LTC 104-2003 CITY of MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Man er
Letter to Commission
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
City Manager
WEEKLY UPDATE
Date: May 2, 2003
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 week of
April 28, 2003:
Neighborhood Leadership Academy - The Neighborhood Services Department
presented an overview of their responsibilities and services to academy
participants on April 28. The participant's surveys, completed at the end of each
session, will be compiled and shared with each department. A final report,
including a summary of all three Neighborhood Leadership academies, will be
presented to the Mayor and Commission.
North Beach Community Meeting - Representatives from the administration
and the Police Department met with residents on April 28 to address various
North Beach neighborhood issues. Residents focused on debris management
concerns, concentrating on enhancing trash collection and recycling. The
Biscayne Pointe Homeowners Association asked the City to develop better ways
to remove waste from the waterways, including dredging and improved
landscape maintenance along the shores of public and private property as well
as to review the existing seawall conditions. Further information was also
requested on the removal process of animal carcasses in public right-of-ways as
well as the feasibility of area apartment owners to use the Trash and Recycling
Center located on 28th Street and Meridian Avenue as another refuse location.
The Police Department was asked to enhance drug, prostitution and gang control
enforcement efforts as well as quality of life issues such as public urination and
graffiti. Community members also requested that enforcement efforts against
speeding vehicles be boosted to which the Police Department responded that
letters would be sent to area residents requesting all to decrease their driving
speeds. A radar study, examining the number of speeding violations, will be
conducted to determine the extent of the problem. Residents also addressed
concerns about the city's homeless population and were advised that the City's
Office of Homeless Coordination, working in conjunction with the Police
Department, continued to provide outreach services for this segment of the
population, completing a citywide homeless count on April 17 which will aid in
better assessing resource need and allocation.
Special Events - Members of the administration have been meeting throughout
the week to develop updated special event guidelines which provide criteria that
better assesses impacts on the City's resources and quality of life. The City of
Atlanta's Outdoor Festival Ordinance and information from other urban
metropolitan areas are being reviewed to seek best practices. Efforts on how to
best seek community outreach and consensus are also being coordinated with
the Neighborhood Services Department.
Convention Center Advisory Board - Representatives from the New World
Symphony met with the Convention Center Advisory Board on April 30 to present
their expansion plans for Soundspace. The Committee expressed its support for
the plan but voiced their concerns regarding parking sequencing.
Ali-America Finalist Selection - The City received notification on April 30 that it
has been selected as one of 30 finalists for the 2003 Ali-America City Award; the
only municipality in Miami-Dade County to have been selected this year. The All-
America City Award is the nation's longest running and one of the most
prestigious civic recognition programs in the country, encouraging and
recognizing civic excellence. The City will send a delegation comprised of staff
representatives and community and business activists to participate in the final
round of the competition in Washington, D.C. on June 12 through 14, 2003.
Secondary Audio Program - In an effort to provide better communications with
its Spanish-speaking audience, the City became the first municipality in South
Florida on April 30 to provide Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) in Spanish
on its government-access cable channel 20 (Charter Communications). With an
approximate investment of $8,000 to purchase the fiber-optic encoding,
transmission and receiver equipment required to provide the Spanish-language
track on televisions that have the SAP option, the service will simulcast live City
Commission meetings, workshops and budget hearings as well as offering
wireless assisted listening devices in the City Commission chambers for those
attending the meeting and in need of a translation service. The City also
contracted with Language Speak, after a competitive bidding process, to provide
certified interpreters to simultaneously interpret City Commission meetings for
annual cost of $23,000.
Portofino Litigation - The City's consultant Alex Cooper, of Cooper Robertson,
met with representatives from Portofino on April 30 to discuss their settlement
proposal involving the Alaska, Goodman and Hinson, Block 51 parcels in South
Pointe. On May 1, Cooper met with members of the administration as well as
with several commissioners and members of the community and attended the
Southpointe Streetscape Community Design Workshop held on the same day.
Cooper will return to the City at a date to be determined to hold a formal
community meeting seeking input from area residents and property owners.
Community Policing - Members of the administration met on May 2 to discuss
the various components of the Redevelopment District Community Policy Plans
for South Pointe and City Center which will be forwarded to the City Commission
and Board of County Commissioners in the near future.
Quality of Life Task Force - Representatives of the administration, joined by
members of the community, met on May 2 to discuss various quality of life issues
impacting the city. Discussions focused on enhancing the City's Noise
Ordinance and how to better enforce its reach.
Memorial Day 2003 - Members of the administration continued to meet
throughout the week with various city departments as well as local businesses,
hotels and nightclubs to ensure proper allocation of city services and personnel
during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. A meeting with the City's Cultural
Arts Council took place on May 2, with details to be further discussed by the
Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council and Cultural Arts Trust in their upcoming
retreat on May 10. A meeting with the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce has
also been scheduled for May 6, beginning at 4:00 p.m. at the Miami Beach
Chamber of Commerce, 1920 Meridian Avenue. Two meetings detailing the
City's action plan have also been scheduled for May 12, including a discussion
with hotel managers beginning at 3:00 p.m. in the First Floor Conference Room
and followed by a Town Hall meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers.
The administration will also be meeting with the Transportation and Parking
Committee, Ocean Drive Association and other community groups throughout
the upcoming weeks. Volunteer recruitment for the City's Goodwill Ambassador
Program, which is comprised of employee and community volunteers serving as
buffers or liaisons between the police and visitors, continues with a training
session to be held on May 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Miami Beach
Convention Center Board Room C-124. The City's Office of Communications
also continues article placements in news publications recruiting residents and
community participants for the Goodwill Ambassador Program. An editorial
meeting, encompassing the Miami Herald news editors, is also being coordinated
to ensure news coverage is factual and fair while emphasizing the City's myriad
of the planning efforts. Urban media outreach efforts, including Police
representative appearances at radio stations such as WEDR/JAMZ, WHQT-
FM/Hot 105 among others, are being coordinated to convey the City's MEP to
large segments of the population.
Charter Review Committee - Members of the administration are preparing to
host another public meeting on May 6 to address the renewal of the City's
charter. The meeting, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers and
televised on TV20, is part of a process undertaken every 10 years where
community participants review items such as district representation, election
runoff time frames, mayoral term limitations and form of government questions
among others. Further information, and agenda minutes, can be found on the
City's internet under E-Government, Boards and Committees.
Sidewalk Cafes - Members of the administration are preparing to host a
community discussion on May 7 to address permitting issues pertinent to
sidewalk cafes along Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road. The meeting, beginning at
3:30 p.m. in the First Floor Conference Room, will provide residents and
business owners with a forum to express their concerns while receiving feedback
from members of the administration.
Municipal Clerk's Week - As part of a nationwide celebration honoring the
valuable job performed by the city clerks, the City will be holding a "mock"
Commission meeting on May 7, beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the Mayor's
Conference Room. Students from Feinberg Fisher, selected through the Youth
Empowerment Network (YEN), will learn firsthand the job performed by the
Mayor, members of the Commission, the City Manager, Police and Fire Chiefs
and City Clerk while spending time with their adult counterpart.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to
contact me.
JMG/ri/jl
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