Miami Today: Week of Thursday, April 28, 2016

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

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FINANCIAL TRENDS

Art of banking may equate to a bank’s art collection, pg. 14 HOTELS HOLD LINE: Hotel rooms sold in Miami-Dade increased in March 4.3% from the prior March, to 1,383,625, according to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, which pointed out that the gain had absorbed the 3.6% year-over-year increase in number of rooms available as new hotels opened. MiamiDade now has 52,564 rooms. During the Marchto-March period, however, revenue per available room did dip 1% to $213.07, and the average daily room rate also fell, down 1.7% to $150.93.

With jobs stable, demand soars for financial education, pg. 16

THE ACHIEVER

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

BUY IT, DON’T BUILD IT: The county’s Department of Transit and Public Works says buying remanufactured bus engines that average 167,910 miles before they fail is a better bet for Miami-Dade’s 846-bus fleet than rebuilding the engines in a county facility, since rebuilt engines average only 106,187 miles to failure. Commissioners Barbara Jordan and Daniella Levine Cava via a resolution had directed the mayor’s office to look at bringing major overhaul services back in house. The mayor reported this month that in-house startup of rebuilding engines would cost more than $1 million, plus $944,000 in added labor costs per year.

Remanufactured engines also come with guarantees, the report said. The report is on the commission agenda for action on Tuesday.

ASIA FREIGHTER SERVICE: Lone Star Express, a new shipping service, will make weekly calls at PortMiami starting May 2, using vessels that can carry 4,500 to 5,000 20-foot equivalent units of containerized cargo. The ships will go to five Chinese ports and, in the US, Houston and Mobile in addition to Miami. They will also call in Korea and Panama.

Lone Star Express is run by the 2M Alliance, comprised of Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. SOME LIKE IT HOT, NOT: City-owned Manuel Artime Theater in the heart of East Little Havana now has functioning air conditioning after an emergency procurement of parts and labor approved by Miami’s city manager last October. Commissioners on April 14 retroactively approved the selection of DebonAir Mechanical to supply an A/C compressor, fan motor and minor replacement parts for the 839-seat theater at 900 SW First St. In October 2015 a heating, ventilation and air conditioning compressor failed. To avoid scheduling delays for school recitals, holiday plays and other events, a $28,142 emergency procurement was authorized, the resolution reads. Theater patrons had complained of the heat.

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Tripp Davis

New managing partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers The profile is on Page 4

Brazilian adds 200 rooms to riverfront hotel flood

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

To river commission, the key to plans for The 10 in each building. The 57th floor is set for 30,000 square feet of commerEdge is maintaining public river access, pg. 17 aside cial space.

A Brazilian businessman plans to build a

200-room hotel on a narrow site on the Miami River where a condo tower had been planned.

The mixed-use hotel is planned for 55 SW Miami Avenue Road beside the South Miami Avenue Bridge, site of the former Big Fish restaurant.

The new owner-developer, Leo Macedo of The Brick Group, bought the land from Rafael Aragonés, a Mexican-born architect and developer. In 2014, Mr. Aragonés won approval for a luxury condo tower with 130 units, which was to include a restaurant and robotic parking.

Along with a new owner-developer, the new project has a different architect, will be taller and will include more parking. It will keep the project name: The Edge on Brickell.

Attorney Ben Fernandez, representing Mr. Macedo, said the new owner believes the best use of this high-profile site is a hotel. A secondary use will be about 70 residential units.

Detailed plans presented April 22 to a Miami River Commission committee show two swimming pools on a ninth floor deck

AGENDA

$4 million to replace park’s soil

and a rooftop restaurant.

“A hotel makes a lot more sense than residential on the river in this particular location,” Mr. Fernandez told the committee. The new plan sets out to accomplish that goal “and still maintain a residential component,” he said.

The small site is near mass transit and next door to the billion-dollar mixed-use Brickell City Centre.

Mr. Fernandez said the developer is “talking with several hotel flags” about the project.

Other developers have seen the value of building hotels on the river’s edge.

Directly across the river to the north, One River Point is planned as dual 60-story towers connected at the top with a private club and at the bottom with a giant waterfall, along with a series of high-end lodging units on the top floors. The developer is Shahab Karmely, of KAR Properties.

The vacant parcel is hugged by three condo towers that rose during the last building boom: The Ivy, Wind and Mint.

Along with about 400 new condos, the 56th floor is to be home to 20 lodging units,

To the west, a large mixed-use project called Miami River promises to bring four towers with residential units and hotel rooms.

The sweeping project is planned between I-95 and the Second Avenue Bridge, on the river’s southern bank.

Along with its size – four towers 58-60 stories tall on 6.2 acres – this project stands out because the City of Miami is a partner: a portion of Jose Marti Park is included in the plan.

The phased project is divided into five parts that include about 1,678 residential units and about 330 lodging units.

To the east, near the mouth of the river, The Related Group has proposed One Brickell at 444 Brickell Ave., a project with three towers offering a mix of residential units, hotel rooms and more. The towers are designed at 75, 55 and 80 stories.

Along with the 1,400 new residences, the developer plans a five-star hotel with 250 rooms.

All of these projects include an improved and landscaped riverwalk, as city code requires.

Miami commissioners may spend $4.5 million to clean contaminated Douglas Park.

On today’s (4/28) agenda is a resolution to contract with Cherokee Enterprises Inc. for $4,484,185 for the environmental remediation. With a 10% contingency, the total nears $5 million.

The park has been closed nearly 2½ years as the city has wrestled with the best way to deal with contaminated soil discovered in 2013 and to get the county to sign off on a remediation plan.

Douglas, at 2755 SW 37th Ave., is one of the city’s largest parks.

