OIG No. 24-05: G.O. Bond Quarterly ReportJoseph M. Centorino, Inspector General
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
RE:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
Joseph Centorino, Inspector General
April 25, 2024
Inspector General G.O. Bond Quarterly Report
OIG No. 24-05
Introduction
This report is written in compliance with Section 2-256(j) of the City of Miami Beach Code, which
requires the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to prepare and submit to the City Commission
on a quarterly basis a written report concerning the planning and execution of the General
Obligation Bond Program, including progress reports, financial analysis, and potential risks. The
review is based on official city records, OIG attendance at internal implementation and oversight
committee meetings, interviews with staff and other department personnel as well as regular
discussions with the Program Director. This report is intended to provide the Mayor, City
Commission and the public with useful information and periodic evaluations regarding the
implementation of the G.O. Bond projects to date.
Status of Projects
The current financial status of the 2018 G.O. Bond program as of this report is:
PARKS INFRASTRUCTURE PUBLIC SAFETY TOTAL
SPENT $35,748,581 $21,790,951 $19,540,580 $77,080.112
ENCUMBERED $32,313,831 $3,755,083 $5,000,617 $41,069,531
AVAILABLE $23,136,641 $2,453,945 $13,610,826 $39,201,412
FUTURE $81,167,054 $168,000,021 $34,809,033 $283,976,108
TOTAL $172,366,106 $196,000,000 $72,961,058 $441,327,164
Projects Under Construction this Quarter are as follows:
(Note: Amounts may have changed since this report was issued. The amounts only reflect G.O.
BOND dollars.)
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Project Name Total Budget Amount Amount Amount Grant Length of Budget Gap
for Tranche 1 spent encumbered Available Delay
Maurice Gibb Park $4,500,000 $1,466,228 $3,033,770 $1,203,750 55 months CIP projects
---- Expires $800,000-
09/30/2024 $1,000,000
Bavshore/Par 3 Park $20,166,105 $5,940,139 $14,225,004 $959 ------------- 33 months --.-
Flamingo Park $1,051,675 .--- $1,019,639 $32,036 ------------- --------- --------------
Historic Lodae
Other Readers $1,390,000 $509,606 $140,602 $739,791 ---------- 26 months -------------
Alton Road $211,999 $113,025 --------------- $98,973 . 12 months ------
Corridor Cameras
Collins $665,154 $291,565 -------------- $373,589 ------------- 16 months ----------------
Ave/Washington Ave
Cameras
Indian Creek Above $1,112,000 $1,111,636 ----------- $363 2 months ----------------
Ground
Improvements
There are a variety of reasons for the delays in the above projects. The following are general
reasons for delays:
1. Consultant issues that delay the design and/or construction documents.
2. Expiration of permits or additional permits needed. (Example-Maurice Gibb Park).
3. Design Review Board and/or Historic Preservation Board processes that may take 3-
6 months including possible extensions.
4. The request for an RFQ or RFP must go to Commission for approval where it may be
deferred or continued to a later date.
5. Scope changes, both in design and construction, which extend the time it takes to
complete a project and also raises costs. (Example-the 34" Street Shared Use Path).
6. Internal review by other departments takes extra time and may also result in changes
to design or construction documents.
7. Changes in laws, code, or ordinances that cannot be controlled.
8. Staff turnover that causes interruptions in projects.
9. Outside stakeholders who may have unreasonable expectations.
10. Extended permitting processes with outside agencies such as DERM, USACE, DEP,
FOOT, Florida Fish & Wildlife, etc.
11. Cost escalations which require additional funding to go through the capital budget
process. (Example-Bayshore Park)
12. Delays caused by force majeure events such as COVID 19.
The delays may also have domino effects that adversely affect other projects.
34 Street Shared Use Path
The OIG has, on two prior occasions, raised concerns regarding the waste of taxpayer dollars as
a result of the efforts to redesign this project after it had been designed, permitted and funded. It
has been previously reported that in 2022 the design review board approved the design, and the
City applied for and was awarded, an FOOT grant in the amount of $495,075. The consultant
completed 90% of the construction documents.
