2013-1219 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes Regular City Commission Meeting December 19.2013 City of Sunny Isles Beach,Florida practical and real considerations,and so her recommendation is to keep going along this line unless we can find some real beneficial reasons to look otherwise. Ms. Dannheisser said that she has given the Commission a long list of potential projects that support the arts and progressive open spaces and involved kids and seniors that will make the City a venue to celebrate its diverse population,ethnically and demographically and we will create an enormous sense of community. These goals are supported and funded by lots of organizations. The first of our goals, which is the one the City Manager seems to be most interested in,which is to get this foundation to pay for some of the infrastructure that the City is currently funding with taxpayer dollars. The Cultural and Community Services Department is doing a fabulous job in this regard but we can take it even further and take some of the cost off the City's hands. One way to do this is to make Sunny Isles Beach a place for the arts and create a platform for recognized and emerging young artists which is what Wynwood did. You have all been to Wynwood and you have seen how this area has blossomed with new restaurants and businesses, and she is sure we would like to see that here. We have done very well with our development, we have done very well in developing tourism but now we need to have some support for those things to create a real quality of life which would include a different kind of commercial space. Mayor Edelcup said it is really a second stage of the City. The first stage was building the infrastructure and the development of the high-rises and now we have to move on, the development of high-rises comes to an end at some point but the City doesn't. Now you have to culturally move the City to a higher platform. Ms. Dannheisser said exactly,this is very forward thinking, and one of the things that is critical to doing this is to create place making. Our public places until now have been for open space,sports,recreation,and some cultural events. She said she is amazed since she has been here to see the enormous amount of improvement and additional open space that you have created, it is really wonderful and she commends you. But with this Foundation's efforts, what we are talking about now is making these spaces magical and whimsical,places to create conversation and interests of a different kind. She showed how we can transform these spaces with images as it has been done in other cities. The National Endowments for the Arts talks about creative public and private spaces, rejuvenating structures and streetscape, improves local business liability, public safety, and brings people together to celebrate and inspire. Ms. Dannheisser said that you start with perhaps the creation of a City Art Wall. She, the Mayor and the City Manager have toured this City and located a number of public spaces that would be great spaces for public art walls. We have also talked about the creation of a stand- alone wall that would get painted, photographed and then white-washed, and done again every three(3)months and let people participate in it. This is innovative and probably would generate a real buzz in the City. She also took a tour with the Cultural Affairs Program Manager of Miami Beach, and met with the Mayor. He was suggesting creating food, art work, and street happenings, and she noted in the photo the aerialists that are coming to Miami Beach and we could have them here as well. The Mayor came up with this idea of easels in the park, it has been done,making this place projects for children and seniors and in the photos, kids are actually making tile,and we want this particularly focused on those two groups as well. We would like to create a venue at some point for master classes, and practice rooms for dancers,and actors,musicians,puppeteers,story telling. Think about this, 4