A single step. One foot in front of the other. That’s how journeys begin – with the first, intentional action. Forget the length or the difficulty of the trip ahead; just set out. For Coral Springs, the journey that began more than 50 years ago started with a vision and a roadmap to create a community that attracts, nurtures, and keeps residents and businesses engaged. These days, we are closer to another mile marker: building a vibrant Downtown that draws us together. We’ve made progress, walked forward, one small step at a time, from rendering to reality.
A MESSAGE FROM YOUR CITY COMMISSION AND CITY MANAGER Last year’s momentum is this year’s progress. Where we had movement toward our goals, we now show results. It’s a delightful difference – when swirling dust transforms into a solid structure, something visible, tangible and measurable appears. One of our country’s wise Founding Fathers put it this way: “Without continual growth and progress, improvement, achievement and success have no meaning.” Each year in this State of the City report, we look at our accomplishments and give them meaning. This act of accountability enables us to be responsive to the community’s expectations. Success for us is not measured in sales, but in providing quality services, such as shaving time off pothole repairs, or getting help to an accident more quickly. It’s progress with a purpose. So, how did we do? With the City nearly built out, reinvention, redevelopment and recruitment of new businesses is critical to our vitality. Working with the new Economic Development Office, Community Redevelopment Agency and the Chamber of Commerce, we’ve injected new life into our commercial sector. New or revitalized businesses not only provide employment and services to the community, but contribute to a stable tax base. This year, we’ve added million-dollar companies to the Corporate Park like Hoerbiger Corporation and Lupin Pharmaceuticals.
You just have to drive around town to see many businesses have made Coral Springs home. Our Development Services Department issued 391 new business licenses, handled 78 applications for Business Tax Amnesty (a program we have extended through June of this year), and reviewed more building plans this year than last. Retailers have popped up across the City, like Total Wine and SteinMart. Building plans for significant commercial properties have been submitted or approved for the reimagined Country Club of Coral Springs, an updated Regal Cinemas Magnolia and more. The Sample Road McDonald’s, for example, has taken on a whole new look, revitalizing one of the oldest corners of the City. The 13-foot-tall “Beyond” glass sculpture at the heart of the new ArtWalk quite literally illuminates the first completed initiative in the Downtown Development project. This pedestrian-friendly area will host many community events, starting with the new Sunday Farmers’ Market. The Municipal Complex is also moving along, with construction drawings completed and ready to break ground in early 2016. Beautification programs, clean-ups, landscaping, signage and parks upgrades are all part of keeping the community as attractive as possible, often with the help of our many volunteers. More good news: the foreclosure rate continues to decline in Coral Springs, improving the housing outlook. In case any new neighbors aren’t aware of City codes, staff has created a handy Resident Guide covering the most-asked-about issues.
John J. Hearn
City Attorney
Dan Daley
Vice Mayor
Larry Vignola
Commissioner
Skip Campbell Mayor
We care about people, not just paint colors, so we have a long list of accomplishments that focus on a family-friendly and active, healthy community. You can read more inside about the seasonal School Resource Officer program providing coverage at each elementary school. We have also highlighted the exciting Mobile Integrated Healthcare program, as well as the Community Paramedics program that takes aim at reducing transports and hospitalizations for chronically ill residents. Prevention is a key element of safety, so we offered numerous courses and community events to raise awareness among parents, children and seniors. Speaking of events, we certainly make use of our beautiful parks and facilities, hosting enough activities to keep families busy nearly every week. Our Aquatic Complex remains one of the most heavily-used facilities in the City, with more than 600,000 visitors annually, and Olympic athletes and college teams using the Complex as a training facility. We’ve made a special effort to engage our young residents, with a Teen Political Forum that drew more than 1,700 attendees; a Video Game Challenge with partner Best Buy; a Teen Cook-off and many other fun activities. Families visited the Haunted House in droves, came downtown for our Star Wars-themed Holiday Parade and Downtown in December, and supported many multicultural festivities. It’s nearly impossible to capture all of the year’s accomplishments, but taken together, they add up to an innovative, high-performing City organization. That’s not just our own pride speaking: Coral Springs was named one
Lou Cimaglia
Commissioner
Joy Carter
Commissioner
Erdal Dönmez
City Manager
of the “Top Workplaces” in South Florida by the Sun Sentinel. Our internal surveys show that employee satisfaction remains high at 93%, topped only by customer satisfaction at 95%. The markets think we’re solid, too, with a confirmation of our AAA bond credit rating from Fitch, along with the AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s, that reinforces our reputation as a well-run municipality. Among the projects that demonstrate our performance are the successful renegotiation of a five-year contract with the City of Parkland to provide Fire/EMS services; completion of a $7.5 million Water Plant improvement project; and the design of a potable water interconnect system with the City of Coconut Creek. The General Obligation Bond projects approved by our residents in November 2014 are well underway. In May, we installed new radio and communications equipment, transitioning the outdated analog system to a fully-digital P25 platform, improving the radio coverage and ensuring our police officers and firefighters have GPS capability to keep them safe. This is the first of the projects to see completion. For more updates, see our special section at the back of this report. It was Ben Franklin who penned the thought about progress, and why it’s important to keep growing and moving ahead, and we couldn’t agree more. Working with City staff and volunteers, our role is to help ensure we’re on the right path, that we make excellent progress in truly becoming the City that has “Everything Under the Sun.”
