Miami Today: Week of Thursday, August 23, 2018

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM $4.00

12.6% BUS RIDERSHIP PLUNGE IN 12 MONTHS ACCELERATES MASS TRANSIT’S LOSSES, pg. 3 FIGHT OVER GAMBLING: Fontainebleau Florida Hotel LLC of Miami Beach gave $250,000 to a political committee formed in July that has raised $1.25 million to help fight a proposed constitutional amendment that could make it harder to expand gambling in Florida. Citizens for the Truth About Amendment 3, Inc., raised the money fromAug. 1 to 7. Other contributions included $500,000 from Jacksonville Greyhound Racing, Inc., according to campaign-finance reports.

The committee opposes proposed constitutional amendment 3 that will appear on the November ballot. If 60% of voters approve, the proposal would change the Florida Constitution and give voters the “exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling.” It would require voter approval of casino-style games in the future and reduce the power of the Legislature and governor to decide gambling-related issues. The amendment drive has been heavily funded by Disney Worldwide Services Inc., a longtime foe of casinos, and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which already operates casinos.

The Achiever

OVERTOWN STREET WORK SET:AMiami area company has been hired for a major street improvement project in Overtown. Miami city commissioners accepted the bid from R&G Engineering Inc. to provide construction services for a project known as Overtown Greenway at NW 11th Terrace - Phase 2. The resolution authorizes the city manager to execute an agreement with R&G for $1,804,667.79 for the scope of work, plus an owner’s contingency allowance of $180,466.77, for a total not to exceed $1,985,134.56. The Overtown Greenway at NW 11th Terrace project will be from Northwest Third to Sixth avenues, and the work will consist of furnishing all materials, labor and equipment for road improvements such as drainage system installations, milling and resurfacing, new sidewalks replacement, striping, signs, landscaping, hardscape, decorative street and pedestrian lighting, and ADA compliant ramps.

SCHOOLS OFFER TOOLKIT: The Miami-Dade County Public Schools have developed a Back-to-School Tool Kit to transition into the school year that began this week. It includes videos and has updated information about registration, vaccination requirements, school hours, transportation, key dates and school safety. The kit is available in English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole at http://toolkit.dadeschools.net CHAMBER CHOOSES BUS: The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors on Monday voted unanimously in support of Miami-Dade County’s recommendation to apply for a US Department of Transportation Small Starts Grant to build infrastructure supporting bus rapid transit on the South Dade Transitway, with potential for future rail conversion.

Arnaud Sitbon

Photo by Cristina Sullivan

Heads charter schools, Jungle Island realty investments The profile is on Page 4

Transitway gets $100 million, but for bus or rail?

By Jesse Scheckner

In one of history’s shortest government meetings, the Transportation Planning Council on Monday committed $100 million to build “premium transit infrastructure” on the South Dade Transitway along US 1 from Kendall Drive to Florida City.

The council, which advises the Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), in less than a minute OK’d amendments to Miami-Dade’s 2040 transportation plan and 2018-19 Transportation Improvement Program, allowing for the $100 million infusion.

The prickly decision whether those funds will be used for infrastructure supporting bus rapid transit or rail at-grade now falls to a TPO Governing Board vote Aug. 30. “[They] will select the locally preferred alternative and, based on their selection, the project cost will be defined,” TPO Executive Director Aileen Bouclé told Miami Today.

The $100 million, drawn from a half-penny transportation surtax, is the only funding listed as secured for the work.

In 2016, Miami-Dade and the TPO developed the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit

(SMART) Plan to advance six transit corridors.

One is the South Dade Transitway.

“There is money right now in the Capital Expansion Reserve fund set aside specifically to advance SMART Plan projects they can tap into,” said Executive Director Javier Betancourt of the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust, which oversees the surtax. “We already approved the SMART Plan. This is part and parcel of that.”

Transit infrastructure to be advanced with the $100 million if bus rapid transit is chosen next week is estimated at $300 million, according to a memo from Transportation Director Alice Bravo. Projects include: ■Twelve weather-controlled stations with level boarding platforms.

■Terminal upgrades at Southwest 344th Street and Dadeland South Metrorail station.

■Ticket vending machines, a real-time passenger information system, closed-circuit TV, emergency push buttons, fare collection systems, communications equipment and power supplies.

■Crossing gates and traffic signal preemption at all 45 transitway intersections.

If the planning organization chooses heavy

or light rail at-grade, costs will rise, Ms. Bouclé said, but most of the infrastructure listed would still be built.

“In either case, this item was to place $100 million to start advancing components you’d have to do regardless,” she said.

Once in place, those components could be altered to accommodate further development, said Monica Cejas, chief transportation engineer.

“Whatever we propose, it’s always scalable,” she said. “If [the TPO chooses] bus rapid transit, it can be converted later. If they choose rail now, then we can continue with the environmental assessment we need to complete in order to continue with that project.”

In July, Mayor Carlos Giménez supported bus rapid transit, arguing rail projects “are expensive to build and even more expensive to operate.”

Metrorail at grade, in recent estimates, would cost $1.3 billion to build and $67 million a year to run.

But Dennis Moss and other county commissioners argued rail was promised and should be delivered.

“We already got buses,” he said. “There’s a trust factor, and we don’t pass the trust factor smell test.”

Statewide jobless dip a rise here As Florida reported an unemployment rate that dipped in July to an 11-year low of 3.7%, joblessness in Miami-Dade County inched up to 4.3% from 4.1% in June, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Even at 4.3%, however, the county’s unemployment rate was well below the 4.9% reported in July 2017. While 59,984 persons were reported jobless in the county in July, a year earlier the number was 68,949.

On the other hand, MiamiDade’s labor force was 1,000 persons smaller in July than in June, shrinking to 1,396,500, and was 6,100 persons smaller than in July 2017.

Among Florida’s metropolitan areas, Miami-Dade had the highest annual growth in manufacturing jobs, up 7,400 in a year, CareerSource South Florida reported on Friday. That’s a 17.7% annual gain in jobs to 49,100.

The county’s other big percentage employment growth continues to be in construction jobs, which as of July, according to federal figures, had risen 16.9% to 54,600 jobs from 46,700 in July 2017.

The broad field of education and health services provided the next largest percentage gain of Miami-Dade jobs, up 3.6% to 186,100 jobs from 179,700 jobs in July 2017.

Overall, total nonfarm jobs in Miami-Dade are up 0.6% from July 2017.

For the state as a whole, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity estimated 383,000 Floridians out of work – 4,000 fewer than in June – from a workforce of 10.2 million. The mark, the lowest for Florida since April 2007, kept the state’s unemployment rate below the national figure of 3.9% for July, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Florida’s jobless rate had been 3.8% in June, with Florida one of 11 states reporting a drop in July.

Over the past year, Florida ranked third among states in terms of overall job creation with 210,600 new jobs, trailing additions of 377,100 in Texas and 332,700 in California.

MIAMI PUSHES MEASURE TO CONTROL SHOPPING CARTS ...

