On the agenda

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

   Approval of July 20, 2021 CRA Meeting Minutes

   approved

   The CRA Board approved the minutes from the July 20, 2021 CRA meeting.

   • motion:Approve the July 20, 2021 CRA meeting minutes. (passed)

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   [00:00:18] We will, next item is approval of the July 20th CRA meeting minutes. [00:00:23] Move for approval. [00:00:24] Second. [00:00:25] Any discussion? [00:00:26] Hearing none, all those in favor please signify by saying aye. [00:00:30] Opposed like sign. [00:00:32] Motion passes.

   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 “Widow Fletcher” — transcript expanded below

   Review of Proposed FY2021-2022 CRA Budget

   discussed

   Staff presented the proposed FY2021-2022 CRA budget totaling $5,901,450, with revenues including $2.1M county TIF, $1.175M ARPA funds, and a $2.4M general fund TIF transfer. Expenditures include $117,050 personnel, $1.6M operating (with reduced redevelopment incentives at $1,376,750), $1,455,000 capital projects (Railroad Square Phase 1, US-19 Main Street Gateway, Marine Parkway Pedestrian Bridge, property assemblage), and $2.73M transfers. Board members discussed rebalancing priorities toward infrastructure over cash incentives while remaining flexible for major opportunities, and requested more regular reporting from Main Street and the Historical Society.

   • direction:Board directed staff to treat the CRA budget as a working document, pursue more regular reporting from Main Street and the Historical Society, and rebalance future spending toward infrastructure while remaining flexible for major development opportunities. (none)

   📍Marine Parkway Pedestrian Bridge📍Old Community Hospital Improvement District📍Railroad Square📍US Highway 19 / Main Street Gateway🏢Central Orange Partners🏢Hacienda🏢Historical Society / Historical Museum🏢Keiser University🏢Main Street Landing🏢Main Street Organization🏢Publix🏢Southgate Shopping Center🏢Widow Fletcher👤Charles👤Chopper👤Debbie👤Director Murphy👤Mr. Allman👤Mr. Rudd👤Ms. Feast👤Ms. Manns#2019 plan update#American Rescue Plan Act funds#Chasco Festival#FY2021-2022 CRA Budget#HCA area master plan#Marine Parkway Pedestrian Bridge#Railroad Square Phase 1#Series 2016 refunding bonds#Series 2020 bonds (parking garage)#State Small Matching Grant#Tax Increment Funding (TIF)#US-19 Main Street Gateway Project#Volk master plan#business assistance grants and loans

