OLD BUSINESS  2.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

As the renovation of the Miami Beach Convention Center nears completion, there is an opportunity to name the completely new main Convention Center park previously used as a parking lot.

Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) and City staff collaborated on the following suggested names for the park:

• Convention Center Park
• City Center Park

Early in 2018, the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC) recommended the names be reviewed by the Women’s Committee, who later suggested that it be heard by the Parks & Recreational Facilities Advisory Board (PRFAB), and suggested that staff develop additional recommendations.

In October 2018, the Convention Center Advisory Board (CCAB) motioned that West 8 (landscape architects) be asked to identify the featured plants being installed in the Miami Beach Convention parks and further, that the Parks and Recreation Board consider the names of these plants as potential names for the main Convention Center park

On Tuesday, December 11 2018, the Parks and Recreational Facilities Advisory Board took a tour of the parks and recommended the following names:

• Convention Center Park

• Memorial Park

During the December 14, 2018 NCAC meeting, the administration put forward Convention Center Park, City Center Park, and Memorial Park as potential names for this park.  The NCAC requested that the administration research additional names and provide them back in a presentation at the next meeting.

During the January 28, 2019 NCAC meeting, the administration reached out to West 8 to get additional names based on the trees in the park, and presented those names to the NCAC.  Based on this presentation, the NCAC recommended that the administration move forward with the following list to Commission but recommended that the Administration should seek community input through a survey including additional names that the community may recommend:

• Centennial Park Convention Center Park
• Mosaic Park
• Mohogany Park
• Canopy Park
• Centennial Park
• Royal Poinciana Park

During the February 13, 2019 Commission meeting, Resolution 2019-30715 was adopted, requiring the Tourism and Culture department to solicit feedback from the public on the names recommended by NCAC as well as other potential names, via an online survey conducted by the Marketing and Communications department.

On March 5, 2019, the Administration launched a public outreach initiative, via online survey hosted on the City of Miami Beach website, with additional digital and social ads to promote awareness, asking the public to provide input on the main Convention Center park naming  The online survey closed on March 29, 2019.

The public survey received 184 responses, with the following outcome:

• Convention Center Park - 53.80% (99 responses)
• Mosaic Park - 15.76% (29 responses) *
• Centennial Park - 9.24% (17 responses) *
• Royal Poinciana Park - 8.70% (16 responses) *
• Canopy Park - 7.61% (14 responses) *
• Mahogany Park - 4.89% (9 responses) *

The public outreach also received 84 "Other" responses.  All responses can be found in the attachment titled "CONVENTION CENTER PARK NAMING - OUTREACH".  The only submissions that received more then one suggestion were:

• Memorial Park *
• Pride Park *
• Tolerance Park *
• Muhammad Ali Park *
• Jackie Gleason Park *
• Pancoast Park *

* these names would require a referendum

ANALYSIS:

On April 10, 2019, the Mayor and City Commission motioned to recommend naming the main Convention Center park as "Pride Park" and referred the naming to the NCAC for review, consideration, and final recommendation.  

Under City Code there is a referendum requirement unless the facility or park is to be “named or renamed solely for the name of the City, the geographic area or physical location of the facility and/or the street or portion of the street where the facility is located, the function of the facility, or the current name of the facility.”

Accordingly, the name "Pride Park" would require a referendum.

CONCLUSION:

The Administration recommends that the NCAC accept and refer the name of the main Convention Center park as "Pride Park", to the Mayor and City Commission for final acceptance and approval.