[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6671894,"mediaKeyId","2144187-c1825944cd1457360546f60797fb8806","parentId",2144187,"title","Margate commission adopts new meeting rules after public push for consent-agenda access; CRA leadership vote sparks heated public debate","audioSeconds",2682,"startMs",1178000,"endMs",3860000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2144187-c1825944cd1457360546f60797fb8806&start=1178&end=3860","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2144187-c1825944cd1457360546f60797fb8806/thumbnail_1178000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6671894/Margate/Broward-County/Florida/Margate-commission-adopts-new-meeting-rules-after-public-push-for-consent-agenda-access-CRA-leadership-vote-sparks-heated-public-debate","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6671894-75fd754bea40a0ca4909706058994eec/orig.mp4?Expires=1771166587&Signature=L-uEBiBeT4fYfk3Gx8YSKsgCaIT92W8EsVrx8Lob-aHNF6qNmc5DPSmPUQpoRxj65xcK77jCHgzUSnlSHVo0EUmxpY0jK28618c8laLxc4klCp139L~s69hYezIdx2mIJZ6~N1FuI8Qf8vwjGbn9uWHUei-yHOOedmURqpAQ5U4o8anCGEm~kv1uOUaAxuym4BXycXHLACgrHClPH16TPCjbPEA8oADBRfS7rYhadTSHJalBGFONFfUHtrvTgHGjxixfoBaxKPODQw~E3ZLkFqu4v-QqyMvsmDUpNXsc~O~tAmBLGKmnVauIC1af-kGo0jsjtgPQhvUcC-V1OZhuxQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Margate","date","2025-01-23T00:00:00Z","article","The Margate City Commission approved a pair of resolutions updating meeting rules and several other items after an extended public-comment period that focused on transparency and access to the consent agenda. The meeting included lengthy public discussion over whether residents should be able to speak on consent-agenda items and a heated debate over the appointment of Community Redevelopment Agency leadership.

Residents repeatedly urged the commission to restore an explicit on-agenda opportunity to comment on consent items and to drop language requiring speakers to provide an address. During public discussion, several residents said the current format makes it difficult to weigh in on purchases or contracts placed on the consent agenda. One speaker asked that consent-agenda comment be added “so that those in the public who are not able to make it to the beginning of the meeting in time…can still be heard.” Other residents raised separate transparency concerns: a resident asked that commissioners report back after attending outside conferences, and several residents complained about long-standing odor issues at the Margate wastewater plant.

Commissioners responded in differing ways. Commissioner Rosano said the mayor sets the agenda and can allow public comment on consent items; several commissioners and the city attorney also noted that the commission can ask any commissioner to pull an item from the consent agenda for separate discussion. City Attorney David Tolstis clarified that the city may ask speakers to state their names for the record but that asking for an address is not required under the city’s limited public-forum practice.

The commission’s votes on agenda items included:
- Consent agenda: Commission approved the remaining consent items once two items were removed for separate consideration; roll call on the remaining consent items (items A and D) recorded votes in favor by Commissioners Rosano, Casciano, Simone and Mayor Schwartz (4–0).
- Resolution: Rules of procedure for commission meetings (item 5b): approved by roll call (4–0).
- Resolution: Rules of conduct for public meetings (item 5c): approved by roll call (4–0).
- Resolution 6a (collective bargaining): ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Broward County Police Benevolent Association Lieutenants and Captains for Oct. 1, 2024–Sept. 30, 2027 (vote 4–0).

A contentious portion of the evening focused on the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). Commissioners considered appointments to the CRA chair and vice chair positions. Public speakers urged rotation and called for outside expertise on the CRA board, citing past redevelopment deals and the financial stakes of downtown planning. The commission debated whether chairmanship should be rotated and whether commissioners should serve on the CRA at all. At one point the mayor proposed tabling the CRA chair appointment until a meeting with all five commissioners present; that tabling motion failed for lack of a second. A subsequent vote on CRA leadership recorded a 3–1 vote in favor of the appointment motion; the transcript did not specify the appointed name in the roll-call block captured in the record and therefore the final appointee is not specified in the public transcript excerpt.

Commissioners also heard updates and other items during the meeting: the fire department reported progress on apparatus deliveries, and staff said they would supply requested data to Broward Sheriff's Office officials as part of continued discussions about a possible fire services merger.