It was one of more than a halfdozen city parks found to have soil contaminated by solid waste and heavy metals.

At one time the city announced the park would reopen in November 2014. An earlier cost estimate was $3.3 million. But commissioners complained that county officials who weren’t satisfied by city plans to clean the site caused delays.

On Feb. 8 the city invited bids, and Cherokee’s was deemed the lowest responsible offer. Bid documents give the company nearly a year to do its work at the 10-acre park.

The work is specifically defined in an accompanying plan by SCS Engineers dated December 2015.

“In general, the Contractor shall implement procedures for selective removal and replacement of structures and other park features and foundations including demolition of the community center building, parking lot, baseball field, playground, outdoor gym,” reads the bid invitation.

“Excavation of shallow (generally less than 24 inches) potentially contaminated soil from specified areas of the park and relocating it onsite to a specified location where it shall be used to re-grade the area prior to adding a geosynthetic clay liner and clean fill cap,” it reads.

Excess excavated material must go to a Class I landfill.

STATE DISAGREES WITH BAYLINK PLAN, WON’T LEAD ...

2

COURTS MAY HAVE PAVED WAY FOR COMMUTER RAIL ...

10

GABLES TAKES BANKING, EVERGLADES ISSUES TO DC ...

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VIRGINIA KEY BOARD SOON TO BE SEATED, GET GOING ...

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VIEWPOINT: TRANSIT NEEDS CLEAR FOCUS, PAID RIDES ...

6

WYNWOOD TO TAP CITY FOR CASH FOR TRAFFIC STUDY ...

18

TAIWAN DISPLACES CHINA AS HOPE FOR ASIA FLIGHTS ...

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CATALONIA HOPES IN MIAMI TIED TO BEACON COUNCIL ...

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MIAMI TODAY

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

THE INSIDER PUBLIC HOUSING UPGRADE: Miami-Dade’s management of public housing, which had been graded “substandard” by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development since 2009, was upgraded to “standard” in the past fiscal year, Mayor Carlos Gimenez told commissioners in a memo this month.

DELINQUENCIES RISE: Miami-Dade County’s past due accounts receivable have risen from something over $36 million at the end of last year to $37.3 million at the end of March. The Water and Sewer Department had the most delinquencies, at just under $12.5 million, down from $12.8 million at the end of 2015. The Aviation Department was owed nearly $10.9 million that was at least 60 days past due, up from under $10.5 million at the end of last year. In reporting the delinquencies, Mayor Carlos Gimenez noted that county departCarlos Gimenez ments must transfer these outstanding balances to the Finance Department’s Credit and Collections Section or approved outside agencies after 90 days.

MORE CONSTRUCTION JOBS: The number of persons working in construction in Miami-Dade County hit 46,100 in March, up from 44.6 in February, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number was the most since 46,700 working in the industry in August 2008, though far below the decade’s high of 56,600 active construction workers in September 2007 at the start of the county’s condo collapse.

NEW CITY MANAGER: Miami Springs this week named assistant city manager and finance director William Alonso to be city manager effective Aug. 1, after the July 31 retirement of City Manager Ron Gorland. Before coming to the city, Mr. Alonso was for three years audit manager for accounting firm Grau and Co. TRANSIT PLANNING OFFICERS: The Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) has elected new officers to serve a two-year term. Alan B. Fishman was selected as the CTAC Chair, and Dr. William Alonso Claudius A. Carnegie was selected as Vice Chair.

The committee advises the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization Governing Board on citizens’ views regarding transportation planning.

HOLLO RECEIVES TOP HONOR: Tibor Hollo, chairman and president of Florida East Coast Realty and a pioneer in development in Miami-Dade County, will receive the Jay Malina Award at the 14th annual Beacon Council Awards May 4 at the Hilton Miami Downtown.

Launchcode is to receive the Education Award, Baptist Health South Florida the Chairman’s Award and Topp Solutions the Corporate Social Responsibility Award. Nine industry awards will also be made.

CITYWIDE ENERGY UPGRADES: Miami Mayor Tibor Hollo Tomás Regalado and other civic leaders have voted to bring Florida’s largest climate resiliency property assesses clean energy (PACE) program to every resident and business in the city’s five districts. In Florida, Ygrene has financed more than 90% of the PACE projects to date, providing residential, commercial and multifamily property owners financing to immediately install efficiency, renewable energy and climate resiliency upgrades with no up-front costs. The voluntary program allows homeowners to make energy improvements and add hurricane protection immediately and repay the cost over up to 20 years through yearly assessments on their property tax bills.

RAPID ACCESS: Miami city commissioners have agreed to pay for a medical device used to establish stable and secure vascular access. On April 14, commissioners waived requirements for competitive sealed bidding and awarded a contract for the EZ-IO Intraosseous Infusion System and accessories from Arrow International Inc. for the Department of Fire-Rescue for a three-year term for an estimated $75,000. EZ-IO can establish stable and secure vascular access in less than 10 seconds for adults or children, awake or unconscious. Many EMS services in the US use EZ-IO as their first-line solution for vascular access in cardiac arrest and resuscitation scenarios, enabling critical medications and fluids to be given very early in resuscitative efforts, according to officials. A staff investigation determined that Arrow is the only provider of this equipment.

POPULAR PASSPORT KIOSKS: Roughly half of all international passengers arriving at Miami International Airport use Automated Passport Control kiosks, Miami-Dade Aviation Director and CEO Emilio González told the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce this month. MIA was the second airport to have functioning self-service kiosks, which he said aren’t federally funded. The first 36 in 2013 cost $3.6 million. The kiosks can be used by US citizens and those of 38 countries participating in the US Department of State’s Visa Waiver Program.