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MAYOR SEEKING LIST OF FEE HIKES IN COUNTY BUDGET ...

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VIEWPOINT: STRONG MAYOR FACES SLIPPERY TIGHTROPE ...

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BAPTIST WINS AN OK IN BONE MARROW BATTLE VS. UM ...

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MOST OF CITY BARS DEAD-OF-NIGHT DELIVERY ACTIVITY ...

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JACKSON’S BID FOR 100 DORAL BEDS HEADS TO A JUDGE ...

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STATE FIGHTS FOR GREYHOUND RACING BAN ON BALLOT ...

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MIAMI RIVER SEAWALL, KAYAK RAMP FLOW FORWARD ...

17

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

MIAMI TODAY

3

12.6% bus ridership plunge in 12 months accelerates losses

By Jesse Scheckner

Ridership on Miami-Dade’s public transportation system continues to plunge at an accelerating rate, with drop-offs on the county’s three main modes of transit, according to the most recently available report.

The Miami-Dade County Transportation and Public Works June 2018 Ridership Technical Report, released this month, shows a decline in total monthly ridership on Metrobus, Metrorail and Metromover.

Metrobus ridership declined 12.6% in June compared to 2017 numbers for the same month, for a one-year loss of 577,216 rides – the steepest dip in June since 2014.

In total, Metrobus has lost more than 1.84 million June rides in four years – a 31.5% dive.

The mode is on track to register a 12.9% decline in fiscal 2018-19, with double-digit losses in every month but October.

Long, confusing routes and infrequent, unreliable service is to blame for loss of Metrobus riders, according to Transit Alliance Miami Director Azhar Chougle, who told county commissioners last month they should look elsewhere for examples of how to grow transit usage in a national ridership downtrend.

“When you hear that bus ridership is falling nationwide, yes it is, except for the cities that have taken action to avoid that,” he said, pointing to Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Dallas and San Jose, as well as Palm Beach County and Houston, which hired a specialized consultant to redesign their routes, as areas that have seen their transit ridership improve. “This is something that can be done today without talking about the SMART Plan and new infrastructure.”

But Miami-Dade Transportation Director Alice Bravo says such route redesigns have been ongoing.

“That’s actually something we’ve been doing for the last three years, and on all our different lineups,” she said. “We have routes that go down a major arterial that took a run into a neighborhood and

Metrobus lost 577,216 rides in June and Metrorail lost 81,523. Circulators, at right, didn’t fill the gap.

‘When you hear that bus ridership is falling nationwide, yes it is, except for the cities that have taken action to avoid that.’

Azhar Chougle came out. We’ve tried to streamline our routes so they’re on the major roads. We also do have routes that are considered circulators, and by definition those are supposed to go around. You have to look at the different layers of services we have.”

Things are tough all over, Ms. Bravo said, adding that municipal circulators like trolleys, which

have frequently been pointed to as contributing factors to declines in traditional transit use, are also losing riders.

“When you look at the volumes of local circulators, they’re not comparable to the drop in ridership we’ve experienced. They’re significantly less,” she said. “For those circulators, the ridership has gone up because they’ve added service, but other circulators have seen a drop in ridership. I think it’s all about the same thing: people will seek out the most convenient transportation they can afford.”

Metrorail, the second-most-used transit mode in the county behind Metrobus, suffered a comparatively softer drop of 5%, a loss of 81,523 rides, in June compared to the year prior.

June ridership since 2014 for the county’s 22-mile transit centerpiece has fallen 9.6% and is at a pace to match the previous fiscal year’s 6.9% total downswing, despite the county’s 18% increase of Metrorail car frequency during peak transit hours between the Earlington Heights and Dadeland South stations.

Were ridership to remain at this fiscal year’s highest numbers – 1,708,564 in October, the only

‘When you look at the volumes of the local circulators, they’re not comparable to the drop in ridership we’ve experienced.’

Alice Bravo month to increase compared to the year before – for the next three months, Metrorail still stands to lose 1.9% ridership this year, about 400,00 passengers.

The last year that Metrorail ridership increased was in 2015, when the system, whose 136-car fleet is expected to be replaced by 2020 at $3 million per car,

SINGLE-FAMILY HOME & CONDO SALES

EWM REALTY INTERNATIONAL

$1.04B

BROKERAGE #2

$905M

BROKERAGE #3

$851M

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY’S SINGLE-FAMILY HOME & CONDO SALES JANUARY 1, 2018 THROUGH AUGU ST 20, 2018 ALL PRICE RANGES

BROKERAGE #4

$814M

BROKERAGE #5

$492M

EWM Realty International’s #1 ranking is based on total dollar volume sales. Data was extracted from the Miami Association of Realtors, The Greater Fort Lauderdale Association of Realtors, and the Southeast Florida Regional MLS on 8/20/2018 for single-family homes and condos in all price ranges sold within Miami-Dade County for the period beginning 1/1/2018 and ending 8/20/2018.

gained 5.4% ridership.

Metromover, the automated people mover circulating downtown Miami, lost a whopping 12.9% of its total monthly riders in June compared to last year, despite being free to ride.

Almost 100,000 fewer people rode the 4.4-mile system this June, the second-lowest month in ridership in four years. (Metromover ridership in September 2017 fell 46.7% after being shut down for repairs after Hurricane Irma.)

Special Transportation Services (STS), a complimentary service for people with disabilities, was the only mode whose ridership grew in June, with 3,030 more riders than in June 2017 – a 2.2% increase in June and a 5.3% jump since 2014.

Overall ridership on all four modes of transit is heading for its first double-digit drop since fiscal 2014, at about a 10.1% since October.

“Historically, as the economy improves and the price of gas drops, you’ll see a drop in transit ridership, and now we have the added factors of Uber- and Lyfttype services,” Ms. Bravo said. “I think people will seek out the most convenient transportation they can afford. Uber and Lyft, they’re offering different products – Uberpool, for instance – that bring the price down. That’s something scheduled at your convenience and takes you door-to-door. People make those decisions on a daily basis.”

Unfortunately, rider choice is increasingly moving away from public transit.

Miami-Dade residents and visitors have exited the county’s system at an increasing rate since 2014, recording a 3.8% drop between 2014 and 2015, 6.9% fewer riders in 2016 and a 9.6% slide in 2017.

Using the highest monthly ridership numbers available this fiscal year – 7,322,886 in October – to fill in the blanks for July, August and September, Miami-Dade’s transit system is projected to lose about 5.4 million rides compared to last year and about roughly 26.34 million in the last four years – a total loss of more than 25.7%.

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MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

TODAY’S NEWS

Navigation apps have waze of annoying neighborhoods

By Jesse Scheckner

For many drivers braving the country’s increasingly congested roadways, navigation apps like Waze, Google Maps and Apple Maps are a godsend, empowering them to circumvent gridlock through alternate thoroughfares and side streets.

More smartphone owners today use their devices to get around than listen to music, according to a 2016 Pew report, which found 90% use location-based apps that utilize mobile devices’ global positioning systems (GPS) and shared user data to determine efficient routes.

