City of Sunny Isles Beach

By Mayor Norman S. Edelcup

This is a printing of the State of the City address presented by Mayor Norman Edelcup at the January 21, 2010 City Commission Meeting.

Dear Citizens of Sunny Isles Beach:

According to the City Charter, the Mayor is to present a “State of the City” message on an annual basis in January. This affords the Office of the Mayor the ability to inform our citizens about important issues that came before your City Commission this past year.

It is my pleasure and privilege as Mayor of Sunny Isles Beach to report to you, the citizens of our wonderful City, that the state of the City’s financial condition continues to be very secure and strong.

This past year we have been able to maintain our funding on scheduled capital improvement projects and at the same time maintain a healthy general fund reserve in excess of $17 million.

During the past year the financial and real estate markets in this country suffered the worst downfall since “The Great Depression” in the 1930s. Locally we have seen real estate values drop by as much as 25 to 50 percent.

In recognizing these economic changes the City Commissioners and I set into motion important policy and budgetary changes affecting the financial wellbeing of our City.

The projected budget for 2010 was cut to $27.5 million, a reduction from 2009 of nearly $2 million. According to the Miami-Dade County Tax Assessor’s Office, property values in Sunny Isles Beach - excluding new construction, dropped overall from $6 billion to $5 billion which basically reduced tax bills for everyone.

The City added $946 million in new construction to our tax base in 2009. This basically offsets the decrease in the existing real estate tax base.

In the six years that I have been Mayor, our taxable property values have risen from $2.5 billion to $6.1 billion, an increase of 143%!

Our millage rate of $2.65 per $1,000 of taxable value was a small increase from prior years of $2.48 per $1,000. The rate is still more than 20% less than the 3.35 millage rate we had in 2003 when I became Mayor.

The City of Sunny Isles Beach took advantage of its strong liquidity investment and borrowing capacity by taking out a $20 million loan from Bank of America for 20 years at 4.03%. These funds were used for acquiring land and developing parks in the southern and western areas of the City. The new land provides necessary green space pursuant to the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

This past year, overall, the expansion of City parks and green space included the following:

Construction began on Heritage Park, 19200 Collins Avenue.
Completed renovating Senator Gwen Margolis Park, 17815 North Bay Road.
Purchased land for:

Expansion of Bell Vista Bay Park, 500 Sunny Isles Boulevard.
New Gateway Park on Sunny Isles Boulevard.
New Intracoastal Waterway Park on Collins Avenue south of Sunny Isles Boulevard.

Additionally, the City completed projects that involved new landscaping and streetscape for entrances to our City at Sunny Isles Boulevard and Lehman Causeway.

Finally, a successful year of operations at “Pelican Community Park” resulted in numerous programs for our City’s youth and cultural programs for residents of all ages.

Here is a review of some of the outstanding activities and special events that took place this past year in our City:

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony at SIB Community School, K – 8
More than 150 invited guests, city officials, county school officials and parents attended the official ribbon-cutting ceremonies of the Sunny Isles Beach Community School K - 8 on April 24, 2009. Dr. Annette Weissman, Principal, welcomed everyone on this historic occasion. Honored guests and speakers included Mayor Norman S. Edelcup; Mr. Albert Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Schools; and Dr. Martin Karp, Miami-Dade County School Board Member.
Irving Turetsky Street Dedicated
On April 13, 2009, the City of Sunny Isles Beach honored former Commissioner and Vice Mayor Irving Turetsky in a ceremony naming 175th Terrace and Collins Avenue Irving Turetsky Street for his loyalty and dedication to the City. Irving was also one of the original founders of Sunny Isles Beach.
Citizens Honored
Citizens George Newman and Lee Liebman were honored on May 21 for their dedication to the City of Sunny Isles Beach. Two park benches were dedicated to them in a special ceremony that took place in Senator Gwen Margolis Park in July.
Sunny Isles Beach Visitor Center Opened
The new Sunny Isles Beach Visitor Center opened to the public on May 14, 2009. Mayor Norman S. Edelcup cut the ribbon along with Vice Mayor Lewis Thaler and Ibis Romero, Executive Director of the Sunny Isles Beach Resort Association. The Visitor Center provides an assortment of brochures regarding tourist information for our South Florida community. The Visitor Center also has available for sale beautiful gift items.
City’s 12th Anniversary Celebrated
We celebrated the City’s 12th Anniversary at Samson Oceanfront Park on Sunday, June 14th. An estimated 3,000 visitors enjoyed a spectacular afternoon in the sun featuring a free barbeque luncheon, rides and games for the children, wonderful entertainment, a Polynesian review, the second annual Off-Shore Boat Race, and a cake-cutting ceremony. It was a very successful celebration.
Senator Gwen Margolis Park Re-dedicated
Sunny Isles Beach celebrated July 4th, Independence Day, with a re-dedication of Senator Gwen Margolis Park. 1,000 South Florida citizens enjoyed the event with free food, music, games for the children, a soccer game played on newly laid grass, and an unveiling of a sculpture of a butterfly named The Caterpillar’s Dream by artist Rein Treifelt.
Heritage Park Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking ceremonies for Heritage Park at 19200 Collins Avenue took place on September 1, 2009. The $9 million plus project covering 4 ½ acres features a dog park, an exercise trail, a basketball court, two playgrounds for children, a 500-space parking garage, large green spaces, a waterfall and wall containing historical information and a picturesque entrance from Collins Avenue.
2nd Annual Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest
The second annual Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Festival took place on October 16 -18, 2009. On Saturday, Jazz artists Neville Brothers, Roberto Perera and singer Nicole Henry entertained a crowd of more than 700 under the stars at Samson Oceanfront Park.
Booogie by the Beach
3,000 children and adults braved the flying witches on broomsticks for the City’s Halloween “Booogie by the Beach” celebration at Pelican Community Park. The two-evening event featured a haunted mansion, rides for the kids, food, music, games, a circus aerialist and a costume contest as the grand finale.

My fellow citizens, as we enter 2010, on behalf of our City Commission, Police Department, City Staff, and myself; we pledge our continued loyalty and dedication to the citizens of Sunny Isles Beach. By working together, we will continue to raise the quality of life for the residents in our community and to promote our City known throughout the world as Sunny Isles Beach, Florida’s Riviera.

In conclusion, we wish everyone in our community a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Thank you, God Bless You and God Bless America.