KEEPING TRACK: Miami leaders want to make it easier to deal with vacant and rundown buildings. The city commission has approved an amendment requiring the registration and maintenance of certain real property by the mortgagee, providing for penalties and enforcement.

City Attorney Victoria Mendez said the amendment tightened up the existing ordinance. “It streamlines the process,” she said. The move establishes a process to address the deterioration and blight of neighborhoods caused by vacant properties and Victoria Mendez properties with defaulted mortgages, and to regulate and reduce these properties. Foreclosed, vacant and abandoned properties cause communities increased compliance concerns, often threatening community health and vitality, the legislation reads. This amendment aims to give the city a better grip on properties being left vacant and not maintained properly.

CORRECTION: Several recent stories have misstated Neisen Kasdin’s title. He is office-managing partner of Akerman LLP.

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Current plans would have one rail line across the MacArthur Causeway link with one along the Beach.

State disagrees with Baylink plan, won’t take lead to make it happen

BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

While the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will continue to financially support a design and engineering study to develop a Beach Corridor Direct Connection, the department won’t take the lead on a long, costly examination of building fixed-guideway rail linking downtown Miami to the Miami Beach Convention Center via the MacArthur Causeway.

An agreement, based on the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Executive Committee (PEC), came before county commissioners April 19 but was deferred. Commissioner Bruno Barreiro moved to put off approving the agreement with FDOT and the cities of Miami and Miami Beach to develop what was formerly termed Baylink.

It was the second time he asked for a deferral. He said last week he didn’t want to hold up the decision but was postponing on behalf of the county transportation department, which was awaiting additional information.

On Tuesday, Mr. Barreiro received an email from Gus Pego, district secretary for FDOT, explaining that the department is not in agreement with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) placed on the commission’s April 19 agenda.

“As you are aware, the MOU was based on the previous recommendations of the MPO [for] ‘the direct connect’ and not the expanded and bifurcated scope enhanced by the PEC,’ Mr. Pego’s email stated. “As more information becomes available, the MOU

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

A Tuesday email from Gus Pego said the state disagrees with plans.

should be revised accordingly.”

Mr. Barreiro told Miami Today on Tuesday that county Transit and Public Works Director Alice Bravo requested that he make a motion to defer voting while she and FDOT officials looked into how best to apply for federal funds. The federal environmental study could take years and cost about $10 million.

“My understanding is the City of Miami has funding in place for its portion of the study and construction,” Mr. Barreiro said. “Ms. Bravo was working with FDOT on finding the best funding outcome for the continued study with the final objective for capital funding.”

The county commission is now scheduled to vote on the agreement May 17.

The agreement, which to date only the City of Miami has signed, states the cities and county each agree to contribute $417,000 (4.17% apiece of the initial project funding), the state $5 million (50%) and the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust $3.75 million (37.5%). The funds would be returned or increased based on the respective percentages, depending on actual project costs.

Light rail connecting Miami Beach with the mainland could cost more than $532 million.

On Feb. 4, the MPO’s PEC, comprised of the mayors of Mi‘Ms. Bravo was working ami-Dade, Miami and Miami with FDOT on finding the Beach and county commissioners Xavier Suarez and Mr. best funding outcome for Barreiro, unanimously supthe continued study with ported the agreement to build the final objective for Baylink.

Now that FDOT has said that capital funding.’ it’s not supportive of the PEC’s Bruno Barreiro vote, Mr. Barreiro said a new lead agency must be identified,

which could be the county or another government entity.

The agreement, which Mr. Pego said should be revised, stated the parties wanted to continue the efforts already underway to improve regional mobility, which have involved local, regional and state stakeholder collaboration and coordination, including ongoing efforts to identify optimum multimodal alternatives for a balanced regional transportation system.

“The development of a multimodal transportation system within the southeast Florida region involves numerous transportation agencies and stakeholders and is a complex undertaking,” the agreement says. “Each of the parties has skills and abilities necessary for successful implementation of the Beach Corridor Direct Connection.”

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MIAMI TODAY

VIEWPOINT

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

MIAMITODAY Miami Today is an independent voice of the community, published weekly at 2000 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 100, Miami, Florida 33133. Telephone (305) 358-2663

Build transit on a smart track with clear focus, paid rides Transit in Miami-Dade might soon roll toward a sidetrack reminiscent of a 2002 trip to a baitand-switch tax that bought little new rail while roads congested.

S o m e county commissioners are talking about Michael Lewis making all transit free, funded by a new tax like the one we created for transit in 2002. At the same time, planners just agreed to build six new transit legs with not a penny more in their wallets but taxes in their minds.

If we tried all that, we’d leave a safe route of having more riders pay a bit of their costs while adding to the transit grid piece by piece.

Instead, we’d be seeking freebies for more riders funded by a new tax promising everything to everyone. We’ve taken that bumpy ride before.

Either way – a secure route to grow incrementally, or a route to everything for everyone and freebies for all – must rest on more than aspirations. Transit is fueled by numbers. If they scare you, turn the page now.

The trip began when Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Jordan sought to re-

store a fare for Metromover, which serves downtown.

Metromover riders had paid fares until the 2002 vote that created a tax pledged to build eight mass transit routes. As a giveback for taxing ourselves, Metromover would be free. Voters bought it.

It was a bad buy. No major routes appeared. Money instead went to maintain what we had. In 2014, the sales tax that was supposed to build new routes instead funded $150 million in transit operating losses.

Ms. Jordan, saying that well-to-do riders and tourists fill Metromover, recently proposed restoring a fare because all other transit, with its lower-income riders, is paid.

Had a committee passed her plan two weeks ago, a $2.25 Metromover fare could have yielded $22 million a year.

Instead, commissioners killed it – so Ms. Jordan reversed course and vowed to seek free transit for all.

