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Minutes 12-14-04MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY REGULAR MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2004 AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Jeanne Heavilin, Chairperson Henderson Tillman, Vice Chair James Barretta Alexander DeMarco Don Fenton Marie Horenburger (arrived at 7:00 p.m.) Steve Myott Douglas Hutchinson, CRA Director Ken Spillius, Board Attorney Susan Vielhauer, Controller I. Call to Order Chairperson Heavilin called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. Chairperson Heavilin introduced Commissioner Ferguson and welcomed the Board's new Attorney, Ken Spillius, from the firm of Lewis, Longman & Walker. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared a quorum was present. III. Agenda Approval A. Additions, Deletions, Corrections to the Agenda Chairperson Heavilin requested that Item V.A 1. (Public Audience) be moved to Item VI, "Public Hearing" as Item VI.A.I. This item would be tabled, along with Item VIII. D, "Consideration of Extension of the Arches Incentive Agreement." Mr. Hutchinson stated that the items should be tabled until the regular January meeting. VI.A. Site Plan Time Extension Project: Agent: Owner: Location: Description: Arches (SPTE 05-001) Ryan Weisfisch, Boynton Ventures 1, LLC Multiple Owners Southwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway Request for a second time extension of the site plan approval granted on June 3, 2003, for one (1) year from the previously extended date of December 3, 2004 to December 3, 2005 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2004 VIII. New Business (addressed out of order) D. Consideration of Extension of the Arches Incentive Agreement Motion Vice Chair Tillman moved to table Items VI.A.1 and VIII.D until the regular January meeting. Motion seconded by Mr. Barretta and unanimously carried. IV. Consent Agenda A. Approval of Minutes of November 9, 2004 Meeting Chairperson Heavilin removed Item A. from the Consent Agenda for correction. B. Financial Report Consideration of Reimbursement Request for Fa(;ade Grant for Welsh Plastering D. Consideration of Facade Grant Request for First Baptist Church Consideration of Self-Assembly Grants for the North Federal Highway Area Consideration of Extension of Consultant Agreement for Real Estate Services for Acquisition in HOB Phase 1 Consideration of HOB Phase 1 Purchase of Property at 1000 N. Seacrest Boulevard Consideration of Contract for Lewis, Longman & Walker, PA for Legal Services J. Consideration of Lease for New Copier Chairperson Heavilin removed Item IV.J. for discussion Motion Vice Chair Tillman moved to approve the Consent Agenda, as amended. Motion seconded by Mr. DeMarco and unanimously carried. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2004 IV. A. Approval of Minutes of November 9, 2004 Meeting Chairperson Heavilin pointed out that on Page 9, the spelling of Mr. Zimet's name should be corrected from "Zimod" to "Zimet." Motion Vice Chair Tillman moved to approve the minutes, as corrected. Motion seconded by Mr. Myott and unanimously carried. IV.J. Consideration of Lease of New Copier Ms. Vielhauer distributed updated information regarding the lease of the new copier, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk's Office. Mr. Hutchinson reported that the current copier is more expensive. Staff is recommending the lease of a new upgraded copier in order to cut down on the amount of staff time involved in copying documents. Staff is now making the Agenda and backup available on the Web and a new copier would expedite this process. Motion Mr. DeMarco moved for approval. Motion seconded by Vice Chair Tillman and unanimously carried. Chairperson Heavilin presented James Welch, of Welch Plastering, with his facade grant award. Chairperson Heavilin pointed out how nice the property now looks. V. Public Audience Chairperson Heavilin opened the Public Audience portion of the meeting and welcomed Commissioner Ensler. Since no one wished to speak, the public audience was closed. VI. Public Hearing A. Site Plan Time Extension Project: Agent: Owner: Location: Description: Arches (SPTE 05-001) Ryan Weisfisch, Boynton Ventures 1, LLC Multiple Owners Southwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway Request for a second time extension of the site plan approval granted on June 3, 2003, for one Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2004 (1) year from the previously extended date of December 3, 2004 to December 3, 2005 (Tabled to the January 11, 2004 Meeting) VII. Old Business None VIII. New Business A. Consideration of Planner Job Description and Pay Scale Mr. Hutchinson reported that the CRA would like to add another position and referred to the job description and pay scale for the position of a Planner. He pointed out that staff has been dealing with a great amount of planning work, and he felt that it was now time to add a planner to staff to handle all this work. He would like members