Miami Today: Week of Thursday, July 12, 2018

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

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APPRAISERS’ VALUATIONS OF CITY GOLF COURSE DOUBLE BECKHAM GROUP’S RENT FIGURE, pg. 11 AIRPORT TAKES OFF: Domestic and international passengers passing through Miami International Airport have each increased 1.95% in the first five months of the year, according to figures from the county’s aviation department. In May alone, domestic traffic was up 1.15% with international traffic off .21%. In the five months the airport handled 19,054,175 passengers, which would annualize to a total of 45.73 million – a calculation that doesn’t take into account historically heavy or light travel months. Last year’s total was 44.07 million passengers.

The Achiever

By Jesse Scheckner

LOTTERY SELLS RECORD $6.7 BILLION: Strong Powerball and Mega Million jackpots helped Florida Lottery sales grow 8 percent to a record $6.7 billion over the past year, according to the state agency. Scratch-off tickets accounted for 69% of the sales in the fiscal year that ended June 30, up about $400 million from the prior fiscal year. The Lottery anticipates that up to $1.75 billion of the money generated by sales will be transferred to the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.

PETITION CHARTER CHANGE: Miami-Dade residents will vote on whether to change the county Home Rule Charter to prohibit people circulating petitions from paying on a per-signature basis, commissioners decided Tuesday. The proposed charter change is one of several recommended by the county’s Charter Review Task Force, which formed in March 2017 to review the charter and recommend to commissioners amendments or revisions. The proposed change will now join others on the November ballot which, if passed, will make elections for the clerk of courts nonpartisan; allow county employees to hold any elective office except county elective offices without losing their jobs; and eliminate runoff elections when mayoral or county commission candidates are unopposed, and not counting votes cast for withdrawn, disqualified or deceased opponents.

PUTTING OUT FIRES: Frank Rollason, who was interim village manager of North Bay Village until January, has been named assistant director of the Office of Emergency Management with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department by Mayor Carlos Giménez after Curtis Sommerhoff resigned from the pivotal emergency post just before the start of hurricane season.

Mr. Sommerhoff left to become emergency management director of Florida State University. Mr. Rollason has been in the public sector for more than 40 years, Mr. Giménez noted in a memo to commissioners announcing his appointment, starting as a City of Miami firefighter in the same department as the mayor. As Miami fire chief, Mr. Giménez in 1998 named Mr. Rollason deputy fire chief for administration.

Nick Miceli

Photo by Cristina Sullivan

Plans six more South Florida TD Bank locations in year The profile is on Page 4

County cuts a bit off $2.6 billion stadium bonds

By Jesse Scheckner

Up to $80 million in sports-related revenue refund bonds have been approved for issuance, a move that will save Miami-Dade County about $7.6 million through October 2039, according to Deputy Mayor Ed Marquez.

County commissioners Tuesday voted in favor of refunding, redeeming or rendering null a portion of bonds issued in 2009 to help pay for Marlins Stadium and related public infrastructure valued at about $123.4 million.

The county will refund about $74.1 million through 2039.

If issued by their Sept. 6 delivery date, the bonds will save the county about 7.2% of the amount of the refunded bonds – higher than the 5% minimum savings threshold required by the county, a memo from Mr. Marquez stated.

The tax revenue refunding bonds, referred to in the memo as Series 2018, will cover part of the $113.9 million outstanding from the original amount.

Payment of the sports franchise bonds is secured by pro sports and tourism taxes, Mr. Marquez wrote.

Arlesa Wood, director of the county finance

$10 billion investment giant lured

department’s division of bond administration, will oversee the Series 2018 refunding bond sales.

Bonds totaling $319,342,986 to help fund construction of the ballpark are projected to cost taxpayers more than $2.6 billion to repay.

The five bond series issued by the county, Ms. Wood told Miami Today, include: ■Subordinate special obligation bonds, Series 2009, which the county sold for $91.2 million and will pay out $1.9 billion to investors by the time they reach maturity in 2048.

■Professional sports franchise facilities tax revenue bonds, Series 2009C, sold for $123.4 million and set to pay out $450.3 million to investors by 2049.

■Professional sports franchise facilities tax revenue bonds, Series 2009D, sold for $5 million, worth $9.43 million to investors by 2030.

■Professional sports franchise facilities tax revenue bonds, 2009E, sold for $100 million, to pay investors $202.3 million by 2049.

■General obligation bonds, Series 2010, sold for $51 million and valued at $69 million for investors by 2039.

Other costs for the stadium included a smaller bond issue, city land, exterior infrastructure, four city-built stadium garages, plus the architecture costs paid by the Marlins.

“Outside of Fidel becoming part owner of the team, nothing would have stopped the deal,” Mayor Carlos Giménez, one of three commissioners who opposed the 2009 deal, said at the time. “I’m not anti-baseball, but I’m anti-bad deal. Anyone with any sense can see this is cockeyed.”

Attendance at the enclosed stadium in Little Havana, which opened March 2012, was expected to surpass turnout numbers at Hard Rock Stadium (then Sun Life Stadium), the Marlins’ prior home, due to eliminated weather delays, its central location and a promise by team owners to improve player salaries.

