On the agenda

1. 1Call to Order - Roll Call▶ 0:00
2. 2

   Approval of August 4, 2020 CRA Meeting Minutes

   approved

   The CRA Board approved the minutes from the August 4, 2020 CRA meeting.

   • motion:Approval of the August 4, 2020 CRA meeting minutes. (passed)

   #August 4, 2020 CRA Meeting Minutes

   ▶ Jump to 0:18 in the video

   ▸Show transcriptHide transcript

   Auto-transcript · machine-generated, may contain errors

   [00:00:18] Next item on the agenda is approval of the August 4th CRA minutes. [00:00:22] Move for approval. [00:00:24] Any discussion? [00:00:25] Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. [00:00:28] Aye. [00:00:29] Aye. [00:00:30] Aye. [00:00:31] Aye. [00:00:32] Aye. [00:00:33] Opposed, like sign.

   This text was generated automatically from the meeting video. It is not a verbatim or official record. For exact wording, consult the video or the city clerk.

3. 3

   ↳You arrived here from a search for “Peter Altman” — transcript expanded below

   Review of Proposed FY2020-2021 CRA Budget

   discussed

   Staff presented the proposed FY2020-2021 CRA budget, including revenues of $6.2M, transfers/debt service of $2.7M, personnel and operating costs, $2.375M in economic development incentives, and approximately $430,000 available for capital projects such as Railroad Square design, streetscape improvements, neighborhood revitalization, the Gateway feature at Main and US-19, and the Sims Park perimeter. Board members discussed debt service concerns, the need for a long-term capital improvement plan, increasing business incentives from $200K to $300K, and potential county partnership on boat ramp expansion. The item was a review/discussion with no formal vote.

   • direction:Council requested staff provide debt maturity dates for outstanding CRA notes in the next City Manager report. (none)

   📍Main and US-19📍Railroad Square📍Sims Park perimeter🏢Central on Orange🏢Hacienda Hotel🏢Kaiser University🏢Main Street Landing🏢Main Street Program🏢SunTrust👤Mr. Altman👤Mr. Rudd👤Mrs. Feast👤Ms. Manns👤Ms. Riazoni#2016 Series Note#BP oil fund project at Port Richey Park#CRA Plan (adopted 2019, spans through 2049)#FY2020-2021 CRA Budget#Florida Statutes Chapter 163 Part 3#Gateway Project#Neighborhood Revitalization Fund#Parking Garage debt ($751,330 first payment)#Railroad Square#Sims Park#Streetscape Improvements#TIF (Tax Increment Financing)

