Miami International Boat Show moving to Marine Stadium in 2016, Updates

[Serious News]

Miami commission holds talks over boat show stall

MIAMI -
The heated debate over whether to move the Miami International Boat Show to Virginia Key continued as a stand-off between Miami and the village of Key Biscayne, at a mediation session mandated by Key Biscayne's lawsuit.

"Let's see if it works -- once," offered Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff.

"There is one road in, one road out and there's no parking," said Key Biscayne Mayor Mayra Lindsay.

The annual boat show, in its 74th year, has become a financially important annual event in South Florida. Because its usual venue at the Miami Beach Convention Center is about to undergo renovation, Miami has contracted to move it to Virginia Key's Miami Marine Stadium site on the Rickenbacker Causeway waterfront.

City staffers presented detailed mass transportation and parking plans

"I applaud your Herculean efforts," Lindsay said. "But I think this demonstrates and highlights some of the challenges with this site."

"We are willing to commit to Key Biscayne that we would not have more than one event of this magnitude," said Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado. "We have 'Ironman,' we have marathons ... if we want to do it there, who is going to tell you not to do it?"

Turning the tables, Regalado challenged Key Biscayne officials on the annual tennis tournament at nearby Crandon Park that creates traffic issues for Miami residents who live near the entrance to the causeway.

"For three consecutive weeks there is gridlock, it is a nightmare. We need your support to cancel the tennis tourney or modify it," he said.

The cities' face-to-face meeting Tuesday was part of mediation required in Key Biscayne's lawsuit that alleges Miami's boat show plans violate the master plan for the public parcel surrounding the Marine Stadium. Currently, Miami is investing $16 million to create a park and site for events there.

"It's the possibility of creating a special events and convention venue that house 30,000-40,000 people. That is not public use and is not park use and that is what we object to," Lindsay said.

The meeting was packed with people wearing white T-shirts reading, "I support the Miami Boat Show." One of the workers said they represent those who benefit from the business the annual event brings.

Also in the audience were environmentalists arguing to protect the fragile shoreline and sea life, and Key Biscayne residents concerned for their community and quality of life.

Addressing the lack of movement in either side's positions, Miami commissioner Sarnoff proposed a partnership, challenging Key Biscayne leaders to split the cost of the $16 million park renovations at the Marine Stadium site.

"If you want to tell the city of Miami what to do on our property, come in and help improve our property and be part of the process," said Sarnoff.

Sarnoff and Lindsay will represent their cities at the next meeting to search for compromise and solution, the date to be determined.

Video: http://www.local10.com/news/renovati...-show/33614472

[Ratickle]

"If you want to tell the city of Miami what to do on our property, come in and help improve our property and be part of the process," said Sarnoff.

I kind of like that one.....

[Serious News]

No compromise between Miami and Key Biscayne in Boat Show spat
By David Smiley

Key Biscayne and Miami officials will enter into mediation after failing Tuesday to quash a lawsuit challenging plans to host the Miami International Boat Show on Virginia Key.

Administrators, attorneys and elected officials from both cities gathered at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus during a rare joint meeting, in search of a middle ground after Key Biscayne sued the city in February. The three-hour session, held in front of a large audience, with many in it wearing Boat Show T-shirts, was part of a conflict-resolution process required by state law when one municipality sues another.

But the gathering felt mostly perfunctory, with the two sides remaining far apart. At one point, Key Biscayne Councilman Luis de la Cruz said he hoped the meeting would end with the village’s lawsuit moving into litigation, if only to allow the elected bodies to meet privately, outside the umbrella of Florida’s sunshine law, to discuss their next steps.

“Are we going to do this just for the photo op?” said Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado. “That’s not my understanding of why we’re here.”

Key Biscayne officials filed their lawsuit after Miami commissioners voted to spend $16 million to create an event and park space outside Miami Marine Stadium. They’re creating the venue in order to host the Boat Show next year, ostensibly as part of an attempt to raise money for a renovation of the shuttered venue, where boat races and concerts were once held.

Concerned that the city will overload the Rickenbacker Causeway with money-making special events and traffic, village officials filed a lawsuit alleging that Miami’s plans violated a 1960s deed restriction limiting the use of the Marine Stadium grounds to activities supporting the stadium. They have demanded that the Boat Show scale back its Presidents’ Day weekend event, which draws about 100,000 total visitors.

City officials remained noncommittal Tuesday, though they’ve said they want the event space to serve as a park most of the year for Miami and Key Biscayne residents. Meanwhile, Boat Show executives say the size of the show isn’t as vast as a permit application suggested, but remains non-negotiable.

They deny that the event will endanger a nearby wildlife preserve and say an elaborate traffic plan with water taxis and prepaid parking spots will prevent a logjam on the one way in and out of the tony island paradise. Key Biscayne officials, however, aren’t sold.

“Unfortunately, we’re not trusting,” said Vice Mayor Frank Caplan.

The lone hope for compromise may rest in whether village officials are willing to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to help the city build the event space, referred to as a flex park. With city officials grumbling about Key Biscayne placing demands on land it doesn’t own, Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff suggested that the village could foot half the bill in order to purchase greater influence by becoming equal partners.

“You put in $8 million. We put in $8 million. And we’ll call it a joint venture,” said Sarnoff.

Key Biscayne Mayor Mayra Peña Lindsay said she thought the suggestion was worth discussing, which might be important now that state law requires the neighboring municipalities to enter into mediation. If that mediation isn’t successful, Key Biscayne’s request for a temporary injunction against the city will move into litigation, further escalating a flap that could ultimately threaten the future of one of South Florida’s most important tourism events.

In the meantime, a separate public records lawsuit filed by village officials against the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the Boat Show’s parent company, continues to move forward, as do the city’s plans to renovate the Marine Stadium grounds to create its event space and park.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...#storylink=cpy

[Serious News]

VIDEO: Sides fail to agree in Miami show talks


Several people who attended a meeting Tuesday of Key Biscayne, Miami and boat show organizer officials sported T-shirts supporting the show’s planned move to Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin, a venue that has been contentious among stakeholders.

