The Administration recommends accepting the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee recommendation to fund Power Access Inc.'s 6th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival in an amount not to exceed $25,000.

The 6th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival will take place in January 7-9, 2022, with multiple performances throughout Miami Beach. 

Additionally, the Administration is including Power Access Inc. as one of the presenting cultural organizations participating in the Miami Beach OnStage! Festival that is funded to create cultural programming through FY 2021-2022. Through Miami Beach OnStage!, Power Access Inc. would activate three (3) proposed locations in South, Middle and North Beach neighborhoods in an amount not to exceed $15,000.

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 Miami Beach 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 with their producing partner, KCC Productions.

The second year saw a greater expanse in programming and audience with Branford Marsalis being a huge success with a sold-out kick off. The event proved how music forges bonds between listeners and performers, but more importantly, how the sheer talent of the artists promoted the festival’s primary goal: enabling the musicians to be defined by ability rather than disability. To further this goal, at least one member of each musical group have a disability, therefore, creating opportunities for those individuals while educating the community.

Previous Sponsorship funds received from ADA grant

FY 15/16- $13,000 plus $3,000 waiver of special event fees (Reso.2016-29431)

FY 16/17- $15,000 (Reso.2017-30116)

FY 1718- $25,000 (Reso.2018-30424)

During the January 15, 2019 Disability Access Committee, the following motion was made:

The members recommend the City to provide funds for the South Beach Festival in January 2020 as a disability awareness event. The organization is making a request for $60,000.

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. 

Following this referral, the Administration reached out to the Committee Liaison to discuss funding and the committee request, to better understand the ask.  The Committee Liaison recommended an approval of $20,000 from the Miami Dade County Parking Fines Reimbursement Fund/ADA fund, which was the funding course in previous years.

The South Beach Jazz Festival currently has an active application with the Cultural Arts Council in the amount of $25,000, which should be awarded in July of 2019.

On April 19, 2019 the FCWPC discussed the item and was made aware that Miami Dade County Parking Fines Reimbursement Fund/ADA funds, which is the funding body for this grant, did not see the same revenues as the previous year, and only had $39,000 within it.  Approximately $18,000 of these funds are used for closed captioning purposes for City of Miami Beach meetings and other needs, which would only leave the original recommendation of $20,000 to be made to the South Beach Jazz Festival.

The administration recommended that if a $25,000 sponsorship were to be made, that the Committee recommend a $5,000 reduction year over year. Commissioner Gongora agreed with that approach.

The FCWPC directed the administration to keep funding consistent at $25,000, with the administration to identify a funding source for the additional $5,000, while also decreasing the sponsorship by $5,000 each year, as such:

$25,000 - January 2020

$20,000 - January 2021

$15,000 - January 2022

$10,000 - January 2023

$5,000 -   January 2024

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 

Through the South Beach Jazz Festival, Power Access has delivered high quality cultural programing in the City of Miami Beach since 2015.

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, City 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 deferral of the sponsorship application process at the time of the funding request, the Mayor and Commission directed the Administration to fund the 2021 South Beach Jazz Festival in an amount not to exceed $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. 

Cultural Affairs Council Funds:

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 to discuss 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. 

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.

On 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.

On July, 30, 2021, the FERC meeting, FERC recommended funding the South Beach Jazz Festival in an amount not to exceed $25,00, pending budget appropriation, and an additional $15,000 from the Miami Beach OnStage! program funded by the $1 Million for cultural programming, for three (3) activations in FY 2021-2022  to the September 17, 2021 Mayor and Commission meeting. 

Funding for the 6th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival is subject to Mayor and Commission approval at the budget public hearings on September 17, 2021 and September 30, 2021.  

The Administration recommends accepting the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee recommendation to fund Power Access Inc.'s 6th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival in an amount not to exceed $25,000, including the waiver of special event and city services fees, subject to approval by the Mayor and City Commission at the budget public hearings on September 17, 2021 and September 30, 2021. Future requests will be directed to apply for the special events sponsorship process. 

The 6th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival will take place in January 7-9. 2022, with multiple performances throughout Miami Beach. 

Additionally, 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 through FY 2021-2022. Through Miami Beach OnStage!, Power Access would be able to activate the three (3) proposed areas in South, Middle and North Beach neighborhoods in an amount not to exceed $15,000.