2014-28569 Reso RESOLUTION NO. 201428569
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CONSENTING TO THE
APPOINTMENT OF JOSE R. GONZALEZ AS THE DIRECTOR
OF THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT FOR THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH.
WHEREAS, the City Manager has created the Transportation Department; and
WHEREAS, the City Manager has appointed Jose R. Gonzalez as the Director of the
Transportation Department of the City of Miami Beach; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article IV, Section 4.02(b), of the City of Miami Beach Charter,
the City Manager has the power to appoint directors of the City departments with the consent of
the City Commission; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and the City Commission wish to consent to and confirm the
appointment of Jose R. Gonzalez as the Director of the Transportation Department for the City
of Miami Beach.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED THAT THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, consent to and confirm the
appointment of Jose Gonzalez as the Director of the Transportation Department for the City of
Miami Beach.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 23 t day of April, 2014.
ATTEST:
Philip L in r
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Rafael It. Granado, City Clerk ;;• c~,
APPROWED AS TO
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COMMISSION ITEM SUMMARY
Condensed Title:
Consenting to the appointment of Jose R. Gonzalez as the Director of the Transportation Department
for the City of Miami Beach.
Key Intended Outcome Supported:
• Increase community satisfaction with City government. Increase community satisfaction with
city government
Supporting Data (Surveys, Environmental Scan, etc.): N/A
Item Summary/Recommendation:
The City Manager recently created the Transportation Department in order for the City to continue its
nationally and internationally recognized tradition of providing effective and efficient transportation
services and managing the City's existing and future multimodal transportation system to ensure the
safety, health and well-being of all residents and visitors of the City. In order to ensure that the newly-
created Transportation Department receives the oversight and direction needed, the Manager appointed
Jose R. Gonzalez as the Director.
Mr. Gonzalez began his career with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District Six in 1994
as a member of the distinguished Professional Engineer (PE) Training Program, the Department's elite
four year management training program. During his 10-year tenure with FDOT District Six, Mr. Gonzalez's
role included serving as a liaison with external transportation agencies such as Miami-Dade Transit, Port
of Miami, Miami-Dade Aviation Department, and rail enterprises, such as the Florida East Coast, CSX,
and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority/Tri-Rail. Subsequent to his 10-year tenure with
FDOT, Mr. Gonzalez joined the City of Miami in 2004 where he was responsible for the coordination,
planning and implementation of transportation and transit projects and programs in the City. During his
over seven year career at the City of Miami, Mr. Gonzalez coordinated significant projects such as the
Port of Miami Tunnel. He served as the Program Manager for the City's first Trolley System, Bicycle
Program, Marlins Ballpark Transportation Program, and an affordable housing/transit oriented
development (TOD) model project undertaken in partnership with US Department of Housing and Urban
Development(HUD) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
I am confident that Mr. Gonzalez's extensive experience in transportation and his proven leadership skills
will forge the newly-created Transportation and Concurrency Department into a positive direction.
Pursuant to the requirements of Article IV, Section 4.02(b) of the City Charter, it is recommended that the
Mayor and the City Commission adopt the attached resolution consenting to and confirming Jose R.
Gonzalez as the Director of the Transportation and Concurrency Department for the City of Miami Beach.
Advisory Board Recommendation:
N/A
Financial Information:
Source of Amount Account Approved
Funds: 1
2
3
4
OBPI Total
Financial Impact Summary:
City Clerk's Office Legislative Tracking:
Sylvia Crespo-Tabak, Human Resources
Sign-Offs:
Department Director Assistant Cit anager City nager
SCT -I KGB JLM
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Agenda Item 1 F
Date 'Z�J-
MIAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beath, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139,www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMIS ION MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members f the City ommission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: April 23, 2014
SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAY AND THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORID , CONSENTING TO THE APPOINTMENT
OF JOSE R. GONZALEZ AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE TRANSPORTATION
DEPARTMENT FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH.
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION
Pursuant to the requirements of Article IV, Section 4.02 of the City Charter, it is
recommended that the Mayor and the City Commission adopt the attached resolution
consenting and confirming Jose R. Gonzalez as the Director of the Transportation
Department for the City of Miami Beach.
ANALYSIS
Mr. Gonzalez began his career with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT),
District Six in 1994 as a member of the distinguished Professional Engineer (PE)
Training Program, the Department's elite four year management training program. As
part of the PE Training Program, he spent time in the various offices within District Six
and the FDOT Central Office in Tallahassee and worked on numerous FDOT roadway
and bridge projects in all phases of development including planning, project
development and environment, design, construction, operation, and maintenance.
During his 10-year tenure with FDOT District Six, Mr. Gonzalez served as the District
Intermodal Engineer in the Public Transportation Office and managed and/or had
significant involvement with.various multimodal transportation projects of regional and
statewide significance, including the planning, design, and construction of Metrorail
extensions, intermodal facilities, ferry terminals, and historic train stations. Mr.
