On June 23, 2021, the Mayor and City Commission requested a referral to Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) to discuss the funding of the South Beach Jazz Festival scheduled for January 3-5, 2022.

The South Beach Jazz Festival  takes place at various venues throughout the City of Miami Beach. The festival takes pride in featuring world-renowned musicians with disabilities, featuring classic, latin, and New Orleans styles of jazz. Most of the performances are outdoors, free, and open to the public. The sounds of jazz enliven the city all weekend long and draw locals and tourists from around the world to listen, linger, and enjoy. 

R. David New founded Power Access, Inc. in 2010 in response to the lack of cultural programming for and by people with disabilities. An all-volunteer 501(c)3 not-for-profit, dedicated to presenting cultural and educational programming that shines a spotlight on the abilities of people with disabilities as defined by the American Disability Act, and to offer viable solutions to their challenges.

Power Access has been presenting activities through its Ability Explosion® beginning in 2010. They launched the first Ability Explosion® with the Miami Beach Disability Access Committee as a Disability Awareness Day, which featured disability simulations and awareness about audio and tactile crosswalks at new traffic signals. After that first year, they expanded the project to be a weeklong event featuring a Resource & Technology Expo at the Miami Beach Convention Center, a 5k run, a business luncheon in conjunction with the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, and “Lights out Miami Beach”—dining in the dark citywide attended by almost 1000 people. In subsequent years, Ability Explosion® expanded to include; wheelchair basketball, “Taking It to the Streets” featuring music on Lincoln road, a Comedy Explosion, a water sports exhibition, and “Cooking Without Looking,” a television show of cooking classes by and for the blind.

Power Access presented its first festival in December 2016, featuring jazz superstar Diane Schuur who has been blind since birth. The musically vibrant 5-day festival reached as many as 1,700 people thanks to Power Access's extensive marketing campaign and their producing partner, KCC Productions.

In 2019 the South Beach Jazz Festival expanded their programming greatly. This expansion had a positive affect on their ability to reach a higher audience threshold. The Festival’s main headliner Branford Marsalis was a huge success, which led to a sold-out event. Every year the Festival reminds us how music forges bonds between listeners and performers alike.  More importantly the Festival continues to promote its primary goal in enabling musicians to be defined by their abilities rather than their disabilities. This display of sheer support for our disabled citizens allows for our city to be more inclusive, all the while, educating our community.

Through the South Beach Jazz Festival, Power Access has delivered high quality cultural programing in the City of Miami Beach since 2015. The City of Miami Beach has been a strong financial supporter of the South Beach Festival program with details as follows:

On February 28, 2019, the Disability Access Committee (DAC) adopted a motion recommending the City approve Power Access' request for City sponsorship funds in the amount of $60,000 to fund the 2020 South Beach Festival, as a disability awareness event. 

On March 13, 2019, at the request of Commissioner Michael Gongora, the City Commission referred Power Access' request for City sponsorship funds in the amount of $60,000 to the April 19, 2019 Finance and Citywide Project Committee (FCWPC).

At the April 19, 2019, the FCWPC Committee recommended the approval of a five (5) year sponsorship agreement between the City and Power Access, the terms of which shall include sponsorship funding in the amount of $25,000 for the 2020 Festival, following which the amount of the City's sponsorship funding to decrease by $5,000 during each year of the term, subject to annual budget appropriation and availability of the Miami Dade County Parking Fines Reimbursement funds/ADA funds. 

On May 8, 2019, the Mayor and City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2019-30820k, accepting the recommendation of the FCWPC, and authorizing the City Manager and City Clerk to execute a sponsorship agreement with Power Access, Inc. with a term of five (5) years for the South Beach Jazz Festival.

Staff conducted due diligence and did not find an agreement or any documentation regarding an a sponsorship agreement with Power Access, Inc and the City. 

At the September 16, 2020, Commission meeting, Commissioner Gongora sponsored an item for discussion regarding annual funding for the 2021 South Beach Jazz Festival (Item R9V). At the time, the Administration was proposing implementing the special event sponsorship application process for Mayor and Commission approval. Due to the sponsorship application process not being approved at the time of this funding request, the Mayor and Commission directed the Administration to fund the 2021 South Beach Jazz Festival in an amount same as prior years of $25,000.