The owners instead slashed the player payroll by 77% a year later. Pay then increased through 2017 to a franchise-high $111.6 million before another 24% reduction this year, according to web aggregator baseball-reference.com.

This year, attendance at the ballpark has fallen to an all-time low for the franchise, as well as the lowest attendance rate in the league, with an average home game crowd of 9,753 people – 26% of the stadium’s full capacity, ESPN.com determined.

The Marlins, according to ESPN, is the only team with a four-digit home attendance rate and is the least-watched team in the league overall.

Downtown Miami may soon house a $10 billion asset global infrastructure investment firm after county commissioners Tuesday OK’d tax incentives to help lure the unnamed firm from New York City.

Commissioners designated the firm, code-named “Shine” in a memo from Deputy Mayor Jack Osterholt, a qualified target industry (QTI).

The designation entitles “Shine” to $385,000 in tax refunds – 80% from the state, 20% from the county over eight years – to bring here 55 jobs averaging $100,174 pay by 2022.

Ten jobs are due this year, with about 10 more annually, according to the memo.

The Beacon Council applied for the tax incentives on behalf of the firm, which is alternatively considering Houston, London and Greenwich, CT. The company has identified an undisclosed 20,000-square-foot site downtown to start construction this fiscal year if it chooses Miami.

The firm, described by Mr. Osterholt as “one of the 15 largest infrastructure investors in the world,” resembles private equity firm I Squared Capital, whose principals, Sadek Wahba and Adil Rahmathulla, are moving to Miami, according to a June 4 Bloomberg report.

Members of the Miami Downtown Development Authority traveled to Manhattan and Stamford, CT, in April to convince the firm and others to move to Miami, according to the report. Two meetings took place, code-named “Project Apple” and “Project Sunshine.”

By Florida law, companies that create high-wage jobs in highvalue industries qualify for QTI tax refunds of up to $3,000 per job created.

Companies must create at least 10 full-time jobs at salaries at least 115% of $41,516, Florida’s annual average wage. Businesses paying 150% of the state average add another $1,000 per job. Those paying 200% of the average, like “Shine,” may add $2,000.

GABLES ON SPOT OVER AN HISTORIC CLEANERS BUILDING ...

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LOWER SPEED LIMITS SLOWING TRAFFIC IN THE GABLES...

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LOGISTICS GIANT HELLMANN SELLS HEADQUARTERS SITE ...

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TEACHING GAP NARROWS AS MORE TEACHERS CERTIFIED...

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VIEWPOINT: RAIL STUDY VOTE MAY TAKE WRONG TRACK ...

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FIRST BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURSHIP ASSOCIATES COMING ...

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COUNTY VOTE MAY BRING NEW MSC CRUISES TERMINAL ...

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PLANS FOR CITY’S RIVER OFFICES SITE GIVEN THUMB’S UP ...

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MIAMI TODAY

VIEWPOINT

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018

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

Simple vote on rail study makes lots of stops along the line A single vote due this week encapsulates six interrelated concerns in getting MiamiDade County to serve us all better.

The resolution before the C h a i r m a n ’s Policy Council seems straightforward: it would order Mayor Carlos Giménez to change a consultant’s ongoing study of rapid transit choices on the South Dade Transitway Corridor and pay for an enhancement.

Specifically, Commissioner Dennis Moss is asking that the study of better busway uses include “commuter rail” on a menu that already lists heavy rail, bus rapid transit and autonomous vehicles.

Nothing is inherently wrong in commuter rail north from Homestead – it might work if we could ever afford it. But the resolution nonetheless highlights these six major issues: 1. Time is passing without action. It’s been more than two years since commissioners adopted a so-called Smart plan to create new rapid transit, the South Dade corridor was the only one of the six that actually existed when the resolution passed, and now the county is being asked to go back to square one with a revised study of what to do there.

Studies are slow.

2. Transportation needs are growing.

Population and visitors here are increasing daily, and the creaky mass transit that we now have is bleeding riders in double-digit percentages yearly. Yet promised new Metrorail cars ordered years ago to replace the 30-year-old trains on the line barely trickle into service many months late. How long would it take to build “commuter rail” cars?

3. Change orders in county contracts are common and costly. Low bidders generally win large county contracts. Yet multiplying change orders drive up contract costs and bidders’ profit margins after the fact, when there is no competition. They also drag out contracts, often for years.

4. The change order would cost money that isn’t budgeted after the mayor has warned commissioners repeatedly that he cannot create money out of thin air in a time of tightening funds. A Fitch Ratings study of the county’s finances warned in June that if voters this fall increase the Homestead exemption, the county’s general fund would take a $37 million hit. How much would starting this study over again actually cost?

5. The county’s mayor-as-manager structure makes it hard to do either job well. The “commuter rail” resolution would order Mr. Giménez as manager to somehow “find” enough money for the augmented study at the same time that Mr. Giménez as mayor is warning commissioners that it’s not fiscally responsible to keep ordering work that isn’t in the budget. A mayor should be leading, not following orders. But in the county’s structure this “strong mayor,” ironically, must follow commission orders.

L etters FIU business dean hailed for her accomplishments

Very proud of the accomplishments and strides that our FIU College of Business dean is making. She is the embodiment of Worlds Ahead!

