Miami Gardens plans to launch online streaming radio station

Miami Gardens residents will soon have another way to find out about city events, hear from elected officials and listen to music through an online streaming radio station.

Plans for the station, called GRIO Radio, received city council approval at Wednesday’s meeting and the city hopes it will launch some time in April.

The item was sponsored by Councilman Erhabor Ighodaro, who said he wanted another way to get information to residents beyond e-mail and the city’s community newspaper.

“This is another layer to get information out to the public and information is power,” Ighodaro said. “A lot of people are in the dark about what happens in this city.”

One major hitch: The city plans to partner with streaming service Live365, which has had severe financial troubles and reportedly will shut down at the end of the month.

City Manager Cameron Benson said he became aware of the company’s problems on Thursday and said the city will have to adjust its plans and perhaps present the item again.

“We’re going to look at everything and we may have to reevaluate what we intended,” Benson said.

Staff estimated initial equipment costs of about $2,700 which would come from the general fund. A monthly service charge of $110 would come from the city’s events and media budget.

Vice Mayor Felicia Robinson voted in favor of the item but expressed some concerns about how the station will be staffed. The city currently plans to have their events and media staff work on the station, but Robinson worried that they might be overwhelmed given their normal work load in promoting and planning city events.

“It’s so much stuff going on now we’re adding something else and they only can do but so much,” Robinson said.

OTHER BUSINESS

▪ Thelma Harris Way: The city council voted to support co-designating a portion of Northwest 175th Street, from Northwest 27th to 37th avenues, in honor of Officer Thelma Harris.

Harris was the first female black police officer in Florida and served for decades with the Miami-Dade Police Department. She died last July and was a loyal member of Mount Hermon A.M.E. Church, at 17800 NW 25th Ave., which is near the street that will be renamed.

▪ Bids for bond programs: Council members awarded bids to companies that will work on their real time crime center and improvements at Bunche Pool. Both projects will be paid for through the city’s $60 million general obligation bond funds.

A bid was awarded to Cinemassive Displays for a video wall and processor at the crime center, which will be housed at the city’s new police headquarters, 18611 NW 27th Ave. The work will cost about $549,000.

The improvements at Bunche Pool will be the second phase of work and will be handled by Recreational Design & Construction at a cost of about $2.5 million. The entire renovation will cost about $4.3 million.

THE NEXT MEETING

When: 7 p.m. Feb. 10.

Where: Miami Gardens City Hall, 18605 NW 27th Ave., Miami Gardens.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Miami Gardens plans to launch online streaming radio station."