2000-23830 RESO
RESOLUTION NO. 2000-23830
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA SUPPORTING
THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE STATE TASK FORCE THAT
DOWNTOWN MIAMI, FLORIDA BE THE SITE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH SPEED NETWORK ACCESS
POINT (NAP) TO SECURE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND
SOUTH FLORIDA AS THE GATEWAY FOR E-COMMERCE
AND OTHER INTERNET-RELATED SERVICES BETWEEN
THE UNITED STATES AND LATIN AMERICA.
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature in June, 1999 created the Information Technology
Development Task Force (hereinafter referred to as the "State Task Force") to develop policies that
will benefit residents of Florida by fostering the free-market development and beneficial use of
advanced communications networks and information technologies within the State; and
WHEREAS, the Infrastructure Subcommittee of the State Task Force reported on January
20, 2000 that it will recommend downtown Miami as the site for the development of a high-speed
Network Access Point (NAP), a facility where many information carriers connect to each other to
exchange information at very high speeds, to serve as the gateway for e-commerce and other
Internet-related services between the United States and Latin America; and
WHEREAS, similar facilities have been constructed in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago,
Washington, Houston, and Dallas and, in some cases, have represented a $300 million investment;
and
WHEREAS, there is an abundant amount of vacant and under-utilized land in downtown
Miami, including the Community Redevelopment Area; and
WHEREAS, Florida East Coast railroad right-of-way could be used for adding fiber optic
cable for future growth of the NAP; and
WHEREAS, the existence of a federal Empowerment Zone in the vicinity could facilitate
funding from federal grants and tax exempt financing; and
WHEREAS, on January 20,2000, Broward Alliance President Mike Langley endorsed
downtown Miami as the site of the NAP and Hollywood, Florida as a location for collateral systems
that would help support the Miami NAP; and
WHEREAS, such a project, as proposed, will further regional cooperation among Miami-
Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties to the overall economic benefit of the entire Southeast
Florida region; and
WHEREAS, the Beacon Council is taking an active role as part of the InternetCoast Task
Force, a regional effort by Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties to create and develop
Internet-related businesses in Southeast Florida and passed a Resolution supporting the
recommendation of the Infrastructure Subcommittee of the State Task Force on January 21, 2000.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA that the recommendation of
the Infrastructure Subcommittee of the State Task Force that downtown Miami be the site for the
development of a high speed Network Access Point to secure Miami-Dade County and South Florida
as the gateway for e-commerce and other Internet-related services between the United States and
Latin America is hereby supported.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 15th day of
March , 2000.
ATTEST: ()
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CITY CLERK
~
MAYOR
FIA TTOITURN\RESOSIBEACON. SUP
APPROVED AS TO
FORM & LANGUAGE
& FOR EXECUTION
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THE MIAMI-DADE BEACON COUNCIL
RESOLUTION
Resolution of Support
The undersigned, The Miami-Dade County Beacon Council, a Florida not-for-profit
corporation (the "Company"), does hereby certify that the following resolution
was duly adopted at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Company, duly called
and held in Miami on January 21, 2000, in which meeting a quorum was present and
action throughout:
WHEREAS, The Beacon Council is taking an active role as part of the InternetCoast
Task Force, a regional effort by Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties to
create and develop internet related businesses in Southeast Florida; and,
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature in June of 1999 created the Information Technology
Development Task Force (hereinafter referred to as the "state task force")
to develop policies that will benefit residents of Florida by fostering the free-market
development and beneficial use of advanced communications networks and information
technologies within the state; and,
WHEREAS, the Infrastructure Subcommittee of the state task force on January 20,
2000, reported that it will recommend downtown Miami as the site for the development
of a high-speed Network Access Point (NAP) to serve as the gateway for US-Latin
American e-commerce and other internet related services, a facility where many
information carriers connect to each other to exchange information at very high speeds;
and,
WHEREAS, similar facilities have been constructed in New York, Los Angeles,
Chicago, Washington, Houston and Dallas, and in some cases have represented a
$300 million investment; and,
WHEREAS, there is an abund~nt amount of vacant and under-utilized land in
downtown Miami, including the Community Redevelopment Area; and,
WHEREAS, Florida East Coast railroad right-of-way could be used for adding fiber optic
cable for future growth of the NAP; and,
WHEREAS, the existence of a federal Empowerment Zone in the same vicinity could
facilitate funding from federal grants and tax exempt financing; and,
WHEREAS, on January 20, 2000, Broward Alliance President Mike Langley endorsed
downtown Miami as the site of the NAP, as well as Hollywood, Florida, as a location for
collateral systems that would help support the Miami NAP;
WHEREAS, such a project as proposed will further regional cooperation among Miami-
Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties to the overall economic benefit of the entire
Southeast Florida region;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The Beacon Council hereby endorses the
recommendation of the state task force subcommittee, and asks that the state task
force embrace its recommendation when making its report to the Governor of Florida on
February 26,2000; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The Beacon Council pursue opportunities for
municipal support of tax increment financing towards development of the land in
downtown Miami, and such other state incentives that may be appropriate to make this
proposed project a reality, and that copies of this resolution be distributed to the state
task force, the Governor of Florida, members of the Miami-Dade legislative delegation,
the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, members of the Miami-Dade County Commission,
the Mayor of Miami, the Miami City Commission, the Mayor of HoUywood, Florida,
members of the Broward County Commission, the Broward Alliance, and the Business
Development Board of Palm Beach County.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this Resolution effective as of
January 21, 2000.
THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY BEACON COUNCIL
Frank R. Nero
President & CEO
Adrienne Ars t
Secretary
THE BEACON COUNCIL
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Frank Nero and Holly Wiedman
Michael Dillin
January 20,2000
Internet CoastlMiami Recommended as Site for Quarter Billion Dollar Facility
The City of Miami is being recommended as the site for the development of a high-speed Network
Access Point (NAP) to serve as the gateway for US-Latin American e-commerce and other internet
related services. Similar facilities have been constructed in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago,
Washington, Houston and Dallas. Some have cost up to $300 million.
In simple terms, a NAP is a facility where many information carriers connect to each other to exchange
information at very high speeds.
The recommendation was revealed at a meeting ofthe Internet Coast Task Force, a regional effort by
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties to create and develop internet related businesses in
Southeast Florida. The Beacon Council is a leading participant of the Internet Coast Task Force.
At a public meeting ofthe Internet Coast Task Force, the state's Infrastructure Subcommittee ofthe
Information Technology Development Task Force reported it would recommend that downtown Miami
be selected as the site for this ambitious project.
The state task force was created on June 11, 1999, by the Florida Legislature to develop policies that will
benefit residents of Florida by fostering the free-market development and beneficial use of advanced
communications networks and information technologies within the state. The state task force will report
to the Governor on February 26,2000.
As part ofthe subcommittee's recommendation, two members, Julio Ibarra of Florida International
University and Richard Paul-Hus of Hypower Inc., said:
"Being the gateway to Latin America, Miami is in an ideal position to develop a NAP to serve Latin
America for its e-commerce business with the United States and the rest of the world. A unique
opportunity exists in the Community Redevelopment Area of Downtown Miami, with regard to existing
MEMORANDUM
PAGE 2
infrastructure. There is an abundant amount of vacant and underutilized land, which we propose be
used (emphasis added) for the development of a major NAP."
The subcommittee is recommending that the State of Florida pursue opportunities for municipal support
of tax increment financing towards development of the land in downtown Miami. It also stated that the
existence of an empowerment zone in the same vicinity could facilitate funding from federal grants and
tax exempt financing.
Florida East Coast railroad right-of-way in the area could be used for adding fiber optic cable for future
growth ofthe NAP.
"As a result, the available land in the CRA, existing communications infrastructure and financial
incentives makes (downtown Miami) an ideal location for the development of the next major NAP for
US- Latin America e-commerce exchange," the subcommittee reported.
At the Internet Coast Task Force meeting, Broward Alliance President Mike Langley expressed his
support of downtown Miami as the prime location. He said Hollywood, Florida, would be an ideal
location for collateral systems that would help support the Miami NAP.
The Beacon Council was represented by Dr. John Cordrey, Vice-President of Research, Carmen Batista-
Wales, Assistant Vice-President of International Business Development, and Jaap Donath, Director of
Research.
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Summary
Senate Bill 1334 by Senator Klein
Senate Bill 1334, the "ITFlorida.com Act of 2000," contains three principal
elements:
· The legislation directs the State Technology Office to report by
July 1, 2000, on the feasibility of and need for a public Network Access
Point (NAP) in Florida. If the office fmds that a public NAP is feasible
and needed, the report must include a detailed action plan for its
establishment. The legislation defines a public NAP as one that must
have assistance from the state to stimulate its developnlent, but that
ultimately is maintained and managed by the private sector.
· The legislation requires the State Technology Office to review, by
July 1,2000, the state's existing incubators to determine if they are
meeting the needs of information technology businesses. If the office
fmds that additional incubators are need, it must develop a plan for
establishment of additional information technology business
incubators. The plan may include recommendations to promote private
business incubators or to establish incubators associated with
universities.
· The legislation calls for maintenance of a website to promote and
market the information technology industry -- serving the dual purpose
of informing the public about the scope of the industry in Florida and
addressing the workforce needs of the industry. The website would
include a mechanism to connect employers and job seekers.
28-910-00
SB 1334
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to information technology;
3 requiring a report to explore the feasibility
4 of and need for a public Network Access Point
5 in this state; providing report requirements;
6 :equiring a review and plan for the
7 establishment of information technology
8 business "incubators" in this state;
9 prescribing incubator components; requiring
10 development and maintenance of a website for
11 information technology industry marketing and
12 workforce recruitment; providing an
13 appropriation; providing an effective date.
