It is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission accept the City Manager’s recommendation to reject the sole proposal received pursuant to Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) 2021-153-KB activation of the Lummus Park spoil area.

On April 21, 2021, the City Commission directed the Administration to issue a competitive solicitation requesting proposals from firms to implement sophisticated, family-friendly options for activating the Lummus Park spoil area. The spoil area is defined as the sandy space between the coral wall abutting the Park’s serpentine walkway and the protective sand dunes. Specifically, the City sought to activate the areas currently identified as low use or infrequent use. The existing high use areas currently contain permanent activations and, thus, the City is not seeking to further activate high use areas at this time. The intent of this solicitation was to activate under-utilized spaces in the spoil area without impacting existing programming and amenities. The City envisioned activations that create sophisticated, family-friendly experiences, highlighting the energy, history, and culture of Miami Beach and Ocean Drive.

The solicitation did not include an estimated budget for the activations as the City has not yet identified funding for any proposed activation.

On April 23, 2021, the ITN was issued. Approximately 2,000 vendors were notified via Periscope S2G and 61 via email notification. Fifty-four vendors accessed the solicitation.  Two (2) addenda were issued.  ITN responses were due on June 18, 2021. The ITN resulted in the receipt of a sole response from Teamwork Marketing Solutions, Inc.

Following the receipt of the sole proposal, the Procurement Department contacted several viable bidders to understand why no other bids were received.  Primarily, the bidders queried indicated that either they were not in the business of providing the types of activations sought by the City, the scope of the ITN was not sufficiently specific, or current workloads did not allow them to respond.  

Regarding the sole proposal (see Attachment A) received from Teamwork Marketing Solutions, the firm proposes to install and art walk type exhibit that will include up to ten (10 ) international artists painting live during a five (5) day period. The art proposed will include varying concepts, styles, and techniques, which will allow visitors to the exhibit to witness the process of completing an art piece from beginning to completion. The proposal primarily focuses on installations that are three dimensional (3D) and are believed to be engaging by presenting distorted images of visitors which will encourage interaction with the installations.

While the proposal includes an interesting concept, staff does not believe that it is consistent with the goals of the envisioned installation(s) for activation of the area. First, the installations are proposed to be on-site for a very short period of five (5) days. It is unlikely that such a short period of time will attract a significant number of families and achieve the longer-term goals of promoting family-friendly opportunities to enjoy the Lummus Park area. Second, the costs of approximately $226,000 proposed are significant and not currently budgeted by the City. The proposal does mention possible sponsorship opportunities; however, it is unlikely that these sponsorships will be able to cover all or most of the costs proposed. Therefore, it is staff’s position that the potential costs, even if offset by sponsorships, outweigh any possible benefits envisioned by the City that would be generated by attracting families to the area.

Finally, the City is currently working on a solicitation for fitness programming at Lummus Park which is believed to be a longer-term means for attracting families, as well as visitors, to the Lummus Park area. Additionally, the City is actively engaged with two consultants for the redesign of Lummus Park, including the development of a master plan for the park, which will set the long term vision and goals for the area.

Based on the foregoing, I recommended that the Mayor and City Commission accept the City Manager’s recommendation to reject the sole proposal received pursuant to Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) 2021-153-KB activation of the Lummus Park spoil area.