Some, like Waze, which Google bought in 2013 for about $1 billion, even allow users to report accidents, police activity and traffic jams with each other.

But such ubiquitous convenience has come at the expense of an increasingly vocal contingent of residents who complain of neighborhoods swelling with nonresidential traffic, as app-directed commuters move off highways and onto byways.

“Waze is a challenge,” Coral Gables Mayor Raúl Valdés-Fauli told Miami Today this month when asked about the app. “We have several streets that are cutthrough streets, from 57th Avenue to Douglas Road, and I want to preserve the sanctity of our residential areas.”

Coral Gables this year installed 158 new speed limit signs reducing speeds from 30 to 25 miles per hour – a nearly $150,000 overhaul – to replace 127 existing signs on residential streets.

Speeding commuters had more frequently been using Gables streets to bypass congestion, according to Jessica Keller, the city’s assistant transportation, public works and sustainability director, who told Miami Today last month the increase had caused more accidents.

A higher number of speeding tickets handed out by Gables police had gone to non-residents, Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak had confirmed.

“The city actually had to [enact a lower speed limit] in residential neighborhoods because of the amount of pass-through traffic Waze was taking off the main thoroughfares,” said Mark Trowbridge, president of the Coral

Photo by Cristina Sullivan

Coral Gables approved and installed 158 new signs showing a reduced speed limit of 25 miles per hour.

Jessica Keller said speeding cut-through traffic increased accidents.

Gables Chamber of Commerce.

“On any given day, more than 100,000 people come through Coral Gables – it doesn’t matter whether you’re going down Coral Way and Miracle Mile or US 1.”

Two years ago, Coral Gables received county approval to lower speed limits, though according to Miami-Dade Traffic Services Assistant Director Darlene Fernandez, navigation apps like Waze were not deciding factors in the decision.

“The conversation about lowering speed limits precedes the arrival of Waze,” she wrote Tuesday.

“Speed reduction has always been looked at as a way to reduce severe collisions and improve safety.

Further, the Florida Department of Transportation’s Complete Streets Initiative calls for the lowering of speed limits from 45 miles per

hour to as low as 25 miles per hour on state roads.”

Speed reductions are determined through an engineering analysis known as the “85th percentile,” in which a speed at or below what 85% of drivers use while driving under good weather and visibility conditions may be considered the maximum safe speed for a given location.

The theory is based on the assumption that most drivers are reasonable and cautious, want to avoid crashes and intend to reach their destinations in the shortest possible time.

What isn’t taken into consideration, Miami-Dade Transportation Director Alice Bravo said, is overall traffic influx and congestion.

“There [have] always been situations of vehicles using the entire

roadway grid, and that’s what the roadway grid is there for,” she said. “When there are situations with regard to specific areas that need some type of calming, we work on those on a one-by-one basis, but our roadway network is there for vehicles to use.”

Miami-Dade County, along with hundreds of domestic and international counties and cities, has partnered with Waze through its Connected Citizens Program.

Through the program, cities provide data about closed roads, additional signs or road rules and Waze, in exchange, gives participating municipalities live anonymous traffic information.

The county became the first in Florida to join the program in June 2016. A year later, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department won two awards from the National Association of Counties, including one in the category of Information Technology for partnering with Waze to mine information to update construction data for its Internal Services Department.

“We are thrilled to partner with Waze in order to provide our 2.7 million residents with the most accurate, up-to-date information for their daily commute,” Miami Mayor Carlos Giménez said in a prepared statement at the onset of the partnership.

For some municipalities, the bloom from that relationship has

all but worn off.

Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flinn last month told WSVN his city was spending more money on police enforcement and infrastructure to address and slow traffic he attributed to apps like Waze, whose police-reporting features he found troublesome.

“The only reason to identify where the location of the officers are is to enable people to drive in excess or contrary to the law,” he said.

Some cities are working to prevent traffic apps from sending drivers into certain residential areas.

In January, local legislators in Leonia, NJ, barred non-residents from using 60 side streets, with threats of $200 fines for violators.

A nearby resident responded by suing the city, citing an infringement on her “access to public roads and violating the public’s right to freedom of travel.”

In February, Weehawken, NJ, applied its own similar restrictions, banning all but residents of the township, Hoboken and Union City from driving on its side streets.

That same month, Los Angeles Councilman David Ryu wrote a letter to the city attorney asking that legal action be brought against Waze for threats to public safety.

Many of the shortcuts the app suggests, Mr. Ryu argued, result in more traffic and unsafe road behavior.

“Waze has upended our city’s traffic plans, residential neighborhoods, and public safety for far too long,” he wrote on April 17. “If we do nothing, Waze will lead us on a race to the bottom – where traffic plans are ignored and every street is gridlocked.”

Gridlock and dangerous road conditions are the result of too few streets, bike paths and sidewalks, according to Ms. Fernandez.

“The Waze app, just like any other navigation application (Google Maps, Apple Maps and others), uses public roadways to provide direction and traffic information,” she wrote. “We must ensure the safe use of all public roadways, rather than restricted access. The lack of infrastructure is what impedes the safe use of roadways. Cul-de-sacs, neighborhoods and streets without sidewalk and/ or bicycle lanes put pedestrians/ cyclists at risk.”

In state budget forecast, key funding sources remain stable

By Lloyd Dunkelberger The News Service of Florida

The forecast for state revenue remained stable as analysts last week approved a new projection of the key funding sources for Florida’s budget, including sales taxes and corporate income taxes.

Amy Baker, coordinator of the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research, said the forecast for state general revenue “is virtually unchanged overall.”

The analysts’ periodic forecasts are important because they help determine how much money lawmakers will have to spend each year. General revenue is a critical part of the state budget because it

heavily funds education, health care and prison programs.

The state finished the 2017-2018 fiscal year on June 30 with revenues exceeding a prior projection by some $205 million. But nearly 60% of that surplus was one-time funding, including $52 million from Seminole Tribe gambling revenue and $30 million in what are known as Medicaid “achieved savings” rebates.

In addition, the new forecast includes “slightly weaker” projections for near-term economic conditions, Ms. Baker said.

The net result cut the general revenue forecast by about $33 million over two years, including $13.1 million in the current budget year and $19.5 million in the 2019-2020

year, which will start next July. The reduction amounts to less than onetenth of one percent of the estimated $32.2 billion in general revenue that will be collected this year.

Current-year general revenue collections are expected to be $1.03 billion, or 3.3%, higher than in 2017-2018, the forecast showed.

And the 2019-2020 general revenue total is projected at $33.3 billion, a $1.09 billion increase, or 3.4%, over this budget year.

One of the largest changes made by the estimating conference involved the corporate income tax, which accounts for more than $2 billion a year in general revenue.

Based on increased collections in latter months of 2017-2018, the new forecast increased the

projected corporate-tax collections by $86 million this year and $77 million for 2019-2020.

Sales tax collections, the largest source of general revenue at more than $25 billion a year, were adjusted slightly downward. This year’s forecast was cut by $21.3 million and the 2019-2020 estimate was reduced by $57 million.