More than 50 supporters of the Miami International Boat Show attended a meeting Tuesday of Miami and Key Biscayne officials and organizers of the Miami International Boat Show as stakeholders tried to come to an agreement about moving the show to the Miami Marine Stadium Marine Park and Basin.

Supporters wore T-shirts supporting the boat show and its planned 2016 move from the Miami Beach Convention Center as that site undergoes extensive renovations.

“The city and village are going to continue mediation, and while they still don’t see eye to eye, we were encouraged by yesterday’s dialogue,” National Marine Manufacturers Association spokeswoman Sarah Salvatori told Trade Only Today.

Village and city officials failed to reach a compromise at the meeting, according to The Real Deal, a South Florida real estate news publication.

Local Channel 10 News called the boat show “one of the most important events in South Florida,” but also said the meeting Tuesday “went nowhere.”

“We are committing to Key Biscayne that we would not have more than one event of this magnitude” at the site, Miami mayor Tomas Regalado told the TV station. The village initially expressed concern that the city would need to bring several large events to the renovated venue during the year to make it worth the $16 million it plans to invest.

Regalado said that if the village council is that concerned about potential gridlock, it also should be working with the city to address the traffic congestion created by the Miami Open tennis tournament, an annual event the village supports, according to The Real Deal.

“Either cancel the tennis tournament or help us alleviate the traffic,” he said.

Salvatori said the meeting — which wrapped up with both sides agreeing to appoint a lone representative from each elected body to continue hammering out a possible resolution — was “a step in the right direction.”

“We are encouraged by today’s discussion between the city of Miami and the village of Key Biscayne and pleased that they have agreed to continue to have an open dialogue,” said an NMMA statement issued after the meeting.

“We are optimistic that they will be able to come to a resolution and look forward to continuing the 2016 Miami International Boat Show’s 74-year legacy and $600 million economic impact at Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin.”

Video: http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/2015/0...mi-show-talks/

[Serious News]

Miami Boat Show powers on amid uncertainty
By David Smiley

The future of South Florida’s premier boating event seemed bright just a few months ago, as an 84-foot yacht glided across the shimmering waters of Biscayne Bay toward the Miami Marine Stadium.

It was a grand entrance for National Marine Manufacturers Association executives, who alongside pop icon Gloria Estefan docked at the graffiti-tagged venue and proudly proclaimed the abandoned site their new home. And it was a feel-good story, with their presence expected to finally ignite efforts to restore the historic structure.

But a $120 million deal to restore the stadium and redevelop the surrounding area swiftly capsized. And now, with their long-time home at the Miami Beach Convention Center no longer available, Boat Show organizers find themselves in uncharted waters, spending millions to prepare for their February event while fighting a storm of lawsuits that could blow them off course.

“There’s a lot of people who live on the back of the marine industry. In the worst-case scenario, if the Boat Show doesn’t happen in 2016, think of all those people who don’t have a job,” said Cathy Rick-Joule, the NMMA’s vice president of boat shows. “Anything is possible.”

It’s a conundrum that Boat Show representatives have been loathe to acknowledge.

Since November, when Miami commissioners rejected a grand stadium redevelopment proposal but embraced the Boat Show, the non-profit National Marine Manufacturers Association and the city have sputtered on with a plan to make the event’s 75th year the most successful.

The city is sinking $16 million into the stadium grounds, with plans to create an outdoor event space that can be lined with turf and used as a playing field during down times. Meanwhile, the Boat Show — which continues to host Strictly Sail at Bayside Marketplace and a yacht and power boat show at Sea Isle Marina — has given the city $3 million for electrical upgrades, and spent another $3 million to install temporary docks in the stadium basin, where speed boats once raced in front of thousands of fans

Their vision is expansive. The Boat Show will take over the north side of the Rickenbacker Causeway, hauling in 1,500 boats, including about 500 in the water. A Medley company is installing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, and erecting massive tents spanning about 800,000 square feet. And the company that manages the Rusty Pelican is running food and beverage sales for the event from their waterfront restaurant east to the Miami Rowing Club.

To get 100,000 people in and out over five days, organizers want to park about 4,000 drivers on Virginia Key Beach, and ferry thousands more from the mainland with water taxis and shuttles from more than a dozen lots. Meanwhile, police will help keep one lane of traffic open for local drivers and help control traffic on the entrance to the causeway.

It’s a complicated plan, to be sure. But Rick-Joule said Boat Show executives looked around at other South Florida sites, including Marlins Stadium, PortMiami, the FEC slip and the old Bertram Yacht site, and nothing else worked.

Besides, after being landlocked at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the Miami International Boat Show’s main event will now be located on the water, with pristine views of downtown Miami. Boat Show executives hedged for months, but they now say they envision the stadium as a permanent home.

“It’s ideal,” Rick-Joule said. “It really is a beautiful piece of property. And it’s been sitting there unloved and untended for a long time.”

There is one serious complication with the site, however: On the other end of the causeway is the Village of Key Biscayne, population 12,000, where residents have been known to react passionately to big projects along the causeway — the one way in and out of their island paradise.

The Miami Seaquarium learned that in the 1990s, when Key Biscayne residents successfully fought off a $70 million expansion. And now the city of Miami and the NMMA are finding that life along the Rickenbacker Causeway — which the county built for the Key in exhange for the land where Crandon Park sits — is complicated.

Wary of the Boat Show’s footprint, and the possibility that Miami might use its new event space to lure other large events, as previously anticipated, Key Biscayne officials sued the city in February to stop the construction of the so-called “flex park.” Initially, the members of the Village Council said they filed the lawsuit to force meaningful discussion with the city, but they have become increasingly combative, accusing Miami administrators of talking out of both sides of their mouths and suing the NMMA over alleged public records violations.

At first, Key Biscayne worried mainly about traffic, and the potential of the causeway becoming a parking lot for five days. But Village officials have also questioned the legality of the city’s plans by pointing to a deed restriction that limits activities on the site to the Marine Stadium and “allied purposes only,” with the threat that the land could be reclaimed by the county. They have characterized the city’s $16 million investment as a gift to a private organization worth millions (the Florida Legislature also contributed $500,000 to the move).

