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2021-05-25 MINUTES1 SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES MAY 25, 2021 6:30PM 9900 NE 2ND AVENUE 1)CALL TO ORDER Mayor Harris called the meeting to order at 6:34 PM. 2)MOMENT OF SILENCE / PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3)ROLL CALL PRESENT: (5) Councilmember Alice Burch Councilmember Katia Saint Fleur Councilmember Crystal Wagar Vice Mayor Daniel Marinberg Mayor Sandra Harris ALSO PRESENT: Village Attorney Richard Sarafan (virtual means) Omar Bradford (Representative of Village Attorney’s Firm) Village Clerk Ysabely Rodriguez 4)PUBLIC COMMENTS John Ise spoke about the Village Council’s determination to reject the FIND grant, as presented, concerning the Bayfront Park seawall. He further spoke about precluding the interim village manager from applying for the permanent village manager position and asked the Village Council why an internal candidate was not selected to serve as the interim until a comprehensive recruitment for the permanent village manager is conducted. There were no eComments offered for this meeting. 2 5) DISCUSSION & POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS 5.A DISCUSSION & POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE APPOINTMENT OF AN INTERIM VILLAGE MANAGER. Mayor Harris provided a recapitulation of the recruitment process for the interim village manager position. Mayor Harris further explained that four (4) external candidates have been interviewed by all of the members of the Village Council throughout the day. During the May 20, 2021 Special Meeting, five (5) candidates were selected by the Village Council for interviews, however, Mr. Anthony Balzebre rescinded his candidacy shortly thereafter. The Village Clerk explained the electronic method by which the Village Council will attempt to achieve a final consensus candidate, which consists of casting password-protected electronic ballots that indicate the name of the respective Councilmember and their individual selection. The Village Council may request more than one round of voting if necessary. Village Clerk Rodriguez informed Councilmembers of the email link to cast their respective ballot for one candidate and indicated they may proceed as soon as the Village Council is ready. Councilmember Saint Fleur thanked Village Clerk Rodriguez for coordinating the recruitment process for the interim village manager position. Individual Councilmembers spoke about the caliber of applicants and thanked the all of the candidates for taking the time to apply and interview on such short notice. Councilmember Burch responded to Mr. Ise by explaining the premise for opening the interim village manager position to the public and further spoke about the importance of addressing a timeline for the recruitment of the permanent village manager position. Discussion ensued amongst the Village Council on establishing a timeline at this moment. There was consensus to postpone such discussion until the interim village manager has been selected and consensus has been achieved on what the Village Council is seeking in a permanent Village Manager and whether to engage a professional recruitment firm to facilitate the process. There was consensus to proceed with the first round of voting to gauge the will of the Village Council. Councilmember Saint Fleur cast a paper ballot. Upon the conclusion of the first round of voting, Village Clerk Rodriguez read the following results into the record: Responding to Councilmember Wagar’s inquiry as to whether he is solely interested in the interim village manager position or the permanent village manager position, Mr. Albert Childress indicated he is interested in serving on a permanent basis. Responding to Councilmember Wagar’s inquiry as to whether he is solely interested in the interim village manager position or the permanent village manager position, Mr. Esmond Scott indicated he applied for the interim village manager position at this time. CANDIDATES ROUND 1 Ballot Voter 1. ALBERT CHILDRESS 2. ERDAL DONMEZ 3. CHRISTOPHER ROSE 4. ESMOND SCOTT 1 HARRIS 1 2 BURCH 1 3 WAGAR 1 4 MARINBERG 1 5 SAINT FLEUR 1 3 Further questions were posed to the candidates with respect to who is solely interested in the interim village manager position and will not apply for the permanent village manager position. Mr. Erdal Donmez came forward and spoke in the affirmative. There was consensus to proceed with a second round of voting. Councilmember Saint Fleur cast a paper ballot. Upon the conclusion of the second round of voting, Village Clerk Rodriguez read the following results into the record: In the absence of a majority vote, the Village Council proceeded with a third round of voting. Upon the conclusion of the third round of voting, Village Clerk Rodriguez read the results into the record, indicating Mr. Esmond Scott received majority vote, followed by Mr. Christopher Rose who received two votes. In light of the majority vote, Mayor Harris mentioned the importance of the Village Council casting a unanimous vote of confidence in favor of Mr. Scott as the new interim village manager. Mayor Harris moved to appoint Mr. Esmond Scott as interim village manager and Councilmember Wagar seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Individual Councilmembers, once more, thanked all of the candidates who applied and spoke to the level of competence exhibited by all who were interviewed today. Mr. Scott thanked the elected officials for their demonstration of support. Mr. Scott further spoke about the importance of leveraging available resources and consensus building. Lastly, he expressed eagerness to form part of the traditions and progress of Miami Shores. Responding to Councilmember Wagar’s inquiry regarding Mr. Scott’s start date, Mr. Sarafan clarified that an employment agreement needs to be negotiated in order for him to start working as interim village manager. There was no further action or discussion. 5) ADJOURNMENT CANDIDATES ROUND 2 Ballot Voter 1. ALBERT CHILDRESS 2. ERDAL DONMEZ 3. CHRISTOPHER ROSE 4. ESMOND SCOTT 1 HARRIS 1 2 MARINBERG 1 3 WAGAR 1 4 BURCH 1 5 SAINT FLEUR 1 ROUND 3 Ballot Voter 1. ALBERT CHILDRESS 2. ERDAL DONMEZ 3. CHRISTOPHER ROSE 4. ESMOND SCOTT 1 MARINBERG 1 2 BURCH 1 3 WAGAR 1 4 SAINT FLEUR 1 5 HARRIS 1 4 There being no further business before the Village Council, the meeting adjourned 7:16 PM.