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08-01-89OFFICIAL AGENDA CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI 6130 Sunset Drive Next Resolution: 89-89 -8069 REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING Next Ordinance: 14 -89 -1426 August 1st, 1989 Next Commission Meeting: 8/15/89 7:30 P.M. A. Invocation B. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America C. Items for Commission Consideration: 1. Approval of Minutes - Regular City Commission Meeting of July 25, 1989 2. City Manager's Report " 3. City Attorney's Report ORDINANCES - SECOND READING AND PUBLIC HEARING: NONE RESOLUTIONS: 4. A Resolution expressing support for-th.e passage of th-e American Heritage 3/5 Trust Act presently before the United States Congress. (_ Commissioner McCann) ORDINANCES- FIRST READI "NG NONE REMARKS: NONE You are hereby advised that if any person desires to appeal any decision with respect to any matter considered at this meeting or hearing, such person will need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is based. RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PASSAGE OF THE AMERICAN HERITAGE TRUST ACT PRESENTLY BEFORE THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS. WHEREAS, the preservation of America's Natural and Historic Heritage is a goal shared by all citizens of this City and those across our nation, and is a concern which requires long -term planning and funding to assist state and local governments to create programs for this purpose; and WHEREAS, there is legislation currently pending before the U.S. Congress which will greatly assist the realization of programs designed to implement Historic Preservation. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. That the strongly urge the passage of the Act currently pending before the Section 2. That the Ci true copies of this resolution Congressional relegation. Mayor and City Commission hereby proposed American Heritage Trust Congress of the United States. ty Clerk is hereby directed to send to all members of the Florida PASSED AND ADOPTED this _ —_ -- day of ------- _ - -, 1989. APPROVED: MAYOR - - -- ATTEST: CITY CLERK READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM: CITY ATTORNEY Resolut\American. Heritage y DIS -RICT L7 ei• _, e• ._ie,.CLT Na. DiSTRlCT VII Maureen Gregg. CLP Da-'- co DISTRiC7 14ii Piantauon PARL IAMENTARLAN U 11harn .lames Ak.rm ;e Springs EX-OMCIO Dept. of 'wt re: Resources July 17, 1989 Mr. James Cowen, Director City of South Miami Park and Recreation Department 6130 Sunset Drive South Miami, FL 33143 Dea Currently before Congress is the most significant piece' of legislation to affect the park and recreation movement in our history. This legislation is the AMERICAN HERITAGE TRUST (AHT) and its purpose ;is to establish a long -term source of financial assistance to federal, state and local governments for park, recreation and historic preservation programs. We need your help to insure its passage! I have enclosed three items. First, you will find a copy of "An Open Letter To Members" from Dean Tice, Executive Director of the National Recreation and Park Association. This letter provides the most current information on the AHT. Second, I have ,included a fact sheet on the AHT itself. Third, you will find a list of the Senators and Representatives we need to write and call. Please, do not put this off until "tomorrow ". Write and call today, and have your Board members do the same. Funding such as the AHT will provide, is crucial to the long -term health and vitality of parks and recreation for generations to come! Sincerely, NW. Howard Grl President -Elee Florida Reere ,J Association WHG:bh Enclosures CLP Ltion and Park 1406 Hays Street, Suite "I • Tallahassee, FL 32301 • (904) 878 -3221 J —� e 4 _ NR A A Publication of the National Recreation and Park Association The American Heritage Trust: Let's Prove Its Worth The Fight An Open Letter To Members: Since 1967 the National Recreation and Park As- sociation has worked for congressional passage of many bills. And before there was an NP.PA, our founding groups fought for issues, too. One of these hard - fought issues was the creation of the Land and Water Conservation Fund 25 years ago. The soundness of that original effort has been demonstrated time and time again. Some public recreation and park systems exist today because the Fund was a catalyst. Others can point to protected special places and recreation opportunity aided through this investment program. In; all, nearly35,000 state and local projects have been completed. Since about 1980, however, LWCF'and the more recent Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program, have been in decline. Appropriations have become unpredictable; frustrations; grow as revenue is diverted to other programs. But park and recrea- tion needs and costs continue to escalate. In 1988 state and local governments requested S535 million from the Fund. Less than 520 