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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Item Summary FormAGENDA ITEM COVER PAGE File ID: #3922 Resolution Sponsored by: Mayor Francis Suarez, Commissioner Ken Russell A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION URGING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION ("NOAA") TO RETAIN THE NOAA FISHERIES HEADQUARTERS ON VIRGINIA KEY; FURTHER URGING MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ("UM"), THE UM ROSENSTIEL SCHOOL OF MARINE AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, AND OTHERS INTERESTED IN THE FUTURE OF GREATER MIAMI AS HOME TO AN EDUCATED CITIZENRY AND EXCELLENT INSTITUTIONS, TO ADVOCATE FOR AND TAKE OTHER AFFIRMATIVE STEPS TO PROMPTLY ADDRESS NOAA'S NEEDS AND ENCOURAGE AND ENABLE NOAA AND ITS COOPERATIVE INSTITUTE FOR MARINE AND ATMOSPHERIC STUDIES TO MAINTAIN THEIR FULL PRESENCE AND MISSION ON VIRGINIA KEY; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE OFFICIALS NAMED HEREIN. City of Miami Legislation Resolution Enactment Number: R-18-0149 City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com File Number: 3922 Final Action Date:4/12/2018 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION URGING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION ("NOAA") TO RETAIN THE NOAA FISHERIES HEADQUARTERS ON VIRGINIA KEY; FURTHER URGING MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ("UM"), THE UM ROSENSTIEL SCHOOL OF MARINE AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, AND OTHERS INTERESTED IN THE FUTURE OF GREATER MIAMI AS HOME TO AN EDUCATED CITIZENRY AND EXCELLENT INSTITUTIONS, TO ADVOCATE FOR AND TAKE OTHER AFFIRMATIVE STEPS TO PROMPTLY ADDRESS NOAA'S NEEDS AND ENCOURAGE AND ENABLE NOAA AND ITS COOPERATIVE INSTITUTE FOR MARINE AND ATMOSPHERIC STUDIES TO MAINTAIN THEIR FULL PRESENCE AND MISSION ON VIRGINIA KEY; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE OFFICIALS NAMED HEREIN. WHEREAS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ('"NOAA"), an Agency of the United States Department of Commerce, conducts atmospheric marine, and fishery -related scientific operations at two (2) NOAA facilities headquartered in Virginia Key in Miami, Florida; and WHEREAS, one of NOAA's Virginia Key facilities, the Southeast Fisheries Science Center ("SEFSC"), is responsible for scientific research on living marine resources that occupy marine and estuarine habits of the continental southeastern United States ("U.S."), as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and WHEREAS SEFSC is one (1) of the six (6) national marine fishery science centers responsible for federal marine fishery research programs and is the primary provider of research on fisheries and habitats for Biscayne National Park and the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary; and WHEREAS, the total annual budget for the SEFSC Miami Lab ranges between $15.000,000.00 to $17,000,000.00 the bulk of which supports salaries for approximately one hundred seventy (170) masters and Ph.D. level scientists and researchers; and WHEREAS, the SEFSC works to protect South Florida's coral reefs that have an estimated value of over $4.4 billion and is directly associated with more than 70,000 part- time and full-time jobs in the area; and WHEREAS, NOAA's operations at Virginia Key are performed in concert with research and teaching functions at the University of Miami' s ("UM") Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science ("RSMAS") which is located directly adjacent to the NOAA campuses; and WHEREAS, NOAA' s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies ("CIMAS") funds and coordinates scientific partnerships with RSMAS, Florida International University ("FIU"), and other university programs in South Florida to educate the next generation of scientific leaders and collaboratively work on pragmatic problems of societal importance; and WHEREAS, leveraging their shared mission and physical proximity for decades, scientists and staff involved in NOAA's operations at Virginia Key have served as adjunct faculty research assistants, and other venture partners with RSMAS faculty and students support and expand RSMAS s educational mission; and WHEREAS, this collaborative effort engenders extensive working relationships between NOAA and RSMAS and catalyzes significant research and knowledge advancement opportunities directly related to the City of Miami's ("City") sub -tropical marine environment; and WHEREAS, the Greater Miami area has a unique marine ecosystem that is especially important for scientific research purposes with regard to climate change; and WHEREAS, local news reports and reports provided by UM indicate that SEFSC may be outdated and in need of capital improvements and that NOAA may be incentivized to close SEFSC and relocate its operation to St. Petersburg, Florida; and WHEREAS, the City, Village of Key Biscayne ("Village"), and South Florida, in general, benefit from the proximity of NOAA and RSMAS and from CIMAS-sponsored scientific collaborations; and WHEREAS, the City considers it a materially adverse development for NOAA to relocate SEFSC or any other fishery headquarters, which would set back pending research dealing with critical local issues such as hurricane intensity, weather research, fish population sustainability, and coral reef health, diminishing the Greater Miami area's standing for future investments and compromising the reliability and effectiveness of future collaborations between NOAA and RSMAS; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in the Section. Section 2. The City Commission hereby urges the U.S. Department of Commerce and NOAA to retain SEFSC and other NOAA fisheries at Virginia Key in Miami, Florida. Section 2. The City Commission urges Miami -Dade County, the Village, RSMAS, UM, FIU, members of the South Florida Congressional Delegation, the Miami -Dade County Legislative Delegation, and others interested in the future of Greater Miami as home to an educated citizenry and excellent institutions to advocate for and take other affirmative steps to promptly address NOAA's needs and encourage and enable NOAA and CIMAS to maintain their full presence and mission on Virginia Key. Section 4. The City Commission hereby directs the City Clerk to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the above mentioned entities. Section 5. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption and signature of the Mayor.' APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: Barnaby I_. Min, Deputy City Attorney 4/3/2018 1 If the Mayor does not sign this Resolution, it shall become effective at the end of ten (10) calendar days from the date it was passed and adopted. If the Mayor vetoes this Resolution, it shall become effective immediately upon override of the veto by the City Commission.