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Minutes 06-22-06 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY SAVAGE CREATURES WORKSHOP HELD AT THE HOLIDAY INN CATALINA, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 2006 AT 6:00 P.M. Present: Henderson Tillman, Chairman Stormet Norem, Vice Chair Alexander DeMarco Jeanne Heavilin Marie Horenburger Guarn Sims Ken Spillias, Board Attorney Lisa Bright, CRA Director Absent: Steve Myott I. Review Scope and Nature of the Project Chair Tillman called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m. and explained the purpose of the workshop was to review issues associated with the Savage Creatures concept. Attorney Spillias explained in August 2004, the board received a report from Baker Leisure Group, LLC, regarding Savage Creatures of the Ancient Seas as a proposed project on the Intracoastal. Soon after Attorney Spillias became board counsel, he was asked to investigate the feasibility of the project and advise the board what some of the legal, permitting and financial issues would be. He announced Attorneys Michelle Diffenderfer and Steve Walker, of Lewis, Longman and Walker studied the issue. Attorney Spillias announced Mr. Walker was in attendance to make a presentation. He highlighted Mr. Walker received his Aeronautical Engineering Degree from Penn State University; he worked for Pratt Whitney and then attended law school. Mr. Walker has been practicing law for about 30 years and had worked for two different water management districts - the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and also as General Counsel for the South Florida Water Management District. Mr. Walker was one of the State's foremost legal experts in the area of water law and permitting, and has led the effort on the project. II. Review Available Design Information Mr. Walker gave a PowerPoint presentation on the concept and announced they would discuss to what extent, from an environmental and regulatory aspect, the project would be doable as well as the financial aspects associated with it. Mr. Walker showed a picture of the proposed building and explained the building was designed on pilings because environmental permitting and design are intertwined. The museum would 1 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida June 22,2006 be located on the Intracoastal Waterway between Boynton Beach Boulevard Promenade and the Walker Park Boardwalk. He explained the concept focused along the lines of prehistoric reptiles in a museum type setting that would be of national prominence. It was thought the museum would appeal to a wide variety of people from all ages, income and educational levels. The project could have a significant impact on Boynton Beach and Palm Beach County and would have unique features. Some of these were: · Strong Educational Component ("Edutainment") · A 4D Theater, which would bring virtual reality programs . Global satellite links. · Traveling exhibits. · 607,000 visitors per year · National prominence The museum would have four levels: · A basement with labs and exhibition space · First floor theater with a glass bottom view and gift shop · Second floor theater, cafe and offices · Third floor would have labs and an archive center Mr. Walker explained the property is zoned Central Business District. The future land use and zoning designation allowed for high intensity multi-use development and a Comprehensive Plan Amendment would not be required. III. Regulatory Issues Permits would need to be obtained from: · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) · South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) · National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) · U.s. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) · Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) · Florida Inland Navigational District (FIND) Mr. Walker explained an Environmental Resource Permit must be obtained from the SFWMD before any construction activity could occur. He explained the proposed site, although in the Intracoastal Waterway, was not in sovereign submerged lands. Rather, the site was dredged out of uplands and was never part of a wetland system. Therefore they did not need a sovereign submerged land lease. The permit time frame would be 12-18 months after the application was submitted. The types of issues that the SFWMD would study in the permitting process were flooding, water quality, surface water flows, effect on fishing and recreational uses, and various habitat issues for fish and vegetative species. Mr. Walker acknowledged 2 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2006 there were some vegetative grasses and manatees in the area. The location also was related to the Lake Worth Lagoon. Accordingly, he explained any impacts would require mitigation. Another permit needed would be from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (Corps). Mr. Walker explained the District Permit Application would be a joint application with the Corp of Engineers, whose regulations were contained in Section 404, the Clean Water Act and Section 10, the Rivers and Harbors Act, which dealt with navigational issues. He explained as part of this process, the Corps would consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service. Separate permits from Fish and Wildlife or from the National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS or the EPA would not be required, but they would be consulting agencies to the Corps and their comments must be solicited and taken into account. Avoidance and minimization was a presumption that another site with less environmental impacts was available, and/or, if no other site was available, that the footprint be made as small as possible in order to have the least amount of impact. Mr. Walker explained the reason the design of the building was shown as being situated on pilings was because it would cause a lesser amount of disturbance. Mitigation for the unavoidable impacts would then take place, and, any mitigation used for the SFWMD could also, for the most part, be used for the Corps. The State permit received from the SFWMD constitutes the State Water Quality Certification, which is an important