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The design of the project was nearly complete with FOOT approval, community input and support,
and with the receipt of the grant based on the proposed design, on July 12, 2023. The Public
Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee (PSNQLC), asked staff to consider
redesigning the project to accommodate an outside stakeholder.
CIP staff explained that the Committee's request to alter the proposed design of the shared-use
path would require that the design be revised and reviewed again. CIP staff explained that FOOT
will require that revised plans detailing the changes in the design to be submitted for review and,
upon review, would determine if/how the design changes would potentially affect the grant funds
{which expire on June 30, 2024) and the project schedule.
At Committee direction, CIP and the Transportation and Mobility Department staff met with the
consultant and requested a review of the proposed design options which were presented to the
City Commission on 09/13/2023. Staff reaffirmed that the original design was the best and safest
one for the community. The G.O. Bond Oversight Committee filed a Motion on 12/14/23 in support
of the project as designed and encouraged the Commission to move forward since the project
was ready for construction. The Transportation Committee approved the original design.
The item was continued to the 10/18/2023 City Commission meeting, at which time it was deferred
again. On December 13, 2023, instead of voting on item R7-G, a resolution approving the design
and authorizing the administration to proceed with the invitation to bid and subsequent
construction, the item was again referred to the PSNQLC.
The item was subsequently withdrawn at the PSNQLC, and, on January 31, 2024, the
Commission passed a Resolution approving a new design option for the project and authorizing
the administration to modify the design consultant's scope to include the revision of the
construction documents to reflect the new design.
The project will now require a review of the proposed new design and a renewed permitting
process. Additionally, the status of the FOOT grant is unknown and the project, originally expected
to be completed by July 2025, is now anticipated by staff to be finished in February 2026. At the
time of this report, CIP had not received a proposal from the consultant to review the new design,
so the cost of the redesign is unknown. $411,620.00 has already been spent or committed. The
balance remaining in Tranche 1 is $418,379.00. It is anticipated that, as a result of the new design
proposal, the current budget shortfall will be greater.
Fire Station No.1
The OIG has previously reported that the City began its search for a new location for the Fire-
station eight years ago. After eight years of building assessments, feasibility studies, Commission
and committee actions and deliberations, community meetings and public presentations, it was
determined that the currently approved location, the South Shore Community Center, provides
the optimal solution for the placement and construction of the new Fire-station #1. In its last
quarterly report, the OIG noted that since 2015 there have been 79 public meetings during which
the Fire-station project has been discussed. The voters approved $10,000,000 for this project
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and $5,746,058 has been appropriated in Tranche 1. The City has executed a contract with the
construction manager at risk.
The project is currently in the pre-construction process and the City has already spent or
encumbered approximately $4,000,000, of which $2.1 million is from G.O. Bond funds. While
there are other funding sources, the City received an $11 million dollar grant from the Resilient
Florida Grant program for the current project as designed on this specific site. Staff has warned
that the cumulative effect of efforts to prevent the demolition of the South Shore Community
Center could cause the City to lose $13,000,000.
Between January 31, 2024, and March 25, 2024, CIP staff has spent an additional 324.5 hours
in an effort to find an alternate site and an additional 295 hours of senior management time has
been expended for the same purpose. The results of this additional work were to be presented to
the City Commission on April 3% but the item was not reached. In a memorandum dated April 3,
2024, the City Manager provided a complete analysis of all other sites and determined that only
three were feasible.
The City Manager prepared a matrix of the feasible alternate sites which is summarized in the
chart below:
ORIGINAL SITE BEING ADDITIONAL PROJECT COST ANTICIPATED DELAY
CONSIDERED
South Shore Community center $2,000,000 plus cost of future permanent day Minimum 6 months. Estimated
care center; $4,000,000 has already been completion Fall 2026
spent including $2.1 million of GO BOND
funds
ALTERNATIVE SITES BEING ADDITIONAL PROJECT COST ANTICIPATED DELAY
CONSIDERED
Flamingo Park $15-$20 million including a County-wide 2 ½ years
referendum and costs to renovate the existing
track and field and other facilities.
