A3 Foundation: audit undated after 8 months in Tropical Park

A3 Foundation: audit undated after 8 months in Tropical Park. A3 Foundation, Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade and Loud and Live

News Miami Dade – Research

A nonprofit foundation created in 2023, with no full-time employees or standard internal controls per its federal Form 990, was inserted as a beneficiary of annual payments of $250,000 to $300,000 within a 20- to 30-year public contract for up to $40 million to operate the Tropical Park Equestrian Center Complex. 8 months and 27 days after the vote, the audit ordered by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has no public timeline and the State Attorney’s Office is conducting an active criminal investigation.

8 months and 27 days after Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered a comprehensive audit of A3 Foundation, the Miami-Dade Clerk told CBS Miami that she still has no public timeline to finalize it. Meanwhile, state and federal records are adding new names to the file: Sury Boutros, linked to A3’s state Local Funding Initiative Request, and Jose Felix “Pepi” Diaz, vice president and registered agent for the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade – the organization that replaced A3 as the recipient of payments under the Loud and Live contract for up to $40 million to operate the Tropical Park Equestrian Center Complex.

The case involves three separate organizations with separate chronologies that converge in the July 16, 2025 Board of County Commissioners agenda item:

• A3 Foundation Corporation (the first recipient appointed and then replaced after public scrutiny),
• Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, Inc. (the surrogate nonprofit with a former state legislator vice president with an active Government Affairs practice),
• and Loud and Live Management Group, LLC (the Doral company operating the 20 to 30-year contract for between $24.48 million and $40.28 million).

This report documents the complete chronology of each organization with verifiable sources.

What happened

A3 Foundation Corporation: the first designated recipient (September 2023 – September 2025)

Institutional origin and residential address

A3 Foundation Corp was incorporated in Florida in September 2023 under Sunbiz document number N23000010930,

and obtained his tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status in June 2024 with federal EIN 93-3416817. Its reported category with the IRS is K01 – Food, Agriculture and Nutrition / Alliance/Advocacy.

According to the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer public database and IRS documents, the official address recorded on the 2024 Form 990 is 2100 Salzedo Street Suite 200, Coral Gables, FL 33134-a suite in a downtown Coral Gables office building.

On the FY2023 Form 990-EZ, however, the address stated was 900 SW 65th Avenue, Miami, FL 33155 – matching the address that the Miami Herald and the investigative site Political Cortadito described as a residential dwelling.

Both the 2023 Form 990-EZ preparer (Rodriguez Advisors LLC) and the 2024 Form 990 preparer (Fiore CPA PA) state the same mailing address as A3 Foundation on their respective forms. The telephone number listed is (786) 717-3931 and the a3-foundation.com website is listed with inactive links in its projects section.

Internal structure without standard governance controls

The foundation reports zero full-time employees. Its officers in the 2024 Form 990 are:

• Francisco J. Petrirena, President – compensation disclosed Form 990: $26,824 (compensation disclosed to the Miami Herald: $80,000)
• Zenny Mera, Director – no compensation reported
• Jose A. Vázquez, Vice President – no compensation reported

The foundation’s attorney, John Priovolos, provided the Form 990 to the Miami Herald through a public records request.

The 2024 Form 990 documents significant gaps in internal governance controls. According to disclosures in Part VI (lines 13 and 14) and Part XII (lines 2a and 2b) of the form, the foundation stated: no whistleblower policy, no document retention policy, and no independent audit of its financial statements – the latter despite the fact that the foundation managed more than $444,000 in government grants in 2024 (disclosed in Part VIII, line 1e).

The absence of these three protections in an organization that received the majority of its funding from local government is a standard red flag in assessing accountability for nonprofits.

Form 990 figures that matter

100% of the 2024 income came from contributions-the Form 990 reports $444,000 in government grants on Part VIII line 1e plus $101,190 in other contributions, with no program services revenue or earned income. As the Miami Herald reported in its December 5, 2025 coverage, “80% of every dollar the foundation received” in 2024 came from Miami-Dade County.

Applications to the Florida Senate: two LFIRs and one change of signatory

On December 3, 2023, Local Funding Initiative Request LFIR #2642 to the Florida Senate, sponsored by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, requested $500,000 for A3 Foundation for FY2024-25. The Requester Contact was Francisco Petrirena, with email 3afoundationfl@gmail.com and phone (786) 717-3931 (area code 786 = Miami).