Meanwhile, environmentalists fret about the show’s proximity to a critical wildlife area on the north side of the basin that is off limits to vessels and home to shallow sea grass beds important to manatees. Those concerns seemed justified when the Army Corps of Engineers responded to a Boat Show permit application for temporary docks with 833 slips by responding that the plans could cause “substantial” harm to Biscayne Bay bottom, where fish and other marine life live.

Rick-Joule says the show that is planned next year is significantly smaller than the “pie in the sky” footprint applied for in April, and that “no red flags” have been raised by local, state or federal permitting agencies. But critics remain skeptical, questioning whether the city’s plans for the Marine Stadium site are in line with a Virginia Key master plan put into place years ago.

“I see some flaws in the plans,” Gary Milano, a former county Department of Environmental Resources Management employee, said Tuesday during a public meeting called to try to resolve the dispute between the city and Key Biscayne. “This size and scale of commercial use is not something I think the voters and the commission approved at the time.”

There was no resolution Tuesday. Now, it appears that only a smaller Boat Show and some kind of guarantee that Miami will limit events on the stadium grounds can stave off litigation. If the case goes to court, Key Biscayne will be seeking a temporary injunction to stop the construction of the flex park, raising the potential that the area might not be ready by December when intense set-up for the Boat Show is to begin.

And that has some in the industry concerned. According to a 2013 economic analysis of the Boat Show by Thomas J. Murray & Associates, Florida companies did $312 million in sales, and more than one-third of the show’s visitors came from out of state, filling 200,000 hotel room nights. The study found that show-related spending was greater than from the 2012 Super Bowl.

“The Boat Show for our business is like Christmas for us,” said Key Biscayne resident Harry Vernon III, of Capt. Harry’s Fishing Supply.

Joe Neber, president of Contender Boats, a company with about 200 Miami-Dade employees, said his company displays products at the Miami Boat Show for international dealers and writes orders that have an eight-month “residual effect on our business.”

“When he says it’s like Christmas, I’m going to tell you it’s my entire year,” Neber said.

But Key Biscayne Mayor Mayra Peña Lindsay said she’s not trying to end the Boat Show. She says she’s just asking the NMMA and the city of Miami to be reasonable.

“Nobody wants to kill the Boat Show. We just propose there are better sites,” she said. “It might not be what they want, but they’re coming here asking for $16 million in taxpayer dollars, using public parkland, precious waterfront land, in an environmentally sensitive basin. And they don’t see anything wrong with it?”

Whatever happens among the Boat Show, Miami and Key Biscayne will play out in the coming months, with construction crews preparing the Marine Stadium grounds to turn over for set up around November. The NMMA has first rights of refusal for their President’s Day weekend dates at the Miami Beach Convention Center in 2018 following its renovation, but the outdoors space the Boat Show once utilized will be gone, and there will likely be additional set-up challenges.

But it’s not likely that the Boat Show will get any smaller. Rick- Joule says the size of the main event is part of its allure and the amount of exhibitors.

“Our goals were to keep the amount of square footage that the current footprint accommodated because that’s the show people come from all over the world for,” she said. “They don’t come from over 80 countries and 50 states to see a local little boat show.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...#storylink=cpy

[Ratickle]

So the town gives the county the land next to the stadium, which was already donated for boating activities, so the county will build them a new access road. Then they don't want the county to use the property they gave them because it may make too much traffic on the road? Even though the traffic is less than the tennis tournament they sponsor themselves?

[Serious News]

Miami cuts Virginia Key mangroves to make way for boat show
By Jenny Staletovich

Faced with yet another obstacle in the struggle to host a controversial boat show at Marine Stadium on Virginia Key, Miami city workers found a simple solution last month: chop it down.

Only one problem. Cutting mangroves without a permit is illegal.

City of Miami workers ripped out red and black mangroves from about 300 feet of shoreline to make way for the International Boat Show at the Marine Stadium.

A Miami-Dade County environmental regulator discovered the blunder in late May when he showed up to check out a pile of tree debris just west of the stadium. More than 300 feet of shoreline had been stripped of trees, including red and black mangroves which provide valuable protection from erosion and shelter for young fish and nesting birds. A city manager told him the work was being done to ready the site for the International Boat Show.

For boat show critics, who have complained bitterly about running the international show so close to fragile marine life and seagrasses where manatees graze, the mistake underlines their worries about potential impacts on Biscayne Bay from the show, long held at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

“Every fifth- grader knows the value of mangroves,” said Key Biscayne Mayor Mayra Pena Lindsay.

The city was immediately ordered to stop work. The county is now drafting plans for how to restore the mangroves and mitigate for the destruction of some 2,000-square feet of canopy, said county spokeswoman Tere Florin. It’s not yet clear whether the city will face any fines.

When asked about the illegal removal, City Manager Daniel Alfonso said: "I did hear that we cut down some mangroves. If we screwed something up, we'll try to make it right."

In anticipation of the February show, the city is spending $16 million on the dormant stadium grounds. The National Marine Manufacturers Association, which hosts the show, has given the city $3 million for electrical upgrades and spent another $3 million on temporary docks.

The show, which must also obtain a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move forward, is expected to draw a crowd of 100,000 with 1,500 boats. About 500 will be tied off to the floating docks, which span 268,400-square feet. Another 800,000-square feet of tents will house vendors.

Corps officials have warned that the docks, which could be left in place for up to three months, would block sunlight and affect marine line in about 55.45 acres of the bay.

Key Biscayne officials also worry about the risk to surrounding marine life created by boat traffic, including a plan for water taxis to ferry visitors.

“To have a conga line of water taxis during high season for manatees just begs the question: what are they thinking?” Lindsay said.

According to a June 12 memo, John Ricisak, supervisor of Miami-Dade County’s department for coastland and wetland resources, visited the site at the end of May and found 330 feet of shoreline cut back, leaving just one seagrape tree and patches of black mangrove.