   ▶ Jump to 0:34 in the video

   ▸Show transcriptHide transcript

   Auto-transcript · machine-generated, may contain errors

   [00:00:34] Next, review of proposed fiscal year 2021 CRA budget. [00:00:35] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. [00:00:37] As all of you are already aware, the Community Redevelopment Authority is a dependent district [00:00:47] in which future increases in property tax values are dedicated to support economic development [00:00:55] projects. [00:00:56] A CRA district is enabled or was enabled under Florida state law, chapter 163, part 3, and [00:01:08] local areas are able to designate districts in their city that are considered to be or [00:01:19] to possess some blighted conditions. [00:01:22] In the case of the city of New Port Richey, when the CRA was originally adopted, we adopted [00:01:29] about 90-95% of the city to be within the boundaries of the CRA. [00:01:35] The purpose of the CRA in large part is the development and administration of economic [00:01:44] development tools. [00:01:46] It actually is a very rare tool in that the cities and counties in the state are able [00:01:55] to fund redevelopment activities through their CRA. [00:01:59] Some of the types of projects that are typically funded through a CRA are streetscape and parking [00:02:08] lot improvements, infrastructure improvements, direct incentives to members of the business [00:02:18] community to incentivize reinvestment in their properties and neighborhood-type revitalization [00:02:28] projects. [00:02:29] All of the plans in a CRA, or pardon me, all of the projects in a CRA have to be part [00:02:36] of a CRA plan. [00:02:38] We adopted in 19 the most recent plan of the city, which identifies the types of projects [00:02:49] that are eligible for expenditure and spans the project out through 2049. [00:03:00] Mr. Rudd and Mrs. Feast and I have been working on a budget for this year's community redevelopment [00:03:10] funds, and we're going to talk a little bit about revenue and some about operating, and [00:03:17] then we're going to jump right into capital improvement projects. [00:03:21] I have to say, and Mr. Rudd has prepared a PowerPoint, we're going to let him start that [00:03:30] this year and next year are challenging years for us, and we've had to make a lot of tough [00:03:36] decisions about how to spend the resources that we do have available to us, and we're [00:03:41] hopeful that you'll give us additional input this evening. [00:03:45] With that, we'll let it start off. [00:03:48] So I took the information in the budget report and spread it out in a PowerPoint for you. [00:03:57] So we'll start out, and this is also mostly for the audience benefit, the city portion [00:04:02] of the increment is, and these are the actual numbers, correct? [00:04:06] Yes. [00:04:07] 1.85 million, the county's portion is 1.6. [00:04:11] We have some miscellaneous income, which includes the Hacienda Hotel payment and some other [00:04:16] various income sources, and then an estimated carry forward of $2.59 million, and that's [00:04:24] primarily, as you'll see, some incentives that have yet to be paid. [00:04:28] So we have a total starting out of $6.2 million, and then our transfers, our total transfers, [00:04:36] we have an administrative transfer from the general fund of $347,000, a general fund repayment [00:04:43] of $753,000, and then this is the first year of the 2016 series note repayment of $886,950, [00:04:53] and then also be the first payment, this is an estimate of the first payment of the parking [00:04:57] garage at $751,330. [00:05:01] So our total transfers will be $2.7 million. [00:05:05] These are going out? [00:05:07] Going out, yes. [00:05:09] So we put those together, the revenue minus the transfers leaves us with $3.462 million [00:05:15] of revenue available, and then out of that we have personnel costs and operating costs, [00:05:21] which I'll go over, giving us a remaining value. [00:05:25] The personnel costs, that comprise of a portion of the executive directors, the city manager's [00:05:32] salary, as well as our marketing specialist's salary, and then all the associated benefits [00:05:37] for a total of $112,990. [00:05:44] And then the operating costs, a portion of our attorney's contract, professional services, [00:05:48] that is primarily the master planning process, we anticipate maybe one invoice this fiscal [00:05:54] year and the balance of the $92,000 would be next year, however we did receive a grant [00:05:59] for about half of that recently, so that number will change. [00:06:04] Our marketing budget is $50,000, that's for the activities of our marketing specialist. [00:06:09] The Main Street Agreement, $25,000. [00:06:13] Our contractual services are $8,000, travel and training 5,000, data lines 2,500 and postage [00:06:20] is $2,000. [00:06:22] These are all same as last year, trash removal, water and sewer, street light fees, that's [00:06:28] the CRA portion of those, stormwater assessment, building and contents insurance, maintenance [00:06:33] and repairs, and printing and binding, again, will also be some of our marketing materials. [00:06:39] And then our redevelopment incentives, which are our commercial, our interior and exterior [00:06:44] grants and so forth. [00:06:45] The last couple of years, that was $200,000, we're proposing $300,000, certainly in light [00:06:52] of some of the conversations we're having about targeting specific retailers, that would [00:06:57] allow for that additional grant program. [00:07:00] Is the bridge under that five grant? [00:07:03] No, it is not. [00:07:05] Oh, the newsletter? [00:07:08] I might also indicate that the $25,000 to support the Main Street Program is a recommendation [00:07:17] to you, we do not currently have an agreement with them for that amount of funding. [00:07:22] Their current funding level is $15,000 per year. [00:07:25] That would be under this group here? [00:07:27] It's under our operating expenses, yes. [00:07:30] And then just a few more, sort of miscellaneous charges, office supplies and dues and memberships [00:07:37] for a total of $543,900. [00:07:43] Any questions on operating before we move on to personnel? [00:07:46] Well, yes, well, if you call it operating, but you've got the payment for the parking [00:07:54] garage in there. [00:07:57] Under transfers, essentially under debt, transfers and debt are kind of lumped together. [00:08:02] Okay, but if the CRA buys a parking garage for $6 million, we have a $6 million capital [00:08:07] investment, and so I've been asking and hoping that we can get a capital improvement plan [00:08:17] for