Relocation of Property Management Facilities in Peril

March 9, 2013


Mayor Matti Bower and Members of the
City of Miami Beach Commission
1700 Convention Center Drive
Miami Beach, Florida 33139

Item R7K – Relocation of Property Management Facility

Dear Mayor Bower and Commissioners:

At its meeting on March 4, 2013 the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association voted unanimously to oppose any change in plans adopted by the City Commission some five years ago that would delay removal of the Property Management Facility from Flamingo Park. We understand that this matter will be considered by the Commission at its meeting this Wednesday, as Item R7K, Commission Memorandum Attached .

The matter was heard and we thought recommended for discussion by the Commission Neighborhood’s Committee, Committee Memorandum Attached. Removal of these facilities from the Park has been a very high priority of our Association for many years. It makes no sense for these facilities to be located in our city’s central park.

Substantial discussions and analysis were undertaken in 2007 and 2008, involving both how to remove Property Management from Flamingo Park and also how to improve traffic, parking, congestion and the impact of towing operations in the Sunset Harbor Neighborhood. A carefully balanced solution was adopted with near unanimous agreement by both neighborhoods and by the City Commission in July 2008, as reflected in the Report from the Special City-wide Projects and Finance Committee, attached, of June 18, 2007. Proposed resolution involved purchase of Tremont Towing property, construction of a building for parking and retail and construction of an additional building for operation of the Property Maintenance Department, which would meet the needs of department operations, employee and department vehicle parking, reduced adverse towing operation impact, and importantly for Flaming removal of the Property Maintenance facilities from Flamingo Park.

Now, after almost five years of program implementation, after the City allocated and spent considerable funds in developing all required plans and having accomplished probably seventy-five percent of the adopted program, with the Tremont property purchased and towing operations reduced, with the parking and retail building number one having already been built, and with us on the threshold of the removal of Property Management Facilities from Flamingo Park……now, it is suggested that these facilities be relocated elsewhere, perhaps behind the Dade Boulevard Fire Station, perhaps in the Forty-First Street Neighborhood.

Clearly, this proposed re-re-location will entail substantial delay in the removal of Property Management facilities from Flamingo Park. Accordingly, we oppose this proposed change and urge the Mayor and Commissioners to oppose it as well.

Sincerely,

s/ Denis A. Russ

Denis A. Russ
For the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association

Denis Russ -- 305-672-4782 -- Denis@MiamiBeachCDC.org
Miami Beach Community Development Corporation
Since 1981 -- Building & Sustaining Community -- Unique, Vibrant, Diverse