Item Coversheet

Resolutions - C7  O




COMMISSION MEMORANDUM

TO:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission 
FROM:Raul J. Aguila, Interim City Manager 
DATE:April  21, 2021
 



SUBJECT:A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCY COMMITTEE AT ITS MARCH 26, 2021 MEETING, TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDING, FROM THE CITY'S RESILIENCY FUND, FOR THE BAYSHORE PARK (FORMER PAR 3) PROJECT UTILITY RELOCATION, IN AN ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF $3.5 MILLION.

RECOMMENDATION

The Administration recommends approving the Resolution.

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

On April 30, 2014, the Mayor and City Commission approved, via Resolution No. 2014-28584, changing the use and designation of a portion of the Par 3 Golf Course, to accommodate greenery and open space adjacent to the Scott Rakow Youth Center.

 

On March 11, 2015, City Commission accepted the recommendation of the Neighborhoods/Community Affairs Committee to authorize the Administration to utilize the conceptual park plan with open recreational play areas prepared by the Planning Department as a basis to prepare a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for final design.

 

On May 19, 2016 the City executed an agreement with Savino Miller Design Studio for the Landscaping, Architectural, and Engineering Design Services for the Bayshore Park  Project.

 

Bayshore Park, located at 2300 Pine Tree Drive, will include 19 beautiful acres of public recreation space. The park will boast several marquee features such as an outdoor amphitheater, an iconic water fountain, a children's playground, and tennis courts. The current total project budget is approximately $21.1 Million, including $15.7 Million from the General Obligation Bond Program, project design, and contingency.  Although the project will greatly enhance the Bayshore Park neighborhood, it will also create conflicts between many of the park’s key elements and the existing underground utilities.

 

The current construction budget is $15M.  The project has experienced protracted delays related to the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) permitting of the planned soil mitigation. Consequently, cost overruns are expected. In an attempt to mitigate the overruns, the project is currently being value engineered. However, during the design phase it became apparent that conflicts with the underground utilities would need to be resolved during construction.

 

The relocation of the underground utilities was not accounted for in the current budget. In general, Master Plans are high-level planning tools, and therefore do not consider project specific details, such as the planned park renovations when programming the replacement or relocation of utilities within Bayshore Park. In order to complete the project and protect the existing utilities, additional funding will need to be identified and approved.  An option contemplated by the Administration was utilizing Resiliency Funds, currently with an available budget of $34.5 Million.

 

A request for additional funds was presented at the February 19, 2021 Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC), which discussion continued to its March 26, 2021 meeting.   At the March 26, 2021 FERC meeting, the Committee members concurred and supported utilizing the Resiliency Funds in order to proceed with the Par 3 Project relocation.  A motion was made to move the item to the full City Commission for approval.

ANALYSIS

Currently, there are two existing pipelines under the park. The 20-inch water main serves the two ground storage tanks at the 25th Street Water Booster Station. These ground storage tanks support essential life safety services during emergencies. In the event of a failure, the City would be out of compliance with the required regulatory minimum storage, pursuant to FAC 62-555.320(19).

 

The 30-inch sewer force main is one of only two major transmission lines serving the entirety of Mid-Beach and North Beach, as well as our three volume sewer customers (Village of Bal Harbour, Town of Bay Harbor, and Town of Surfside). Without this sewer force main online, the City would not be able to sustain sewer operations, as our system is not designed to accommodate swinging flows between the two transmission lines. Attachment A illustrates the location of the water main and force main with respect to the planned new park facilities.

 

The City of Miami Beach has a 25-year plan to update aging water and wastewater infrastructure, much of which has not been replaced since the City was initially developed. The Five-Year Critical Needs Capital Plan, which includes the most critical components of the system, was estimated to cost approximately $122.2 M. The City Commission has approved the implementation of the first Five-Year Critical Needs Capital Plan and funding sources have been identified; $72M are funds available to the City from utility revenues, or previous bond issuances, and the remaining $50.2 Million will be funded through the issuance of new bonds.

 

The water and force main along Par 3 are not part of the first Five-Year Critical Needs Capital Plan projects that have been funded and approved however they do form part of the 25-year infrastructure upgrade plan.  Beyond the utility conflicts, the pipelines are over 50 years old and due for replacement. The 2019 Water System Master Plan determined that portions of the 20-inch water main had a high probability of failure, due to the age of the pipe. It recommended replacement of the pipe in 2033-2036, subsequent to the implementation of higher priority water system projects.

SUPPORTING SURVEY DATA

Results from the 2019 Resident Survey show that 50% of residents rated efforts to manage stormwater drainage and flooding as excellent or good. In order to continue maintaining excellent standards in this area, the Administration recommends approving additional funding for the Bayshore Park (former Par 3) Project relocation.

CONCLUSION

The Administration recommends proceeding with the replacement and relocation of the pipelines to avoid additional potential costs to the City if these pipes were to fail during or after the construction of the planned new park facilities. Perhaps more importantly, replacing these pipelines now would avoid further impact to the park at a future date and avoid undue risks associated with their replacement after the new conflicts are constructed.

 

In an effort to keep costs at a minimum the utilities will be relocated within the park and protected with encasements or carrier pipes to mitigate conflicts. However, the construction costs will be burdened by the contaminated soils in the area that require proper disposal. The total cost of the relocation of the two pipelines is estimated at $3.5M. This is a planning level estimate that can vary widely after the utility relocation is further defined. The Administration recommends funding these necessary utility relocations from the Resiliency Fund.

Applicable Area

South Beach
Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item, pursuant to City Code Section 2-14? Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds?
Yes Yes 
Legislative Tracking
Public Works

ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Bayshore Park Site Plan-Existing Pipeline Conflicts-20210216
Resolution