That would be going from adding $22 million to subtracting $115.5 million in current fares, a $137.5 million annual swing.

Doubling our transit tax and divvying up the money as we do now would about cover that swing – remember, the tax yielded $150 million to run transit in 2014.

But that would leave almost nothing to build six routes that planners just put on track.

On the other hand, adding no tax but

charging $2.25 for all transit, including Metromover, would give us $22 million a year to build. A more ambitious doubling of the tax too would leave $175 million a year. Bonding on $175 million could build some of those six new legs.

But remember, the more transit we build the more we’ll subsidize, even if we charged everyone full fare (we don’t, but that’s another story).

The $558 million transit operating costs in 2014, for example, were paid by state, federal, gasoline tax, other funds and $150 million from the transit tax, plus fares themselves that at $115.5 million totaled less than 21% of operating costs.

That means that for every full-paying rider we lure onto new transit, 79% of costs come from taxes. If we made all transit free, riders would cover none and taxpayers 100%.

There is no free lunch. Someone pays.

If social engineering shifts people to free transit, taxpayers pay. But riders should pay something, just as people do in public housing – heavily subsidized but not totally free.

Some argue that Metromover use is growing only because it’s free. But no evidence shows that free rides generate that gain.

Over the past five Januaries (the most recent figures) free Metromover ridership rose a healthy 16.1% while paid bus ridership fell a very sick 18.3%.

But a better comparison is to Metrorail,

where in five years paid ridership grew 13.8%. That’s not as much gain as Metromover’s 16.1%, but in the period Metromover also became more useful by adding a station in Brickell that had been closed and reopening a Museum Park stop for the new art museum. Plus, the core city population has boomed, giving Metromover use three spurts in the period.

Subtract those three changes and free Metromover and paid Metrorail would have gained about equally in five years. A fare didn’t deter riders on Metrorail and it wouldn’t on Metromover.

As to complaints that collecting fares would balloon costs, smart phones could pay most fares and an honor system (they’re used elsewhere) could handle the others. Big collection costs are passé.

Clearly, free transit is the wrong track.

Also clearly, no matter how many routes planners declare equal targets, they must build some lines before others even if we could find the money.

Because Miami has a massive edifice complex, we often forget that whatever we build we must operate and maintain.

Even if fares pay 21% of operations, the other 79% must come from somewhere.

Eliminating fares would just leave a larger funding cavity.

In transit, like most things, one success in adding capacity beats six promised new lines that aren’t going anywhere fast. And fares help keep them going somewhere.

Rationality and competence tests: the cable guy and airports My wife and I have made plenty of irrational decisions in our lives. For example, moving to Nashville, or trying to convince Miami drivers to signal. But once we make irrational decisions, we deal with them very Isaac Prilleltensky competently.

In contrast, there are plenty of people who handle any decision, rational or irrational, most incompetently. Due to our Seasonal Irrational Decision Disorder (SIDD), Ora and I encountered many of these people last summer.

It all started when we decided to help our son and his wife move to a better place in New York City. That would allow our son and his wife to finally leave the ridiculously expensive and ludicrously small rental they were sharing with some insects in the Lower East Side.

My competent wife Ora turned her office at home in Miami into logistics central and handled most aspects of the move. She ably dealt with real estate agents, contractors, movers and utility companies.

I pitched in by calling the cable company in New York. This is a company that starts with V and rhymes with horizon, but I am afraid to identify for fear of reprisals.

To make life easier, I put on automatic payment everything: car lease, credit card, Comcast, AT&T, life insurance, pool service, condo fees, bribes to city officials, everything.

So it was only natural that I would want to do the same with Verizon (oops). I clicked on one of the 17 emails I had

The Writer Isaac Prilleltensky is the author of the forthcoming book “The Laughing Guide to Well-Being: Using Humor and Science to Become Happier and Healthier.” received from them to set up automatic pay. After I completed the registration process for a new user, it told me that I already had an online account, which I never set up.

As a good detective, I thought that the system perhaps still linked the new account number to the old account number, which was in our son’s name, so I asked our son for his username and password, which he provided, which Verizon (what the heck), rejected. What followed was a Kafkaesque interminable loop of the system asking me security questions: Name of my elementary school Name of my first pet My mother’s maiden name Year in which the Ottoman empire was founded by Oghuz Turks Once I entered what I thought were correct answers, I eagerly waited for the system to send me the username or password, but no, instead, I kept getting messages, in large red font, to the effect that: “the combination of your email, answers, or attitude is incorrect.”

The cortisol I secreted during this episode was enough to create a nuclear stress bomb, which I plan to detonate next time a Verizon rep asks “Is there anything else we can do for you today?”

But wait, once I solved the automatic pay problem I had to contend with incompetent technicians who had to come to the new place no fewer than four times to get

the internet to work.

But before all of this took place, Ora and I had to get to New York from Miami, which of course entailed a stop at MIA. This is where irrational and incompetent blended seamlessly and deliciously.

After we obtained our boarding passes and sent our luggage we headed for security. But before you meet a TSA agent, you must show your boarding passes to an official directing traffic at the security lines.

One line was for TSA pre-check passengers, one for wheelchair users and one for the masses. Ora was both TSA precheck and a wheelchair user, which completely puzzled the lady directing traffic. I couldn’t tell whether her decision was irrational, incompetent, or both, but she sent Ora to the TSA pre-check, which had a very long line up, almost as long as the regular line.

Given that Ora goes through a special search anyway because she uses a scooter, I could not understand the logic behind sending us to a long lineup when the wheelchair line was completely empty.

