On February 1, 2023, the Mayor and City Commission approved a referral item (C4 W), sponsored by then Commissioner/now Mayor Steven Meiner, to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee (PSNQLC) to discuss the schedule of events taking place at Pride Park, and how the City could better manage the schedule and activate Pride Park for the maximum benefit of City residents.

The referral focuses on addressing resident concerns regarding the load-in and load-out periods for major event activations at Pride Park resulting in residents losing beneficial use of the Park for extended periods of time. Although Pride Park, located on Convention Center Drive between 18^th and 19^th streets, was recently designed and constructed to accommodate event activation, one of the primary purposes of Pride Park is to provide a recreational amenity to area residents year-round. 

In an effort to ensure an appropriate balance between commercial and community events and the use of the Park by residents, the referral (Attachment A) requests that the Administration consider potential resident-oriented activations, review the annual schedule of events, and recommend whether any policies or procedures, such as limiting the total number of days each year or limiting maximum number of consecutive days that Pride Park may be used for events, including load-in and load-out days. 

On September 13, 2023, the Mayor and City Commission approved a related referral item (C4 N), sponsored by Commission Alex Fernandez, to the PSNQLC to discuss Pride Park and the number of activation days.

On April 10, 2019, the Mayor and City Commission approved a Finance and Citywide Project Committee recommendation to amend the Special Events Requirements and Guidelines (“Special Event Guidelines”) via Resolution No. 2019-30783. One of the approved recommendations was a venue frequency chart, which provides the Administration and event producers a snapshot of requirements and limitations of each public space and to ensure that public spaces in high demand, do not experience “User Fatigue”.

The Special Event Guidelines specifically mention Pride Park (formerly Convention Center Park). The approved maximum number of event days in the Park is limited to 120 days per fiscal year, with priority given to Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) events. The 120-day limitation is also designated for Lummus Park Beachfront, Collins Avenue Corridor (beachfront, spoil areas, and Collins Park), and Ocean Terrace.

Prior to redevelopment as Pride Park, the site was utilized as a parking lot/staging area. In January 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City’s contractor obtained a temporary certificate of completion (TCO) for the Park. In an effort to ensure continuity of operations of the MBCC campus, on June 23, 2021, the Mayor and City Commission approved, via Resolution No. 2021-31707, Amendment No. 4 to the OVG360 (formerly Spectra Venue Management) MBCC management agreement to include the management of Pride Park and Collins Canal Park, as part of the Convention Center campus.

As the management agreement with OVG360 expires on March 31, 2024, the Administration recommended, and the Mayor and City Commission authorized the issuance of Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) No. 2023-338-ND for management and operations of the MBCC campus. On September 13, 2023, the City Commission further authorized the Administration to negotiate a new management agreement for consideration and approval by the City Commission.

The Administration currently works jointly with OVG360 to monitor the activation, operations and maintenance of Pride Park and Collins Canal Park by safeguarding the frequency of use, protecting the health of the Park, supervising how the Park is utilized, and limiting the impact of Park utilization on the quality of life for residents in adjacent neighborhoods. 

Events and Activations:

Any event producer, organization, or individual may apply for a Special Event Permit for the activation of Pride Park. The Special Event Guidelines (revised and approved by the City Commission on July 26, 2023 via Resolution No. 2023-32701 -  see Attachment B) provides that clients of the MBCC, booking a substantial portion of the MBCC (e.g., all four (4) exhibit halls), may extend portions of their event(s) to Pride Park (and Collins Canal Park) and that the MBCC has first right of refusal for any non-MBCC event requesting to activate Pride Park (and Collins Canal Park).

To date, Pride Park has only been utilized for a few large events, which are either a full-building client of the MBCC (Bitcoin 2022, Miami International Boat Show 2022 and 2023), or have a multi-year agreement with the City to utilize Pride Park. Design Miami is not a MBCC client and is the only event with a multi-year agreement for the utilization of Pride Park. For Fiscal Year 2023, the full use of Pride Park was 79 days between Design Miami 2023, the Miami International Boat Show 2023 and Miami Beach Pride “Pride Family Day Picnic. For Fiscal Year 2024, major events are currently anticipated to span 71 days including the following:

• Design Miami – previously utilized 56 consecutive days (October – December 2022). The new Design Miami agreement (approved by the Mayor and City Commission on September 13, 2023 via Resolution No. 2023-32741) incorporates a reduction of the number of days to 50 consecutive days (October to December 2023) including load in and load out; and 
• Miami International Boat Show 2024 – 21 consecutive days (February 5 – 25) – the organizers also reduced the footprint of their activation to allow more access to the Park.

In addition, the Park has limited access for repairs and resodding after each event, which can range from days to months. Following procurement and installation, sod typically takes 10 to 14 days to sprout shallow roots, and the roots stabilize in four (4) to six (6) weeks. Then the sod must be isolated (not walked on or cut) for another 14+ days to encourage growth. Repairs can range in duration as well, depending on the severity of the restoration.