On September 16, 2020, the Mayor and City Commission authorized the City Manager and City Clerk to execute a sponsorship agreement with Power Access, Inc. in the amount of $25,000 for the 2021 South Beach Jazz Festival. The South Beach Jazz Festival took place January 8 -10, 2021, in various locations throughout Miami Beach. Power Access Inc. reported a safe and sound success of the first live music festival held in Miami Beach in 2021. 

Previous sponsorship funds received from ADA grant that were allocated from the Miami Dade County Parking Fines Reimbursement Fund/ADA fund:

2016 - $13,000 plus $3,000 waiver of special event fees 

2017 - $15,000

2018 -  $25,000

2019  - $25,000

2020 - $25,000 

Additional City Funding:

Due to COVID-29 Pandemic, there was no funding available from the ADA grant to fund the 2020 South Beach Jazz Festival. The Mayor and Commission approved the special event sponsorship request in an amount of $25,000 for the 2021 South Beach Jazz Festival.

FY 20/21 - $25,000 (Reso. 2020-31532)

The South Beach Jazz Festival- (Power Access) is an active applicant with the Cultural Arts Council (CAC) and has received the following amounts in the annual CAC grant process:

FY 19/20 - $17,845

FY 20/21 - $15,752

FY 21/22 - $17,200 (as recommended by CAC at its July 1, 2021 meeting) 

The South Beach Jazz Festival has also received the following facility waivers, as approved by the CAC:

January 6, 2018 - $3,000 Fillmore Miami Beach Theater (Gleason Room)

January 6, 2019 - $5,000 SoundScape Wall Use Waiver

January 5, 2020 - $5,000 SoundScape Wall Use Waiver

January 9, 2021 - $7,927 North Beach Bandshell

On June 2, 2021, the Tourism and Culture staff met with Power Access where they shared their proposal (see attached) requesting a $10,000 increase in funding from the approved $25,000 in 2021 to $35,000 for the 6th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival, January 7-9, 2022. In addition, Power Access requested additional sponsorship in the amount of $15,000 in seed funding to produce three (3) additional cultural activations in Miami Beach throughout the year. The proposed programs would be at Lummus Park, Normandy Fountain, and Lincoln Road or Washington Avenue. 

Since 2015, the South Beach Jazz Festival has provided cultural programing for and by people with disabilities. In venues throughout Miami Beach over three days during January, the South Beach Jazz Festival attracts locals and regional jazz attendees. 

Pursuant with the Resolution. 2019-30820 terms of which the Mayor and Commission accepted the recommendation of the FCWPC, and authorized the City Manager and City Clerk to execute a sponsorship agreement with Power Access, Inc. with a term of five (5) years for the South Beach Jazz Festival, the Administration recommends the execution of a retroactive agreement between the City and Power Access, Inc. to fulfill the directive.

Moreover, the South Beach Festival sponsorship funding should decrease by $5,000 during each year of the term, and received in FY 2020-2021 a sponsorship amount of $25,000, FY 2021-2022 will be Year Two (2) of the five (5) year term, with sponsorship funding in the amount of $20,000.

In addition, at July 1, 2021 Cultural Arts Council (CAC) meeting, the CAC recommended funding for Power Access Inc., for FY 2021/2022  in the amount of $17,200.

The Administration recommends executing a retroactive five (5) year agreement with Power Access Inc. and funding for the 6th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival in the amount of $20,000 (included in the FY 2021-2022 proposed budget) and going forward apply for the special events sponsorship process. Due to budgetary constraints, the Administration does not recommend the additional funding request of $15,000 to produce three (3) cultural activations.

However, the Administration is including Power Access Inc. as one of the presenting cultural organizations that will participate in the  Miami Beach OnStage! Festival that is funded by the $1 Million for cultural programming in FY 2021-2022. Through Miami Beach OnStage!, Power Access would be able to activate the three (3) proposed locations of Lummus Park, Normandy Plaza and Lincoln Road in an amount not to exceed $15,000.