Miramar City Commission Workshop on Foreign Direct Investment Strategies - April 2, 2024
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Miramar City Commission Workshop Summary
The Miramar City Commission held a workshop on April 2, 2024, primarily focused on a presentation detailing a foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy for the city. The meeting also included updates on community health events, recognition of an Olympic athlete, COVID-19 vaccine information, and a personal testimonial from a hit-and-run survivor.
Announcements & Updates
- Health Screening Events: Staff announced free health screening events held on October 18, 21, 22, and 29 (2022?) at various locations, including Jesse Tries (teledentistry), UMC, and UHI Community Care Clinic. Services included dental, mental health, HIV/STI, flu, COVID, and monkeypox vaccines, blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol checks, and mammogram referrals for uninsured women aged 50-64. Incentives like free food and Amazon gift cards were noted.
- Utilities Department Update: Director Roy Verden reported on the conversion from automatic meter reading to advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) started in 2017, which improves remote communication and billing accuracy.
- Recognition of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce: The city honored Jamaican Olympic sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, recognizing her foundation supporting student athletes in Jamaica. Commissioners praised her community contributions.
COVID-19 Vaccine Information
- Diana Carolina Andrade (infectious disease pharmacist) and Dr. Rachel Garan (epidemiologist) addressed myths, emphasizing vaccine safety, efficacy, and importance even after infection. They stated that mRNA vaccines do not alter DNA and that side effects are temporary. Hospital data showed 94% of ICU patients unvaccinated.
- A board-certified OBGYN clarified that vaccines do not cause infertility and are safe during pregnancy, protecting both mother and child via placental antibody transfer.
Personal Testimony
- A woman shared her story of being struck by a hit-and-run driver while pregnant, resulting in the loss of her newborn son. Officer Gonzalez was commended for providing comfort and support to her surviving children.
Discussion Items: Foreign Direct Investment Strategy
- Presentation by Staff: The consultant, engaged to develop FDI strategies, identified three target sectors: software & IT, aviation, and financial services. These sectors were selected based on size, growth, track record in the Miramar region, and competitive advantages.
- Target Markets: Primary source countries for FDI were the UK, Germany, and France. Secondary markets included Switzerland, Canada, and the Netherlands. The consultant recommended face-to-face meetings, trade shows, and virtual lead generation as engagement strategies.
- Value Propositions: For aviation and IT, staff presented tailored messaging highlighting Miramar's strategic location, workforce talent, existing industry clusters, business environment, and quality of life. Specific data on aviation workforce (engineers, technicians) and IT ecosystem (companies, universities) were shown.
- Commissioner Comments:
- Commissioner Colbing asked about alignment with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance and state; staff noted that alignment is beneficial for consistent messaging and partnership in trade shows.
- Colbing also questioned workforce statistics and availability; staff agreed to provide detailed data.
- Commissioner (Vice Mayor Davis) requested that all three sectors be covered in future presentations, noting that only IT had a full value proposition. Staff acknowledged the need to develop materials for financial services.
- Commissioner Chambers emphasized leveraging Miramar's diversity and diasporas for opportunities outside the top 20 source countries, suggesting a flexible template for unique prospects like a Jamaican food franchise. Staff noted that such companies, while not fitting the top-tier criteria, still represent FDI opportunities.
- Commissioner (the mayor/president) concluded that the strategy positions the city strongly among competitors in South Florida and beyond.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken during the workshop. The presentation and discussion were informational.
- Staff will provide supplementary data on workforce and target country rankings requested by commissioners.
- Staff will develop additional marketing materials for the financial services sector and consider micro-targeting for niche FDI opportunities.
- The city will continue collaboration with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance and state economic development organizations.
Adjournment
The workshop adjourned at approximately 6:55 p.m., with a regular commission meeting scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Industry uh visit. So, for example, if you don't want to get out, Jesse Tries on Friday, October 21st, is offering it through teledentistry, or you can go in person and get a cleaning or an oral health screening. They will have a great setup for you for that. They are also doing mental health screenings. These are free, right? Absolutely free. They also, they're the only facility that's also doing HIV screenings and STAI screenings, prep screenings. So that their location is the only one doing that. Um, they are also doing flu shots, they are the only one and COVID vaccines and boosters. They also have the monkeypox vaccine. They're the only of the four sites doing the monkeypox vaccine if you're interested in that. And they're doing all of the you know, blood pressure, diabetes, uh, cholesterol checks, they're doing all of those screenings as well. Um, and if you fall between the ages of 50 to 64, if you're a woman between the ages of 50 to 64, and you want to male. This is specific. If you're between 50 and 64, a woman and uninsured. So this is a very specific category. You can get a referral for a mammogram, right? Um, so that's important. Yeah, so that's good. You can get a referral for it. That's specific 50 to 64 women uninsured. But now all the other things are for anybody, okay? For anybody who wants to do this. Then we have two more screening days that are Saturdays. Saturday, October 22nd, the last two Saturdays of the month, Saturday, October 29th. The 22nd is at UMC, Universal Medical Clinic. Now they're doing kind of your basic screenings, blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol check. Um, and they have free food. So let me put that out there. They're at the clinic that's saying we have free food that day, and they're doing it on Saturday, the 22nd from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. And then the last Saturday of the month, the 29th, is UHI Community Care Clinic from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They're also doing the basic screenings, diabetes, blood pressure, adult screenings. They also though have flu shots, so it's a good chance if you hadn't got your flu shot. And if you get your flu shot, and you're the first 30 people to get a flu shot there, you get a 25 Amazon gift card. Wow, that's October 29th. So you guys have covered all the bases, Dr. Grace. This is amazing. October 18th, 21st, 22nd, and 29th. Uh, we're gonna give the website where people can find all this information because truly all of it is free. That's the best part about it. Um if you cannot afford it, then this would be a great time to come in. And dental is amazing. I love the fact that mental health is included as well. Um, it's not just your blood pressure and your um diabetes, it is you you guys are doing the whole program. Hello, my name is Roy Verden. I'm the director for the utilities department. In 2017, conversion began from automatic meter read, which required field drive-by data collection and has the ability to be upgraded to newer technology known as advanced metering infrastructure or AMI.
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