LTC 115-2006 Transmittal of Memorandum from Commissioner Jerry Libbin
lD
MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC # 115-2006
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager \..,-~
April20,2006 J
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT: Transmittal of Memorandum from Commissioner Jerry Libbin
The purpose of this LTC is to provide you with a copy of a memorandum from Commissioner
Libbin which provides an update on several projects he has been working on since his
election to office.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact me.
JMG/dm
F:\cmgr\$ALL\L TC-06\Transmittal Comm Libbin's memo.doc
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Memo to: Jorge Gonzalez, Mayor and Commissioners
From: Jerry Libbin
I wanted to give a brief update on several projects that I have been working on since my
election last Fall.
1. During the campaign I made it clear that I was committed to expanding programs
for the children of Miami Beach in the area of the Arts. I feel that one ofthe best
ways to do this is to provide FREE program offerings from top quality instructors
through the after school programs at the various public school facilities in the
City. I have been meeting with representatives of our major cultural institutions,
including The New World Symphony, The Miami City Ballet, The Bass Museum,
The Wolfsonian, and The Jewish Museum to elicit their support for this initiative.
I have asked each institution to prepare age appropriate offerings for 9 week
programs throughout the school year, along with appropriate budget requirements.
We have also been meeting with Mr. Jorge Diaz, at the request of the Principal of
Fisher Feinberg Elementary to assist is in the planning and scheduling process.
2. A second goal that I have is to broaden the base of our tourism, which would have
obvious positive economic impact on our City. I believe that we have the
opportunity to do this by marketing our world class cultural organizations and
thereby attempting to create inbound Cultural Tourism. I know that when we
travel as a family, we often select destinations that offer cultural opportunities for
the entire family to enjoy as part of our vacation. Last summer, for example, we
included travel to Sydney, Australia as part of our vacation because we wanted to
experience a concert in the Sydney Opera House. I have been working with
Michael Aller, David Whitaker (GMVCB), Joe West (FlU) the Dean who has
been responsible for the tremendous success of opening a brand new FlU campus
in a major city in China, along with the executives of our top notch professional
institutions (New World Symphony and Miami City Ballet).
In addition, there have been other members of our community involved in the
planning to this point of a proposed establishment of a Sister City or other less
formal relationship with one or more cities in China. I am pleased to report that
there would be definite interest from at least one city and I am seeking input from
the Commission at this point as to how to proceed. I look forward to exploring
this further with all of you at our upcoming retreat.