When I approached her and asked if we could use the wheelchair line, she said that we are TSA pre-check, to which I replied that my wife also uses a scooter and it would be much faster to go through a line that was empty. She seemed confused but eventually let us use the wheelchair line.

It is possible that there is some logic behind her decision that completely escapes me, so before I turn into a complete judgmental tool, let’s explore her thinking.

Some options for her reasoning: “I’m facing two people. Both with TSA pre-check, but only one with wheelchair.

Two is bigger than one, so I need to send them to the pre-check line.” Somewhat

rational, but incompetent.

“One is in a wheelchair, but both have TSA pre-check. The line for pre-check is long; the line for wheelchairs is empty.

I will send them to pre-check.” Irrational, incompetent, and, of course, antiSemitic.

“The lady uses a scooter. The line for wheelchairs is empty. She cannot use her pre-check anyway because she goes through a special search. She will be better off going through the wheelchair line. But since she lives in Miami, she is probably faking her disability, like most people in Miami, just to get a handicap parking permit, like my aunt Sofia, my cousin Lourdes and my uncle Panchito. I bet a hundred dollars that she is faking the disability. In fact, she reminds me of my aunt Sofia. Oh, poor auntie Sofia. I feel for her, but she is such a liar. I will show this Prilleltensky couple! Pre-check.”

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

9

Taiwan displacing China as Miami’s hope for Asia flights

BY CAMILA CEPERO

Expectations that China could be the main hub solidifying the link for Asian air travel to South Florida may be fading away as Taiwan begins to emerge as a promising central location for flights from Asia to South Florida.

After years of discussions about how to strengthen the link between Asian businesses and Miami, aviation officials put together an Asia taskforce to plan how to finally do so.

The taskforce, created last year, aims to engage businesses with Asian origins or interests by using questionnaires, inviting foreign aviation representatives and working in collaboration.

“Our studies have shown that for Miami there is not a China market, per say. There really is not. There are not enough people that will fill a plane to come from mainland China to Miami,” said Emilio González, MiamiDade Aviation Department director and CEO. Although passenger traffic from China is low, he said, there is very robust Asia traffic.

Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport in the capital city of Taipei is expanding and will soon have the capacity to host 60 million passengers a year.

“If you add up, for example, all of the travelers that come from Asia – South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, mainland China and Taiwan – now you can fill planes,” Mr. González said, “so what we need to do is find the right airline with the right hub that will make this a profitable route.”

Geographically, Miami is the furthest point in the US from Asia. This introduces logistical issues such as the limitations of the aircraft themselves.

“If you were to fly non-stop from Taiwan to Miami, it’s just under 18 hours and you better hope you have enough fuel to get you there or you will glide into Nassau,” Mr. González said.

While developing route marketing, officials look for indicators by following the industry to see which air carriers are buying planes with the necessary endurance and fuel capacity to make transpacific trips.

“We have identified two Taiwanese carriers – China Airlines, which already flies cargo to Miami, and EVA Air. Both of these carriers are buying large amounts of ultra long-range Boeing 777’s and we’re in conversation with them,” Mr. González said.

The Boeing 777 is a family of the world’s largest twinjets and has a typical seating capacity for 314 to 451 passengers, with a range of 5,235 to 9,500 nautical miles.

Both Taiwanese carriers have the Boeing 777-300ER in their fleet. China Airlines is introducing Airbus A350 XWB planes into its fleet this year, while EVA Air opted for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Both planes are positioned to compete with each

Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport and will soon be able to handle 60 million passengers a year.

other in terms of passenger capacity, fuselage, features and engines.

“I really don’t want to waste anybody’s time in marketing a city they can’t fly to,” Mr. González said. “Taoyuan International Airport is expanding to

be the regional hub.” This is especially notable for EVA Air, which aims to develop the airport into a transpacific hub.

Miami International Airport is already able to accommodate the planes as well as the influx of passengers in the tens of

millions, Mr. González said.

“We understand the geographic challenges. If EVA Air starts flying from Taipei to Houston, they consider that a big deal. We’re still a couple of hours further than Houston. We do have a market here, but we

also understand the physical limitations as well,” Mr. González said.

EVA Air launched flights to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport in June 2015, making it the airline’s first long-haul destination in five years.

“There’s a science to this.

We don’t want a plane filled with people flying economy class. We want a plane with a robust premium passenger as well, and we don’t see that [coming from mainland China], but what we do see is a very robust Asia traffic,” Mr. González said.

With Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport becoming a huge Asian travel hub, he said, it would draw customers from many nations. With air carriers that have planes that could conceivably make the journey, such as China Airlines and EVA Air, flying out of that airport, it could prove to be the Asian hub to Miami.

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TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

Court decision may pave way for commuter rail downtown

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Though the Florida Legislature dealt a setback to efforts of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) to bring Tri-Rail commuter service into downtown Miami, a recent Florida Supreme Court decision may pave a way.

When this year’s legislative session ended in March, the ruling body declined to pass an amendment that would have clarified the legal liability for the four miles of track that Tri-Rail and All Aboard Florida bullettrain service from Miami to Orlando will share. Without that, the Florida Department of Transportation wouldn’t release the $20 million it has pledged.

But, the unanimous April 7 court decision strongly suggests that government agencies like SFRTA can indemnify private parties, like All Aboard Florida, unless state law expressly forbids it, Jack Stephens, the authority’s executive director, said Tuesday.

According to a memo by the authority’s legal team, the high

court reversed an earlier ruling (Fla. DOT v. Schwefringhaus 2016) concerning an accident on a crossing owned by CSX Transportation. An accident victim successfully sued the railroad over a crossing she said was not maintained property; the railroad then sued the transportation department based on a 1936 grade crossing agreement between them.

The state transportation department claimed it had no responsibility.

