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LGBTQ Advisory Board Minutes - 2-9-2021 LGBTQ Advisory Committee Committee Chair, Robin Schwartz Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 9, 2021 Members in attendance – Cindy Brown, Craig Garmendia, Edward Kring, Gayle Durham, Herb Sosa, Mark Wylie, Michael Bath, Paul Thomas, Riki Wilchins, Robin Schwartz, Sunny Weber Others in attendance- Dan Rios, GMCVB, Officer Manny Valdes, PD Called to order at 1:00 p.m. Ongoing Business: A. Approval of the January 12th meeting minutes- motion: Cindy, second: Herb. All in favor. B. MBPD Updates – None, he mentioned they are gearing up for Spring Break C. GMCVB / Marketing updates – None New Business: A. Elect Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary- Herb nominated Paul to serve as Chair, Riki seconded it, all were in favor. Paul was elected as Chair. Cindy nominated Eddie to serve as Vice-chair, Herb seconded it, all in favor. Eddie was elected as Vice-Chair. Cindy nominated Michael to serve as secretary, Eddie seconded it. All in favor. Michael was elected as Secretary. B. Discuss to prohibit Chick-Fil-A Fast Food Chain Restaurant on Alton Road- Gayle mentioned the Visibility/Marketing/Tourism Subcommittee discussed this. She said that this may be a rumor, there hasn’t been anything approved yet, but she suggests having a vote on getting a legal opinion on what we can do to prevent this business from coming to Miami Beach. Discussion was held. Some Committee members were reluctant to get involved with this legally although Chick-Fil-A does not support the LGBTQ community. Suggestions were made to reaffirm the values of Miami Beach as being an inclusive City. Many of the Committee members do not like their politics, but there are LGBTQ people that work there. It was also suggested if the Committee don’t want to go after them directly from an LGBTQ point of view, from a health perspective it doesn’t belong here. Another suggestion was to keep abreast to see who they donate to, because each location donates to different causes and if they donate to organizations that go against people in Miami Beach, they could address it that way. C. Discuss September Committee meeting date change- The Committee would like to keep the meeting on September 14th, even though it falls on the same day as a Commission meeting. D. Paul brought up the discussion about Jamie Guirola’s seat on the Committee. There was an amended ordinance proposal on the Committee agenda for February 10th to make an exception for those people who have a special skill set to be on the Committee Members Cindy Brown Craig Garmendia Daniel Diaz Edward Kring Gayle Durham Herb Sosa Mark Wylie Michael Bath Nikolas Montolio Paul Thomas Riki Wilchins Sunny Weber Committee if they don’t meet the other requirements of living or working in Miami Beach. A lot of discussion was held about whether they wanted to support the ordinance change to allow anyone to be on a Committee. The item was R5H on the February 10th Commission meeting and it explains the change in depth. Paul motioned to support the amended ordinance (R5H), Herb seconded and then withdrew his second due to the fact he felt this was a slippery slope if it will apply to all committees. Cindy seconded the motion and then rescinded after further discussion because it may affect her as well in the future. The motion failed as everyone voted no except Paul as no one else was in support based on the fact that the ordinance change would open up too many doors to too many people. Subcommittees Reports and Next Actions 1) HRC Rating (Cindy, Paul, Eddie)- Cindy provided an update-she checked the website the other day and the score card was not put up for 2021 and as soon as they do, they will meet to look over the new questions. She will provide information on things that we didn’t get points for and what we can do to get those points. 2) LGBTQ Visibility/Marketing/Tourism (Eddie, Gayle, Mark, Sunny, Danny, Herb, Michael)- Gayle provided an update- she said they have been working on the LGBTQ memorial the last few years, she also mentioned the Marriage Equality month proposal and it is on the Commission agenda for a discussion at the February 10th meeting. Discussion was held on the marketing of marriage equality and possibly to include it in the love is love campaign. The process of getting a marriage license to get married was discussed and how cumbersome it is. Rainbow flags on lifeguard stands were discussed. Eddie moved to keep the rainbow flags permanent on the lifeguard stands in Lummus Park. Herb seconded. All in favor. LTC will be written. Advertisements were discussed and the Subcommittee will further vet the idea. 3) Health and Wellness (Craig, Riki, Paul)- N/A 4) Advocacy Subcommittee (Paul, Robin, Sunny, Eddie, Cindy)- Meeting will be scheduled. Meeting adjourned at 2:12 p.m.