The current-year forecast retains a $117.8 million boost in sales tax activity related to the rebuilding and recovery after last year’s Hurricane Irma.

State analysts will make another general revenue forecast before the Legislature passes a 2019-2020 state budget. The Legislature begins its annual 60-day session in March, and the new budget

takes effect July 1. The current state budget is about $89 billion, which includes general revenue and numerous other state and federal funding sources.

F ilming

in

M iami

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

Elephant & Cie. Paris. 7 à 8. Miami International Airport.

Wild House Pictures. Miami. El Baron. Rickenbacker Causeway Fishing Pier.

Television Consciente. Miami. Yoga Classes with Miami teachers in the beach. Crandon Park Beach.

Red Bull North America. Santa Monica. F1 Project Film Shoot. Parcel B, Port of Miami.

Big Fish Entertainment. New York. Untitled Project for VH1. Brickell, Downtown Miami.

The Black Dot Agency. Hialeah. Outerstuff. Greynolds Park.

Martina Marcet. Miami. Kiara. Metromover.

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MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

TODAY’S NEWS

Grain storage jobs called at risk as Egyptian officials delay

Manufacturing jobs of suppliers of Coral Gables-based Blumberg Grain are at risk because of inaction by the Egyptian government on a long-awaited program to improve vital grain storage, according to Seth Gordon of Seth Gordon Initiatives, who is representing the supplier network These 2,400 jobs and thousands of indirect jobs are part of a network of five US manufacturers who produce the equipment used on projects in Egypt by Blumberg Grain, a global food security company.

“At the hands of Egyptian bureaucrats, the suppliers and Blumberg Grain suffered very substantial 22 month delays to the first phase of the Egyptian project,” Mr. Gordon said. “During these delays the Egyptian government failed to make its contract payments. In fact, three years ago, Blumberg Grain had to pay from their own pocket to have three buildings and systems airfreighted to Egypt, at the request of the Egyptian government, for a last-minute public opening by President Sisi. As a courtesy to President [Abdel Fattah el-]Sisi, Blumberg Grain advanced those costs for the three systems, but Egypt has yet to reimburse them.”

Blumberg Grain works primarily with emerging market governments to develop networks of food storage infrastructure that reduce post-harvest losses from more than 50% to less than 5%, says David Blumberg, company CEO for the Middle East and Africa, often doubling the nationwide output of locally harvested crops.

After completion of Phase 1 of its project in Egypt, Blumberg Grain was assured it would be awarded Phase 2 by the minister of supply, Mr. Gordon said. At the ministry’s request, he said, the company and its suppliers produced design and engineering documents for Phase 2.

“We ramped up our workforce

Bloomberg Grain’s logo was over the door of a storage shed that in 2016 was to be among 300 in Egypt.

and production lines and supplied the documents to the ministry in 2016,” Mr. Gordon said.

While visiting Egypt five months ago, he said, one of the supplier teams learned that Egyptian government officials illegally provided their design and engineering documents to companies from other countries, putting these US manufacturing jobs at risk.

“I was quite shocked and angry to see many of our designs for pits, scale, flow, etc., which were agreed as confidential and proprietary between Blumberg Grain and Egypt, were provided to Melinvest, a Russian company,” said John Crawford of Ag Growth International (AGI), whose main plants are in Kansas and Nebraska.

With the promised second phase of the project not forthcoming, the US supplier network

‘This is a huge program in the space of food subsidies in the world.’

David Blumberg is weeks away from having to lay off several thousand highly skilled American craftsmen, Mr. Gordon said.

“President Trump has said that

P

recipients of American foreign aid will be expected to support US. jobs. How then can Egypt, who receives over $1 billion in US aid annually, not support American workers and businesses who pay the taxes that fund their aid?” he asked.

Blumberg Grain has received strong bipartisan support from 38 US senators and representatives, Mr. Gordon said.

US Rep. Brendan Boyle of Philadelphia said, “As Blumberg Grain’s supplier network includes suppliers across the United States, this project has the potential to benefit both of our countries economically and promote continued cooperation between the US and Egypt.”

Two years ago Blumberg Grain told Miami Today that it had struck an agreement to contract with Egypt for monumental projects

in developing one of the world’s largest food security systems to help the governments improve citizens’ food access.

The company’s sophisticated digital platform was to create control centers to oversee every facet of grain storage that now takes place in open-air sites that are often built of sand and dirt.

The company had agreed to Egypt’s aims to upgrade their food preservation systems with modernized technology. These projects would help not only provide food but also reduce waste and post-harvest losses of grain, especially wheat, where globally nearly 60% is lost due to outdated storage that exposes food to rot.

As contract negotiations were ongoing, the total costs were not disclosed.

The Blumberg Grain technology that was to be brought to Egypt consisted of the highest levels of grain conditioning, inventory management, grating, access management, security management and a slew of other enhanced features to create ideal conditions for grain handling and storage, said Mr. Blumberg.

At that point, Egypt was storing wheat in open-air storage facilities called shounas, which Mr. Blumberg said consisted of sand and dirt. This was Blumberg Grain’s main focus.

“Egypt buys wheat from farmers all across the country at a subsidized rate that encourages them to farm and harvest. That makes its way to their shouna system, and that is the level Blumberg is playing a role to increase the level of technology and enhance the storage capabilities,” Mr. Blumberg said at the time. “This is a huge program in the space of food subsidies in the world and is one Blumberg Grain is very proud to be a part of, modernizing and making more efficient to the implementation of our technology.”

e o p l e

Estate planners elect president The Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami has appointed Philip Herzberg president. Mr. Herzberg is a client advisor at Lubitz Financial Group. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree from Florida International Philip Herzberg Lian de la Riva Gabriel Lievano University. ver had led the bankruptcy and To Submit Markowitz Ringel creditors’ rights practice group Information adds two associates at Conrad & Scherer. He holds a Miami Today welcomes news Markowitz Ringel Trusty + bachelor’s degree from Arizona of job changes, promotions, hiring Hartog has added Lian de la Riva State University and a JD from and awards. Please send your submissions to Katya Maruri at People and Gabriel Lievano as associ- the University of Miami. @Miamitodaynews.com or mail them to ates. Ms. de la Riva had been Miami Today, 2000 S. Dixie Highway, an associate at Palmer, Palmer Palmer Trinity School Suite 100, Miami, FL 33133. Be sure to include contact information. We will & Mangiero P.A. She holds a adds to trustees select submissions for publication.

Palmer Trinity School has bachelor’s degree and a JD from Florida International University. added Emilio Fernandez to its Mr. Lievano had been a litiga- board of trustees. Mr. Fernandez lart vice president of institutional tion associate at Litchfield Cavo. is executive vice president of advancement. Mr. Goulart had He holds a bachelor’s degree from North American Title Group, been director of development at Florida International University LLC. He holds a bachelor’s de- Tampa Prep. He holds a bachand JD from the University of gree and a master’s degree from elor’s degree from Plymouth State the University of Miami and a University.

Miami.

