City Manager Briefing Report January 2010 Eric M. Soroka, ICMA-CM City Manager This report is prepared in order to inform the City Commission of the status of major projects and ongoing matters. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. 2010 Census The City has established a Complete Count Committee consisting of a representative of each condominium or property association. The Committee will be used in promoting and publicizing the importance of the census and participation to ensure an accurate 2010 census count. The promotional material is in the process of being printed and will be distributed shortly. Census questionnaires will be delivered to each household in March 2010. Recovery Act Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Application The City has filed a grant application on December 14, 2009 with the Department of Energy for $4,217,000 for funding for the following components: Solar energy retrofit for Community Recreation Center and Charter School. Retrofit City Streetlights with LED or Induction Lighting. Community Outreach Programming- Go Green Efforts. Energy Audit for all City Buildings. The grant review and eligibility should be determined by March 2010. Arts and Cultural Center Note: Construction updates appear under the Major Capital Improvement Projects section in this report. Several meetings were held with PACA this month to continue to discuss marketing, sponsorships, programming and operational procedures. An agreement for PACA to provide concession services at the AACC is being prepared. City Manager Briefing Report
The City will be responsible for valet services and janitorial services. The Honor Roll Founder and Walk of Arts programs are available on the website and have generated a lot of interest. Registration is underway for the Summer Theater Camp. Plans are also underway to organize the opening event in October 2010. Legislative Program and Priorities. The proposed 2009 Legislative Program and Priorities was reviewed at the January Workshop Meeting and is scheduled for adoption at the February Commission Meeting. Amended Mall Police Services Agreement This item was reviewed at the January Workshop Meeting and is scheduled for approval at the February Commission meeting. The Agreement provides for two additional police officers to be placed at the Mall at their cost. Police Department Statistics & Highlights Monthly Crime Overview Crimes from November 2009 to December 2009 that increased: Robbery up by 3; Simple Assault up by 2; Aggravated Assault up by 2; Larceny up by 25; Theft auto up by 5. Crimes from November 2009 to December 2009 that decreased: Sex Crimes down by 2; Burglary down by 2. 200 180 160 140 120 November December 100 80 60 40 20 0 Robbery Aggravated Assault Sex Crimes Simple Assault Burglary Larceny Theft-Auto City Manager Briefing Report 2
Calls For Service 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 December January February March April May June July August Septem ber October November December Calls for service for December 2008 compared to December 2009 decreased by 89. Top Five Traffic Citations Seat Belt - Violations Improper Turn Left Turn 218 170 License Suspended 138 Improper Change of Lane/Course 110 Ran Red Light 102 Total Traffic Citations 1966 Total Parking Citations 297 The Police Officer for the month was Robert Myers. City Manager Briefing Report 3
Aventura City of Excellence School Highlights Aventura City of Excellence School and the Aventura Community Recreation Center are the City s drop off sites for relief items and monetary donations to aid Haitian families that have suffered as a result of the recent disaster. ACES Student Government Association has been leading this effort. Students and speakers alike enjoyed ACES 6 th annual Career Day. Students were inspired to learn about a variety of career options including banking, law, medicine, party planning, healthcare services, technology, marketing and much more. Speakers enjoyed a special breakfast and an opportunity to see ACES students dressed in their favorite career outfits. ACES first annual Holiday Bazaar was a huge success. The families, students and community came together to work on and support the school fundraiser. The Bazaar was held at the Aventura Community Recreation Center. ACES Parents attended a math, reading and science FCAT evening in January to receive valuable information that can be utilized to help their children to prepare and succeed for the FCAT Test in March. In addition to taking the Sunshine State Standards FCAT in reading and mathematics, students in grades 5 and 8 are responsible for demonstrating mastery of standards in science. ACES is offering 5 th and 8 th grade students additional free enhanced science instruction before and after school twice weekly until FCAT. ACES raised $1,535 for January s Diabetes Week Fundraiser. Middle School Art students created original books. Students then read and acted out the stories to the delight of ACES elementary students. Ives Dairy Road / US 1 Intersection Improvements The study recommended the creation of an additional southbound turn lane and signage improvements to expedite traffic. The City Commission agreed with the recommendations and FDOT had been formally requested to expedite the project. FDOT has agreed to fund the project and has scheduled it for bid in June 2011. Pending Development Projects Submitted for Review Island Estates Phase II Tentative Plat Biscayne Cove guard house, controlled entry and entrance improvements Aventura Optima -21420 Biscayne Boulevard Professional Office Building County Library Branch Building Aventura Marina Parking Area, NE 34 Avenue City Manager Briefing Report 4
Carwash at BP Station, 21005 Biscayne Boulevard Shuttle Bus Service Monthly Ridership Summary Blue Route 4,281 18.43% Red Route 3,076 13.24% Green Route 6,477 27.89% Purple Route 4,211 18.13% Yellow Route 5,182 22.31% Monthly Ridership 23,227 This is a record. 223,000 passengers rode the City bus system in the 2009 Calendar year. Biscayne Boulevard City Property On Hold Major Capital Improvement Projects Status Report NE 199th Street /Country Club Drive Turning Lane Complete Veterans Park Restroom Additions Complete Biscayne Boulevard Intersection Traffic Improvements Phase II Williams Island Road The bid was awarded at the January Commission Meeting and construction should begin in March. Yacht Club Way Bridge Repairs The bid was awarded at the January Commission Meeting and construction should begin in February. Biscayne Boulevard Intersection Traffic Improvements Phase II NE 191st Street City Manager Briefing Report 5
Project was advertised for bids on January 10, 2010 with a bid opening scheduled for February 10, 2010. Don Soffer Exercise Trail Improvements Project Bids were opened on January 6, 2010. The award is scheduled at the February Commission Meeting. Aventura Arts & Cultural Center (AACC) Window frame work install has begun, painting has begun on both the exterior and interior areas of the building, drop ceiling framing is complete in the rooms back of stage and drywall install continues throughout. Chilled water lines have been run from the chiller to the mechanical room. Final grading work on the site is near completion. The contractor has dried in the roofing and is now trimming out connections to walls. The loading dock at the south end of the building will be poured by the end of the month. The exterior Aventura Arts and Cultural Center signage layout is being finalized. Comcast has installed required conduit for service to the building. We are still waiting for AT&T. The Arts in Public Places Advisory Committee chosen artist has selected the Terrazzo colors and final costs between the artist and terrazzo contractor are being finalized. City Manager Briefing Report 6
Hospital District Asphalt Overlay To save the time required to advertise for bids, it was decided to first obtain costs to construct the project from the five (5) contractors recently awarded the Maintenance and Repair for City Roads and Streets contract. Proposals will then be reviewed and if found to be acceptable, the bid process will no longer be needed. City Manager Briefing Report 7