Date: May 4, 2004

Kids to Hold a Mock City Commission Meeting
-- In celebration of Municipal Clerk’s Week --

Miami Beach, FL – On Monday, May 10, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. , the City of Miami Beach will host the 2004 City of Miami Beach Mock Commission Meeting in celebration of National Municipal Clerk’s Week.

Children from ASPIRA, Inc. will take on the roles of Mayor, Commission, City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and Police and Fire chiefs during the mock meeting. The remainder of the eighth-grade children participating from Nautilus Middle School children will serve as the audience asking questions during the public hearings. The public discussions will include improvements in school security and cafeteria cuisine. The students were selected according to their interests in government, their goals and aspirations.

Municipal Clerk’s Week is celebrated nationwide during the week of May 10 through May 14, 2004. Also during this week, electronic presentations will be shown at the Miami Beach City Hall City Clerk Department’s front counter; each day highlighting a particular function of the Clerk’s Office along with historical photographs illustrating the magic of Miami Beach from its beginning.

Students participating are Mayor Kaitlin Freedman, Vice-Mayor Molly Coller, Commissioners: Natalia Jimenez, Jose Mora, Rodrigo Murinico, Talia Robledo, Karen Villalba; City Manager Ana Heretoeu; City Attorney Shirley Bensoussan; City Clerk Nicholas Bazan; and Police Chief Derek Almandares.

Last year, students from Feinberg Fisher School participated in the mock commission meeting. The City Clerk’s Office partnered with the City’s Office of Children’s Affairs and ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. for this year’s celebration.

ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. has program operations in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties (Homestead, Greater Miami and Miami Beach). ASPIRA’s mission is to serve and address the “educational and developmental needs of all youth” throughout Florida’s multi-cultural communities and is committed to pursue the highest quality programming for youth who are at-risk of dropping out of school.

For more information, contact the Miami Beach City Clerk’s Office at 305-673-7411.

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To request this material in accessible format, sign language interpreters, information on access for persons with disabilities, and/or any accommodation to review any document or participate in any city-sponsored proceeding, please contact 305-604-2489 (voice) or 305-673-7218 (TTY) five days in advance to initiate your request. TTY users may also call 711 (Florida Relay Service).