million was available! Recognizing the increasing gap between promise and potential, the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors in 1987 recommended impor- tant improvements in the Fund. Create a self - sustaining trust, PCAO said. Invest $1 billion a year for public open spaces and neccreatio►r; encourage continued private sector help. US. Rep. ]Morris K. Udall (D -AZ) and Sen. John Charee (R RI) put the package together. It's H.R. 876 in the House and S. 370 in the Senate. They call the legislation the American Heritage Trust. The bill has cleared the House Interior Committee and awaits floor action. Senate hearings could start this month - - if enough of us urge; our senators to support the bill AHT is a prudent and responsible'fiscal proposal. It's "on- budget." Congress reviews', and acts on it every year. It reinvests only a portion of revenues from depleting energy resources. It equitably dis- tributes funds for critical national, state and local needs. Not everyone agrees. Over the last few months certain groups, among them the American Federa- tion of Farm Bureaus, the National Inholders As- socation, and the national office of the US. Cham- M00 r� ber of Commerce, have waged a widespread cam- paign to defeat the trust legislation. The opposition is flooding congressional offices with mail, claiming that LWCF has destroyed the family farm, run rough -shod over homeowners through condemnation, and that Americans have too many parks and public places. The trust, they say, . would make things worse. We disagree, and we suspect that you do, too. If you believe that what you're doing helps improve the health and welfare of Americans, then you should tell your legislators. If you believe that capital investments must be made today -- to create a future heritage — then your legislators need to knowthat,too. Citeyour local and state needs, then share your views on AHT. Sincerely, = ..................................... R. Dean Tice Executive Director Here's What You Can Do Now... s Write or Call Your Representative and Senators • Urge Local Officials and Others to Contact Legislators • Gather Support from Local Organizations • Write Local Newspapers and Media Call and Write Members of Congress — s US. Capitol Switchboard. —(202) 2243121 • Your Senator's Name; U.S. Senate; Washington, D.C. 20510 • Your Rep.'s name; U.S. House of Reps.; Washington, D.C.20SIS FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION FRPA FIRST LAST LOCAL AREA OFFICE DISTRICT - ADDRESS CODE Sen. Bob Graham 241 Dirksen Senate 202 224 -3041 Office, Bldg. Sen. Connie Mack 902 Hart Senate 202 224 -8716 Office, Bldg. `7 ReP.yClaude.- - ---- PePPer 44 W.._ Flagl�e� ._:- ,....�...3�...��.53-5 >65 #300 Miami, FL 33130 7 Rep. Dante Fascell 7855 SW 104 Street 305 536-5301 #220 Miami, FL 33156 7 Rep. William Lehman 2020 NE 163 Street 305 945-7518 #107 N. Miami Beach, FL 33162 7;8 Rep. Larry Smith 4747 Hollywood Blvd. 305 987 -6484 Hollywood, FL 33021 FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION FRPA FIRST LAST CAPITAL AREA OFFICE DISTRICT - ADDRESS CODE Z""; y3c - -..� ,. � 'ay x Y y¢ca��,�•z2fC� tia �'� F:' 'J �. �� �,'3� �� - �:�' ,� fi'�'r". s , y >T � .. Sen. Bob Graham 241 Dirksen Senate 202 224 -3041 Office, Bldg. Sen. Connie Mack 902 Hart Senate 202 224 -8716 Office, Bldg. rude Pep.P.cr_..... _ 2239 Rayburn House 225-3931 Office, Bldg._ 7 Rep. Dante Fascell 2354 Rayburn House 202 225-4506 Office, Bldg. 7 Rep. William Lehman 2347 Rayburn House 202 225-4211 Office, Bldg. 7;8 Rep. Larry Smith 113 Cannon House 202 225-7931 Office, Bldg. Z""; y3c - -..� ,. � 'ay x Y y¢ca��,�•z2fC� tia �'� F:' 'J �. �� �,'3� �� - �:�' ,� fi'�'r". s , y >T � .. February 1989 SAVING AMERICA'S HERITAGE THE FUTURE OF THE CONSERVATION FUNDS: A PRIORITY FOR THE 101st CONGRESS A quarter century ago, growing concerns about the loss of America's natural and historic heritage, increasing rec- reation demand, rapid population change, and burgeoning urban development led Congress to create two of the na- tion's most far - sighted and successful programs: 1) The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was intended to provide a predictable and steady source of monies for critical acquisitions in national parks, fo- rests, recreation and wildlife areas, and matching grants to states and localities for recreation planning, acquisi- tion and development and protection of open space. 