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Resolution 2025-33616 RESOLUTION NO. 202533616 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION ("CITY COMMISSION") OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCY COMMITTEE, AT ITS MARCH 26, 2025 MEETING, DIRECTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO NEGOTIATE AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH AND NORTH BAY VILLAGE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A JOINT TROLLEY OPERATION, AND RETURN TO THE CITY COMMISSION WITH THE FINAL NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT FOR APPROVAL; FURTHERMORE, DIRECTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO PROCEED WITH OPTION 2 FOR A SHUTTLE PILOT SERVICE DURING CULTURE CRAWL EVENTS ("PILOT PROGRAM") OCCURRING DURING THE THIRD THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH, BEGINNING IN MAY 2025 UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THEINTERGOVERNMENTALAGREEMENT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION; PROVIDED, HOWEVER,THAT THE CITY, AT A MINIMUM, HAS SECURED A LETTER OF COMMITMENT FROM NORTH BAY VILLAGE TO FUND THE PILOT PROGRAM. WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach ("City") is currently in negotiations with three (3) selected vendors to secure a contract for a new citywide municipal transit circulator service. The goal of this procurement process is to enhance transit connectivity and mobility for residents and visitors while ensuring cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency; and WHEREAS, the City Administration ("Administration") is aiming to finalize negotiations, select a vendor, and present a negotiated draft agreement to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee ("FERC" or "Committee") for review and approval within the next 60 days. Following a favorable recommendation by FERC, the agreement will be presented to the City Commission for consideration and approval; and WHEREAS, on February 19, 2025, the Administration met with the North Bay Village Mayor and City Manager to discuss the potential extension of the Miami Beach Trolley into North Bay Village. The discussion focused on the feasibility of extending the North Beach Trolley Loop for approximately hvo (2) miles to serve three (3) stops along the 79 Street Causeway in North Bay Village. During the discussion, there was consensus that a pilot program should be explored to assess demand and feasibility before considering implementing a permanent extension; and WHEREAS, a potential pilot extension of the existing Miami Beach Culture Crawl service was proffered. The Culture Crawl is a monthly event occurring on the third Thursday of each month from October through July. This free event allows locals and visitors to explore Miami Beach's cultural institutions, including museums, music performances, and aR exhibits, while utilizing public transit to navigate the area; and WHEREAS, at the March 26, 2025, FERC meeting, the Committee discussed this item and recommended to proceed to negotiate an intergovernmental agreement with North Bay Village for the implementation of a joint Irolley operation and return to the City Commission with the final negotiated agreement for approval; and WHEREAS, the Committee expressed support for Option 2 consisting of a shuttle pilot service during Culture Crawl events to obtain ridership data, determine operational efficiency, and receive community feedback; and WHEREAS, based on City staffs preliminary assessment, it is anticipated that two (2) to three (3) additional vehicles will be required to connect North Bay Village to North Beach while providing the desired frequency of service during Culture Crawl events; and WHEREAS, additional coordination with North Bay Village will be necessary to refine the pilot parameters, determine stop locations, and establish an implementation and funding plan as part of an Intergovemmental Agreement; and WHEREAS, the success of the pilot program would be assessed based on ridership, operational efficiency, and user feedback; and WHEREAS, based on the current Culture Crawl model, the estimated cost to operate three (3) buses for four (4) hours each, at $80/service hour, is approximately $960 per Culture Crawl event. The final negotiated cost would depend on the number of vehicles in service, frequency of service, and hours of service. It is anticipated that North Bay Village would provide the necessary funding to implement this option as a pilot program; and WHEREAS, it is anticipated that North Bay Village would provide the necessary funding to implement this option as a pilot program; and WHEREAS, Ihe Administration recommends Option 2 as a pilot program to connect to and serve the North Bay Village community and enhance transit connectivity behveen the rivo cities; and WHEREAS, the Administration will continue working with North Bay Village to refine the pilot program scope, identify funding sources, and craft an Intergovernmental Agreement for City Commission approval. Given execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement is anticipated to take several months, in the interim, the Administration will work to secure a letter of funding commitment from North Bay Village in order to commence a pilot program during the current Culture Crawl season; and WHEREAS, any potential long-term service expansion into North Bay Village will be contingent upon the completion of the ongoing municipal transit circulator procurement process, execution of a contract