HISTORY:
At the February 13 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Gongora sponsored a referral to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee to discuss modifications to the agreements with South Florida Seniors in Action (“SFSIA”) regarding its use of the South Shore Community Center, located at 833 6th Street (“Center”).
In addition to SFSIA, the City provides space at the Center to various nonprofit and community service organizations that aid the Miami Beach community, including Miami-Dade Community Action Agency, Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers of Dade County, South Florida Workforce Investment Board and Lighthouse Church of Miami Beach.
Lease Agreement for Use of the Office Space
Since September 2016, SFSIA has leased a 142 square foot office space in the Center for providing various services to the elderly community in Miami Beach (i.e., food distribution, healthcare eligibility, etc.). SFSIA has exclusive access and control of the office space. At the Center, the City charges tenants $1.20 annually for base rent and only charges specific operating expenses incurred by the City to operate the Center (limited to utilities, maintenance, and janitorial services), which expenses are currently estimated to be $11.06 per square foot.
License Agreement for Use of the Auditorium
In March 2018, the City executed a license agreement with SFSIA for non-exclusive use during weekday afternoons of the Center’s 2,792 square foot auditorium. Currently, the auditorium is also utilized by Lighthouse Church of Miami Beach for religious services on Sundays between 9:00AM and 1:00PM and the auditorium was previously utilized by Jewish Community Services for its senior meals program on weekdays between 8:00AM to 2:00PM. As was the case with JCS, since SFSIA would only use the auditorium on a part-time, shared basis, a license agreement was utilized to formalize the arrangement.
As with the other nonprofit entities that utilize the auditorium, the Mayor and City Commission approved a reduced rent for SFSIA whereby they would only be required to pay based on the Center’s operating expenses, which amount to approximately $11.06 per square foot. Additionally, the rent would be further reduced, on a pro rata basis, by the days/hours of usage indicated above, in the amount of 20 hours per week. Utilizing the same formula as in the JCS agreement, this use amounts to 16.7% of a 120 week (24 hours/day times 5 days per week=120 hours). Accordingly, the pro-rated rate for SFSIA is $1.85 per square foot. The auditorium measures 2,792 SF, thus the annual rent amount was computed at $5,165.20, or $430.33 per month.