Special Calls

TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA AGENDA Special Meeting July 14, 2026 6:30 PM Government Center 6601 Main Street Miami Lakes, FL33014 Video stream of meetings can be viewed here: https://pub-miamilakes.escribemeetings.com Pages 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL 3. MOMENT OF SILENCE 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 5. ORDER OF BUSINESS (DEFERRALS, ADDITIONS, AND DELETIONS) 6. PUBLIC COMMENTS Please be advised that this public meeting is open to the public and will be held in Town Hall Government Center, 6601 Main Street, Miami Lakes, FL 33014. Public Meetings will be held at the physical meeting location stated above. For access to the meeting agendas please visit www.miamilakes-fl.gov/agenda. For Live video stream of meetings please visit www.miamilakes-fl.gov/agenda Public Comments will be accepted by the following means: • Members of the public may attend the meeting at the physical meeting location state above and deliver their public comments in person during the public comment portion of the agenda. • You can also submit a Pre-recorded Video for Public Comments, by visiting https://www.miamilakes-fl.gov/remotecomments. Videos submitted cannot exceed 3 minutes and should be submitted one day before the meeting. • A person wishing to participate in Remote Public Comments can either: (1) Join the meeting via: https://www.miamilakes-fl.gov/remotecomments. You must have a working microphone and working web camera in order to  participate in live remote public comments. If you wish to speak you must raise your hand by clicking on the Reactions icon and selecting Raise Hand. IT will allow each participant to speak one at a time as the Raise Hand icon appears. If you would like to show your live feed/video, please request it when unmuted to speak. (2) Call in live during the meeting to listen to the meeting via phone and/or to participate in public comments. If you wish to speak, please raise your hand by pressing *9. This will show the Raise Hand icon on the screen and IT will allow each participant to speak one at a time as the Raise Hand icon appears. You may call in to any of the following numbers: +1 786-635-1003 +1 312-626-6799 +1 929-205-6099 +1 253-215-8782 +1 301-715-8592 +1 346-248-7799 +1 699-900-6833 PLEASE ENTER THE MEETING ID# WHEN PROMPTED: 666 475 152# Public Comments will be heard at the beginning of each meeting and once all are heard, Public Comments will be closed. Each speaker will be afforded (3) minutes to speak. All comments or questions from the attending public shall be directed to the mayor, in a courteous tone. To ensure the orderly conduct and efficiency of the meeting, public comments shall be limited to three (3) minutes maximum per person. No clapping, applauding, heckling, verbal outburst in support of, or in opposition to a speaker or his/her remarks shall be permitted. Should a member of the attending audience become unruly or behave in any manner that disrupts the orderly and efficient conduct of the meeting, such person will be asked to leave the meeting. As a courtesy to others, all electronic devices must be set to silent mode to avoid disruption of the proceedings. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990, PERSONS NEEDING SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING SHOULD CALL TOWN HALL AT (305) 364-6100, BY 5 PM, 2  NO LATER THAN (2) BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING FOR ASSISTANCE. 7. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION a. Charter Revision Commission's Report to the Citizens of the Town of 4 Miami Lakes 8. ADJOURNMENT This meeting is open to the public. A copy of this Agenda and the backup therefore, has been posted on the Town of Miami Lakes Website at miamilakes- fl.gov and is available at Town Hall, 6601 Main Street, Miami Lakes 33014. 3  Town of Miami Lakes Memorandum To: Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers From: Raul Gastesi, Esq., Town Attorney Subject: Charter Revision Commission’s Report to the Citizens of the Town of Miami Lakes Date: July 14, 2026 Recommendation: To discuss the Charter Revision Commission's final proposed amendments and revisions to the Town Charter to be sent to the electors of the Town of Miami Lakes. The Charter Revision Commission's Report, including the draft resolution and final ballot questions are included for your review. Attachments: Memo Charter Revision Commission Report Resolution Exhibit “A” Redline Version of Town Charter 4  TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION CONTENTS Report of the Charter Revision Commission Proposed Resolution Town of Miami Lakes Charter - Current Exhibit A Proposed Charter Amendments Exhibit B Page 2 of 4 5  INTRODUCTION Pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Town of Miami Lakes Charter ("Charter''), the Town Council passed Resolution No. 25-2145 during its November 2025 Regular Meeting, appointing a Charter Revision Commission ("Charter Commission"). The Charter provides that the Town Council is to appoint and fund a Charter Commission every tenth (l0th) year. This report is submitted pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Charter. The