Ricisak found a large pile of debris that included Australian pine and Brazilian pepper, both invasive plants, but also seagrape, sabal palms and red and black mangroves, native species of Virginia Key.

Mangroves have long been protected because they provide a critical barrier between land and water: their tangled roots help trap sediment and protect coastal areas from hurricanes while providing food and shelter for fish. Researchers found that reefs located near mangroves can have 25 times more fish, said Miami Waterkeeper executive director Rachel Silverstein.

Federal officials estimate that northern Biscayne Bay has lost 82 percent of its mangrove. Since 1996, cutting a mangrove in Miami-Dade County has required a county permit.

A city of Miami project manager told Ricisak the city had obtained a city tree permit, but those permits only cover upland trees. In fact, the city’s tree permitting site includes a link to a county landscaping plan that lists mangroves as protected. Trimming mangroves requires a permit because if done incorrectly, the trees die. Red mangroves tend not to regrow at all.

“That’s not an insignificant amount of mangrove,” Silverstein said.

“Mangrove restoration can be done,” she added. “But it takes a long time for any kind of restoration to get close to approximating an ecosystem that was lost, if ever.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...#storylink=cpy

[Serious News]

City of Miami fined after cutting down mangroves without permit

VIRGINIA KEY, Fla. (WSVN) -- The City of Miami is dealing with some controversy in preparations for the International Boat show.

The city coming under fire for chopping down several mangroves without a permit. Environmental officials say this is illegal because the mangroves provide protection and shelter for young fish and nesting birds.

The city has been issued a violation and ordered to stop construction, and now county officials are drafting a plan to restore the mangroves that were cut.

http://www.wsvn.com/story/29428456/c...without-permit

[Serious News]

Town Tries New Action, Mediation In Miami Boat Show Row

Law360, Miami (July 7, 2015, 8:28 PM ET) -- Miami and the Village of Key Biscayne, Florida, will meet Wednesday for mediation over the city's plans to renovate and rent out the historically designated Miami Marine Stadium for the area's annual boat show with a new legal challenge pending.

Key Biscayne petitioned the appellate division of the state's Eleventh Judicial Circuit on June 25 for a writ of certiorari to quash a certificate of appropriateness granted by the city's Historic Preservation and Environmental Preservation Board and the Miami City Commission.

http://www.law360.com/articles/67641...-boat-show-row

[Serious News]

Key Biscayne files new lawsuit in Miami show site dispute
Posted on July 8th, 2015
Written by Reagan Haynes

Key Biscayne filed a third lawsuit looking to stop the Miami International Boat Show from coming to the Miami Marine Stadium, seeking to stop development of a park that is currently under construction in preparation for the 2016 show.

The June 25 petition filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court is seeking to stop development of what’s being called a flex park around the stadium, arguing that the city was improperly granted special permission from its historic preservation board and city commission in May, according to the Daily Business Review.

The village alleges that Miami officials prevented the board from hearing evidence about future uses in violation of Miami’s own code. Key Biscayne also says permission was rushed and lacked all of the needed documentation and that the Miami city attorney’s office showed bias during the hearing to approve the permit.

“We remain optimistic that the city of Miami and the village of Key Biscayne will be able to come to a resolution,” boat show vice president Cathy Rick-Joule told Trade Only Today in an emailed statement. “Preparations continue for the 2016 Miami International Boat Show at Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin, and we look forward to continuing the event’s 74-year legacy and $600 million economic impact.”

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado did not mention the most recent lawsuit in an interview last week, but did say that construction was on time and on budget.

“I just don’t see a scenario where the boat show wouldn’t happen,” Regalado told Trade Only. “We are on time for what they need. We are on budget for what they need. We are on target. We went before the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and have 100 percent of their support in terms of rooms and amenities for visitors. Everything is ready. I do not foresee anything that could come our way that will stop the boat show.”

Key Biscayne Mayor Mayra Peña Lindsay told the Daily Business Review that the latest lawsuit was not intended to derail mediation that is set to start today, but had to be filed to avoid missing a 30-day deadline for challenging local government actions in circuit court.

Lindsay told Trade Only in an email last week that the last thing the village wanted to do was to “be tied up in litigation with its neighboring municipality,” but that it was obligated to do what was right for Miami-Dade residents.

“Not only does the city’s plans to commercialize the Marine Stadium site violate the deed of the property, it flies in the face of the 2010 Virginia Key Master Plan, which called for as much access to public waterfront land as possible and permanent open green space,” she said.

The village filed a lawsuit against the city of Miami in February, but quickly entered into mediation talks.

In April, the village filed a lawsuit against the show’s organizer, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, saying it violated the state’s open meeting laws.

The NMMA denied that it violated Florida’s Sunshine Law when it entered into a licensing agreement with the city of Miami to bring the show to the stadium’s park and basin.

http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/2015/0...-site-dispute/

[Ratickle]

Maybe we'll get ;icky and Key Biscayne will get washed away?

[Serious News]

Controversial Boat Show Map Disregards Manatee Zones and Critical Wildlife Areas

A newly surfaced map documenting water taxi routes for next year’s Miami Boat Show has Village of Key Biscayne officials and environmentalists up in arms. The proposed map, meant to alleviate traffic on Virginia Key Beach during the five-day event, crisscrosses protected manatee zones and critical wildlife areas.

The map indicates it was submitted in a proposal March 30, but Key Biscayne Mayor Mayra Lindsay first saw it a few days ago after submitting a records request. Because of a lack of transparency from boat show officials, Lindsay explains, the process hasn’t been easy. “Were just trying to figure out what’s going on here because this is all moving so fast,” she says.

Lindsay and the Village of Key Biscayne took the original proposed map and outlined where wildlife areas would be affected. According to their map, pictured above, the traffic patterns affect numerous manatee protection zones. They also directly interfere with the Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area. “These routes are just not possible,” Lindsay says. “Canoes aren’t even allowed in the CWA.”

Though the CWA is off-limits, the manatee-protected zones are not. However, boat speed limits are significantly lower in such areas, which leaves Lindsay questioning how these routes will be an effective traffic solution. “When you think about transporting thousands of people, it’s not really possible,” she says. “Taxis will have to go very slowly, people will need to be patient, and the amount of taxis that will even be allowed to operate at once is unknown.”

