Loading...
LTC 205-2002 !I^:~ .:' CITY OF MIAMI BEACH Office of the City Manager Letter to Commission No. ~D5= c;2CY)~ m ~ if , From: Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission Jorge M. Gonzalez \ 4 City Manager 0 Date:August29,2002 To: Subject: ALL-AMERICA CITY AWARD FEEDBACK The purpose of this LTC is to share with you the attached evaluation provided by the National Civic League regarding our application and jury presentation for the 2002 AII- America City Award. As you may recall, the City of Miami Beach was a finalist in this year's award competition. Commissioners Garcia, Gross, and Steinberg, as well as several City staff, residents and business leaders participated in the presentation of our application in Kansas City in June, 2002. This attached feedback is based on information provided by the screening committee that reviewed our application and the jury that observed our presentation. These comments provide helpful insights into ways to further strengthen and enhance the application we plan to submit next year. If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact me. JMG/Rlljm c: Executive Staff F:\CMGR\$ALL\L TC-02\ALL AMERICA CITY FEEDBACK. DOC ..' ,- .~y- " -' . ***** AD-Amertca CIty ~ 1111.' NATIONAL CMC LEAGUE 2002 ALL-AMERICA CITY AWARDS EVALUATION Miami Beach, FL The National Civic League congratulates Miami Beach for submitting an application for the 2002 All-America City Awards and being selected as a finalist. Your community symbolizes the ability of citizens joining together in partnership to address critical local Issues. The All-America City Award criteria are: . Participation of the public, private and nonprofit sectors and key constituencies to the maximum extent practicable; . Recognition and involvement of diverse segments and perspectives (ethnic, racial, socio-economic, age, etc.) in community decision-making; . Creative use and leveraging of community resources; . Significant and specific community achievements; . Projects that address the community's most important needs; . Cooperation across jurisdictional boundaries; . Clear demonstration of project results and impacts. For example, dollars raised or number of people affected; . Projects which have improved the community significantly within the last three years, and have potential to continue improving the quality oflife; . Documented improvement in the lives of children and youth. As you may know, the competition for the award in 2002 was intense and the Jury had the challenging task of selecting the winners. Many commented that choosing among this year's finalists was the most difficult in years. Both the Jury and the Screening Committee asked us to relay their congratulations to you on the significant work you have done in your community and we all encourage you to apply again next year. If you have questions after reviewing this evaluation, then please contact Melissa McKillip, at 303-571-4343. We hope that this evaluation will provide insight into ways to further strengthen and enhance Miami Beach's future applications. /~ l . C;ommpnt!i\ The Screening Committee noted that the Economic Diversification project was a step in the right direction and a good example of development toward long-term sustainability. They also commented that this project appears to be meeting a definite challenge in the community. However, the Jury felt as though the application would have benefited from more examples describing the project's effectiveness as well as an examination of whether there is room for this project to grow in the future. The Screening Committee and Jury also noted that more evidence of cross-collaboration would have been beneficial. Still, the Jury complimented Miami Beach on the innovation and planning this project indicates. The Growth Management Plan was impressive to the Screening Committee and Jury in that it appears to have included good economic development in the planning and implementation. They also commented that this project was impressive in that it appeared to help to preserve the history ofthe community, something that is obviously important to the residents. The Screening Committee did feel that the application would have benefited from a closer look at the overall long-term civic infrastructure implications of this particular project. The Jury felt that this project appeared to be a government driven effort and future applications would benefit from further evidence of collaboration. The Neighborhoods First Support Team project impressed the Jury and Screening Committee and they complimented the community's ability to identify prevention issues and offer incentive to the community. This is clear evidence of your ability to reach out to the members ofthe community to get them involved. The Jury did note that the presentation would have been stronger had there been more examples of youth involvement in the planning and implementation of the project. General Comments: The Screening Committee and Jury thought that Miami Beach did an excellent job of presenting the projects on which they have been working and mentioned that the application was very well written with a great Civic Index. However, the projects appear to be government driven. 'While the Jury was impressed with the individual parts ofthe application, they felt the parts did not come together as a whole. And while the capital investments were very good and the history was very insightful, the application felt as though it had been professionally managed rather than community driven. The community is on the right track and facing difficult challenges and the Screening Committee and Jury would like to see how these projects progress in the future. We wish you continued success and hope you will regard us as a future source of support, guidance and assistance in confronting and solving civic issues.