Keep on shining, Dean Li, the business community in Miami is completely behind you and we look forward to engaging, developing and hiring your students and graduates!

Juan Carlos Gómez Wellington Construction Group

Tariffs will cost Florida in jobs and lost exports

The US Chamber of Commerce has weighed in on what President Trump’s tariffs will cost Florida and it is not good news.

Because of the US tariffs on China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico, each nation is imposing tariffs on our exports in retaliation. The chamber concludes those tariffs will immediately cost Florida over $700 million in lost exports and affect over 2½ million jobs.

In fact, the hurt on our state will go much deeper. We have 15 major ports dealing in international trade employing more than 1.8 million Floridians and 12 international airports employing tens of thousands. Annually over $143 billion in international trade runs through Florida’s transportation hubs, over $33 billion in metropolitan Miami alone.

Our state’s farmers, now targeted by

6. Undefined or unstated terms can cause problems later. “Commuter rail” isn’t defined in the resolution, but it’s considered elsewhere to be far more substantial than mere rapid transit. It usually runs 30 to 125 miles per hour from suburban areas into the heart of an urban hub. Does that hub mean to Dadeland, the northern end of the busway, or does it mean to downtown Miami via the current Metrorail tracks? That’s unstated.

Clearly, “commuter rail” differs from either light rail or Metrorail. It’s a heavierduty operation. It would probably yield very few stops between Homestead and the heart of Miami, freezing out communities along the way. The resulting “transit envy” could be an impediment, creating opponents such as the ones Brightline is finding in counties where it doesn’t plan to stop on the way from Miami to Orlando.

The largest US commuter rail systems by use are three in New York, one in Philadelphia and one in Chicago – all rail-friendly cities. Such systems have another thing in common: they usually share tracks with freight lines and inter-city rail, lowering costs. But there would be no sharing from Homestead to Dadeland – though commuter rail could share Metrorail tracks from Dadeland to downtown.

Don’t think frequency of trains. Metrorail is supposed to run at five-minute intervals in peak hours. “Commuter rail” generally runs on schedules, far less frequently and fewer hours a day.

Does that concept make sense along the South Dade busway? That essentially is what Mr. Moss is asking in seeking to

to the

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these nations, export $3.6 billion in agricultural products annually which may be lost. This is nearly 40% of Florida’s total agricultural production.

Other important sectors of our economy are also at risk. Florida employment will suffer substantially.

Any qualified economists will tell you that a trade deficit is not, as the President describes, something that causes us to “lose.”

When you buy a fishing rod at a flea market for $30 you have a trade deficit of $30. Your “loss” resulted in you receiving a fishing pole you believe is worth more than $30 – a “win.”

Likewise, when we run a trade deficit of $60 billion with Mexico, we win by receiving more than $60 billion worth of low-cost goods that we have chosen to purchase and consume. But with President Trump’s tariffs, we’ll pay $75 billion, and $15 billion will go out of our pockets and into the US Treasury – a new tax. That’s a win?

Our nation saves over $1.5 trillion annually by purchasing low-cost imported goods. Why impose a tariff to prevent potential future job losses and forsake the $1.5 trillion we pocket?

Instead, we should be using part of

broaden a study.

We appreciate the question.

Still, we’d rather the vote be narrower, merely asking the mayor how much extra time this added study could take, how much more it would cost to add a fourth possibility after work has already begun (assuming that two years after a county vote, a study has actually begun of transit what-ifs), and what budgeted projects the county would forego in order to examine an unlikely upgrade to a heavier-duty and hence costlier rail system built with money we don’t have.

We’d also want a ballpark estimate of how much extra heavier-duty rail would cost rather than extending Metrorail, which itself would still probably be out of our financial league.

If we study a big rail upgrade more suitable to denser urban areas that already have tracks laid, we might find that it is absolutely the best system that we will never be able to afford.

Is that worth the added wait to make transit decisions and the longer time to get it rolling if we could even afford it, the change order in a country contract that we would have to fund even if we could never finance commuter rail, and the lopping off of now-unspecified other projects in order to expand a study already going on?

The resolution doesn’t touch any of those consequences. Commissioners most likely will vote without even mentioning any of those dominos that would fall, one by one.

But fall they would.

Mr. Moss’s resolution makes sense in a vacuum. But in county government, there are no vacuums. Dominos keep falling.

E ditor

that money to help those who have already lost their jobs from past trade transactions and address those people by creating effective programs and systems to assist them; President Trump is doing none of that.

President Trump’s obsession with trade deficits is ignorant. Unfortunately, our elected representatives in Washington are quickly falling in line, very mildly criticizing the tariffs and disregarding our state’s real interests.

By imposing tariffs and starting a trade war, only harm will come – especially for our state of Florida.

Dr. John N. O’Brien Professor of Public Administration, Flagler College CEO, Vista Consulting Group Inc., St. Augustine

Search for Zika vaccine welcome research effort

It’s good to see leading-edge medical research in Miami as well as other parts of our state David Luther Woodward

Virginia Key’s flex park needs shade trees, fields

This so sad. Talk about a lack of vision.

With water surrounding us, the city thinks adding swimming pools is the way to go.