Director of the Tropical Audubon Society, Laura Reynolds, thinks the proposed map is outrageous. “The overall transportation plan for the boat show is very weak-linked because of how hard it is to get to the area,” she says. “We don’t support the boat show in its current state. They need to make improvements in their plan. It’s not that we don’t support it entirely — it just needs to be something that’ll leave the area in a better state, not worse.”

Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff has not seen the updated map and was previously unaware of the threats that the taxi route posed on wildlife. “We all have an obligation to preserve the preserve, so if this map is true and it does cross the CWA, then of course I would require the city to rectify that,” he says.

Mediation was held July 8 between the Village of Key Biscayne and the City of Miami over the dispute of bringing the boat show to Virginia Key. The boat show is scheduled for February 2016 and will be held at Marine Stadium Park, not the stadium itself, despite popular belief. The $120 million deal to restore Miami Marine Stadium for the event floundered, so the city plans to spend $16 million to create an outdoor event space next to the stadium for the boat show that can also be lined with turf and used as a playing field during down time.

However, Sarnoff remains optimistic for a full resolution to the issue. “A formula for a recommended settlement has been provided, and we continue to negotiate toward a good-faith resolution,” he says.

After the New Times published the story, we received a statement from Director of the Miami Boat Show Cathy Joule stating the boat show has and will continue to protect and respect the environment that surrounds its events. "We are currently working with environmental regulatory agencies on mapping the water taxi routes for the 2016 show to ensure that no sea life is harmed and we comply with regulations, as we always do. Once those maps are finalized, we will share them with participants and the public.”

Map and Info: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/co...-areas-7740500

[Serious News]

Miami Boat Show to sponsor annual boating safety tournament on Key Biscayne

The Monica Burguera Foundation (MBF) announced Thursday the Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show as sponsor of its upcoming 6th Annual Fishing and Spearfishing for Boating Safety Tournament, taking place August 8 at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club. The tournament draws more than 100 anglers and all funds raised will go toward free monthly boating safety classes that are held in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard as part of MBF’s mission to spread awareness for watercraft safety and boating education.

As Silver Sponsor of the Tournament, Miami Boat Show organizers will be onsite during the Captains Reception on August 6 and during the fishing tournament on August 8 to support MBF and the show’s shared mission to spread awareness for boating safety and education; the boat show will provide boating safety courses through its Discover Boating Hands-On Skills Training courses and other programs during the annual event February 11-15, 2016, at its new home, Miami Marine Stadium Park & Basin.

Registration per boat for the Fishing and Spearfishing for Boating Safety Tournament is $500; $50 for extra anglers on boat. The registration fee includes: Captains Reception, boat goodie bag, tournament t-shirt, day of fun for family and friends, Post-Tournament Cocktail Party, and Award Ceremony. The fee is $35 for adults and $25 for children who don’t wish to fish but would like to support and attend the tournament. Register today at www.mbfBoatingSafety.org

Entire Article: http://www.boatingindustry.com/uncat...-key-biscayne/

[Ratickle]

Now this just keeps getting more and more interesting.

[Serious News]

City of Miami blames contractor in Marine Stadium mangrove destruction
By David Smiley

A contractor clearing land on Virginia Key to make way for the Miami International Boat Show is responsible for the illegal removal of protected mangroves, Miami administrators said Thursday.

Environmental regulators discovered the blunder back in May after coming upon a pile of trees chopped down immediately west of the Miami Marine Stadium. Most of the trees were invasive species, but amid the Australian pines and Brazilian peppers were black and red mangroves, which provide valuable protection from erosion and shelter for young fish and nesting birds.

The tree removals outraged Miami residents and played right into the hands of critics from neighboring Key Biscayne that the Boat Show’s plans to exhibit hundreds of vessels on the stadium grounds will damage an environmentally sensitive area. It also incensed some Miami commissioners, who have yet to receive a comprehensive answer as to how the city made such a damaging mistake.

“How can the city of Miami allow that to happen?” Commissioner Frank Carollo almost shouted Thursday during a city commission meeting.

Deputy City Manager Alice Bravo said the city is still trying to answer that question.

“Our contractor was instructed to remove exotic tree species out there. Amongst those there were mangroves,” Bravo told Carollo. “The contractor mistakenly removed mangroves among the species removed. The contractor has agreed to take responsibility for his actions.”

Bravo told a reporter later that two contractors had been working on the site, Metro Express and JB Builders, and that the city doesn’t yet know which company cut down the trees. She also said that only a small portion of the 330 feet of brush cut down was comprised of mangroves.

Efforts to reach the two companies after Bravo provided their names Thursday evening were unsuccessful.

The city is currently working with the county to correct the illegal removal of mangroves. Earlier this month, Miami-Dade’s director of the Division of Environmental Resources Management sent the city a cease-and-desist order from any further unauthorized work and gave the city one month to enter into a consent agreement.

City officials met Wednesday with environmental regulators, and said they would consider replanting mangroves on Virginia Key in planters. A summary of the meeting provided by environmental officer JoAnne Clingerman states that the city is talking about a settlement and entering into a consent agreement in the next 10 days.

Coming to terms with the county may not be enough for city commissioners, who want to know how the mangroves were cut and why the city didn’t stop it. Carollo, who was livid, said it’s ridiculous that the city hasn’t been able to answer those questions yet. City Attorney Victoria Méndez said there are liability issues that need to be worked out, but Carollo wanted none of it.

“I think it’s insulting that the city of Miami does this and there’s no response and you want to give some kind of report in September after the summer?” he said. “That’s just unacceptable.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...#storylink=cpy

[Serious News]

Businesses may define Marine Stadium use
Written by John Charles Robbins on July 14, 2015

City leaders are moving to define Miami Marine Stadium’s future.

After accepting an $80,000 grant to investigate the concrete stadium’s underwater supports July 9, commissioners debated the purpose and use of the idled stadium after it is restored.