the CRA, because we've also talked as a group of getting some waterfront property, [00:08:22] making some acquisitions, so there's no way in the budget timeframe we have with all the [00:08:27] things that are going on right now that we're going to have it all figured out, and I know [00:08:31] budgets can be amended. [00:08:34] But as an example, you've identified the debt service for the parking garage, so you've [00:08:41] already identified a source for it and come up with an interest rate, and you've calculated [00:08:46] what some of the debt might be. [00:08:50] That financing could incorporate capitalized interest until the construction is done, like [00:08:55] a construction. [00:08:56] I don't know if you've got just six months' worth of debt there, or if you've got a year's [00:09:00] worth of debt, but if we're going to be ready by the sixth month of the year, the end of [00:09:06] March or April, June 1st, we shouldn't have a whole year's worth of debt service payments. [00:09:16] And when the time comes with the CRA to look at its overall capital investments, for example, [00:09:25] railroad square, downtown parking, boat ramp, all the other things we have, that the CRA [00:09:34] can use this source of revenue that's coming in to help pay down, I think there's the possibility [00:09:43] that we can do some debt that would incorporate more than one project like the sewer department [00:09:50] did. [00:09:51] When we say we want to do this, that, and the other, when we get down to the nuts and [00:09:55] bolts of what our priorities are versus putting everything into a parking lot, it's going [00:10:01] to perhaps be less subject to criticism than some in the parking lot, some into some other [00:10:08] urban renewal and other capital projects, wherever they might be. [00:10:12] So it's fine. [00:10:15] I think you're showing how you can balance the budget, and I'm happy to support it, but [00:10:21] I just want to make the point up front that we may be looking and should be looking at [00:10:27] a capital improvement plan, what are we going to do over the next five years to generate [00:10:32] the tax base, and we've got these new planning, two going on at the same time, two plans that [00:10:42] are going to probably result in infrastructure planning that is just too premature to even [00:10:50] identify numbers or put to it. [00:10:51] So I'm happy with what I'm seeing, I just want to put it up front that before we borrow [00:10:56] the money and before we look at what our capital improvement is, there may be other projects. [00:11:03] I don't want to get us too far into the weeds as we're talking about budgeting, but I did [00:11:06] just forward an email from the department of somebody at the state to Ms. Manns with [00:11:16] funding for some of the planning we're going to be doing. [00:11:22] Also there is other funding that is available for microgrids and other things, but that [00:11:29] wouldn't come out of the revenues that you've identified, that would be the kind of long-term [00:11:34] capital improvement combining some grant opportunities. [00:11:38] So I'm happy, but you called it operating, so in a sense, just referencing the capital [00:11:46] plan, which we haven't really had one. [00:11:49] And we will be introducing some proposed capital improvement projects to you as part of this [00:11:55] presentation. [00:11:57] We don't have, though, as you're suggesting, a full-blown capital improvement project budget [00:12:06] spanning out for the next five years on all of the projects, so that's something we can [00:12:10] work on. [00:12:11] Mr. Rudd? [00:12:12] Certainly. [00:12:13] So if we go back to the compilation, the available revenue minus personnel and operating costs [00:12:20] puts us at $2.8 million. [00:12:24] And then we have our economic development incentives, which total $2.375 million, and [00:12:31] I'll broke those out. [00:12:33] That's the Main Street landing payment. [00:12:36] We had a payment due, initially a large payment due this year. [00:12:38] We negotiated to split that over two years, and now it's something coming before you in [00:12:43] the near future where we're going to split the second payment over two years to get it [00:12:47] down to $368,000 to give us a little more breathing room. [00:12:51] The Central on Orange is an estimated payment that begins, is scheduled to begin next fiscal [00:12:57] year, and as well as the Kaiser University, that's an estimate of what the balance might [00:13:02] be after we, you know, crediting them various fees and so forth, for a total of $2,375,150. [00:13:12] So that leaves us with $430,000 net available for projects. [00:13:20] So what we're proposing is the following. [00:13:24] Railroad Square is in design. [00:13:26] Planning and construction documents is a long process, and we've put in $100,000 for [00:13:32] that. [00:13:33] Streetscape improvements encompasses various banners and benches if we need new trash cans [00:13:39] and amenities for the streetscape. [00:13:41] Neighborhood revitalization, that is a fund which, if we foreclose on properties, we may [00:13:45] have to effect some repairs to get them ready to resell. [00:13:50] The Gateway project is for construction of the Gateway feature at Main and US-19. [00:13:56] And then the Sims Park perimeter, it's the perimeter of the park where it borders the [00:14:00] hotel as far as designing and construction documents and construction of that transition. [00:14:07] We think it will be much less than $150,000, but we wanted to make sure we had enough in [00:14:10] there to handle the project. [00:14:12] And that leaves us with a balance of $0,000. [00:14:18] No carry forward next year. [00:14:20] We already locked in the Gateway project at $80,000? [00:14:23] No. [00:14:24] It's just a projection. [00:14:25] It's a budget projection. [00:14:30] So you mentioned that there was monies available for businesses downtown, I don't see, is that [00:14:36] neighborhood revitalization? [00:14:37] I mean, where is that money? [00:14:39] That was... [00:14:40] Go ahead, Charles. [00:14:41] That was the business incentive, the $300,000. [00:14:44] We're recommending increasing that from $200,000 to $300,000. [00:14:49] That's not in this group. [00:14:50] What group's that in then? [00:14:51] No, that's under operating. [00:14:52] Okay. [00:15:00] Just as an illustration, I did sort of a compilation of the next five years to give you a sense. [00:15:07] The first column has that large rollover, which we don't expect in the future. [00:15:12] So while we have $430,000 available this year for projects or if it was for