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   [00:00:34] Next is the review of the prose 21-22 CRA budget. [00:00:41] Ms. Manns. [00:00:50] At this time, Ms. Feast and Mr. Rudd will present to you the proposed [00:00:58] 2021-2022 Community Redevelopment Agency both operating and capital projects budget. [00:01:05] Good evening. [00:01:08] Included in your agenda packet was the proposed fiscal year 21-22 budget for the CRA in the [00:01:15] format that is normally presented in our annual budget book. [00:01:20] For tonight, we're going to present that proposed budget in a more visual format and highlight [00:01:29] some of the items that are being proposed for next year and then some significant changes [00:01:35] from prior year's budget. [00:01:38] So first, we'll start with the organizational chart for the CRA. [00:01:45] Included in personnel services for the CRA is 25% of the city manager's time and then [00:01:54] a full-time marketing manager position. [00:01:58] And so what we're proposing to you for next year is to keep that the same and no, we're [00:02:04] not requesting any additional positions at this time. [00:02:10] Next are revenues. [00:02:12] And so we'll go over the proposed revenues for next fiscal year by revenue source. [00:02:17] We have, as part of the capital improvement program, we've had a couple of work sessions [00:02:22] on that and that program included the CRA's capital projects and part of that presentation [00:02:33] included going over some of these revenue sources, but we'll look at it in its entirety [00:02:37] right now. [00:02:38] So the first item is tax increment funding from the county. [00:02:43] We expect to receive about $2.1 million and that is based on the county's operating millage [00:02:52] of 7.6076 mills. [00:02:57] And that's also calculated using that millage rate along with the taxable values of our [00:03:04] CRA jurisdiction for 2021. [00:03:08] Next is the American Rescue Plan Act funds. [00:03:11] We're proposing $1.175 million and we've discussed this specifically as part of the capital improvement [00:03:19] program. [00:03:21] That funding is going to be used directly to fund the Railroad Square Phase 1 project [00:03:28] and then $400,000 of that will go to the business assistant grants and loans that we'll incorporate [00:03:37] into the CRA budget. [00:03:41] Next is the state small matching grant, $25,000. [00:03:45] This is a conclusion of funding that we've received in fiscal year 2021, so the current [00:03:52] fiscal year. [00:03:53] This is the remaining portion of that and this grant was used to help cover some of [00:03:58] the costs of our master plan. [00:04:05] This is a new grant, actually, not the master plan, but it's to cover some of the costs [00:04:11] related to the CRA, do you know what specifically? [00:04:16] For the HCA area master plan. [00:04:21] The next item is $85,000 and that's our second installment toward the purchase of the Hacienda, [00:04:30] or the sale of the Hacienda, I should say. [00:04:32] That is what we've agreed to and that's the second installment from the developers to [00:04:41] pay toward the Hacienda. [00:04:43] Next is our transfer from the general fund of the tax increment funding. [00:04:48] That comes in at $2,413,790 and that TIF funding was calculated using the proposed millage [00:04:58] rate or the tentative millage rate that was just adopted in the regular city council meeting. [00:05:04] And finally, we're going to balance the CRA budget and use the remaining reserves of $42,290 [00:05:14] from prior years. [00:05:16] So in total, we have revenues of $5,901,450 and that's the money, basically the money [00:05:23] we have to work with to fund our costs for the CRA. [00:05:32] So next we have expenditures and we'll go through the expenditures by category, with [00:05:39] the first being personnel. [00:05:41] So in total, we're proposing $117,050 in personnel service costs next year compared to $112,990 [00:05:53] in the fiscal year 2021 amended budget. [00:05:57] You'll see that that's only about a $4,000 increase from fiscal year 2021 and that's [00:06:03] because there really aren't any changes being proposed. [00:06:05] That difference is just cost of last year's COLA and then any insurance or benefit cost [00:06:16] increases. [00:06:20] Next is our operating and I will, I know that's a little small, so in total, the total operating [00:06:30] for CRA that we're proposing is $1,599,250 compared to the $2,881,650 in last fiscal [00:06:43] year 2021's amended budget. [00:06:45] And the difference in that is about $1.3 million down from fiscal year 21's amended [00:06:52] budget and that's directly related to a reduction in the redevelopment incentives that we're [00:07:00] proposing for next year. [00:07:03] In fiscal year 21, we had more developer incentives that we, the CRA was obligated to pay that [00:07:11] is going down next fiscal year. [00:07:14] I've highlighted two line items