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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExhibit B-1E The Wvnwood Business Improvement District Business Plan March 20, 20 13 Prepared and Presented By David Collins, Wyn'wood BID Project Director and The Wynwood BID Steering Committee Mission Statement The mission of the Wynwood Business Improvement District is to solidify Wynwood (the "District") as a globally recognized center for art, creativity and culture with visibly clean and safe streets while enhancing; the streetscape, artistic programming and neighborhood advocacy to promote Wynwood's pedestrian activity and overall sense of place. Introduction Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are an effective vehicle to cooperatively finance and maintain new levels of services and improvements that local government alone cannot accomplish, All revenues from the Wynwood Business Improvement District assessment will be directed back to the defined geographic area to finance a supplemental menu of enhanced services including security, sanitation, support of the arts, events, marketing, transportation, and advocacy with the municipal government on such district -specific matters as planning and zoning, capital improvements, and business development, Relationship with Wynwood Partner SOI. ( c) 3 Organization By agreement of its Boards of Directors, the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID) will work hand-in-hand with the Wynwood Arts District Association (WADA), an independent 501 (c)(3) organization,. This will benefit the Wynwood BID in two specific ways; 1, WADA would be able to submit grant proposals to government and foundations as well as to solicit tax deductible donations for proposed projects of the BID 2. As the precedent district arts association, WADA can provide expertise, skills, aatd services aimed at marketing Wynwood, Note however these services may have to be procured on a competitive basis through a recognized procurement process agreed to by the City of Miami. The procurement process would then be executed by members of the Wynwood BID Board or their designated Selection Committee. It is projected that this relationship between the BID and WADA will be synergistic and productive, and that it will strongly benefit both organizations and the Wynwood district as a whole. Advocncv Efforts The Wynwood BID will speak to the City and the County with a single unified voice. This partnership will seek a positive, productive and forward-looking relationship in all government related subjects, including but not limited to, baseline of services, infrastructure, zoning and land use regulation, 1, The Wynwood BID will make the case for the City of Miami to place 12 trash receptacles along 2"a Ave and to collect garbage from them daily. As well, the Wynwood BID will purchase and place 24 trashcans, which the Wynwood BID will install on cross streets and along North Miami Ave, This will be contingent upon the City's agreement to collect the trash from the receptacles daily. 2. The V/ynwood BID will partner with the City departments to ensure that basic City services are provided in a timely and effective manner as delineated in the Baseline of Services. This will include, among other items, such standard City services as mechanical truck sweeping, hand sweeping of sidewalks and gutters, and "graffiti busters", and police coverage. 3. On a routine basis, the Wynwood BID will provide to the City Public Works Dept, photos and addresses of damaged sidewalks in need of repair. 4, The Wynwood BID will work with the City Capital Improvements Dept, to facilitate the next generation of sidewalks to enhance pedestrian viability. 5. The Wynwood BID will work with the City of Miami to explore programs and initiatives to enhance the streetseape of the neighborhood, including but not limited to, tree and benches. 6. The Wynwood BID will advocate for the purchase and installation of human scale street lamps in Wynwood—the City does it for other commercial communities. The ,tall cobra lamps currently in place in Wynwood were originally designed for highway usage, and may have been serviceable for a warehouse district. They are absolutely the wrong lighting for a pedestrian district. 7. Approximately half of the City°maintained streetlights in the District do not cuixently have working bulbs, which has worsened some of the recent security/safety problems seen -in the District; � The Wynwood BID will monitor the street lamps, which are "out" on the streets and will report these outages to the appropriate departments—whether they are City, FPI., or County offices for proper replacement of bulbs. How the Wynwood BID will Improve the District In speaking with one voice, the Wynwood BID will more effectively communicate with the City of Miami and, as needed, with the County. Due in part to the high rate of change in leadership within almost all City departments, it is difficult for the City of Miami to have a clear sense of the direction in which Wynwood is heading. There has not been time at the City to thoroughly re -assess Wynwood. In terms of City services, it is still generally seen as a warehouse district. Over the past 5-7 years Wynwood has seen an explosion of new business. What were once underutilized warehouse buildings