JD from New York Law School.

Kaplan Residential Kelley Kronenberg adds general counsel names partner Gulliver Kaplan Residential has added Kelley Kronenberg has named names VP Gulliver has named Jay Gou- Isaac Marcushamer as general James Silver partner. Mr. Sil-

James Silver

Emilio Fernandez

counsel and managing director. In his new role, Mr. Marcushamer will focus on sourcing and analyze acquisitions and transactions for Kaplan Residential, as well as identify equity and capital partners. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and a JD from Hofstra Law School.

Miami City Ballet adds senior director Miami City Ballet has appointed AnaMaria Correa senior director of community engagement. Ms. Correa had been director of community engagement and inclusion at Avenues: The World School. she holds a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College and a master’s degree

Jay Goulart

from Brooklyn College.

Morrison, Brown adds audit principal Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra LLC had added Deborah Ladron de Guevara as a principal in its audit department. Ms. Ladron de Guevara has been in practice since 1999 and has extensive experience in external audit assignments covering accounting, compliance and regulatory issues, in a variety of industries including broker-deals, financial institutions, hospitality, insurance companies, manufacturing, real estate, technology and internet and wholesale and distribution.

She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Florida International University.

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MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

TODAY’S NEWS

Mayor seeks far-ranging fee hikes, from water to libraries

By Jesse Scheckner

New or amended service fees included in Miami-Dade’s forthcoming budget are projected to yield the county $54.35 million in fiscal 2018-19, with more than half coming from hikes in Water and Sewer rates.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez last week sent to county commissioners for review a chart detailing new and adjusted fees, rates and charges for nine departments.

Water and Sewer topped the list, with upcharges expected to pull in $26,619,700 through September 2019.

Bottoming out the list, the Public Library System will discontinue overdue fines for an annual loss of about $108,000, a sum expected to be recouped by eliminated redundant book purchases. “[It] is expected that more materials will be returned, reducing the need to purchase duplicate materials which will offset revenue reductions,” the chart states.

Increased fee card sales for outof-county library patrons due to lowered pricing and a $10 hike to the passport processing fee, which alone is predicted to produce $81,000 in the next fiscal cycle, are also expected to offset losses from cutting late return fees.

Various raised retail charges to water meter and wastewater base facility rates are “needed to ensure funding is adequate to cover the fixed costs of the system,” according to the chart. They make up the preponderance of $54.35 million extra the county stands to gain, with a more than $25 million joint revenue impact.

A seven-cent reduction in the water wholesale rate per 1,000 gallons could save taxpayers more than $2.84 million. That number is expected to be offset by increased revenue from a wastewater wholesale, whose fee, while unchanged from last year, would be refunded at a lower rate than in fiscal 201718 for an added revenue impact of about $4.21 million.

Adjusted and new Aviation Department fees the county will charge airlines and airport tenants are predicted to contribute $11,839,619 to county funds next year.

Changes include: nTwo-cent hikes to every seat

New charges come as low as a one-cent increase for hourly use of Miami International Airport ticket counters for carriers without proprietary use equipment and 42 to 85 cent rent hikes for ticket counters.

on domestic and international flights “to recover costs associated with screening checkpoints.” nIncreases to terminal rent per square foot of $0.42 to $0.85 for airline service facilities such as ticket and interline counters, passenger service centers, airline club rooms, air-conditioned office space, baggage service rooms, baggage claim and hold rooms. nOne-cent increases for hourly use of lounges and ticket counters by carriers without proprietary use equipment. nAn 85 cent increased monthly rate for common-use self-service units. nEight-cent general aviation domestic and international concourse fee increases. nFive cents extra per square foot of airport land, according to an independent appraiser’s report. nAn 18 cent hike to the flowage fee per gallon for fuel delivered by hydrant. nOne cent extra yearly per square foot on aeronautical and non-aviation land leased at MiamiOpa-Locka Executive Airport and aeronautical land at Miami Executive Airport. nReductions of 24 cents for Class I ticket counter usage, 20 cents for Class IV baggage makeup, as well as a $5.28 cut to the maximum daily ticket counter usage rate. nStandard manual rate reductions for common use terminal equipment of $1.78 to $12.47, depending on aircraft specs. nReductions to common use

‘The proposed fee rates, and/or charges are developed so that the costs associated with providing services are supported by the user of the specific service.’

Carlos Giménez terminal equipment rates “specific to airlines that don’t reserve equipment in a timely manner” of $3.56 to $24.94, depending on aircraft specs. nA new penalty fee for applied for all under-reported contractual revenues of either 18% of the annual rate. nA $100 daily penalty fee for concessionaires and tenants that fail to comply with request for mandatory responses. nA $100 permit penalty fee for each customer an airline fails to report.

New and amended fees from

the county’s Regulatory and Economic Resources Department will bring the county an extra $8,789,944, according to the chart.

A new $300 “Stipulated Agreement Preparation” fee enabling the county to recover the costs of preparing stipulated agreements for building permits and neighborhood compliance enforcement cases would, according to the chart, bring in $120,000 for the county.

More modestly, new $150 fees intended to recover the costs of processing extensions for contractor enforcement cases are projected to earn $1,800 more for the county.

Numerous new and optional “Expedite Fees” of 150% to 200% of current processing fees would be payable to the department if accepted by commissioners, including: nVarious expedited letters interpreting proposed developments in accordance with the county’s Comprehensive Development Master Plan, which would add $11,490 revenue. nAn $880.64 “Zoning History Research Expedite Fee,” which would “expedite the complex zoning verifications on a specific property as requested by the public or prospective developers” from 21 to seven days, yielding a estimated $12,329 in added revenue. nVarious “Zoning Review Expedite” fees, which would shorten from 21 to seven days the time it takes for development applicants to receive a review of either an

administrative or hearing zoning review. Such fees would generate $22,640 for the county, the chart shows. nVarious “Final Plat Expedite” fees, which would generate $8,250 for the county in fiscal 2018-19. nA $750 “Platting and Traffic Expedite Fee,” with a $1,500 annual revenue gain. nA $1,800 “Paving and Drainage Expedite Fee” to speed paving and drainage plan approvals, for $7,200 added revenue. nVarious “Environmental Development Impact Review Expedite” fees, which would shorten from 30 to 15 days the time it takes for developers to receive reviews of zoning and plat applications from the Department of Environmental Resource Management, adding $79,000 in annual revenue. nA $40 “Stormwater Utility Research Expedite Fee,” expected to earn the county an added $17,500.

Various rate hikes to Seaport fees for services such as dockage, cargo and passenger wharfage, terminal storage, crane utilization and labor and open ground leases would, if accepted, pull in about $3.7 million in fiscal 2018-19.

Increased Solid Waste Management fees are expected to generate $3.07 million in the next fiscal cycle, according to the chart, with the majority – about $2.84 million – coming from waste disposal and special handling fee increases of $1.66 to $2.42.

Proposed fee changes and additions to the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces, Animal Services and Fire Rescue departments together are estimated to increase county revenue by $442,901.