A better – and far less costly – plan would be to turn that parking lot into a REAL park with shade trees on the perimeter and an open field between them. When not used

for parking for the Marine Stadium, the land would be open and free to the public to use it anyway they like, from playing baseball, soccer and football to throwing Frisbees or simply having a picnic under a tree.

Remember, less is more.

DC Copeland

Flagler Street upgrade costing businesses money

I can’t wait until this work is complete on Flagler. Many businesses are losing money or closing because customers cannot get to the stores. This has gone on for years.

Ken Arguelles

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MIAMI TODAY

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018

New signs with lower speed limits slowing traffic in Gables

By Katherine Lewin

Coral Gables drivers are slowing down in some areas where 158 new speed limit signs have been installed, said Jessica Keller, the city’s assistant public works, transportation and sustainability director. Previously, there had been 127 speed limit signs on residential streets.

The 158 signs cost $149,999.60, with four pending signs in the most southern portions of Coral Gables, said Ms. Keller, with the public works department working with residents to pin down those exact locations.

The new signs, posted at all city entrances, look the same as always but are now down to 25 miles per hour from the prior 30 on residential local roads that the Photo by Cristina Sullivan city maintains. Speed limits are A new sign at the Alhambra Entrance to Coral Gables notes the general 25 mile per hour limit in the city. now down to 20 mph in gated streets or recycled, Ms. Keller said. vices, some drivers have been city’s public works department neighborhoods.

In early data collected from moving slower in areas with and police department are conThe old signs will be returned to the county, reused on Gables’ the city’s speed measuring de- new signs, Ms. Keller said. The tinuing to review the warnings

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that officers give in the affected neighborhoods since the new signs were posted but they don’t yet have an exact tally of speeding-related tickets distributed. A heavier traffic flow when the school year begins will yield more data to determine whether the new signs are actually slowing drivers down and reducing injury and fatalities, Ms. Keller said.

Speeding commuters have been using Gables streets more frequently to bypass congestion, Ms. Keller said, which could be contributing to increased accidents.

“We believe certain traffic apps are directing drivers to the streets of less congestion on a daily basis depending on what detours or crashes are occurring,” Ms. Keller said.

A higher number of the speeding tickets handed out by Gables police go to drivers who aren’t city residents, said Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak.

The City of Coral Gables received county approval in July 2016 to lower the speed limit to reduce the frequency and severity of vehicle injuries by 10% each year within the city.

The five miles per hour difference gives pedestrians and bikers a much better chance of survival if they’re hit by a car, and slowing down helps to reduce accidents, according to studies from the AAA Foundation.

A 70-year-old hit by a car going 35 miles per hour is about as likely to be killed as a 30-year-old hit by a car going 45 miles per hour. Once cars are moving just above 20 miles per hour, they rapidly become more deadly. According to AAA’s data, a person is about 70% more likely to be killed if struck by a vehicle traveling at 30 miles per hour versus 25.

About 320 pedestrians and cyclists were hit by cars in Coral Gables between 2011 and 2015, according to a study from Atkins North America.

This slight speed limit change could make a big impact, since 18% of Coral Gables’ approximately 50,000 residents are 65 or older, according to a study by Location Inc. The 65 or older group is the city’s second largest. The largest slice of Gables residents, 26.4%, are 35 to 54.

This same ordinance for lower speeds was previously in effect in Coral Gables during the 1950s. The posted limit was 25 miles per hour in residential areas and 15 in the central business district and around schools.

The speed limit was changed to 30 miles per hour, according to the city’s website, after MiamiDade County in 1957 enacted a home rule charter.

Gables commissioners agreed to fund further studies in 2019, Ms. Keller said. All signs throughout Coral Gables are to be inventoried and possibly removed in an effort to reduce sign clutter, she said. In addition, she said, the city will inventory right-of-way assets, such as streetlights, pavement and sidewalk conditions and the state of curbs and gutters.

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018

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Education Trends Teaching gap narrows as Florida certifies more instructors

By Rebecca San Juan

The teaching gap is narrowing as Floridais issuing more teaching certificates and the number of active professionals is increasing.

Instructors are also finding better workplace options, with “D” and “F” rated schools on the decline across the county and the state.

The Florida Department of Education has observed an uptick in issued and active licenses. The department approved 63,822 teaching certificatesin 2014-2015, 78,208 in 2015-2016 and 78,885 in 2016-2017. In comparison, total active certified teachers fluctuated: 247,253 in 20142015, 246,800 in 2015-2016 and 248,916 in 2016-2017.

The growth of active teachers supplies what the US Bureau of Labor Statisticspredicts to be a nationwide expansion of teaching opportunities from kindergarten and elementary – with a 7% increase – through high school, an 8% increase.

Teaching vacancies expected for 2018-2019 are based on vacancies in the 2017-2018 academic year. Elementary education tops the list of teaching gaps,with a current need of 326 spots for teachers to fill and an increase to 1,614 projected vacancies. Exceptional student eligibility (ESE)– teachers specialized in aiding children

with a disability – is the second largest deficit area, with 416 openings now and 1,208 projected by year’s end. Primary education also is experiencing growth, with 66 openings increasing to 550 opportunities, according to the state’s education department.