on this list of operating expenditures just because those [00:07:20] two did have, you know, significant changes from the fiscal year 21 amended budget. [00:07:29] The first is professional services planning. [00:07:33] So in fiscal year 21, there was $100,000 budgeted and that was to cover cost of to finish or [00:07:40] conduct a master plan. [00:07:42] And so next fiscal year, fiscal year 21-22, we're not proposing to do that. [00:07:47] So the cost did decrease there. [00:07:50] And then the other item of significance was, is the redevelopment incentives category. [00:07:57] For next fiscal year, we're budgeting $1,376,750, which is down from last year. [00:08:05] And that amount is to cover incentives to Central Orange Partners, Main Street Landing, [00:08:12] Widow Fletcher, and then our business assistance grants and loans. [00:08:23] Next category is our capital projects. [00:08:27] And we have gone over this as part of the capital improvement program. [00:08:31] But you'll see that for next year, we're proposing funds to cover the Railroad Square [00:08:38] Improvements Project, and that's phase one at $775,000. [00:08:45] Property assemblage at $300,000, and that's just to cover any future property purchases [00:08:51] that may come up. [00:08:53] And then $280,000 for the U.S. Highway 19 Main Street Gateway Project. [00:09:00] And then $100,000 to start the Marine Parkway Pedestrian Bridge Project. [00:09:05] So in total, for capital projects, we're proposing $1,455,000, and compared to the $7 million [00:09:14] from the fiscal year 21 amended budget. [00:09:22] And then the final slide covers transfers out of this CRA. [00:09:30] In total, we're proposing $2,730,150 in transfers. [00:09:37] The first item you'll see is a transfer to the general fund to cover administrative costs. [00:09:43] And that comes in at $267,790. [00:09:48] The next is a transfer to general fund for a loan repayment. [00:09:52] And that, just to give you some background, that's for that advance that the general fund [00:09:56] loaned the CRA a few years ago. [00:10:00] So we've started repayment on that. [00:10:02] So that's $619,310. [00:10:06] And then a transfer to the Debt Service Fund to cover the debt that the CRA has. [00:10:14] And those two debt items are the Series 2016 refunding and the Series 2020, which is for [00:10:24] the parking garage. [00:10:28] So that, in total, equals exactly the amount of funding, revenue funding, that we have [00:10:38] for the CRA. [00:10:39] So the total budget for the CRA is the $5,901,450. [00:10:43] And I will take any questions. [00:10:47] Thank you. [00:10:48] I'll open it up for any public comment. [00:10:52] Seeing no one come forward, I'll bring it back to the CRA board. [00:10:56] We do not need a motion, but if you have any comments, recommendations, this would be a [00:11:03] good time to do them. [00:11:04] Mr. Allman? [00:11:05] Yep. [00:11:06] The gateway project you're showing, your amended budget, shows U.S. 19 Main Street gateway [00:11:11] project. [00:11:12] Am I to assume, then, that we will have spent $200,000 this year and have another $280,000 [00:11:19] to go? [00:11:20] You're showing the amended budget of $200,000 on that figure. [00:11:30] So are we under design or have something going on with that already? [00:11:34] It's in design. [00:11:36] We've contracted the landscape architect for the landscaping portion, and the design is [00:11:42] still to be completed. [00:11:44] So we won't expend that $200,000 this year, I don't anticipate, unless we go to construction [00:11:50] in the next two months. [00:11:52] So that being said, you've projected, based on your amended budget, what your overage [00:11:58] or your carryover will be. [00:12:00] So potentially not spending that could relieve some funds. [00:12:06] Correct. [00:12:07] Right. [00:12:08] Yeah, it's there if we need it. [00:12:12] We're able to go to construction this fiscal year and make the adjustment if we don't. [00:12:18] So the $280,000 number, as we've just looked at two capital improvement projects that are [00:12:23] one that we've gone out, others with costs of steel and other things, we may have more [00:12:30] than $43,000 in the bank at the end of the year, I guess is what I'm saying. [00:12:35] That's correct. [00:12:36] So we can see where that's needed. [00:12:39] The other thing I noticed that the Main Street funds are in here, we talked about the Hacienda [00:12:45] having money in our cultural budget on the general fund side, or is it in here as well? [00:12:50] Not the Hacienda, the historical museum. [00:12:54] Did I miss that? [00:12:56] Is that in here too? [00:12:57] No, I believe that's in the council budget. [00:13:00] Right. [00:13:01] So we're funding culture through the council, Main Street through here, and the funds we're [00:13:09] giving to the museum is $30,000, is that right? [00:13:13] $25,000 I believe, wasn't it? [00:13:16] It's the same