On March 16, 2025, LFIR #3500 to the Florida Senate, same sponsor Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, requested another $500,000 for A3 Foundation for FY2025-26 through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. However, the Requester Contact and Recipient Contact changed: it now shows Sury Boutros, with corporate email executive.d@a3-foundation.com and phone (979) 422-8024 – the 979 area code corresponds to College Station, Texas, not Florida. The change of signatory between consecutive LFIRs occurred in less than fifteen months without public announcement.

The LFIR #3500 budget breakdown details:

The same LFIR #3500 stated a local matching fund of $125,000 committed by Miami-Dade County for FY 2025-26 (section 7 of the form). That figure exactly matches the “Major allocation $125,000 Late addition 2025 budget” that the Miami Herald identified in July 2025. The declaration to Florida Senate of the county commitment was made four months before the public scandal broke.

Sury Boutros: the executive contact not listed on the federal Form 990

The July 24, 2025 Floridian Press investigative site reported that Boutros “attested to being a board member of A3 Foundation” in his formal application to the Florida House of Representatives. However, A3 Foundation Corp’s federal Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (EIN 93-3416817, DLN 93493321242755) lists only three officers: Francisco J. Petrirena, Zenny Mera and Jose A. Vazquez. Boutros does not appear. Floridian Press further notes that “the foundation’s website and public filings do not list or advertise any board of directors”. This is a material discrepancy between the filing with a state agency (Florida Senate LFIR) and the filing with a federal agency (IRS Form 990).

The federal National Provider IdentifierRegistry (NPI Registry) of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services contains a registration in the name of SURY MARIA BOUTROS, NPI 1356012793, registered as of September 24, 2021 as a Behavior Technician under taxonomy 106S00000X (Behavioral Health & Social Service Providers), with Florida state license number 19-108059 and telephone (979) 422-8024 -exact telephone match to LFIR Requester Contact #3500.

The federally registered professional profile for Sury Maria Boutros (Behavior Technician in paraprofessional behavioral health) does not, by itself, show documented experience in agriculture, nonprofit administration, public grant management, or agronomy educational program administration – functions described verbatim for the $100,000 “Executive Director/Project Head Salary and Benefits” expense line within LFIR #3500. The exact name and phone match allows reasonable linkage of the two records, although any definitive reconciliation of Boutros’ role within A3 requires additional documentary confirmation.

Three Petrirena compensation figures that do not reconcile

The compensation reported by Francisco Petrirena as sole employee of A3 Foundation appears in at least three public documents with significantly different figures:

• 2024 federal Form 990: $26,824 in reported compensation for Petrirena as President-the official federal figure.
• Petrirena’s statement to the Miami Herald (Douglas Hanks, July 23, 2025): $80,000 annually as A3’s only paid employee-Petrirena’s own telephone statement to the reporter.
• LFIR #3500 to Florida Senate FY2025-26: $100,000 under the category “Executive Director/Project Head Salary and Benefits” (the form describes the line as “Executive Director and Assistant to Executive Director”-covers two positions, does not name Petrirena).

An analogous LFIR request also exists for FY2024-25 under LFIR #2642 (same sponsor, same applicant, $500,000). The requests confirm budget intent; final appropriation, disbursement or execution figures require additional documentation. The difference between $26,824 (federal statement to the IRS) and $80,000 (Petrirena’s own statement to the Miami Herald) – $53,176 – is significant enough to warrant public inquiry, regardless of the exact fiscal calendar.

The flow of public funds: approximately $2 million since formation

According to consecutive Miami Herald reports between July 2025 and February 2026, A3 Foundation has accumulated approximately $2 million in government funding since its formation in September 2023.

Miami-Dade County: approximately $980,000

Florida State: documented claims of at least $500,000; aggregate $950,000 attributed to Political Cortadito pending verification with final appropriation.