additional debt, [00:15:19] there's only about a half a million projected to be available next year, [00:15:22] and you can see it will gradually grow as our transfers in debt goes down. [00:15:29] Right now we're real heavy. We're about 75% of our TIF goes to debt service, [00:15:33] which is not, for me, it's not a comfortable position to be in. [00:15:36] We're real close to the line. [00:15:38] So over time and then beyond five years, we get a little more room. [00:15:43] We get up to about $3 million of unencumbered revenue. [00:15:47] So I just wanted you to kind of see that this coming fiscal year and the next fiscal year, [00:15:52] it is a little tight. [00:15:54] Our wiggle room, our ability to be mobile and do something that comes up is limited, [00:16:00] and then we get a little more room two years down the line and begin to have a little more flexibility. [00:16:04] Go back to the debt services. [00:16:06] Sure. [00:16:19] How long does that series note go out? [00:16:25] Are you referring to the series note, the 216, or what might be the repayment for the parking garage? [00:16:34] The 2016 is what you were asking about, right? [00:16:36] Yeah, the 2016. That's the parking garage. Okay. [00:16:39] I just wonder why. [00:16:41] The 2016 is not the parking garage. [00:16:43] No, the 2016 was the refinancing of previous debt that the CRA had, [00:16:47] and it goes out to what the original maturity date of the CRA was, which was? [00:16:52] 2023. [00:16:55] Okay, well, then go back to the other thing because you're holding that up to the 420. [00:17:01] You're holding that number somewhere in that area through 2425. [00:17:07] It's a little longer than that. [00:17:09] I don't have the exact year, and I can get that for you. [00:17:12] I was wondering if we've been paying some debts and we're paying some more debts. [00:17:15] When does this all end? [00:17:17] This number is not changing on that final number or the final budget. [00:17:22] It happened in 2016, so we've only been paying on it for about four years, [00:17:27] so I would imagine we have at least another 11 years. [00:17:31] I believe it was a 15-year term. [00:17:33] So we have another 11 years on the 2016 series, and then the parking garage, that will begin next year. [00:17:41] Now you don't have a problem with that one, [00:17:43] but I'm trying to see why we're not coming down to some degree, [00:17:47] where nothing's being paid off for the next five years. [00:17:52] Nothing is proposed to be paid off in the next five years. [00:17:55] It's more long-term than that, unfortunately. [00:17:58] And the first item, I just— [00:18:00] On repayment, then. [00:18:03] That one? [00:18:05] Isn't that where we borrow money for buying property we don't want? [00:18:11] No. I can explain that one, because that happened during my time. [00:18:15] That one was the payment of the SunTrust note, which was one of the three notes that was held. [00:18:21] The payment off of the SunTrust note, which was for, I think, [00:18:26] some of the original rec center and properties from the time below. [00:18:31] But there were three notes. That was one of the three notes that was SunTrust. [00:18:35] How far does that go out, then? Because that's all in at $220,000. [00:18:39] $24,000, $25,000, too. [00:18:43] It's longer than that. [00:18:44] About $8 million. [00:18:45] I apologize. I should have had that information. I've been prepared with that. [00:18:48] But I don't have the maturity dates on those debts, but I can get that. [00:18:52] We're hoping for the funds to raise instead of the debt to go down. [00:18:56] I think that's just not the way you think at home. [00:18:59] I'm going to get a raise. I don't have to pay my bills. [00:19:03] The bills are staying the same. I'll get a raise so I can get a couple extra dollars. [00:19:07] If we could get that information in the next CM report, that would be super. [00:19:11] Definitely. They are longer than five years, so for the next five years, [00:19:15] we can anticipate having the debt service about those amounts to remain the same. [00:19:20] I just was looking for debt to go down somewhere. [00:19:25] Can we go back to your chart, which shows what you think is going to happen over the next five years? [00:19:32] Your multi-year chart. [00:19:36] So we're seeing an increase of income of $500,000 a year, [00:19:43] and I don't know, did that come from the economic analysis that we did? [00:19:47] It did. [00:19:48] That economic analysis incorporated the Kaiser University? [00:19:53] It did. [00:19:54] The central and the other? [00:19:57] Our most recent version does, and it includes the debt on the parking deck as well. [00:20:03] I'm not talking about the debt. I'm talking about the income side, [00:20:06] how much money we were going to get from our property tax TIF funds. [00:20:11] And so by next year, we're going up a million, we're thinking, in income [00:20:19] because of all these larger projects that are hitting the tax roll. [00:20:23] So the question of debt is if you borrow money to pay operating costs, [00:20:30] it keeps you in debt and you may never get out of it. [00:20:34] If you borrow money to invest with private enterprise that's going to build the tax base, [00:20:40] then the revenue goes up in a manner that's covered by the new products [00:20:46] and the new tax roll that comes in or the new assessments that come in on the taxes. [00:20:51] So this issue of comfort or discomfort with debt really should be, [00:20:58] is the debt that we have creating value to the city, which is the purpose of the CRA, [00:21:05] and what new investment is going to come? [00:21:08] So if we say, well, we can't afford to make improvements for businesses that want to move in now [00:21:15] because we're uncomfortable, then we have to make sure we update [00:21:20] and look at the income up there to say we need to redo this because now we have somebody [00:21:24] that's going to put 200 more apartments in or 500 more apartments in. [00:21:29] So I think that income and expenses go hand in hand, and it's difficult to live on that. [00:21:36] That's a small projection of five years to get another million [00:21:41] when it was a year when we finally hit this one. [00:21:44] And this doesn't include any additional incentives we could provide. [00:21:49] Unlike a lot of what's going on in the country right now, I'm not one that likes to erase history, [00:21:53] and I get your point, but we also have to be very, very prudent moving forward [00:21:57] because we did have a huge amount of debt due to the purchase of investments. [00:22:03] And when it comes to real estate