with the selected vendor, securing adequate resources to launch the new service, and approval from the FERC and City Commission as necessary. i NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission accept the recommendation of Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee, at its March 26, 2025 meeting, directing the City Administration to negotiate an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Miami Beach ("City") and North Bay Village for the implementation of a joint trolley operation, and return to the City Commission with the final negotiated Agreement for approval; furthermore, directing the City Administration to proceed with Option 2 for a shuttle pilot service during Culture Crawl events ("Pilot Program") occurring during the third Thursday of each month, beginning in May 2025 until such time as the Intergovernmental Agreement has been approved by the City Commission; provided, however, that the City, at a minimum, has secured a letter of commitment from North Bay Village to fund the Pilot Program. PASSED and ADOPTED this 23rd day April, 2025. ATTEST: / D �`^"""`��--- _ _ ,( Steven Meiner, Mayor �l4 � LI aPR 2 9 2025 Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk (sponsored by Commissioner David Suarez and co-sponsored Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt) +,�,..^j e' ���, Co-Sponsored by CommissionerAlex J.Femandez _��•� Eq�,� ;, �.,,IN(ORP OGiE0.`� •Q,n.�.1.�g `�,v�..,,,_,:�a,- APPROVEDASTO •�wN?�:--• FORM & LANGUAGE &FOR EXECUTION ��Z� Y y� �a Resolutions - C7 AB MIAMI BEACH COMMISSION MEMORANDUM T0: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission FROM: Eric Carpenter, Ciry Manager DATE: April 23, 2025 TITLE: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION ("CITY COMMISSION") OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCY COMMITTEE, AT ITS MARCH 26, 2025 MEETWG, DIRECTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO NEGOTIATE AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH AND NORTH BAY VILLAGE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A JOINT TROLLEY OPERATION, AND RETURN TO THE CITY COMMISSION WITH THE FINAL NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT FOR APPROVAL; FURTHERMORE, DIRECTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO PROCEED WITH OPTION 2 FOR A SHUTTLE PILOT SERVICE DURING CULTURE CRAWL EVENTS ("PILOT PROGR4M") OCCURRWG DURING THE THIRD THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH, BEGINNING IN MAY 2026 UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE CITY, AT A MINIMUM, HAS SECURED A LETTER OF COMMITMENT FROM NORTH BAY VILLAGE TO FUND THE PILOT PROGRAM. RECOMMENDATION The City Administralion ("Adminisiretion") recommends that the Mayor and City Commission ("Ciry Commission") adopt the Resolution. BACKGROUNDIHISTORY At the February 3, 2025, City Commission meeting, at the request of Commissioner Oavid Suarez, the City Commission referred an agenda item (C4 AY) to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Commidee ("FERC"or"Committee")to discuss a possible intergovernmental agreement behveen the City of Miami Beach ("Ciry") and North Bay Village to extend the Miami Beach Trolley route. The City is currently in negotiations with three (3)selected vendors to secure a contract for a new citywlde municipal transit circularor service. The goal of this procurement process is to enhance transit connectivily and mobility for residents and visitors while ecsunng wst-effectiveness and operational effciency. The Administration is aimin3 to fnalize negotiations, select a vendor, and present a negotiated draft agreement to the FERC for review and approval within the next 60 days. Following a favorable recommendation by FERC, the agreement will be presented to the City Commission for consideretion antl approval. At this time, due to the ongoing procurement process and the pending setection of a vendor and vehicle typettechnology, the City does not have an anticipated timeline for launching the new service. Any proposed changes to the current tro�ley routes, including a potential extension of the North Beach Trolley Loop to serve North Bay Village, will be contingent upon the execution of a contract with the selected vendor and the launch of the new municipal transit circulator service. On February 19, 2025,the Administration met with the North Bay Village Mayor and City Manager to discuss the potential extenslon of the Miar�BeaFh Trolley into North Bay Village. The 000 discussion focused on the feasibility of extending the North Beach Trolley Loop for approximately two (2) miles to serve three (3) stops along the 79 Street Causeway in North Bay Village. During the diswssion, there was consensus that a pilot program should be explored to assess demand and feasibility before considering implementing a permanent extension. A potential pilot extension of the existing Miami Beach CWture Crawl service was proffered_ The Cuiture Crawl is a monthly event occurring on the third Thursday of each month from October through July. This free event allows locals and visitors to ezplore Miami Beach's cultural institutions, induding museums, music performances, and art exhibits,while utilizing public transit to navigate the area. At the conclusion of the meeting, the City and North Bay Village agreed to explore the feasibility of a pilot progrem and reconvene to discuss next steps. At the March 26, 2025, FERC meeting, the Committee discussed this item and recommended to proceed to negotiate an intergovemmental