Then they unanimously directed City Manager Daniel Alfonso to request proposals or letters of interest from potential operators to help answer the question: What do we do with Marine Stadium?

Marc Sarnoff, who made the motion, said it’s a way to get business to tell the city how the waterfront Virginia Key stadium, idle since Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992, can be used.

Commissioners didn’t decide on its use, or the intensity of use at adjacent Marine Stadium Park. The city is spending more than $16 million to turn the area around the stadium into a flex park as part of a deal with the National Marine Manufacturers Association to bring the Miami International Boat Show to Virginia Key next February. Once the boat show exits, the park would have new sporting fields and open space.

The intensity of use at the park has troubled some commissioners and led to a legal battle with Key Biscayne, which let loose a volley of lawsuits against the city and launched a public relations campaign that has attacked the city and boat show organizers.

A joint meeting between the two elected bodies in June found no resolution, but the city and island village remain in private mediation.

A contractor’s removal of mangroves along with non-native trees beside the stadium has only stirred contention. Commissioners Frank Carollo and Francis Suarez were unhappy that the city manager’s office didn’t deliver as promised a full report on the mangrove removal July 9. Both want that report at the July 23 meeting.

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/0...e-stadium-use/

[Serious News]

Full speed ahead for Miami show
Posted on July 27th, 2015
Written by Reagan Haynes


Work on the Miami Marine Stadium grounds will be completed in plenty of time for show setup, says Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado.

Despite hurdles along the way, all cylinders are firing with six months to go until the Progressive Miami International Boat Show stages its 75th production in a new venue Feb. 11-15. The village of Key Biscayne is still fighting plans to hold the show at the Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin — filing lawsuits against the city of Miami and boat show organizers — but the momentum hasn’t slowed.

“Things are moving forward, and we are following our master plan, and we believe that the boat show at the Miami Marine Stadium will be a win-win for the city and for the show,” says Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado. “For the city, because we will keep the boat show in Miami Dade County, and it will be in the city of Miami, where it began 75 years ago. So it’s coming home. And for the boat show, because it will have a spectacular view of the Miami skyline, and it will be on the water.”

The show is to feature hundreds of boats in the water and 600,000 square feet of what organizers call upland space, capable of accommodating three to four times as many vessels as they could at the Miami Beach Convention Center, which will be renovated in 2016 and 2017. Organizers say they will cap the number of boats in the water at 500.

The industry seems undaunted by the opposition. Several exhibitors say they are excited about the prospects of building the show from the ground up. And the show’s owner, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, has worked with Miami officials to mitigate traffic problems — providing water taxis for roughly all of the daily visitors, as well as shuttles — blocking out the biggest number of hotel rooms ever and tapping Bellingham Marine to construct encapsulated floating docks that prevent Styrofoam from getting into the marine environment.

“This show started with 50 boats under a tent,” says NMMA vice president and Miami show manager Cathy Rick-Joule. It was halted during World War II but resumed in the postwar era.

“Miami is delighted to have the show back [from Miami Beach],” says Rick-Joule. “They are committed to getting us across the finish line. We couldn’t be luckier.”

Logistics

Organizers and Miami officials have approved all of the plans, and construction has begun on the flex park, which will be the area in which the boat show takes place, Regalado says. “It’s on time, on budget, and I think that they will have the park ready when they need it” so preparations can begin.

Exhibitors can preship freight to the show, and it will be warehoused in Miami free for 30 days prior to the show move-in. There it’s repackaged, based on its location within the show, Rick-Joule says. “It’s a very efficient way to move inbound and outbound freight, all during off-peak traffic hours. We can move as much freight in five hours as we could do all day if working in peak travel hours.”

Organizers are transitioning nearly 900 exhibitors from the former Miami Beach Convention Center and Sea Isle locations to the park on Virginia Key, says assistant show manager and director of sales Larry Berryman. Of those, nearly 90 percent had committed to taking space in the new venue as of late June.

“When we started allocating space in May, we started with current exhibitors,” Berryman says. “We’re about a third or half of the way through that now. We also have significant inquiries from new exhibitors from people on Collins Avenue, or those who haven’t had space in the show before. We’re taking applications and space requests from potential new exhibitors. That’s exciting for us because we have never had an entire reallocation of exhibitors before. Everyone has a chance to select the kind of space they’d like.”

Many exhibitors are taking the same amount of space they had in the convention center, but some are complementing on-land space — of which there is about 600,000 square feet (less than the 1 million square feet at the former venue) that organizers expect to completely fill — with an in-water presence, he says. “The in-water and upland space is closely adjoined, which becomes a selling point to exhibitors. It’s a new opportunity for us to have our exhibitors showcase products in a completely comprehensive area without really any separation.”

“Not many boat shows can provide major booth space and on-water opportunities close to one another, so in many ways the 2016 Miami boat show lends itself to a unique atmosphere and an exciting experience,” says Mercury Marine spokesman Steve Fleming. “These changes could create a new and positive tone. We’re looking forward to taking full advantage of the options.”

Show officials say other exhibitors share Fleming’s enthusiasm. “We’re ahead of where we were this time last year in the number that have committed,” says Rick-Joule. “Probably about 15 to 20 percent. We started allocating space earlier than last year. People often are taking more space than they had in the prior footprint. We have quite a few boat exhibitors taking not only the same amount of square footage, but additionally taking slips in the water to complement their displays.”

Overall, the show can accommodate three to four times more boats in the water than at the previous in-water section at Sea Isle, says Berryman. “We expect to have 400 to 500 vessels in the water. That’s our cap. I won’t say it’s unlimited, but we have the ability to grow it. We’ve already allocated more room for in-water boats than we did at Sea Isle, and we’re not even halfway through this process.”

The Accessories Pavilion, which was introduced last year in anticipation of the new venue, will be upland in a network of six large air-conditioned tents with contiguous boundaries, Berryman says.

“My belief is that we are going to be improved” from last year’s show, Rick-Joule says.

