CITY of MIAMI BEACH ~

Office of the City Manager ~

o Letter to Commission No.
2.
Z2...

David Dermer
and Members of the City

CO~

TO:Mayor

SUBJECT:

September 12, 2003

Jorge M.

O.r a

Gonzalez\~~City

Commission

Date:

Manager

WEEKLY UPDATE FROM: The purpose of this LTC is to provide the Mayor and Commission
with an update describing some of the areas the administration focused on during

the

weeks

8. 2003: Major Events Plan MEP)

( - As part of the
of September 1 and
representatives from the administration
Plan
(
s
Major
Events
MEP),
City'
coordinating city
met throughout the week to continue planning and
of
for
upcoming
The
various phases
services
events. MEP, consisting
of citywide planning and logistical implementation, attempts to ensure that all city services
are enhanced and members of the community are adequately informed. Among the events
be implementing its MEP are:MTV2 $
for which the City will
2 Bill Concert, featuring
and Method Man on September 22,
DMX,Ludicris
Jackie Gleason Theater; MTV
m.
at the
at 9:
00 p.
Latin
Herald Hunt, held on October
Music Video Awards on October 23;
City; and the Thanksgiving Day Parade, with date
26 throughout the
yet to be decided. The MEP was successful y implemented during Labor Day Weekend
held at the American Airlines
and the Latin Grammy' s,
beginning

with several associated events taking place

City. Filming in Miami Beach - Representatives from
the administration continue to facilitate various filming projects throughout our city.
Several productions, scheduled to film or in production throughout
September include: two Spanish language "telenovelas" including "Amor Descarado" airing on Telemundo
and Rebeca" airing on Univision; MTV' s reality dating show " Dismissed," with
October; ESPN2' s " SoBe
Miami Beach segments scheduled to air in
broadcasting live from Level nightclub on
Fight Night,"
September 9;Disney
from
the
broadcast
Channel' s La"
Loewes Hotel on
Cumbre"
Arena

on September 3

throughout the

of
music video featuring hip- hop artist "Too Short,"
September 10; filming
highlighting Flamingo Avenue residences and the 11 th Street Diner; Univision'
s commercial shoot for the Doritos" contest giveaway, featuring four Volkswagen Beetle' s on
on
based
" Sisco,"
the feature film "Out of Sight,"
our beach; ABC Television' s Karen
at
10: 00 p.
premiering
will
be
the
City
and
throughout
October 1
filmed

m.FX's

hit

show NipfTuck,"set in South

Beach, has

alongside Commissioner Smith and

City Attorney' s Office, met with R.
4 to
Donahue Peebles and his representatives on September
l
e
ase
connection
with
in
the
continue discussing further amendments to the
April 30, 2003 LOI. A term sheet agreed to by the parties was distributed via a
I,
Palm Hotel Negotiations members of the administration and the

Royal

Letter
to the Commission. Charter Review Board - Members of the administration, joined
by members of the public, addressed items pertinent to the renewal of the City'
charter on September 2. The process, undertaken every
s
10 years,is reviewing items including Commission powers, election runoff dates and district representation among others. An agenda, including a listing of
accepted issues, is posted on the internet, under Boards and Committees,
meeting
at
Charter Review Board.The next
is scheduled for May 6,
30
5:
p.m., in the Commission Chambers. Proposed
2004
Budget
I,
alongside representatives from the Finance Department and
FY
of
Management
and allocations
the Office
and Budget continued to finalize budget plans
throughout the week for the City' s 2004 Fiscal Year budget. Staff was
also on hand to discuss departmental plans during

the first public hearing on the budget, scheduled for September 4.

Fees -Members of the administration hosted a public workshop on
Building
3
September
aimed at informing the public and members of
communi
ty about recently proposed building permit fee increases. The
the development
workshop conveyed permit and inspection fee details for building, plumbing, electrical
and
mechanical fire

prevention work among others as well as anticipated technology enhancements.

consultant, HDR Engineering,
Modes of Rapid Transit Options -The city' s
Inc.,
participated in a special Commission meeting
on September 8
to discuss the selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative ( LPA). The Commission
approved the continuation of the Bay Link Transit Project into
the final Environmental Impact Statement/ Preliminary Engineering Phase of Study and designated the
streetcar mode as the optimal transit technology. A bidirectional loop
route was also designated, recommending a path which more effectively traverses
version of the Consultant' s report, as well as a
resolution and recommended map route, is available on the City' s website under
News, Baylink or in

hard

city. An electronic
of the

the
copy

copy format in the City Clerk' s

Office.
Beach
Major Events Planning meeting washeld
on September 9 to discuss the City's ongoing preparations for Art Basel/ Miami Beach. Representatives from the administration will continue meeting
and all
throughout the next several weeks to ensure that the City,
pertinent departments, are prepared for the event. Additional meetings will take place throughout the
month to finalize plans for this
Art Basel Miami

2003 - A

s Historic Preservation Board

September 9 to
Appropriateness request on

Fire Station No.

