“I want to thank Commissioner Gilbert for bringing up this point. I want to echo some of the points that Commissioner Hardiman brought up. Ulyss, the frustration up here is not with the fact that you went out to the private sector because I actually want to commend you and the Underline for doing that.”

Commissioner Gonzalez providing qualified support for the Underline's fundraising efforts

“If we don't have all the options, we can't make the best possible decision.”

Emphasizing need for comprehensive information

“Time is of the essence. I want to thank Commissioner Lopez and the clarification and the chairman and the clarification on those options. Because I, for one, want to see every possible option.”

Supporting consideration of multiple options for waste management

“Every single NGO and CBO out there should be doing exactly what you folks are doing successfully. They should be going out to the private sector and asking the private sector for sponsorships so that they can help the community that they live in.”

Endorsing the principle of nonprofit fundraising from private sources

“Culture and community impact the vibrancy of a major metropolitan area. I want to commend you for going out to the private sector and acquiring a sponsorship. The frustration up here is because it seems like you want to have your cake and eat it too. You want to go out for sponsorships, which is awesome, but it seems like you're taking that sponsorship and then want to come back and ask for more taxpayer funds.”

Expressing the board's core frustration: the Underline securing private funding while still requesting county appropriations

“I just recently read an article that says that there's over 40,000 millionaires and billionaires that live in Miami-Dade right now. The most amount in any major metropolitan area in the United States.”

Citing demographic data about wealth concentration in Miami-Dade County

“This board, ever since Commissioner Gilbert's chairmanship and on to Chairman Rodriguez's chairmanship, we move at the speed of business. We try to incentivize businesses to come into our community. As a matter of fact, Miami is the new center of the universe. We just had, over the weekend, a major company, Palantir, saying that they're moving to Miami.”

Contextualizing the board's pro-business, pro-growth orientation and Miami's economic significance

“They're a family of public servants. You know, the uncle was a police officer. We know them personally, lived in the district for a very long time, and they made certain requests.”

discussing Devin Jaramillo's family and requests for memorials

“Let's bring all the numbers, all the information, all the options, weigh them all on the table, and I am positive that my colleagues and I are going to be able to make a fiscally responsible decision for the taxpayer.”

Concluding statement on approach to decision-making

“If we're talking about hypotheticals when you guys come back, we are more likely than not going to go back to square one, and the only ones that are going to bear the burden of that are the taxpayers.”

Warning against relying on hypothetical rather than concrete numbers

“Let's bring that big picture Ferrari number with what that rate is going to be, but then let's also have those a la carte, hey, this is what each of these pieces is going to cost the ratepayer.”

Requesting both comprehensive and itemized cost presentations

“I want a transparent chart showing who pays for what. How much is UMSA paying? How much are cities contributing? Not concepts. Bring me hard numbers.”

Demanding transparency on contribution breakdown from all entities

“I want to see a side-by-side comparison of the private finance option versus what a traditional public financing would look like.”

Requesting comparative analysis of financing structures

“Private financing still means that the public is gonna pay for it. Taxpayer dollars are gonna pay for this. Private financing doesn't eliminate the cost. All it does is restructure how the residents are gonna repay it.”

Clarifying that private financing does not reduce ultimate public cost

“This means binding capital costs and a full lifecycle cost model before this moves forward. Those are the negotiations and the conversations that we should be having between the administration and the entities.”

Setting conditions for moving forward with interim agreement

“I want to see hard numbers. I want to see hard numbers and options. Because that's what's gonna dictate what the taxpayers are gonna pay. I don't want to see concepts. I want to see hard numbers to the best extent possible.”

Demanding concrete financial data rather than conceptual proposals

“I was just in Tallahassee a few weeks ago. There's a specific place very close to the Florida State University called College Town. Many years ago, College Town was not a very nice place. Now it is absolutely remarkable. It's amazing what has happened with the proper stewardship of tax dollars.”

Example of successful CRA redevelopment outside Miami-Dade

“I just think it should be a little more detailed. We should standardize the information that comes to this county commission so we can treat the budgetary process equally as it relates to them. Because at the end of the day, this is taxpayer money.”

advocating for standardized detailed CRA reporting

“I happen to agree with Commissioner Gilbert that sometimes what we're doing is we are kind of approving what they have already spent, but either way, if they've already spent it, it wouldn't be difficult to give us that level of detail.”

agreeing with concerns about retroactive budget approvals

“College football is different from the NFL and those skills are easily transferable with hard work, with being proactive and constant communication. I hope and I pray I'm rooting for you. I think you're gonna do a great great job but I will not be going easy on you sir.”

Offering support while warning of heightened scrutiny as OMB Director

“The level of communication that I've had with you, we've had conversations about tree lightings at a library and Zumba classes at a library at eight o'clock at night. You've always answered the phone, you've always been there. I wanna say that publicly.”

Praising Baker's responsiveness and communication at libraries

“I am a fan of CRAs. When they're done correctly, I am a big fan. I'm not opposed to transparency because through transparency and by just giving out all the information, opening the books and showing, Hey, look, this is what these tax dollars and the proper stewardship of these funds is doing for the community.”

Support for CRAs with transparency as defense against critics