To read about the City’s Business Plan initiatives, visit CoralSprings.org/budget.
A FAMILY-FRIENDLY COMMUNITY
Families make memories at City events
Community paramedics close the gap
Thousands of families came out to the newly built ArtWalk and enjoyed a variety of events, including the ArtWalk Grand Opening and Downtown in December. In addition, the City hosted other free family-friendly events throughout the year, such as Family Fun Day and Car Show, WorldFest and our annual Fourth of July Celebration.
Under a new program to assist elderly and chronically ill patients, Fire/EMS are providing helping hands and relieving the burden on 911 calls for non-emergency care. They guide patients to much-needed social resources and alternative medical services.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES Fiscal Year 2015
Goal
Actual
City crime rate (crimes per 100,000 residents, calendar year 2014) 2,600 2,171 Resident rating of City efforts to prevent crime (Resident Survey 2015) 92% 94% Resident rating of City government for respecting religious and ethnic diversity (Resident Survey 2015) 94% 98% Rating of quality of life (Resident Survey 2015) 96% 96% Number of students attending classes at Broward College Coral Springs Academic Center 4,000 5,625 Coral Springs Charter School graduation rate 95% 99.5% Coral Springs Charter School’s grade (per FDOE) A A Injury accidents at or near 15 major intersections in the City 200 133
Future voters up for debate So many students – about 1,700 – came for the Teen Political Forum. It was the largest gathering in the event’s nine-year history, and an encouraging sign that tomorrow’s leaders care about today’s issues.
A new home for Safety Town Each year, Coral Springs kindergarten students attend Safety Town – to learn important and valuable lessons including fire safety, pedestrian and bicycle safety, how to cross the street safely, stranger danger and more. In 2014, voters approved a General Obligation Bond to help offset the cost of replacing the 18-year-old Safety Town trailer at Kiwanis Park with a permanent building. In January 2016, the City broke ground and the building is expected to be completed by June 2016.
Mayors’ Chess Challenge The City held its first Mayors’ Chess Challenge last year and it was well received among chess aficionados. Mayors from throughout Broward County and students from our schools joined Mayor Skip Campbell for chess matches, all to promote the scholastic and social benefits of the game. The event was free and open to all skill levels, and was held for the second time in January 2016.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument unveiled After 26 years of honoring Dr. King, the Coral Springs MLK Monument Committee unveiled the magnificent Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument. The Monument, located at the Northwest Regional Library, is the first of its kind in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, and a place to celebrate diversity and equality.
A THRIVING BUSINESS COMMUNITY
Downtown progress on display
Economic Development takes off
With a crowd-pleasing grand opening, the ArtWalk became the first Downtown Coral Springs project to be completed. Next up: the Municipal Complex. Design development is done, and construction drawings are also complete. The Complex is expected to break ground in early 2016.
