KEEP NORTH MIAMI BEAUTIFUL OVERVIEW

Recent research indicates there exists a direct link between litter and illegal dumping and higher crime, lower property values and overall neighborhood decline. Beautification and litter prevention projects, therefore, provide substantial opportunities to involve citizens in improving their neighborhoods and communities.

Like many major metropolitan area municipalities, the City of North Miami is looking for innovative ways to link litter prevention and beautification to community improvement. Furthermore, given grassroots mechanisms already in existence, many citizens and property owners regularly demonstrate their commitment to improve their neighborhoods.

Therefore, the City has sought to expand litter prevention and neighborhood stabilization activities beyond a single annual event by involving the community on year-round basis programs. Beautification and clean-up projects may be implemented in targeted areas to involve neighborhood associations, schools, business and social service organizations to enhance the environment as well as the local economy. In addition, litter prevention and beautification projects may be used to link residents and property owners to their immediate communities.

Mission Statement
The mission of the City of North Miami Keep North Miami Beautiful program is to empower North Miamians through education, community outreach and participation to take responsibility for enhancing their community and environment.

Guidelines

1. Instilling individual ownership and responsibility towards the enhancement of community environments
2. Educating the general public as the basis for responsible individual behavior
Creating effective partnerships including representation from the public, private and civic sectors.

In addition, Keep North Miami Beautiful has identified three major areas of focus, namely:

1. Litter prevention
2. Beautification and community improvement
3. Reduction of the impact of waste in the City of North Miami.

As a result of this stronger focus, the support from the Florida Department of Transportation, and the visibility and organizational support provided by Keep America Beautiful, Keep North Miami Beautiful will address more efficiently identified programs, and maintain a sustained year-round presence.

Governing Body
• Steering Committee
• Chair: Miguel Seco
• Program Director: Miguel A. Seco
• Members at large:
• City of North Miami
• Public Works Department
• Parks and Recreation Department
• Community Planning and Development Department,
• Code Enforcement Division
• Police Department
• City Council
• Community Organizations
• Sunkist Grove Homeowners Association
• Central Homeowners Association
• North Miami Senior Citizens Foundation
• Jewish Community Services
• ASPIRA
• Holy Cross Lutheran
• Lively Stones Ministries
• Vision to Victory
• Elementary, middle and high schools <
• Miami-Dade Community College
• Business Representatives
• B.F.I.
• Greater North Miami Chamber of Commerce
• North Miami Business Association

Standing Committees

Litter survey, tracking litter accumulation and solid waste disposal management towards an annual report.

Education, coordinating dissemination of litter prevention and solid waste management information as appropriate throughout the City.

Community Outreach, identifying, soliciting and enrolling new constituencies in litter prevention and community beautification projects.

Development, identifying possible resources of in-kind donations and/or additional financial support.

Project Planning, evaluating past, current and future projects and programs.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

Great Florida Clean Up
One week of litter prevention and solid waste management activities including commercial district, residential neighborhood and shoreline litter cleanups; public relations and marketing campaigns; distribution at regularly scheduled events of Keep America Beautiful support materials. Volunteers are dispatched to ten cleanup sites including major thoroughfares, alleys, public rights-of-way, schools and park grounds. In addition, Keep North Miami Beautiful coordinates an annual KNMB poster contest open to elementary school students, a KNMB slogan contest open to high school students.

Paint-It-Proud
This program is implemented in collaboration with major social services organizations, the City of North Miami Community and Economic Development and Police Departments. City departments identify dilapidated or “in need” properties. These properties are sponsored by rotating social service organizations which conduct cleanup and beautification activities.

Participants who work at least twenty hours are eligible to earn a police-recovered bicycle.

Arch Creek Restoration Project
The most ambitious program for 2001-2002 will comprise the formative stages in the restoration of this historic body of water. Arch Creek traverses the north quarter of the City of North Miami, running through a major City park, bordering commercial and residential areas, one major educational institution, spanning several small bridges, and becoming a substantial tributary to Biscayne Bay.

The City has taken aggressive corrective measures, with the support of the Florida State Department of Community Affairs and the South Florida Water Management District, to correct and improve the City’s infrastructure (stormwater, sewer and sewer lining systems) which most affect Arch Creek in an effort to prevent both residential flooding and overflows into the creek.

The Keep North Miami Beautiful Arch Creek Restoration Project will focus on the general surface environment of the Creek including embankments, walkways, retaining walls and easements in both public and private areas. The project will also focus on the removal of litter and debris from the waterway itself.

Community Outreach/Public Education
The City will coordinate educational campaigns on electronic and printed media and distribute informational brochures to make residents aware of issues including, but not limited to, recycling, litter prevention, community cleanups, marine litter prevention. The City will also distribute activity/coloring books to elementary students to promote litter prevention practices in our youth populations.

  JOIN. WORK. UNITE.

Keep North Miami Beautiful 2006
Celebrating National Public Lands Day

On September 1, 2006, 350 freshman students from Johnson and Wales University's North Miami campus were scattered throughout the City on a mission to clean up and beautify their hometown. "They literally move in on Thursday and on Friday we give them their first lesson in community service," explained Marshall Freeman, Student Activities Director at J&WU.

The project is done in partnership with the City of North Miami's Parks and Recreation Department and the City's Keep North Miami Beautiful program. Students picked up litter and debris along sidewalks, alleyways and in parks, painted a house, cleaned windows in the business corridor, planted new plants at parks. Special thanks to all of the North Miami businesses who assited with this year's project.

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