part of the federal permitting process. The Corp cannot issue a permit without that certification. The time frame for a Corp permit is 2-3 years after application. Corp issues examined would be: · Avoidance and minimization · Manatee habitat · Navigation impediment · Impacts to sea grasses and essential fish habitat · Impacts to mangroves · Lake Worth Lagoon · Impacts to Intracoastal Waterway · Mitigation · State water quality certification · Coastal zone consistency Mr. Walker explained because of the manatees and sea grasses, in a marine environment the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) oversees the non-grass marine life and the National Marine Fisheries oversees the grasses. Once the Fish and Wildlife deems the application complete, it would take six months to a year for them to produce a formal biological opinion. Last year there were only 15 biological opinions issued for all of South Florida. Mr. Walker explained his thoughts were the major permitting issues would involve sea grasses, mangrove impacts and construction in open water. He explained in the past, the Corps had denied permits and one such case was Tyler's Islands, which impacted the Lake Worth Lagoon. The denial was based on the request not being consistent with the public interest and dealt with construction in open water. It was also denied based on the issue that the property was owned by the City of Lake Worth, which could have condemned a different property and used another site. Water dependency would be studied and one issue previously discussed was having the public side of 3 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2006 the marina activity, such as passenger loading and unloading, redirected from the Two George marina area to this facility. The building would be a water dependent facility and that aspect would be built into the application. Any laboratory work conducted would also be conducted as a water dependent activity. An environmental engineering company would need to be retained to assist in designing the project. Those costs would be proportionate to the amount of time and effort required to complete the work. A hydraulic engineer would need to be retained to address the Intracoastal issues in terms of navigation. A biological consultant would need to be retained to study the sea grass and manatees, or any other endangered species issues that might be discovered during the process. Legal fees would range from $750,000 to $1.5M. The estimated cost associated with the project, as estimated by the CRA in 2004 involved a total capital investment of $47 to $48 million, financed by bonds, grants, and scholarships. The estimated cost of the project made by the Baker Leisure Group Team at that time was $33M. Mr. Walker explained the Baker Leisure Group approached the feasibility of the project based on a "Warranted Investment", which was the amount of capital committed to the project, based on the projects ability to service the operating costs and have a return on investment. Based on their methodology to determine the viability of the project, an initial investment of $18.6M - $45.7M was calculated to be required. Sources of income would be: . Admissions · Food . Beverage · Merchandise · Rental for functions · Souvenir opportunities The Baker Leisure Group estimated the gross operating revenue would be $9.7M . IV. Time frame for Permitting and Implementation Mr. Walker explained it would take about three or more years, once the permits were filed, to move forward with the project. He advised he thought there was significant work needing to be done before the permits would even be filed. V. Financial Issues A. Permitting In order for the project to be successful, strong governmental and public support would be needed. He explained the permitting agencies are public agencies serving the public interest, and it would be a balancing act when having a public project outweighs the public interest to protect that environmental resource. If there were no public support, the project would not be 4 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2006 approved. This would be a high profile permit and if the CRA wanted to move forward with it, all the risks needed to be known beforehand. The Baker Leisure Group suggested initiating private/public partnerships to help with the financing of the project, similar to the public/private partnerships used to develop the redevelopment area. Mr. Walker suggested thinking about what other potential uses they have for the site, in light of it being a hub for activity in the redevelopment area. B. Project A fully integrated team of professionals, from a permitting perspective, would be needed, as well as creating a strong financial analysis and a brand name. The Baker Leisure Group recommended obtaining the Governor's and other public officials support after receiving support from a brand name such as National Geographic, the Discovery Channel or any other well known entity. Without this support, as well as local support and the support of the water management district, the project would not move forward. Difficult projects do get permitted, he indicated, however, they would require a great deal of planning, and tactical decision making in the process. VI. Board Discussion and Direction Mr. Sims inquired about staff costs for someone to work in the facility. The forecasted wages, under the Warranted Investment methodology by Baker Leisure Group were calculated as $2,704,464 per year. Ms. Debby Coles-Dobay asked what the likelihood of the site being approved was. Mr. Walker explained it would not be an easy permit to obtain. In the absence of strong public support, a permit probably would not be received. Commissioner Ensler asked about the City owning the land and the eminent domain issue. Mr. Walker clarified that with the City owning the land, a previous issue was to use eminent domain to find another site, and then having to use the alternative site. He explained, that was no longer an issue since there were changes to the eminent domain laws. There was sufficient land at the proposed location to support the project. Commissioner Ensler further requested confirmation the best way to proceed was gathering the political and public support first. Mr. Walker suggested engaging a brand name first, and developing the concept enough to market the project effectively. Mr. Rod Silverio asked who would be running the facility and noted it was not a normal parks department facility. Mr. Walker responded this could be addressed by the public/private partnership. The private interest could bring the expertise to the project. Mr. Norem polled the audience to determine if there was strong public support present. Mr. Walker explained often times there would be a pre-application meeting where the project could be tweaked. He responded that would not happen with the project. