Loading...
96-22027 RESO RESOLUTION NO. 96-22027 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CALLING FOR A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE BEST POSSIBLE SITE FOR A REGIONAL PUBLIC LIBRARY TO BE LOCATED IN MIAMI BEACH. WHEREAS, one of the benefits resulting from the transaction between the City of Miami Beach and Metropolitan Dade County (County) involving the Performing Arts Center is the agreement by the County to establish and operate a Regional Library in Miami Beach; and WHEREAS, the County will provide $11.5 million dollars to the City on July 1, 1996, for the purpose of building said Regional Library; and WHEREAS, it is the City's desire that the Regional Library should be a showpiece in its physical appearance and that its equipment, programs and operations should be consistent with the latest technological advances and the most desirable practices and procedures; and WHEREAS, a report entitled "Library Site Location Analysis Report" (Report) has been prepared by the Administration, which evaluates eleven (11) potential site locations, using criteria established by the Metropolitan-Dade County Library System; and WHEREAS, on Thursday, June 7, 1996 , Capital Improvements/Finance Committee and Committee was held to discuss the Report; a meeting of the Joint Land Use and Development and WHEREAS, the Joint Capital Improvements/Finance Committee and Land Use and Development Committee made a motion to refer the Report to the Mayor and City Commission and to set a date to hold a public hearing to consider the location for a Regional Library in Miami Beach. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that a public hearing to consider the location of a Regional Library in Miami Beach, is hereby called to be held before the Mayor and City Commission in their Chambers on the Third Floor of City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida on Wednesday, September 11. 1996 beginning at 5:00 P.M., and the City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to publish appropriate Public Notice of the said Public Hearing in a newspaper of Miami Beach, at which time and place all interested parties will be heard. PASSED and ADOPTED this 19th day 0 FORM APPROVf:D LEGAL DEP- ...... A~E:~.\- p Mc.~ CITY CLERK By Date C -1---1'.::26 CITY OF MIAMI BEACH CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH FLORIDA 33139 COMMISSION MEMORANDUM NO. 355 -q L, TO: Mayor Seymour Gelber and Members of the City Commission DATE: June 19, 1996 FROM: Jose Garcia-Pedrosa If.! COy Manager II!__ A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CALLING FOR A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE BEST POSSIBLE SITE FOR A REGIONAL PUBLIC LIBRARY TO BE LOCATED IN MIAMI BEACH. SUBJECT: ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION The Administration recommends approving the Resolution setting a public hearing on Wednesday. July 17. 1996 at 2:15 P.M., in the City Commission Chambers of the City of Miami Beach, Florida, to consider the best possible site for a Regional Public Library. BACKGROUND One of the benefits flowing to the City of Miami Beach as a result of the transaction involving the Performing Arts Center is the agreement by Metropolitan Dade County to establish and operate a Regional Library in Miami Beach. To that effect, the County will provide 11.5 million dollars to the City on July I, 1996, and will agree to operate the Regional Library, at the County's expense, once the project has been completed. The City, in turn, will be required to provide the land. In addition, the terms of the agreement give to the City of Miami Beach the right to select the location of the Regional Library and to design and build it. It is the Administration's position that this Regional Library should be a showpiece in its physical appearance and that its equipment, programs, and operations should be consistent with the latest technological advances and the most desirable practices and procedures. We will be propo9ing that the AGENDA ITEM (l'lS ~-I!3 -9 10 DATE Regional Library be extensively computerized, that it have ample meeting and conference space, and that it include audio-visual, and interactive systems, rooms especially designed for children and for children's programs, and all other amenities and facilities available. We will also be proposing that there be a design competition to ensure that the Regional Library will be an architectural gem. In short, the Administration believes that this unique opportunity should result in the creation of a facility that will set a new standard that others will admire and seek to emulate. ANALYSIS The "Library Site Location Analysis Report" and materials constitute the Administration's evaluation of 11 sites as possible locations for the Regional Library, done in accordance with the applicable criteria received from Metropolitan-Dade County Library Systems. Also included are materials pertaining to those criteria (location maps, bus routes, demographic information, photographs, and the like), as well as correspondence from the Dade County Director of Libraries setting forth the results of the evaluation by the Director and her staff of the 11 sites previously mentioned. This information was presented by the Administration at a meeting of the Joint Capital Improvements/Finance Committee and Land Use and Development Committee on Thursday, June 7, 1996. The Joint Committees made a motion to refer the report to the full City Commission and to set a date to hold a public hearing to consider the location for a Regional Library in Miami Beach. Taken as a whole, these materials comprehensively evaluate each site and form the basis for determining the optimal location for the proposed facility. Of considerable importance is the distinction between properties currently owned by the City and properties not owned by the City, since any of the latter would have to be acquired using some of the 11.5 million dollars that would otherwise go strictly for construction of the building and for its contents. As is evident from the report of the Dade County Library Director, sites number 2 (at Collins Park) and 10 (block between Collins and Harding Avenues and 72nd and 73rd Streets) are the sites preferred by the County's library staff. However, in analyzing site 2, the County staff was given a much larger acreage (2.8 acres) than will likely be available if some portion of Collins Park is to be preserved; this will likely reduce the acreage by approximately * one-half, rendering the site too small by th~ criteria of the County library staff as applied to other sites. That fact, together with the following additional factors, lead us not to recommend site 2: . The original design of Collins Park, providing for an unimpeded view of the water from the Bass Museum for the full width of the park should be preserved. (At its last meeting, the Board of Trustees of the Bass Museum voted unanimously to oppose the use of any portion of Collins Park for a Regional Library) . . The use of Collins Park for the new Regional Library may violate the City' s Comprehensive Plan and contradicts the City Center/Historic Convention Village Redevelopment and Revitalization Area Plan which shows this site as being open space. . The area currently lacks parking, a condition which the addition of a Regional Library will vastly aggravate. . The center of population, particularly as it relates to children, is not coincident with site 2. . The needs of the residents of the area surrounding site 2 will be met by the relocation of a branch library in the Civic Center/Convention Center area. By contrast, the following factors have led us to conclude that site 10 (block between Collins and Harding Avenues and between 72nd and 73rd Streets) is the optimal site: . The area commands a presence like no other area, having a park (North Shore Park) to the west and an open area (the site of the band shell) to the east, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. . The acreage is ample for the building and for parking sufficient for the library and for the surrounding area; children would not be required to cross any street. . The site has ample current bus access and vehicular traffic in the immediate vicinity. . The site is close to large and increasing population centers, especially with respect to children. 3 . The site is closer to the geographic center of a regional library for all of the areas east of the intercoastal waterway, not just including Miami Beach. . The location would serve as an anchor for the further development and enhancement of the North Beach area. . The site is available for immediate development and would not interfere with the use of any other libraries or facilities during the construction period. RECOMMENDATIONS The Administration recommends approving the Resolution setting a public hearing on Wednesday. July 17. 1996 at 2:15 P.M., in the City Commission Chambers of the City of Miami Beach, Florida, to consider the best possible site for a Regional Public Library in Miami Beach, and allowing for a minimum of seven days to notify concerned and interested parties. It is also the recommendation of the Administration that pending the outcome of the public hearing, that site 10 be selected as the site for the new Regional Library, and that the branch library currently located just north of that site be moved to a site located in the Civic Center/Convention Center area so as to serve the needs of the persons who reside near the branch library currently located on Collins Park. JGP/HM:kob Attachment 4