It didn’t take long for the new Economic Development Office to make its mark. An aggressive outreach program successfully recruited Hoerbiger Corporation and Lupin Pharmaceuticals. Together, they deliver a capital investment of $65 million and 465 new jobs.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES Fiscal Year 2015
Business rating of the image of the City (Business Survey 2014) Net new taxable value as % of total taxable assessed value (BCPA) Coral Springs’ June unemployment rate Retail vacancy rate
Goal
Actual
96% 96% 0.76% 0.19% below FL avg. of 5.6% 5.0% 9% 8.6%
Better real estate outlook Residential foreclosure actions continue to drop and home property values are rebounding. Already, significant commercial projects are now open, including a renovated Regal Cinemas Magnolia, as well as a new Total Wine, SteinMart, CVS Pharmacy and many more.
Local business gets a boost The Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce partnered with the City to offer a Business Academy to support small businesses. To help ensure their safety, Fire staff has conducted friendly walk-throughs with business owners.
Realtors’ Summit In order to promote the City and foster economic growth, the Economic Development Office hosted a Realtors’ Summit to ensure the real estate community has all the information it needs to adequately market the City of Coral Springs. This newly formed alliance between the City and commercial brokers will help share the City’s Economic Development Strategic Plan and solicit input on how to best reach new businesses.
Farmers’ Market Stroll along the ArtWalk Sunday mornings and enjoy our new and improved Farmers’ Market, which kicked off this past Fall. There is something for everyone to enjoy, with more than 50 vendors selling fresh and organic produce, herbs, flowers, delicious breads, baked goods, as well as a variety of gourmet foods. The Market runs the second and fourth Sunday through May from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
AN ACTIVE, HEALTHY COMMUNITY
Staying forever young
Healthcare takes the high road
The City just made this a little easier, adding more senior activities like driving safety courses as well as a renewed investment in the Coral Springs Senior Center at Sartory Hall. The annual Senior Health Fair and our “Forever Young� newsletter helps reach our senior population with the information that matters most to them.
The City will partner with a local healthcare provider for the innovative Fire/EMS Mobile Integrated Healthcare Program. A modified ambulance, to be based at Station 80, will offer a mobile exam room staffed with a specially-trained nurse practitioner and a City paramedic.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES Fiscal Year 2015
Resident rating of appearance of Parks and Recreation facilities (Resident Survey 2015) Youth volunteer service hours Athletic league participation Sports Commission: Number of room nights (hosted 15 events, within 85% of goal) Number of riders on intracity bus routes
Goal
Actual
96% 97% 18,000 17,920 8,100 8,713 4,000 3,404 90,000 85,208
Downtown Pathway The Downtown Pathway will improve access to our new and vibrant Downtown area along Ben Geiger and Coral Hills Drives. This pathway is suitable for pedestrians and bicyclists with direct access to local social service agencies, schools, places of worship, and medical facilities. The 8-foot-wide concrete sidewalk includes native landscaping, pedestrian lighting, and seating areas.
Social safety The City’s weekly safety messages via social media have been reaching residents with reminders about fire safety, smoke detector maintenance, storm updates and other ways to stay safe and healthy.
Race toward wellness Here at the City, we’re all about staying fit and healthy. Each year, the City sponsors the Half Marathon and Race for Women’s Wellness 5K, which continues to grow in numbers annually. We also host the Holiday Parade Mile Run each December.
Good sports Pickle ball made its debut at Riverside Park, with two new courts. That’s not the only improvement made to City parks. Tennis courts, baseball fields and soccer fields all got facelifts, along with the Coral Springs Gymnasium. As usual, our parks hosted meets, games, tournaments, recitals and all-around fun activities throughout the year.
Police promote healthy living The Coral Springs Police Department focused on pedestrian and bicycle safety this past year. They encouraged students to bike ride and walk to school to promote healthy activity, and also provided free helmets to students. In addition, the Traffic Unit conducted an informational safety wave to ensure residents travel safely on our streets and major roadways.
AN ATTRACTIVE COMMUNITY
Making a grand entrance
Waste not
The Coral Springs Aquatic Complex welcomes the international community, so it deserved a fresh look. It got one this year, with a new entrance and parking lot in the northeast end of the property.
Crews installed new landscaping near the Waste Transfer Station, which has been hosting monthly hazardous waste collections. So far, nearly 22,500 lbs. of dangerous materials that could have been on City streets, in waterways or sewer systems have been collected.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES Fiscal Year 2015
Ratings of litter collection on City streets (Resident Survey 2015) Ratings of City efforts at maintaining quality of neighborhoods (Resident Survey 2015) Fuel consumed by City operations (diesel and unleaded) Pounds of recycled materials per capita
Goal
Actual
— 87% 85% 84% 400,000 390,933 110 124.6
Code lien amnesty Applications for code lien amnesty more than doubled this year – 386 versus 166 in 2014. The program enables home owners to apply online for a fine cost reduction.
