LTC 282-2003CITY 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
WEEKLY UPDATE
Date: December 8, 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 weeks of November
24 and December 1, 2003:
Art Basel I Miami Beach - The Administration continued to meet to plan and allocate
resources for the second Art Basel / Miami Beach and the many associated events taking
place throughout the City. All indications are that the entire week was a huge success with
significant media exposure in the New York Times and more than 500 media specialist
from around the wodd covering events here. Most hotels were at full occupancy levels.
Early figures indicate that approximately 17,584 tickets were purchased at the Convention
Center Box Office for the art fair. This figure is in addition to VIP's, museum groups,
gallery owners and staff, and curators.
Neighborhood Leadership Academy-The Parking Department presented on November
24 and the Police Department on December 1. The Fire Department will present on
December 8 and the final presentation will be made by the Economic Development and
Tourism and Cultural Development Department on December 15. Graduation will take
place at the January Commission meeting.
Emergency Operations Center (EOC) - As part of the City's ongoing enhancements to
our Emergency Preparedness Plan, staff met with representatives from Miami Dade
County's Office of Emergency Management, including Director Carlos Castillo, on
November 24 to ensure that the City and County's efforts are coordinated in the event the
City needs to relocate to the County EOC in the City of Doral in west Miami Dade County.
Cultural Arts Trust Study - I met with Sidney Brian on November 26 to discuss the
results of the study on the Arts Trust and the Cultural Arts Council. An additional meeting
has been scheduled to continue our discussions and reviewing the results. These results
will be presented at the January 8 commission workshop.
Extension of Hours - On November 26, staff and I met with Steve Polisar, chair of the
Nightlife Industry Task Force (NITE), to discuss the NITE's request for extension of hours
during the holidays.
Public Safety Radio System - On December 1, I alongside with representatives from the
Administration, met with staff from Motorola to continue our ongoing discussions regarding
the detail design of the City's new and enhanced public safety radio system. In addition,
the implementation process for the system was reviewed.
Miami Beach Convention Center Ballroom Expansion Study- On December 1, staff
and I met with consultants to discuss the expansion of the Convention Center. SMG, on
behalf of the City, hired the odginal expansion consultants, Thompson, Ventulett,
Stainback, & Associates, to explore an expansion approach for a major ballroom for the
MBCC to be located at the proposed expansion west of the Jackie Gleason Theater in the
area bounded by Convention Center Drive and Seventeenth Street. The planning portion
of the study will address the following issues: (1) Confirmation that the site can
accommodate a 60,000 square foot ballroom along with appropriate support spaces
including banquet kitchen, and back-of-the-house circulation and storage, (2) The
functional relationships between the above program elements will be studied with
alternatives, if appropriate; and (3) Connections to the existing facility will be evaluated to
assess movement between areas of it and the new ballroom
Pelican Development 1 10th Street Project - Staff from the City Attorney's Office and I
met on December 1 to continue working on this issue which will come to the Commission
at the December 10 Commission meeting. At the Finance and Citywide Projects
Committee meeting held on December 5, the committee asked for clarification on the
transferee's ability to sublease the facility and the obligation to maintain the use for public
use.
Convention Development Tax (CDT) - On December 2, the City forwarded a letter to
Miami Dade County requesting payment of the $15 million payment due December 1,2003
and compliance with the remaining terms of the agreement including the $50 million
payment if the County failed to pledge CDT receipts by December 1, 2003 and that the
action on November 4, 2003 by the Board of County Commissioners did not constitute a
pledge, in the City's opinion. Subsequently, on December 4, I met with County Manager
George Burgess and discussed potential alternatives to the CDT intedocal agreement.
Discussions remain ongoing.
Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce Board of Governor's Meeting - I attended and
participated in this meeting which focused on the ongoing discussion regarding using CDT
funds to construct a baseball stadium in the City of Miami.
State of the City Address - My fourth State of the City address detailing the cumulative
accomplishments from the past three years was delivered on December 3 at a community
forum coordinated by the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce and with several
community organizations participating, including the Miami Beach Condominium Advocacy
Program, Miami Beach Kiwanis Club, Miami Beach Rotary Club, Miami Beach Latin
Chamber of Commerce, Miami Design Preservation league, South Florida Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Road Marketing Council, Hispanic Business Alliance, and
the Women's Business Council. A copy of the State of the City address is available on-line
the City's website.
Staff Leadership Development - Several City departments continue with their on-going
leadership development efforts. On December 1, several staff participated in a seminar
focusing on the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". On Sunday, December 7, the
Parking Department held a staff retreat focusing on operational enhancements on how to
improve services and issues of common interest within the Parking divisions.
Employee Relations - Committees made up of employees from throughout the City are
working on several upcoming employee celebrations including our second annual citywide
holiday party taking place on Friday, December 19, 2003 at the Bass Museum; our annual
employee recognition and awards program, which this year will be a celebration of time and
talent, taking place on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 at the Jackie Gleason Theater of
Performing Arts; and our employee picnic scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 27,
2004 to coincide with the City's birthday celebrations. You should have already received
an invitation to the holiday party. Invitations and details on the other two events will be
sent soon.
North Beach Master Plan I Community Meeting - Was held on December 4 at 6:30 pm
at Radisson Deauville. Staff made a presentation on the City's recent planning efforts in
the area, including current public and private development projects. The purpose of the
meeting was to revisit and revalidate the proposed development strategies for the Town
Center, and review a Retail Market report prepared by our consultant. There was also an
overview provided of the Collins/Harding traffic study (79~ to 87~ Streets) and a discussion
of the proposed expansion of 2-way traffic concept from 62nd to 79th Streets. The
participants discussed the future use(s) of City-owned lots on west side of Collins Avenue
from 79th to 87th Streets (West Lots). There was no consensus or sentiment to proceed
with any development at this time. At the end of the session, a survey was distributed.
The results of the questionnaire are currently being tabulated by the Planning Department
and will be posted on the website by next week.
United Way - This year's campaign will end on December 12. City staff have been
participating in the citywide fundraising efforts to benefit United Way sponsored charities;
many of which are located with the City of Miami Beach and benefit many in our diverse
community.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact
me.
JMG\ri
c: Electronic Copy: Leadership Team
F:/cmgr/all/LTC03/weekly update December 8.doc