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15 WHEREAS, the information technology industry is growing
16 rapidly and provides high-wage, high-skill jobs, and
17 WHEREAS, Florida can capitalize on its geographic
18 location and human-resource assets to develop an information
19 technology sector, and
20 WHEREAS, Florida can be recognized as a global leader
21 in the information technology industry, particularly in Latin
22 America, and
23 WHEREAS, it is in the interest of the Legislature and
24 the State of Florida to encourage, promote, and invest in new
25 information technology businesses and to ensure that those
26 businesses have available to them technical, management, and
27 business counseling to provide the highest probability of
28 success, NOW, THEREFORE,
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30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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SB 1334
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SB 1334
(1) To foster the qrowth of the information technoloqv
industry in this state, the State Technoloqy Office in the
Executive Office of the Governor shall review the state's
existinq incubators to determine whether they are meetinq the
industry's needs. If the office finds that additional
incubators are needed to fill an unmet need, the office must
develop a plan to establish information technoloqy business
incubators in this state. The plan mav include recommendations
for consideration bv the Leqislature which promote the
location of private information technoloqy business incubators
in the state, or it mav include recommendations to establish
or promote information technoloqy business incubators
associated with universities in this state. If the plan
recommends the establishment of an incubator that would be
associated with a state university, the plan must provide for
the financial self-sufficiency of the incubator within 2
years. The review, and the plan if developed. must be
presented to the Leqislature bv Julv 1, 2000.
(2) For the purposes of this section, an information
technoloqy business incubator is a facility that allows new
businesses enqaqed in information technoloqy to increase their
probability of success throuqh sharinq needed equipment,
services, and facilities, inc1udinQ substantia11v all of the
followinq:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
counselinq.
Reception and meetinq areas.
Secretarial services.
Accountinq and bookkeepinq services.
Research libraries.
Onsite financial, manaqement, leqal,
and technical
(f) Flexible lease arranqements for flexible space.
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SB 1334
1 (q) Computer and word-processinq facilities.
2 (h) Office furniture rentals.
3 (i) Manaqement and entrepreneurial traininq proqrams.
4 Section 4. Development of an Internet-based system for
5 information technoloov industry promotion and workforce
6 recruitment.--
7 (1) The State Technoloov Office in the Executive
8 Office of the Governor shall facilitate efforts to ensure the
9 development and maintenance of a website that promotes and
10 markets the information technoloov industry in this state. The
11 website must be desiqned to inform the public concerninq the
12 scope of the information technoloc ~ndustrY in the state and
13 must also be desiqned to address the workforce needs of the
14 industry. The website must include, throuqh links or actual
15 content, information concerninq information technoloov
16 businesses in this state. includinq links to these businesses,
17 employment available at these businesses, and means by which a
18 iobseeker may post a resume on the website.
19 (2) The State Technoloov Office shall coordinate with
20 the Department of Manaqement Services, the Department of Labor
21 and Emplovment Security, and the Workforce Development Board
22 of Enterprise Florida. Inc., to ensure linkaqes, where
23 feasible and appropriate. to existinq iob-information websites
24 maintained by the state and its aqencies and to ensure that
25 information technoloov positions offered by the state and its
26 aqencies are posted on the information tecnnoloqy website.
27 Section 5. The sum of $ is appropriated for
28 fiscal year 2000-2001 from the General Reyenue Fund to the
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30 Governor to carry out the requirements of this act. Of this
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1 appropriation, the Governor shall reserve $ to implement
2 plans developed under this act.
3 Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
4 law.
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2 SENATE SUMlV'JARY
3 Relates to information technology. Requires the State
4 Technology Office in the Executive Office of the
5 Governor, together with the Information Service
6 Technology Development Task Force, to prepare a report
7 that explores the feasibility of and need for a public
8 Network Access Point in this state. Provides requirements
9 for the report. Requires the State Technology Office to
10 review and plan for the establishment of information
11 technology business "incubators" in this state.
12 Prescribes the components of such incubatow. Requires
13 the development and maintenance of a websi te for
14 information-technology-industry marketing and workforce
15 recruitment. Provides an appropriation.
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OFFICE OF THE MAYORj:?;)COA1M.ISSION
CITY OF MIAM~uB'~l\l~Hd 1.25
TO:
LARRY LEVY
CITY MANAGER
< , i... ~ -, ,
,,I t j I\".. '-
FROM:
NEISEN KASDIN\ \{-
MAYOR tJ
INTERNET COAST/MIAMI SITE
SUBJECT:
DATE:
03/09/00
The attached resolution from the Beacon Council recommends the City of Miami be the site for a
Network Access Point Internet facility. The proposal is for a facility to be built by a consortium of
private companies, which would secure Miami-Dade County and South Florida as the Internet
gateway to Latin America.
Please prepare and place a similar resolution on the March 15 City Commission agenda.
A.genda Item R l ""3""
Date 3-\S-OO