The Town of Miami Lakes Veterans Committee approved several performer bookings, confirmed plans for VIP golf-cart vehicles and reviewed parade logistics and sponsorships as it finalized preparations for the annual veterans parade.

The committee approved budgeted performer fees after discussing availability and prices from professional teams. Committee members approved the Marlins dancers (no fee reported), a pair of Panthers dancers at $200 per hour, the Dolphins mascot and handler at $450 per hour, and pre-approved a Heat mascot up to $500. Motions for those approvals were seconded and passed during the meeting; votes were recorded as “Aye.”

Committee leaders also agreed to replace the Jeep VIP vehicles used in past years with 18 donated or loaned golf carts provided by a local golf-cart company. The carts will be used to transport dignitaries and veterans along the route; committee members discussed logistics including staging area size, signage and whether carts are 2- or 4-seat models. Organizers said the golf-cart providers will supply drivers and that the committee will ensure any adhesive signage is removed after the event.

The committee reviewed parade registrations and volunteer logistics: 12 parade registrations were reported at the meeting, and the organizer said multiple school groups — including Miami Lakes Middle and other neighborhood schools — had signed up. Committee members emphasized early registration to reduce day-of routing issues and confirmed plans for two morning vans to deliver water to staging and hydration stations along the route.

Budget and sponsorships were discussed. The organizer reported a $14,000 town allocation for the event plus $5,500 in confirmed sponsor dollars, for a working total of $19,500 for parade expenses and programming. Identified sponsors mentioned during the meeting included Headquarter Toyota and several local businesses; $1,500 was reported as a monetary luncheon sponsorship already committed.

Committee members set volunteer expectations and staging tasks: volunteers will be asked to arrive early (roughly 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. for setup), and staff will deliver water and materials to staging points per a site map. Organizers will email maps and volunteer assignments ahead of event day.

What’s next: organizers said the parade route will remain the same as the previous year and reminded members that performers and mascots can be costly and book early. The committee assigned follow-up tasks to confirm golf-cart sizes, collect a detailed list of cart drivers, finalize mascot arrival and post-parade photo time, and distribute staging maps to volunteer teams.

Votes at a glance
- Approved: Marlins dancers (no fee specified). Motion seconded and passed (vote recorded: Aye).
- Approved: Panthers dancers, two performers at $200 per hour. Motion seconded and passed (vote recorded: Aye).
- Approved: Dolphins mascot and handler at $450 per hour. Motion seconded and passed (vote recorded: Aye).
- Approved: Heat mascot pre-approved up to $500 per hour. Motion seconded and passed (vote recorded: Aye).

Speakers (as identified in the meeting)
- Judy — Committee member (government)
- Gary — Committee member / staff liaison (government)
- Mister James — Committee member (government)
- Marley Hernandez — Event contact (staff/organizer)
- Sergio (restaurant contact; “Sergio’s”) — Business representative (business)
- Larry — Vice chair, Veterans Committee (government)
- Ed — Committee member (government)
- Mister Piao — Committee member (government)
- Mister Boorman — Committee member (government)

Authorities referenced
[]

actions
[{
"kind":"other",
"identifiers":{},
"motion":"Approve Marlins dancers for parade (no fee specified)",
"mover":"not specified",
"second":"Mister Boorman",
"vote_record":[],
"tally":{},
"outcome":"approved",
"notes":"Vote recorded as 'Aye' during the meeting. No fee specified in transcript."
},{
"kind":"other",
"identifiers":{},
"motion":"Approve Panthers dancers at $200 per hour (two performers)",
"mover":"not specified",
"second":"not specified",
"vote_record":[],
"tally":{},
"outcome":"approved",
"notes":"Motion passed; committee recorded 'Aye.'"
},{
"kind":"other",
"identifiers":{},
"motion":"Approve Dolphins mascot and handler at $450 per hour",
"mover":"not specified",
"second":"Mister Piau",
"vote_record":[],
"tally":{},
"outcome":"approved",
"notes":"Motion passed; vote recorded 'Aye.'"
},{
"kind":"other",
"identifiers":{},
"motion":"Pre-approve Heat mascot up to $500 for parade",
"mover":"not specified",
"second":"Mister Figuero",
"vote_record":[],
"tally":{},
"outcome":"approved",
"notes":"Motion passed; vote recorded 'Aye.'"
}]

discussion_decision
{"discussion_points":["Logistics for VIP vehicles: golf carts vs. Jeeps","Performer fees and booking windows","Water distribution to staging areas and volunteer coordination","Sponsorship and event budget tracking"],"directions":["Confirm golf-cart sizes and drivers; secure adhesive signage that won't damage carts","Distribute maps with water locations to volunteers; schedule two vans for morning deliveries","Staff to collect performer contract details and confirm arrival/exit timing"],"decisions":["Approve listed performers and mascots per motions above","Use donated/loaned golf carts for VIP transport","Proceed with same parade route as prior year"]}

