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Recap of September 4 Coral Springs City Commission Meeting

by Guest Contributor September 7, 2019

by Guest Contributor September 7, 2019 14 views

Recap of September 4 Coral Springs City Commission Meeting

September 4, city commission meeting. Photo by Jen Russon.

By: Jen Russon

In their first meeting after Labor Day, a holiday weekend — which included tracking and preparing for Hurricane Dorian, the Coral Springs city commission reconvened once again.

Mayor Scott Brook requested the city proclaim September 12, 2019, as the first Broward Mental Health Summit Day.

Mayor Brook said the city’s mental health summit day will include an event schedule of important topics at Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pines, and that tickets to the event are still available.

Mayor Brook and Vice Mayor Joy Carter also recognized over a dozen city employees who earned the Bright Spot Award for their individual standard of service to the community.

Many of the bright spot winners were from the Coral Springs Police Department and were praised along with other city employees for their rapid response to the hurricane over the long weekend.

During the meeting, commissioners voted yes on a request to approve and adopt the resolution to authorize the allocation of public funds for a school resource officer at the Coral Springs Charter School.

The commission also approved a neighborhood partnership agreement with the Patios of Oakwood community in the amount of $5,000, as well as approve a revised annual expenditure estimate for roofing supplies and services, waterproofing and related products from Georgia-based contractor, Rich Michaud.

Shortly thereafter, Fire Chief Frank Babinec spoke about ongoing efforts to deploy help and collect supplies for Bahamian citizens affected by the hurricane.

Because of the logistics of it being outside of the US, Babinec said getting supplies to the Bahamas will require time, patience and careful planning in the months ahead.

Vice Mayor Carter contributed to the exchange with Babinec and said her office is collecting monetary donations, with a goal of raising $5,000.

Commissioner Joshua Simmons spoke about his fiancé’s best friend, visiting them from the Bahamas just ahead of the storm. He said they were all saddened by images of Dorian’s aftermath flooding the news.

“It’s devastating what’s happening there, and I hope we can become a donation center,” Simmons said.

City Manager, Mike Goodrum went back and forth with Mayor Brook on what can be done toward involving the city in hurricane relief efforts, with Brook suggesting that perhaps the Bite n’ Sips event might include a drop off location for bottled water, canned goods, and other supplies.

While no consensus was reached at the commission meeting, amended information for the Bites n’ Sips event includes a fundraiser, however, no supplies will be collected.