Some certification areas lack specialized professionals despite the influx of those entering and

staying in teaching as well as the growing number of vacancies.

Similar concentrations circled back from 2016-2017 to 20172018. Science – changing slightly with sub-concentration such as general versus earth and space – English and mathematics topped the list two years in a row.

Results differ for the most recent critical shortage areas.

Science and English still make the list, but English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and ESE teachers aiding kids with a disability now rank in the top four.

The demand and lack of supply for ESOL and ESE teachers may be due to a variety of causes, including the small difference in salary between those with and without a specialization. Accord-

ing to a US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2017 report, teachers with a bachelor’s degree earn about the same annual wage as teachers in those two specialized categories.

A special education teacher earns about $58,980 compared to kindergarten and elementary school faculty whoreceive an average of $56,900, and high school instructors earn even more with a $59,170 average pay.

The growing workface of teachers is enteringthe classroom with improving workplace conditions in the Sunshine State. Florida had more “D” and “F” rated schools three years ago than today. In 2016-2017, schools scoring a “D” totaled 108 statewide, of which 16 were in Miami-Dade County, and those with an “F” peaked at 184, with 20 in the county. The number of “D” ranked schools increased to 150 the following year with 14 in Miami-Dade, but “F” scoring schools dipped to 109, with just eight in Miami-Dade. But institutions rated “D” and “F” now have decreased, with 91 “D” ranked schools across Florida – seven in the county – and 43 statewide “F” ranked schools, with two in Miami-Dade.

State education department data prove that teaching opportunities abound, with the chances of joining a higher-ranked school improving with the years.

Summer enrollments rise after scholarship use is expanded

By Katherine Lewin

Miami Dade College and Florida International University both saw increases in summer enrollment after Gov. Rick Scott signed a law in March allowing top-performing students to use their Bright Futures scholarships to attend summer classes at Florida state universities and colleges.

Miami Dade College had a potential 205 students who qualified as “academic scholars,” the highest achievement level in the Bright Futures program, said Monaud Daphnis, director of financial aid for the college’s Wolfson Campus. Of those 205 people, 87 students took advantage of the expansion, Mr. Daphnis said.

At FIU, 879 students enrolled for summer classes under the Florida academic scholars scholarship, said Jody Glassman, director of admissions for FIU. A total of 2,799 freshmen started classes this summer, Ms. Glassman said.

This is the first summer since 2001 that Bright Futures scholarships can be used for a summer term. These changes were made permanent during the 2018 legislative session and will provide financial aid to about 100,000 students total starting this fall, according to a press release from the Florida Senate.

Under the new law and the 2018-2019 state budget, “medallion scholars” will be added to the list of those who can use their Bright Futures scholarships for a summer session. That will include about 46,521 more students and next summer, more than 90,000 Bright Futures medallion and

Jody Glassman expects even more Bright Futures scholarship users next summer.

academic scholars will be able to use their scholarships, according to the press release.

Full tuition and fees are covered for the academic scholars along with $300 for books for the autumn and spring semesters. This same legislation increases the medallion scholarship to cover 75% of tuition beginning in fall 2018, according to the release.

The Bright Futures program began in

1997 and is primarily funded by the Florida Lottery. The expansion of the program cost about $520 million, a record level, and this money also funded $270 million toward the “student assistance grant” program.

This legislation represents more than an 82% increase in funding from the 2016-2017 school year, according to the press release.

“Anytime you have an additional student that otherwise would not have attended it’s a

great thing for enrollment. More people are able to afford classes,” Mr. Daphnis said.

“Next summer it will have a greater impact because Bright Futures will be extended to Florida medallion scholars.”

Ms. Glassman expects up to 1,700 more students to receive an award next summer through the expanded legislation that will include Florida Medallion scholarships.

Mr. Daphnis said that while the scholarship expansion is helpful, the state can still do more for students.

“The government can provide increased support in the expansion of academic program offerings which improve the workforce, in addition to increased critical services to support the success of students, attainment of their educational goals, and preparation for the workforce,” Mr. Daphnis said.

For Ms. Glassman, Miami-Dade County is stepping up and doing everything it can to increase enrollment and reduce student debt.

“Many of the community-based organizations are hosting college nights, application workshops, and financial planning programs. High school counselors are going above and beyond to learn about options for students and businesses are working to provide more opportunities so that students are not just college ready but also career ready,” Ms. Glassman said. “There is an investment in not only guiding students toward a four-year traditional degree, but also guiding students toward apprenticeships, certifications and badges. Today everyone understands the need for continuing education and life-long learning.”

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MIAMI TODAY

EDUCATION TRENDS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018

First business entrepreneurship associate grads due in 2019

By Katya Maruri

Miami Dade College, which revamped its associate’s degree and certificate program in business entrepreneurship last fall after partnering with TheVentureCity, an international accelerator, anticipates its first cohort of students to graduate next spring with the ability to develop effective business concepts that could help shape future startups in Miami, according to Romi Bhatia, executive director of the college’s Idea Center.

The program, which is offered through the School of Business and the Idea Center, is part of an entrepreneurship platform that the college created to provide students with the understanding, confidence and relationships to turn their ideas into market-ready products, services, business and social ventures, according to the college’s website.