4 Members of
the

City'

a Certificate of
demolish the existing, historic fire station
and construct a new fire station
approved

in its place. Rehabilitation

administration hosted

located at 6860 Indian Creek

Drive

of Historic Buildings - Members of the

seminar on September 11 to discuss

community
property owners to rehabilitate post- war modern (
rental
apartment
buildings.
MiMo)
Focusing on North Beach properties, the free seminar
included an overview of the historic designation and listing process outlined by
the National Register of Historic Places ( NRHP) and emphasized the benefits
federal rehabilitation
such a designation including: 20%
derived from
credit;
valorem
county
property
tax
exemption;
federal
income tax
ad
income tax charitable deduction for fac; ade easement donation; and offstreet parking exemptions. With comments from Peter Bell,
Executive Director of
the Preservation Development Council and David Resnick, CPA and co-author of the
original HUD audit manual, discussion also centered on Florida building
incentives

available

to

Miami Beach" Civic

and life safety code interpretations. Participate
of
the
Week -Members
administration, alongside
representatives from the Neighborhood Services Department, continued finalizing details for
the
second
Beach" celebration; taking
annual " Participate Miami
place September 11- 17 at various locations throughout the city and
City Hall. The scheduled events provide several opportunities for the public
to volunteer, communicate and vote while
contributing to the enhancement of their
community. "Participate Miami Beach" serves as a weeklong pledge to civic
participation, honoring the courageous spirit of the American people while paying
tribute
to the lives lost on September 11,2001. A separate LTC
Participation

with

specifics about these

Major

Events

events has already been sent.FTAA

Members of the administration, alongside public safety and
continue to plan the City' s Major Events Plan ( MEP) for the

Plan

administration representatives

Conference.

upcoming FTAA
at

3:30 p.

plan to

update

m.in

An

MEP

the

will be

held on Friday, September 19

Room.In addition, I

City Manager' s Large Conference

and

brief each
of you
separately at a
meeting scheduled for early October. Emergency Preparedness & Recovery Plans - Representatives from the
Administration met
throughout the week to continue working on
the City' s Emergency Preparedness & Recovery Plans and to discuss team
In addition, representatives from
response should Hurricane Isabel threaten our city.
the administration visited the County' s Emergency Operations Center ( EOC) in west MiamiDade County
to coordinate a personnel move
to that
location should the need arise. Staff leaders for the Operations, Logistics, Administration,
Information and Planning, Police, and Fire functional areas will continue to
meet

to update and

share information

to

enhance the City'

our citywide emergency

s plan.Monitoring of Hurricane Isabel -Members of

reinforcing

communications and

planning efforts

level altered. Projected path information and

disseminated internally to all functional areas,
and consistent citywide response.

as

each condition and threat

updates were continuously

ensuring accurate communication
news

Beach Patrol - I met with representatives from the City' s Parks and Recreation
12 to discuss budget and
Department and Beach Patrol on September
department
needs
for
the 2004
gui
d
el
i
n
es
as
well
staffing
as

Celebration - An employee
volunteer planning committee is coordinating
employee luncheon
employee
celebration luncheon will take place
Hispanic
Heritage
The
commemorating
Month.
on
Friday, October 10 and is part of a nationwide tribute highlighting
the Hispanic community.
the history and achievements of members of
Details regarding the event will be posted on the employee intranet and will be
updated as new
information becomes available. In addition, the City'
s Hispanic Affairs Committee, in partnership with the City, will be hosting
6:
on
a reception and celebration of Hispanic Heritage
Monday, October 13 at
00 p.
m.
in the 4th Floor Gallery. Three awards will be given
worthy
r
e
ci
pients who have made positive contributions
to
fiscal year. Hispanic Heritage

Month

an

to

Miami

Hispanic community. Tenant Rights

and
Responsibilities - Members of the administration, alongside Legal Services of Greater Miami,Inc.,
are coordinating a public workshop aimed at informing tenants about their rental rights
and responsibilities as well as
where to seek additional legal assistance.
The workshop
is scheduled for September 15,beginning at 6:

the

30 p.m.in
or need
any ad it onal

Beach

the

First

Floor Conference Room. If

information,

please feel

free to

contact me. JMG/ri/

you have any

questions