LTC 286-2004 Weekly Update CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. 286-2004
To:
From:
SubJect:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez 1
City Manager
WEEKLY UPDATE
Date: November 12, 2004
The purpose of this LTC is to provide you with an update describing some of the
areas the Administration has recently been focusing on:
2004 General Election - City of Miami Beach employees volunteered as
Goodwill Ambassadors, along with volunteers from Miami-Dade County, on
Tuesday, November 2, to assist the Miami Dade County Elections Department in
ensuring that all residents who came to vote on Miami Beach on Election Day
had as positive an experience as possible. Overall, more than 70% of registered
Miami Beach Voters voted in the general election through either the early voting
process or on Election Day. Through the City's Early Voter Incentive Program,
1,647 coupons were issued to Miami Beach residents for free admission (one
adult and one child) to an open session at either Flamingo Park pool or the Scott
Rakow Youth Center Ice Rink; 416 free one-hour parking vouchers were issued
for early voters parking at the 17th Street parking garage; and 294 riders used the
Electrowave to come vote early
Hurricane I Emergency Preparedness Plans - Staff continues to update the
City's hurricane / emergency preparedness plans and will continue to do so
through the remainder of the hurricane season which ends on November 30.
Miami Beach Community Survey - Staff has been working with representatives
from the City's contractor, the Hay Group, on the community survey that will
solicit feedback on how to make Miami Beach an even better place to live, work
and play for all members of our community. Representatives from the Hay
Group will be meeting with each of you next week to share infor[-~ation with you
on steps involved with the survey and solicit feedback from each of you. The
Hay Group will also conduct several focus groups with residents in various parts
of the City on November 16, 17, and 18. These focus groups will be comprised of
randomly selected residents who previously have not had an opportunity to
participate in the City's processes and provide them an opportunity to share
issues that are important to them. The Hay Group will use these issues to help
shape the questions developed for the community survey.
Organizational Development - The final session of our workshop focusing on
developing performance measures to evaluate how successful we are in
achieving the City's vision and 5-year strategic plan will take place on November
23 and will focus on enhanced public safety, delivering ClP projects on time and
on budget, and government sustainability. In addition, a workshop on ethics is
scheduled for December 1 for all management team members. This workshop is
being co-presented by Robert Meyers, Executive Director of the Miami-Dade
County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. There are several citywide
trainings being offered in the next few weeks for city staff, including: (1) Life
Matters - a workshop to help staff learn how to cope with 'life matters' and have
a better understanding of how to blend work, family, time, and money; (2)
Communication to Better Relationships - a workshop to help staff learn about the
process of communication, the value of listening effectively, identify common
communication barriers, and develop effective skills to enhance daily
interactions; (3) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People -in this session, staff
will learn to help themselves and the people in the organization to change the
fundamental way they approach their jobs, relationships, even problems and
opportunities; and (4) Diversity: Understanding Differences - this workshop will
help staff develop an awareness of factors which influence perceptions, examine
how perceptions influence behavior when interacting with people who are
different, and improve cross-cultural understanding within the organization.
Art Basel / Miami Beach - Staff from throughout the City continues to meet to
plan and allocate resources for Art Basel / Miami Beach, taking place from
December 1 through December 5. Move-in at the Convention Center begins late
next week. You each should have received your packet of invitations to all Art
Basel / Miami Beach events by now.
Film & Print - Staff has meet with the production scouts for two upcoming films
that will set up production in South Florida and on Miami Beach, including
Michael Mann's big screen version of Miami Vice that begins production in April
2005 and Wes Craven's The Red Eye which begins production in January 2005.
Once additional details are available about each of these feature film
productions, they will be shared with you. In addition, the entertainment
television show, Access Hollywood, was on Miami Beach recently and taped
several segments that will air in the near future. The ABC television network will
be on Miami Beach on November 20 along with several afternoon television soap
opera stars to tape commercial segments promoting South Florida that will air
throughout the month of December.
Veteran's Day Parade - Staff worked with representatives from the American
Legion on ensuring that the City's annual Veteran's Day parade, which took
place on November 11, was a successful and meaningful event for all that
participated.
Education Related Issues - I had an opportunity to attend a dinner meeting
with School Superintendent Dr. Rudy Crew and will again meet with him on
November 19 as part of the Miami-Dade City / County Management Association
to discuss ways in which we can work together to improve the quality of
education in our communities,
Public Relations and Communications Ad Hoc Committee - I attended the
November 2 meeting to discuss recommendations made by the Committee
members regarding the City's overall public relations and communication
strategy. This group will be meeting again on December 2 and finalizing their
recommendations to the Administration.
Bass Museum - The blockbuster exhibit, Paris Moderne: Art Deco Works from
the Musee de la Ville de Paris, has been running since October I to rave reviews
and good visitor turnout. This is on the heels of the very successful Picasso
exhibit which recently concluded its run at the Bass Museum.
Employee Celebrations - A committee comprised of employees from
throughout the City are working on this year's annual citywide holiday party which
is scheduled for Saturday, December 18 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the
Scott Rakow Youth Center. Once details are finalized, they will be shared with
you and all City staff, but please save the date.
United Way Campaign - The City's 2004 United Way campaign continues and
runs through November 30. This year's campaign again focuses on raising funds
to benefit United Way-sponsored charities, many of whom are situated within the
City of Miami Beach.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to
contact me.
Electronic Copy: Management Team
F:CMGR/ALL/LTC04/Weekly Update/October29.doc