The two-year, 60-credit program officially welcomed its first cohort

of students in fall 2017, Mr. Bhatia said.

“Currently we have 15 students enrolled in the program,” he said, “and each student takes five classes per semester.”

“As of right now,” Mr. Bhatia said, “we don’t have any students that have graduated yet because they are in between their first and second year of the program.”

However, he said, “I anticipate that all the students within the ‘I anticipate that all cohort will graduate next spring with the necessary tools to work the students within the at the next big startup.” cohort will graduate next A lot of those necessary tools, Mr. Bhatia told Miami Today, spring with the necessary will be a result of the program’s tools to work at the next revamped curriculum and partnerbig startup.’ ship with TheVentureCity.

Romi Bhatia The program, which has an estimated tuition cost of $7,093.20, added a new component last fall that consists of more than 30 as entrepreneurs with students.

“Our instructors will lead the community leaders coming to classes to share their experiences classes and curate more than 30

innovators within the community from companies such as Facebook, Uber Eats, Lyft and so on to come and share their knowledge with our students,” Damian Thorman, vice president and chief innovation officer at Miami Dade College, previously told Miami Today.

Since the latest addition to the program, Mr. Bhatia said, “we have really focused on creating internship opportunities for our students so that they can gain real world experience.”

“As a result of this new component, speakers that have come to speak to the students have ended up working with the students in an internship capacity, giving them the ability to apply what they have learned in class in a real world setting,” Mr. Bhatia said.

Another opportunity, that Mr. Bhatia said he hopes to secure for the soon-to-be-graduating cohort is a 14-day study abroad program at Tel Aviv University.

“My hope,” he said, “is to be able

to set up and curate a study abroad trip to Tel Aviv next summer after the students graduate.”

The trip, he said, would be another opportunity for students to hone their entrepreneurial skills and work in a different business environment.

“We are halfway through the program,” he said, and “are looking forward to seeing what these students accomplish after they graduate.”

“Our hope,” he said, “is to excite them and motivate them while offering them practical experience.”

In addition, he said, “failure at one point or another is going to be a part of the equation for them in an entrepreneurial setting. However, if they have a practical base and the necessary tools they will be able to overcome different obstacles and either take the more difficult path of launching a startup, or working at a startup and work with something that’s already built.”

Tailor-made apprenticeships for companies to be talent hub

By M arcus Lim

A new college apprenticeship program launched in May by Miami Dade College in collaboration with the US Department of Labor, Florida Department of Education and major partners in targeted industries aims to be a talent hub, creating and retaining local talent to bolster the workforce.

The program, tentatively to begin in early August, will be tailor-made to a company’s need. Every course will be customized. Miami Dade College will supply theory lessons that cover the industry and then on-the-job training will be at the company’s location.

John Wensveen, vice provost of academic schools, told Miami Today the current US administration had plans on apprenticeships but Miami Dade College has been working on this program for almost a year, hoping to be an apprentice hub of South Florida. When the Department of Labor heard about the program, it wanted to

‘What we see here is a lot of talent in the community and that talent isn’t necessarily connected to opportunity. We are the bridge to connect them.’

John Wensveen

tion of leadership within the industry.”

The course is free to apprentices, who will not pay tuition.

Instead, they are paid for their time. Throughout the course, once they hit a “gateway,” a term used by Mr. Wensveen to denote a certain level of progression by the apprentice, their pay level rises. Once they graduate, they get a “journeyman” certificate.

Recruitment has begun and will wrap up by the end of July.

Each company will have different recruitment guidelines. Commercial Jet is still shaping the applicant process and curriculum.

Miami Dade College will help in recruitment by marketing the program.

Numerous companies are in talks to partner with the college, mainly from the technological, transportation and logistics sector, though some financial companies are also talking, Mr. Wensveen said.

“This will be a national exClasses under the program could be held at Miami Dade College campuses, on the work site or on line. ample for talent training,” he said. “We want to be a talent collaborate and bring in a more ized skills. of 15 students for the first hub and want the nation to use “national vision.”

Evros Psiloyenis, office of the cohort. The apprentices will us as a model.”

“We see apprenticeship as a president and spearheading the simultaneously undergo technimajor opportunity. Our school’s program for Commercial Jet, cal instruction lessons and onpresident has a tagline, ‘talent told Miami Today that specific the-job training at Commercial is universal, opportunity is skills within the aviation indus- Jet’s site. For other companies, not.’ What we see here is a lot try are being depleted and few classes could be held at Miami of talent in the community and people are willing to pick up Dade College campuses or even that talent isn’t necessarily con- the trade. The program would online. The instructors will be nected to opportunity. We are help solve that. provided by the college. The the bridge to connect them,” “What’s been happening on-the-job training requires the Mr. Wensveen said. “We want to within the education sector apprentice to shadow an expert create workforce opportunities many years now is a drive for of the company. and focus on targeted industries everybody to obtain a degree.

At its current stage, the proin the county. Skilled talent may That has been the message al- gram is primarily for the role not be available now, which ways, degrees for everybody. of structural technician, but Mr. impacts a company.”