Love Where You Live “Keep Coral Springs Beautiful” volunteer teams donated 880 hours to collect 900 lbs. of trash and 350 lbs. of recyclable materials. City staff pitched in and removed litter from 159 miles of roadways. To keep this mess in check, a superhero-themed public service campaign kicked off to encourage folks to do their part asking residents to “Love Where You Live.”
Up to code Homes in disrepair can affect entire neighborhoods. Ten income-eligible applicants were approved for assistance for a City home repair program; five properties have been maintained or improved to date. To help other residents comply with City codes, a new booklet details topics such as paint colors, parking and more.
Let there be light University Drive now looks a little brighter, with a pilot program that installed LED lights on five poles. The goal is to improve visibility, enhance quality of life and save energy.
AN INNOVATIVE, HIGH-PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
Bond rating affirmed
Top of the charts
Fitch Ratings has once again re-affirmed the City’s AAA bond rating, the highest possible. With this rating, along with a AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s, the City demonstrates an exceptional degree of creditworthiness and can easily meet its financial obligations, while receiving low interest rates on loans.
Coral Springs made the “Top Workplaces 2015” list for South Florida, determined by the Sun Sentinel. This seems to mirror the 93% employee satisfaction rate the City’s internal survey found. Customer service satisfaction among residents remains strong, too, at 95%.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES Fiscal Year 2015
Satisfaction ratings with City communications (Resident Survey 2015) Employee satisfaction rating (Employee Survey) Maintain Bond Ratings: S&P AAA, Fitch AAA, Moody’s Aa1 Rating of value for tax dollars and fees (Resident Survey 2015) Ratings of customer service (Resident Survey 2015)
Goal
Actual
95% 94% 92% 93% Two AAA Two AAA 80% 87% 95% 95%
Parkland contract renewed With a new five-year Fire/EMS contract, the City of Parkland agreed to keep Coral Springs serving their city. To show our strengthened relationship, uniforms and equipment will bear the names of both cities.
Protecting school children A seasonal School Resource Officer program was implemented with six additional sworn officers. They team up with full-time officers for full coverage at each elementary school.
New Resident Guide Moving to a new town can be overwhelming, so to help residents get settled in, the City put together a printed Resident Guide with useful information about Coral Springs and the services we provide. The guide is mailed to new residents and includes important phone numbers, a list of facilities and parks, government services, community programs, events and visitor information.
20th year of Slice Our Slice of the Springs neighborhood meetings celebrated its 20th year of servicing residents. At these meetings, residents have a chance to meet City staff and discuss relevant issues or concerns affecting their neighborhoods.
Connecting with our residents To better connect with our residents, the City has leveraged all of the communication outlets available. In an effort to deliver information to City residents in real-time and create a two-way conversation, the City increased its presence on social media, more than doubling its following on Facebook and other social media outlets in the past year alone. In January 2015, the City also launched its new website at CoralSprings.org – offering easier navigation, as well as informative content.
GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND UPDATES
G.O. means go! In the November 2014 election, nearly 72% of voters approved the use of General Obligation (G.O.) bonds to fund important Public Safety projects. The City borrowed $12.45 million at a fixed interest rate of 2.40% with a 15-year term. Upgraded Public Safety Communications ($5.5 million) A state-of-the-art digital radio system now protects not only the community but police officers and firefighters as well, with GPS capability and enhanced radio coverage. This fully-digital P25 system replaced a legacy analog system. The transition began on May 20, 2015 and it is fully operational today. NO.
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4550 N Rock Island Road, Coral Springs, FL 33065 11501 Lakeview Drive, Coral Coral Springs, Springs, FL FL 33071 33071 300 Coral Ridge Drive, 4316 WEST BROWARD BOULEVARD PLANTATION, FLORIDA 33317 PHONE: (954) 792-8525 FAX: (954) 337-0359 AA #26000685 WWW.CPZARCHITECTS.COM
CPZ ARCHITECTS, I NC.