over the last decade, [00:22:07] Miss Riazoni helped us out tremendously, in my opinion, with refinancing that debt. [00:22:11] Did we sell it less than we paid for? Yes. [00:22:14] But the debt service we were paying every year with the interest rate was through the roof. [00:22:18] If you all recall, he sat here and went, I don't have the numbers in front of me, [00:22:21] went over all this with us, which is why we refinanced. [00:22:24] So I'm not saying, Mr. Altman, that we need to just not look into capital investments in the future, [00:22:30] but I think we also need to be prudent as we move forward because we have burnt ourselves quite a bit in the past. [00:22:35] Yeah, yeah. [00:22:37] In fact, what Davis was trying to say, and I'm not knocking your idea by any means, [00:22:40] I'm just saying my stance is I agree, of course, we have to invest money to make money, [00:22:46] but we have to be very, very careful doing it because we had a lot of money doing that in the past. [00:22:52] Yeah, I mean, you know, with the help of staff, you know, in the seven years that we've been here, [00:22:56] you know, we've tried to turn this around, and we're getting a positive, [00:23:00] and we didn't see the light when we first came aboard. [00:23:04] It was pretty ugly, and, of course, right now we're at the peak of the real estate market again, [00:23:10] which real estate's been going nuts. [00:23:15] And I think we have some areas on the south of town that can be developed that, you know, [00:23:20] would actually bring us more revenue in this situation, [00:23:23] and who knows what's going to happen with some of that property. [00:23:25] Mr. Altman's point is correct. [00:23:28] We do have some additional money next year, another, call it a round number, $100,000 plus. [00:23:34] Conceivably, we could use that $100,000 for additional incentives going from $200,000 to $300,000 this year [00:23:43] to maybe $400,000 next year. [00:23:46] So there are things that we can do with that, [00:23:48] and then the following year it starts getting a little easier to breathe. [00:23:53] Mr. Mayor, you had mentioned some of the waterfront properties, and I agree with you. [00:23:57] If we can get those properties for a good price, I would love to see the boat ramp expanded. [00:24:01] I would love to see some kind of a little retail area in that area as well. [00:24:05] But I brought this up before, and I don't know if we've actually contacted the county on this. [00:24:09] We are very, very limited countywide as to access to the Gulf of Mexico. [00:24:14] It just so happens that one of the boat ramps happens to be in our city, [00:24:17] and I get e-mails from residents, especially the ones that get their boats waked [00:24:22] by the boaters coming down on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, [00:24:24] hey, why don't we limit this to just city residents? [00:24:27] Why don't we charge and use the boat ramp? [00:24:29] I personally think that's a very, very tall request, and that would be very, very tough to enforce. [00:24:34] But have we and can we, and have we tried to partner with the county on this expansion? [00:24:40] Because it's not just our boat ramp. [00:24:42] It's just like the boat ramp we talked about at the Antler River. [00:24:44] A huge number of those folks come from Pinellas County to use this Pasco County boat ramp. [00:24:48] You had nothing north of there until you hit us and then Nix Park and New Port Richey, [00:24:51] which are both very, very small boat ramps, and without private parking and extended parking, [00:24:56] which we've implemented through the church, there would be no place to park. [00:25:00] And then you move north and you've got Hudson, which is a very, very small boat ramp. [00:25:03] I was very excited to see that possible BP oil fund project at the New Port Richey Park, [00:25:11] which I still think is a very underutilized piece of waterfront property. [00:25:14] But I agree with you on that. [00:25:16] I think that that would be a great expansion and it could be a great project overall. [00:25:22] But I think that if we're sharing this asset that we have with people outside the city limits [00:25:28] that are county residents, I don't see why the county wouldn't want to partner with us [00:25:31] and help expand that boat ramp. [00:25:33] They know it's a huge need for all county residents. [00:25:36] And I have not had a discussion with the county administrator about that, [00:25:39] but I will do that in my next meeting with him. [00:25:42] Do you all agree or no? [00:25:44] Who cares money? Just kidding. [00:25:46] I agree completely with you. [00:25:48] It's being used by a lot of folks, not just city residents. [00:25:51] So your point's very well taken. [00:25:53] I can just see us having a police officer out there in Sillan Trail [00:25:55] that would boat 35 miles to put their boat in the water, [00:25:57] and we say, oh, you're not a city resident, you can't do it. [00:25:59] It's not going to be pretty. [00:26:00] I don't really think that. [00:26:01] I don't think it's feasible. [00:26:03] I just think that we should be teaming up. [00:26:05] And even though sometimes I think the county goes, you're not in the county, you're the city, [00:26:11] and kind of pushes away, but we don't take that approach. [00:26:14] We step up to them and say, hey, let's work together, let's work together, [00:26:16] and I think this is a prime example. [00:26:18] This would be a good opportunity. [00:26:20] And to do something with those areas. [00:26:24] May I follow up here to something Director Davis said? [00:26:31] Chopper. [00:26:32] Chopper. [00:26:33] So, yeah, I was part of that staff that was involved in all of this, [00:26:37] and, in fact, I was the person who brought that refinancing from the city and the general fund, [00:26:44] which is why I'm always crowing about it, [00:26:46] because it was something I spent a lot of time trying to work on to figure out how we could transfer that debt [00:26:51] to the general fund. [00:26:53] And the good news is that money that's leaving here is going into the general fund. [00:26:56] So that's $700,000 to help replace some $800,000 or $900,000 in sales tax that's working for us. [00:27:04] But it has to be paid. [00:27:05] But if you go back to the original $18 million that was borrowed, [00:27:09] we continue to hammer as if we paid $18 million for the church [00:27:13] or we paid maybe a million for the other one there, [00:27:17] and we paid a million for 10 acres out by Gulf Harbors for the purpose of buying transfer density credits. [00:27:26] This all happened when