1000 Alton Road $21 million including purchase of the site from a 2 ½ years
1001 West Avenue third party.
1025 West Avenue
/Whole Foods Markell
1100 5" Street $20 million including purchase of the site from a 2 ½ years
third party.
The City Manager concluded:
All things being equal, and discounting concerns related to time and cost impacts
(emphasis added), the Flamingo Park and Whole Foods sites offer viable
alternative sites for the Fire Station No. 1 project. However, with no current
additional funding sources, considering the immediate and future needs of the Fire
Department and the age of the existing Fire-station No. 1, the Administration
continues to recommend that the new Fire Station No. 1 project, currently in the
construction phase, remain at the currently proposed South Shore Community
Center site, as designed and previously approved. The site analysis and Exhibits
have been provided to the Mayor and Commission for consideration of the Fire-
station No. 1 project, as directed.
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It is notable that the development of the Flamingo Park Youth Facility cannot move forward until
this is resolved since relocation of the PAL facility may be contingent upon the current fire station
building being vacated and the permanent location of the daycare being determined.
Process Reform Recommended To Avoid Wasteful Practices
The OIG has previously identified the City's practice, both within the G.O. Bond and in general,
of starting and stopping projects to change the scope (for reasons unrelated to the quality of a
design) as a practice that expends extensive resources. The federal Government Accountability
Office (GAO) defines waste as: "The act of using or expending resources carelessly,
extravagantly, or to no purpose. Waste can include activities that do not include abuse and do
not necessarily involve a violation of law." Although some delays and changes in projects may be
necessary or justifiable, there needs to be a more logical assessment of their costs and benefits
in order to avoid the risk of wasteful practices.
A democracy, especially at the local level, must find a way to recognize the legitimate interests
communicated by neighborhood groups and individual constituents to elected officials, and at the
same time protect the overall public interest from being damaged by undue delays and resulting
community and financial detriment. Achieving the best balance of these interests in the completion
of major projects in which the City has already invested heavily in staff time, planning and
budgeting requires foresight and discipline on the part of those who are responsible and
accountable for the decisions on those projects.
Former and current City department heads have recommended that once a project has achieved
a 30%-60% design, ideally at Design Review Board or Historic Preservation Board approval, and
has been fully vetted in the community, there should be no additional scope/design change,
barring an unforeseen or other extraordinary event. The OIG sees an opportunity for the City to
study the cumulative impact of this practice on project costs and timelines, weigh the costs and
benefits of the practice, and assess whether changes in the approval process for G.O. Bond and
other City projects are warranted.
The OIG is prepared to work with the City Administration and elected officials in creating any
reasonable process reform that will better achieve that balance. One approach to consider is the
establishment of a voting threshold in excess of a majority of the Commission members that would
be required to alter the scope/design of a project after certain critical pre-established criteria have
been met.
Prioritization of G.O. Bond Projects
There is currently no general policy or procedure that requires departments to prioritize G.O. Bond
projects due to the City's 5-year capital plan which includes many other projects competing with
G.O. Bond projects. This lack of prioritization can be seen this quarter in the Marjory Stoneman
Douglas Park project, pending since 2018, which only needs the lighting to complete the park.
This project was placed on hold while the lighting in South Point Park was given priority.
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It should be noted that the Building Department joins the internal peer review meetings for all
large projects, including G.O. Bond projects, to provide input prior to a project's being submitted
for a permit. If the department managing the project experiences a delay in the permitting process,
the current remedy is to raise it with the Building Department staff or G.O. Bond Program staff, if
needed, who will assist to move the process forward.
The OIG recommends that the City assess opportunities to improve the internal coordination and
prioritization of G.O. Bond projects among departments.