agreement with North Bay Village tor the implementation of a joint trolley operation and retum to the City Commission with the final negotiated agreement for approvaL Furthermore, the Committee expressed support for Option 2, described in the below Analysis section of this Committee Memorendum, consisting of a shuttle pilot service during Culture Crawl events to obtain ridership data, determine operational efficiency, and receive community (eedback. ANALYSIS The Adminisiration evaluated the following two (2) potential options, as a pilot progrem, to extend transit service iMo antl serve the North Bay Viliage community: Option 1: Potential Pilot Extension of the North Beach Trollev Loop Before determining the feasibility of extending the North Beach Loop into NoRh Bay Village, it is important to consider the potential benefits and challenges of such an expansion� Pros: . The extension of the North Beach Loop would provide a direct transit link beriveen North Beach and North Bay Village, improving regional mobility for residents and visitors between the two cities. . A well-planned extension could attract new riders from NORh Bay Village, strengthening overall transit usage and helping to reduce traffc congestion. Cons: . Extending the existing North Beach Loop without adding an additional vehicle would increase headways, iravel time, and wait times for current passengers. • The wrrent North Beach Loop already faces operational inefficiencies given its reduced level of service frequency, and an approximare nvo (2) mile extension woultl exacerbate delays unless route alignmenVoperational changes are implementetl to mitigate the increased route length and passenger wait times. Notwithstanding, should the City Commission recommend proceetling with an extension of the North Beach Loop into North Bay Village, ihe Administration would need to frst address the existing operational ineffciencies within the North Beach Loop to avoid exacerbating current operational issues. The existing North Beach Loop (Attachment A) operates with three (3) vehicles antl currently experiences operational inefficiencies due to its circuitous alignment For example, residents traveling ro Publix at 69 Street from most parts of North Beach must frst travel through Normandy Isle, signifcantly increasing their travel time. Similarly; Normantly Isle residents reWrning from Publix must travel through North Beach before reaching their destination. If the current North Beach Loop were extended into North Bay Village without addressing these route operational issues, the additional roure mileage and increased service area would further 1557 strain the service, resulting in longer passenger wait times and reduced reliability for both current and new riders. To mitigate the current operational challenges and service ineNciencies, independent ot a potential extension of service into North Bay Village, the Administration is planning ro realign the North Beach Loop via a bifurcation of the route into two (2) separate but interconneding loops - the East-West Loop and the North-South loop (Attachment B): • Eas6West Loop: This loop would focus on seroing Normandy Isle, offering more direct and efficient service without unnecessary detours. It woultl ensure quicker irips to key destinations such as Publix without traversing around North Beach. . North-South Loop: This loop would operate between 65 Street and BS Street, providing more direct north-south connectiviry for passengers. To implement this planned route realignment, the current fleet of three (3) trolley vehicles would be redistributed with one (1) vehicle dedicated to the East-West Loop and rivo (2) vehicles dedicated to ihe North-South Loop to maintain the desired service frequency of approximately 20 minutes. Additionally, to support a potential service extension into North Bay Village, an additional trolley vehide would need to be dedicated to the East-West Loop to ensure efficient service to new stops while maintaining reasonable frequency of service. Given the status of the ongoing procurement for the new municipal transit circulator service, as well as the potential impact to the currently strained frequency of service, a long-term service extension into North Bay Village should only be wnsidered as part of the forthcoming municipal transit circulator service, and not the current trolley service. Therefore, the Administration does not recommend Option i at this time. Ootion 2 Potential New Shuttle Pilot Service Durino CWture Crawl Events On March 6, 2025, the Transportation and Mobility Deparlment met with the Tourism antl CNture Department to discuss the feasibility of a potential extension of the Miami Beach Culture Crawl event into North Bay Village. The Tourism and Culture Department confirmed that ihree (3) buses are currently utilized for the Miami Beach Culture Crawl service�, however, the existing Culture Crawl service operates solely within South Beach and does not extend to North Beach. An extension of the South Beach Culture Crawl service to North Bay Village was determinetl lo not be feasible due to logistical, operational, and budgetary constreints. However, several events occur in North Beach concurrently with the Miami Beach Culture Crawl in South Beach, including the "North Beach Social" event at Bandshell Park and aclivities hosted by the Normandy Fountain Business Association. Given these activations in North Beach, a potential pilot program could consist of a new shuttle service connecting North Beach and North Bay Village