Miami Today: Week of Thursday, March 5, 2015

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

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HEALTH UPDATE

Legislature looks at first action to control telemedicine, pg. 13 TIME TO DIG: After years of planning, what is billed by the developers as the largest construction project in Miami’s history is set to begin in four to five weeks. City commissioners last week gave final approval to an expansive development agreement for Miami Worldcenter that covers everything from local hiring requirements to landscaping and liquor licenses.

Bounded by Northeast Sixth and 11th streets and by North Miami Avenue and Northeast Second Avenue, Worldcenter plans to turn more than 24 acres of mostly vacant lots into a prominent destination with residential, office, hotel, retail, restaurant and entertainment uses. Ryan Bailine, an attorney representing the developers, said the approval would mean the start of construction in four to five weeks.

New children’s center one slice of a very big Jackson pie, pg. 14

THE ACHIEVER

BY LIDIA DINKOVA

FILM FRENZY: Must be the weather: Miami-Dade was an unusually popular location for film, TV, and commercial shoots last month, according to the county’s department of film and entertainment. Fifteen television shows filmed in February, including HBO’s “Ballers” and the BBC’s “Pop Slam.” Telemundo productions included “Dueños Del Paraiso,” and “Tierra de Reyes.” Meanwhile, Lincoln MKX 2016, Porsche, Renault, Chrysler, Honda and Dodge commercials also were shot, most of them at PortMiami. The county office processed 91 new film permits last month and estimates productions spent more than $29 million during that time.

METROMOVER STILL FREE: The Miami-Dade County Commission on Tuesday deferred legislation that would authorize the county to charge Metromover riders. Supporters of the push argue that downtown Miami’s building boom will bring more riders and thus more revenue to the county.

Opponents say ridership would fall if there’s a fare and that net revenue won’t be that high because earnings would be diverted to cover the cost of installing a fare system. Sally Heyman and Barbara Jordan, who was absent, sponsored the legislation calling for a fare. The ordinance needs a two-thirds vote from the full commission to pass. The about 4.4-mile elevated Metromover circulates in Brickell and downtown Miami.

CITY PROJECTS SURPLUS: The City of Miami is now one-third through the 2014-2015 fiscal year and, Christopher Rose, Office of Management and Budget director, told city commissioners last week, his department is projecting a budget surplus of about $14.8 million. It’s early and the figure will change before the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30, he noted.

The city is operating with a general fund budget of nearly $560 million.

Keith Tribble

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Leading Jackson Health’s fundraising organization The profile is on Page 4

Parks still closed, so city asks ‘who can we sue?’

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

The cost to clean up polluted Miami parks keeps going up and up, pushing some city commissioners to ask when it all will end.

Beyond the growing sting of spending additional tax dollars to clear out the pollution, upset commissioners point out that the parks remain closed.

“I’ve got to know there will be an end to this,” Commission Chairman Wifredo “Willy” Gort said last week.

The latest debate over the high cost to clean pollutants from about 10 closed parks came when commissioners were asked to increase the money the city is paying environmental engineering consultants dealing with the parks.

They approved the increases – adding $2 million, for a total of $4.5 million – but not before dissecting the cleanup’s necessity and pace.

Deputy City Manager Alice Bravo said the push to drill more test holes can actually help control costs by ruling out areas that don’t need cleanup.

“I understand, but the problem is, our parks are still closed,” Mr. Gort said.

AGENDA

South Dade theme park aid delayed

All efforts should be made to get the closed parks open so people can enjoy them, Mr. Gort said, and it gets kids off the street.

Commissioner Frank Carollo agreed, saying, “I don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. This seems continuous, and the parks are closed.”

“We are trying to comply with the regulatory agencies,” said City Manager Daniel Alfonso.

“Can we challenge that?” asked Mr. Gort, who wondered if the city would have to sue the county or state to open the parks.

Ms. Bravo said the county’s Department of Environmental Resource Management uses state standards governing contaminants to set acceptable levels.

“The administration is just as frustrated and we want to get the parks open,” said Mr. Alfonso.

In late 2013 and early 2014, the city evaluated the environmental status of 112 parks due to contamination discovered at Blanche Park while testing soil within 1 mile of long-gone City Incinerator 2 that operated in Coconut Grove.

Several locations were suspected of having been landfill operations prior to conversion into parks. Soil was tested at each park

A plan to designate the Richmond Pinelands complex – a habitat for endangered species – as a slum has been delayed.

The Miami-Dade Commission on Tuesday deferred a vote to declare the 2,146 acres in South Miami-Dade a slum and blighted area.

The site stretches between Southwest 152nd and 184th streets and between Southwest 137th and 117th avenues. It’s home to Zoo Miami and a Coast Guard operation.

A county consultant concluded that inadequate sanitation, an outdated building density pattern, defective parking and roads, and high vacancy rates make the area a slum.

A slum designation would have essentially paved the way to create a community redevelopment area (CRA) that would fund redevelopment in the area using incremental tax revenues collected during the CRA’s lifespan.

The push to create the South Dade CRA comes as two developers seek to build in the area that’s home to the pinelands. RAM Real Estate wants to build a WalMart and residences, and Miami Wilds plans a theme park beside the zoo.

Opponents of the proposals said a CRA would essentially pave the way for the developments.

“The creation of a CRA should be called the continued destruction of our habitat to make a buck, if we’re going to have an honest conversation about why the creation of the CRA is happening” said Juan Cuba at Tuesday’s commission meeting. “To argue that this beautiful piece of our environment is slum and blight because it doesn’t have enough parking and retail is disingenuous. It’s ridiculous.”

Others said the planned developments would increase traffic and lower property values.

The county has vowed to preserve the pinelands.

Commissioner Dennis Moss, who seeks development in the area, moved to defer Tuesday’s vote.

of concern, and eight were confirmed to contain a combination of solid waste debris and heavy metals at levels that exceed the Miami-Dade Cleanup Target Levels for the Residential Threshold.

The state requires the city to remedy environmental hazards on any property it owns.

The estimated cost of remediation tops $10 million. Work at Douglas Park alone has a $3.3 million price tag.

Commissioners cited unnamed experts who say that the contaminated soil would have to be ingested for a decade before the contaminant reached a dangerous level.

“That’s my argument. Why do we have to close the parks?” asked Mr. Gort. “If it’s not that dangerous, why close them?”

Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, alleging a slow pace by the county’s Environmental Resources Management team to help the city resolve the matter, said it is frustrating because “DERM does not see this as a priority like we do.”

Mr. Gort suggested, “Let’s all talk to our county commissioners and see if we can’t expedite this.”

Mr. Sarnoff said, “My aim is to get the Slum, blight found in area, pg. 8 parks open.”

RATES INCH UP, MORTGAGE REFINANCING RUSH SLOWS ...

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MIAMI MOVES TOWARD MORE MIMO AREA PROTECTION ... 11

MEGA-YACHT MARINA RETURNS WITH A SLEEKER LOOK ...