none of us were involved in the city in any fashion, [00:27:31] and it's easy to criticize. [00:27:32] But I think a good bit of it also was for public infrastructure for our recreation center's first round of improvements. [00:27:43] And so consequently, the error there was that we didn't have a developer who came in and said, [00:27:51] if you buy this, I'll build this. [00:27:54] We bought it speculatively. [00:27:56] And so if we have people that are interested in doing things, [00:27:59] I think that is the difference that would be more prudent. [00:28:02] Just to try to share my philosophy with you, Jeff, because I agree. [00:28:08] And it's been beaten to death by everybody from Rotary Clubs to Chambers of Commerce to the neighbors down the street [00:28:16] that we bought it high and we gave it away. [00:28:19] But we have a nice product out of it now, and it'll start putting money on the tax roll. [00:28:24] So the CRA is like the long game, and the general fund is like every year we have to survive [00:28:29] and get cops and firemen and libraries and rent. [00:28:34] And so that's my only point in trying to talk about the capital improvement side of things, [00:28:39] that that's what we're here for. [00:28:42] And if we're going to spend $170,000 to shift to the general fund, the resources of Public Works, the city manager, [00:28:50] the finance department, and all the city's departments, the CRA, [00:28:54] if all we have to show for that couple hundred thousand is $200,000 or $300,000 worth of incentives [00:29:01] and get stuck on the old saw that was it's only a debt service entity and we can't really do anything. [00:29:09] So we shoot ourselves in the foot if we can't further the enthusiasm that we have. [00:29:16] And I feel real good that we're all on the same page with it. [00:29:19] So I'm not trying to get ahead of anybody. [00:29:21] I just want to make sure that it isn't a lock when we approve this budget [00:29:26] that we're going to borrow $6 million to build a parking garage. [00:29:29] When it comes time to look at opportunities, we put them together and we say, [00:29:33] what can we afford and how long do we want to stretch out this asset? [00:29:39] And I didn't see, did you put revenue in there for the parking garage? [00:29:43] We haven't even talked about that. [00:29:45] I guess there's operating costs of operating the garage, [00:29:48] and there's also a determination we'll have to make whether we are going to charge, [00:29:54] because it was stated by our attorney that Kaiser was going to pay their share of the cost. [00:30:00] a number of spaces that cost to operate it. [00:30:03] But there really hasn't been any talk [00:30:05] of whether we're gonna have a ticket thing [00:30:07] to come in and go out like you do in the big city garages [00:30:10] or whether you just drive in or how we segregate people [00:30:13] or if we just put stickers on their cars and match them up. [00:30:17] So we got a lot to do between now and then [00:30:21] that we can't possibly probably organize now. [00:30:25] I just wanna say that we're looking at building a CRA [00:30:29] and things like the Hacienda, [00:30:32] things like Main Street Landings and the Central [00:30:35] and even the college are gonna, [00:30:36] our investments, even though you're trying to bring it down [00:30:39] to a small number of 300,000 [00:30:41] or whatever the number you came up with there, [00:30:44] that isn't really the bigger picture. [00:30:45] The bigger picture is those places are open up. [00:30:47] They're coming into town. [00:30:48] They're bringing revenue. [00:30:49] They're bringing jobs. [00:30:51] So we're gonna reap more than just a few hundred thousand [00:30:56] dollars, so don't forget that part of it. [00:30:58] Mr. Murphy, any thoughts? [00:31:00] No, just what's kind of said before. [00:31:02] Anything we invest in, especially in the next five years, [00:31:04] it's gonna have to really get a rate of return on it. [00:31:07] I mean, we have to be picky. [00:31:09] We really need to be investing in things [00:31:11] it's gonna put out for us, so. [00:31:14] Mr. Cherky, anything else? [00:31:15] Yeah, I just have this great vision of us. [00:31:17] Once again, I go back to the boat ramp, [00:31:18] having this expanded boat ramp. [00:31:20] If anyone else was out on the boat during scalloping season, [00:31:23] in my 46 years here as a New Port Richey native resident, [00:31:28] I've never seen as many boats on the water [00:31:30] during any time of the year, ever, [00:31:32] as I did over the 10 days of scalloping. [00:31:35] It was absolutely insane, and I thank Commissioner Wells [00:31:38] for spearheading and getting that going, [00:31:40] but if we could get a larger boat ramp, [00:31:41] get the Hacienda open, maybe the hotel [00:31:44] over by Kaiser University, it could be a huge draw [00:31:46] for our downtown over those two weekends, [00:31:48] and hopefully if scalloping season is extended [00:31:51] to even a longer period of time, [00:31:52] because there was a ton of them out there this year, [00:31:54] but it's just very high hopes with things like that [00:31:57] that we could really benefit from. [00:32:00] You've just brought up a point that it might be, [00:32:03] behoove us to keep an eye on our design [00:32:05] of the parking garage that you can pull a boat in [00:32:08] with a trailer to. [00:32:11] Ooh, that's tough. [00:32:13] That is really tough. [00:32:15] You've ever tried. [00:32:17] Well, I mean, you can pull it in and it's taken two spots, [00:32:23] but I'm just saying, just keep that in mind. [00:32:25] We may want to be looking at surface parking for that. [00:32:28] I've backed trailers before, that's hairy. [00:32:33] I wouldn't even want to think about it in a parking garage. [00:32:39] There's one other piece of property that came up for sale [00:32:42] that may be of interest to the county. [00:32:44] Behind the, it's on 19 there at Old Post Road, [00:32:48] the little bridge that runs across on our side [00:32:51] of Highway 19, it's over an acre. [00:32:55] It was just listed last week, [00:32:57] and it would probably be a great spot [00:32:59] if it was available for a boat ramp [00:33:01] for folks that don't want to go through the river. [00:33:03] So the only downside of expanding the boat ramp [00:33:06] to serve that many people is all the folks [00:33:09] that live on the river that see them flying in [00:33:12] when it rains. [00:33:13] So I'd like to see an enhanced boat ramp. [00:33:17] I think that's a great vision. [00:33:18] But considering the 300,000 people or 200,000 people [00:33:23] that