LTC 024-2004 Weekly Update - Weeks of January 12 and 19, 2004 CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. 02/ -200z
To:
From:
Subject:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez ~, ~
City Manager (~¢'"'- z)
WEEKLY UPDAT(~
Date: January 26, 2004
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 January
12 and 19, 2004:
Tourism and Cultural Development- On January 12, staff met with representatives
from ERA, the City's consultant, to discuss the draft report prepared by ERA. The
discussion focused on reviewing and assessing the Greater Miami Convention &
Visitor's Bureau (GMCVB) governance, structure, processes and overall operations;
making recommendations as to what type of model/structure should exist to enhance
the City of Miami Beach's tourism and convention industries; and comparing and
providing a comprehensive report on GMCVB operations relative to industry standards.
A further refinement of the draft is anticipated by the end of the month and will be
shared with the City Commission and discussed at the next Finance Committee.
Nightlife Industry Task Force (NITE) - Representatives from the NITE met on
January 13 and requested a workshop with the City Commission to discuss a holistic
view of entertainment and nightlife issues affecting the City. This opportunity will be
explored further.
Fire Department - An accreditation peer assessment team came to Miami Beach on
January 15 to begin their assessment of the Miami Beach Fire Department. The
assessment process continued through January 18. At the conclusion of the meetings,
the assessment team advised that the Miami Beach Fire Department will be
recommended for full Accreditation. The recommendation will be reviewed by the full
Commission on Fire Accreditation International for final approval at the International
Association of Fire Chiefs conference in New Orleans in August of this year. This
recognition is particularly significant because of the more than 10,000 fire departments
in the U.S. there are only 81 that have received accreditation. There are also less than
10 accredited fire departments in the state of Florida, and only two in Miami-Dade
County (Coral Gables and Key Biscayne). An LTC with additional details will be sent to
each of you shortly.
Potamkin Site - Staff met with representatives from Potamkin to continue discussing
issues relative to the proposed project, with particular emphasis on the parking garage
revenue and expense operations.
Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club - I had an opportunity to meet with the Tuesday
Morning Breakfast Club on January 20 and update members on several initiatives the
City is working on as well as answer questions various participants had about different
issues affecting the City.
Film & Print - Telemundo's "Amor Descarado" and Univision's "Angel Rebelde"
continue their telenovella productions throughout the City. Epoch films is producing an
NFL commercial here in Miami Beach to air during the Superbowl, featuring many
known athletes. Top selling hip-hop artists G-Unit and 50-Cent, fresh off an appearance
on Saturday Night Live, filmed a video this week at B.E.D. Roselyn Sanchez filmed a
music video last week at Nikki Beach, South Pointe Beach and the suite at the Pelican
Hotel. CShMiami was in the area this past week filming and the production crew will be
back here for an extended period throughout the months of March and April. Golden
Globe nominated new series "Nip/Tuck" will soon be in production for season two,
which includes more location work here in Miami Beach.
Major Events Planning (MEP) - Staff worked throughout the past two weeks to ensure
that various special events held on Miami Beach were successful. The Budweiser
Clydesdales were in South Beach for the first time and held an event on January 10.
The Miami Design Preservation League held their 27th annual Art Deco Weekend event
from January 16 - 19. Upcoming events include the Miami International Film Festival
which will hold several events here on Miami Beach from January 30 - February 7. The
2nd annual Miami Tropical Marathon which will be held on February 1. In its inaugural
year the race attracted over 5, 000 runners and generated very positive press for the
area. The industry proclaimed the race as the most successful "new" race of 2003. The
Ryan Nolan 5K Run/Walk will be produced by the Miami Beach Police Department to
benefit the Ryan's Hope Foundation. The foundation was created to raise awareness of
the fight against Spinal Muscular Atrophy. FAB FEST, a beer, wine and food festival,
will be held at Lummus Park from February 6-7. That same weekend, the North Beach
Development Corporation will be producing the 30th annual Miami Beach Festival of the
Arts. Preparations for the Boat Show are already underway, with the event taking place
from February 12-17. Volleypalooza, a volleyball tournament will be held from February
21-22 and the Big Shot Volleyball tournament from February 28-29. Finally, staff is
working with representatives from the South Beach Food & Wine Festival on this year's
event which is scheduled to take place throughout the City from March 5-7.