“The Florida Supreme Court found FDOT liable under the indemnity provision in the crossing agreement because the court concluded that the entire agreement, including the indemnification provision, was ‘statutorily authorized,’ despite the fact that FDOT did not have explicit statutory authorization to indemnify CSX under the agreement,” the memo said.

“The Supreme Court rejected FDOT’s argument that the indemnification provision was void because it did not have statutory authority to indemnify private parties.”

Photo by Maxine Usdan

“We have not heard whether All Aboard’s lawyers have looked at it and agreed with it,”Jack Stephens said of court ruling interpretation.

“The decision in Schwefreinghaus has broad implications for SFRTA and other governmental entities, as the holding in Schwefreinghaus is not limited to grade crossing agreements,” the memo continued.

“Although Schwefreinghaus involved a grade crossing agreement, the Supreme Court did not

dwell on the particular type of contract in reaching its decision.

It focused instead on the statutory authority of governmental entities to enter into contracts generally.”

If the legal team’s conclusion is correct, a major hurdle will be cleared, Mr. Stephens said.

“We have not heard whether All

Aboard Florida’s lawyers have looked at it and agreed with it.

But if we are successful, it is our intent to bring all of this before our board of directors” on May 27.

There are two other options: SFRTA can create a $5 million self-insurance fund with limits of up to $295 million and pay about $1 million in premiums per year, or can wait until the 2017 legislative session, which begins in January, and appeal to the ruling body again. “That might be the best of all possible options, but we can’t wait until then,” Mr. Stephens said. “We need to know now so we can move forward.”

All the local funding commitments for the $70 million project are in place, with pledges made

by SFRTA, the Omni and Southeast Overtown/Park West community redevelopment agencies, Miami’s Downtown Development Authority, Miami-Dade County (part of which will come from the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust), the City of Miami and the Bayfront Park Management Trust.

Six-corridor transportation plan awaits funding, timetable

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

The Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) last week unanimously adopted a new plan to introduce rapid transit along six corridors, though development of all six will probably take place at different times and be financed by different means.

The routes are the: Beach Corridor, between

Miami Beach and Miami.

East-West Corridor, along State Road 836.

Kendall Corridor, from Dadeland to Southwest 162nd Avenue.

North Corridor, along Northwest 27th Avenue from west of downtown to Northwest 215th Street.

Northeast Corridor, from downtown to Aventura, largely along the Florida East Coast

Railway tracks.

South Corridor, from Dadeland to Southwest 344th Street, along US 1.

The proposal, which has been dubbed the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit plan, was approved both by the MPO’s Transit Solutions Committee and its Governing Board.

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Alice Bravo, director of the county’s Trans-

Public Notice NOTICE IS GIVEN that a meeting of the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners will be held on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at 9:30 AM, in the Commission Chambers, located on the Second Floor of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. First Street, Miami, Florida, wherein, among other matters to be considered, a public hearing will be held at such time that the item is called on the following: t 0 SEJOBODF relating to vehicles for hire; amending Chapter 31, Article I, Section 31-77 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, to prohibit the operation of vehicles transporting passengers for compensation without authorization; creating Chapter 31, Article VII of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, regulating transportation network entities, transportation network entity drivers and transportation network entity vehicles operating in the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County t 0 SEJOBODF amending Chapter 31 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, relating to regulation of taxicabs; amending requirements relating to licensing and regulation of taxicabs t 0 SEJOBODF amending Chapter 31, Article VI of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, relating to regulation of limousines; amending requirements relating to licensing and regulation of limousines All interested parties may appear and be heard at the time and place specified.

The proposed ordinances listed below will have a Second Reading to be considered for enactment by the Board at the time and place specified above. t 0 SEJOBODF amending Chapter 31, Article III of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, relating to regulation of passenger motor carriers; amending definitions and application procedures All interested parties may appear at the time and place specified.

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portation and Public Works departments, appeared before the solutions committee April 20.

“We in this community have not been willing to take the first step and to keep on going,” Mr. Gimenez said. “If we had taken bold steps 25 or 30 years ago, we would have had systems in place by now.”

Rather than identify one corridor as the most important, the mayor said the county should begin environmental studies – a key step to getting state and federal funding – on all of them.

“It takes a while to get the full studies done, but the MPO should establish that as a priority.”

Part of the challenge, Ms. Bravo said, is that “we don’t have one area of density; we have pockets of high density in different areas.” Areas of rapid employment growth are also difficult to pinpoint, she said, though current thinking points to Doral and Coral Gables.

Recently, there has been some streamlining of the procedure to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, a requirement for federal funding, Ms. Bravo said.

“That’s a point in our favor; it behooves us to start the NEPA studies,” she said. Federal New Starts projects require all studies to be done within 24 months of the grant application, so having the environmental studies in hand is the safest route, she explained. “Without that, we will see opportunities pass by us.”

“As an MPO board, we recently made rapid transit the highest priority in Miami-Dade County,” said Francis Suarez, MPO vice chair and a Miami city commissioner, who sponsored the new transit plan before the group. “Today, we have the opportunity to take another step on a thousand-mile jour-

ney. We really need to take tangible steps forward and prioritize these six corridors, begin the studies immediately.”

“I like all of the corridors, but obviously, there wasn’t a price tag attached,” said Bruno Barreiro, MPO member and Miami-Dade commissioner. “I think we need to state what the price tag is for the studies. Without a funding source to build this stuff, it’s another plan on the shelf. We need to be informative to the public, tell them what we are spending and what we are looking at. Keep them engaged and informed.”

“We have estimates,” Mr. Gimenez said. “We can afford some of this stuff, and some is already being studied. It’s a lot of money – billions of dollars, some of which we don’t have – but we need to start the process in order for us to have this.”