The $310,000 undocumented (according to the Miami Herald)

As reported by the Miami Herald on February 11, 2026, of the public funds tracked to that date, approximately $310,000 remained unaccounted for in the Herald’s tally: “That leaves roughly $310,000 in county funds that are not accounted for in the Herald’s tally”. Of the $1.2 million in public funds that the Herald tracked to that date, reporter Douglas Hanks was able to document approximately $883,000 in verifiable expenditures or returned funds.

The Form 990 differential: $141,863 undocumented in 2024

A3 Foundation’s federal Form 990 shows CountryFest listed as the foundation’s only documented program, with a reported cost of $279,137 in 2024. However, county records show that A3 billed $421,000 to Miami-Dade in May 2024 for CountryFest. Two months later, the county paid the entire bill. The difference: $141,863 with no public explanation as to its fate in FY 2024 alone.

Remaining expenditure structure in 2024 according to Form 990:

• Professional Fundraising Fees: $92,500 (21.5%) – no recipient identified
• Petrirena Salary (Form 990): $26,824 (6.2%)
• Travel: $15,000 (3.5%) – without details
• Conferences/Meetings: $10,419 (2.4%) – no detail
• Other unclassified expenses: ~$5,632

Context: $1.4 million to A3 as Miami-Dade cuts $40M from nonprofits

According to Political Cortadito’s July 23, 2025 report by Elaine de Valle (“Ladra”), the combined amount of public funds allocated to A3 Foundation during fiscal year 2025 – between discretionary grants from Commissioner Anthony Rodriguez, county budget allocations and the state appropriation sponsored by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez – amounts to approximately $1.4 million. That figure accumulated while the county, according to Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s budget message cited by the same site, faced a $402 million budget shortfall that forced it to cut approximately $40 million in grants to community nonprofits that provide social services, after-school programs and meals for needy families.

County staff coordinating private sponsorships

The February 11, 2026 Miami Herald documented how Chairman Anthony Rodriguez’s office staff coordinated private sponsorships for CountryFest, channeling funds through A3 Foundation.

CountryFest 2026

Verbatim quote: “Emails show staffs of Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez coordinating payments for A3 from about a dozen companies and nonprofits that agreed to sponsor CountryFest”.

Publicly confirmed private sponsorships for CountryFest 2025 totaled approximately $135,000 according to the Miami Herald:

Three of the identified sponsors have active contractual relationships with Miami-Dade County: MCM (maintenance at Miami International Airport), Via Transportation (vendor of the county’s MetroConnect service), and County Fire Union (union whose budget negotiations go through the BCC).

Mayor’s memorandum of July 25, 2025: two deadlines

In a memorandum signed on July 25, 2025 – sixdays after the Miami Herald’s first article on A3 – addressed to Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Carladenise Edwards (Subject: “Directive for Comprehensive Review and Audit of A3 Foundation and Strengthened Accountability Measures”), Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered a comprehensive audit of A3 Foundation and set two specific deadlines:

• 10 working days for the delivery of the audit timeline (estimated delivery date: August 7-8, 2025) and
• 30 days for a preliminary framework of three accountability protocols
• -A Reinforced Contract Oversight protocol,
• a Quarterly Reporting and Third-Party Audit Protocol,
• and a Risk-Based Compliance Review framework (estimated date: August 25, 2025).

The memo was copied to eight official county recipients, including County Attorney Geri Bonzon-Keenan, Commission Auditor Yinka Majekodunmi and Clerk of the Board Director Basia Pruna.

Verbatim quote from the Mayor in the memo, reported by the Miami Herald on July 26: “I am calling for the development of new countywide safeguards and protocols to strengthen accountability, even if procurement, research, and bidding processes are waived by the Board of County Commissioners.” The same Herald story documented that the Mayor’s administration had included $125,000 for the A3 Foundation in the 2025 budget approved by the commissioners in the fall of 2024 – before the first public story about the foundation.

Criminal investigation reported by Miami Herald and CBS Miami

The Miami Herald reported that the Office of the Miami-Dade State Attorney maintained records related to A3 Foundation under an “open/pending” investigation . In his December 5, 2025 article, Douglas Hanks quoted a response from Lorna Salomon, public records attorney for the Attorney General’s Office, stating, “As these relate to an open/pending investigation, we have no public records to provide at this time.” Subsequently, in its May 21, 2026 coverage of Tropical Park, the Herald stated that, as the newspaper itself had first reported in February, Miami-Dade prosecutors were reviewing A3 Foundation as part of a criminal investigation. News Miami Dade has not independently confirmed the scope, purpose or current status of that investigation.