amount. [00:13:17] Yeah, $25,000. [00:13:18] It's in the council budget. [00:13:19] Oh. [00:13:20] So I'll be interested to look at those two organizations that we are supplementing and [00:13:27] hopefully get regular reports and get a sense that we put those funds in there to activate [00:13:34] it. [00:13:35] I know we'd like to see some good reports. [00:13:41] We got a good report today on the conference. [00:13:50] We did get a good report at the communication from us. [00:13:54] We gave a good score for it. [00:13:57] We liked it. [00:13:58] So the point is, it's helpful to hear from and understand what's going on in those organizations, [00:14:05] and it only can encourage us to provide the support when it's needed. [00:14:11] Get annual reports from them as well. [00:14:12] Main Street Organization provides quarterly reports, and they're very well put together [00:14:23] and contain a lot of detail. [00:14:24] I've never thought to pass them on to you as well, but I could do that if you'd like [00:14:28] to see them. [00:14:29] Historical Society, don't they come once a year? [00:14:30] They do come once a year for a presentation. [00:14:35] Like for like, I think it'd be nice to get some regular reporting from both of them so [00:14:39] we know what's going on, and it's a good bully pulpit anyway to get stuff out. [00:14:45] We had a pretty good thing going with marketing and advertising, and I know we've got to kind [00:14:50] of recharge now, losing Charles. [00:14:53] He was wrong. [00:14:54] We've got to have one more meeting after all with this one. [00:14:56] But here you are, and then goodbye. [00:15:00] and good luck and time for us to start over. So we're, you know, I'm hopeful that [00:15:06] we'll have regular meetings, that we'll have regular updates. I had brought with [00:15:12] me, and I'm not going to go into it, but the 2019 plan update we did just two [00:15:16] years ago, and then when you look in the budget at the money for consulting, I'm [00:15:22] not sure exactly where it all goes, but we just got that wonderful master plan [00:15:28] from Volk. And again, our redevelopment, our CRA, is just our downtown, right? It's [00:15:35] the Highway 19 corridor, and then the hospital corridor. I'm not sure who we'll [00:15:47] get for that planning dollars, but I continue to advocate for some kind of [00:15:53] engineering and project management reporting and the dialogue. I brought [00:15:58] these reports only to demonstrate that there are seven of them here, all with [00:16:04] some kind of plan, an action plan, and if we go through all of them, we'll see we're [00:16:10] not really as committed to the implementation, because we change horses [00:16:16] and change seats up here and dynamics change, but the 19 plan is already sort [00:16:25] of obsolete. It says build a parking garage. We've already got the parking lot, [00:16:28] but it identifies our projects, and we really do need to talk about them. I'm [00:16:35] particularly anxious because I'm on the short straw here. I'll be out in [00:16:40] March, so I would love to see some meetings and continuation, choppers in [00:16:44] the same boat as I am. It'd really be nice if we give it a good last lap and [00:16:50] get some energy. So my request is that we see this as a working document, [00:16:58] but that we work on it regularly. [00:17:02] Director Murphy. [00:17:04] You're talking about some different organizations that are doing good, and I [00:17:09] mean, I think, you know, we should be definitely looking at them. If [00:17:15] they're doing a good job, we should be investing a little more with them, I [00:17:18] think. One in particular is Main Street. It's hard to find good people to run [00:17:24] an organization and spend that time, and I mean, since we're proposed, I mean, I say [00:17:28] why don't we do it while we're here, you know, add some to it now. I don't [00:17:35] know, while we're talking about it, because once we get through, then [00:17:38] it's another year wait, you know. So I propose maybe helping out the ones that [00:17:43] are doing well and trying to spend a little bit more investment on them. [00:17:48] I think we, if you'll allow me, Mr. Mayor, helped Main Street considerably this [00:17:54] year, particularly with their conference expenses, and I would need to know what [00:18:01] they need assistance with, in addition to the money that they've recently asked [00:18:08] for support for special events. So to that request, I think the, to make a good [00:18:24] point, that special event funding is another area of support. To me, the need [00:18:34] is in that daily downtown business promotion and making things happen, [00:18:38] marketing the city. The events, I've been an advocate of taking some of the weight [00:18:44] off of organizations like that. The events become what you talk about at the [00:18:48] meetings all the time, what you plan for, lining up your volunteers, pulling them [00:18:52] off. I'd rather see