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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLittle Haiti Revitalization Trust Report444 S.W. 2'd Avenue, Suite 1014, Miami, FL 33130 January 15, 2023 Mr. Arthur Noriega, V City Manager City of Miami Office of the City Manager 3500 Pan American Avenue Miami, FL 33133 RE: Annual Report Due January 2023 I. INTRODUCTION A. Overview This document constitutes the Annual Report of the Little Haiti Revitalization Trust ("Little Haiti Trust") submitted to the City Manager pursuant to City Code Sec. 2-890. The mission of the Little Haiti Trust is to create jobs, attract industry, and facilitate the production of goods and services in the Little Haiti area for residents and non- residents. The target area was described at the May 26, 2016 meeting of the City Commission and is established in Code Section 12.5-42.-Little Haiti Trust Jurisdictional Authority. The purpose of the Little Haiti Trust is to cooperate with the City Manager, Department of Housing & Community Development, and other departments to ensure revitalization efforts in the Little Haiti area are in a manner consistent with the strategy identified in the Five -Year Consolidated Plan, adopted by the City Commission in February 2014. The overall goal of the Little Haiti Trust is to develop and execute an action plan and planning process that meet Little Haiti's community needs and provide resources to immediately galvanize the Little Haiti Trust's unique multi -faceted mandate. To effect positive redevelopment of the Little Haiti area, the Little Haiti Trust currently promotes economic development, and commerce; facilitates the development of affordable housing; engages in homeownership assistance programs; and markets the Little Haiti area to encourage former residents and others to locate to the area. B. Legal Basis The Little Haiti Trust's operations are governed by Code Chapter 12.5 and City Ordinance 13834. Although the Little Haiti Trust is a separate legal entity, the City Commission approves the six positions on the Board. Four of the voting members and one youth, non -voting member is appointed by the District 5 Commissioner and confirmed by the City Commission. One voting member is appointed by the City Manager and confirmed by the City Commission. Board members are subject to term limits as follows: two-year terms, limited to two - consecutive terms, then two-year break. The Board has six (6) total positions: five (5) *-positions are occupied and one (1) is vacant. C. Little Haiti Trust Board Members & Officers Lesline Anglade-Dorleans is the Chairperson of the Little Haiti Trust Board. She was nominated by Commissioner King and was sworn in on August 10, 2022. Lesline is a first -generation Haitian American with 20 years of experience in the Child Welfare community in Miami -Dade and Monroe Counties. She has served on multiple statewide committees including but not limited to the State Child Abuse Death Review. Plus, the CIRRT (Critical Incident Rapid Response Team) Advisory Committee. As the Family and Community Services Director for the Southern Region including Miami -Dade and Monroe Counties, she oversees every aspect of Child and Family Welfare in those counties for the Florida Department of Children and Families. Anglade-Dorleans believes the Little Haiti Revitalization Trust will allow her to continue to serve the community in an even larger capacity. It is an honor for her to be a part of a board that works tirelessly to help the Haitian Community in the City of Miami thrive. Ashley Toussaint is the Vice Chairperson of the Little Haiti Trust Board. He was nominated by Commissioner King and was sworn in on April 5, 2022. A Haitian American, Little Haiti resident, first generation college graduate, homeowner, and business owner in Little Haiti. Toussaint has been an educator for 20 years and is currently the Dean of Students at KIPP: Liberty Academy. With so much change and development occurring, he wants to ensure that the Haitian American culture and presence are preserved in Little Haiti. As a member of the Little Haiti Revitalization Trust, he will advocate to bring the necessary resources and pay it forward to the community that raised him. Alisa Cepeda is the Secretary of the Little Haiti Trust Board. She was nominated by Commissioner King and was sworn in on April 9, 2022. Mrs. Cepeda is Vice - President at RH Engineering Group's. She is an experienced professional with more than 20 years of service in the public and private sectors. Cepeda currently resides in District Five. The Little Haiti Revitalization Trust is important to Cepeda because she lives in the area and would like to see it developed responsibly and inclusively. It is her sincere hope that stable, safe housing and homeownership opportunities can be created through the Trust for long-time area residents. Robert Holland is a member of the Little Haiti Trust Board. He was nominated by Commissioner King and was sworn in on August 18, 2022. Born and