Media coverage subsequently expanded. On May 10, 2026, journalist Jim DeFede reported for CBS Miami that the State Attorney’s Office has issued subpoenas and conducted witness interviews in connection with A3 Foundation; interviewees include lobbyists representing clients before the County Commission. No charges have been filed as of press time, and stakeholders associated with A3 deny any wrongdoing.

The same report revealed that the comprehensive audit ordered by Mayor Levine Cava on July 25, 2025 remains uncompleted, with no public timeline, 8 months after it was ordered. Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court and Comptroller Juan Fernandez-Barquin told CBS that he has no timeline for completion and cited that his office simultaneously audits up to 15 other Community Based Organizations.

Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, Inc.: The Surrogate (2004 – present)

A foundation with two decades of verifiable operation

The Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade has been in existence since 2004 under Sunbiz document number N04000002584. Its public data contrasts significantly with that of A3 Foundation:

Jose Felix “Pepi” Diaz’s entry as Vice-President and Registered Agent

The official Annual Reports that the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade has filed with the Florida Department of State document the following chronology of officers:

Verbatim quote from the Annual Report Amended dated May 7, 2024 (filing 7496876552CC): “Title VP / Name DIAZ, JOSE FELIX / Address 275 NW 2ND STREET ROOM NO. 525 5TH FLOOR / City-State-Zip: MIAMI FL 33128 – Signature: JOSE F. DIAZ Date 05/07/2024”.

Jose Felix “Pepi” Diaz was the Florida House Representative for District 116 (R-Miami) from 2010 to 2018. He is currently a Partner at Akerman LLP, one of Florida’s largest law firms with a Government Affairs practice. Her entry as Vice-President + Registered Agent of the Parks Foundation was formalized on May 7, 2024 through an Amended Annual Report filed with the Florida Department of State (registry CC 7496876552), replacing Maria Padron, who had been Corresponding Secretary and Registered Agent in the previous filing on April 3 of the same year.

Institutional Replacement: Agenda Item 8(P)(4) of September 3, 2025

The substitution was processed by bypassing the county’s standard notice procedure. File 251737 contains a formal request dated August 25, 2025 signed by Roy Coley (Chief Utilities and Regulatory Services Officer) and the Director of the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department addressed to Eugene Love, County Agenda Coordinator. Verbatim quote from the request(page 3 of the file): “Although this item has not met the noticed deadline and has been provided to the Agenda Coordination Office late, this item is related to the contract recently awarded by the Board at its July 16 meeting…. Therefore, please process the item notwithstanding that the 4-day rule may be applicable to it.”

The late processing request was signed exactly one month after the Mayor’s Memorandum of July 25, 2025 to the Chief Administrative Officer ordering the comprehensive audit of A3 Foundation. The BCC approved the substitution nine days after the late request.

On September 3, 2025, the Commission approved Agenda Item No. 8(P)(4) under File No. 251737, amending the designation of the nonprofit recipient of the contract payments. The resulting resolution formally amended Resolution R-792-25 (which designated A3 Foundation) to replace it with Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, Inc.

Verbatim quote from the Mayor’s Memorandum of September 3, 2025 signed by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava(page 2 of File 251737 docket): “It is recommended that the Board amend Resolution No. R-792-25 to change the not-for-profit organization designated by the Board to receive an annual contribution pursuant to Contract No. EVN0001892, Tropical Park Equestrian Center Complex, to the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, Inc.”

Individuals named in File 251737 and their institutional role

Institutional timing

Institutional timing is verbatim documentable:

• Diaz joined the Parks Foundation as VP on May 7, 2024;
• the BCC voted to replace A3 with the Parks Foundation as the recipient of annual payments under the Loud and Live contract on September 3, 2025 .
• There is an interval of 15 months and 27 days between the two dates .
• The official Sunbiz record documents the facts without asserting a conflict of interest – the legal determination of institutional relationships is a matter for the competent authorities (Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics, State Attorney).