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WAVE OF INTEREST IN WATERWAYS TRANSPORTATION ...

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VIEWPOINT: TAKE GAME-CHANGING RAIL OPPORTUNITY ...

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PAY CEILING SHATTERED FOR TRANSIT PLANNING CEO ...

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MIAMI SEES GROUP OF CHINESE HOMEBUYERS FORMING ...

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FUNDS SOUGHT FOR BID TO LINK LIGHT RAIL TO BEACH ...

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TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015

MIAMI TODAY

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Redevelopment agency helps fund Overtown festival’s return

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Directors of the Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) voted last week to give $120,000 to the Headliner Market Group to reprise the Overtown Music and Arts Festival, to be held July 25.

“This was such a success last year, and we believe it will be a lot better this year,” said Clarence E. Woods III, CRA executive director. “They have a track record and the ability to attract national

and local talent.”

“At the heart of this festival is a fervent desire to bring Overtown out from under a cloud of darkness and into the light,” said a letter from Michael Gardner, president of the marketing group. “Overtown has a rich cultural and music history that should be celebrated and highlighted.” While details are not final, the music will probably be gospel and rhythm & blues, the letter noted, which have been a hit at past festivals.

The group had asked for $150,000 and, while that amount was not allocated, the funds will be freed up earlier this year to allow the organizers more time, Mr. Woods said.

This year’s festival will feature players from professional football and basketball teams and an expanded Youth Zone to draw in more families, Mr. Gardner’s letter said. The group also wants to market the festival to a wider audience than Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“We believe we can potentially bring awareness and attention to a community that is rich in culture, thereby resulting in an economic upturn for Overtown.

“This was a good event last year; a lot of people came in,” said Derek Cole, creative director of Lofty Ideas, an Overtown business. “What is the match they’re providing?”

“They’re putting in $50,000 of their own money,” Mr. Woods told him.

“They always put some skin in the game.”

Immigration reform tops chamber agenda for DC

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

This is the new version of SeaVault. One year ago the river commission approved the plan’s first version.

Re-branded SeaVault mega-marina on river called first of kind globally

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

The architects working on a project on the Miami River for mega-yachts say it is the first of its kind in the world – everything in one location for the owners of the big boats.

The unique nature of the project came up Monday when the Miami River Commission approved an updated proposal for property owner and developer Homero Meruelo.

Formerly called Miami Mega Yacht Marina, the mixed-use project has been renamed SeaVault, alluding to a protective environment for the very exclusive vessels and their contents.

SeaVault is designed as a temporary home for 14 mega-yachts with living quarters for captain and crew. The plan includes a clubhouse, tennis court, swimming pool, cold storage building and private vehicle parking on a secured site with tropical landscaping.

One year ago this month the river commission approved the plan’s first version.

The changes are mostly cosmetic, according to the developer’s representative Tony Rodriguez-Tellaheche.

Mr. Rodriguez-Tellaheche, an architect, presented the first plan last year.

He said since that time Bermello Ajamil & Partners Inc. was brought aboard on the project as architect of record due to the firm’s expertise in water-related projects, both nationally and internationally.

The current design was based on Mr. Rodriguez-Tellaheche’s original design and concept.

Explaining some of the changes

to the commission this week was Scott A. Bakos, an architect with the Bermello firm.

He said they’ve made a few refinements including a more rectangular courtyard between the marina spaces and the clubhouse, and a few curves have been added to the ancillary spaces where the captain and crew quarters are located.

The curved inner walls are to “make it very sexy, for lack of a better word,” said Mr. Bakos.

The architects said they’re excited to be involved with a project of this unique nature, saying it will add tremendous value to the riverfront.

The roofing material is to be a Kallwal roof system, which allows natural light to penetrate the interior.

“This will allow working during the day without the necessity of extensive artificial lighting,” said Mr. Rodriguez-Tellaheche.

The developer is shooting for LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification, and the goal is to garner a silver rating. LEED is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices.

Each of the 14 units will be sold.

“The entire unit – it’ll come as a package,” Mr. RodriguezTellaheche said. The yacht owner will purchase one slip that comes with the captain and crew quarters.

The idea was launched at the Fort Lauderdale boat show last year and generated very good feedback from mega-yacht owners, Mr. Bakos said.

“The idea is to give them a home port,” said Mr. Rodriguez-

Tellaheche.

The developer says the project will bring to the Miami River the very sought-after mega-yacht industry, which has gravitated toward Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The site, on the south side of the river at 1583 NW 24th Ave., has been home to a working marina for decades, with some of the structures dating to the 1940s and ’50s.

The current plan shows slips for 14 mega-yachts: three 35-by150-foot slips; two 43-by-200foot slips; two 50-by-200-foot slips; two 50-by-230-foot slips; three 40-by-165-foot slips; and two 40-by-150-foot slips.

Although some renderings show a helicopter pad atop the clubhouse, Mr. Bakos said that’s not part of the current plan.

The concept of the “all-inclusive environment,” combing covered vessel storage and attached captains’ and crews quarters, was developed by Mr. RodriguezTellaheche.

After the meeting he said, “I am proud of this, because, as I mentioned in today’s presentation, there are covered yacht structures, some offering a variety of amenities like storage and toilet facilities. However, I know of no other facility in the world where the owner and captain, as well as the crew, can stand behind a two-story glass wall inside their quarters and look right at their vessel, all under the same roof.”

The owner is working in cooperation with MCM Construction.

The developer anticipates the plans and permits to be completed toward year’s end, with construction starting in early 2016.

It’ll be a crowded agenda when members of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Governmental Affairs Committee journey to Washington, DC, May 19 to 21 to meet with representatives and put forth an agenda that will benefit Miami.

At the top of the list is immigration reform, said Glenn M. Cooper, committee vice chair and shareholder of the Gray Robinson.

“We want true congressional action, as opposed to executive orders,” he said, which President Barack Obama has recently used to prod a reluctant Congress.

“That continues to be a big issue,” said Jose Fuentes, committee chair and senior government relations consultant at Becker & Poliakoff PA. “The chamber has been very supportive of reform at the state level.

We have a lot of immigrants who work, and we’d like to see an earned immigration law for people who are law-abiding and have embraced the values of society.

We’d also like a more carefully monitored guest worker program to fill in the gaps for jobs that, in many cases, are seasonal.”

Next on the list: more help to make the customs process for visitors flying into Miami International Airport more userfriendly and quicker. “This is the first impression of Miami that these visitors have,” Mr. Cooper said. “If we don’t improve it, they might think twice about coming back. We want to make sure security measures are followed, but also make sure there is an efficient flow and that it is a pleasant experience.”

Having heard reports that many kiosks are sitting empty while lines lengthen and tempers flare, “We want to put bodies in kiosks,” he said.

Making loans accessible through the Small Business Administration is also a priority, he said, because so many of Miami’s businesses could benefit from them. In the same vein, help and support for the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a great help and information source to small traders, is something the group wants assured, he said.