Charter Commission consists of seven persons, each appointed by a member of the Town Council along with an non-voting appointment by the Mayor. Section 7.4(c) of the Charter provides that if the Charter Commission determines an amendment or revision is needed, it shall submit the same to the Town Council. Pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Charter, the Town Council shall submit suggested amendments or revisions to the electors of the Town, as submitted by the Charter Commission. During the months of January through June 2026, the Charter Commission met publicly to review the existing charter and consider revisions. During these meetings, the Charter Commission was able to listen to public input, review concerns raised by the Town Manager, and ask legal questions of the Town Attorney. The process was methodical, thorough and transparent. The end result are the attached proposed changes, and ballot questions that will ultimately be put forth to the Town electors to decide. Page 3 of 4 6  CHARTER AMENDMENTS/REVISIONS The Charter Commission has determined that amendments and revisions to the Charter are needed and hereby submits the suggested amendments and revisions to the Charter in the form attached as Exhibit B. COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP The members of the 2026 Town of Miami Lakes Charter Revision Commission are listed below. Members Javier Ley-Soto - Chairman Ramiro Inguanzo - Vice Chairman Hector Abad Dr. David Bennett Tony Fernandez Lynn Matos Marilyn Ruano Councilman Juan Carlos Fernandez STAFF 1. Lorenzo Cobiella, Esq., of Gastesi Lopez Mestre & Cobiella, PLLC 2. Mirelis Castilla, Esq. 3. Gina M. Inguanzo, Town Clerk, 4. Alexis Martinez, Deputy Clerk 5. Edward Pidermann, Town Manager Page 4 of 4 7  SPECIAL ELECTION The Charter Commission hereby requests that the Town Council call a Special Election on November 3, 2026 in order for the proposed Charter Amendments, if so adopted by the Town electors, to be effective prior to the opening of the Qualifying Period for the Town's general election on November 3, 2026. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS The Commission respectfully requests that the Town Council appropriate funds for a voter guide to inform the Town's electors of the proposed Charter amendments and revisions. Page 5 of 4 8  RESOLUTION NO. 26-______ A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA, PROVIDING FOR THE SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORS OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE TOWN CHARTER AS PROVIDED BY THE CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 7.4 OF THE TOWN CHARTER; SUBMITTING PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS CONCERNING TECHNICAL AND TERMINOLOGY CORRECTIONS; SECTION 2.2, “MAYOR AND VICE-MAYOR”; SECTION 2.3, “ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE”; SECTION 2.5, “VACANCIES; FORFEITURE OF OFFICE; FILLING OF VACANCIES”; SECTION 2.7, “RECALL”; SECTION 3.4, “ACTING TOWN MANAGER”; SECTION 3.9, “TOWN BOARDS AND AGENCIES”; SECTION 4.1, “COUNCIL MEETING PROCEDURE”; SECTION 4.2, “PROHIBITIONS”; SECTION 4.4, “EMERGENCY ORDINANCES”; SECTION 5.1, “ELECTIONS”; SECTION 7.4, “CHARTER REVISION”; PROVIDING FOR TRANSITION TO IMPLEMENT CHARTER AMENDMENTS; PROVIDING REQUISITE BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORATE; PROVIDING FOR SUBMISSION OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE TOWN CHARTER AT THE NOVEMBER 3, 2026 GENERAL ELECTION; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE OF ELECTION; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CHARTER; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Town of Miami Lakes Charter, the Town Council appointed a Charter Revision Commission, which has determined that certain amendments and revisions are needed to the Town Charter and, following its proceedings concluding at its final meeting held on June 2, 2026, has submitted to the Town Council the proposed amendments and revisions to the Town Charter (the “Charter Amendments”); and WHEREAS, Section 6.03 of the Home Rule Charter of Miami-Dade County provides, in part, that a municipality may by resolution propose a charter amendment to be submitted to the electors of the municipality; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Town Charter, the Town Council is required to submit the Charter Amendments to the electors of the Town in accordance with the provisions of Section 6.1 of the Town Charter; and 9 Page 2 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ WHEREAS, Section 101.161, Florida Statutes, governs the form of the ballot question submitted to the electors, requiring that the ballot title not exceed fifteen (15) words and that the ballot summary not exceed seventy-five (75) words, and that the substance of the amendment be printed in clear and unambiguous language; and WHEREAS, in order to submit the Charter Amendments to the electors of the Town, the Town Council must approve legally sufficient ballot language via resolution and transmit the same to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections, thereby authorizing the Miami-Dade County Elections Department to take such actions as may be necessary to administer the election for the Town; and WHEREAS, the Town Council has prepared and considered the ballot language contained herein, and, after careful deliberation and upon the recommendation of the Town Attorney, the Town Council finds the ballot language provided herein to be legally sufficient; and WHEREAS, the Town Council desires to provide the requisite ballot language for submission to the electors of the Town, to provide copies of the Charter Amendments to be made available to the public for inspection, and to direct the Town Clerk to request and utilize the services of the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections to administer the election by placing the Charter Amendment ballot questions on the November 3, 2026 General Election. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Recitals. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by reference. Section 2. Charter Amendments. That pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Town Charter and Section 6.03 of the Home Rule Charter of Miami-Dade County, it is proposed that the Town Charter of the Town of Miami Lakes, Florida, be amended by amending the Town Charter Sections described in the ballot questions set forth below to read as set forth in Exhibit “A” attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. See Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. Page 2 of 12 10 Page 3 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ Section 3. Election Called. A general election is hereby called, to be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, to present to the qualified electors of the Town of Miami Lakes the ballot questions provided in Section 4 of this Resolution. The Town Council may by Resolution alter the date of the election in the event that the Council finds that unforeseen circumstances require it to do so. Section 4. Form of Ballot. The form of the ballot for the Charter Amendments provided for in Section 2 of this Resolution shall be as follows: 1. CHARTER TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS: UPDATED TERMINOLOGY AND GRAMMATICAL CLEANUP Shall the Town Charter be amended to: (1) replace “councilmember(s)” with “member(s) of the Council” throughout; (2) replace “hearing” with “meeting” in the Citizens' Bill of Rights; (3) correct cross-references from “article” to “Bill of Rights”; (4) remove “disability” from Section 2.5 to conform to Florida Statutes; (5) update the Town map; and (6) make conforming non-substantive technical corrections? Yes [ ] No [ ] 2. JANUARY TERM COMMENCEMENT AND ANNUAL VICE-MAYOR ELECTION Shall the Town Charter be amended to provide that: (1) the term of office of all elected officials elected at a general election shall commence at twelve noon on the second Tuesday of January following the general election; and (2) effective with the general election to be held in November 2028, the Council shall elect one of its members as Vice-Mayor at the first January Regular Council meeting and each year thereafter? Yes [ ] No [ ] Page 3 of 12 11 Page 4 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ 3. RESIGN-TO-RUN VACANCIES FILLED AT NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED TOWN ELECTION Shall the Town Charter be amended to provide that when a vacancy in the office of Mayor or Councilmember arises from a resignation submitted pursuant to Section 99.012, Florida Statutes, the vacancy shall be filled at the next regularly scheduled election of the Town, or as earlier provided by the Council with the Town Clerk promptly notifying the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections and opening a qualifying period for the vacated seat? Yes [ ] No [ ] 4. FILLING COUNCIL VACANCIES Shall the Town Charter be amended to revise vacancy procedures by: (1) revising the procedure for filling vacancies with less than a year remaining by Mayor nomination within 45 days with Council confirmation; (2) requiring a special election for vacancies with twelve or more months remaining; (3) providing that if the Mayor's office becomes vacant, the Vice-Mayor shall complete the Mayor's term; the resulting vacancy shall be filled as otherwise provided in the Charter? Yes [ ] No [ ] 5. TWO-TERM LIFETIME LIMIT FOR MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS Shall the Town Charter be amended to limit the Mayor and members of the Council to no more than two (2) terms in each office during their lifetime (rather than two consecutive terms), with terms as Councilmember and Mayor counted separately; provide that service exceeding two years of an unexpired term counts as a term; and apply these limits retroactively such that prior terms count toward the two-term limit? Yes [ ] No [ ] Page 4 of 12 12 Page 5 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ 6. REDUCING COUNCILMEMBERS FROM 6 TO 4 AND UPDATING COUNCIL VOTING THRESHOLDS Shall the Town Charter be amended to reduce the number of Councilmembers from 6 Councilmembers to 4 Councilmembers by: (1) electing the Councilmember to Seat #5 in 2028 to a two-year term, after which Seat #5 shall be abolished in 2030; (2) abolishing Seat #6 upon expiration of the current term in 2030, with no further election for