to review and approve the job description and pay scale included in the agenda packet. The City's job description for the Planner was used as a model, since the Planner would be working in conjunction with the City. The salary is at market rates. He anticipated they could have someone on staff by February. Mr. Hutchinson also pointed out that the Planner would be in charge of the self-assembly areas, of which there are now six. Motion Vice Chair Tillman moved for approval. Motion seconded by Mr. DeMamo and unanimously carried. B. Consideration of Hotel Feasibility Study RFQ Mr. Hutchinson reported that an opportunity exists to direct some redevelopment projects in the downtown that would include a full-service hotel. Before moving forward, Mr. Hutchinson would like to have a feasibility study done to determine what would be suitable for the downtown. The only costs incurred at this time would be the advertising costs. The item would come back to the Board with a recommendation of a company to perform the study. Mr. Hutchinson noted that the possibility exists that a developer of a hotel may come forward on his own, which would negate having a feasibility study done. The funds for the study were available. Mr. Barretta asked why a feasibility study was necessary since most developers perform their own feasibility studies. Mr. Hutchinson responded that staff was not in favor of a developer doing the study because public incentives are involved. He would 4 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2004 like to avoid having a developer tell staff what they deem feasible and what they want to do. Having an independent entity perform the study would be the best way to proceed. Mr. Fenton inquired if it was premature to do the study since a lawsuit was pending. Mr. Hutchinson explained that the study would not include height, but would deal with the number of rooms needed, square footage for meeting space, the room rate that Boynton Beach could sustain and other necessary information. He pointed out that the County needs 4,000 rooms to handle the new Convention Center business. Mr. Fenton did not think that the downtown could attract a major hotel developer if there were a height limitation. Mr. Hutchinson responded that the hotels being designed would be less than 100 feet because the City would not require as many rooms. Mr. Fenton inquired if the property involved is under contract and Mr. Hutchinson stated that the proposed developer owned the property. For clarification, Chairperson Heavilin pointed out that the Board was being asked to approve the advertising for an RFQ without the commitment of doing a feasibility study. Because it would take approximately three months just to begin a study, Mr. Hutchinson would like to move forward with this now. Mr. DeMamo inquired where the request for the RFQ would be advertised. Mr. Hutchinson stated that it would be advertised in the Palm Beach Post and there will be a direct mailing to the top feasibility firms in the country, of which there are about twelve. The cost for advertising in the Palm Beach Post would be under $500. Motion Vice Chair Tillman moved for approval. Motion seconded by Mr. Myott and carried 5-1 (Mr. Fenton dissenting). C. Consideration of Trolley Marketing Plan Implementation RFP Mr. Hutchinson noted that this item was similar to the previous item and requested that members become familiar with the Plan that was included in the agenda packet. He felt that the Plan was comprehensive and there were other communities and agencies looking to this CRA as a pilot program for trolleys. The CRA has received additional grant funds for the trolley program and he anticipated that the marketing plan would generate more revenue. Vice Chair Tillman inquired what the CRA's outlay for the program would be. Mr. Hutchinson stated that they anticipate $180,000 in net revenues, plus the additional grant of $250,000. He has determined that the revenue potential was greatly underestimated. When the implementation contract is in place, he would like to have an incentive program to provide bonuses if revenues exceeded the anticipated income. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2004 Mr. Hutchinson pointed out that originally there was no money for trolley stops. However, with the grant funds, they can now install trolley shelters that improve the system, while staying within the budget. Mr. Fenton asked about the $2,500 that was budgeted for a marketing program for the trolleys. Mr. Hutchinson explained that this money would be used for the Plan that the Board would be implementing. Chairperson Heavilin asked exactly what the Board was being asked to approve. Mr. Hutchinson responded that the Board would be authorizing staff to go out for an RFP to implement the Plan. The Plan does not have to be approved for at least two months until there is a contract. The Plan would be a process for advertising and marketing of the trolleys. Mr. Myott inquired that when the proposals are received, would the Board be able to