Organizational Development - As part of my ongoing organizational development
efforts, I invited the Neighborhoods Services Department to join me for a brown bag
lunch on January 20 to talk about issues that may be important to staff and the
Department. My goal is to meet with all City Departments in this informal setting to
further open the lines of communication and make sure that staff at all levels have an
opportunity to share information with me that may be important to them.
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Fleet Management - Held its annual business meeting on January 21. All Fleet staff
participated along with myself and Assistant City Manager Bob Middaugh.
Presentations were made by the City's Risk Management Division and the Accident
Investigation Unit (ALU) of the Police Department. The theme was customer service,
accidents and accident reconstruction and the focus was on quality of workmanship and
safety. Several Fleet employees also had the opportunity to present to co-workers
information about their jobs and the challenges they face each day. The Fleet and
Citywide budgets were discussed so that all staff understand the process involved.
Other items discussed were performance indicators for Fleet and the increase of
productivity through process improvement. These key elements were identified to help
employees focus on the division's goals and objectives for the current year.
Employee Celebrations - Employee led committees are working on several upcoming
celebrations, including our annual Black History Month luncheon celebration scheduled
for February 27 and our annual employee picnic scheduled for March 27. This yeaFs
employee picnic will also serve as the event where the employees celebrate the City's
89~ birthday, which takes place on March 26.
Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) - The Board of Directors
of the GMCVB met on January 20 at the Loews Hotel to discuss several items. The
Board of Directors voted to accept the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Building
Committee to keep the Bureau headquarters in their current location at 701 Brickell
Avenue and not relocate to Miami Beach. An LTC with additional details was sent to
each of you on January 21.
Capital Improvement Projects - The Ice Rink at the Scott Rakow Youth Center was
formally opened at a ribbon cuffing ceremony on January 13, an event many of you
were able to attend. The start of the La Gorce/Pine Tree Median Enhancement Project
began last week. The contractor is proceeding to excavate and install new irrigation
lines and landscaping as well as conduit for future up lighting. There are a total of 19
island medians to be renovated. The contractor began on the north end of Pine Tree
Drive and is presently completing remaining work on Pine Tree Drive. Once these
medians are completed, they will begin the same process on La Gorce Drive, starting at
52nd Street and moving north. The restart of the 42nd Street Streetscape Project also
began with the addition of the water main has begun. This work will commence on the
west end of 42nd Street (Prairie Avenue) and move east. The adjacent elementary
school has been notified as have representatives of the Homeowner's Association. The
Marseille Drive Streetscape Project has reached substantial completion with only a few
punch list items still to be addressed. This multi-family neighborhood project was
conceived in 1995 grew in scope and funding and construction finally began early in
2003. The Project includes infrastructure and above ground improvements to Marseille
Drive from Bay Drive to Rue Notre Dame; Rue Versailles, from Marseille Drive to
Normandy Drive; and Rue Notre Dame, from Marseille Drive to Normandy Drive.
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Office of Budget and Performance Improvement - This new area, consisting of the
Office of Budget and Management, Internal Audit, Organizational Development and
Grants Management continue to make progress in coming together and have been
working on their vision, mission and goals in order to be prepared to undertake the
City's budget process and implement various performance improvement initiatives. In
addition, I have been meeting with the Office Director in the planning and development
of this year's budget preparations.
South Beach AIDS Project - After a meeting with Kevin Garrity, Executive Director of
the South Beach AIDS Project, our Office of Community Services will partner with his
organization to provide an in-service training for our Homeless Outreach team on
AIDS/transgender issues as well as the use of his agency as a resource for HIV positive
homeless clients. The in-service training will be conducted on March 8, 2004.
Union Negotiations - Staff and I continued to meet with representatives from all the
City Unions to further discuss the ongoing negotiations. Progress is being made on all
fronts and details will be shared with each of you.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to let me
know.
JMG\ri
Electronic Copy: Leadership Team
F:CMGR/ALL/LTC04/VVeekly Update/January 23.doc