more tilted towards the four points, the three-point [00:19:00] services, and having the city take a more active role in the events, [00:19:04] particularly the major events that we have. I don't know if events are [00:19:09] fundraisers, and I think that along those lines, if the Chasco is asking, and I [00:19:15] think it only makes sense now that we've finally broken the glass ceiling, to [00:19:20] allow for us to start collecting fees like Brooksville does out in the woods [00:19:25] for their native festivals, or the Strawberry Festival does. But if we have [00:19:31] these events that are so good, we really need to be able to start having them [00:19:35] collect some money, not rely solely on sponsorships, because that gets harder [00:19:41] every year. Sponsors, we're not sure if Publix will be back. They were back, they [00:19:46] were in the Chasco for many years. So those 15, $20,000 sponsorships that help [00:19:51] put on these big events are harder and harder to come by. So if not in the CRA [00:19:59] budget, because I would support your request, but I think we do need to look [00:20:04] at it holistically, you make a good point, and make sure we're investing our money [00:20:10] for the return to the business community. I'll take that as Main [00:20:17] Street and Debbie need to get together and let them hash it over and then come [00:20:21] talk to us. Yeah, change up just a little bit. The redevelopment incentives, you [00:20:34] know, the past two fiscal years, we've spent quite a bit more in the past, and [00:20:39] are those two years than the previous years, and of course this is down. Was [00:20:43] that directly with relationship to the landing? It was related in large part to [00:20:49] Kaiser University. Kaiser University, okay, I apologize. All right, thank you. I just, [00:20:54] you know, see a change that big. I'm just trying to recall what that was, how that [00:20:59] happened. Sort of distorts things. Yeah, yeah, so yeah, you know, it's interesting. We look at the [00:21:09] CRA, and you look at the revenues, and the, you know, we said, oh, this money comes in, [00:21:15] and we've got the annual commitments that we have to debt services and [00:21:21] transfers. It just doesn't leave a lot of money left, does it? Well, to that end, I [00:21:28] think it's time that we think about the incentives that we have been giving, and [00:21:31] particularly in light of the resiliency issues, and, you know, we're committing [00:21:37] a lot of money that's not here from the American Rescue Plan for some of these [00:21:41] proposed loans, and the implementation of some of that plan that came in for trees, [00:21:47] and such, but I think the time is here for us to make sure we do the [00:21:55] infrastructure so that our city lasts, and do the improvements like we used to. [00:21:59] I'm not really in favor of giving a lot of cash for incentives anymore. I think [00:22:05] that what we really need to do is look at our master plan and say, well, as I [00:22:10] believe is proposed in the Rescue Plan, we'll follow the planning guidance and [00:22:15] start handling some better stormwater, and put our parking lots up, and [00:22:21] set the table, you know, clear the field so that the business community can [00:22:28] build good things. So I'm not so sure how many free rents and incentives we [00:22:36] need when we get our rent starts filling up. What we really need is to keep the [00:22:40] business, the people coming in, and the businesses making money. The recent [00:22:46] closure of a couple of businesses tell me that we still have to keep working [00:22:50] hard to bring more residents downtown, and make the city as attractive as we [00:22:56] can for that. Some of the monies that I think donated through the CRA examples, [00:23:01] Main Street landings, the Central, Hacienda, you know, [00:23:08] Real Fletchers, I think those are drawing people, they're drawing jobs, you know, so [00:23:13] sometimes the dollar does work for us. No, it has. Yeah, it's not a [00:23:20] argument against it. I think we just might be hitting that time frame where [00:23:24] now we have a plan, we can implement those shade things, those attractive [00:23:29] things that will attract the businesses, as much as trying to provide free rent [00:23:33] for folks that are trying to start a new business. I don't know, that'll be part [00:23:38] of the new person looking at our vacancy rates, and deciding, you know, where we [00:23:42] need to put our efforts. If I understand Mr. Altman's point, I think it's valid [00:23:50] that over the next few years we probably will be looking at rebalancing [00:23:56] how we're going about spending the available resources we have, and I would [00:24:06] encourage everybody to keep an open mind about some of the opportunities that may [00:24:13] come up. Certainly dealing with some of the infrastructure issues makes [00:24:21] a lot of sense. The flip side of that is if there is