Visa waivers, especially for Brazilians and Chinese nationals, are also crucial, he said. “We’ve seen progress with other countries” in terms of making visas longer and less troublesome, he said. The chamber would like to see impediments to doing busi-

‘We have a lot of immigrants who work, and we’d like to see an earned immigration law for people who are lawabiding and have embraced the values of society.’

Jose Fuentes ness here removed, he added.

Of particular interest to the chamber, Mr. Fuentes, said, is enabling H1B visas for professionals who have certain specialties, and expansion of the E2 and E5 treaties. All allow foreign nationals to invest here as long as certain conditions are met.

Infrastructure and highway needs are also on the list. “We want to look at our highways and see if there is federal funding to improve them,” Mr. Cooper said.

Transportation reauthorization, freeing up federal money, is critical, Mr. Fuentes said. “Our roads continue to be congested, and it’s been a point of discussion at the chamber for some time. If Miami is going to continue to grow and be a viable community, with that comes the need for more transportation.”

The delegation will also advocate for local colleges and universities, Mr. Cooper said.

“We’re always looking out for education; we want to get grants and funding for our schools.”

Jean Monestime, Miami-Dade commissioner and chair of the commission, has been actively involved, Mr. Fuentes said. “He makes sure the chamber is engaged with the minority community, and we expect him to lend his support to a number of these initiatives.”

Mr. Monestime will work with the group in Washington. “I think it’s a good thing that the chamber and the county commission have a similar agenda,” Mr. Fuentes said.

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015

MIAMI TODAY

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Miami sees early formation of Chinese homebuyer group

BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR

Although there isn’t a large Chinese presence in South Florida yet, observers say infrastructure is coming together and will eventually attract homebuyers from that market.

Miami is seeing the beginnings of substantial Chinese investment, said Philip Spiegelman, one of the founders and principals of ISG, an outsource organization specializing in sales and marketing for the real estate development industry.

“Investment is the first step,” Mr. Spiegelman said. “Chinese investors will be looking to purchase homes and create businesses that cater to the Chinese market.”

Currently, he said, we’re seeing the beginning of substantial investment and pointed to China City Construction Co.’s purchase of a development site in Brickell for $74.7 million in late December. The Beijing-based company bought the full block between 14th Street and 14th Terrace and South Miami Avenue and Southwest First Avenue.

Mr. Spiegelman said China City Construction is the first major Chinese investor to enter the Miami market and plans to develop the site for condos, retail and office space.

“It’s a long-term view [for the Chinese to buy homes in Miami],” he said. “It won’t be an instant market.”

The sales team at ISG has been working for a long time to find people to partner with and nurture a brokerage community, he said.

It’s an evolving story, but Mr. Spiegelman said he believes Miami will eventually have more Chinese homebuyers. He said heavily concentrated Chinese communities in New York might make the transition to Miami more easily.

In addition, ISG created a strategic partnership with Shanjie Li’s company, American Da Tang Group, to promote sales, marketing and development in Miami.

Dr. Li, CEO and chief economist of American Da Tang Group, said most migrants from China nowadays are successful business people.

“Most of them chose proper-

“Miami is a great destination [because] it’s open and welcomes immigrant culture,” said Dr. Shanjie Li.

Photo by Maxine Usdan

China City Construction Co. purchased this Brickell area development site in December for $74.7 million.

ties in New York or L.A. for specific school districts,” he said, explaining that it used to be just mothers taking care of their children while their husbands worked full-time in China.

“But now the trend is changing and most people are seeking to transition their whole family to live full time in the US,” Dr. Li said. “Miami is a great destination [because] it’s open and welcomes immigrant culture.

Most of the city’s population is

immigrants.”

In addition, Dr. Li said, the natural environment is spectacular, the weather makes it ideal for water-based activities and golf and Miami already is a base for international wealth with great potential for economic growth.

“The Chinese investors would need personnel to take care of their houses, drive their cars and translate,” he said. “They need top-notch Chinese restaurants and spas. There should be

a network that connects these people together so that they can form bonds over business partnerships, etc.”

Dr. Li said the Chinese will encounter language barriers here. “Most of them aren’t fluent in English, not to mention Spanish,” he said. “But Miami is a very friendly city and they will get used to living here slowly but surely.”

Miami is not ideal for middleclass Chinese citizens but only suitable for the wealthy elites,

Dr. Li said. “Most of them will come in flocks,” he said. “They will form a community over time as more and more of them take their whole families stateside.”

But before Miami can have a Chinese community of residents, the city needs a direct flight linking China and Miami International Airport, said Leon Bell, vice president for One Sotheby’s International Realty.

He recently flew to China and had to travel to New York first.

It wasn’t too bad, Mr. Bell said, but a direct flight – which he said is in the works – will make it that much easier for people to travel from China to Miami.

Miami will not initially see the working Chinese population, Mr. Bell predicts. Rather, he said, it will be wealthy people who are looking for investment.

“It takes a while to establish a community here,” Mr. Bell said.

With the Chinese always “on the lookout” for investment, he said he believes any substantial number of homebuyers from China won’t materialize in the near future.

According to a September 2014 profile report of international homebuyers in Florida prepared by the research division of the National Association of Realtors, buyers from China are increasingly purchasing property in this state. The report states they accounted for almost 6% of all purchases by non-resident foreigners, up from less than 1% a few years ago and at about the same level as Brazil’s share of international purchases in the Florida market.

Agents surveyed for the report provided data showing Chinese buyers purchased properties mainly in Gainesville, Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Orlando-Kissimmee and Panama City-Lynn Haven. Five percent of Chinese buyers purchased homes in Miami/Miami Beach at the end of the third quarter.

Approximately 79% of Chinese buyers paid cash for residences and about half purchased single, detached homes. Suburban (47%) and central city/urban areas (34%) were the preferred destinations of Chinese buyers, with 16% in resorts and 3% in small town or rural locations.

‘Blue shirts’ clean-up crew wins new Overtown street contract

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Human Resources of Miami Inc. was awarded $220,000 last week by the Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to continue a clean-up and beautification program in Overtown. The company, known as the “blue shirts” for their uniforms, began staffing the program two years ago.

“The blue shirts have done a marvelous job,” said Clarence Woods III, CRA executive director. “They have been more than present on the streets. They’ve provided jobs for some of our residents who need a second chance.”

“When a community is clean, it’s per-

ceived to be safer,” said Keon Hardemon, CRA chair and Miami commissioner.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to bring positive results into Overtown,” said Marcia Carty, the company’s president. “We go beyond the surface to get good results with people.”

During its second year of the Overtown program, the group trained 42 people, provided life-skills training to 26, and placed 36 in jobs, according to CRA documents.

“We don’t issue checks without training,” Ms. Carty said. “We want to motivate their vision to be assimilated into society.”

In the coming cycle, the group proposes to hire 11 employees who will

work in two shifts to keep streets clean and maintain landscaping. It also plans to transition all of the original trainees to external jobs to make room for new trainees, according to its proposal.