Funds might come from the half-penny sales tax for transit, some from state and federal sources, and some via publicprivate partnerships, he said.

“We don’t want the perfect to be the enemy of the good, and this is good.”

“Your comments are extremely refreshing,” said Dennis Moss, MPO member, solutions committee chair and county commissioner. “We have not been willing to state that this is not going to be free. We’ve got to add transit and get serious about it.”

“We are moving toward a critical milestone moment in the leadership of our county,” said Jean Monestime, chair of both the MPO and the county commission, at the meeting of the MPO governing board. “It matters that you endorse this,” he told Mayor Gimenez. “This is a great show of leadership and a great day for Miami-Dade County.”

16

FINANCIAL TRENDS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

With stable job market, demand for finance education soars

BY CAMILA CEPERO

After making its way out of the financial crisis relatively unscathed, the demand for finance education in Miami business schools is growing at shocking rates, with a stabilizing job market awaiting graduates.

In the wake of the financial crisis, people who were suddenly left unemployed decided to enroll in college or pursue a master’s degree, said Shahid Hamid, chair of Florida International University’s Department of Finance.

“The demand for finance education never declined,” he said.

“Essentially, it was flat for a while... [but] the demand for finance education did not go down. In fact, it went up.”

Since 2010, there has been a 50% increase in enrollment in Florida International University’s finance programs with roughly 25%-30% being in the past two to three years, he said, adding that the sudden finance enrollment increase can be partly attributed to the university’s enrollment increasing 23% since 2010, with 4%-%5 of that being in the past two years.

“Since the crisis, I have seen the demand go up,” said Nichole Castater, assistant professor of finance at Barry University.

“What [students] really want to know is how the market works.

It’s more than just teaching theory now. It’s more interactive, more hands-on, more experiential learning than it used to be,” she said.

“Based on what I see, I would say finance is becoming more popular... It has really picked up steam. Right now, it’s the third largest major at the university, so clearly the demand is there,” said Alok Kumar, chair of the University of Miami’s Department of Finance and Gabelli Asset Management professor of finance.

An area of student interest is crypto-currency like Bitcoin, which has properties like physical currency.

“The undergrad program certainly has new ‘enhancements,’ including courses in private wealth management, hedge funds, venture capitalism and private equity,” Dr. Kumar said.

There is also a growing demand for courses in market microstructure, he said.

“Mainly, jobs are in this growing area of market microstructure because the way people trade is changing rapidly and students who are prepared for these changes will do better,” he said.

“I see that the trend in the market is towards specialized programs and we are clearly seeing signs of that in our Master of Science in Finance program,” Dr. Kumar said. “We started off with 10 to 12 students this year and now we have a class of 25 to 30.”

“In the Miami area there’s a large private wealth management industry,” Dr. Kumar said.

“There is also a growing industry in hedge funds in and around Miami, which is one of the reasons we’re offering these courses.” The department is also seeing a demand for courses in banking, he said.

‘The demand for One area of student interest finance education did not right now, Dr. Castater said, is go down. In fact, it went crypto-currency – a digital currency that, although distinct from up.’ physical currency such as bank Shahid Hamid notes, has the same properties as physical currency.

‘There is also a growing industry in hedge funds in and around Miami, which is one of the reasons we’re offering these courses.’

Alok Kumar “It’s a currency, like any other currency, and students want to know how that’s traded,” she said. One example of crypto-currency is bitcoin, a digital asset and peer-to-peer payment system.

Professors in the department, Dr. Castater said, can put students in touch with people in Africa, where crypto-currency is one of the few ways people can get wealth.

The demand for what are usually considered typical finance job trajectories, such as banking or Wall Street, are still strong – even in the face of a rise in

interest in entrepreneurial courses, Dr. Kumar said.

Investment and commercial banking are popular specializations nowadays, Dr. Hamid said, as well as risk management.

“Risk management is the most lucrative, but that is one area that was hit the most because of the crisis – but it’s bouncing back,” he said.

New factors, such as college recruiting by corporations, are also playing a role in helping graduates kick-start their careers, Dr. Hamid said. “What has happened is that big banks that would normally not go recruit now do interview students and look for students that can help with Latin American business.”

“I see a demand for online programs growing,” Dr. Kumar said, adding that the University of Miami finance department currently offers a completely online Master of Science in Finance program. “I think it’s easier for people who have full-time jobs to enroll in online programs.”

“Finance itself has been revolutionized by all of the information that is now online. You have all sorts of online real-time data,” Dr. Castater said, “but I don’t feel that finance lends itself to online teaching. There are certain things that are better explained in person.”

However, online tools like online simulations offered by

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Barry University’s student managed investment fund can help students learn the application of classroom theories through firsthand experience, she said.

“We offer 40%-50% of finance courses online,” Dr. Hamid said, speaking about the Florida International University finance department. “We have grown so fast that we don’t have the physical capacity or classes to manage that growth,” he said. However, graduate-level finance courses are all face-toface and not offered online.

The department is looking into ways to make “hybrid” curriculums where students could alternate on a weekly basis between physical and online lectures or at least do exams and assessments in-class, Dr. Hamid said.

In terms of pulling the plug on online programs, he said, “the trend is that there’s no stopping it because of logistical reasons and student demand, so we are offering more and more online courses.”

The school rarely, if ever, offers open enrollment for finance programs anymore, Dr. Hamid said. “We have more students than we can handle. A 30% growth in two to three years is a lot.”

“First, we open up enrollment to students, and 95% of the seats are taken right away. For the coming semester, everything is tapped out – we’re at capacity.

For fall semester, we’re at 90% capacity. Clearly the demand has gone up,” Dr. Hamid said.

Nowadays, students have the option of not following the traditional route, Dr. Castater said.

