Special Commission Meeting Minutes—10/04/2018 3 Commissioner Holmes Yes Mayor Taylor Yes 7. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, it was moved by Vice Mayor Kelley, seconded by Commissioner Riley to adjourn the meeting at 2:26 p.m. i, AYOR ATTEST: CITY CLERK Special Commission Meeting Minutes—10/04/2018 4