Gonzalez's role included serving as a liaison with external transportation agencies such
as Miami-Dade Transit, Port of Miami, Miami-Dade Aviation Department, and rail
enterprises, such as the Florida East Coast, CSX, and the South Florida Regional
Transportation Authority/Tri-Rail. His responsibilities also included overseeing a multi-
million dollar budget for the District Six Intermodal Programs Office, including federal
and state grant funding, and in-house and consultant support staff. Mr. Gonzalez is also
a graduate of the FDOT Leadership Academy and maintains close working relationships
with the current leadership at FDOT.
Subsequently, Mr. Gonzalez joined the City of Miami in 2004 where he was responsible
for the coordination, planning and implementation of transportation and transit projects
and programs in the City. He also served as the liaison with external transportation
agencies such as the FDOT, Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO),
City Commission Memorandum
Consenting and Confirming Transportation Director—Gonzalez
April 23, 2014
Page 2 of 2
Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX). During
his career at the City of Miami, Mr. Gonzalez coordinated significant projects such as the
Port of Miami Tunnel. He served as the Program Manager for the City's first Trolley
System, Bicycle Program, Marlins Ballpark Transportation Program, and an affordable
housing/transit oriented development (TOD) model project undertaken in partnership
with US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Federal Transit
Administration (FTA). Additionally, Mr. Gonzalez managed the planning and
implementation of the City's Red Light Traffic Safety Camera Program which, at the
time, consisted of over 60 dangerous intersections in the City of Miami.
While serving as the lead in the Office of Transportation for the City of Miami, Mr.
Gonzalez oversaw the planning and development of the Miami Trolley System. The
system is comprised of 34 Classic American Trolley vehicles operating over 40 miles of
service throughout the City with as frequent as 10 minute headways. The Miami Trolley
System is recognized as one of the most robust municipal circulator systems in the
country and it has regional significance as it connects to Coral Gables on the west and
provides direct connections to the Miami-Dade Metrorail, MetroMover, and MetroBus
facilities while serving major destinations in the Downtown, Brickell, Midtown, Civic
Center/Health District, Little Havana, Allapattah, Overtown, and Coral Way
neighborhoods in the City of Miami. The Miami Trolley system currently boasts a
ridership of over 1 million passengers annually.
During his career in the City of Miami, Mr. Gonzalez worked closely with the City
Administration and elected officials to garner the political support necessary to launch
this robust transit system and partnered with the Federal Transit Administration, FDOT,
MDT, and the Office of the Citizens' Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) to garner
the capital, operating and maintenance funding necessary to sustain the trolley service.
In October 2011, Mr. Gonzalez joined the City of Miami Beach as the Transportation
Manager. During the two years Mr. Gonzalez has held this position, he has
demonstrated strong management and leadership capabilities. For example, Mr.
Gonzalez has been instrumental in advancing a citywide multimodal transportation
master plan and addressing the need for more efficient and effective mass transit
connectivity between Miami Beach and the Mainland. As a result of a recent grant
application submitted to the Miami-Dade MPO under Mr. Gonzalez's direction, the City is
currently part of an interagency partnership, under the auspices of the MPO, conducting
a study to reevaluate mass transit connectivity between Miami Beach and the Mainland.
Additionally, during Mr. Gonzalez's tenure with the City of Miami Beach, the City has
been awarded state and local grants, including the Florida Safe Routes to Schools grant
program.
More recently, as you may recall, pursuant to a Commission directive issued at the
December 13, 2013, City Commission meeting, Mr. Gonzalez managed the
development and implementation of the Alton-West Trolley service in an expedited 52-
day timeframe and met the City Commission's expectation to begin operating by
February 3, 2014. The trolley service has been crucial in assisting the businesses along
the Alton Road and West Avenue corridors during the ongoing and economically-
challenging Alton Road Reconstruction Project. As a subsequent but equally important
effort, the newly-created Transportation Department, under Mr. Gonzalez's purview, is
anticipating beginning the North Beach Trolley service this summer and is currently
planning a system of interconnected municipal circulator routes to enhance mobility
City Commission Memorandum
Consenting and Confirming Transportation Director—Gonzalez
April 23, 2014
Page 3 of 3
throughout the City.
Additionally, under Mr. Gonzalez's purview, the Transportation Department is applying
innovative technologies, such as next bus mobile application services, Intelligent
Transportation Systems, and automated traffic monitoring and management services to
provide real-time traffic, parking, and transit information and more efficiently and
effectively manage congestion on roadways in our City.
Mr. Gonzalez has resided in the City of Miami Beach for over 12 years. He is currently a
member of the Miami-Dade MPO Transportation and Planning Council, the Institute for
Transportation Engineers, and the Cuban-American Association of Civil Engineers.
CONCLUSION
The appointment of Jose R. Gonzalez, as the Director will ensure that the newly-created
Transportation Department provides the oversight and direction needed for the City to
continue its nationally and internationally recognized tradition of providing effective and
efficient transportation services and managing the City's existing and future multimodal
transportation system to ensure the safety, health and well-being of all residents and
visitors of the City.
Pursuant to the requirements of Article IV, Section 4.02, of the City Charter, it is
recommended that the Mayor and City Commission adopt the resolution consenting and
confirming Jose R. Gonzalez as the Director of the Transportation Department for the
City of Miami Beach.
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