a opportunity that comes up [00:24:30] to wit either on the US-19 corridor or in the Old Community Hospital Improvement [00:24:38] District that putting some money into could make something really exciting [00:24:44] happen, I think we need to be open to that, much as we were when we had the [00:24:50] opportunity to step up and make the Kaiser University project happen right [00:24:55] there at Main and 19. And I don't know that we've got any of those on the table [00:25:01] right now, or even on the horizon, but I would encourage everybody to think in [00:25:07] terms of if our future economic development director comes to Mrs. Mann's [00:25:14] and says, I've got a live one, we need to figure out how we can reel them in. I [00:25:21] think we need to be open to trying to figure out what it takes to make [00:25:29] those big developments happen, because we do have some areas that will be [00:25:34] important, but your point is absolutely on target. There's, you know, the [00:25:41] business incentives, particularly in a downtown where things are essentially [00:25:47] full, makes less sense today than it did, say, five years ago. [00:25:54] Mary made a great point with that. You know, my comment was a, you know, we, you [00:26:01] know, after some of the commitments we already made, there's not a lot of money [00:26:03] left, so we have to be careful in how we do spend it. I think we talk about some [00:26:07] of our business incentives and so forth. We kind of keep in mind, you know, [00:26:13] because we've had so much activity here in the downtown area, and I love [00:26:19] all the small businesses that have taken hold and are doing well, and maybe [00:26:23] our incentives help them get that started, but we got to remember the city [00:26:28] goes beyond just the downtown core. You know, our largest taxpayer is [00:26:34] out on 19, the Southgate Shopping Center, and, you know, we kind of [00:26:39] consider that as a kind of a bell cow, and there's some property [00:26:44] around there, across the street, that is ripe for redevelopment or [00:26:49] improvement, and to encourage, you know, some more business there that [00:26:54] would serve a long-range beneficial interest to the city. So, you know, so we [00:27:03] just kind of, on this, we got to keep some of our powder dry because we don't [00:27:07] know what the next phone call brings or next knock on the door will bring to us, [00:27:12] and so trying to keep some flexibility within this, I think, is [00:27:18] very important. But much more eloquently than I did, but that's exactly what I'm [00:27:23] talking about. And we talked about adding Massachusetts to that, too. Good point. [00:27:30] Absolutely. And I say it may be an opportunity that none of us have [00:27:37] even considered that is going to drop in our lap, heaven knows we've had that [00:27:42] happen in the past. To be flexible. Adding to that conversation, it's the real [00:27:49] common incentive is the incentive of their own bootstraps. So if a private, if [00:27:55] a private entity comes in, says I'm going to invest all this and I'm going to [00:27:57] create this, much the way, Chopper, as you said, Woodrow Fletcher's did, when they [00:28:02] put that much money into something and they can demonstrate that they're going [00:28:05] to create a brand new, not what we have our hands in, but a new [00:28:10] increment, then that's where we have the opportunity, perhaps, to deal with some, [00:28:15] you know, giving a little bit of their own. When the Main Street Landing had [00:28:20] been pulled back in 2013, there was a request to the city to use only the [00:28:28] increment from that singular project. Not to tap into the money that came from the [00:28:33] downtown or from somewhere to use somewhere else, but to that particular [00:28:36] project. So some cities are dividing it up, as our plan does, into different [00:28:42] bergs, even, you know, and trying to make sure that that this self-help is turned [00:28:49] into the communities, which I think is kind of what you're getting to. So I [00:28:53] think we're all on the same page and I'm excited to be part of the [00:28:59] team and this is the most exciting time ever for me, so thank you all. [00:29:03] Ms. Mance, does that give you some guidance for working through? We have [00:29:09] anything else for the CRA tonight? Hearing nothing, I would entertain a motion to adjourn. [00:29:14] I'm asking that we defer the budget amendment at this time.

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4. 4

   Approval of Budget Amendment

   tabled

   The Community Redevelopment Agency Board deferred consideration of the budget amendment.

   • direction:Defer the budget amendment. (tabled)

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   [00:29:23] Okay, we're going to defer the budget amendment in that case. Do we have

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5. 6Adjournment▶ 29:27
6. 5Communications