Transportation

The city of Miami hired a consultant, Kimley Horn, to conduct a traffic study to determine the most effective means of getting vehicles on and off Rickenbacker Causeway while keeping traffic flowing at all major intersections leading to the causeway. Rebuilt in 1985, the causeway is the primary thoroughfare connecting Miami with both Virginia Key and Key Biscayne, making it a critical traffic point and access area.

Given the importance of the causeway to the entire Miami Dade County region, the NMMA and the city of Miami used the traffic study as a foundation for developing a traffic plan that minimizes the boat show’s impact during its five-day run. That plan will be implemented by the Miami Transportation Department, the Miami Police Department, the Metro Miami-Dade County Police Department and the Miami deputy city manager.

The Miami boat show and the Yacht & Brokerage Show in Miami Beach run concurrently. The Yacht & Brokerage Show is owned by the Florida Yacht Brokers Association and produced by Show Management. (Show Management and Soundings Trade Only are part of Active Interest Media’s Marine Group.)

Rick-Joule says NMMA will provide water taxi service from the Miami Beach Marina to and from the Miami Marine Stadium Park and Basin. The Yacht & Brokerage show will provide shuttle bus service between its Collins Avenue site and Miami Beach Marina.

Visitors traveling between the shows on the same day could also take a taxi from Collins Avenue to the marina, but there is no parking available on that site, she says.

Hotels and parking

To complement boat show lodging and parking — more than 10,000 spaces secured in downtown Miami — show organizers say they’ve constructed a comprehensive transportation plan in conjunction with the city. There will be an additional 3,800 prepaid parking spaces on Virginia Key, adjacent to the show, for exhibitors. (That’s nearly double the number at the convention center.)

VIP parking will be available on Virginia Key, with private car or shuttle service to the entrance and VIP valet parking within the show site.

Rick-Joule says the NMMA has contracted with 29 hotels and has blocked 2,043 rooms, compared with 646 for 2015. The plan includes free water taxi and shuttle bus rides for attendees — each will be able to transport roughly 25,000 visitors a day, Rick-Joule says. There will be several drop-off points throughout Miami and 15- to 20-minute rides, depending on the departure locations.

“Downtown Miami is much closer to the Miami Marine Stadium than Miami Beach,” Rick-Joule says, making shuttle and water taxi rides more convenient to downtown hotels. “People should be really into getting their reservations. We had improvement in the number of hotels and rooms in our block. Each hotel has access either on the property, or it’s a maximum of a block walk to a water taxi or shuttle. So if they want to take advantage of that free transportation, they should get hotels blocked and confirmed as soon as they can.”

The boat show is a “multimillion-dollar venture; there is no dispute on that,” says Regalado. “No one can dispute that this is an economic engine. The NMMA has blocked hundreds of room nights in hotels in Brickell and downtown. That in itself is a big deal for the city of Miami.”

The boat show is facing opposition from a neighboring village about its move to the new venue, but that wasn’t deterring exhibitors and visitors eight months out. As of early July, 25 percent of the hotel rooms blocked had been booked, and there was a 203 percent increase in the number of hotel rooms blocked for the 2016 show. The number of room nights available in the boat show’s room block was 10,141 — triple the 3,300 room nights made available for the 2015 show.

Sea trials

The enthusiasm wasn’t just apparent in the number of exhibitors and hotel rooms booked. It could also be heard from companies that were looking forward to displaying at a new venue.

“Mercury’s booth space at the 2016 Miami International Boat Show is the same as we’ve had in years past, and we’re excited about the opportunities it will provide,” says Fleming. “This will allow us to maintain our strong presence and visual appearance and will allow us to work more closely with consumers visiting our booth and our on-water boats. We anticipate a great show in 2016 and couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities.”

One of the main things discussed was the ability to do sea trials at the new location. “We’re always eager to help our customers experience Mercury products by taking them out on the water,” says Fleming. “Some products, especially boat engines, have to be experienced to be truly appreciated.”

Intrepid Powerboats will have a large in-water display for the new show, says company president Ken Clinton. “Unlike the convention center, where all the boats are sitting on cradles, you can actually see the boats in their own environment — literally,” he says.

The industry’s first reaction to moving the show was a bit of nervousness, Clinton admits. “We are all creatures of habit and … I think it probably affects us more than most manufacturers because most other builders have dealers with inventory that customers can go view at any time, and we do not.”

Consequently, the Miami and Fort Lauderdale shows are crucial, he says, with Miami accounting for about a third of the boats the company sells annually.

“Then once you get past the original nervousness of going into the unknown, you get excited,” Clinton says. “This is an opportunity to make it better. There is an old saying that I often use here at Intrepid that can be used in this case, and it is, ‘The only constant in life is change,’ and if done properly, change is good. I know that the staff over at the NMMA has been working very hard to ensure that this is a success for everyone involved, not just the builders or the vendors but for all of the consumers, as well. To say that this task for the NMMA staff is herculean would be an understatement, but they are more than up to the task. I look forward to the change, and I embrace it. It is going to be a great show.”

Sabre and Back Cove vice president Bentley Collins says the new venue will be perfect for boats between 37 and 48 feet, a size range he believes hadn’t been catered to until now. As of press time, the Back Cove 37 and 41 and the Sabre 42 and 48 had been confirmed for the NMMA show. “They’re not just in the water. They’re sea trial-able. That’s the key,” Collins says. “With customers that come from far-off places, if they decide they want to do a sea trial before they go home, we can actually do a sea trial. We don’t have to make additional arrangements for that.

“The NMMA has tried for years to serve the inboard market from 30 to 60 feet, but so many are smaller indoor shows … where you just can’t put those boats in the shows,” he adds. “Even at the Miami Beach Convention Center, it’s really tough and very expensive to put big boats in. So the NMMA has come back and said we really need to address that group because some are big members.”

http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/featur...ed-miami-show/

[Serious News]

Big predictions, small turnout for Miami International Boat Show protest
By David Smiley

An environmental protest that organizers said would draw thousands to Virginia Key in opposition to the Miami International Boat Show’s move to historic Marine Stadium mostly flopped Saturday, with only a few dozen people showing up to waive banners and holler at bicyclists and drivers passing along the Rickenbacker Causeway.