access our river, who have, [00:33:27] the ones that have boats out of that group, [00:33:30] that was the old Knight's Inn, [00:33:32] and then there's a big chunk of land right behind it [00:33:36] between the Knight's Inn and that Whiskey River, is it? [00:33:41] That just went on the market. [00:33:43] So I would say that would be a great pickup [00:33:46] for the county to make, and to provide some [00:33:49] for folks that just want to go out in the Gulf, [00:33:51] because that's a lot of traffic, isn't it? [00:33:54] You see it coming through, I don't know. [00:33:56] That whole area there, the old hotel that was torn down [00:33:59] that's listed by F.A. Gray right now, [00:34:01] and then the old Knight's Inn Hotel, the Riverside Inn, [00:34:04] and then the lot going to that. [00:34:05] I've always, I mean, you get the right people [00:34:07] invested in there. [00:34:08] You're talking about a whole resort-style area [00:34:11] on the water, hotel, boat ramp, everything. [00:34:13] Like half of it's in the city, [00:34:14] and the other half in New Port Richey or something, so. [00:34:17] But it can be done. [00:34:18] I mean, the Antelope River Marina, [00:34:21] the furthest one out on the Antelope River. [00:34:24] So it's called, with Miss Vickie's on it, [00:34:26] half that parcel's in Pinellas County and has some Pasco. [00:34:29] So I mean, you can make it work. [00:34:30] The other one that you might want to run past the county, [00:34:35] the county took possession of the old Scout property, [00:34:41] the Robert Crown property on Green Key Road. [00:34:46] And if memory serves me, that has deep water access [00:34:49] to the North Channel floor mark. [00:34:53] And that's another spot that would be very easy [00:34:56] to get boats in and out of to the Gulf. [00:35:00] I'm sorry, Mayor. [00:35:01] Did you say the county took possession of it? [00:35:03] They own it. [00:35:04] It was deeded from the, I don't know if they bought it [00:35:07] or it was given to them, but the county owns it. [00:35:12] It's the Robert Crown Preserve. [00:35:19] Sounds like there's a little committee forming [00:35:22] between the county and the city in New Port Richey [00:35:26] for Gulf access. [00:35:29] Well, that one would be easy. [00:35:31] The one over by Whiskey River would be [00:35:34] fairly straightforward and would get you real close [00:35:37] to the mouth of the river. [00:35:38] And of course, expanding the boat ramp that we've got here. [00:35:45] I mean, if you did all of those together, [00:35:47] you'd go a long way towards solving the issue. [00:35:50] And that's, I don't know if there's BP money left, [00:35:53] but that's a great project for BP money. [00:35:56] Very definitely. [00:35:56] And you already have the building there. [00:35:58] I mean, Mr. Holloman's brought up before. [00:35:59] I really think that chamber building is underutilized [00:36:01] from a city perspective. [00:36:04] We expand that boat ramp, we're gonna have to do [00:36:06] something special with that building [00:36:07] and that area right there. [00:36:11] What else? [00:36:12] We sort of took you off track, I think. [00:36:14] That's my presentation. [00:36:18] Yeah, we did. [00:36:19] All went down. [00:36:20] Yep, he's up the river without a paddle. [00:36:23] Okay. [00:36:28] But the ramps are, you know, there really is, [00:36:30] that's an economic draw for the downtown. [00:36:35] And I agree with Mr. Starkey. [00:36:40] That building, I've long contended would be better [00:36:45] as a bait and tackle shop or a kayak shop [00:36:48] or something like that than as a chamber building. [00:36:53] I have a couple pictures of what I think, so. [00:36:57] But there are some options and opportunities there [00:37:00] as we try to remake that whole area, so. [00:37:06] Did we need to actually vote on anything with this, [00:37:09] Ms. Manns, or is this just a presentation? [00:37:11] No, this is just a presentation. [00:37:13] This will come back before you for final review [00:37:17] in September for you to approve and adopt at that time. [00:37:23] Anything else for the CRA? [00:37:28] Can you just put the slide up, [00:37:29] just let us look at the numbers one more time, [00:37:31] because soup's probably cold still. [00:37:34] The next one with your operating, with your costs. [00:37:41] Which one? [00:37:43] Operating? [00:37:45] All the way back to that one, that one. [00:37:49] And I'll just add some points while we look at it. [00:37:54] So we sold the business incubator last year, [00:37:57] so the CRA's operating costs did go down some [00:38:01] related to electrical and utilities for that property. [00:38:05] So we did have some savings as it relates to that. [00:38:08] And then that building is now on the tax roll, [00:38:10] which provides the city and the CRA with additional income. [00:38:15] So can you go back to legal services, the attorney? [00:38:19] That's $40,000. [00:38:20] 30% of salary. [00:38:26] Wow. [00:38:28] Should have been a lawyer instead of a CPA. [00:38:30] There's a lot of lawyers. [00:38:33] But, so we got to give them some work. [00:38:39] So that's, and we have plenty of work to do, don't we? [00:38:42] Sorting through all these things. [00:38:44] In the marketing, that 50,000, is that including then, [00:38:51] how does that jive with the personnel [00:38:53] for us hiring the marketing person [00:38:55] versus putting money into marketing? [00:38:58] Placing ads or doing anything like that? [00:39:01] The $50,000 is for placing ads and other marketing efforts. [00:39:06] It does not include the staff. [00:39:10] It's broadcast in print and social media and web. [00:39:18] And it's all kind of, we just received a master plan, [00:39:21] a marketing and public relations plan, [00:39:23] and we're going full steam ahead, [00:39:25] implementation and getting the word out. [00:39:30] Since, if I may, just share a few more thoughts with you [00:39:33] than I've shared with the city manager. [00:39:35] The, going back to the Haas, [00:39:37] at the end of that was run [00:39:38] by the Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services [00:39:41] before it got sold to the city. [00:39:44] And the reason they sold it was because [00:39:46] their congregate living was no longer supported [00:39:51] by the federal government in a institutional type setting, [00:39:55] that they wanted it to be more little, smaller group homes. [00:39:59] So they ended up going out behind the Tahitian Hotel [00:40:03] and developing, or the Tahitian up in Palladay, [00:40:07] and developing their site to continue that service. [00:40:12] That required