Loading...
12/ 1 RESOLUTION NO. _______ _ 2 3 A Resolution endorsing the Green Task Force letter regarding City Hall, 4 establishing goals for the City regarding environmentally connected design of City 5 Hall and other City facilities and authorizing the City Manager to take certain 6 actions. 7 8 WHEREAS, the City of South Miami Green Taskforce believes that the City must be 9 ready for the significant challenges that lie ahead with regard to climate change; and 10 11 WHEREAS, South Miami should meet the environmental challenges of our time and 12 become a model of a sustainability, resiliency, walkability, and diversity; and 13 14 WHEREAS, the City of South Miami Green Taskforce requested that the City 15 Commission immediately begin work on the development of plans that meet these goals, and that 16 a key part of these plans should be the investigation of the redevelopment of our City Hall into a 17 civic building that reflects the environmental values and natural realities of the City; and 18 19 WHEREAS, this is an opportune time to investigate a redevelopment of City Hall; and 20 21 WHEREAS, the current City Hall is in extremely poor condition. There are problems 22 with water leaks, requiring constant repair and continual piecemeal refurbishment of the 23 facilities. The City staff is unhappy with the antiquated office spaces and the moldy condition of 24 City Hall is creating health issues that are affecting the staff s work. These are all significant 25 issues that need to be addressed in the immediate future; and 26 27 WHEREAS, additionally, the 2 nd floor of the building is not ADA accessible, making it 28 unavailable for public use; and 29 30 WHEREAS, the Green Task Force, believes that City Hall should be updated to become 31 a benchmark for environmentally connected design for our region and the state and something of 32 which our citizens can be proud; and 33 34 WHEREAS, the City should reduce its burden on the environment and add value to the 35 redevelopment of City Hall by voluntarily seeking a Florida green designation by the Florida 36 Green Building Coalition, Inc. (FGBC). By doing so, the City would set an example for our 37 community to be earth-friendly, affordable to operate, and a pleasant place to live and work; and 38 39 WHEREAS, FGBC's Green Development Standard is a tool that can guide the City's 40 design team through the process of selecting green features that benefit the environment while 41 providing long-term value to the project. The standard has been developed so that it is 42 achievable by everyone who is willing to make an effort yet stringent enough that it will be 43 recognized as a statewide standard for the industry, as verified by an independent organization 44 (FGBC); and 45 Page 1 of3 1 WHEREAS, the City is, and has long been, committed to addressing issues impacting 2 energy, waste reduction, urban design, nature, transportation, environmental health, and water 3 levels, quantity and quality; and 4 5 WHEREAS, to ensure a viable future, the City has a responsibility to set an example and 6 should take a leadership role for its residents and community by addressing the impacts placed 7 on the environment by urbanization and a growing populace. These impacts include air and 8 water pollution, climate change, and habitat loss. A green and sustainable city is a community of 9 residents, neighbors, workers, and visitors who strive together to balance ecological, economic, 10 and social needs to ensure a clean, healthy and safe environment for all members of society and 11 for generations to come; and 12 13 WHEREAS, a public-private partnership (PPP) is a government service or private 14 business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or 15 more private sector companies; and 16 17 WHEREAS, some 25 states, including Florida, have enacted legislation that allows for 18 public-private partnerships. The benefits of PPPs can be compelling. Public-private partnerships 19 don't simply provide much-needed capital for projects; they can also serve as models of 20 efficiency and reliability and be champions of high levels of accountability and transparency. 21 PPPs can be cost-effective and time efficient. PPPs are suited for large, complex projects that 22 have the capacity for meaningful risk allocation to the private sector as well as the potential for 23 the private sector to earn a fair return on its investment. PPPs, when structured correctly, can 24 produce situations that benefit both the public sector and the private sector through a 25 combination of public-sector governance and private-sector capital and efficiency. 26 27 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY 28 COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA: 29 30 Section I: The City Manager is hereby authorized to immediately execute a plan to 31 realize the recommendations of the Green Task Force letter which are hereby embraced and 32 endorsed by this Commission. The City Manager shall also investigate the feasibility of a 33 public-private partnership to help the City realize these goals. 34 35 Section 2: It shall be the goal and policy of the City of South Miami that City Hall 36 should be updated or replaced to become a benchmark for environmentally connected design for 37 our region and the state of which our citizens can be proud. The plan for the redevelopment of 38 City Hall should: (1) efficiently use energy, water, and other resources; (2) protect occupant 39 health and improve employee productivity; and (3) reduce waste, pollution, and environmental 40 degradation. 41 42 The plan should also follow stringent environmental standards related to renovation and 43 construction processes in an attempt to connect with local natural systems and ecologies. The 44 plan should attempt to meet measurable standards that include FGBC standards, the LEED 45 Platinum standard developed by the US Green Building Council, and the Platinum standard as 46 developed by the Sustainable Site Initiative. Page20f3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Section 3. Severability: If any section, clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, this holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution. Section 4: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon approval. PASSED AND APPROVED this __ day of _____ , 2015. ATTEST: CITY CLERK READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM, LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND EXECUTION THEREOF CITY ATTORNEY Page 3 of3 APPROVED: MAYOR COMMISSION VOTE: Mayor Stoddard: Vice Mayor Harris: Commissioner Edmund: Commissioner Liebman: Commissioner Welsh: TO: FROM: SUBJECT: DATE: CC: THE CITY OF PLEASN,lT LIVING MEMORANDUM HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSIONERS DOUGLAS THOMPSON, GREEN TASK FORCE CHAIR CITY IIALL JANUARY 21, 2015 STEVEN J. ALEXANDER, Cny MANAGER JENNIFER KORTII, PLANNING AND SUSTAINABILITY ADMINISTRATOR We the City of South Miami Green Taskforce believe that our city must be ready for the significant challenges that lie ahead with regard to climate change. South Miami should meet the environmental challenges of our time and become a model of a sustainability, resiliency, walkability, and diversity. We are requesting that the city commission immediately begin work on the development of plans that meets these goals. A key part of these plans should be the investigation of the redevelopment of our city hall into a civic building that reflects the environmental values of our city. This is an opportune time to investigate a redevelopment of city hall. The current city hall is in extremely poor condition. The building is not ADA accessible, making the 2nd floor illegal for public use. There are problems with water leaks, requiring constant repair and creating a need for continual piecemeal refurbishment of the facilities. The city staff is unhappy with the antiquated office spaces they have and the moldy conditions are creating health issues that are affecting the staff's work. These are all significant issues that need to be addressed in the immediate future. We, the Green Task Force, believe that the South Miami City Hall should be updated to become a benchmark for environmentally connected design for our region and the state and something our citizens can be proud of. Our city hall should l}Efficiently use energy, water, and other resources, 2}Protect occupant health and improve employee productivity, 3} Reduce waste, pollution, and environmental degradation, and 4} Connect with local natural systems and ecologies. Some measurable standards, the city hall should meet are the LEED Platinum standard developed by the US Green Building Council and the Platinum standard as developed by the Sustainable Site Initiative. The city should also follow stringent environmental standards related to renovation and construction processes.