The question is one of institutional transparency: the organization that replaced A3 as the recipient of annual payments of $250,000 to $300,000 has as Vice-President and Registered Agent a former state legislator with an active Government Affairs practice. Other institutional and lobbying links between former Florida House R-Miami Reps.

Loud and Live Management Group, LLC: contract operator (May 2024 – present)

The competitive process: three bidders, two eliminated, only one responsive

According to the Mayor’s Memorandum and Report of Competitive Selection Committee included in the File 251536 file, Request for Proposals (RFP) EVN0001892 was issued on May 31, 2024 under full and open competition by Strategic Procurement Department. The RFP closed on July 16, 2024 with three proposers received:

• Loud and Live Management Group, Inc. – the only proposer that met the requirements and made it to the end of the negotiation process, with ties to Christian Ulvert.
• SBS Investments of Dade County, Inc. DBA Christina’s Party Rentals – declared non-responsive by the County Attorney’s Office on July 24, 2024 for failure to complete the Proposer Information section including proposed revenues to the county.
• Tropical Park Equestrian Center Management, LLC – withdrew its proposal on September 6, 2024.

The Selection Committee, chaired by the Strategic Procurement Department and including members from Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces(Lorena Guerra-Macias and Bryan Eichler, both Assistant Directors; Perry Perez, Chief of Contracts & Procurement Division) recommended Loud and Live as the only proposer that met the remaining requirements. The approval signature is by Namita Uppal, C.P.M., Director and Chief Procurement Officer, dated October 10, 2024.

The conversion Inc. → LLC three months before the vote

The loud and Live Foundation INC

Loud and Live Management Group bid to the RFP as an Inc. (corporation), was recommended by the Selection Committee as an Inc. and was approved by the Board as an LLC under the form “substantially the form attached as Exhibit A” of the File 251536 docket.

The conversion from Inc. to Limited Liability Company effective April 2, 2025, pursuant to the WHEREAS clause of the agreement, occurred three months and fourteen days prior to the July 16, 2025 BCC vote. Registered Address: 2301 NW 87th Avenue, 6th Floor, Doral, FL 33172 Principal: Nelson Albareda. Percentage of Miami-Dade resident employees reported by the vendor: 0%.

The vote on July 16, 2025: approval vote in procedural phase

On July 16, 2025, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved under File No. 251536 / Agenda Item 14(A)(5) Contract No. EVN0001892 to Loud and Live Management Group, LLC to operate the Tropical Park Equestrian Center Complex.

The same agenda item selected A-3 Foundation, Inc. as the nonprofit recipient of annual payments under the contract, waived the requirements of Sections 2-8.3 and 2-8.4 of the Code of Miami-Dade County regarding notice of award and bid protest procedures, and amended Implementing Order 4-119 to alter the Ronald Reagan Equestrian Center’s existing fees.

According to Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ‘s Memorandum dated September 3, 2025 included in the file, the contract projects minimum revenues of $24,484,267 for the initial 20 years and, if the county exercises the renewal option, a minimum cumulative figure of $40,281,893 for the full 30 years.

Verbatim quote from the official Subject: “Resolution approving award of Contract No. EVN0001892 to Loud and Live Management Group, LLC for Tropical Park Equestrian Center Complex for projected revenue of $40,281,893.00 for a 20-year term with one, 10-year option to renew for Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department”.

The July 16, 2025 meeting filed by the Miami-Dade County Clerk, Item 14(A)(5) was approved by voice vote during the procedural phase of the pull list. The Clerk’s initial roll call confirms that Commissioner Keon Hardemon (District 3) was absent due to institutional memo. Of the twelve commissioners present, Commissioners Juan Carlos Bermudez (District 12) and Micky Steinberg (District 4) recorded “no” votes. The remaining ten commissioners voted “aye”:

Total: 12 present + 1 absent. Vote R-792-25: 10 ayes + 2 nays + 1 absent. There were no public comments, no substantive presentation from the Mayor’s Office and no discussion among commissioners on the selection of A3 Foundation as a nonprofit recipient of annual payments. The contract and its $24 million minimum component passed in less than five minutes during the agenda setting phase, while the same meeting devoted most of its 8 hours 38 minutes to Item 14(A)(4) on the county’s waste incinerator plant.

