Dear Broward County Residents,
I am honored to serve as your County Commissioner, representing our coastal communities from Deerfield Beach to Fort Lauderdale and all the beautiful cities, towns and villages in between. Here are some recent highlights from around Broward County:

Convention Center Expansion and Headquarters Hotel Update

The Board of County Commissioners recently took another major step toward moving forward with the Broward County Convention Center Expansion and Headquarters Hotel project. At the August 14th County Commission meeting, the Direct Procurement Authority, composed of the Board of County Commissioners, approved an update on the design of the project. The updated design includes three key components: exhibition space, ballroom space and meeting space. With this update, 150,000 sq. ft of exhibit space will be added that will bring the total exhibit space to 350,000 sq. ft. The new update also adds a 67,000 sq. ft ballroom, bringing the total ballroom space to 119,661 sq. ft. And, the addition of 50,000 sq. ft of meeting space increases the total meeting space to 85,000 sq. ft. The updated design provides for the perfect balance between exhibit, meeting and ballroom space which will enhance the Convention Center’s ability to attract more business that will provide a boost to our local economy.

FLL Continues to Show Growth

Broward County’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) continues to show strong growth as we maintain our lead as one of the fastest-growing airports in the United States. June passenger traffic was up by 12.5 percent from the previous year. Domestic traffic was up 8.7 percent and international traffic was up 26.3 percent. FLL is on track to reach 36 million total passengers by the end of the year. July traffic was up 7.6 percent, to 3.16 million. Nine out of FLL’s top 10 Carriers experienced year-to-date growth. Additionally, Airports Council International ranked FLL first in growth for the year ending June 2018, 9th in total international traffic and 18th in total passenger traffic.

FLL is also seeing several new services and new markets. In June, JetBlue added new service to Santiago, Dominican Republic and announced service to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands in October, and seasonal service to Steamboat Springs, Colorado in December. In July, Southwest started new service to San Antonio, Texas. Spirit announced new service to Asheville and Greensboro, North Carolina in September. Allegiant announced new service to Flint, Michigan starting in October. Two new international destinations for FLL have also been added, Norwegian announced new service to Madrid, Spain and Rome, Italy. Additionally, Canada’s ultra-low-cost carrier Swoop will begin seasonal service to Hamilton, Ontario in October. For more information, please visit Broward.org/airport.

Broward’s Port Everglades Receives Security Grant Funding

In June, Celebrity Cruises released renderings of Port Everglades Cruise Terminal 25. This $120 million-plus renovation is progressing toward a substantial completion in late October. The new facility will open in November for the inaugural sailing of the Celebrity Edge.

In other Port related news, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced the FY 2018 Port Security Grant Program awards and Broward County’s Port Everglades will receive more than $2.25 million in U.S. port security grants. These funds will be used to advance firefighting capabilities and enhance the seaport’s security infrastructure. For more information, please visit PortEverglades.net.

King Tides

Low lying areas in Broward County are extremely vulnerable to higher than average tides this time of year. Flooding in low-lying areas is more likely with the close proximity of the moon. Higher than average tides called King Tides, rising sea levels, and inclement weather conditions combine to intensify flooding risks. These often occur during the fall (August-November) with the peak usually occurring, the King Tide (Highest tide of year), in October.

Broward County is calling all citizen scientists interested in helping document tidal flooding in our community. If you or a group want to "adopt" a site to monitor and report, please email Resilience@Broward.org. For additional information please visit Broward.org/Waterresources.

Animal Care Breaks Record

Broward County’s Animal Care and Adoption Center hosted a Clear the Shelter event on August 18th. The fourth annual event helped set a new record for our Animal Care and Adoption Center, with more than 100 adoptions on that day and more than 1,000 residents visiting the shelter! Congratulations to the Animal Care and Adoption Center staff for getting us closer to our “no-kill” goal!

The Resident's Guide to Government​ provides a convenient resource to help people stay connected to their local government. It includes contact information for County officials and Federal, State and local agencies. Visitors can subscribe to eNews and social media sites. Please sign up at Broward.org/District4​ to receive email updates from our office. If there is anything that we can do to assist you with your vision for a better Broward, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 954-357-7004 or by email at clamarca@broward.org.

As always, it is my honor and privilege to serve you.

Best regards,

County Commissioner
District 4​​​​​​​​​​​