With that, some industries have Psilovenis said that after the The program launched in suffered, such as the aviation program the apprentices could ‘With the program, we a ceremony at the Wolfson and manufacturing sector,” embark on the mechanical side Campus downtown, with at- Mr. Psilovenis said. “People or ultimately apply for areas of are looking to develop tendance by the program’s first are getting older and retiring, management. and currently only company resulting in a shortage of our “The idea is to create a career within the industry the partner, Commercial Jet, which industry. With the program, we avenue within our company. If skill set that we need, the specializes in restoring and re- are looking to develop within we are training these people, talent that is necessary purposing commercial jets for the industry the skill set that we we want to retain them and private, public and cargo usage. need, the talent that is necessary give them the opportunity to in taking care of mainteThe company saw the appeal of in taking care of maintenance have a fruitful career with us,” nance on aircraft.’ imbuing its culture and training on aircraft.”

Mr. Psilovenis said. “We would Evros Psiloyenis and retaining young talent from The first program with Com- want them to have a culture of the start, as another alternative mercial Jet will be 24 months belonging to Commercial Jet to outsourcing talent for special- and aims to have a maximum and one day maintain a posi-

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018

MIAMI TODAY

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County takes three-fork path to bike and scooter leasing

By Jesse Scheckner

Companies like LimeBike, Spin and Ofo may be regulated more strictly on where their bikes and scooters can be parked, as Miami-Dade commissioners Tuesday approved three resolutions targeting the burgeoning bicycle- and scooter-sharing industry.

The three related resolutions direct the mayor’s office to: ■Enforce county code prohibitions on unauthorized articles, including vehicles, being left on public rights-of-way and within 60 days report on enforcement actions taken.

■Study the feasibility of designated bicycle and scooter parking areas throughout the county and report recommendations, including regulation, signage, potential areas, cost estimates and safety and convenience criteria within 90 days.

■Examine whether there is a need to regulate the dockless bike and scooter industry and recommend regulations to commissioners within 90 days.

Unlike Citi Bike, which uses solar-powered docking stations to rent and collect its bikes in Miami Beach, North Miami and several downtown areas when they’re not in use, newer compa-

‘We talk about thriving businesses and growing our economy, and some rules stymie that. This rule, it’s about life safety.’

Joe Martinez

nies instead depend on customers leaving vehicles on public property, including sidewalks.

“Those bicycles have become dangerous in the middle of the sidewalk,” said Rebeca Sosa, who amended the study on designated parking areas to include possibly charging the companies for their construction and maintenance. “They are the ones that are going to use it.”

The three resolutions by Joe

Martinez and Jean Monestime won unanimous support in June in the Transportation and Public Works Committee and were forwarded for a full commission vote.

At Tuesday’s commission meeting, the resolutions won similar support and were amended at the request of Audrey Edmonson to include motorized scooters, which are growing in number across the county.

Mr. Martinez said stories of children having to walk in the street and a disabled person being unable to continue on his way because of bikes parked on the sidewalk convinced him to sponsor the resolution calling for more stringent code enforcement.

“We talk about thriving businesses and growing our economy, and some rules stymie that,” he said. “This rule, it’s about life safety.”

LimeBike, Spin and Ofo use similar technology to rent their bikes for as little as $1 per hour.

Customers use mobile apps to find nearby bikes using their phones’ GPS systems and scan each bike’s unique digital code to disengage its rear-wheel smart lock that inhibits unauthorized riders. Once at their destinations, riders need only

‘What we’re talking about is a business that was established without the necessary permits, violating the rules that exist in the county.’

Rebeca Sosa re-engage the lock, which makes the bike available to others.

In July 2017, one month after LimeBike entered the South Florida market through Key Biscayne, Miami Beach officials pushed back against the company with $1,000 fines, warning that the city would impound any LimeBikes obstructing the public right-of-way. The company responded by collecting stray bikes, though bikes frequently

return to the area.

Some municipalities struck deals with the companies. By December 2017, Key Biscayne, Miami Shores and North Bay Village inked contracts with LimeBike. In November, Spin signed an exclusive contract with Doral and Miami Lakes. That same month, South Miami Mayor Phillip Stoddard welcomed Ofo with a city hall celebration.

“The public is responding well to these services,” attorney Michael Llorente, whose firm represents LimeBike, told commissioners last month.

The company, whose rentable bikes and scooters offer residents much-needed first- and last-mile solutions to access the county’s transit system, had worked to self-regulate, he said, reducing the county’s bike inventory by up to 30%.

“We’ve tried to be prophylactic,” he said. “We’ve tried to manage the program.”

The days of such self-regulation now appear to be numbered.

“We’re not saying no to bikes,” Ms. Sosa said. “What we’re talking about is a business that was established without the necessary permits, violating the rules that exist in the county. All this is doing is saying, ‘Hey, you have to obey the rules.’”

Gables bars bike and scooter leasing, takes a spin with Spin

By Katherine Lewin

An emergency ordinance to ban shared scooters and bikes passed unanimously on Tuesday at the Coral Gables commission meeting. This ordinance does not stop the city from entering into an official agreement with a shared mobility company.

Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli called for the emergency ordinance, citing numerous citizen complaints of dockless scooters and bikes left on private property and in city rights-of-way, creating a safety hazard.