Ms. Carty said the landscaping component will expanded and that all employees will be trained in it, even those who don’t currently perform that function.

“There’s opportunity for jobs in landscaping,” observed Wifredo “Willy” Gort, CRA director and Miami commissioner.

“Are they residents?” asked Frank Carollo, CRA director and Miami commissioner. “I’d have a problem if not.”

“As much as we can, we want to hire residents,” Mr. Woods said.

“We prefer the services to be provided

by residents,” Mr. Hardemon agreed. But there is no requirement in the program that mandates it, he added.

“Two-hundred twenty-thousand is a lot of money,” Mr. Carollo told Ms. Carty. “Give me some kind of report.”

“We keep detailed records,” Mr. Woods said. “This is one of the better-managed programs we have. It’s all based on documentation; I don’t mete out [the money] at will.”

“It’s on a reimbursement system,” Mr. Gort said.

Mr. Carollo, a certified public accountant, seemed relieved upon finding out that Ms. Carty also holds that designation.

“Just let me know where the money is going,” he told her, “without going crazy.”

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TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015

Fund hunt seeks mats for homeless

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Directors of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority have voted unanimously to ask Miami-Dade County to support a mat program at Camillus House that might otherwise run out of money.

In its first five months, the program, which allows homeless people to sleep in the shelter’s secure courtyard, took in 669 new “referrals� brought there by the Miami Police Department and outreach workers. While it’s hoped that the people who take advantage of the safe shelter will seek treatment, it’s not required.

Annual funding for 100 mats is set at $700,000. In the first year, which began Aug. 1, the City of Miami, the community redevelopment agencies of Omni and Southeast Overtown/Park West, the downtown authority and private donors picked up the tab.

That might continue for one more year, said Marc Sarnoff, authority chair and Miami commissioner, but proponents should start looking for backup funding now. “This can’t be done on the shoulders of CRAs, the city and the private sector for very much longer,� he said. “The Homeless Trust is opposed to funding mat programs. But if we do nothing, we are warehousing

them on the streets.� “For some reason, the Homeless Trust is putting politics in front of the homeless,� said board member Jose Goyanes, who is the owner of Metro Beauty Center, Churchill’s Barbershop and Tre Italian Bistro.

According to downtown authority documents, the average length of stay in the courtyard is 14 days, after which many seek more permanent solutions to their plight, including treatment, staying with friends or family, or independent living. “This is a door to enter,� said board member Rolando Montoya, who is provost of Miami Dade College. “There is a higher probability that they will get into some type of program if they have spent time in the courtyard. We have statistics that it works, and it is relatively inexpensive.� “I support getting people off the street,� said board member Bruno Barreiro, who is a Miami-Dade County commissioner. “However we can fund this, we should. It shouldn’t come out of the Homeless Trust budget, but I’m sure we can find dollars to steer to this program.�

He agreed to advocate for the issue with the county commission; no specific amount was identified in the resolution the authority passed.

The mat initiative is an out-

growth of last year’s agreement between Miami and the American Civil Liberties Union. Arguing that the urban core is disproportionately affected and that the 1992 settlement of a suit brought by a group of homeless people didn’t go far enough to address the issue, the downtown authority led the charge to modify or at least have the courts clarify the socalled Pottinger settlement.

The new agreement spells out whether a police officer can arrest a homeless person for public nudity, “responding to the call of nature� or being in a park after hours. Further, it lays out a procedure for law enforcement or community outreach workers to offer shelter, if it is available, to a homeless person.

Available shelter is defined as a free bed – or mat – in a facility that can house someone for at least 24 hours. The facility can impose no religious requirements or insist on substance abuse or mental health treatment as conditions of shelter.

Officer James Bernat, the Miami Police Department’s homeless coordinator, has come out in favor of the Camillus program and has said that is he regularly approached by homeless people who would like to get shelter there for the night. There is a limit of 100 mats, but proponents say they would like to increase that number eventually.

Public Notice NOTICE IS GIVEN that meetings will be held before the following Committees on the dates stipulated below in the Commission Chambers, located on the Second Floor, of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First Street, Miami, Florida, wherein, among other matters to be considered, a public hearing will be held relating to the following proposed ordinances/ resolutions: Strategic Planning & Government Operations (SPGO) Cmte. Meeting – Tuesday, March 10, 2015, at 9:30 AM t 0 SEJOBODF related to Living Wage; amending Section 2-8.9 of the Code to provide an exemption for permittees at aviation facilities from Living Wage Requirements where a Collective Bargaining Agreement provides an express waiver applicable to the Ordinance Unincorporated Municipal Service Area (UMSA) Cmte. Meeting – Tuesday, March 10, 2015, at 2:00 PM t 0 SEJOBODF relating to Zoning; revising development parameters for North Central Urban Area District; amending Section 33-284.99.52 of the Code t 0SEJOBODF SFMBUJOH UP UIF Northeast Dade Area Municipal Advisory Committee; providing additional time for the Municipal Advisory Committee to update its report; requiring the Municipal Advisory Committee to meet and take action on its updated report only after considering the study on Annexations and Incorporations currently being conducted by PMG Associates, Inc; amending Ordinance No. 04-104 to delete the sunset and termination clauses of the Ordinance that created the Northeast Dade Area Municipal Advisory Committee Transit & Mobility Services (TMS) Cmte. Meeting – Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at 9:30 AM t 3 FTPMVUJPO BQQSPWJOH USBOTGFS PG $FSUJmDBUF PG 5SBOTQPSUBUJPO /P GSPN 4JMNBS $PSQPSBUJPO UP South Florida Shuttle, LLC Metropolitan Services (MS) Cmte. Meeting – Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at 2:00 PM t 0 SEJOBODF related to Potable Water Supply Wells and WellďŹ eld Protection; amending Section 24-5 of the Code to provide certain deďŹ nitions and amend other deďŹ nitions relating to WellďŹ eld Protection and Hazardous Materials; amending Section 24-43 of the Code to provide for updated protection of Potable Water Supply Wells and providing exceptions for household and ordinary materials; amending Section 24-43.1 of the Code relating to liquid waste disposal and potable water supply systems to make conforming changes to Section 24-43 Trade & Tourism (TT) Cmte. Meeting – Thursday, March 12, 2015, at 9:30 AM Economic Prosperity (EP) Cmte. Meeting – Thursday, March 12, 2015, at 2:00 PM t % JTDVTTJPO *UFN SFHBSEJOH the Proposed 25 Year Agreement in favor of Gables Stage for the management and operation of the Coconut Grove Playhouse 300 seat Theater t 0SEJOBODF amending Section 2-8.5.1 of the Code to extend Veterans’ Procurement Preference to Wartime Veterans t 0SEJOBODF repealing Article CXXXIII, Sections 2-2052 through 2-2059 of the Code relating to Miami-Dade Housing Civil Rights Oversight Board; amending Section 11a-5 of the Code relating to the powers and duties of MiamiDade Commission on human rights to include the former powers and duties of the Miami-Dade Housing Civil Rights Oversight Board t 3FTPMVUJPO declaring two county-owned properties located at 2550 NW 93 Street, Miami, Florida and 9135 NW 32 Avenue, Miami, Florida as surplus and directs the County Mayor or the County Mayor’s designee to revise Miami-Dade County Inventory List of affordable housing sites to include such properties "MM JOUFSFTUFE QBSUJFT NBZ BQQFBS BOE CF IFBSE BU UIF UJNF BOE QMBDF TQFDJmFE A person who decides to appeal any decision made by any board, agency, or commission with respect to any matter DPOTJEFSFE BU JUT NFFUJOH PS IFBSJOH XJMM OFFE B SFDPSE PG QSPDFFEJOHT 4VDI QFSTPOT NBZ OFFE UP FOTVSF UIBU B WFSCBUJN SFDPSE PG UIF QSPDFFEJOHT JT NBEF JODMVEJOH UIF UFTUJNPOZ BOE FWJEFODF VQPO XIJDI UIF BQQFBM JT UP CF CBTFE .JBNJ %BEF $PVOUZ QSPWJEFT FRVBM BDDFTT BOE FRVBM PQQPSUVOJUZ BOE EPFT OPU EJTDSJNJOBUF PO UIF CBTJT PG EJTBCJMJUZ JO JUT QSPHSBNT PS TFSWJDFT 'PS NBUFSJBM JO BMUFSOBUF GPSNBU B TJHO MBOHVBHF JOUFSQSFUFS PS PUIFS BDDPNNPEBUJPO QMFBTF DBMM PS TFOE FNBJM UP agendco@miamidade.gov.