“People used to go work for consulting firms or investment banks,” she said. “Now, computers have made trading more efficient, and maybe you don’t need as many finance professionals. But those with finance skills will always be needed at corporations as financial analysts or general management.”

‘It’s more than just teaching theory now. It’s more interactive, more hands-on...’

Nichole Castater

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

MIAMI TODAY

23

Catalonia bid for Miami ties targets Beacon Council accord

BY CAMILA CEPERO

Multinational business relationships between Catalonia and Miami are strengthening as the Spanish region’s business development office in the city thrives as a port of US entry for Catalan companies and a potential trade and economic agreement nears with the Beacon Council.

Commercial relationships between Catalonia and the US began in 1797 with the establishment of the first American consulate in Barcelona. Today, more than 500 Catalan companies are established in the US, while 710 US multinational companies are established in Catalonia.

During the past 30 years the Government of Catalonia has sought internationalization as an engine for growth of the Catalan economy.

Today, Catalonia Trade & Investment – the government’s agency for foreign investment attraction and business competitiveness – has 36 business development offices worldwide covering more than 90 markets, with five of them in the US in New York, Silicon Valley, Boston, Washington and Miami.

“The office in Miami is one of the most active offices that we have in the world,” said Jordi Baiget, minister of business and knowledge of the Government of Catalonia. “We created the office in Miami in 1996 and we have helped more than 600 companies do business in the US and Miami.”

As the only office in charge of focusing on business throughout the southern US and the Caribbean, it is the second most active office in the worldwide network, yielding the top spot to the Paris office. “[Miami] has very strong links with Europe and Latin America,” Mr. Baiget said, “We’re trying to close the triangle between countries of Latin America, the US and Europe.”

The most active Catalan com-

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Jordi Baiget cited business activities of Catalonia’s office in Miami.

panies involved in the Miami office have interests in the pharmaceutical, chemical, food and tourism industries, with a finance sector as well, he said.

The objective of the office is to help find new marketing channels, do market research, make contacts and provide advice to break into the local market. It provides each company with office space inside the building and announced last week the opening of 15 coworking spaces.

The best use of the co-working spaces, Mr. Baiget said, “is to put one to three companies [that have] common interests and give them the opportunity to meet and do business together if they want.”

Currently, 70 Catalan companies are established in Miami with 76 subsidiaries throughout Florida. Catalan companies looking to enter Florida now include those in the food and beverage sectors, as well as those related to hotel services and products, along with companies that export consumer

products and medical supplies.

“We have a list of agendas of companies coming here,” Mr. Baiget said.

“From the office of Miami we created Catalan Wines USA,” Mr. Baiget said.

Catalan Wines USA was created and developed by the office to promote groups of selected wineries from 12 destinations of origin in Catalonia.

The purpose is to market Catalan wines to importers, distributors, sommeliers, chefs, wholesalers and store owners.

“We are trying to export different Catalan wines from different wineries, especially the best quality ones, but that are small,” Mr. Baiget said.

Catalan Wines USA has showcased more than 50 wineries, with each presenting three wines, thereby promoting more than 100 wines from Catalonia.

“In terms of trade, Catalan exports to the US are growing at rates of 15%-20%. This is a past trend that we want to continue in the future,’ Mr. Baiget said. “At the same time, we

want relationships with exporters from Florida companies to Catalonia to continue growing also.”

In 2014 and 2015, Catalonia Trade & Investment managed 112 investment projects of multinational companies in Catalonia, the most since the agency’s founding in 1985.

The US was the No. 1 country for foreign investments managed by Catalonia Trade & Investment, with 16.9 % of the total. The US was followed by France with 11.6%, Japan with 8%, China with 7.2% and Germany and Switzerland with 5.3% each.

Catalan exports to the US in 2015 increased 21% over 2014.

“Miami is the best place for Catalan companies to enter the US. In fact, two-thirds of Catalan companies who are coming to the US are doing so through our Miami office,” Mr. Baiget said, adding that it’s a logical transition because of Miami’s commonplace Spanish language and openness to outsiders.

Last week, a Catalonian business trade mission including 18 Catalan companies visited Florida, California and Washington seeking business opportunities in fields such as gastronomy and technological innovation. Participating firms included Medtep, Opentrends and iContaniers.

“We are now negotiating an agreement with the Beacon Council and Catalonia Trade & Investment in order to promote economic and trade relationships between Catalonia and Florida,” Mr. Baiget said. The aim is to seek and identify new opportunities for business relations between Catalonia and Florida, he said.

“We are optimistic about the relationship between Catalan companies and Florida and Miami,” Mr. Baiget said. “We have mutual interests between administrations – between the Government of Catalonia and the governments of Miami-Dade and Florida. We hope that in the future these relationships can be strengthened.”

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NOTICE OF ACTION TO: Just In Time Entertainment, Inc., and Eddie C. Gonzalez, Sr. a/k/a Carlos Eduardo Molina Gonzalez, Sr.: Last known address: 1200 Brickell Bay Drive, #2120, Miami, Florida 33131 YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that a contract and indebtedness action (specifically, for (i) fraud in the inducement; (ii) breach of contract; (iii) tortious interference with contractual relations; and (iv) defamation) has been filed against you and that you are required to serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, to ChaseLawyers at 21 S.E. 1st Avenue, Suite 700, Miami, Florida 33131 (Phone Number: (305) 373-7665), within 30 days of the first publication of this notice, and file the original with the clerk of this court either before May 24, 2016 on Plaintiff’s attorney or immediately thereafter, otherwise a default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint or petition.

Dated on: April 05, 2016, As Clerk of the Court

By Torey Stewart, Deputy Clerk

24

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

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