2) The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), created a few years later on the LWCF model, was to help states and communities identify, plan for, protect and restore unique historic resources. Reinvesting Our Natural Capital: Promise and Performance. One of the Funds' most innovative features was the idea of reinvesting some of the returns from liquidation of America's natural resources into long -term capital assets. The laws provide that most appropriations for the two Funds should come from receipts from Outer Continental Shelf oil and 'gas „leasing and from sales of surplus federal real estate. This process blends the best features of fiscal and natural resources stewardship, pining the investment principle of "never consuming capital" with the conserva- tion ethic of always returning to the land something of what we remove. The Land and Water Conservation Fund now automatically receives $900 mien a year in such revenues and the Historic Preservation Fund receives $150 million a year. Undercurrent law, however, these commitments are more a promise to present and future gen- erations than a working reality. Through the 1970s, there was firm, bipartisan support for that promise; appropriations varied from year to year, but the long -term commitment to appropriate funds at the authorized levels continued. Since 1980, that com- mitment has seriously deteriorated. LWCF appropria- tions have declined from an annual peak of $805 million to an average of less than $200 million a year (FY 1988- $170.5 million); funding for the eight most recent years totals less than 90 percent of the total for the three years, 1978-1980. Since 1983, HPF grant appropriations have averaged under $30 mullion a year (FY 1988 -$305 million) ; sub- stantial funding for physical restoration of historic sites has been available only once in this decade. As a result, authorized but unappropriated "credits" to LWCF and HPF have increased twenty -fold, from just over $300 mil- lion to almost $8 billion, and federal, state and local agencies that once planned -to reinvest the larger amounts now doubt that the promise will ever be fulfilled. ' We Recommend: ....The Land and Water Conservation Fund be succeeded by a dedicated trust -- providing a mini- mum of $1 billion a year - -to help pay for federal, state, and lo- cal land acquisition, and state and local facility development and rehabilitation. Congress should consider creating an en- dowed trust which, over time, would be self - sustaining.'... President's Commission on Americans Outdoors What Will the Legislation Do? The American Heritage Trust Act, now before the House and Senate, would create a new and better funding approach. It would not increase authorized funding lev- els. Rather, it would establish a self- perpetuating Trust that would ensure, over several years, a return to the original funding commitments. The AHT Act will • Create permanent Trust accounts for LWCF and HPF with principals that cannot be used for other purposes. • Require the Secretary of the Treasury to invest all authorized but unappropriated balances to date for the LWCF ($65 billion) and HPF ($1,5 billion) into interest - bearing public debt securities. The $900 million per year in revenues deposited annually into LWCF and the 5150 million into HPF would be invested in the same way. • Annual deposits and interest for both Funds would be available for appropriation in the following fiscal year. Any amounts not appropriated in a given year would au- tomatically become a permanent part of the interest - bearing Trust prnncppaL • Annual LWCF appropriations would be distributed as follows: 30 percent for state and local grants; 30 per - cent for Federal land acquisitions; 10 percent for special matching monies to serve as principal for states to estab- lish parallel heritage trusts; and 10 percent for the pur- poses of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act. The remaining 20 percent could be used for any of these four purposes. Ten percent of HPF appropriations would also be devoted to helping.establish state historic pres- ervation trusts. • To encourage volunteer contributions, five percent of each state's LWCF grants would have to be partially matched by private or non- profit donations. Qualified, private non - profit groups lice local land' trusts would also be eligible for grants under certain conditions. • A 75 percent match would be available from LWCF for state or local land acquisitions involving nationally recognized wild or scenic rivers,; trails or landmarks. • LWCF matching grants would be available for three years to help counties and other localities prepare land conservation and recreation plans. High priority land acquisitions identified in such plans could receive a 60 percent snatch for an eight -year period. • Federal land agencies would have to submit lists of priority lands for LWCF acquisition to Congress each year. States would submit yearly lists of grant proposals based on current state and local action lists and their likely annual 'shares of LWCF appropriations. K _ i J - x P - `y J • The growth of the Funds would be capped at 3.5 times (for L%%"CF) and five times (for HPF) the balances existing on the date of enactment of the American Heri- tage Trust. After that, the Funds would be self - sustaining. Appropriations would be from interest only. Interest would also be sufficient to allow yearly addi- tions to the Trust principal of amounts sufficient to offset the effects of inflation. How Can a Trust Fund be Justified? By any measure, the Fund programs have been enor- mously successful. Some accomplishments: • A county -by -county list of local, state and federal LWCF projects fills 466 pages! • These projects have helped to acquire 5.5 million acres of recreation and park lards, including seashores, lakeshores, critical habitats, scenic rivers and trails. • Fund grant programs have helped all states to estab- lish their own historic preservation and recreation plans, to identify and protect key natural, historic and archeological resources, and to expand state park, forest, wildlife refuge, river and trail systems. • LWCF grants have developed. 