have been repopulated with creative office and retail businesses, There are thousands of new daily inhabitants of the District and tens of thousands of visitors who descend on Wynwood on a monthly basis. The limited City services that are currently provided no longer make sense. A BID will help improve this by establishing a Baseline of Services to provide within the City Budget as well as advocating new or expanded services, which are more consistent with changes in the neighborhood. The Wynwood Business Improvement District will also undertake enhancements, improvements, and benefits for the community of Wynwood that the City of Miami has neither the financial resources not the will to undertake on our behalf, including; Security The BID will supplement security services and re -define pedestrian and bicycle -based protection, City police services by car are becoming decreasingly appropriate in Wynwood's emerging pedestrian district. Currently, officers do not walk or bike on patrol in the district, A Wynwood BID will supplement City -provided services so that our walking areas will not only be perceived as safer, but will in fact be safer. A positive safety perception will enhance the duration and enjoyment of visits to Wynwood, and provide for a safer place to live and work, Sanitation The Wynwood BID will extensively supplement sanitation services in the District. Wynwood needs a strong and experienced sanitation team. Streets and sidewalks in WynNA,00d are dirty and largely unaddressed by the City. Some portions'of the sidewalks are in desperate need of repair. The Wynwood BID will further advocate for the City to provide twelve trash receptacles for NW 2nd Avenue, and request that the City collect the trash on a daily basis from this commercial area just as it does in other. areas of the City. In exchange for an agreement with the City that trash will be collected daily, the BID will purchase and put in place an additional 24 trash receptacles in its first year. Lighting In order to improve sidewalk visibility at night while helping to illuminate the vibrant all that -defines the Wynwood community, The Wynwood BID will initiate a program which will raise funds for increased lighting to be placed on, the sides of Wynwood's buildings, Grant possibilities will be explored at the Federal level to determine the possibility of using solar energy for this purpose. The BID will partially fund the property owner's costs of installing down lighting on the sides of their buildings. Additionally, somewhere between 30-50% of the cobra street lamps in Wynwood arc currently not functioning, Under the current plan, street lamps are not repaired until they are reported to the correct office. The Wynwood BID staff will work to create a more efficient and continuous reporting program to minimize the number of street lamps in disrepair. Parking The Wynwood BID will seek out and suggest parking solutions for the Wynwood district, Parking should.focus on convenience and service to customers and the generated revenue should, as allowed by State statute, provide for improvements to the Wynwood district. Planning and Zoning Through either an SAP initiative or a coordinated legislative effort, the Wynwood BID will invest funds into an effort to correct those oversights in the Miami 21 code which stunt and slow reasonable density development in the Wynwood district. Signage In concert with WADA, the Wynwood BID will develop, install, and maintain "Wynwood Styled" signage that clearly defines the art district's boundaries. The BID will also work to develop and install pedestrian signage that directs pedestrians to Wynwood attractions and enables visitors to navigate the district. Events In discussion with the galleries and commercial businesses iii the District, The Wynwood BID will partner with WADA and use funds to host, develop, and nurture new events that will both appeal to residents and draw visitors to the area. It will further support street enlivening activities in an attempt to reinvigorate the pedestrian shopping and dining atmosphere. Arts . The Wynwood BID will act as a resource for preserving, documenting and helping to evolve the lively outdoor murals, which have helped to make Wynwood into a world- renowned arts destination, The BID will also foster cooperation between the District's respected galleries as well as between gallerists and artists. At the heart of this effort in tenais of coordination and leadership will be the establishment of an Ail Curator as a BID paid staff member, the first such position within a llS BID. The goal is to help niake the District into a 24-hour, free to the public, outdoor living museum, both accessible and inspiring to all, Activities Through partnership with WADA, a dedicated 501(c)3 organization partner, the Wynwood BID will seek to secure the private sector and foundation grants deemed appropriate for expanded placemaking activities. WynNyood's BID: The Fine Print. + The Wynwood BID will be established by a resolution of the City Commission of the City of Miami on April I 11h , 2013, and will be brought into existence'by a 50%plus one vote of affected property owners on lune 4, 2013. • The Wynwood BID will be a dependent organization established as a Board of the City of Miami, and will be subject to the Sunshine Laws of