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<br />Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting November 17, 20 II <br /> <br />Sunny Isles Beach, Florida <br /> <br />preference in working with us as a public sector partner. They believe that the public will <br />have greater access to the facility if we are running it then a private sector but he can't speak <br />for the County, at some point they might look elsewhere. So, it is an unanswerable question <br />right now. Ms. Collins said if we feel it is an asset to this City and to the area in general that <br />there would be a way of prudently including it into the budget. City Manager Cohen said it is <br />a large amount of money, and as our Commission pointed out earlier we do establish <br />priorities every year and he is not saying that this wouldn't become one, he is just saying that <br />there is a very rational thoughtful process that the Commission goes through every year to <br />establish its priorities and decide where our monies are spent and the Commission is looking <br />forward to that opportunity in the next budget cycle which begins at the beginning of the <br />summer. <br /> <br />Mayor Edelcup said it may be possible that the commitment can be made for a future date <br />and so it would fit in that respect, we can at least get our priority in line but the actual <br />spending of the dollars would have to wait until we have a budget. We may be able to <br />negotiate with the County such as the ownership of the lease ahead oftime, and Ms. Collins <br />thought that was a great idea. <br /> <br />Commissioner Aelion noted in the City Manager's report that Haulover Park from the <br />County perspective has a new Master Plan, and he asked the City Manager if he had an <br />opportunity to discuss this new Master Plan with them. City Manager Cohen said that they <br />did have those discussions and right now the area in question where the tennis courts are <br />located are not designed into the new Master Plan to accommodate any activity, and so it is <br />nebulous right now. The short answer would be that the County is not planning on including <br />tennis at all in the new Master Plan but that new Master Plan is a decade or more in the <br />making, which was made very clear to him. The County's fiscal situation will not allow <br />them to implement those plans for a good time to come, which is why he mentioned the 15- <br />year time horizon. <br /> <br />13. CITIZENS' FORUM: REQUESTS, PETITIONS & OTHER COMMUNICATIONS <br /> <br />13A. Ag Gershoni discussed soccer in City Parks specifically Gwen Margolis Park. He said <br />kids take priority, and if tax money was used to build the park, why can't tax money be used <br />to maintain it. He likes soccer but he can't afford to playas often as he would like to, and <br />that is where he is coming from, why does he have to pay beyond property tax. City Manager <br />Cohen said we allow usage of many City facilities for free, but sometimes we will require a <br />deposit. He met with Cultural and Human Services Director Susan Simpson recently and <br />they collaborated on a new permit for the use of various fields for soccer, specifically <br />requiring a $50 deposit which is refundable as long as the conditions ofthe permit are met. It <br />also allows free usage of the fields and it allows for individuals to reserve blocks of time. <br />Also, there is no specific prioritization regarding any particular demographic in our <br />community but there is a prioritization when it comes to City-sponsored programs. We have <br />City-sponsored youth programs and the City is running those programs, those will take <br />precedence over anybody showing up to use the field at that particular time. <br /> <br />18 <br />