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2006 Ms. Horenberger asked if the environmental permitting application fees, fees for the required professionals needed for the project, or legal fees were included. Mr. Walker responded they were not. She asked how long it would take to complete a permit application. Mr. Walker answered it would be approximately one year. Mr. Walker also advised Ms. Horenberger the Tyler Island issue was a residential project located in the Lake Worth Lagoon right-of-way and was turned down. He explained the issue was whether it was a public interest facility, which would not be an issue with this project. Parking, it was noted, was not included. Ms. Horenberger asked if the Town of Ocean Ridge was noticed about the project, and they were not. She also acvised National Geographic does provide funding. Other organizations paid to use the name. Mayor Taylor indicated with all the permitting that was required, an outcome could be that the permits might never be obtained. The concept of constructing the facility on the water was supposedly to view lands beneath the waters surface. Mayor Taylor was doubtful the water visibility would be beyond two feet because the water was murky. He indicated the museum could be constructed at another location. Ms. Coles-Dobay asked if the purpose of the workshop was to determine the projects feasibility, or try to find a business partner or other action. Ms. Bright explained this was an ongoing concept and due to the budget, she needed to obtain the boards direction for planning and budgeting purposes. The project was a historical concept and a part of the Visioning 2005 Process. Ms. Bright explained the fees shown were not actual figures and she was advised the construction costs could be doubled. She explained if the will of the board was to proceed with the project, she would need to develop a long term plan. The use of a private developer was discussed and the design build processes. Mr. Norem expressed he would rather see the CRA staff focus on projects they could accomplish as opposed to projects they could do, but may be denied later as the project went through the process. Ms. Heavilin pointed out this concept has been around a long time and there was not a lot of interest in it anymore. The main thing was to determine if the project was feasible or not. Commissioner Ensler thought this was not the kind of project the CRA or the City could undertake by themselves. The project would take someone who knew how to run that type of facility. He suggested not worrying about the permits, but to find out if there was someone with the real capability and the interest who could be a part of the project, financially and management-wise. Until that interest was expressed, he thought, the CRA would be wasting their time. Ms. Coles-Dobay announced the only thing she would do was put the notice out to see what type of interest would come back. The other details would take care of themselves later. Ms. Horenberger explained the interest and pots of money available for projects like this were reducing every year, because every facility and every City would like to do a project. She explained she did not think the project would come to fruition. 6 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2006 Chair Tillman announced this workshop was to determine the feasibility and that was what the CRA received. He declared the project was not feasible and the matter should be ended. Chair Tillman thanked Mr. Walker and complimented him on the presentation. Ms. Bright pointed out the CRA did consider the Mayor's suggestion and considered the Old High School location, because they were looking for a cultural use. That RFP was put out and responses were received. She expressed staff needed direction to where they should direct their time and monies. Ms. Horenberger summarized the CRA was not suggesting the area did not need some type of feature, but this project was massive, costly, and not viable. Mr. Buck spoke and explained the initial concept of the facility was to have interaction with the water by having unique, entertaining and educational aspects. He acknowledged the area needed some type of engine to drive development, and to make the redevelopment efforts successful, people needed to be brought in. A concept was needed for successful downtown retail. Chair Tillman agreed a successful anchor was needed and the CRA has seen some movement. He expressed there should be an ongoing and continuing discussion regarding what other points should be strived for regarding an anchor to drive development and the branding and marketing is a dialogue that needs to be reviewed further. He recommended moving on to another concept and abandoning this concept. Ms. Heavilin thought the CRA would be remiss to not explore the issue further. She indicated National Geographic, or some other entity may be interested in the project. She felt there would be a slim chance, but it should be explored and then, if there were no interest, the idea be abandoned. She pointed out, the report did not say the project was feasible, only the project was not feasible at the Town Square or Town Center, or the Old High School. Mayor Taylor indicated he thought Chair Tillman was correct. The project was not feasible for the CRA at this time. Adjournment There was no further business and the meeting adjourned by consensus at 8:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, (7 (})J J JLL) - J{;. 1 ~ R!LI(f(1/y( Catherine C~erry-Guberman Recording Secretary 070706 7