The combined package: contract + waivers + receiving nonprofit + fees in a single vote

The same agenda item selected A-3 Foundation, Inc. as the nonprofit recipient of annual payments under the contract, waived the requirements of Sections 2-8.3 and 2-8.4 of the Code of Miami-Dade County regarding notice of award and bid protest procedures, and amended Implementing Order 4-119 to alter the Ronald Reagan Equestrian Center’s existing fees.

The waivers in Sections 2-8.3 and 2-8.4 of the Code of Miami-Dade County eliminated the public advertising of the recommended contract award and the formal right of bid protest available to the two eliminated proposers, thus reducing two procedural protections that the Code itself defines as minimum requirements for public welfare.

The modification of Implementing Order 4-119 rewrote the Ronald Reagan Equestrian Center’s rate structure: daily arena rental went from $600 to a range of $2,500 to $5,000, stalls from $6 to a range of $49 to $200, and Tier 2 to flat rate categories of up to $1.2 million per event were introduced that correspond directly to Loud and Live’s own operating portfolio.

Contractual payments going to the receiving nonprofit

• Initial annual payment: $250,000
• Annual post-improvements payment: $300,000
• Estimated cumulative 20 years: $5,000,000 – $6,000,000
• Percentage of total income: approximately 12-15%.

Whereas Clause verbatim quote on annual contribution: “WHEREAS, the attached contract requires that the awarded proposer contribute from its profit the annual amount of $250,000.00 for the term of the contract with an increase to $300,000.00 annually upon completion of improvements to the Ronald Reagan Equestrian Center to a non-for-profit agricultural organization”.

Commissioner Rodriguez’s defense: “100% private money”.

Verbatim quote from Commissioner Anthony Rodriguez to the Political Cortadito site in his July 23, 2025 report on the nature of the annual payments Loud and Live was to make to A3 Foundation under contract EVN0001892:

“It’s 100% private money. This is what the county should be looking at – how do we have private businesses that partner with the county support community benefits rather than it being paid by taxpayer dollars.”

The Commissioner’s argument is that the $250,000 to $300,000 per year that Loud and Live agrees to contribute to a nonprofit is not county funds, but a private contribution from the concessionaire. The institutional distinction, however, is that the selection of the sole recipient of those payments – A3 Foundation, in the original version of the agenda item – was made by the County Commission itself within Contract Award Resolution EVN0001892.

The Political Cortadito site expressly states that observation: “when the county gets to decide where that money goes, it sort of becomes public dollars that belong to taxpayers”. The same report attributes to Commissioner Rodriguez the claim that he never met Francisco Petrirena before taking office as District 10 Commissioner in August 2022, and that he inherited both the Tropical Park Equestrian Center and the CountryFest event from the district’s previous Commissioner, Javier Souto.

Community impact: displaced clubs and residents excluded from the facility

The community impact of these fee modifications – equestrian and dog clubs with decades of presence at Tropical Park that have cancelled events or are migrating to other counties, residents who can no longer complete the bike loop because stretches of interior road are closed to the public – and the fiscal burden of the $102 million the county will borrow to renovate the privatized facility, while $74 million in playgrounds and $200 million in greenways remain unfunded under a projected countywide deficit of $324 million by 2030, are the subject of separate coverage in this investigative series.

Why it matters

The case matters because it shows how a nonprofit organization created in 2023, with doubts about reported full-time employees and limited internal controls under its Form 990, was inserted as a beneficiary of annual payments under a long-term public contract. The selection occurred within a larger resolution that also waived notice and bid protest procedures, modified fees for the Ronald Reagan Equestrian Center and approved the private operation of the Tropical Park Equestrian Center Complex.

The public question is not whether A3 had a right to exist or whether Loud and Live could compete for the contract. The question is whether Miami-Dade applied sufficient oversight, transparency and prior review before selecting a new nonprofit as the recipient of annual payments from a Board-approved contract. And then, whether the institutional substitution of A3 for the Parks Foundation – processed as a late departmental agenda item, bypassing standard county notice procedure, nine days after a late request signed by two senior county officials – configures an appropriate governance mechanism for administering cumulative contract payments estimated at $5 million to $6 million over 20 years.