)"37&: 367*/ $-&3, $)3*4501)&3 "(3*11" %&165: $-&3, For legal ads online, go to http://legalads.miamidade.gov

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

The conference celebrates US support of World’s Fair, said Art Furia.

Milan Expo event here digs into feeding planet

BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

represents one of the most important international appointments leading up to the fair as a showcase for American innovation in Miami as well as Milan.

He said the conference is a celebration of the US’s support and participation in the 2015 World’s Fair in Milan, Italy.

From May 1 to Oct. 31, Expo Milan 2015 will encourage international discussion on ensuring there’s enough healthy food for the world’s population, respecting nature and its delicate balance and avoiding food excess and injustice.

According to event organizers, more than 140 nations will present technical solutions to meet “the epochal challenge of a world that is experiencing strong contradictions.� There were about 870 million undernourished people in 2010-2012 but also about 2.8 million deaths from diseases related to obesity or weight problems.

Nutrition is a crucial issue for the future of humanity, the organizers stress. “The increase in population and scarcity of water and land resources require a serious and thorough reflection on strategies to ensure healthy food that is safe and enough for everyone.�

For six months, participants will discuss and debate concrete solutions to these issues and come up with guidelines to ensure sustainable development, food security and quality in the production chain.

Miami will play a significant role next week in the build-up for the Milan Expo 2015 World’s Fair as it hosts an international conference on the fair’s theme, “Feeding the Planet – Energy for Life.�

On March 12, the day-long forum at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson campus will explore how the food, health and identity of people on both sides of the Atlantic evolve in a parallel and inseparable process. Conference organizers say shared modern concerns faced by our society and their interrelationship with nutrition and sustainable development will guide discussions and attempt to shed light on longterm solutions.

After the opening keynote address by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health, there will be a number of panel discussions including “Is Better Food the Prescription for a Healthier America – What’s Making Us Sick Anyway?,� “Bridging New and Old World Cuisine: Cooking For Health,� and “Old World, New World Food and its Identity.�

There will also be a luncheon with speakers introducing Expo Milan 2015 and a “Chef finale� that evening from 5 to 7 p.m. at the MDC Culinary Institute when a top Italian-born chef and American-born chef work hand-in hand, assisted by MDC Culinary Details: Registration for staff and students.

March 12 conference, Conference chairman Arthur www.mdc.edu/feedingtheplanet J. Furia said the day-long forum

F ILMING These film permits were issued last week by the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Office of Film & Entertainment, (305) 375-3288; the Miami Mayor’s Office of Film, Arts & Entertainment, (305) 860-3823; and the Miami Beach Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment-Film and Print Division, (305) 673-7070.

123 LUMPSUM. Fort Lauderdale. Fast Cash. Opa-locka West.

PICTURE PERFECT PRODUCTIONS INC. Miami. Denizen.

Opa-locka West.

REELFX. Dallas. Super Soaker. Greynolds Park Golf Course.

TELEMUNDO STUDIOS/NBC UNIVERSAL MEDIA LLC. Miami. DueĂąos del Paraiso. Swale Parking.

44 BLUE PRODUCTIONS INC. California. Tentatively Rock and a Hard Place. Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

BEAUFORT 9 FILMS LLC. NY. Strictly Ballet. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

TVM PRODUTIONS INC. Fort Lauderdale. Graceland. 140 Building – Metro Flagler Building.

FLAMA MEDIA NETWORK LLC. NY. Left Unattended. Miami Beach citywide.

HIGHDRIVE FILMS LLC. Washington, DC. Post Panamax Ports. Miami Beach citywide, South Pointe Beach, South Pointe Park.

FILM FLORIDA INC. Orlando. Rally in Tally 2015. MiamiDade County Transit.

VENEVISION PRODUCTIONS. Medley. La Revista de Zuleyka. Morgan Levy Park.

SAWYER HARTMAN PRODUCTIONS LLC. Vero Beach.

Thru My Eyes. Countywide, Hobie Beach, Rickenbacker Causeway Beaches.

GIO ALMA INC. Miami. Stills for Aventura Magazine Fashion Editorial. Downtown Miami Streets.

IN

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PARAGON PRODUCTIONS SERVICES. Miami Beach. Stills for 3 People. Miami Beach citywide.

N HOUSE PRODUCTIONS. Miami. Stills for Monique Productions. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide, Rickenbacker Causeway Fishing Pier, Rickenbacker William Powell Bridge Area Fishing Pier.

SELECT SERRVICES INC. Miami. Stills for River Island.

Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

P. STUDIO PRODUCTIONS INC. Miami Beach. Stills for P Studio Fashion. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

JOE COMICK PHOTOGRAPHER INC. North Carolina. Stills for Summer Fashion. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

HARBOUR FILMS INC. Miami. Stills for Intersport.

Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

FIRST SHOT PRODUCTIONS. California. Stills for KK Magazine. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

THE PRODUCTION FACTORY LLC. Miami Beach. Stills for Seven Publishing. Countywide, Crandon Park Beach, Miami Beach citywide.

PRO ONE PRODUCTIONS INC. Miami Beach. Stills for Fashion House – Spring. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

SPIKE PRODUCTIONS CORP. Biscayne Park. Stills for Klingel. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

5TH & OCEAN CLOTHING LLC. Hialeah. Stills for Spring 16 photo shoot. Miami Lakes Optimist Park.