Seat #6, and (3) providing for updating and modifying proportional Councilmember voting thresholds? Yes [ ] No [ ] 7. ELECTION PROCEDURE: NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION WITH DECEMBER RUNOFF Shall the Town Charter be amended so that: (1) if in a general election no candidate receives more than fifty percent of the votes, a runoff between the top two candidates shall be held the second Tuesday of December; (3) the 21-day runoff provision is repealed; and (4) the Council shall hold no meetings between election and swearing- in except for emergencies? Yes [ ] No [ ] 8. REPLACING TOWN MANAGER APPOINTMENT OF THE TOWN CLERK WITH APPOINTMENT BY TOWN COUNCIL Shall the Town Charter be amended to: (1) provide that the Town Clerk shall be appointed by and report directly to the Town Council, with terms and conditions established by the Council, and may be removed by majority Council vote? Yes [ ] No [ ] Page 5 of 12 13 Page 6 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ 9. ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES: TOWN MANAGER REMOVAL AND ACTING MANAGER Shall the Town Charter be amended to: (1) comprehensively revise the procedure for designating an Acting Town Manager during the Town Manager's absence or disability, including notice and reporting requirements? Yes [ ] No [ ] 10. MAYOR’S DUTIES: COMMITTEES, INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, AND ANNUAL ADDRESS Shall the Town Charter be amended to revise the Mayor's powers and duties by: (1) clarifying that the Mayor's role representing the Town does not preclude administration and staff from communicating with other governmental entities; (2) requiring the Mayor to present an annual State of the Town address, with the Town's budget continuing through the regular budget adoption process; and (3) providing that the Council may establish or terminate Town Committees? Yes [ ] No [ ] 11. AMENDING THE CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION PROCESS Shall the Town Charter be amended to update the Charter Revision Commission process by: (1) appointing the Charter Revision Commission at the final Regular meeting of the calendar year; (2) extending the commencement period from 45 to 60 calendar days after appointment; (3) requiring the Mayor to appoint a sitting Councilmember if no second-term Councilmember is available; and (4) advancing the Charter question submission deadline? Yes [ ] No [ ] Page 6 of 12 14 Page 7 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ 12. CONFIRMING RECALL PETITION SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT WITH STATE LAW Shall the Town Charter be amended to align the recall petition signature threshold to applicable statutory tier as the Town's registered voters grow? Yes [ ] No [ ] 13. INTERFERENCE WITH ADMINISTRATION Shall the Town Charter be amended to provide that the Council and its members may make good-faith inquiries and investigations of Town employees without first passing a Council resolution? Yes [ ] No [ ] 14. EARLY VOTING REQUIREMENT FOR ELECTIONS Shall the Town Charter be amended to request a minimum of two (2) days of early voting for any municipal election? Yes [ ] No [ ] Section 5. Ballot; Notice; Copies; etc. A. The Charter Amendment ballot questions shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the Town at the General Election to be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. All qualified electors residing within the Town who are timely registered shall be entitled to vote. B. That notice of said election shall be published in accordance with Section 100.342, Florida Statutes, in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town, the first publication to be in the fifth week prior to the election and the second publication to be in the third week prior to the election, and shall be in substantially the following form: “NOTICE OF ELECTION PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. ______ DULY ADOPTED BY THE TOWN Page 7 of 12 15 Page 8 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA (THE “TOWN”), AN ELECTION HAS BEEN CALLED AND ORDERED TO BE HELD WITHIN THE TOWN ON TUESDAY, THE 3RD DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2026, AT WHICH TIME THE FOLLOWING CHARTER AMENDMENTS PROPOSED SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE TOWN. Those certain proposed amendments to the Town Charter, which are commonly referred to by the following ballot titles: ○ CHARTER TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS: UPDATED TERMINOLOGY AND GRAMMATICAL CLEANUP ○ JANUARY TERM COMMENCEMENT AND ANNUAL VICE-MAYOR ELECTION ○ RESIGN-TO-RUN VACANCIES FILLED AT NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED TOWN ELECTION ○ FILLING COUNCIL VACANCIES ○ TWO-TERM LIFETIME LIMIT FOR MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS ○ REDUCING COUNCILMEMBERS FROM 6 TO 4 AND UPDATING COUNCIL VOTING THRESHOLDS ○ ELECTION PROCEDURE: NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION WITH DECEMBER RUNOFF ○ REPLACING TOWN MANAGER APPOINTMENT OF THE TOWN CLERK WITH APPOINTMENT BY TOWN COUNCIL ○ ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES: TOWN MANAGER REMOVAL AND ACTING MANAGER ○ MAYOR’S