select the options listed in the RFP. Mr. Hutchinson stated that this would be the process. Board members having questions should bring them forward. Mr. Fenton asked why staff could not implement the Plan. Mr. Hutchinson stated that there was not enough staff to do it, since it involved a great deal of time and money in finding advertisers, selling ads and everything else involved in this process. Chairperson Heavilin thought that the Marketing Plan should be workshopped. Mr. Hutchinson stated that this was doable. If members wanted to have a workshop, he was amenable to doing one and he would invite the advertising professional to attend. Motion Vice Chair Tillman moved for approval for consideration of the Trolley Marketing Plan Implementation RFP. Motion seconded by Mr. Myott and unanimously carried. Consideration of Extension of the Arches Incentive Agreement (Tabled until January 11, 2005) IX. Commission Action A. Edward Medical Building B. Barr Property No action was taken on these items. X. Director's Report Included in the agenda packet. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2004 Chairperson Heavilin asked for an update on the CRA office space. Mr. Hutchinson stated that he is waiting for the lease/purchase contract from Schnars. He pointed out that the Board had previously approved this project that is located on North Federal Highway. He pointed out that Schnars is also considering purchasing the lot next door. XI. Board Member Comments Chairperson Heavilin commended Ms. Annette Gray and the CRA staff for staging two excellent events. Mr. Hutchinson noted that there was a very good turnout for the first "Movie on the Avenue," and they received a great many compliments. Mr. Hutchinson reported that the CRA newsletter should be coming out shortly. (Ms. Horenburger arrived at 7:00 p.m.) Mr. Myott requested to discuss the concurrency of the parade and festival. He thought that the events should have had better coordination and that there should have been advertising of the festival while the parade was taking place. Mr. Hutchinson stated that this has been discussed, and he agreed with Mr. Myott's comments. Mr. Hutchinson anticipated that next year the coordination of events would be much improved. Chairperson Heavilin also thought that many people that attended the parade were not aware of the winter festival. Mr. Hutchinson stated that there needs to be other avenues of advertising located to attract more people. Ms. Gray is working on this. He also thought that the CRA newsletter would help with the advertising of events. Chairperson Heavilin noted that there was a dearth of food vendors. She learned from Ms. Gray that this was due to the City's insurance and code requirements. Chairperson Heavilin would like these issues resolved in order to attract more food vendors. Mr. Hutchinson felt that if more local restaurants participated, this might solve the problem. Ms. Horenburger thought that if the City had a downtown coordinator, similar to Delray Beach, it would help with these types of events. Ms. Horenburger noted that Delray Beach's downtown coordinator's salary is split among three entities. Mr. Hutchinson noted that this position has a budget of $1.4 million. He felt that the events that the CRA has put on have had a good return on its investment, but lacked consistency. Vice Chair Tillman felt that if the events were held on different dates, they would be more successful. Mr. Hutchinson stated that the downtown merchants complained about holding events on Saturday. Vice Chair Tillman stressed that it was important for people to start buying into the direction that the CRA is going. A lengthy discussion took place on when, where and how to schedule the parade versus the winter carnival. Mr. Hutchinson stated that staff was aware of these problems and was addressing them. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2004 Mr. DeMamo recommended including information on the City's water bills and Mr. Hutchinson responded that they have been doing this for some time; however, it is not effective. This would be one of the topics for discussion at the February workshop. Annette Gray would be attending the Association of Affairs and Events for training. Chairperson Heavilin welcomed Commissioner McKoy. Mr. Myott inquired on the status of the Old High School. He felt that the CRA was in a position to spearhead the redevelopment of the building, which is something he was in favor of. Mr. Hutchinson recommended adding this to the agenda for the February workshop. Mr. Hutchinson would also like the Board to consider having a retreat to address outstanding issues. Mr. Myott thought that the City was having a study done on the Old High School and inquired if this would be available by February. Mr. Hutchinson will check on this. Mr. Fenton noted that he was on the committee that was charged with looking into renovating the Old High School. He pointed out that no one has come up with any kind of business plan for the building that is needed to offset the $450,000 