the State of Florida, as well as the same procurement procedures that govern the activities of the Coconut Grove BID, a board of the City. + The annual Wynwood BID budget will be submitted for approval in a timely manner to the City Commission of the City of Miami. • The Wynwood BID will conduct an annual audit and will provide it to the City of Miami in a timely fashion. o The Wynwood BID will work in partnership with WADA-- a 501(c) 3 organization- for purposes of procuring grants from the public and private sector that support placemaking in the commercial Wynwood neighborhood. o The Wynwood BID will have a Sunset Provision of 10 years. At that time, in order for the BID to continue, there must be another vote held among affected property owners, This vote must result in a minimum of 50% plus one in order to continue the BID, • If at any point in the first ten years, there is a desire to increase the number of folios included in the Wynwood BID, there must be a vote by all the affected property owners (not just the new folio owners). If the vote is successful at a level of 50% plus one, the BID will be expanded, However if the vote does not succeed, the only result will be that the expanded BID will not come into existence. In the event of a non -successful vote to expand the Wynwood BID, the original BID will not be dissolved, it will remain in place and in effect for the duration of its ten-year term. o In each year of its existencp, the BID will undertake a Baseline of Services review in cooperation with the City Manager of the City of Miami, In this way, the BID will monitor City provided services and ensure that these services are not being reduced as'a result of the supplemental services being provided by the BID, During the first two years of its existence, the BID will conduct a baseline of services analysis every six months to give the City the opportunity to re-evaluate Wynwood as an evolving pedestrian district that merits, therefore, appropriately enhanced City services. The Wynwood BID Project -rand WADA as the funding conduit for the BID formation effort-- will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the City Clerk's Office of the City of Miami so that the proper notices, advertisements, affidavits and services can be provided which guarantee the integrity of the BID election. BID Governance • In the two months after the June 4`h in-person election date, property owners in the Wynwood BID will have the right to noininate himself or herself or another property owner to sit on the Wynwood BID Board. All nominations will be submitted to the affected property owners of Wynwood for a vote, with one vote per property owner regardless of the number of folios owned, • 'There will be five voting members of the Wynwood BID Board, The top five vote getters will be seated as members of the BID Board on October 1, 2013. The terms will be staggered, In the first year elected voting members of the Wynwood BID Board, by blind draw at the first meeting, terms of the five members will be determined as; Director A, a term of one year, Director B, a term of one year, Director C, a term of two years, Director D, a term of two years, Director E, a term: of two years. • All subsequent terms will be two years, • A director may serve a maximum of three two-year terms in the first ten years of the BID. Directors A and B in the above first-year terms may, if elected, serve a maximum of seven years in the first ten year period of the BID. New elections will be held in the month of September each year. • The Board will establish such committees as it deems necessary, and will determine the qualifications of those who sit on the committees. The Board will have the power and responsibility to write By-laws. All Board members must be paid up and current in terms of the BID assessments on their properties, The BID Board will strictly observe the requirements and guidelines of the Sunshine laws, • The BID Board will have fiduciary responsibility for the Wynwood BID, • The BID Board will comply with the City of Miami's procurement guidelines. 0 All BID Board meetings will be publicly noticed. Assessment Methodology The Wynwood BID will not assess self -standing residential homes; neither will it assess live - work folios) defined as 50% or more floor space dedicated'to living space). The Wynwood BID shall assess work -live space (defined as space that dedicated 50% or more of the floor space to work area), Based on the use classification above, assessment methodology will include four categories of assessment; (1) square footage of first floor adjusted footage will be assessed at 22 cents per square foot; (2) upper stories of adjusted square footage will be assessed at 11 cents per square foot; (3) any ground floor additional square footage of land that is not occupied by a building will be assessed at'l I cents per square foot; and (4) any vacant square footage of property or vacant 'area used for parking will be assessed at l I cents per square foot. To ensure an educated vote, the assessment methodology, amount of assessment, and BID objectives will be provided to each folio owner prior to such vote. In any given year, and in ensuing years, the Board of Directors of the Wynwood BID will have the authority to increase the assessment over the previous year's