HomeMy WebLinkAboutLTC 173-2002 CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No.
To:
From:
Subject:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez \ . ~
City Manager .l/,~' ~
/I
GREATER MIAML~ONVENTION
AND VISITORS BUREAU
Date: July 22, 2002
On July 17, 2002, the Administration met with the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors
Bureau (GMCVB) to discuss several issues. A summary of each is provided below.
Status of GMCVB Office Relocation - status of Watson Island and negotiation with the City
of Miami.
GMCVB is negotiating concurrently with the City of Miami towards finalizing a contract to
construct a permanent facility on Watson Island while issuing an RFP soliciting proposals
from office building owners in Miami-Dade County (including Miami Beach) specifying
space criteria and requesting lease rate proposals. The RFP will be issued by month end
and the results are anticipated to be reported at the GMCVB Board meeting in September
2002. The GMCVB has hired a tenant representative, Cresent Partners, that will oversee
the RFP process.
A timing constraint exists in connection with the Watson Island facility relative to $1.3
million in CDT funding awarded through Miami-Dade County which expires if the facility is
not under construction by December 31, 2003.
The GMCVB has indicated that its analysis on relocation can be positively influenced with
the consideration of long-term arrangement with the City of Miami Beach. We are
continuing to monitor the situation and will bring back a recommendation at the appropriate
time.
Summer Festival Season
Planning and coordinated efforts to create a viable and strong festival season for the
Summer 2003 and beyond was discussed. Targeted events such as interest expressed by
Summerstage to perform in North Shore Open Space Park and the JVC Jazz Festival
Season was highlighted as a desirable event. The City of Miami Beach expressed its
interest in participating in the decision making process to target the desired events for the
summer festival season. The GMCVB will take the lead in coordinating the comprehensive
effort to enhance the summer activities to improve our tourism and entertainment industry.
The City will initiate monthly meetings to address summer festival season planning efforts,
including representatives from the GMCVB, Miami Beach Visitors and Conventions
Authority, Arts Culture and Entertainment, Cultural Arts Council, Economic Development,
Nightlife Industry Task Force, etc. Integral to those discussions will be the marketing
component to promote the summer season.
July 19, 2002
GMCVB July 17, 2002 Meeting Summary
Page 2 of 3
Other items discussed during our meeting included:
Ongoing and new initiatives to increase bookings at the Miami Beach Convention
Center. FY 2003 reflects a decline in bookings, characteristic of the national trend.
New board and committee appointments.
The ad agency selection committee process. The initial selection committee met on
July 19, 2002, and narrowed the list down to 5 agencies including: Young and
Rubicam, Turkel Schwartz & Partners, Studio K, 141 Communicator and Cramer-
Krasselt. Presentations by these five firms will be held on August 5, 2002 at the
Sheraton Biscayne Bay on Brickell Point located at 495 Brickell Avenue and will
noticed as a public meeting.
Status of the implementation of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee initiatives.
The City's issuance of the RFQ to seek qualifications for professional services to
study the existing and recommended structure of the GMCVB by month end July.
The City's issuance of an RFP for a publicist for Miami Beach.
Status of the GMCVB's strategic plan and market assessment.
Funding for special events such as the Thanksgiving Day parade, La Cumbre and
MTV Latin American Music Video Awards Show.
As it relates to the RFQ to study the GMCVB, on July 19, 2002, the City of Miami City
Manager, the County's Assistant County Manager and Management and Audit Director met
with me and representatives of the GMCVB to discuss a coalition effort to evaluate the
GMCVB performance and make recommendations on what type of structure would be
recommended if no such structure currently existed throughout the region. While the
focus of the "coalition" study is synonymous with the City of Miami Beach's objectives, in
order to fully achieve Miami Beach's goal, the coalition study is proposed to specifically
include an objective to evaluate whether Miami Beach is better served with an independent
Bureau service vs. a region-wide service provider and secondly, the consultant will be
asked to evaluate and recommend the strategic approaches to meet the objectives
identified in the Market Assessment. An item to discuss the City's participation in the
"coalition" study vs. doing an independent study of the GMCVB will be presented in the
July 31,2002 City Commission meeting.
Lastly, the issue of the study and initiative to pursue the development of a Downtown
Miami Convention Center was discussed. To that end, on July 18, 2002, the members of
the Convention Center Needs Assessment Sub-Committee met to discuss same. The
Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the City of Miami have hired CSL to further
the study as it relates to the City of Miami facilities. The results of that study are expected
on August 27, 2002. At the subcommittee meeting, the potential for a new Miami facility to
compete with the Miami Beach Convention Center since historically the majority of events
(60%) attracted to Miami Beach are in the 125,000 sf user range. The Committee
supported Miami Beach proceeding with the 50,000 sf multi-purpose facility expansion to
Miami Beach and recommended that the City of Miami and City of Miami Beach Managers
meet to discuss approaching the County regarding the earlier release of available CDT in
light of the absence of any progress vis-a-vis a new baseball stadium.
JMG\CMC\rar
F:'tCMGR~$ALL~,ARtI.TC~GMCVB 7-17-02 mlg.doc