ADDENDUM  16.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

At the December 13, 2017 City Commission Meeting, Commissioner John Aleman sponsored Item C4T, referring a discussion to consider the accelerated replacement of existing lighting at the North Shore Tennis Center with new LED lighting, in preparation of the International Tennis Federation’s Young Seniors World Tea and Individual Tournament, to the Finance & Citywide Projects (FCWP) Committee.

At the same City Commission meeting, a separate discussion was held to bring back the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contracting them to host a tournament at the City for the next two consecutive years. In order for the ITF to bring the Young Seniors Tournament to Miami Beach, and for the City to be competitive in future tennis tournament bids, the sports lighting at the two tennis centers must meet the minimum lighting standards set by the ITF for night play.

Currently, the Flamingo Park Tennis Center meets those standards, but the North Shore Tennis Center does not.

ANALYSIS:

The cost of upgrading the North Shore Tennis Center to a new LED lighting system which would meet or exceed ITF standards is $289,000. The project schedule for completing an upgrade of this kind in time for the May 2018 ITF is aggressive, but could be achieved through completing the necessary actions by the January 2018 City Commission meeting.  The project is currently unfunded. Staff is evaluating existing projects and will identify potential sources to fund this high priority project.

Once identified the funding source would be contingent on approval of a capital budget amendment at the January 2018 City Commission meeting, which would formally appropriate necessary funding for the lighting upgrade project. If approved, the Administration will procure these services through a piggyback option with Musco, the lighting contractor previously used by the City for sports lighting projects. 

Musco has committed to completing the project by mid-April 2018, in time for the ITF tournament.

CONCLUSION:
Committee recommendation to approve project funding and to proceed with a capital budget amendment at the January 2018 City Commission meeting.