DAVID SEGUI PRODUCTION SERVICES. Miami Beach.

Stills for GMC The Magazine. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

SELECT SERVICES INC. Miami. Stills for Michael Stave.

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MARKUS MUELLER PRODUCTIONS. Miami Beach. Stills for Highlife Magazine. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

THE PRODUCTION FACTORY LLC. Miami Beach. Stills for Premierman. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION. Coral Gables. Student Project: Seeing You, Seeing Me. Rickenbacker Causeway Beaches.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015

MIAMI TODAY

13

Two mandates on physicians by insurers face legislative test B Y LIDIA D INKOVA

The Florida Medical Association supports a bill filed in the Florida legislature that could possibly save staff time at physicians’ offices and also prevent the prescription of unnecessary medications.

The Florida Medical Association (FMA) is a professional association that represents medical doctors’ interests.

This week, a Florida Senate committee is to vote on a bill that if passed into law might potentially prevent practices that the FMA has opposed for years – namely, practices known as prior authorization and fail first protocols.

Both are mandates by private insurance companies.

Prior authorization is the requirement that a doctor’s office fill out and

send forms to an insurance company indicating that the doctor wants to administer a certain procedure or prescribe a certain medication to a patient.

That’s done in cases when the insurer wants to determine the appropriateness of the medication or the procedure under the coverage plan.

Jeff Scott, general counsel for FMA, has previously told Miami Today that the practice consumes staff time at the physicians’ office. Sometimes staff knows the medication is covered but still has to go through all the steps, Mr. Scott said.

Fail first protocols is another requirement that FMA has long pushed to eliminate. Insurance companies call for doctors to prescribe a certain medication first even if the doctor doesn’t think that’s the right medication for the patient.

“So if they have drugs A, B and C on the drug forms and the physician believes that drug C is the best, the insurance will require the patient to try drug A before they proceed to drug C,” Mr. Scott said.

Senate bill 784, filed by Sen. Don Gaetz, a Republican from Niceville, calls for the creation of an appointed commission that would develop and implement policies and procedures that deal with prior authorization and fail first protocols.

“Bill 784 establishes a commission to approve any coverage limitation that any insurance company may enforce, such as a fail first program,” Mr. Scott said.

An accompanying House bill also exists.

Also, FMA is keeping a close eye on a bill in the legislature that calls for

employers and primary care providers to contract directly with one another, bypassing private insurance companies.

“If Wal-Mart wanted to go out and provide primary health care for all of its employees directly with a primary care clinic, under this bill, Wal-Mart could do that,” Mr. Scott said. “[It] could say to the private practice, ‘We’ll pay you an X amount of money to provide primary care services for all of our employees. This bill would ensure that primary care physicians could do that” without factoring in insurers, Mr. Scott said.

So far, the FMA is neither supporting nor is it opposing this legislation.

“I don’t see a downside,” Mr. Scott said. “The upside is that there would be another structure in which primary care could be provided.”

Telemedicine may get its first restrictions under Florida law

BY L IDIA DINKOVA

This Florida legislative session, physicians and hospitals in the state are keeping a close eye on two telemedicine bills.

In telemedicine, sometimes referred to as telehealth, a physician provides health care via a live video and audio connection similar to Skype. A telemedicine session could be between a physician and a patient, such as when a diagnosis is made and treatment is prescribed, or it could be between two physicians, such as in an exchange of medical ideas and advice.

Florida statutes don’t include a provision that deals with telemedicine.

Nevertheless, for some time private practice physicians and hospitals in this state have been administering telemedicine.

Miami Children’s Hospital has based its telemedicine program on national standards, said Lani Ferro, director of governmental affairs at the hospital.

Creating a Florida statute on telemedicine would be helpful, she said, because it would make telemedicine more accessible to Medicaid-covered patients.

A problem Miami Children’s Hospital has run into is that Medicaid doesn’t cover telemedicine.

“Where we have a concern is Medicaid Managed Care companies are less willing to negotiate with us because they don’t feel it’s a statutory-recognized practice,” Ms. Ferro of Miami Children’s Hospital said. “In other words, no one is directing them to cover these services.”

That leaves telemedicine at Miami Children’s out of reach for Medicaid-insured patients, who are mainly low income.

“We’re limited in our capacity to serve underserved patients,” said Evelyn Terrell, regional director of Rehabilitation Services

Photo by Maxine Usdan

In a telemedicine kiosk at Miami Children’s Hospital, William Manzie, telemedicine manager of business operations, talks with nurse practitioner Teresita Gomez in the telemedicine kiosk in the hospital lobby.

and Telehealth Operations at Miami Children’s Hospital.

The Florida House telemedicine bill and a companion Senate bill would create a state statute that would define ‘telehealth’ as well as determine who can administer health care via telehealth.

“The bill will create a definition, it will provide a standard of care, a regulatory framework, a basis for which we can practice telemedicine,” Ms. Ferro said.

Establishing that telemedicine framework in state statutes will pave the way for Medicaid cov-

erage of this form of health care administration.

“Right now, we’re having a difficult time getting reimbursed on those services, and mostly because it isn’t statutorily recognized,” Ms. Ferro said.

Last year, the legislature didn’t approve the telemedicine bills. But this year, lawmakers are expected to pass the bills into law. The language of the telemedicine bills changed between last year and this.

“Last year, the legislation was caught up in a political battle in terms of who could practice telemedicine and where, so it

was much more limited,” Ms. Ferro said. “This year’s conversation is much more broad.”

Last year’s Senate bill called for a provider not licensed in this state to meet certain requirements in order to administer health care in Florida via telemedicine. The House bill was much broader, essentially not restricting physicians not licensed in Florida.

So far, there has been wide support for this year’s bills – even from organizations that opposed last year’s bills.

Among this year’s supporters are the Florida Chamber of

Commerce, the Florida Podiatric Medical Association and the Florida Medical Association.

The Florida Medical Association last year opposed the bills on the basis that the legislations would have allowed physicians not licensed in Florida to administer health care in Florida via telemedicine.

The definitions in this year’s bills are much broader. If the bills are passed, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) would then flesh out the details.

AHCA, a state statute-created health policy and planning entity for Florida, has the authority to create the telemedicine regulation if the bills become law. But the agency has to stay within the framework outlined in the telemedicine law approved by legislators, Ms. Ferro said.

“I’m sure that AHCA would look at what other states have done,” she said. It’s “based on the parameters of the bill. If the bill prescribes for a regulatory framework and a definition, then that’s the only thing they (AHCA) would be able to do.”

While Miami Children’s Hospital awaits the outcome of this year’s telemedicine bills, the hospital has negotiated with a private insurer to cover the service. The hospital and Florida’s Blue Cross Blue Shield private insurer have negotiated rates and a reimbursement schedule for telemedicine services provided by the hospital.

“In the case of Blue Cross Blue Shield, they feel telemedicine really can save lives. They feel it’s a more efficient way to provide care because they know it’s going to be less expensive to cover a telemedicine visit than a visit to an emergency care center,” Ms. Ferro said.