in estimated annual maintenance costs. He recommended purchasing the building from the City for $1 and operating it like a business. If no one comes up with a business plan, he was opposed to putting any money into the building. Mr. Fenton was in favor of the CRA hiring a marketing director for the anticipated projects. Mr. Hutchinson pointed out that the CRA has a small staff running a multi- million dollar business. Ms. Horenburger requested that this also be added to the February workshop agenda. Mr. Hutchinson will be furnishing the Board with a list of items for discussion at the workshop, at which time members could provide their comments. Chairperson Heavilin requested an update on the bond issue. Mr. Hutchinson reported that the bonds received an A rating with a blended interest rate of 4.382%. The bonds were sold within a two-hour time span. He commended Julie Turner, Mark Raymond and the CRA's new attorneys for doing a wonderful job. Chairperson Heavilin congratulated Ms. Vielhauer for doing an incredible job. Ms. Horenburger pointed out how hard staff works and how they performed admirably under all kinds of conditions, especially during the hurricanes. Ms. Horenburger would like to propose that staff receive a one-time bonus to show the Board's appreciation for their hard work. Chairperson Heavilin asked Attorney Spillius if this were permissible. Attorney Spillius responded that since it was for services beyond the ordinary course of staff's regular job duties, he felt that the bonus would be appropriate. It should be considered in recognition of staff's efforts beyond their normal duties. The motion should state that the bonus was subject to confirmation by the Board Attorney's determination of how this would be appropriately accomplished from a legal standpoint. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2004 Chairperson Heavilin inquired if there were sufficient funds in the budget to cover this and Mr. Hutchinson responded that there were funds available. Motion Vice Chair Tillman moved that each staff member receive a one-time bonus for extraordinary work of $500, subject to legal review. Motion seconded by Ms. Horenburger. Mr. Fenton recused himself from voting and completed and furnished the appropriate Form 8B to the Recording Secretary for inclusion in the City Clerk's records. Vote The motion carried 6-0 (Mr. Fenton abstaining). XlI. Legal Attorney Spillius thanked the CRA for selecting his firm and pointed out that they have already become active in many projects on behalf of the CRA. Attorney Spillius introduced his Associate, Ms. Amy Dukes, who would be working with him on CRA matters. Xlll. Other Items Mr. DeMarco expressed his concern regarding the amount of crime in certain areas in the County. He also felt that removing the perpetrators from one city would result in their moving into our City. Mr. DeMarco inquired if it would be feasible to consider hiring two additional police officers in the CRA district. He would like to be prepared to address any future problems that might occur in the CRA districts and wanted assurances that the downtown area was safe to encourage development. Chairperson Heavilin felt that the four officers that the CRA hired were hired for this exact purpose. Ms. Horenburger recommended that this discussion be added to the February workshop agenda. XlV. Future Agenda Items Consideration of Interlocal Agreement with the City of Boynton Beach for the Boynton Beach Boulevard Extension Promenade and Riverwalk (January) Consideration of Interlocal Agreement for the MLK Phase I Project (January) Workshop for Parks and Recreation (5:30 p.m. - just before January meeting). Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2004 D. Consideration of amendment to CRA Procurement Policy (February) E, Consideration of Options for CRA Office Space (February) Consideration of Final Direct Incentive Agreement for the Promenade Project (February) Consideration of Modification to the Direct Incentive Program to include Arts Commission Elements for Incentive Scoring (February) H. CRA Retreat (February) Chairperson Heavilin announced that there would be a 5:30 p.m. workshop before the regular January meeting. Mr. Hutchinson had some questions regarding the workshop that he would be addressing with the Recreation and Parks staff. He explained that the Recreation and Parks Plan does not identify the CRA area and he was not certain if it would be feasible to have the workshop until certain questions are answered. He will advise Board members whether or not the workshop would take place. Ms. Horenburger noted that she had difficulty making meetings that begin at 5:30 p.m. Mr. Hutchinson explained that because the meetings are advertised to begin at 6:30 p.m., the workshops had to begin earlier. Mr. Myott did not want to have the workshops on weekends and would try to make the early weekday workshops. XV. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:35 p,m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (December 21, 2004) ]0