NEW BUSINESS  19.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

HISTORY:

Miami Design Preservation League ("MDPL") is a non-profit organization devoted to preserving, protecting, and promoting the cultural, social, economic, environmental, and architectural integrity of Miami Beach and its fourteen local historic districts. These vibrant neighborhoods are living museums of 20th Century design and part of the unique cultural landscape of our city. MDPL acts as the docent and curator to these architectural gems. Originally organized by Barbara Baer Capitman and friends in 1976, it is the oldest Art Deco Society in the world, but is also much more. The Art Deco Historic District in South Beach was designated a National Register District in 1979 through the efforts of MDPL.   Since that time, three more National Register Districts have been added along with fourteen local historic districts - including two in North Beach enacted in 2018 following years of advocacy by MDPL in partnership with local neighborhood groups.   MDPL's signature festival is the annual Art Deco Weekend ("ADW"). ADW was created in 1977 to showcase the beautiful Art Deco buildings of South Beach and to encourage people to preserve them for future generations. The festival has been working to elevate the quality of programs over the last few years. Juried fine arts exhibitors, antiques, Deco-era music and diverse programming are included to create a community cultural festival with something for everyone.   MDPL created the annual ADW forty (40) years ago as a way to draw people to Ocean Drive in an effort to preserve and protect the historic architecture of the area.   The annual three day event, which normally takes place on or around Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, is the City's longest running free community cultural festival.   For the January 2018 ADW, the City Commission provided a $100,000 City sponsorship to offset City cost of City services (Police, Fire, and Parking) and outside security.    Additionally, the City waived $28, 408 in special event fees (application, permit, beach access, Lummus Park user fees, and square footage fee).             Further, in the last ten years, the Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council has provided the following funding to MDPL for overall organizational support, including the ADW, in addition to any  City sponsorship or waiver of special event fees:   FY 17/18 $23,161 FY 16/17 No funding was allocated FY 15/16 $23,744.33 FY 14/15 No funding was allocated FY 13/14 $17,648.68 FY 12/13 $18,407.86 FY 11/12 $19,358.40 FY 10/11 $18,164.25 FY 09/10 $22,799.88 FY 08/09 $15,000.00   For FY 18/19, MDPL has requested $30,000 from the Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council.   In February 2018, the City amended Chapter 12 of the Code of the City of Miami Beach, entitled “Arts, Culture and Entertainment”. The amendment required that in view of the existing grant funding opportunities available to event organizers, organizers requesting City sponsorship of an event shall only be considered through the City Commission’s annual budget process, pursuant to Section 5.02 of the City Charter or through applications for grants funded by the City’s Visitor and Convention Authority (“VCA”) and Cultural Arts Council (“CAC”). Exceptions must be approved pursuant to Section 12-7(a) of the Code and any other request for City Sponsorship of an event shall require (1) an advisory recommendation of the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee and (2) approval by a five-sevenths (5/7th) vote of the City Commission.   In considering approval of a Sponsorship for an event, the City Commisssion may consider (1) whether the event organizer has exercised good-faith diligent efforts to apply for grant funding that may be available for the City's Visitor and Convention Authority or Cutural Arts Council; (2) the event organizer's history and performance in delivering quality events; (3) any benefits being directly provided to the general public with respect to the event, such as free or discounted tickets to persons residing in the City of Miami Beach, seniors, veteran, or members of disadvantaged groups; (4) whether the event is accessible to the general public (either as a ticketed event or otherwise); (5) the demonstrable economic impacts associated with the event; (6) the demonstrable media commitment secured by the event organizer for the event; and (7) the efforts undertaken by the event organizer to mitigate any quality of life impacts associated with the vent, including noise, littering, traffic, or parking impacts associated with an event.

For the January 2019 ADW, (FY 2018/19), MDPL has requested $120,000 in City sponsorship.

ANALYSIS:

Art Deco Weekend ("ADW") reports more than  100,000 attendees. The festival has annually received a waiver of all relevant special event applications, permits, vehicle access passes, square footage and user fees, and a reduced security deposit as a long-standing event by Special Event Guidelines.

The 42nd edition of ADW is scheduled to take place Friday, January 11 - Sunday, January 13, 2019 on Ocean Drive from 5-14 streets, including the closure of Ocean Drive in this area. 

In regards to the ordinance requirements:

• MDPL has applied for $30,000 in Cultural Arts funding for FY 2018/19 and has received funding for more than ten (10) years. They have not applied for Visitors Convention Authority (VCA) funding, as VCA and CAC rules, preclude dual funding.
• 2019 will mark the 42nd year of ADW and it is one of the City's longest running free community cultural festival. ADW continues to work to refine its programming and appeal to the Miami Beach and greater Miami communities.
• ADW is a free event with discounted tickets for guided tours and special events for seniors, veterans, students and the military. Children under 12 are free for all tours and events.
• ADW plans to provide more than 80 individual events over the three (3) day weekend including Bark Deco Dog Show, Retro Fashion Show, Classic Car Show, Deco Kids Club, live entertainment, local and national musicians, lectures and ticketed guided tours.
• ADW attracts more than 100,000 residents and visitors to the Ocean drive and Lummus Park areas over the three (3) day weekend, with direct and indirect economic benefit to restaurants, shops, and hotels.
• Numerous media outlets and social media platforms have and continue to cover ADW through its 42 year history.
• To mitigate the impact of ADW on the community, MDPL will hire additional security and private sanitation as well as work closely with City services to ensure the quality of life of the neighborhood and City are not compromised.

If recommended by the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee ("FCWPC"), and approved by the City Commission as part of the budget development process for FY 2018/19, the City would enter into a sponsorship agreement with MDPL to document these benefits.

CONCLUSION:
The Administration requests direction on the requested $120,000 sponsorship of the Art Deco Weekend 2019 and the waiver of Special Event fees, to be determined during the special event application process.