Community Newspapers SERVING MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SINCE 1958
JUNE 14, 2010
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SIB SUN
Page 4
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MARINE LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM
Page 10
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SIB COMMUNITY SCHOOL HONORED
Page 12
SUN
S unny I sles B each ‘A Sunny Makeover’
S
BY BARI AUERBACH
unny Isles Beach recently celebrated the city’s 13th anniversary accompanied by all the excitement of the Offshore Powerboat Challenge and gala festivities at Samson Oceanfront Park…But just before all the big parties started, a Miami Herald front page story summed up the swift success of Sunny Isles Beach in just one impressive passage: “[In neighboring Golden Beach], some homes waited for buyers as big-buck spenders opted instead for a villa in Fisher Island or ‘egads’ something inconceivable a few years before – next door in booming Sunny Isles Beach.” While the cost of Golden Beach’s threeyear “makeover” was $25 million, this fiscal year alone (‘09-2010), the Sunny Isles Beach Capital Improvement Project fund totaled $18,978,950 (comprised primarily of fund balance reserves, grants and donations). Since the city incorporated in 1997, sweeping beautification and capital improvements have earned Sunny Isles Beach the moniker Florida’s Riviera – and today, “the best keeps getting better” thanks to visionary members of the City Commission committed to ensuring residents enjoy the highest quality of life. “In the six years [I’ve served] as Mayor of Sunny Isles Beach, property values have risen from $2.5 billion to $6.0 billion while the tax millage dropped to 2.65 from 3.35 within that
same period,” explains Mayor Norman S. Edelcup. “Additionally, we are a fiscally sound city with $10 million in reserves equal to about 50 percent of one year’s operating budget. “Sunny Isles Beach is a young vibrant city. We’ve built a new K-8 Community School in partnership with Miami-Dade County; doubled the number of parks from four to eight and recently acquired land to create two additional parks on the south side of our city.” City Manager Rick Conner’s recent budget message highlights the “sunny makeover” the city continues to experience and predicts a bright future unfolding as the following milestones are reached: • Beautification, parks and open-space enhancements; a solid infrastructure, especially in the area of public facilities, transportation, drainage and undergrounding of utilities; • An economically functional, pedestrianfriendly, world-class streetscape on Collins Avenue and along Sunny Isles Boulevard; • A professional, friendly and efficient local government that provides great city amenities and services; • Retail, restaurants and other private sector elements that match changing demographics of an upscale community; • An excellent school system to attract younger families. The city’s Capital Improvements Plan for this fiscal year encompasses initiatives including:
VOL. 28, NO. 24
End of Year Program
SEE STORY AND PHOTOS ON PAGE 2
––––––––––––– See MAKEOVER, page 2
For information about events, call 305-792-1706 (See page 2)