LTC 108-2002
CITY of MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. /O,8-c2orJ~
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TO:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez \ -~/
City Manager Utl"O
SUBJECT: WEEKLY UPDATE
Date: April 29, 2002
FROM:
The purpose of this LTC is to provide the Mayor and Commission with an update
describing some of the areas the Administration focused on during the weeks of
April 15 and 22, 2002.
Neighborhood Leadership Academy - The Neighborhood Leadership
Academy, the civic and public information program designed for residents of
Miami Beach that provides them with the information and resources to become
more knowledgeable members of our diverse community, met on April 15 with
the Building Department presenting and on April 22 with the Capital
Improvements Projects Office presenting. The participant's surveys completed at
the end of each session were extremely positive and the residents participating
keep offering very positive feedback about the sessions.
Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) - Representatives
from the Administration met with representatives from the GMCVB on April 17
and 27 to continue discussing issues associated with GMCVB's contract renewal.
Further details will be shared with the Mayor and Commission at the May 8, 2002
Commission meeting.
Hurricane Preparedness Plans - The Administration has been meeting to
update plans for this year's hurricane season and are in the process of meeting
with teams of each of the following functional areas to further outline and update
the City's plans: (1) Public Safety; (2) Operations; (3) Logistics; (4) Administration
and Finance; and (5) Planning and Information. In addition, the Administration
has scheduled a "Hurricane Fair" to take place on Saturday, June 1, 2002 from
10:00 a.m. to 1 :00 p.m. on Lincoln Road that will provide residents and
businesses with information to better help them prepare and plan in the event of
a hurricane. On June 4, representatives from the Administration will be
participating in the statewide emergency drill being coordinated by the State and
County Emergency Management Offices. Once all our plans are finalized, they
will be communicated to the Mayor and Commission.
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Espanola Way Merchants Meeting - Representatives from the Administration
met on April 17 with several merchants and other interested stakeholders of
Espanola Way to discuss the neighborhood market that takes place there every
weekend and solicit their feedback regarding the market. A similar meeting will
take place on North Beach on May 7, 2002 and on Lincoln Road on May 15,
2002. Once all meetings have taken place, the results will be presented to the
Community Affairs Committee on May 22, 2002 for further discussion and action.
Departmental Budget Reviews - The City Manager and representatives from
the Office of Management and Budget have been meeting with Department
Directors to discuss and review proposed budgets for the 2002-2003 Fiscal Year.
Neighborhood Services I Mayor on the Move - Approximately 40 area
residents participated in the Mayor on the Move meeting held at Nautilus Middle
School on April 24 for the Nautilus Neighborhood. The meeting was an open
discussion forum where people shared their neighborhood quality of life concerns
with the Mayor, representatives from the Commission, and the Administration.
The following six items were identified as neighborhood priorities: (1) Flooding in
various areas in the neighborhood after moderate rains; (2) Speeding in the
neighborhood on the major arteries, particularly on North Bay Road in close
proximity to Mt. Sinai Hospital and general traffic law enforcement; (3) Frequent
power outages in the area of 41st to 46th streets on Prairie Avenue; (4) Swale
area landscaping and whether the City will create standards for uniformity; (5)
Broken sidewalks near Muss Park and potholes in the streets; and (6) Changing
bulk pickup from Friday's to Tuesday's. A comprehensive overview addressing
the six identified priorities will be provided to the Nautilus Neighborhood in the
form of a newsletter.
Municipal Ethics Training - Representatives from the Miami-Dade County
Commission on Ethics and Public Trust presented an informational and training
session for about 100 City employees on April 24, 2002 that included an
overview of the Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance and several
other issues relevant to City staff. A summary of this session as well as some
other helpful information will be sent to all City employees in the form of a
memorandum and will be included in the Employee Handbook.
Memorial Day Weekend 2002 - Representatives from the Administration met on
April 25 to continue planning, preparing and allocating resources for the holiday
weekend. In addition, a representative from the Administration discussed the
City's plans with representatives from the County Community Relations Board at
their meeting on April 17. Additional and updated details will be provided to the
Mayor and Commission at the May 8, 2002 Commission Meeting.
.
Take Your Children to Work Day - Approximately 150 nine to fifteen year-old
children participated in the City's program on April 25. Sessions included a
workshop on "how to build a global community" and presentations by our Fire
and Police Departments.
Normandy Isle Neighborhood Meeting - Representatives from the
Administration met with approximately 80 residents of the Normandy Isle
neighborhood on April 24 to discuss the following items: (1) traffic study for
Normandie Sud area prepared by Marlin Engineering; (2) Infill of missing
sidewalks in the Normandie Sud area; and (3) Development of street ends.
Consensus was reached on the traffic study item. The other"two items will be
further discussed at the May 6, 2002 G.O. Bond Oversight Committee meeting.
Royal Palm Crowne Plaza Hotel - Representatives from the Administration and
Commissioner Cruz met with representatives from the Royal Crowne Plaza on
April 26 to continue dialoguing regarding their request for consideration regarding
issues involving the project.
If you have any questions or need any additional information about any of these
items, please feel free to contact me.
JMG/ri
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