Tropical Park: The Case Months After the Memorandum

Eight months and 27 days from the Board of County Commissioners vote, and more and more from the first expired deadline of the institutional memorandum signed by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, the question the county resident is entitled to ask is straightforward: what else should he or she expect?

While the A3 Foundation audit continues without a public timeline for closure, the Loud and Live contract is no longer a paper administrative controversy and has entered an operational phase with concrete consequences for the use of the Tropical Park Equestrian Center Complex. Since the approval of the substitution on September 3, 2025, the docket is in its third quarter of implementation if counted from the formal designation of the Parks Foundation as the new recipient of the annual contribution. If counted from the original vote on July 16, 2025, the contract is now over ten months since its approval by the Board.

The distinction is important. The Commission did not cancel the annual contribution mechanism that had generated public scrutiny of A3 Foundation. What it did do was change the recipient organization. The contract still required the vendor to make an annual contribution of $250,000, increasing to $300,000 upon completion of improvements to the Ronald Reagan Equestrian Center. The institutional difference is that after September 3, 2025, that contribution was no longer directed to A3 Foundation, but to the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade.

That change reduces some of the immediate political risk, because the Parks Foundation is a much older organization with historical ties to the park system. But it does not eliminate the oversight question. If the Board has the power to designate the nonprofit receiving payments tied to a long-term public contract, then the public has a right to know how that nonprofit is selected, what controls apply, what reports will be required, whether there will be independent audits, whether administrative fees will be charged, and what specific programs will receive those funds.

The case becomes more relevant because the Parks Foundation is not an anonymous entity. Its public records show that Jose Felix “Pepi” Diaz is listed as Vice-President and Registered Agent of the organization since May 2024. Diaz is a former member of the Florida House for Miami-Dade and currently maintains a government affairs practice. This fact, by itself, does not prove a conflict of interest or legal irregularity. But it is a relevant institutional fact: the foundation that replaced A3 as the recipient of annual payments under the Loud and Live contract has a former state legislator with active experience in government affairs on its board of directors.

The other element that broadens public interest is Loud and Live’s operational expansion into public or semi-public venues in the county. In addition to the Tropical Park contract, the company or affiliated entities have moved forward with other venue management agreements, including the Doral Amphitheater in Doral Central Park. This shows that the model should not be analyzed as an isolated case of Tropical Park, but as part of a broader trend: local governments turning over to private operators the programming, management and monetization of public facilities of high community value.

The underlying problem is not that a private company should manage public events. That model can be legitimate if it produces efficiency, revenue, proper maintenance and better programming for residents. The problem arises when private operation is combined with modified fees, political designation of receiving nonprofits, waivers of ordinary procedures, long-term contracts and pending audits of the source of the initial scandal.

So before replicating the model in other jurisdictions or facilities, Miami-Dade should close the basic questions: what happened to A3, where is the audit, what funds remain without public explanation, what controls now apply to the Parks Foundation, what reporting will be required of Loud and Live, and how will it ensure that the use of public facilities does not end up displacing community clubs, traditional organizations or families who previously could access the space at reasonable rates.

Pending public audit questions. ?

1. The fate of $310,000 in undocumented Miami-Dade public funds (according to Miami Herald 11 Feb 2026).
2. The destination of the $141,863 A3 billed to Miami-Dade in 2024 but did not spend at CountryFest according to Form 990.
3. The identity of the recipient of the $92,500 in professional fundraising fees reported on the Form 990.
4. The specific scope of the Office of the State Attorney’s investigation that the Miami Herald reported.
5. The results of the comprehensive audit ordered by Mayor Levine Cava on July 25, 2025 – first reported by the Miami Herald (“How did A3 Foundation spend its county tax dollars? Miami-Dade mayor orders audit”) and subsequently confirmed by CBS Miami on May 10, 2026 as pending nine months later.
6. The identity of Biltmore Strategies’ clients (Petrirena’s private company).
7. Whether vendors county with active contracts (MCM, Via Transportation, County Fire Union) face review under Miami-Dade ethics rules.
8. Whether Christian Ulvert, top political adviser to Mayor Levine Cava, is registered as an active lobbyist for Loud and Live with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics, and whether he reported that professional relationship to the Mayor’s office before the administration recommended awarding the contract to BCC.