raised close to Little Haiti and now resides in District Five. Holland is a prominent attorney with experience in land use and zoning law as well as procurement. He is responsible for over five billion dollars in economic development in the South Florida Area. Holland is the former Chairman of the Miami -Dade Economic Advocacy Trust and former Vice Chair of the Miami -Dade Expressway Authority. He believes that inclusivity and economic gains of the area through responsible development are crucial to the strength and livelihood of the Little Haiti community. Roody Meme is a member of the Little Haiti Trust Board. He was nominated by Commissioner King. Mr. Meme is a Law Enforcement Officer with the Miami -Dade County Police Department. There is a vacancy on the Board for non -voting, youth board member position. D. Little Haiti Trust Staff & Administration Interim President/CEO: D.J. Neree, Esq. Administrator: Assigned Attorney: Board Liaison: Budget & Financial Advisor: Vacant Pablo Velez, Esq. George Mensah Michelle De Los Rios E. Funding Little Haiti Trust programs and initiatives are funded by special revenue, which is any fund that is not generated by the city taxpayer or through the city's general fund. For FY 2021-2022, the City received payments into the Trust in the amount of $6,000,000, pursuant to contractual obligations made by Magic City. However, the City is not scheduled to receive payments into the Trust in the FY2022-2023 fiscal year. The City will continue to receive payments based on public benefits trust fund agreement or until the Trust is initially reviewed in 2023 for possible sunset. F. Code Information Code Section: Chapter 12.5 — Little Haiti Revitalization Trust Meeting Frequency: The regularly scheduled meeting of the Little Haiti Trust will be held on the third Wednesday of every month, at 6:00 p.m. in the Caribbean Marketplace located at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, 212 NE 59th Terrace, Miami, FL 33137. Committee Workshops are as scheduled. Affecting Legislation: Code Chapter 12.5; Ordinance No. 13834. II. INFORMATION CONCERNING THE LITTLE HAITI REVITALIZATION TRUST A. Although the Little Haiti Trust is an agency that is still trying to get started, the Board is serving the purpose for which the Trust was created Since its inception, the Little Haiti Trust has conducted community -wide meetings throughout the year to get input from constituents. Public meetings of the Little Haiti Trust were held on: May 17, 2021; June 2, 2021; July 1, 2021; July 7, 2021; July 21, 2021; August 25, 2021; September 8, 2021; September 22, 2021; October 27, 2021; November 3, 2021; December 8, 2021; January 5, 2022; January 26, 2022; August 24, 2022; September 20, 2022; October 19, 2022; and November 16, 2022. As well, the Little Haiti Trust has monitored the achievement of the Magic City Innovation District Development Agreement. In fact, the Little Haiti Trust has confirmed the achievement of several requirement of the Development Agreement, including sections 16(b), 16(e), 16(1), 16(q), and 28. The community benefits contribution requirement stated in Section 16(b) has been met. The City received a wire transfer from the developers for $3,000,000, on March 1, 2021. The developers made another wire transfer to the City for $3,000,000, on August 30, 2021. The passenger/commuter rail station milestone outlined in Section 16(e) has occurred. On October 20, 2020, Miami -Dade Commission adopted resolution R- 1088-20 which included a Little Haiti train station among six prioritized station locations as part of the Northeast corridor commuter rail project. Section 16(1) required the developers to include the words "Little Haiti" in all branding for the Special Area Plan, including social media posts, websites, projects, promotions, programming, outdoor signs, and displays identifying or referencing the Special Area Plan. In fact, the developers revised the Project name and logo to include "Little Haiti" immediately following the approval of the Special Area Plan by the City on June 27, 2019. Section 16(q) requires the developer to establish an endowment at Florida Memorial University (FMU) for the Magic City Innovation District Scholarship Fund. The developers made an initial payment of $100,000, to FMU on March 1, 2021. A second payment is due by March 1, 2025. Another development agreement condition that had been satisfied is the demolition of unpermitted portion of 365 NE 61st Street described in Section 28. The City issued the demolition permit on September 3, 2019. The developers completed the demolition and closed the permit on September 10, 2019. B. The Little Haiti Trust is serving current community needs The Little Haiti Trust Board reflects the demographic of the Little Haiti community, with a makeup of a Haitian American Chair and Vice Chair, who are invested in serving the culture of the community as well as ensuring representation. The Little Haiti Trust Board also is diverse with members from various