By Dessalines Ferdinand
Traditionally, the annual City of Miramar State of the City Address was reserved for a small group of guests, especially local elected officials, community leaders, business owners and potential investors. Since Mr. Wayne M. Messam took the mayoral seat for the first time in 2015, this annual event has become longer and more inclusive. Residents and anyone interested in learning about the city have been welcome.
This was the initiative of the mayor to do things differently. He wants the community to be involved and aware of how the city is doing moving forward.
Besides the opportunity for the attendees to learn of the city’s efforts, initiatives, and accomplishments made over the most recent year and what to expect in the future, the SOTC is also an opportunity to discover a successful business in this southern Broward County’s city and honor that business. This year the event was held at Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (UTI), located at 2601 SW 145th Street, a private for-profit system of technical colleges, which offers specialized technical education programs.
The 2023 State of the City Address delivered by Mayor Wayne Messam on Thursday, October 26 was a resounding success. Mayor Messam’s theme for this year’s address was, “2023 Accomplishments.” It was a powerful reminder that the community has experienced great challenges during the past months, but because Miramar’s government’s greatest strength is its employees who have always worked hard to bring results, the city will continue to rise up to these challenges together.
Mayor Messam was visibly delighted to be on stage delivering the annual address in front of a large audience on Thursday. The audience included city officials, elected officials’ guests from surrounding cities, members of the Miramar Chamber of Commerce, and members of the public.
This year’s event was emceed by Hot 105 radio personalities Big Lip Alex Chisholm and Shelby Rushin. The duo took time to acknowledge all the City of Miramar elected officials in attendance, as well as some visiting officials, including Haitian-American Marie Paule Woodson, a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 105th District.
Among the city’s elected officials and high-ranking employees were: Vice Mayor Yvette Colbourne, Commissioner Maxwell B. Chambers and Commissioner Alexandra P. Davis, Dr. Roy Virgin (City Manager), Kelvin L. Baker, Sr. (Deputy City Manager, Community and Development Services), Adam L. Burden, II (Assistant City Manager – Public Safety and Emergency Management), Shaun D. Gayle (Assistant City Manager – Development and Financial Services), Stephen Johnson (Assistant City Manager – Operational and Infrastructure Services), Kassandra Carvalho-Lindsay (Chief of Staff).
Some members of the police force commandment were also in attendance, including Chief Delrish L. Moss, Willie Jr. Jones (Executive Officer to the Chief), Haitian-American Major Florinet Derac, and Haitian-American Duvard Francois (Supervisor at the Code Compliance Police Department).
Other well-known Haitian-American personalities in the attendance included Marie Lucie Tondreau, a former mayor of North Miami and assistant to Miramar’s Vice Mayor Yvette Colbourne, and Naomi Esther Blemur who is eyeing the mayoral seat of the City of North Miami in the upcoming 2024 election.
The Event
The Presentation of Colors was carried out by a peloton of five police officers from the Miramar Police Department. They were followed by the audience reciting the Pledge of Allegiance while three Miramar police officers stood at attention, saluting and holding the city, state, and American flags.
Shaun D. Gayle, Assistant City Manager and City Spokesperson, was then called to sing the American National Anthem. Two religious leaders were invited to deliver the invocation for the evening.
Robert Benfield, President of Universal Technical Institute’s Miramar Campus also addressed the audience, extending a warm welcome to the guests.
In prerecorded videos, Vice-Mayor Colbourne and the three other commissioners (Barnes, Chambers, and Davis) shared their personal initiatives for moving the city forward and making it a better place to live and do business.
At 8:16 PM, the mayor took the stage. During his 60-minute address, the city’s chief executive focused on three key areas: Economic Development, Quality of Life for Residents, and the Business Climate.
“Hello, Miramar,” Mr. Messam said. “I am here to present the state of the city on behalf of my colleagues in the city commission. We do this together. I am honored to represent this city as the mayor, and I work alongside my colleagues and the administration to ensure that the City of Miramar fulfills its duty to provide you with the quality community you have invested in, as well as support the businesses you have invested in. Our city’s true champions are the dedicated city employees. We can’t take for granted what we have here in the city. What you will hear tonight, which will leave you excited, are the results of the hard work of our city employees. Staff members from various departments are implementing smart city solutions for the benefit of the residents and the community. Please join me in giving them a round of applause.”