Sources consulted

Level 1 – Primary and official documents

1. Miami-Dade Legislative Matter, File No. 251536 / Agenda Item 14(A)(5) / Contract EVN0001892 / Resolution R-792-25: miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/Matters/Y2025/251536.pdf (official PDF 226 pages)
2. Miami-Dade Legislative Matter, File No. 251737 / Agenda Item 8(P)(4) – A3 substitution by Parks Foundation: miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/Matters/Y2025/251737.pdf (official PDF)
3. Mayor’s Memorandum dated September 3, 2025 signed by Daniella Levine Cava – File 251536 page 7
4. Mayor’s Memorandum of July 25, 2025 to CAO Carladenise Edwards – directive comprehensive audit A3
5. Implementing Order No. 4-119 modified: documents.miamidade.gov/ao-io/IO/IO/IO-04-119.pdf
6. Florida Sunbiz – A3 Foundation Corp (N23000010930) + Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade Inc (N04000002584) + Loud and Live Management Group LLC: search.sunbiz.org
7. IRS Form 990 A3 Foundation Corp 2024 (EIN 93-3416817, DLN 93493321242755) + Form 990-EZ 2023
8. Florida Senate Local Funding Initiative Request #2642 FY2024-25 + LFIR #3500 FY2025-26: flsenate.gov
9. National Provider Identifier Registry – Sury Maria Boutros NPI 1356012793: npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov
10. Granicus archive of Miami-Dade BCC Clerk’s official audio of July 16, 2025 – transcript Whisper large-v3
11. Code of Miami-Dade County, Sections 2-8.3 and 2-8.4: library.municode.com

Level 2 – Media reports

12. CBS Miami – Jim DeFede, A3 Foundation coverage + audit without timeline, 10 May 2026
13. Political Cortadito – Elaine de Valle (“Ladra”), “$1.4 million to A3 as Miami-Dade cuts $40M,” 23 July 2025.
14. Floridian Press – coverage Sury Boutros board member declaration, 24 July 2025
15. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer – A3 Foundation Corp public records

Full chronology of Miami Herald coverage (Douglas Hanks)

Table compiled from the editorial index published by the Miami Herald itself on July 31, 2025 (“Why is the A3 Foundation under scrutiny? Here’s what to know”). URLs correspond to versions published by the Miami Herald; some have later update dates.

Legal Disclaimer

This article does not assert that there is an autonomous criminal, ethical or judicial determination of corruption, wrongdoing or wrongdoing against A3 Foundation Corporation, Francisco J. Petrirena, Zenny Mera, Jose A. Vazquez, Sury Maria Boutros, John Priovolos, Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade Inc, Caroline O’Connor, Maria Padron, Jose Felix “Pepi” Diaz, Akerman LLP, Loud and Live Management Group LLC, Nelson Albareda, Tony Albelo, Jose Garcia-Tuñon, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Board of County Commissioners Chairman Anthony Rodriguez, no Board commissioners, no Parks Recreation and Open Spaces Department officials, no employees of the Office of the County Attorney, Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, any private sponsor of CountryFest or any of the other stakeholders mentioned.

The article documents verifiable public facts: the R-792-25 contract approved by the Board of County Commissioners on July 16, 2025; the Mayor’s Memorandum of September 3, 2025 signed by the Mayor; the Mayor’s Memorandum of July 25, 2025 ordering the comprehensive audit; the Agenda Item 8(P)(4) of September 3, 2025 substituting A3 Foundation for Parks Foundation; the Florida Sunbiz filings on the three named organizations;

A3 Foundation Corp’s federal Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (EIN 93-3416817); Local Funding Initiative Requests to the Florida Senate; the federal NPI filing; published reports from the Miami Herald, CBS Miami, Political Cortadito and Floridian Press; and the Office of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s statement regarding the existence of an “open/pending” investigation into the A3 Foundation.

The time intervals documented in this report – 15 months and 27 days between Jose Felix Diaz’s entry as Vice-President and Registered Agent of the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade and the BCC’s vote on September 3, 2025 appointing her as A3’s replacement, and 8 months and 27 days elapsed from that same Mayor’s Memorandum to the closing of this edition – are mathematical calculations derived directly from the official dates of the public records.

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