The budget is scheduled for review Aug. 29 by the Government Operations Committee. However, Mr. Giménez warned, any amendments to the budget might cause unwanted collateral changes.

“Changes to these recommendations would require service adjustments to maintain a balanced budget,” he wrote. “As the Board of County Commissioners (Board) is aware, the cost of providing services is impacted by many factors, including increased personnel costs and normal inflationary factors on daily operations. The proposed fee rates, and/or changes are developed so that the costs associated with providing services are supported by the user of the specific service.”

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MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

13

Health Update Bone marrow battle: Baptist wins judge’s OK vs. UM Rejecting a challenge from the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics, an administrative law judge last week backed a plan to start an adult inpatient bonemarrow transplant program at Baptist Hospital.

Judge G.W. Chisenhall issued a 76-page recommended order saying the state Agency for Health Care Administration should approve a certificate of need, a key regulatory step for the Baptist program.

Under administrative law, Judge Chisenhall’s recommended order will go back to the Agency for Health Care Administration for final action.

The agency last year gave preliminary approval to the certificate of need, but the University of Miami, which provides bonemarrow transplants, filed a legal challenge.

In the recommended order, Judge Chisenhall acknowledged that a new program at Baptist could draw patients from the university’s bone-marrow transplant program.

“While the greater weight of the evidence demonstrates that UM should not experience any meaningful decline in volume, UM is very likely to be adversely impacted by the fact that its patient volumes (and the resulting increase in revenues) will not be growing as quickly” if the certificate of need is approved, Judge Chisenhall wrote.

But he concluded that “a balanced consideration of applicable statutory and rule review criteria leads to a conclusion that the CON [certificate of need] should be granted.”

The hearings were held for 10 days last year and this year and generated 18 volumes of testimony.

The judge found that while the University of Miami now is the only bone marrow transplant provider for inpatients in the district covering Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, he also noted that Baptist is already providing bone marrow transplants on an outpatient basis, and its application is only for inpatient bone marrow transplants. The university, he wrote, performs no outpatient bone marrow transplants.

While the University of Miami is the only authorized and

A judge found that bone marrow transplants are essential for the Miami Cancer Institute to fulfill its role.

operational inpatient provider of the transplant services in MiamiDade, the judge noted pointedly, “UM did not provide [bone marrow transplants] to a single charity care patient between 2014 and 2016, despite committing to do so.”

He also wrote that the university has the ability to provide charity care, as its health care operations reported a net income of approximately $175 million.

On the other hand, he wrote,

“Baptist has a history of providing health care services to Medicaid and indigent/charity patients.

Baptist Health Systems hospitals, including Baptist Hospital, provide 4.3% of its services to charity care patients, which is well above the average of 3.4% for hospitals in Miami-Dade County. Baptist Hospital also exceeds the county average.”

The judge noted that Baptist Health South Florida created its Miami Cancer Institute “to

What is a bone marrow transplant?

consolidate cancer services it offered at many of its hospitals into a single location at Baptist Hospital. The goal was to offer integrated care, so that everything a cancer patient might need could be offered in one location.”

The Miami Cancer Institute sees 800 to 1,000 cancer patients daily, the judge noted, and bone marrow transplant services “are essential to [the institute] becoming a comprehensive cancer care center.”

In his recommended order, Judge G.W. Chisenhall spelled out in his findings of fact the concept of what bone marrow transplants are and what they are used for. This is part of his explanation: Bone marrow transplantation is performed after a patient has received very high doses of chemotherapy in order to eradicate cancer.

High doses of chemotherapy can cure cancerous cells or cause remission, but chemotherapy can also damage healthy cells. Damage may be done to progenitor cells that create components for blood, including white blood cells. If progenitor cells are damaged by chemotherapy, the patient may succumb to infection and bleeding.

To avoid this problem, physicians remove blood-producing progenitor cells from the patient’s blood and bone marrow, and store them while the patient receives chemotherapy. The patient is then reinfused with progenitor blood cells, allow the patient to make normal blood and recover.

This infusion of progenitor cells is commonly referred to as bone marrow transplantation.

Bone marrow transplantation has become an essential method of fighting blood cancers.

Bone marrow transplantation is offered in hospital settings, and most transplants are performed on an inpatient basis. However, certain types of bone marrow transplantation services are more frequenhtly being offered on an outpatient basis.

The findings also pointed out that Baptist has recently become an operating affiliate of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, the nation’s leading center for cancer treatment and bone marrow transplants.

As for the University of Miami, the judge noted that its Sylvester Cancer Center is “a 40-bed specialty care center hospital, and the care offered to the residents of South Florida has achieved significant statewide and national prominence.”

In 2016, the judge noted, the university performed the second highest number of bone marrow transplants in Florida, with state logs noting 147 residents of the region receiving bone marrow treatment there that year.

The judge’s finding notes that Baptist does not meet the technical requirements to be considered a teaching hospital, but that “there are approximately 500 medical students rotating in a typical year at Baptist.”

Judge Chisenhall found that having inpatient bone marrow transplants at Baptist “is financially feasible in the long-term.

Even if it is not ultimately profitable, Baptist is committed to funding the program’s losses, and Baptist demonstrated the ability to cover operational losses indefinitely.”

According to Baptist’s audited financial statements, the judge wrote, the system’s net income for 2016 was $162,640,710, and the system “possesses over $2.4 billion in cash and investments.”

The cost for Baptist’s proposed bone marrow transplant program, the judge wrote, is $7,624,433.

The system, he wrote, has a capital budget of $20.414 million “to finance routine items such as the replacement of outdated equipment and renovations of nursing units. This budget also covers additional clinical equipment that might be needed to begin a new service line.”

The university’s healthcare planning expert testified that bone marrow transplant programs are not profit centers, but healthcare institutions operate such programs in order to fulfill a mission and to help people, the judge wrote. “That testimony was convincing and is accepted.”

Medical association, Aetna Foundation unite to combat obesity The News Service of Florida

Who says doctors and insurers are at odds? The Florida Medical Association’s philanthropic arm has joined with its counterpart at Aetna to try to combat obesity.

The effort will include providing free continuing medical education courses

and arming physicians with information about fighting obesity and supporting patient health.

Dubbed the “Healthy Living Initiative,” the FMA’s Foundation for Healthy Floridians is collaborating with the Aetna Foundation. The initiative will provide toolkits over the next year to physicians in Tampa, Jacksonville and Tallahassee.

The toolkits are designed to help reduce incidents of chronic disease by promoting, among other things, better diets. Only 36% of Floridians are at a healthy weight, and it is reported that over half of Florida’s population will be obese by 2030.

“Obesity is an epidemic in Florida. Our Healthy Living Initiative will provide the necessary tools to help physicians educate

their patients about the health benefits associated with nutrition and a healthy lifestyle,” Tim Stapleton, chief executive officer of the Florida Medical Association and president of the Foundation for Healthy Floridians, said.

Ultimately the goal is to provide materials to 23,000 primary-care physicians in the next three years.

