The MiMo Business Improvement Committee is pushing for a special property tax in the MiMo District of Miami to fund improvements. They had previously gathered enough signatures from property owners to create a Business Improvement District but many of the affidavits were improperly filed. The City Commission has now granted them a second chance to gather signatures by September 30th. If approved, the tax would range from $79 to $5,500 per property annually for three years. The funds would go toward security, advertising, and other efforts to improve the economic and aesthetic character of the area.

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THE MIAMI HERALD | MiamiHerald.com NC THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2011 | 3NC
While the new Miami-
Dade mayor and the gover-
nor have promised to cut
taxes, some Upper East Side
residents are lining up to
willingly pay more.
Thanks to support from
the Miami City Commis-
sion, neighborhood activists
and property owners in the
MiMo District have been
granted a second chance to
gather signatures for the
creation of a property tax
that would allow them to
improve the area and com-
pete against better-known
tourist destinations.
“These are taxes to create
a pot of money that can only
be spent on the Boulevard,”
said Scott Timm, executive
director of the MiMo Busi-
nessImprovementCommit-
tee, a nonprofit association.
On June 23, the City Com-
mission annulled the cre-
ation of the Business Im-
provement District because,
although the Business Im-
provement Committee had
gathered enough signatures,
most of the affidavits had
not been properly filed.
But during that same
meeting, the commission
approved another petition
drive.
“We are in the process
right now of going back to
all the people that support-
ed it,” Timm said. “And we’ll
be happy to talk to people
who didn’t support and help
them sort of see what bene-
fits the Business Improve-
ment District could bring.”
A total of 73 property
owners compose the strip in
the historic district, which
runs along Biscayne Boule-
vard from 63rd to 76th
Street. Out of those, 39
signed the affidavits, but on-
ly five did it correctly, ac-
cording to documents from
the office of the city clerk.
Most properties owned
by corporations signed the
affidavit as if the company
itself owned the lot, but the
document mandated for a
specific representative of
the corporation to sign the
petition. The five valid affi-
davits came up short of the
38 needed for the petition to
pass.
If the Business Improve-
ment Committee gets
enough supporters by
Sept. 30 — the new deadline
for affidavit submissions —
property owners in the Mi-
Mo District would pay three
years of extra taxes, ranging
from $79 to $5,500 for the
first year, depending on the
property’s size, use and
income.
The MiMo Business Im-
provement Committee’s
websitehasachartoutlining
exactly what each property
owner would have to pay
each year, for a three-year
period.
The funds would then be
managed by an 11-member
board of directors drawn
from property owners and
business owners.
Some areas where the
money would be allocated
include security and adver-
tising to try to erase the im-
age of prostitution and
crimethathascharacterized
the area in the past, accord-
ing to Timm.
“The perception is that
the neighborhood is a little
dangerous, especially at
night. We would like to en-
courage people to come and
have dinner there and walk
around and shop,” Timm
said. “And by hiring private
security, uniformed, that
cansortofpatrolthearea,so
the people see ‘alright, it’s
not a lawless area, it’s a safe
and secure area where we
can park, walk around and
enjoy it.’ ”
In 2009, the Institute for
Community and Economic
Development at Barry Uni-
versity conducted a survey
of 342 people in Miami-
Dade and Broward counties
for their thoughts on the Mi-
Mo District.
The survey asked that
Business group pushing for special tax
MIMO DISTRICT
■ A group of MiMo busi-
ness owners want to tax
themselves to improve
their stretch of
Biscayne Boulevard.
BY SERGIO N. CANDIDO
Open Media Miami
ARCHITECTURAL AESTHETIC:
The recently renovated
Motel New Yorker, 6500
Biscayne Blvd., is an
example of Miami
Modern Architecture.
WALTER MICHOT/MIAMI HERALD FILE, 2010
•TURN TO IMPROVEMENT, 9NC
About
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Fewer than 20 percent of
NASA workers are African-
American, but a science ed-
ucator is hoping her new
math and science program
that teaches kids to build
pyramids from mathemati-
cal equations and gumdrops
will change that.
GlendaMoton,thefound-
er of Science with a Twist
(SWAT), started the initia-
tive in 2008. She is recruit-
ing top scientists from NA-
SA and forensic experts to
show the kids how math and
science can be cool. Think
CSI Miami mixed in with
The Magic School Bus.
“There is a strong need
for a program like SWAT in
the black community be-
cause students from eco-
nomicallychallengedneigh-
borhoods often lack expo-
sure,” said Moton, a former
science teacher at Linda
Lentin K-8 Center, now a
curriculum support special-
ist at Golden Glades Ele-
mentary in Miami Gardens.
Moton holds annual
workshops that pair stu-
dents with scientific profes-
sionals. This year’s work-
shop included NASA’s Fluid
and Propulsion Division
Chief Henry Bursian, who
showedthekidshowenergy
is used in a rocket .
“I’m trying to stimulate
kids to pursue careers in
math and science by teach-
ing them the principles of
engineering,” said Bursian,
whohasamaster’sdegreein
engineering from the Uni-
versity of Puerto Rico.
MIAMI GARDENS
Educator is making
science a blast for kids
■ A new program is aimed at teaching black kids
they can grow up to be astronauts or any other
professional who uses math and science.
BY LATOYA BURGESS
lburgess@MiamiHerald.com
•TURN TO SCIENCE, 12NC
HANDS-ON LEARNING: At the sweet observation station, Delsy Anderson helps
Allen Florence balance out his scale during SWAT Night at Golden Glades
Elementary School in Miami Gardens.
CHRIS CUTRO/FOR THE MIAMI HERALD