City of Coral Springs Stations 43 & 95 95 City of CoralFire Springs Fire Station
CONSULTANT:
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PZ Rebuilding Fire Stations ($5.1 million) Nicknames like “The Rock” (Station 43) and “Southwest Express” (Station 95) inspire confidence in the Fire Department’s ability to protect life and property. Soon, these two stations will have upgraded facilities to help City staff do their jobs RE-01 even better. The project has completed the Development Review Committee (DRC) process, and bidding for selection of a general contractor began in January 2016. ........................................................................................................ C:\Users\cpzuser08\Documents\1354b Fire Station 95_CD_CENTRAL_CPZuser08.rvt .................................................................. 10/29/2015 2:11:52 PM
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DATE: 10/28/15 SCALE:
CHRIS P. ZIMMERMAN, A.I.A. REGISTERED ARCHITECT NO. 10,995 STATE OF FLORIDA
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Renovating the Crime Scene Investigation Building ($950,000) CSI: Coral Springs may never be a TV show, but the Police Department’s Crime Scene Investigations Unit is famously good at their work, processing over 1,000 crime scenes a year. The renovated building will house the six crime scene technicians, a crime lab technician and a latent fingerprint examiner. The Development Review Committee process is now complete, and a general contractor was selected in January 2016.
Creating a permanent Safety Town Building ($900,000) For more than 28 years, the nationally recognized Safety Town program has been giving the City’s 4-to-6-year-olds a fun, educational and very valuable experience. The trailer in Kiwanis Park used for this program was showing its age. The G.O. bond funds will help the team continue to promote personal, pedestrian, bicycle, canal, animal and fire safety, as well as host the summer camps in a new secure, permanent facility. Construction has been underway since January 2016. For additional updates, visit CoralSprings.org/yourcityatwork.
MUNICIPAL COMPLEX In 2014, the City Commission discussed the plans for the Municipal Complex and agreed that it should be constructed in the Downtown Coral Springs area. Site designs and architectural plans were drawn in 2015. Groundbreaking is scheduled for early 2016 and the Municipal Complex is expected to be completed in 2017. City officials are dedicated to building a Downtown for everyone. The Municipal Complex will catalyze downtown redevelopment and create a sense of place for residents and commercial business owners. We look forward to what the future holds, and encourage you to visit CoralSprings.org/downtown for all the latest news and updates.
CITY OFFICIALS AND EXECUTIVE STAFF All of these accomplishments could not have been possible without the City’s dedicated staff and department directors. A special thanks to everyone involved in making these initiatives a reality.
City Commission Mayor Skip Campbell Vice Mayor Dan Daley Commissioner Joy Carter Commissioner Lou Cimaglia Commissioner Larry Vignola
Senior Management Team Erdal DĂśnmez, City Manager John J. Hearn, City Attorney Susan L. Grant, Deputy City Manager Jennifer K. Bramley, Deputy City Manager Frank Babinec, Fire Chief Rick Engle, Director of Parks and Recreation Melissa Heller, Director of Financial Services Susan Hess Krisman, Director of Development Services Liz Kolodney, Director of Communications and Marketing Curlie Matthews, Director of Information Services Rich Michaud, Director of Public Works Dale Pazdra, Director of Human Resources Tony Pustizzi, Chief of Police Debra Thomas, City Clerk
Special appreciation goes to all our dedicated volunteers and members of our Boards and Committees: Affordable Housing Advisory Committee Architectural Review Committee Board of Adjustment Building Focus Group Charter School Advisory Board Code Rangers Community Assisted Patrol Community Emergency Response Team Community Redevelopment Agency Construction Review Committee Customer-Involved Government Committee Economic Development Advisory Committee Financial Advisory Committee Fire Pension Board General Employees Pension Board Historical Advisory Committee Holiday Parade Committee Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee
MLK Monument Committee Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee National Day of Prayer and Peace Committee Neighborhood and Environmental Committee Nuisance Abatement Board Parent Education Advisory Committee Planning and Zoning Board Police Pension Board Police Reserve Officer Corps Principal Education Committee Public Art Committee Senior Advisory Committee Sports Coalition Sports Commission Teen Political Forum Committee Unsafe Structures Board WorldFest Committee Youth and Family Committee
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For more information about recent accomplishments, visit CoralSprings.org/stateofthecity.
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