clarifying_details
[{"category":"event_budget","detail":"Town allocation","value":"14000","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"committee member"},{"category":"sponsor_committed","detail":"Sponsor dollars reported at meeting","value":"5500","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"committee member"},{"category":"mascot_fee","detail":"Dolphins mascot and handler rate reported","value":"450","units":"USD/hour","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"committee member"},{"category":"mascot_fee","detail":"Panthers dancers rate","value":"200","units":"USD/hour per group","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"committee member"},{"category":"vehicle_count","detail":"Golf carts offered by donor company","value":"18","units":"vehicles","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"committee member"}]

proper_names
[{"name":"Miami Lakes","type":"location"},{"name":"Headquarter Toyota","type":"business"},{"name":"Mission Barbecue","type":"business"},{"name":"Sergio's","type":"business"},{"name":"JJ Customs","type":"business"},{"name":"Marlins","type":"organization"},{"name":"Panthers","type":"organization"},{"name":"Dolphins","type":"organization"},{"name":"Heat","type":"organization"}]

community_relevance
{"geographies":["Miami Lakes"],"funding_sources":["town allocation","sponsorships"],"impact_groups":["veterans","parade attendees","local school groups"]}

meeting_context
{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":12,"duration_minutes":240,"items_count":12},"implementation_risk":"low","history":[]}

searchable_tags
["parade","veterans","mascots","sponsorship","volunteers"]

provenance
{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"161.83499","local_start":0,"local_end":122,"evidence_excerpt":"This is a veteran subcommittee for the parade. K. Roll call. Oh, man. Present?","tc_start":"00:02:41","tc_end":"00:03:23","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"6058.035","local_start":0,"local_end":80,"evidence_excerpt":"We, we had our we had our first veterans, golf outing tournament Subcommitting. Subcommittee meeting the other day. And, it was it really came out pretty good.","tc_start":"01:40:58","tc_end":"01:41:38","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}

salience
{"overall":0.68,"overall_justification":"Local event with budget and contract decisions; several paid performer approvals and sponsor commitments","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Affects Miami Lakes veterans, parade participants and nearby neighborhoods","attention_level":"medium","attention_level_justification":"Local interest and budgeting decisions; no legal threshold issues","novelty":0.3,"novelty_justification":"Routine annual event with some new vendor arrangements (golf carts) and paid mascots","timeliness_urgency":0.6,"timeliness_urgency_justification":"Event date approaching (parade) and performer bookings require timely follow-up","legal_significance":0.05,"legal_significance_justification":"No new ordinance or statute; routine vendor approvals","budgetary_significance":0.35,"budgetary_significance_justification":"Town allocation and sponsor dollars affect event budget but not major municipal budget lines","public_safety_risk":0.1,"public_safety_risk_justification":"Standard crowd control and hydration logistics; no elevated safety risks reported","affected_population_estimate":5000,"affected_population_estimate_justification":"Estimate of parade attendees and community reach","affected_population_confidence":0.5,"affected_population_confidence_justification":"Rough estimate based on prior events","budget_total_usd":19500.0,"budget_total_usd_justification":"Town allocation $14,000 + reported sponsor dollars $5,500","policy_stage":"implementation","policy_stage_justification":"Operational planning and vendor commitments"}

engagement_forecast
{"newsworthiness":{"national":0.00,"regional":0.10,"local":0.85,"justification":"Local event planning; most relevant to Miami Lakes residents and local stakeholders"},"notify_recommendation":{"audience":"city","reason":"Approvals of paid performers and parade logistics affect local residents and town operations","audience_regions":[],"justification":"Local audience; municipal communications team should be informed"},"notify_thresholds":{"local_min":0.5,"regional_min":0.7,"national_min":0.9},"predicted_interest":{"national":0.00,"regional":0.05,"local":0.80,"justification":"High local interest due to community event and civic officers involved"},"predicted_click_through":0.25,"predicted_click_through_justification":"Community event article with operational details"}

graph_signals
{"jurisdictions":["US-FL-MIA"],"jurisdictions_justification":"Miami Lakes, Florida","ontology_topics":["events","public-works","local-government"],"ontology_topics_justification":"Parade logistics, town funding and vendor approvals","entities":[{"id":"miami-lakes","name":"Miami Lakes","type":"location"}],"entities_justification":"Primary jurisdiction of the meeting"}

salience_overview":{}}