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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRA-R-08-0035 Backup• • • miom. DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY May 9, 2008 James H. Villacorta, Executive Director Southeast Overtown/Parkwest & Omni Community Redevelopment Agencies 49 NW 5th Street, Suite 100 Miami, FL 33128 Re: Request for Funding Assistance for Ambassadors and DET Programs Dear Jim, I am writing to request funding assistance from the Southeast Overtown/Parkwest and Omni Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRA's) for two important programs currently funded exclusively by the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA). I believe that these programs are beneficial to the CRA's and should be considered by your Board at the next available opportunity. The Ambassadors Program provides hospitality and safety personnel at street level to assist residents, businesses and tourists. Currently the program is staffed with a team of six (6) uniformed personnel who walk the streets of the central business district daily from 8:30am-6:30pm Monday through Friday and 8:30am-4:30pm on weekends. The Ambassadors utilize four forms to report their daily activities: • Daily Activity Report — Summarizes general activities throughout the day • Incident Report — Details incidents and actions taken to resolve • Business Contact Sheet — Itemizes each businesses visited • Enhancement Form — Reports issues to be addressed by other agencies These reports and the street level presence of the Ambassadors allow the DDA to better understand and resolve the daily issues affecting Downtowners. In addition, and as a compliment to this program, the DDA currently funds a Downtown Enhancement Team (DET). The DET team also serves the central business district with the same daily hours but is focused on the physicals environment of downtown. The DET team cleans litter, removes graffiti, maintains landscaping and beautifies as needed. MIAMI DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 200 S. Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 2929 Wachovia Financial Center Miami, Florida 33131 Phone:305-579-6675 Fax:305-371-2423 Web: www.miamidda.com James H. Villacorta, Executive Director Southeast OvertownfParkwest & Omni Community Redevelopment Agencies Page 2 The DDA has committed a significant portion of our programming budget to these programs and is pleased with the return on our investment that we are seeing. We believe it will be beneficial to expand these programs into the northern portion of downtown to provide assistance to the tourists and visitors making the OmnilPark West areas popular nightlife destinations. It is our hope that by partnering with the CRA's, we can add four (4) Ambassadors and for (4) DET personnel to patrol and clean the areas around the Omni hotels, the Miami International University of Art & Design, the Park West clubs, the outlying streets near the Performing Arts Center and the 1-395 Expressway ramp. The days and hours for the Ambassadors would vary in order to best align with activities in the area. It is anticipated that the Ambassadors would primarily work from 7:30pm to midnight, but we would want to jointly evaluate the effectiveness of this schedule and modify as needed. The DET personnel would work a fixed schedule from 8:30am to 2:30pm Monday through Saturday. The direct cost to fund these programs is $155,000. Attached you will find a scope of services summary for each program. Thank you very much for your consideration and I hope we can present this exciting opportunity to your Board in the near future. • Sinc ly, Aly M. Robertson Interim Executive Director cc: Clarence Woods, Assistant Director, CRA Jessica Pacheco, Staff Counsel, CRA Mark Spanioli, Director, Capital Improvements, Development & Services, DDA MIAMI DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 200 S. Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 2929 Wachovia Financial Center Miami, Florida 33131 ' Phone: 305-579-6675 Fax: 305-371-2423 Web: www.miamidda-cam • • • SCOPE OF SERVICES SUMMARY Program Area: Service Delivery Project: Downtown Ambassador Program Estimate: $ 100,000 Schedule: 06/01/08 — 06/30/08 Scope/ Major Tasks: Supplement police and security presence with additional security personnel Based on Board Oversight Committee input, the DDA is proposing to work with the CRA by increasing the current DDA funded budget of $250,000 by an additional $100,000 to fund the Downtown Ambassador services in the media/entertainment district area around the Performing Arts Center (PAC). This program is designed to provide an on the street (eyes and ears) presence that will help enhance the safety and security around the PAC for its visitors. These ambassadors (proposed to be a minimum of 4 personnel with a maximum of 6) will be monitoring and patrolling around the PAC before, during and after night time performances and will offer tourist guidance, direct visitors to parking areas, offer a walking service to and from visitors vehicles, give general directions and call the police/fire rescue in the case of an emergency situation.