22

MIAMI TODAY

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

Miami Worldcenter developer hails progress of Brightline

By Jesse Scheckner

Downtown Miami development may have its share of competing interests, but when it comes to transportation solutions, one developer said he’s happy with the big moves his immediate neighbor is making in the area.

Early pieces of the 27-acre, $2 billion mixed-use Miami Worldcenter puzzle are nearing the finish line, complete with transit infrastructure improvements to accommodate the project – the largest construction site in Miami history and the second-largest in the nation – but helpful nearby supplements are welcome, according to managing principal and developer Nitin Motwani.

“Brightline, we’ve enjoyed a wonderful relationship with them, in their development with ours,” Mr. Motwani told Miami Today, referring to the the high-speed luxury passenger rail service whose service line, currently running between downtown Miami and West Palm Beach, is planned to extend to Orlando in less than five years.

“Part of our success has been through their success, and vice versa,” he said. “We’re very excited for their opening. They’ve exceeded expectations and will not only be a success themselves but also a great catalyst for the Tri-County area.”

‘We’re very excited for their opening. They’ve exceeded expectations and will not only be a success themselves but also a great catalyst for the Tri-County area.’

Nitin Motwani

The first residential tower in the Park West Center will connect Boston-based firm, Elkus Manfredi. and parking components, with massive Miami Worldcenter proj- to Miami Worldcenter by escalator, Spring 2020 is targeted for the about 365,000 square feet of ect, Caoba, is to debut this fall as according to Mike Cohen of the completion and debut of retail sales space projected. the project’s first residential tower, a 43-story, 444-unit condominium at 698 NE First Ave. that will offer 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Public Notice of Intent to Issue Air Permits Early this month, construction Florida Department of Environmental Protection on the next piece, Paramount Division of Air Resource Management, Office of Permitting and Compliance Worldcenter at 900 NE First Ave., Draft Title V Air Operation Permit No. 0250003-030-AV reached its full 700-foot height.

Draft Air Construction Permit Revision No. 0250003-029-AC (PSD-FL-338D) Florida Power and Light Company, Turkey Point Fossil Plant Paramount Ventures and Elkus Miami-Dade County, Florida Manfredi Architects broke ground on the building in late 2016. Work- Applicant: The applicant for this project is Florida Power and Light (FPL) Company. The applicant’s responsible official and mailing address are: Mr. ers hit the project’s halfway point Gary Kowalczyk, Regional Plant Manager, FPL, Turkey Point Fossil Plant, 9700 S.W. 344th Street, Homestead, Florida 33035.

Facility Location: The applicant operates the existing Turkey Point Fossil Plant, which is in Miami-Dade County, 10 miles east of Florida City on SW in December.

344 Street, Homestead, Florida.

Once finished, the 60-story construct will boast 562 high-end resi- Project: The applicant applied on May 18, 2018, to the Department for an air construction permit revision and a renewed Title V air operation permit.

The existing facility consists of a “4-on 1” combined cycle combustion unit system (Unit 5) with a nominal generating capacity of 1,209 megawatts (MW). dential units, as well as amenities Unit 5 uses a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system with ammonia injection in conjunction with Dry Low-NOX combustion (gas firing) and wet including an outdoor soccer field, injection (oil firing) to control nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions. The fossil plant also includes certain small sources: one fuel oil storage tank, a 24-cell indoor basketball court, boxing mechanical draft cooling tower and two emergency diesel generators supporting Unit 5; and, several other engines and unregulated or insignificant units. area, golf simulator, game room, As part of this renewal project, FPL is requesting revisions to various air construction permit conditions. Permit Nos. 0250003-AC (PSD-FL-338) and rooftop observatory, 26 poolside 024-AC (PSD-FL-338B) have been revised for the following items: to revise the cooling tower information from 22-cell to 24-cell configuration (EU No. to change the carbon monoxide (CO) compliance determination method for Unit 5 (EU Nos. 009-012) from continuous emissions monitors (CEMS) cabanas and a 5,000-square-foot 014); to stack testing and revise the time to submit updated manufacturer’s performance curves. The actual emissions reporting requirement (established skyport meant to accommodate from PSD-FL-338B) for Unit 5 was also revised to specify the operating conditions for the required CO stack testing. Obsolete rule references were also removed as part of this renewal. passenger drones or flying cars.

“We topped off Paramount Permitting Authority: Applications for air construction permits are subject to review in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 403, Florida Statand sold a piece of property utes (F.S.) and Chapters 62-4, 62-210 and 62-212 of the Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.). The proposed project is not exempt from air permitting last week, which we’re excited requirements and an air permit is required to perform the proposed work. about,” Mr. Motwani said of the Applications for Title V air operation permits with Acid Rain units are subject to review in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 403, Florida Stat$16.5 million sale of a former utes (F.S.) and Chapters 62-4, 62-210, 62-213 and 62-214, of the Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.). The proposed project is not exempt from air warehouse-turned-nightclub permitting requirements and a Title V air operation permit is required to operate the facility. structure in Overtown.

The Office of Permitting and Compliance in the Division of Air Resource Management is the Permitting Authority responsible for making a permit determiWorldcenter developers are nation for these projects. The Permitting Authority’s physical address is: 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida. The Permitting Authority’s mailing also partnering with Miami-Dade address is: 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS #5505, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400. The Permitting Authority’s telephone number is 850/717-9000. to cut off possible transit issues Project File: A complete project file is available for public inspection during the normal business hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through at the pass. In June, county com- Friday (except legal holidays), at the address indicated above for the Permitting Authority. The complete project file includes the draft air construction missioners OK’d ZOM Florida revision, the draft Title V air operation permit, the Statement of Basis, the application, and the information submitted by the applicant, exclusive of confidential records under Section 403.111, F.S. Interested persons may view the draft permits by visiting the following website: https://fldep.dep.state.fl.us/ Inc. and Miami A/I LLC to begin air/emission/apds/default.asp and entering the permit number shown above. Interested persons may contact the Permitting Authority’s project review upgrading the Freedom Tower engineer for additional information at the address or phone number listed above.

Metromover station, one of two Notice of Intent to Issue Air Permit: The Permitting Authority gives notice of its intent to issue an air construction permit to the applicant for the stations adjacent to the project project described above. The applicant has provided reasonable assurance that operation of proposed equipment will not adversely impact air quality and that the project will comply with all appropriate provisions of Chapters 62-4, 62-204, 62-210, 62-212, 62-296 and 62-297, F.A.C. The Permitting targeted for enhancements. will issue a final permit in accordance with the conditions of the proposed draft air construction permit unless a timely petition for an adminUnder the agreement, Miami Authority istrative hearing is filed under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S. or unless public comment received in accordance with this notice results in a different Worldcenter will pay an estimated decision or a significant change of terms or conditions. $3.2 million to upgrade the station Permitting Authority gives notice of its intent to issue a Title V air operation permit to the applicant for the project described above. The applicant and is responsible for an annual The has provided reasonable assurance that continued operation of existing equipment will not adversely impact air quality and that the project will comply $6,735 rent for 90 years unless with all appropriate provisions of Chapters 62-4, 62-204, 62-210, 62-212, 62-213, 62-214, 62-296 and 62-297, F.A.C. The Permitting Authority will Miami Worldcenter defaults on issue a final Title V air operation permit in accordance with the conditions of the draft/proposed Title V air operation permit unless a timely petition for an administrative hearing is filed under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S. or unless public comment received in accordance with this notice results in its obligations. a different decision or a significant change of terms or conditions.

