Council hears low take-up on free decals and SmartPass distribution; staff outlines outreach

At the workshop the council turned to resident access credentials, decals and SmartPasses. John Yanez provided counts since October: 556 SmartPasses issued, 63 clickers to Royal Oaks East and 69 to Royal Oaks West; a free-decal distribution produced 638 decals and 48 additional paid decals for a total of 686. Yanez said the town still has 2,314 decals, 312 SmartPass cards and 77 clickers in inventory.

Councilman Garcia and Councilmember Sanchez pressed staff on outreach and timing. Garcia urged repeated communication — postcards, social posts and use of donated television monitors — to increase pick-up. Yanez said the town includes a QR code on the annual assessment postcard that links to an application, posts periodically on social media and displays a QR code on the Royal Oaks East television monitor. He said the free program allowed two decals per household; subsequent decals cost $5 each and it will be harder to track household-level uptake.

Councilmember Herzberg questioned the timing of the mailed postcard (one councilmember said their postcard was postmarked July 8 and often arrives after that), prompting staff to explain the statutory requirement for a budget-notice mailing and that flyers and the "Miami Laker" posts are also used. Yanez and council members discussed working annually with HOAs or event booths to increase access for residents who cannot pick up items during business hours (9 a.m.–5 p.m.).

No formal council action was taken; staff said inventory is sufficient and committed to exploring additional outreach channels and possible annual HOA coordination.