By Mayor Norman S. Edelcup

Dear Residents and Business Owners:

The Florida League of Cities, which represents more than 400 cities in the State of Florida, has nominated the City of Sunny Isles Beach in the “City of Excellence” category and me in the “Mayor of the Year” category as finalists in the 2008 Cities of Excellence Awards Program. There are six finalists in each category and all will be honored at an awards luncheon in Orlando on November 21, 2008.

The above honors are a tribute to my fellow Commissioners, City Staff and residents, who together with me have worked tirelessly to make our City one of the best communities in Florida in which to live. The support we have received from you, our residents, has made this all possible. The investment made in our city by the residential and commercial developers has made us one of the most financially sound municipalities in all of Florida and has brought full time and part time residents to our city from all over the world.

This month marks the fifth anniversary of the death of our founding Mayor, David Samson and also my fifth anniversary as your current Mayor. I am sure that if Mayor Samson was alive today, he would be as proud and excited as I am about the progress we have made during these past five years. In addition to the creation of three new parks: Bella Vista Bay, Town Center and Pelican Community Park, we can look to our crowning achievement, the opening this past August of our Sunny Isles Beach K-8 Community School. This new school has given new life to our city and has attracted young families with children to make Sunny Isles Beach their new home.

The next few years will continue to offer great opportunities to improve our city further with the development of Heritage Park, the restoration of the Sunny Isles Beach-Newport Pier and the redevelopment of Sunny Isles Boulevard. Additionally, the City has entered into a private/public partnership to construct a new building next to city hall which will house a car museum, a banquet-convention hall, medical offices and general office space. Also, upon the advice of our city planning consultant, we have initiated plans to build parks in the southern part of our city. The beautification and landscaping project on Sunny Isles Blvd., the Gateway to our city, is part of a plan to beautify the southwestern end of the city.

We have accomplished much in our city’s short history and yet, much remains to be done to continue the progress we have made to date. Working together as a team-residents, developers, and government officials-we will achieve many more milestones in making Sunny Isles Beach, Florida’s Riviera, the greatest community in Florida in which to live and enjoy with our friends and families. Thank you all for giving me this opportunity to serve as your Mayor.