some zoning [00:40:14] and land use changes and other things, [00:40:16] but they also owned another piece of property, [00:40:20] which is existing now. [00:40:22] The Red Cross is using on Missouri Avenue, [00:40:26] right across from Cavalier Square. [00:40:28] That's a county building. [00:40:30] And we also have the county building [00:40:32] that we've talked about having a trade with them on, [00:40:34] but they were trying to figure out [00:40:37] how to move the health department. [00:40:41] And when we, I was just brainstorming [00:40:46] and talking to Debbie, and it's like, [00:40:49] with the new fire station and the fact [00:40:51] that Red Cross kind of follows fires [00:40:53] and helps with disasters, [00:40:55] and it's kind of an emergency relief. [00:40:57] I don't know how much activity is going on, [00:40:59] kind of like the chamber. [00:41:00] It's a building, it's there. [00:41:02] It's part of our little square running [00:41:04] from Railroad Square over to Cavalier Square [00:41:10] and out to Adams. [00:41:11] But it seems that little part by Fitzgerald's [00:41:14] and the parking lot and all that area there [00:41:17] is kind of a nice little court [00:41:18] that people move around Grand Boulevard to. [00:41:22] So I'm just curious to understand [00:41:25] how active the Red Cross is there [00:41:27] and how open the county would be to, again, [00:41:31] opening up some of our real estate in town [00:41:34] for retail and for expansion. [00:41:39] I don't know if they charge the Red Cross [00:41:42] or if it turns out to be one of their charitable functions [00:41:46] to let the Red Cross have that building [00:41:48] like we have with the chamber. [00:41:50] But I mentioned it to Debbie, [00:41:52] and I thought that would be another parcel [00:41:54] that is owned by a government entity [00:41:56] that could potentially, we could either relocate. [00:42:01] Part of the negotiations with the other pieces? [00:42:03] Yeah, and we could maybe relocate them [00:42:04] closer to the fire department [00:42:06] or we're on a craft street or something. [00:42:08] If all they're doing is storing emergency supplies, [00:42:11] maybe they could have it, maybe, [00:42:13] I don't know their relationship with our fire department [00:42:15] or with emergency services or how, [00:42:18] if it's staffed, but I used to be on the board. [00:42:21] What's all up on Sunset with the county? [00:42:25] Yeah, yeah, another place that's sheriff vehicle graveyard [00:42:31] or something, I'm not sure what it is. [00:42:33] But yeah, I mean, it would really be nice if we could get. [00:42:37] You know where I'm talking about, Jeff? [00:42:39] Yeah, it's where they, up River Road in Sunset, [00:42:44] where the county is and they have that screened in. [00:42:46] That's the old county building. [00:42:48] Yeah, and the old dispatch was there for the sheriff. [00:42:50] You talked about that one time [00:42:51] as far as moving the vehicles off. [00:42:53] There's a ton of parking space there [00:42:55] and we're parking county vehicles [00:42:57] right behind the health department. [00:42:58] Yeah, but I mean, that was a place [00:43:00] that maybe the health department could be, [00:43:02] I mean, Red Cross could be there. [00:43:05] I mean, I don't know what's in that building. [00:43:07] It's just, it's a county administration building [00:43:09] from what I understand and they house [00:43:11] most of the county's marine unit out back, [00:43:14] dive unit and all the marine boats [00:43:15] and there's a lot of different vehicles. [00:43:19] I'm not sure if it works out of the building. [00:43:20] I mean, what's in the building itself? [00:43:22] It's a, you know, Mr. Rivera, [00:43:24] it's a county administrative building, isn't it? [00:43:26] I'm not sure. [00:43:28] I'm not sure what departments are in there. [00:43:30] Yeah. [00:43:32] Well, you know, when we met with the county a year ago [00:43:34] and we're like due or coming due, I guess, [00:43:36] for another meeting with them in whatever format [00:43:40] that they were willing to do, but it would seem to me [00:43:42] since they raised the issue of the CRA [00:43:44] and we have taken action according to what they asked [00:43:47] to sort of reduce some of our areas that, [00:43:50] and they also act like we're taking their money [00:43:53] and not sharing with them what we're doing. [00:43:56] I think it would be helpful if we had some good ideas [00:44:00] that they might lean onto and get a little sense [00:44:04] of what can I, cooperation or assistance or recognition [00:44:10] because, you know, half of that two and a half [00:44:12] or $3 million is coming from county tax money [00:44:15] coming back to us. [00:44:16] So if we can get them to get on board [00:44:20] like they did originally with the harbors plan [00:44:23] and thinking they were going to start something [00:44:26] on the West side here in the city, [00:44:28] they've got real estate. [00:44:29] I mean, saying, well, we can't move [00:44:32] the health department out yet. [00:44:34] And so we're not going to trade the baseball field, [00:44:37] which I thought we were going to do a year ago, [00:44:39] or it would be nice to kind of talk to them [00:44:43] about their real estate in town and ways in which [00:44:46] we could use that for redevelopment purposes. [00:44:49] We can have a positive meeting. [00:44:52] That last one was, yeah, there was some tense going on [00:44:55] between, you know. [00:44:58] That's right. [00:45:00] Yeah, it was another city, huh? [00:45:05] Yeah, and a county commissioner. [00:45:07] Just since we have some time to burn, and I never get a chance to talk to you guys, [00:45:10] it's like, you know, they've always got an eye out to see where things can develop, [00:45:15] and as you're doing the railroad square, and we don't know what's going to happen with the... [00:45:20] Yeah, I hadn't thought about the Red Cross building. [00:45:23] But, you know, there's a really nice little gift shop right next to it now, and... [00:45:28] If it becomes, not that we own it, but if it becomes retail, you know, [00:45:34] then the county's making money, too, because it's on the taxes. [00:45:39] You got it. [00:45:42] Anyhow, anything else before we wander upstairs? [00:45:51] Communications, we've sort of been communicating anyway, but we'll do... [00:45:57] Do again at the end of the work session.

   This text was generated automatically from the meeting video. It is not a verbatim or official record. For exact wording, consult the video or the city clerk.

4. 4Communications▶ 45:59
5. 5Adjournment▶ 46:27