April 1, 2022 City Commission Liaison Meeting Minutes •
CITY COMMISSION LIAISON MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 1, 2022
9:00 A.M.
Aventura Government Center
19200 West Country Club Drive, Aventura, FL
A City of Aventura Commission Liaison Meeting was held at the Aventura Government
Center on April 1 , 2022 and called to order at 9.00 a.m. The following Commission Liaison
members were in attendance: Commissioner Dr. Linda Marks and Commissioner Robert
Shelley'. Also present were Mayor Enid Weisman, Vice Mayor Rachel S. Friedland2, City
Manager Ronald J. Wasson, City Clerk Ellisa L. Horvath, Assistant City Manager Bryan
Pegues, Charter Schools USA CEO Jon Hage, and Charter Schools USA South Florida
Deputy Director Rachel Windler-Freitag.
Mr. Wasson provided a brief update on the possibility of a K-8 school expansion to 1 ,000
students at the current ACES location.
Agustin Barrera, Partner/Director of Architecture - Bermello Ajamil & Partners, distributed
and reviewed the Aventura Charter School Options Schematic Design Submittal, as well
as Options 1 & 2 ROM/Pre-Schematic and Cost Estimate dated January 28, 2022.
The following were reviewed: Option 1 (new middle school to the west, dining/kitchen
addition, and re-purposed elementary school)and Option 2 (demolish existing community
center, new middle school on the demolished site, new 2-story community center to the
west, dining/kitchen addition, re-purposed elementary school, and re-purposed middle
school).
John McWilliams, Traffic Engineer - Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc., discussed the
current traffic and review by the Miami-Dade County Traffic Engineering Division, with
preliminary indication from them regarding existing and proposed stacking issues
resulting from any expansion.
The Commission discussed the impact to traffic, parking, supply chain issues, the use of
eminent domain for land at another location, the need for a preliminary traffic study, a K-
8 model versus a 6-12 concept next to the high school, number of students on the waiting
list, and looking at land in the hospital district or Gulfstream.
It was the consensus of those in attendance for the City Manager to explore other land
options elsewhere and to provide an update at a Commission Workshop.
One Aventura resident provided comments.
'Left the meeting at 11:00 a.m.
2 Arrived at 9:07 a.m.Left at 10:53 a.m.
City Commission Liaison Meeting Minutes
April 1, 2022
Mr. Hage provided an update on the CSUSA process to improve services for the students
and the schools and introduced the new dedicated recruiter for the Aventura schools.
The Commission discussed the possibility of requiring teachers to join the CSUSA
retirement at the beginning of employment.
Mr. Hage committed to providing the following: a full time liaison on the CSUSA team for
Aventura, customized hiring process, high performance of management team and
principals/executive leaders, clarified management map for process, and financial
commitment for education. Mr. Hage discussed the City's partnership with CSUSA and
continued enhancements as identified by both sides and the need for clear
communication from the City as one voice for clear direction.
Mr. Hage and the Commission expressed and discussed frustrations including
micromanagement and items the schools are lacking. It was suggested that both CSUSA
and the City provide a list of expectations for the schools and determine if those two lists
align in order to move forward.
One Aventura resident provided comments.
The Commission discussed the need to fix the chain of command for complaints to be
addressed.
Mr. Hage was requested to provide a plan focused on operating, communication and
ownership, to include a clear operating model, personnel, new work chart for the
Commission, and response times for clear expectations.
The parent facilitator/conflict resolution officer was discussed, with a focus on CSUSA
taking over those duties.
Mr. Hage will provide a plan at the next Commission Liaison Meeting, at a date
coordinated by Mr. Wasson.
No additional members of the public provided comments.
The meeting adjourned at 12.09 p.m.
T Ellisa L. Horvath, M C, City Clerk
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