DUTIES: COMMITTEES, INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, AND ANNUAL ADDRESS ○ AMENDING THE CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION PROCESS ○ CONFIRMING RECALL PETITION SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT WITH STATE LAW ○ INTERFERENCE WITH ADMINISTRATION ○ EARLY VOTING REQUIREMENT FOR ELECTIONS Page 8 of 12 16 Page 9 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ Polling place information and the full text of the proposed Charter Amendments are available at the Office of the Town Clerk located at 6601 Main Street, Miami Lakes, Florida 33014. TOWN CLERK” C. The registration books shall remain open at the Office of the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections until the date at which the registration books shall close in accordance with the provisions of the general election laws. D. The Town Clerk, with necessary assistance from the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections, is hereby authorized to take all appropriate actions necessary to carry into effect and accomplish the electoral provisions of this Resolution. E. This election shall be canvassed by the Town Clerk in accordance with any applicable provisions of the general election laws of the State or County, unless otherwise provided by law. F. Copies of this Resolution are on file at the Office of the Town Clerk located at Town of Miami Lakes, 6601 Main Street, Miami Lakes, Florida 33014, and are available for public inspection during regular business hours. Section 6. Effectiveness of Charter Amendments. A. Each Town Charter Amendment as described in Section 2 above shall only be effective if a majority of the qualified electors of the Town voting on the specific Charter Amendment vote for its adoption, and shall be considered adopted and effective upon certification of the election results as provided herein. Each Charter Amendment shall stand alone, and the failure of any one ballot question shall not invalidate the remaining provisions. B. The Town Attorney is authorized to revise the Charter to the extent necessary to assure that any amendments adopted conform to one another and are properly included in the publication of the revised Town Charter. Further, in the event that some, but not all, of the Charter Amendments are approved by the electors, conforming amendments shall be deemed to be adopted and the Town Attorney is authorized to reflect and implement such Page 9 of 12 17 Page 10 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ revisions of the Charter, including the revision of transitional provisions, to the extent necessary to assure that all amendments adopted conform to one another and to all remaining Charter provisions. If conflicting Charter Amendments are adopted at the same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict. C. Following the adoption of the Charter Amendments, the Town Clerk shall file the adopted Charter Amendments with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Miami-Dade County, Florida, pursuant to Section 6.03 of the Miami-Dade County Charter. Section 7. Severability. The provisions of this Resolution are declared to be severable and if any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Resolution shall be held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this Resolution but they shall remain in effect, it being the legislative intent that this Resolution shall stand notwithstanding the invalidity of any part. Section 8. Inclusion in the Charter. Subject to the requirements of Section 6 above, it is the intention of the Town Council and it is hereby provided that the Charter Amendments shall become and be made a part of the Charter of the Town of Miami Lakes, and that the Sections of this Resolution may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention. Section 9. Effective Date. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption hereof. Page 10 of 12 18 Page 11 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ The foregoing resolution was offered by _______________ who moved its adoption. The motion was seconded by _____________________ and upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows: Mayor Joshua Dieguez ______ Vice Mayor Bryan Morera ______ Councilmember Juan Carlos Fernandez ______ Councilmember Angelo Cuadra Garcia ______ Councilmember Ray Garcia ______ Councilmember Steven Herzberg ______ Councilmember Alex Sanchez ______ Passed and adopted on this ___ day of ___ 2026. ___________________________________ Joshua Dieguez Mayor Attest: _____________________________ Gina M. Inguanzo Town Clerk Approved as to Form and Legal Sufficiency: _____________________________________ Lorenzo Cobiella Gastesi, Lopez Mestre and Cobiella, PLLC Deputy Town Attorney Page 11 of 12 19 Page 12 of 11 Resolution No. 26-___ EXHIBIT “A” TEXT OF PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS The full text of the proposed Charter Amendments, indicated by underline for proposed additions and strikethrough for proposed deletions, is attached hereto. [The redlined Charter prepared for the Council is incorporated here as Exhibit “A”.] Page 12 of 12 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46