Community Programming:

With respect to small events that utilize minimal portions of Pride Park, to date the following events have taken place: Juneteenth Commemoration ceremonies, Miami Beach OnStage programming, and Transgender Day of Remembrance. These public events were free to the community, did not fence Pride Park, allowed for passive use of the park by the community during the event, and were limited to between a few hours and 1-2 days. These events, while well received, had low attendance and the Administration continues to review and plan further community programming where appropriate, and engage the community.

The goal of the community programming is to engage residents and locals out of their homes and into the Park to breathe new life into the area, prioritize family-friendly activities, and create a sense of place and community gathering. Programming under consideration includes, but is not limited to, themed events celebrating music, dance, culture, youth, art, health and wellness, yoga, meditation, kite flying, pets/furry family members, movie nights, fantasy theater, seasonal/holiday celebrations, educational exploration, environmental awareness and more fun programs. The mission is to create authentic experiences through community and cultural engagements and leverage our cultural, educational, environmental/sustainability, and parks and recreation partners and vendors.

Surveys:

To do so, the Administration conducted an observation of Pride Park utilization from May 15 – June 18, 2023 to assess the hourly (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) occupancy and usage of the Park.  The charts below illustrate the number of people observed in the Park each hour:

The following chart illustrates the activities of the people using Pride Park during the hourly observations:

Based on this information, the following assumptions were deduced:

·         On the weekend, the average occupancy is significantly less than on the weekdays, partially due to outliers such as holiday(s) or nearby events

·         Busiest time of day varies based on weekday, weekend or full week.

o   Weekday: 3:00 P M

o   Weekend: 5:00 PM

o   Full week: 3:00 PM

·         Weather, maintenance, sprinklers, MBCC events, etc. impact assessment of the busiest time of day.

In addition, in July 2023, the Administration conducted a survey of the Palm View Neighborhood Association to understand how neighboring residents use or want Pride Park activated. The questions and responses are below:

The July 2023 survey augments a prior survey conducted by Palm View residents in September 2022 (see Attachment C). Additional comments gathered through the 2022 survey include:

·         requests for more shade or more trees,

·         more free activations versus commercial engagements,

·         removal of the exercise area and adding a coffee shop or pond/fountain/water feature,

·         increased homeless,

·         family-friend/youth programming,

·         and no activations.

Shade Structures:

With respect to more shade, two (2) sixty-year-old Calophyllum trees, which spread with a broad and irregular crown, were recently relocated to Pride Park from Municipal Parking Lot 29, due to the construction of the Grand Hyatt hotel, which in future years will provide even more shade. As other existing trees mature, additional shaded areas will become available. However, temporary shade structures could be acquired. The Parks and Recreation Department acquired and installed such structures in the following parks: Allison Park has eight (8) triangular sails ($156,680), Indian Beach Park has six (6) triangular sails ($139,370), and Marjory Stoneman Douglas Ocean Beach Park has eight (8) triangular shades ($85,109). Costs for these recent projects are not necessarily reflective of today’s pricing for labor and materials. Cost estimates for installation of shade structures for Pride Park would be impacted by the number and placement of the structures within the Park. Funding to provide for shade structures has not been identified, budgeted or appropriated as part of the Capital Budget.

Restrooms:

To mitigate the increasing number of homeless in the Park, the restroom facilities remain closed and are only opened during approved and permitted programming, consistent with Soundscape Park and other neighboring parks with limited usage. The Administration recommends continuation of this practice for purposes of promoting public safety. Additionally, as Pride Park is primarily designed and utilized as a passive park (with average hourly usage of 3.44 - 5.89 people each week), opening restroom facilities is not cost effective. The operation and maintenance of the restroom facilities would have a fiscal impact with costs to operate, monitor and maintain the restrooms at approximately $300 for four (4) hours with two (2) attendants and $600 for eight (8) hours with two (2) attendants. Annual costs for daily restroom operations are as follows:

·         Four (4) hours per day: $109,500

·         Eight (8) hours per day: $219,000

The availability and utilization of Pride Park has also been addressed by the Convention Center Advisory Board (CCAB) via a motion dated September 12, 2023 (Attachment D). The CCAB, which includes a representative of the Palm View Neighborhood Association, supports and recommends that the City maintain the 120-day annual event limit on events in Pride Park (excluding countywide events, such as the Super Bowl and Formula 1 type events), and also recommends that the City Manager be empowered to determine whether the number of events is in the best interest of the city.

Moreover, the Administration continues to review the current square footage rental fees for Pride Park ($.50 plus annual consumer price index (CPI)) used to maintain the Park, and security deposit levels to repair the Park, if needed, following events. These fees could contribute and support community programming and offset the commercial use of the parks. Such fees could also support the purchase and maintenance of temporary shade structures at Pride Park as the current trees mature and provide a short-term respite.