HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-18-0149City of Miami
Resolution R-18-0149
Legislation
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.
SPONSOR(S): Mayor Francis X. Suarez, Commissioner Ken Russell
WHEREAS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (''`NOAA"), an
Agency of the United States Department of Commerce, conducts atmosphericmarine,
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
$15000.000.00 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
City of Miami Page 1 of 3 File ID: 3922 (Revision:) Printed On: 3/31/2025
File ID: 3922 Enactment Number: R-18-0149
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
City of Miami Page 2 of 3 File ID: 3922 (Revision:) Printed on: 3/31/2025
File ID: 3922 Enactment Number: R-18-0149
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.
City of Miami Page 3 of 3 File ID: 3922 (Revision:) Printed on: 3/31/2025