Among improvements, according to a memo from Miami-Dade Comments: The Permitting Authority will accept written comments concerning the draft air construction permit for a period of 14 days from the date of publication of the Public Notice. Written comments must be received by the Permitting Authority by close of business (5:00 p.m.) on or before the Deputy Mayor Alina Hudak, are end of this 14-day period. If written comments received result in a significant change to the draft air construction permit, the Permitting Authority shall new elevators, stairs, turnstiles, revise the draft air construction permit and require, if applicable, another Public Notice. All comments filed will be made available for public inspection. lighting and landscaping.

The Permitting Authority will accept written comments concerning the draft Title V air operation permit for a period of 30 days from the date of publication Developers also intend to of the Public Notice. Written comments must be received by the close of business (5:00 p.m.), on or before the end of this 30-day period by the Permitting upgrade the Park West Center Authority at the above address. As part of his or her comments, any person may also request that the Permitting Authority hold a public meeting on permitting action. If the Permitting Authority determines there is sufficient interest for a public meeting, it will publish notice of the time, date, and Metromover station, but plans this location in the Florida Administrative Register (FAR). If a public meeting is requested within the 30-day comment period and conducted by the Permitting and a proposal to commission- Authority, any oral and written comments received during the public meeting will also be considered by the Permitting Authority. If timely received written ers remains forthcoming. Once a comments or comments received at a public meeting result in a significant change to the draft Title V air operation permit, the Permitting Authority shall a revised draft Title V air operation permit and require, if applicable, another Public Notice. All comments filed will be made available for public deal is reached, developers plan to issue inspection. For additional information, contact the Permitting Authority at the above address or phone number. replace all vertical transportation with covering for new elevators, Petitions: A person whose substantial interests are affected by the proposed permitting decision may petition for an administrative hearing in accordwith Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S. Petitions filed by any persons other than those entitled to written notice under Section 120.60(3), F.S., escalators and stairs, as well as im- ance must be filed within 14 days of publication of the Public Notice or receipt of a written notice, whichever occurs first. Under Section 120.60(3), F.S., prove lighting and safety measures. however, any person who asked the Permitting Authority for notice of agency action may file a petition within 14 days of receipt of that notice, regardless

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

State fights for education amendment The News Service of Florida

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office has quickly moved to appeal a Leon County circuit judge’s decision Monday that would block a proposed education constitutional amendment from going on the November ballot.

Her office filed a notice that is an initial step in taking the case to the 1st District Court of Appeal. As is common, the notice does not detail the arguments the state will make in the appeal.

Circuit Judge John Cooper on Monday ruled that the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment would not adequately inform voters of its potential impact on the creation of charter schools.

The proposed amendment, placed on the ballot by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, would

impose eight-year term limits on school board members and would require the promotion of “civic literacy” in public schools.

But a provision that drew a legal challenge from the League of Women Voters of Florida would allow the state to operate and control public schools “not established by the school board,” wording that opponents said would lead to the expansion of charter schools.

Judge Cooper issued a 12-page ruling that said the measure, known as Amendment 8, should not go on the Nov. 6 ballot.

“The failure to use the term voters would understand, ‘charter schools,’ as well as the use of a phrase that has no established meaning under Florida law, fails to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect of this proposal,” Judge Cooper wrote.

of the date of publication. A petitioner shall mail a copy of the petition to the applicant at the address indicated above, at the time of filing. A petition for administrative hearing must contain the information set forth below and must be filed (received) with the Agency Clerk in the Office of General Counsel, 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, MS 35, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, Agency_Clerk@dep.state.fl.us, before the deadline. The failure of any person to file a petition within the appropriate time period shall constitute a waiver of that person’s right to request an administrative determination (hearing) under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S., or to intervene in this proceeding and participate as a party to it. Any subsequent intervention (in a proceeding initiated by another party) will be only at the approval of the presiding officer upon the filing of a motion in compliance with Rule 28-106.205, F.A.C.

A petition that disputes the material facts on which the Permitting Authority’s action is based must contain the following information: (a) The name and address of each agency affected and each agency’s file or identification number, if known; (b) The name, address, any email address, telephone number and any facsimile number of the petitioner; the name, address, any email address, telephone number, and any facsimile number of the petitioner’s representative, if any, which shall be the address for service purposes during the course of the proceeding; and an explanation of how the petitioner’s substantial interests will be affected by the agency determination; (c) A statement of when and how each petitioner received notice of the agency action or proposed decision; (d) A statement of all disputed issues of material fact. If there are none, the petition must so indicate; (e) A concise statement of the ultimate facts alleged, including the specific facts the petitioner contends warrant reversal or modification of the agency’s proposed action; (f) A statement of the specific rules or statutes the petitioner contends require reversal or modification of the agency’s proposed action including an explanation of how the alleged facts relate to the specific rules or statutes; and, (g) A statement of the relief sought by the petitioner, stating precisely the action the petitioner wishes the agency to take with respect to the agency’s proposed action. A petition that does not dispute the material facts upon which the Permitting Authority’s action is based shall state that no such facts are in dispute and otherwise shall contain the same information as set forth above, as required

by Rule 28-106.301, F.A.C. Because the administrative hearing process is designed to formulate final agency action, the filing of a petition means that the Permitting Authority’s final action may be different from the position taken by it in this written notice of Intent to Issue Air Permit. Persons whose substantial interests will be affected by any such final decision of the Permitting Authority on the application have the right to petition to become a party to the proceeding, in accordance with the requirements set forth above.

Mediation: Mediation is not available for this proceeding.

Objections: Finally, pursuant to 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 7661d(b)(2), any person may petition the Administrator of the EPA within 60 days of the expiration of the Administrator’s 45-day review period as established at 42 U.S.C. Section 7661d(b)(1), to object to the issuance of any Title V air operation permit. Any petition shall be based only on objections to the permit that were raised with reasonable specificity during the 30-day public comment period provided in the Public Notice, unless the petitioner demonstrates to the Administrator of the EPA that it was impracticable to raise such objections within the comment period or unless the grounds for such objection arose after the comment period. Filing of a petition with the Administrator of the EPA does not stay the effective date of any permit properly issued pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 62-213, F.A.C. Petitions filed with the Administrator of EPA must meet the requirements of 42 U.S.C. Section 7661d(b)(2) and must be filed with the Administrator of the EPA at: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of the Administrator, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Mail Code: 1101A, Washington, DC 20460. For more information regarding EPA review and objections, visit EPA’s Region 4 web site at: http://www2.epa.gov/caa-permitting/florida-proposed-title-v-permits.

24

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

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