March - May 2021 a Message from Mayor Josh Levy
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New Horizons A Quarterly Newsletter for City of Hollywood Residents News from your Mayor and Commissioners Parks & Recreation Program & Events Guide March - May 2021 www.hollywoodfl.org A Message from Mayor Josh Levy Fellow Hollywood Residents, I hope this Spring of 2021 edition of New Horizons finds you and your families in good health. It has now been a year with all of us having to modify our way of life in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As mayor, I appreciate everyone’s efforts in continuing to wear masks and social distance when you are around others outside of your household. With the vaccines beginning to be administered, there finally appears to be “light at the end of the tunnel.” The vaccines are being administered in the order of priority established by the CDC and the State of Florida. People 65 and over and people with chronic health issues are at the highest risk of severe illness caused by COVID-19 and were therefore placed at the top of the list. Many people outside of these priority groups are eager to be eligible for vaccinations as well, and the faster the supply of the vaccine increases, the faster the State of Florida and the federal government will expand the vaccine opportunity to additional age and risk groups. To provide some perspective, in Broward County as of the 3rd week in February, the Florida Department of Health reported administering both doses of the vaccine to about 135,000 people. With two million people in our county, 17.1% (342,000) of whom are age 65 and over, we have a long way to go in order to make the vaccine opportunity available to everyone. Besides the Florida Department of Health, the Florida Division of Emergency Management is also setting up vaccine sites, and we are thankful that they organized a vaccine effort that was hosted at the Carriage Hills condominium in January and February, where 3,000 seniors were very thankful to be able to get vaccinated here in Hollywood. Additional sites will open in Hollywood as the vaccine supply increases. To request an appointment for a vaccine with the Florida Department of Health, you can register online at www.myvaccine.fl.gov or by calling 866.201.6313 (TTY 833.476.1526). Hospitals and local pharmacies are also part of the growing effort, so please look out for more information in the media and in city and county email and social media communications. As always, a lot is being worked on to ensure Hollywood is a “healthy” City - financially, residentially, commercially, recreationally and environmentally. We’ve achieved an over 200 million dollar reduction in the City’s post-employment healthcare liability. Our bond ratings are AA with a stable outlook despite COVID. We’ve improved the City’s vacation rental ordinance to better protect neighborhoods from noise and other disruptions. The results of the first phase of the City-wide traffic calming study will hopefully be presented to the City Commission in April. Alley and street resurfacing projects are underway with more to come. Drainage and flooding solutions are being evaluated as part of a new Stormwater Master Planning process. New playgrounds are being installed in many City parks and much more. If you would like to receive more regular and detailed email updates on City issues, work plans, events, and opportunities, please visit www.hollywoodfl.org/notifyme to register to receive the City’s great email communications. We will continue to help our community recover from COVID, and by working together, we will continue to prosper. With warm regards, Josh Levy, Mayor ON THE COVER Contents The City has installed News from your City Commissioners & District Map two new bucket stations on 03-06 Hollywood Beach for all to use Parks & Recreation Information to keep Hollywood Beach clean. 15-18 They can be found on the north side of the bandshell at Margaritaville, 20 Public Safety News and adjacent to Charnow Park. Grab New Horizons is a quarterly newsletter for residents of the City of Hollywood a bucket and collect litter while on your walk. After produced by the Office of Communications, Marketing & Economic Development. properly disposing of the collected debris, simply This publication is available on the City’s website at www.hollywoodfl.org/390/ return the bucket to the station for others to use. Log New-Horizons. If you require this publication in an alternate format, please call what you collect using the Marine Debris Tracker 954.921.3620. mobile app. Be sure to snap a photo of your efforts and share on social media using Raelin Storey, Director, Communications, Marketing & Economic Development the hashtags #SeenBeingGreen and Joann Hussey, Communications Manager • Kris Rebar, Public Relations & Graphic Designer #HollywoodFL. 