rate by (a) one cent for the first floor adjusted footage and (b) by one half -cent for upper stories, additional land that is not built upon on ground floor, and vacant land. The Board of Directors must make this decision in a tinge -sensitive manner prior to the submission of the assessment level for the County Trim Notice. In any given year, the Board of Directors, at their discretion, may alternatively choose to not assess the additional rate for the following year, During the first year of operations, the Wynwood BID will collect the assessments by sending out invoices and tracking incoming payments/checks upon arrival, In the event of unpaid assessments in the first year, the Wynwood BID will cooperate with the City Manager of the City of Miami to establish liens on the delinquent properties, Beginning with the second year of assessment collections, the Wynwood HID will submit the necessary information to Miami -Dade County so that the collections can be included on the Trim Notice as a non ad valorem assessment, The County will then convey the funds to the City, which will periodically convey the funds to the Wynwood BID, The Coconut Grove BID has never had to pay a fee to either the County or the City for collection activity. In order for this relationship to function, the City of Miami will sign an intergovernmental agreement on behalf of the Wynwood BID with the County. During the ten-year tenure, of the Wynwood BID', those properties that are subsequently developed will be assessed at the rates that were approved by the original vote on May 21, 2013, with the addition of any incremental increases that have been enacted by the Board of Directors in compliance with the initial conditions of the Wynwood BID vote. Ballot Eligibility and Voting A 50% plus one -majority vote of affected property owners is required for BID approval, Property owners are entitled to one vote per folio. In Florida, a non -vote is considered by statute to be a "no" vote. A full list of those folios eligible to vote will be submitted to the City of Miami City Clerk's office and distributed publicly, The number of folios eligible to vote will be submitted to the City of Miami on March 1, 2013, Residents who live in the area in homes and apartments will not be assessed and therefore will not be eligible to vote, Charter and other private schools will be assessed at the regular rates and will receive BID benefits. WorkAive residences developed in the future (after June 2013) will be assessed at regular rates. There will be a five-week mail -in ballot period beginning in Ma,, 2013. Alternatively, there will also be an opportunity to vote in person in Wynwood on June 4", 2013, Wynwood BID Establishment Calendar April 11 `h, 2013 City of Miami Commission Meeting, • Resolution to Establish the Wynwood BID, subject to 50%, plus one approval in a BID election; noticed public hearing. May 2013 Four-week period for mailing in election ballots for the BID, ,lune 4, 2013 Election Day in Wynwood—central voting booth location in Wynwood for in-person voting for the BID. June 13, 2013 City of Miaani Commission Meeting, Resolution to Accept Election Results and resolution to set date for hearing testimony, make final decision on levying assessments, and meet as equalizing board (30 day notice to property owners prior to equalizing board), July 25. 2013 City of Miami Commission Meeting, 1) Resolution with public hearing to Levy Assessments and to meet as equalizing board. 2) Ordinance to amend City Code for Wynwood BID Board of Directors (First Reading), 3).Resolution with public hearing for establishing Uniform Method for Collecting Assessments, either this meeting or at September 12th meeting. September 12, 2013 City of Miami Commission Meefng 1) Ordinance to amend City Code for Wynwood BID Board of Directors (Second Reading), 2) If needed from July 25'h meeting, Reso with public hearing for establishing Uniform Method for Collecting Assessments, October 1, 2013 BID Opens for Business in Wynwood Wlrnwood BID Budget -This budget is based on projected revenues of $702, 905,• after offsets First Year, October 1, 2013 -- September 30, 2014 Income Total'projected assessment revenue $ 755,000 5% non -payer allowance @ $36,750 $ 717,250 2% avg, offset for early or late payment @ $13,965; total projected revenue$ 742.9QS Expenses Purchase & installation of 24 trash receptacles (not for commercial trash) $ 10,000 Supplemental Sanitation/2 full 'time (not WOW) @ $30,000 per $ 75,000 Private Supplemental Security and Off-duty Miami Police Officers $ 180,000 SAP $ 65,000 Streetscape, ie„trees, landscape, street furniture $ 30,000 WADA and other Event Funding/50% matching with cash $ 75;000 Development of Wynwood and Street Art App—contributed by Lab Miami $ (30,000) Signage $ 50,000 Dawn Lighting Matching Grants $ 50,000 General Electric $ --- Phone $ - - Office supplies $ --- Black copier purchase & toner cartridges $ --- Items total 11,000 Bookkeeper and Auditor $ 14,000 Office space, annual donated $ (20,000) Insurance--D&O and General Liability $ 7,905 Administrative Staff Executive Director half time, BID employee $ --- Half-time Administrative Intern (WADA employee) $ --- Marketing Director (half time WADA employee) $ --- Iterns total 85,000 Art curator for street art $ 50,000 Total $ ZQ�• 0