Oversight Committee Motions
The following chart details the concerns of the G.O. Bond Oversight Committee this quarter
related to the two projects detailed above in the form of the following Motions:
GOB Project No. Project Name Motion Made Commission Action
#13,#25 North Shore Park & Fields,
Waterway Restoration
Motion to Approve the Administration's
recommendation to temporarily re-align
$400,000 from GO #13 North shore
Path and fields to GO #25 Waterway
Restoration to allow proiect to proceed
Resolution 2024-32933 approved
the re-alignment
#45,#42,#43 FS 1, Bayshore Traffic
Calming, Chase and 34
Shared Use Path
The GO Bond Oversight Committee
moved to express its concerns
regarding the delays caused by
Commission action, particularly, but not
exclusively, FS #1 and the 34" Street
Shared Use Path, that have undergone
thorough vetting and have received
extensive public input over many years.
The purpose of the Motion was to
emphasize the urgency of moving
forward with these projects promised to
residents and to highlight the wasteful
financial consequences including
possible loss of grant funding, cost
escalations, and expended staff time
associated with unreasonable delays.
The Commission unanimously
approved the re-design of the 34"
Street Shared Use Path, potentially
delaying the project for one year and
continues to look for other sites for
FS1.
Project Cost Estimators
Project cost estimators used by different departments yield varying results in estimated project
costs. Different estimators create different assumptions about the degree to which construction
costs will rise over time. There also appears to be a difference between the estimated budgets
during the planning and design phases and estimated costs during construction. The Program
Director has advised the OIG that each department has the ability to use a pool of CEI
(Construction, Engineering and Inspection) consultants or Constructability & Cost Estimating
Consultants, both of which provide construction estimates. These services are not normally used
unless the project exceeds $5 million in construction cost, at which time it is required that a
separate cost estimate be provided. For projects below that threshold, departments will either
rely on contractor and vendor bids or on estimates of probable cost provided by a design
consultant.
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As a result of some budget shortfalls, the Administration has utilized funding transfers to fill gaps
on Tranche 1 projects from savings which have been realized throughout the 5-year project
execution period of the bond. To date a total amount of $3.8 million has been saved from closed-
out projects. In addition, the Administration utilizes temporary funding swaps from those projects
not advancing as quickly as others to projects which need additional funding to continue. A funding
swap is a temporary allocation of funds which gets reimbursed to the original project once Tranche
2 is issued. The most recent implementation plan identifies $5,079,809 in combined budget swaps
and transfers. The following chart reflects the transfers/swaps since the beginning of the program:
PROJECT NAME TRANCHE 1 BUDGET GO BOND TRANSFER/SWAP REASON
BUDGET AFTER
SWAP OR
TRANSFER
Collins Park $640,000 $557,287 ($82,713) Transfer to Maurice Gibb Park
Crespi Park $211,000 $184,921 ($26,079) Transfer to Maurice Gibb Park
Maurice Gibb Park $3,300,000 $4,500,000 ($1,200,000) Transfer from Savings in Park
Category
North Shore Park and $3,540,000 $5,725,000 ($100,000) Funding swap to Waterway
Youth Center (Tranche 2 monev) Restoration
Bavshore Park $15,700,000 $15,700,000 ($4,466,105) Transfer from interest accrued
Polo Park $500,000 $493,675 ($6,325) Transfer to Maurice Gibb Park
Scott Rakow Youth $5,088,000 $4,053,045 ($1,034,955) Transfer to Maurice Gibb Park
Center
Soundscape Park $4,500,000 $4,575,497 ($75,497) Transfer from Mid-beach
beachwalk savings
Stillwater Park $145,000 $142,441 ($2,559) Transfer to Maurice Gibb Park
Mid-Beach Beachwalk $4,500,000 $4,434,503 ($75,497) Transfer to Soundscape
Storaae
Waterway Restoration $5,900,000 $6,000,000 ($100,000) Swap from North Shore Path