It was a disappointing turnout for organizers, and may have actually undercut claims that the vast scope of the Boat Show’s Presidents Day weekend event has prompted intense opposition. Bold predictions about the size of the gathering were advertised by Schwartz Media Strategies, a public relations firm hired by the Village of Key Biscayne, which is suing the city and trade organization behind the Boat Show.

“I don't think that there is opposition to the Boat Show, I really don't, other than the leadership in Key Biscayne,” Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado said Saturday afternoon.

Despite Key Biscayne’s involvement, Saturday’s event was hosted by a coalition of environmental groups, who ended the afternoon by planting native trees on the island. Organizers blamed low attendance on Tropical Storm Erika, and said they had received a high number of RSVPs. They believed they got their point across, regardless of the size of the event.

An environmental protest that organizers said would draw thousands to Virginia Key in opposition to the Miami International Boat Show’s move to historic Marine Stadium mostly flopped Saturday, with only a few dozen people showing up to waive banners and holler at bicyclists and drivers passing along the Rickenbacker Causeway. Video by Peter Andew Bosch / Miami Herald staff

“The Boat Show does not belong here,” Steven Leidner, a member of several environmental organizations involved in Saturday’s protest, told the small group who arrived early enough to hear his pre-protest speech. “Neither does developing this area for commercial purposes.”

For months, contractors hired by the city of Miami have been working around the stadium on an $18 million project to create a utility-lined event space and park. The Boat Show’s parent company is seeking permits to allow it to exhibit 1,500 boats, including about 500 in the water over President’s Day weekend.

The event is supposed to draw 100,000 people to an area not far from the sensitive Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area. Executives with the National Marine Manufacturers Association say they’re being sensitive to the environment on Virginia Key.

“We have been working with all relevant environmental regulatory agencies to ensure that any sea life in the area is not harmed and we comply with all requirements,” Cathy Rick-Joule, director of the Miami International Boat Show, said in a statement.

But some are skeptical of the project, particularly after city contractors were caught inadvertently cutting down mangroves near the stadium in May. They say other sensitive resources in the area are put at risk by the city’s plans, including protected sea grasses and manatees, and have called for a scaled-back version of the trade show.

The Boat Show disputes those concerns, and is still applying for environmental permits. Last week, Miami Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen called for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to host a public hearing to allow community input before issuing a permit.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...#storylink=cpy

[Serious News]

Miami congresswoman calls for public hearing on Miami boat show permit

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tuesday to hold a public hearing before making a final decision on a permit to allow the city of Miami to host the Miami International Boat Show on Virginia Key.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association has a license agreement with the city to move their massive industry event from the Miami Beach Convention Center to a utility-lined lawn outside the Miami Marine Stadium. Boats would also be exhibited in the Marine Stadium basin, and thousands of attendees are expected to take water taxis to the show.

In an application submitted months ago for a permit, Boat Show organizers sought permission to erect temporary docks and walkways large enough to cover more than four football fields. They have since said the show won't be nearly that large, but environmentalists and residents from nearby Key Biscayne are opposed to hosting the event on Virginia Key due to concerns about traffic and potential damage to an environmentally sensitive area. (The Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area is located on the north bank of the basin.)

A protest is scheduled Saturday morning.

In May, Key Biscayne village officials requested a public hearing. Ros-Lehtinen, whose district includes both keys, wrote to the commander of the Army Corps Jacksonville District Tuesday to request that their wish be granted.

"The issues raised by the Village of Key Biscayne regarding this permit application should warrant a public hearing," wrote Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami. "It is important that this process is conducted in an open and fair way."

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/naked...calls-for.html

[Serious News]

Marine Stadium boat show upgrades to cost taxpayers $4M more

Improvements to land next to Virginia Key’s Miami Marine Stadium, to turn it into a public park that will also be used as an event space for the Miami International Boat Show next year, will cost city taxpayers an additional $4.38 million, The Real Deal has learned.

Earlier this year, the Miami City Commission authorized spending $16 million to convert a parking lot outside Marine Stadium into a so-called “flex park” that would be filled in with grass during the months the area is not being used for exhibition tents for the boat show. The annual event is relocating to Virginia Key next year because its longtime home, the Miami Beach Convention Center, will be undergoing renovations.

According to an Aug. 26 memo from Miami’s capital improvements director Jeovanny Rodriguez to City Manager Daniel J. Alfonso, the project now has a $4.38 million shortfall due to electrical upgrades needed to provide power for the boat show.

During meetings with officials from the boat show’s owner, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the capital improvements and transportation department determined it would need to increase the park’s current capacity from 3,000 amps to 24,000 amps, put in two new feeder lines, and have two electrical buildings instead of one, according to Rodriguez’s letter.

“The change in scope with respect to the electrical items increased the total price of the original estimate for electrical service,” Rodriguez wrote. “The additional electrical items have resulted in the cost estimate of the project to increase from $15,994,093 to $20,441,265.”

On Sept. 1, Alfonso sent a memo to Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and the five city commissioners to notify them of the shortfall. “The administration will review this information further and come to the city commission with a request for an increase in funding so that the project can be completed per the scope of work needed to meet our contractual obligation,” he wrote.

Back in January, the Miami City Commission authorized a license agreement with National Marine. In exchange, the boat show operator will pay the city $1.1 million in rent plus half of the boat show’s net concessions and parking receipts. In addition, National Marine also agreed to provide $3.2 million for the electrical infrastructure.

Key Biscayne Mayor Mayra Lindsay, whose village is trying to stop the boat show from being held at Marine Stadium, blasted the latest development as another reason to kill the deal between the city and National Marine.

“The money pit is deepening as the Boat Show’s expansive plans come into view, and taxpayers are going to be footing the bill,” Lindsay said in a statement. “Growing the project’s scope and budget underscores the fact that Virginia Key is unsuitable for an event of this magnitude.”

Through its spokesperson, National Marine declined to comment to TRD about the electrical upgrades.

- See more at: http://therealdeal.com/miami/blog/20....t3h4VirB.dpuf