The state legislative session started Tuesday and ends May 1.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015

HEALTH UPDATE

MIAMI TODAY

15

Employers, consumers opt for higher insurance deductibles

BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR

In an effort to offset the rising cost of health care premiums, a number of consumers and employers are opting for plans with higher deductibles, but industry experts say a lot of guesswork comes into play.

With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, more people are seeking health insurance who didn’t have it before, said attorney Kenneth Hartmann, partner with Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, whose practice includes healthcare litigation. He said the sometimes “unsophisticated consumers” aren’t aware that out-of-pocket costs with the higher deductibles depend on how often one sees a doctor, needs prescriptions or visits specialists.

Florida chose not to establish its own healthcare exchange, Mr. Hartmann said, so a number of residents are turning to the federal marketplace, which also offers similar low-premium, high-deductible coverage, mainly in the bronze and silver level plans.

Marketplace plans are offered in four levels, depending on the share of costs that consumers must pay out of pocket. The plans with the highest monthly premiums, known as platinum plans, cover 90% of costs, while Higher deductibles shifting costs to employees, said Beverly Beattie. ver plans are the most popular gold plans cover 80%, silver lowest premiums.

According to the Robert and are used to determine the plans cover 70%, and bronze plans cover 60% but have the Wood Johnson Association, sil- subsidies that lower- and

middle-income consumers receive to offset their premiums.

A study conducted by the association found that deductibles have grown in popularity. In 2014, 80% of insured workers had policies that included a deductible. The average annual deductible among employees, the study states, rose 47% since 2009 from $826 to $1,217.

With the mandates kicking in, and facing a tax penalty by the IRS if left uninsured, more and more people are signing up for health care plans. For the period that ended Feb. 15, Mr. Hartmann said the government expected 9 million would sign up for one of the four plans but the number was 11 million.

For the most part, he said, sick people are more likely to sign up than the young and healthy, driving health care costs even higher.

Provisions under the ACA can help contain costs, for now. In 2015, an individual will not pay more than $6,450 in out-ofpocket costs and a family’s maximum out-of-pocket cost is set at $12,900.

Yet, those costs are taxing and those who have coverage through their workplace are also facing difficult decisions when deciding how often to visit their doctor or consult a specialist.

“Employers continue to opt for higher deductible health plans as a cost containment strategy,

“Unsophisticated consumers” more at issue: Kenneth Hartmann.

which ultimately shifts more of the costs to the employee,” said Beverly Beattie, CEO and founder of Selden Beattie, health care consultants. “This is also a strategy to avoid the ‘Cadillac tax’ on high-value plans that will be assessed in 2018, as part of ACA.” Ms. Beattie said some employers also see high deductible plans as a way to motivate employee healthcare consumerism and wellness engagement because employees will seek out more affordable services and focus on healthy lifestyle choices to reduce their needs for healthcare. “Taking it a step further,” she said, “we encourage our clients to consider an overall population health program whereby those employees who engage in certain wellness activities qualify to participate in a richer, lower deductible health plan.”

Nicklaus funding propels hospital foundation toward goal

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

In honor of last month’s $60 million gift from golf legend Jack Nicklaus and his wife, Barbara Nicklaus, the main campus of Miami Children’s Hospital and its eight outpatient centers throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties will soon feature the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital name.

Founded as Variety Children’s Hospital in 1950, the 289-bed private, non-profit freestanding facility treats children from 75 countries and has more pediatric programs ranked among “America’s best” by U.S. News & World Report than any other hospital in Florida, according to a release. It is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the Southeast and has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center magnet facility.

In addition to enhancing the hospital system’s services and facilities, the gift will propel the hospital’s foundation further toward its goal of raising $150 million by 2017, said Lucy Morillo, Miami Children’s Hospital foundation president and CEO. “Now that Jack and Barbara Nicklaus have joined as chairs of our Together for the Children campaign, they will lead some of the fundraising efforts to reach and surpass our goal,” she said via email.

The donation will boost a 212,000-square-foot advanced

Rendering shows the emergency room that is planned for the main campus of Miami Children’s Hospital.

Donors Barbara and Jack Nicklaus will lead some of the fundraising.

pediatric care pavilion, now in progress, that includes three family-centered intensive-care units.

“Funds will also support emergency and trauma preparedness, and enhance globally rec-

ognized centers for excellence at the hospital, including the heart program, the cancer center and the Miami Children’s Brain Institute,” Ms. Morillo said.

“It is only fitting that our

flagship hospital and growing network of outpatient centers will bear the Nicklaus name and honor the family mission to impact children and families throughout South Florida,” said Narendra Kini, M.D., president and CEO of Miami Children’s Health System, when the gift was announced.

The Nicklaus family, though its Nicklaus Health Care Foundation, began its relationship with the children’s hospital in 2010 with the creation of the Miami Children’s Hospital Nicklaus Care Center in western Palm Beach County. Two years later, Miami Children’s Hospital Nicklaus Outpatient Center in Legacy Place opened in Palm Beach Gardens, and in 2014, services were consolidated at that facility. Past dona-

tions include gifts of more than $5 million in 2010 and $7.5 million in 2014.

The Nicklaus family involvement will push forward the hospital in its fundraising efforts, which will support seven priorities, including the advanced care center, the enhancement of the emergency department, and growth of global and telehealth endeavors.

The foundation – which will retain its name – will continue with traditional fundraising activities, including its annual corporate golf tournament, and the Diamond Ball on Oct. 10.

“There are many naming opportunities available within the advanced pediatric care pavilion, the hospital and our eight outpatient centers,” Ms. Morillo said.

The foundation also has several volunteer celebrity Lucy Morillo ambassadors, including neopop artist Romero Britto, rap and hip-hop performer Pitbull, television personality Raul de Molina and fashion model Nina Agdal, she added.

“Our celebrity ambassadors have been helping us spread the message,” Ms. Morillo said.

“And with the Nicklauses as chairs for our campaign, we can assure everyone that we will not only reach our goal, but exceed it, before 2017.”

18

MIAMI TODAY

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015

Funds sought for next step in drive to link light rail to beach

BY L IDIA DINKOVA

A push to build a light-rail public transportation system between downtown Miami and Miami Beach is often brought up at local meetings.

Officials want an electrically powered light-rail system to run parallel to but yet separate from the MacArthur Causeway. Plans are for both eastbound and westbound rail cars to run on the south side of the causeway.

“Currently the alignment calls for a separate structure on the south side of the MacArthur Causeway, so it would not be within what we know as the MacArthur Causeway,” said José González, transportation director at the City of Miami Beach.

The next step is for a project development and environmental (PD&E) study to be completed.

But not all the funding needed for the study has been secured, Mr. González said.

The study could cost $6 million to $10 million and take about three years, he added.

A PD&E study is needed if officials want to try to win federal funds for the MacArthur Causeway light-rail project.