sectors, education, law, business, and city planning. As well, the Little Haiti Trust Board has organized public meetings each month in the evenings. The location of the meetings is at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, a community landmark and venue that is accessible to constituents. C. The Little Haiti Trust Board has several major accomplishments In its first year of operations, the Little Haiti Trust has allocated $1.5 million in funds to help stimulate economic development and support local businesses and provide housing assistance. The thematic programs for which the funds are to be used will impact small business, property owners, and first-time homebuyers. The Board is currently undergoing a rigorous and thorough process to select an experienced and skilled Chief Executive Officer. During the selection process and Interim Chief Executive Officer was selected to ensure continuity of Board directives, goals, and mission. The Board also has launched a search to add an administrator to the staff. The Board had brought additional notoriety and awareness of the Little Haiti community. The activities of the Board have been highlighted in the media, including exposure in local, national, and international publications. D. There is no other board, either public or private, which would better serve the function of the Little Haiti Trust Nonetheless, the community is in urgent need of resources, financial support and solutions. Little Haiti cannot afford to move forward without an entity as the trust to help advocate for the deep-rooted Haitian and creole speaking residents. The Board and it's resources of social and economic capital if vital. The Board can also leverage itself to bring more economic capital to the Little Haiti through more contributions from investors and community partners. The upside is great. E. The ordinance creating the Little Haiti Trust should not be amended to better enable the Board to serve the purpose for which it was created rE INCB01 1B vvveeeir��.vo��� Most recently, the City Code was amended to permit the appointment of City Code, Firefighters, and Law Enforcement Officer to the Little Haiti Trust. F. The Little Haiti Trust Board's membership requirements should be modified. Little Haiti Trust Board members should be able to have more direct governing powers to make decisions. Currently, City staff maintain veto power over the Board's directives and City Commission mandates. For instance, although the City Commission approved the appointment of an interim executive director to operate the Trust, the City departments have not arranged to pay his salary. G. The cost of maintaining the board has yet to be fully determined The cost of maintaining the board has yet to be fully determined although the Board is currently operating with a budget of: $ 6,726,248. The total direct cost is estimated at $1,726,248 which includes capital outlay, salary, and operational cost, which is 28%. However, contributions being made by the City Manager for office space and operating expenses are not accounted for. In addition, the District Commissioner's office made a contribution of $299,000 to cover staff salaries and overhead. The City also made a similar contribution of $56,000 to cover three - months operating in 2021, which has not been accounted for. This year's annual budget for the Little Haiti Trust is as follows: - Staff Labor Costs $223,972 12.6% o Salaries: $181,250 o Benefits: $42,722 - Complementary Labor Costs $17,500 1.0% o Contractuals: $1,875 o Firms: $15,625 - Non -Labor Costs $40,775 2.3% o Outreach: $12,500 o Operation & Maintenance: $26,681 o General Administrative Costs: $1,593 - Programmatic Expenditures $1,500,000 84.2% o Assistance to businesses: $500,000 o Homeownership Promotion: $500,000 o Property Rehabilitation: $500,000 Since the $1.5 million in grant funding has yet to be disbursed, the Board can not truly know the impact once these resources are in the hands of the beneficiaries. The intent is to have a positive redevelopment impact on the community by allowing residence to remain in their homes and turn a positive business profit for scores of businesses and hundreds of residents. The indirect cost of maintaining the board is taking into consideration the hours of volunteer time by the members of the board, as well as the cost of travel time and planning for those from the community who make take days off from work to attend the meetings. Also, the volunteer time of those who may join committees. III. CONCLUSION A. This report is prepared to meet the requirements stipulated in Code Sec. 2-890. B. The Board is presenting this written annual report to the City Manager in the manner prescribed in the City Clerk Memorandum dated December 1, 2022. C. Pursuant to Code Sec. 2-892, the Board of the Little Haiti Revitalization Trust is available for an oral presentation to the City Commission during the month of March 2023. Sincerely, Lesline Anglade-Dorleans Board Chairperson, Little Haiti Revitalization Trust