and Fields
Roof Replacement for $2,980,000 $2,932,631 ($47,369) Transfer to Maurice Gibb Park
Cultural Facilities
Ocean Drive $2,000,000 $1,549,000 ($451,000) $451,000 swap to 41° Street
Improvement Corridor
Street Tree Master $2,500,000 $2,770,000 ($270,000) $120,000 swap from Alton
Plan Road Shared Use path;
$150,000 swap from
Sidewalks
Neighborhood Above ($1,112,000) $1,112,000 moved to Tranche
Ground Improvements 1 for Indian Creek; $888,000
(Tranche 2 Project) remains in Tranche 2;
$509,616 swap from
Sidewalks and $602,384 from
Washington Ave Corridor
Washington Ave $1,000,000 $397,616 ($602,384) $602,000 swap to Above
Corridor Ground Improvements (Indian
Creek)
41 st Street Corridor $1,500,500 $2,531,318 ($1,031,318) $580,318 swap from
Sidewalks; $451,000 swap
from Ocean Drive
Protected Bike Lanes $2,500,000 $2,380,000 ($120,000) $120,000 swap to Tree
and Shared Use Paths Planting
Replace Fire-station #1 $4,000,000 $5,746,058 ($1,746,058) Transfer interest accrued
License Plate Readers $1,950,000 $1,575,674 ($374,326) Transfers to #48: $55,095
from MacArthur, $208,417
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$
from 71st St, $110,814 from
Julia Tuttle
Police Headquarters $5,500,000 $6,573,272 ($1,073,272) $1,073,272 public safety
Renovations category savings transfer
Public Safety Radio $10,000,000 $9,700,000 ($300,000) 300K transfer to Beachwalk
System cameras
LED Lighting in Parks $3,741,000 $3,048,919 ($692,081) Transfers to Police HQ:
$99,240 from Tatum; $45,218
from Crespi, $45,218 from
Stillwater, $502,405 from
Normandy Isle
Security for Public $2,000,000 $1,999,916 ($84) $84 transferred to Police HQ
Spaces
Security Cameras on $400,000 $693,219 ($293,219) $300K transfer from Public
Beach Walk - Safety Radio; $6,781 savings
transfer to Police HQ
The OIG recommends that the City conduct an inventory of all cost estimators currently being
used in order to assess how well they predict construction market changes. This can be done by
comparing cost estimates provided by each estimator with actual project costs to gauge the
reliability of the various estimators and determine their relative accuracy for use in future projects.
Conclusion
The G.O. Bond is entering its fifth year. A review of the original implementation plan shows that
the program has achieved its intended goals of delivering the highest priority projects originally
considered "Quick Wins". Some of those projects include:
1. Portable Bollards
2. Polo Park
3. Soundscape 4K Technology
4. LED Lighting in Parks
5. Stillwater Park
6. Collins Park
7. Fairway Park
8. License Plate Readers on Causeways
9. Palm & Hibiscus Landscaping
10. Scott Rakow Youth Center Improvements
11. North Shore Community Center Improvements
12. Nautilus Traffic Calming
13. Public Safety Radio System
14. Street Repaving
15. Sidewalk Repairs
16. Tree Planting
17. Middle Beach Beachwalk
18. Security Cameras on Beachwalk and other location
The big impact projects, such as the North Beach Beachwalk, Flamingo Park, 72nd Street
Complex, Fire Station 1, Maurice Gibb Park, Bayshore Park, Pedestrian Bridge, Traffic Calming
projects, Street Lighting, Police HQ, Marine Patrol Facility, Ocean Drive, and 41 st Street Corridor
are either completed, or are being built, designed, or planned. To date, the City has spent and
Page 8 of 9
encumbered $118 million of the $157 million in Tranche 1 and the Administration intends to ask
the Commission for approval to authorize the advance of $19.8 million of Tranche 2 funding for
5 projects within the Infrastructure category over the next few months.
cc: Karen Riva, Chairperson of the G.O. Bond Oversight Committee
Rickelle Williams, Interim City Manager
Eric Carpenter, Deputy City Manager
David Martinez, Interim Assistant City Manager
Maria Hernandez, G.O. Bond Program Director
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, City of Miami Beach
1130 Washington Avenue, 6" Floor, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tel: 305.673.7020 • Hotline: 786.897.1111
Email: CityofMiamiBeachOIG@miamibeachfl.gov
Website: www.mbinspectorqeneral.com
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