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Meeting Minutes - March 21 2023 1700 Convention Center Drive Miami Beach, FL 33139 www.miamibeachfl.gov/northbeachcra MEETING MINUTES AD HOC NORTH BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Tuesday, March 21, 2023 – 4:30 pm North Beach Oceanfront Center (Unidad) 7251 Collins Avenue Members in Attendance: Chair Jose Smith, Vice Chair Betsy Perez, John Bowes, Ronnie Issenberg, Romina Orozco-Encino, and David Sexton Members Absent: Manning Salazar 1. Welcome & Attendance At 4:45 p.m., Chair Jose Smith opened the meeting and greeted the attendees. 2. Approval of February 14, 2023, Meeting Minutes Motion: to approve the Committee’s February 14, 2023, meeting minutes was passed by acclamation. Old Business 3. 72 & Park Development Project, 7125 Carlyle Avenue At 4:50 p.m., Chair Smith introduced the first guest speaker, Russell Galbut, principal of Crescent Heights, the developer of the 72nd & Park mixed-use residential project. Chair Smith asked Mr. Galbut when the 72nd & Park project is expected to obtain its certificate of occupancy (CO), the construction milestone that triggers a higher ad valorem tax assessment by the Property Appraiser, who determines the assessed value of a property's land, building(s), and improvements as of January 1 each year. The milestone of achieving CO has significance for the CRA because of the impact on TIF revenue generation in the CRA trust fund once a project is assessed at a higher amount. Mr. Galbut thanked the Committee for the opportunity to speak and responded to Chair Smith that the project is anticipated to be delivered by the end of 2024. Mr. Galbut continued his presentation by sharing his hopes for what the CRA might accomplish and advocating for a CRA strategy that leverages real estate development to revitalize North Beach. Mr. Galbut introduced development partners present at the meeting including Jefferson Brackin and Matis Cohen. Mr. Galbut applauded Mr. Cohen’s efforts to lobby Miami-Dade County for creation of the North Beach CRA. Mr. Galbut and his associates answered questions and discussed various projects planned for North Beach. Vice Chair Betsy Perez thanked Mr. Galbut and his partners for choosing to invest in North Beach. 4. Update: Byron Carlyle RFLI At 5:15 p.m., Elizabeth Miro, Facilities & Fleet Management Assistant Director, provided a status update on Request for Letters of Interest (RFLI) 2023-261-KB for Cultural Partners for the Byron Carlyle Theater. The North Beach CRA Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes – March 21, 2023 Page 2 of 4 RFLI was requested by the City Commission to assist the City in planning for redevelopment of the property, as part of the $30,570,000 Arts and Culture General Obligation (G.O.) Bond project approved by Miami Beach voters in November 2022. Since this topic was last discussed by the Committee on January 10, 2023, Ms. Miro informed the Committee that the RFLI was issued on January 25, 2023, with responses from interest parties required to be submitted by February 22, 2023. Following the RFLI response deadline, the City received a total of 13 letters of interest from cultural arts providers, which were shared with the City Commission via LTC 106-2023 dated March 3, 2023, which was subsequently shared with the Committee. Currently, the Administration is vetting the respondents and engaging a cultural arts consultant to assist the City in selecting among the most qualified, viable firms as well as the most appropriate format for activating the venue. Committee member David Sexton added that he has been part of a working group of cultural arts providers and formed by Mayor Gelber that were tasked to brainstorm about the type of project to best address the needs of the arts community. The Committee briefly discussed the process and considerations for how to select an appropriate activation and programming partner to make this possible. New Business 5. Cultural Branding & Marketing Sponsorship Program At 5:29 p.m., Rickelle Williams, Assistant City Manager, introduced Heather Shaw, Economic Development Assistant Director, to introduce to the Committee a new sponsorship program in development to provide grant funding to assist with the costs of marketing, promotion, and advertisement, of arts and culture programming and activation within the CRA district. Ms. Shaw explained that the initiative stems from recognition of the importance that branding and marketing plays in supporting the community. Celebrating the area’s rich cultural arts as a tourism draw is an economic development strategy recommended in the Redevelopment Plan. Accordingly, the purpose of the grant is to offer financial assistance for eligible marketing activities that attract high quality activation, promote community engagement, and elevate North Beach as a world class tourist destination. As currently proposed, there will be two application cycles per fiscal year and the North Beach CRA Board will approve each application for award. The Administration is currently preparing program guidelines for review by the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) on April 21, 2023 and subsequently formally approved by the North Beach CRA thereafter. Ms. Shaw shared that more information including the application form will be made available once the program is reviewed by both bodies. 6. 2023 Seaside Summer Program Mr. James Quinlan, Rhythm Foundation Director, presented information about the Rhythm Foundation’s Seaside Summer Program, a performing arts showcase series celebrating Miami Beach as a year-round seaside cultural destination. Founded in Miami Beach in 1988, the Rhythm Foundation is a nonprofit cultural organization known for presenting international music, ranging from traditional world rhythms to innovative artists at the heart of global culture today. Since 2015, Mr. Quinlan noted, the Rhythm Foundation has managed the historic Miami Beach Bandshell, where they present more than 80 events and welcome around 100,000 attendees each year. The group’s programs at the Bandshell are a mix of Rhythm Foundation productions, community and civic events, and partner events by local cultural and professional presenters, which, according to Mr. Quinlan, makes the program an ideal candidate for consideration for North Beach CRA cultural tourism grant funding. For example, as potential use of program funds, Mr. Quinlan proposed to partner with the CRA to launch an outdoor branding and marketing campaign that would feature both the CRA logo and Bandshell logo affixed upon flag banners on light poles in the right-of-way. Mr. Quinland estimates that approximately thirty (30) pole banners could be installed throughout the CRA district boundaries for a cost of approximately $5,000. The Committee discussed the initiative and generally expressed enthusiasm in concept and encouraged the Rhythm Foundation to flesh out details for submission of an application. Mr. Quinlan confirmed his intention for the Rhythm Foundation to apply to the program once the application becomes available and he invited North Beach CRA Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes – March 21, 2023 Page 3 of 4 the Committee to attend this weekend’s first ever performance of the Miami City Ballet at the Miami Beach Bandshell. 7. Committee Member Comments Committee member David Sexton expressed his desire for consideration of a “mini-culture crawl” program within the CRA district that would be similar to the City’s existing monthly Culture Crawl program. Committee Co-Liaison Rickelle Williams complimented the concept and noted that development of any CRA-funded programming must consider the CRA Act’s regulations surrounding the expenditure of CRA funds when existing funding might be supplanted for programs already in existence. Vice Chair Betsy Perez remarked about the positive impact of recent renovations to the nearby Sazon Cubana restaurant, 7305 Collins Ave, which have driven up the number of patrons at the establishment. Ms. Perez believes this serves as a testament to the effectiveness of façade improvement programs and she hopes that the North Beach CRA’s Commercial Façade Improvement Program could one day be expanded to other areas within the CRA. Committee member John Bowes announced that today would be his last meeting serving as a member of the Advisory Committee. Mr. Bowes shared that he has enjoyed serving the City on various committees for the past decade but that he can no longer devote sufficient time to committee service and therefore he would be resigning. He expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the formation of the North Beach CRA and promised to remain present in CRA affairs going forward. Chair Smith and each of the Committee members offered thanks and praise to Mr. Bowes for his contribution to the Committee. 8. Public Comments None. 10. Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made at 6:08 p.m. Next Meeting: Tuesday, April 18, 2023 – https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85384824423