The commission also voted unanimously on a R. Valdes-Fauli resolution to allow City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark and City Attorney Miriam Ramos to enter into a pilot program agreement with Spin, a dockless scooter sharing company that operates successfully in several major cities already, including San Francisco, and in Doral and Miami Lakes in South Florida.

Two shared mobility device companies, Bird and LimeBike, were each served a cease-and-desist letter from the city attorney for operating, unauthorized, in Coral Gables. Both companies have

complied, City Attorney Miriam Ramos said at the meeting, under threat of $50 impoundment fees per scooter and an overall $500 fee.

Bird was not deploying the scooters and bikes in Coral Gables but customers were leaving them there. Lime was deploying them directly within Coral Gables, Ms. Ramos said.

LimeBike is the biggest US-based provider of dockless bicycles and scooters and has accrued “well over 100,000 rides” in Miami-Dade County, according to Michael Llorente, an attorney whose firm represents LimeBike.

The Coral Gables commission decided to reward Spin with the exclusive agreement because it had not deployed any unauthorized scooters in the city. This agreement will last six weeks until the last week of August, when the commission meets again after a break.

After this six-week period, the city can enter into multiple agreements with different companies.

But for the next month and a half, only Spin will be operating approximately 75 scooters in Coral Gables. Drop-off and pick-up points will be designated and a driver’s license will be required to operate a scooter. Scooters aren’t allowed to be driven on sidewalks but they can be

parked on a sidewalk out of the way of pedestrian traffic.

Once the six-week grace period is up, the city can impound scooters parked improperly for a $50 fee and possibly a $500 fine. During the pilot program with Spin, someone who sees a scooter parked improperly can take a photo in the Spin application on their phone and Spin employees are to come to pick up the scooter.

Coral Gables will use this pilot program period to analyze the best parking areas for the scooters and put together regulations for all future agreements with shared mobility companies.

Derrick Ko, CEO and co-founder of Spin, said at Tuesday’s meeting that the company will follow whatever rules and ordinances the city wants.

Spin also wants to set up similar agreements with other cities in Miami-Dade County to make its shared scooters even more useful, Mr. Ko said. Spin entered into exclusive arrangements with Doral and Miami Lakes in 2017.

The issue of dockless bikes and scooters being left in inappropriate places is not just a Coral Gables issue. Three resolutions addressing the flood of dockless bikes throughout Miami-Dade County passed full county commission votes Tuesday as the Coral Gables meeting

was going on.

One of the resolutions directs county Mayor Carlos Giménez to crack down on dockless bikes by enforcing existing county code provisions respecting unattended property left on sidewalks and streets. The two others direct him to determine the necessity of regulations and study possible designated parking areas for the bicycles.

Shared scooters and bikes have been a hit with customers in Miami-Dade County. Citi Bike in Miami Beach, North Miami Beach and downtown Miami uses solar-powered docking stations to rent and collect its bikes. Ofo, a company based in China, made its debut in South Miami in 2017. All the companies use mobile apps to help customers find and rent bikes for as little as $1 an hour.

City Attorney Miriam Ramos said that neither LimeBike nor Bird has reached out to the city to try and set up authorized scooters and bikes since the cease-anddesist letters. Only Spin contacted the city with a bid.

“I want to commend the city and commissioners and the mayor for really setting the pace in terms of what a city should do when it comes to approaching new mobility solutions like electric scooters,” Mr. Ko said.

Miami’s job growth lags behind national average, big cities Miami’s job growth lags behind both the national average and most of the rest of the nation’s 12 biggest metropolitan areas, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Miami-Dade’s 1% total nonfarm job growth for the 12 months ended in May trailed the national total of 1.6%, according to the bureau, which tracks employment figures.

At the same time, the job growth figures for all of the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Statistical Area – which goes beyond

the county line to include Broward and Palm Beach counties – trailed 10 of the other metropolitan areas that together constitute the nation’s dozen largest. Only the Chicago area’s 0.8% job growth was less than metropolitan Miami’s 0.9% – a figure even lower than the 1% gain for Miami-Dade alone.

While Janet S. Rankin, the bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that metropolitan Miami has had year-over-year job growth every month since October 2017, that growth doesn’t stack up well with the

other large metropolitan areas.

The largest job growth percentage year over year was 3.4% for Dallas, followed by 3.1% for Phoenix and 2.6% for Houston.

San Francisco registered a 1.8% job gain, Atlanta 1.7%, Boston 1.6%, Philadelphia 1.4% and Los Angeles and Washington, DC, 1.3% apiece. Just ahead of South Florida was New York City, with a 1.2% job growth rate.

South Florida as a whole had only three job categories in which growth outpaced national job figures – and in those areas

the gap was huge.

Mining and logging job gains here were 14.3% – though on a tiny base of jobs – versus the national average growth of 8.9%.

South Florida’s construction jobs grew by 10.5%, a figure that encompassed the 13.5% in Miami-Dade alone, versus a national gain of 4.2%.

And manufacturing jobs grew 9.3% in our tri-county area, which included a 17.2% job spike in Miami-Dade alone, compared with the national gain of 2.1%.

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