23,00 state and local park facilities to meet needs for dose -to -home recreation • HPF grants have helped protect historic and arche- ological resources and to restore over 6,OW historic sites. • The "federal side "of the LWCF financed expansion of the national parks from an almost exclusively western domain to a truly national system. It converted inhold'- ings mi eastern national forests to usable recreation areas and acquired critical endangered species habitat. 0 LWCF and HPF matching grants of: 50 percent prompted localities and states to double the federal in- vestment to a total of almost $7 billion. • Beyond these matching amounts, the example of fed- eral commitments encouraged more than half the states and thousands of communities to invest billions more in recreation, natural and historic resources. Are These Programs Still Necessary? If the problems that prompted the establishment of LWCF and HPF had been mostly solved, further commit- ments would be unnecessary. Unfortunately, those prob- lems have not gone away. Despite the substantial ac- complishments of the Funds, needs for capital investment in recreation, conservation and historic preservation are greater than ever. Loss of key natural and historic resources continues at an alarming pace. After some slowdowns in the early 198NI a new boom in urban and rural development is un- derway. 'It is consuming almost 500,000 acres of wetlands yearly, along with 750,000 acres of farm and forest. The Surgeon General calls for development of more pub- lic recreation facilities to promote fitness activities and reduce health costs that now equal 11 percent of our Gross National Product. Lists of lost historic and archeological resources grow longer each year. Older parks in many state_ s and communities have deteriorated landscapes and facilities that need major repair or replacement. We know what opportunities are lacking and what re- sources need protection. But the prices of land, facility development and restoration continue to rise. Lack of money is the major obstacle to doing what we know should be done. The National Park Service alone reports a cur- rent backlog of $2 billion in authorized land purchases within park boundaries. A recent survey projects state and local needs for park acquisition and development at $1.8 billion over the next three years. Ignoring these needs will not make them go away. Delaying action will mean the permanent loss of irreplaceable resources and in- creased costs in future. We must invest now in these appre- ciating capital assets. Who Supports The Heritage Trust Act? A large coalition of public interest organizations sup- ports the American Heritage Trust idea. The following groups urge enactment of this legislation in 1989: AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY AMERICAN HIKING SOCIETY AMERICAN RIVERS AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS _ APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB BICYCLE FEDERATION OF AMERICA COALITION FOR SCENIC BEAUTY COALITION FOR URBAN PARKS & RECREATION THE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY INSTITUTE FRIENDS OF THE EARTH THE GARDEN CLUB OF AMERM HUMAN ENVIRONMENT CENTER HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES THE IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA, INC. LAND CONSERVATION FUND OF AMERICA LAND TRUST EXCHANGE LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES NATIONAL ASSOC. OF SERVICE & CONSERVATION CORPS NATIONAL ASSOC. OF STATE FORESTERS NAT. ASSOC. OF STATE OUTDOOR REC. LIAISON OFFICERS NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY NATIONAL CONF. OF STATE HISTORIC PRES.' OFFICERS NATIONAL PARKS & CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION NATIONAL RECREATION & PARK ASSOCIATION NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE OOUNCL THE NATURE CONSERVANCY PRESERVATION ACTION RAILS -TO- TRAILS CONSERVANCY SIERRA CLUB SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY SPORT FISHING INSTITUTE TROUT UNLIMITED TRUST FOR THE FUTURE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LANDS UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS VIRGINIA TRAILS ASSOCIATION THE WALKWAYS CENTER THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY THE WILDLIFE SOCIETY WORLD WILDLIFE FUND 2/89