The attendees learned about some of the city’s most recent statistics. Young professionals (aged 35-49) make up 20.8% of the population, youth under 18 account for 24.4%, and seniors represent 15.8%. With a median household income of $81,000, families living in Miramar are doing well, especially with an unemployment rate of 2.9% in Fiscal year 2023, which is lower than the state of Florida’s rate of 3.5%.
As the 14th largest city in Florida, Miramar has a total of 43,540 households, with a 12.43% increase in property values. In 2023, the city processed 8,667 permits, with a construction value of $307 million, and conducted 35,000 inspections. The 5,308 businesses in the city have provided employment for over 41,000 people. Mayor Messam emphasized, “You live here, you work here. We’re providing great resources for our youth and seniors, but we can do more, and they want more.”
Seventeen years ago, the city’s population was 90,000. The 2020 census results showed a population of 135,000, indicating rapid growth. With a median age of 34, the city has a significant number of young families. It is believed that today’s population could be closer to 150,000 people.
Located approximately 30 minutes from both Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports, the City of Miramar offers a business-friendly environment and a central location for many companies. It is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other city in South Florida, including Miami.
The city has reinvested $191 million in infrastructure projects called “Historic Miramar” with property tax revenues. These projects include the East Water Treatment Plant, Reuse Water Distribution Expansion, Canal Embankment Restoration, and Streetscape Improvement.
Mayor Wayne Messam expressed his excitement about the city receiving two global awards recognizing its innovation and smart city concepts. He commended the hardworking city staff for implementing these solutions for the benefit of the residents and community.
According to the speaker, the City of Miramar boasts two of the world’s best track fields at the Ansin Sports Complex, where both amateurs and professionals can enjoy their favorite sports. “This makes Miramar stand out,” said Mr. Messam.
Among the City’s 2023 accomplishments are: Revenues surpassing the historical average for the seventh consecutive year in Building Planning & Zoning, approval of a 5-year Capital Improvement Plan by the city commission, a successful launch of the Relay for Life Fundraiser by the office of the City Manager, raising over $42,000 for the American Cancer Society, completion of 16 housing rehabilitation projects by the Economic Development & Housing Department, and the Human Resources department providing a monthly webinar series to promote employee development of computing skills.
Challenges
Not everything appears rosy in the city, though, as it faces a significant challenge: affordable housing. The mayor pointed out that due to a considerable increase in property values, it has become more challenging for young people who left the city years ago to attend college to return and establish their families here, primarily because of the high property costs, both for rentals and ownership.
The city government has partnered with six developers to construct affordable housing units. “I must tell you that the city commission ensures that developers who wish to do business in Miramar must include a percentage of affordable housing in their building projects. We aim to provide high-quality affordable housing suitable for all stages of life, promoting the ability to age in place,” Messam told the audience, who applauded him for this initiative.
The installation of Wi-Fi in all city parks is on the horizon. The city is also planning to offer residents more citywide entertainment options in the near future.
The guests also learned that the commission has recently opposed an initiative by Miami-Dade County to establish a solid waste disposal site located eight miles from the southern border of the city.
Imagine Miramar
Concluding his address, the Mayor, through a video presentation, envisioned what Miramar could look like in the next 10 to 15 years, with a range of mixed developments including 2,000 additional units on State Road/441, hotels, and entertainment venues.
“Yes, we can make it happen if we continue to work side by side,” Messam said. “This is a different city than it was fifteen years ago. I won’t be the mayor here fifteen years from now. However, fifteen years from now, each of us will look back and say that we made the tough decisions together with our residents, the corporate community, and our city’s staff to bring this vision to life.”
“As I leave you tonight with the 2023 State of the City, I have no doubt that we can become the city we all dream of having, and we owe it to generations yet born to ensure that they have a community that will be their forever home,” concluded the first citizen of the great city of Miramar.
Photo facebook.com/cityofmiramar