Ending: The commission closed with routine business including a fee-waiver approval for local school graduation events and announcements about upcoming community activities.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Margate - 1/22/25 Regular City Commission Meeting 630PM - Jan 23, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","After extended public comment urging access to consent-agenda items and debate over CRA leadership, the Margate City Commission approved updated meeting rules and multiple resolutions, and voted on CRA appointments amid heated public remarks.","taxTitle","Margate, Broward County, Florida","taxId",5088,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6671898,"HCA Florida Northwest Hospital reports growth, outlines expansion plans in Margate",692,79000,771000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2144187-c1825944cd1457360546f60797fb8806&start=79&end=771","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2144187-c1825944cd1457360546f60797fb8806/thumbnail_79000.jpg","/articles/6671898/Margate/Broward-County/Florida/HCA-Florida-Northwest-Hospital-reports-growth-outlines-expansion-plans-in-Margate","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6671898-d1b98bbb5c623593dfa79b167a781970/orig.mp4?Expires=1771166587&Signature=PzOCwOiGH97m2hk~nIhMbPhcLXAyfCm-nEScNzhPsUUIX-KQR6UVkerudwRTypJ5f4EHTF1eT1Qq3tFrgbcehCEstZlZ9XmGpgjY9fFYpQ~CnJ8mmlgJwLnDxyvN9hiNAmPc7EqtrH3BigSTNwtm4NoC4wSmGXidV9abXfR9m~XlaQNTnWDRP7p9UDNKKdAEK9W5Qph3RJh-fLkUoM6mNkPmFZ5i6pXdkumXwHirbqLLLHXytu2awfJOZE5yaaMzB4GvBzYzTuFUxetVIsAAqc8vpC~93lvNQipMqhLdWo2oGKm9qq0JAqWAF2eD6CLJhGL09TzNQ8lqgMmve5fGFg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Kenneth Jones, CEO of HCA Florida Northwest Hospital, updated the Margate City Commission on the hospital’s recent patient volumes, workforce and capital projects and said the facility is preparing to expand clinical capacity to meet local demand.

Jones told commissioners the hospital — founded in 1984 and operating a 289-bed facility in Margate — handled 56,611 emergency department visits and 15,772 admissions in the last reporting year, and recorded a near-term rise in births and surgeries. He said births totaled 1,787, NICU admissions were 239 and surgical procedures rose about 10 percent.

“Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life,” Jones said, repeating the hospital’s mission statement. He also said staff and physician growth accompanies clinical expansion: the campus lists more than 1,000 colleagues and more than 800 active physicians on staff. Jones described the hospital as a trainer of physicians through an expanding graduate medical education program that grew from 35 residents in 2020 to an expected 236 in 2025.

The hospital emphasized economic impacts and local spending. Jones said total economic impact figures include roughly $155,000,000 in combined physician coverage, wages, capital investment, charity care and local vendor spending; he also described the hospital as a significant local taxpayer.

Jones outlined several capital projects either completed or planned. He announced a biplane suite for complex stroke care with an open house scheduled for January 31, and said work is under way on a hybrid operating room and a surgical services expansion that will add three operating rooms. He described a longer-term plan to add two stories to the main tower — a fifth floor to expand obstetrics (postpartum and labor-and-delivery) and a sixth floor for medical-surgical rooms and possible rehabilitation beds — and said the hospital is studying lobby and south-side expansion that could add 30–40 beds.

Jones said the hospital has also repurposed adjacent properties to secure space for conferences and future development; he described no final plans for exterior redevelopment beyond conference and staff space. When asked about a rooftop helipad, Jones said that option “has not come up recently” and that air transport isn’t routine because the hospital provides trauma and burn services and uses ground-transfer arrangements when needed.

City leaders pressed for details. Mayor Schwartz and commissioners asked whether the campus could expand upward to add floors; Jones confirmed the tower footprint supports additional stories and reiterated the immediate focus is the surgical expansion and the biplane stroke capability. Jones said pediatrics inpatient service is unlikely to return in the near term because pediatrics requires pediatric nursing and subspecialty coverage and the hospital is concentrating on adult services while partnering with pediatric referral hospitals.

Jones named members of his team present for the briefing — including Chief Nursing Officer Rona Hall and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Victor Jaffe — and described recent capital investments: a 2018 $75 million tower, PACU and cath-lab upgrades, and additions such as a 128-slice CT and an electrophysiology lab. He said the hospital is Joint Commission accredited and recently received primary stroke certification.

The presentation closed with Jones thanking residents for supporting the hospital and noting recruitment and graduate medical education growth planned through 2029.

Ending: Commissioners thanked Jones for the report and asked staff to continue coordinating on zoning, traffic and development matters tied to hospital expansion.","Hospital CEO Kenneth Jones told the Margate City Commission the facility saw increased admissions, births and surgeries in 2024, highlighted workforce and economic contributions, and described capital plans that include a biplane stroke suite, three new operating rooms and potential two-floor tower expansion.","actionData","errors"]

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Margate commission adopts new meeting rules after public push for consent-agenda access; CRA leadership vote sparks heated public debate

HCA Florida Northwest Hospital reports growth, outlines expansion plans in Margate