2 Linda D’Arpino-Vazquez, Administrative Assistant II Hollywood Commission District Map Ft. Lauderdale 595 District 1 441 Commissioner Port Everglades Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood Caryl Shuham International Airport Griffin Rd 1 District 2 Griffin Rd Commissioner Griffin Rd Linda Hill Anderson University Dr Davie 95 Dania Beach Blvd A1A District 3 Stirling Rd Stirling Rd Stirling Rd Commissioner xt Av Traci Callari E Dania d R ie Federal Hwy av D N 56th N Ocean Drive District 4 Sheridan St Sheridan St Sheridan St Commissioner e e 441 N Park Rd e Adam Gruber Av Taft St. Av ik urnp District 5 aT Dixie Hwy N 24th Johnson St. N 26th id or A1A Commissioner Fl University Dr Presidential City Hall Young Hollywood Blvd Kevin Biederman Pines Blvd Hollywood Blvd Circle Circle Circle d R Av District 6 Pembroke Pines k 95 r a P 1 Vice Mayor S S 56th Pembroke Rd Pembroke Rd Linda Sherwood Pembroke Park Hallandale S Ocean Drive To contact your Mayor or Commissioners, call 954.921.3321 News from District 6 The Long Process Vice Mayor Linda Sherwood Recently we have had questions about the General a commission agenda. We Commissioners then go over Obligation Projects that are in the process of getting each page of the approved qualifications, consider the built. These processes, even being a City project, take staff recommendation, and vote on which company a very long time. Some asked if the City Commission should be number 1, 2 or 3. Number 1 will then enter decides who is awarded the project. The first premise into contract negotiations. So in essence, YES, the everyone needs to understand is that once a project Commission chooses the qualified design firm. solicitation is announced, a Cone of Silence begins. That means that no one, who has applied for any portion of It’s the same process for selecting the construction the project, can contact a Commissioner. What does firm that will manage the construction of the project. any portion mean? It means whether a company Following all of this, City projects still follow the applied for the architectural portion or construction entitlement and permitting processes, just like every portion that company cannot lobby us in any form; other builder or developer going through the technical not by email, not by text, not by phone, not in person. advisory committee, resident meetings, planning and Once a request for proposals (RFP) or qualifications development board, and then building permits and (RFQ) goes out and different expert companies in the inspections. I hope this answers why these projects requested field respond, the replies are evaluated by take so long to complete and how the City Commission city staff qualified in that field. For example, we do becomes a part of the process. Once a building is not have City Commissioners qualified in the field of complete, we, like a pregnant mother, are so happy architecture, but we do have qualified staff in that field. because it is so beautiful we totally forget how painfully A Staff Committee goes over all the proposals, narrows long it might have seemed at the time. them down and each company is invited to provide an oral presentation. From those presentations, with Please contact me any time with your questions or a point system, the committee ranks the top 3. Those concerns by email at [email protected]. 3 companies with all their qualifications are placed on 3 News from District 1 A Great Start Commissioner Caryl Shuham The Commission is off to a great start to 2021 recently The City is on the brink of an explosion of new and passing a revised short-term vacation rental ordinance exciting projects around the ArtsPark at Young Circle. giving the City a few more tools to regulate these In November, we approved a development agreement properties. As of April 1, 2021, the ordinance will apply for the former Bread Building site. The same developer citywide. Occupancy is now restricted to no more than 2 also purchased the former Publix Plaza and is working per bedroom and parking is limited to legal parking spaces with staff to finally realize the City’s long-held vision for on the property and directly in front of the property. All dividing this property and allowing Hollywood Boulevard vacation rentals are now required to have decibel readers to directly connect to Young Circle. On Hollywood Beach, to notify tenants and managers if allowable noise levels are four developers recently presented their project ideas for exceeded. Sincere thanks to City staff and all of you who the redevelopment of the Hollywood Beach Culture & took the time to write letters in support of these changes. and Community Center on South Ocean Drive. All of the proposals were magnificent and included great ideas for On the beach, the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Segment a new community center and other amenities along with II and Segment III Shore Protection Projects (beach residential and commercial components.