Ultimately, the study comes up with a preferred alternative for the light-rail system that would mitigate the project’s social and environmental impacts.

Local officials backing the light-rail system have already narrowed down what kind of system they want. The consensus so far has been for an electrically powered system that’s off-wire, meaning it’s not connected to overhead electrical wires but rather to ground embedded electrical wires. They also want the system to run parallel to the MacArthur on a separate right-of-way that’s south of the causeway.

Photo by Maxine Usdan

The county and Miami Beach will look at a public-private partnership for rail link, said attorney Al Dotson.

“We know that that’s the preferred technology. We have the preferred alignment,” Mr. González said. “However, these issues have to be further defined, which would be through the PD&E study. It would define any environmental and social impacts to the surrounding environment and it would identify ways of avoiding or mitigating those impacts.… And then the outcome of that effort is a preferred alignment, which has now been refined.”

The proposed light-rail project was formerly referred to as BayLink but more recently it has been officially referred to as the Beach Corridor Transit Connection Project.

While funding sources for the capital cost of the light-rail system haven’t been specifically identified, ideas have been publicly mentioned. Among them is a public-private partnership option, or a P3. The Port Tunnel is the most notable project in Mi-

ami-Dade that was funded by a P3.

Al Dotson, a partner at Bilzin Sumberg law firm who has experience in the firm’s government contracting group that deals with P3s among other things, said that a P3 allows governments to secure the immediate funding needed for large-scale projects and then repay the cost, or part of the cost, over time.

“I think that there’s a model that Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami Beach are going to look to for a commuter rail project that successfully used the P3 structure and that is the Denver Eagle P3 project,” Mr. Dotson said.

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Colorado, which oversees all or part of eight counties, including Denver, has embarked on a comprehensive mass transit construction project. The Eagle part of the larger FasTracks project

is partially funded by a P3.

According to Mr. Dotson, here’s how the RTD structured that P3 funding for the Eagle project: The solicitation was a two-step process that started with a request for qualifications (RFQ) and then proceeded to a request for proposals (RFP).

The firms shortlisted after the RFQ were each given a $1 million incentive of sorts to stay in the game and submit an RFP. That was the public sector’s way of letting applicant know “that the government body is equally invested in the process because otherwise the government basically spends little to no money in comparison to the developer community,” Mr. Dotson said.

Submitting a response to an RFP or an RFQ could be quite costly.

In Colorado, the public funding for the mass transit projects is to be repaid by a 0.4% sales surtax approved by voters.

But, Mr. Dotson added, that’s just one P3 structure of many possibilities.

“When you talk about P3s, there’s a multitude of layers of financing,” he said. “The beauty of the P3 methodology is that it allows for creativity, it allows for layering of funding, and it allows for debt as well as equity funding.”

The debt funding could be paid back through a variety of sources, included a sales surtax, tax-increment financing, and even fare or toll revenues.

“There’re many different types of P3 structures,” Mr. Dotson said.

And as work on the proposed light-rail connecting Miami and Miami Beach chugs forward, the city has taken steps to alleviate traffic on the MacArthur Causeway in the meantime. The Miami Beach City Commission has approved legislation calling for enhanced bus service to begin running across the MacArthur.

“We are looking at one- to two-year implementation,” Mr. González said.

The city has engaged a consultant to do a study that’s required for the enhanced bus service, he added. Initial plans call for buses to run on the shoulder of the causeway as a way to bypass vehicular traffic. Once the buses get to Miami Beach, they might travel on an exclusive or semi-exclusive lane on Washington Avenue. A semi-exclusive lane would mean that the buses would run within a bus-only lane during peak traffic hours.

Enhanced bus service means that the buses would run frequently, Mr. González added.

“This short-term project is a priority initiative for the city,” he said.

Plans call for the enhanced bus services, and ultimately the light rail, to reach the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Language, puns, harmonies help ‘Book of Love’ stand out

BY MARILYN BOWDEN

Roger Rosenblatt’s writing is often praised for its lyricism and its replication of the ad-hoc quality of jazz. “The Book of Love: Improvisations on a Crazy Little Thing” – a title that manages to pack three musical references into 10 words – is a testament to his virtuosity.

Members of the Brickell Avenue Literary Society will welcome Mr. Rosenblatt at a cocktail event from 6-8 p.m. March 10 in the Wolfson Auditorium at Temple Israel of Greater Miami, 137 NE 19th St. Mr. Rosenblatt’s approach is nothing if not inclusive.

“Love personal or love universal?” he asks. “Both. Let us cover the entire subject, the entire canon, the oeuvre.”

Readers are fortunate that language is one of the many things he loves. He is attuned to its sound, its harmonies, its absurdities. He follows where it leads.

The silliest puns are fine with him: “felonious monk” is a per-

sonal favorite.

Even when he’s being serious, his prose is seduced by the suggestibility of words. Consider how this rumination suddenly takes flight: “Shelley said, imagine what you know, or something like that, in his ‘Defence of Poetry.’ Imagine what you know. The point implied that there are different kinds of imagining…. If one is inclined toward mere invention, one cre-

ates a Mr. Ed, a horse that talks.

But if one uses the greater imagination, then that one, that Jonathan Swift, comes up with the Houyhnhnm, talking horses that bear the burdens of civilization. Or perhaps bears that bear the burdens of civilization. Or Quasimodo, who bears civilization on his back.”

From Marconi to Sony, the 20th century made music more accessible than ever before. Now everyone shares a common memory bank of popular songs.

Mr. Rosenblatt dips frequently into this resource, composing whole paragraphs of snatches of lyrics.

“Dream lover, whenever I want you all I have to do is dream. The way you haunt my dreams. Will you dream a little dream of me, too? An impossible dream, my dream operator? Like Thelonious Monk’s dream. Or John Lennon’s. Sweet dreams. California dreaming. I can dream, can’t I? With my eyes wide open I’m dreaming on a star, down the boulevard of broken dreams, big

city dreams” – this is just the beginning of one such medley.

And yet “The Book of Love” is more than the sum of its parts. Its author is in love with love, in all its manifestations, and his wonder and delight at the world we find ourselves in is contagious.

“There is a life of parts as valid as the life of the whole,” he writes.

“Simply noting is often enough.

What right have I to give the universe a shape other than the one in which it presents itself without comment?”

Mr. Rosenblatt is the author of six off-Broadway plays and 17 books, including “Children of War,” which won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He’s the winner of two George Polk Awards, a Peabody and an Emmy.

A former Fulbright Scholar, he’s held Harvard’s BriggsCopeland appointment in the teaching of writing and is currently Distinguished Professor of English and Writing at Stony Brook University.

The Brickell Avenue Literary Society is sponsored by Sabadell United Bank and Miami Today.

For information, call (786) 6914521 or email contact@Brickell Literary.org.

“The Book of Love: Improvisations on a Crazy Little Thing,” by Roger Rosenblatt, 197 pages, is $22.99 hardbound from Ecco, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers. Details: www.hc.com.