while CWture Crawl is ocwrring in South Beach. Based on City staff's preliminary assessment, it is aMicipa[ed that two (2) to three (3) atltlitional vehicles will be required to connect North Bay Village to North Beach while providing the desired frequency of service durinq CWture Crawl events. Additional coordination with North Bay Village will be necessary to refine the pibt parameters, determine stop locations, and establish an implementation and funding plan as part of an Intergovemmental Agreement. The success of the pilot progrem would be assessed based on ridership, operational efficiency, and user feedback. If successful, further diswssions could explore ihe possibility of integtating a long-term service extension into North Bay Village, subject to approval from the FERC and the City Commission, as part of the forthcoming municipal transit circulator service contrect. FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT Option 1: To maintain the current headways on the North Beach Trolley Loop while accommodating a potential two (2) mile extension into North Bay Village, at least one (1) atlditional vehicle would be required. At the current rate of$72.49 per service hour for the North Beach Loop. this would resWt in an estimated additional cost of approximately$430.000 per year. 7558 Option 2: Based on the current Culture Crawl model, ihe estimated cost to operate three (3)buses for four (4) hours each, at $80/service hour, is approximately $960 per CWture Crawl event. The final negotiated cost would depend on the number of vehicles in service, frequency of service, and hours of service. It is anticipated that North Bay Village would provide the necessary funding to implement this option as a pilot program. Does this Ordinance require a Business Imoact Estimate? (FOR ORDINANCES ON�Y) If applicable, the Business Impact Estimate (BIE) was published on: See BIE aC httpsJ/www.miamibeachfl.qovlcitv-hall/citv-clerk/meetina-noticesl FINANCIAL INFORMATION N/A CONCLUSION The Administration remains committed to coliaborating with neighboring communities to enhance regional transit connectivity while ensuring a reliable, effcient, and sustainab�e citywide trolley service to residents, visirors, and workforce. The Transporiation and Mobility Department staff contlucted a prelimi��,ary evaluation of two (2) potential options to extend transit service for approximately lwo (2) miles into North Bay Viilage as a pibt program. Option 1 consists of a poteMial extension of the North Beach Trolley Loop. Given the status of the ongoing procurement for the new municipal transit circulator service, as weli as the potential impacts (operational and financial) of extending the currently constrained North Beach Trolley Loop, an extension of the NoRh Beach Loop into North Bay Village is not recommended at this time and should only be considered as part of the forlhcoming municipal trensit circulator service contract. Option 2 consists of a potential new shuttle service operating during the monthly Culture Crawl events. Given the number of activations occurring in North Beach during CWWre Crawl events in South Beach, the Administration recommends this option as a pilot program to connect to and serve the North Bay Village community and enhance trensit connectivily between the hvo cities. The Administration will continue working with North Bay Village to refine the pilot program scope, identify funding sources, and creft an Intergovernmental Agreement for City Commission approval. Given execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement is anticipated to take several months, in the interim, the Administration will work to secure a letter of funding commitment from North Bay Viliage in order to commence a pilot program during the current Culture Crawl season. Any potential long-term service expansion into North Bay Village will be contingent upon the completion of the ongoing municipal transit circulator procurement process, execution of a contract with the selected vendor, securing adequate resources to launch the new service, and approval from the FERC and City Commission as necessary. Applicable Area Norih Beach Is this a "Residents Riqht to Know" item. Is this item related to a G.O. Bontl pursuant to CiN Code Section 2-17? Proiect? 1559 No No Was this Aqenda Item initially requested bv a lobbvist which, as defined in Code Sec. 2-081. includes a principai enqaqed in lobbyinq? No if so, specify the name of lobbyist(s) and principal(s): N/A Deoartment Transportation and Mobiliry Soonsor(s) Commissioner David Suarez CO-SpOf150f(SI Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt Condensed Title Accept ReGNegotiate Intergovernmental Agmt wl North Bay Village, Joint Trolley Operation. (DSITB) TR Previous Action (For CiN Clerk Use Oniv) 1560 AttachmentA — Current North Beach Loop Map r- ee sr � I BS A ��Q�.BS ST .., �1795i a`g i:�:BIA TROLLEY CONNERION ��, � ) �y.3� Q ( nourn �. � 3� .� atncn � � , - '. . � a ;ocv ' - �' ��' I �n s� � � n sr s I s ' 1 � 73A Q I RA / �on�ueorop Q Q yn I I N Q OST W�E ' I 6f II S 1561 Attachment B - Proposed Changes to North Beach Loop � . � � • �n es sr � � 19Si .�tg 91A TROLLEY CONNECTION � �p"� � fq9 3! _ WFSi � . . . � 3 tOOP . . ... �! IlA � 77A G = 7757 RA NOIYUWYO! Q Q NR i N yJ n W�E 6SA 5 1562 � � • • • • • � � � een � � A557 Q�' BSSI ��' � ��. '. ��79A �o �`delST �, TROLLE7 CONNFCf10N � `,�'Q�' � I 3r y� ; ,•,�. � . �. ' �� __ ... . , �74 � �� )79 3 ' � � �) 73A I I nn iaawxor on Q Q 6f si ( N �°p d7 A N��F ! 6SA S 1563