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Minutes 03-13-07 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING HELD IN CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON TUESDAY, MARCH 13,2007, AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Henderson Tillman, Chair Stormet Norem, Vice Chair Rev. Lance Chaney Jeanne Heavilin Marie Horenburger Steve Myott Lisa Bright, Executive Director Ken Spillias, CRA Board Counsel Amy Dukes, CRA Counsel Absent: Guarn Sims 1. Call to Order - Chairman Henderson Tillman Chair Tillman called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. II. Pledge to the Flag and Invocation The board recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by the invocation led by Rev. Chaney. III. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and determined a quorum was present. It was noted Mayor Taylor and Amy Dukes, Attorney with Lewis, Longman and Walker, were present. IV. Agenda Approval A. Additions, Deletions, Corrections to the Agenda Attorney Spillias pulled Consent Agenda Items A and C. Mr. Myott pulled Consent Agenda Item F. There was discussion the board wanted to hear the Ocean Breeze items together. 1 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 B. Adoption of Agenda Motion Ms. Horenburger moved approval of the agenda with the removal of Item A, C and Ffrom the Consent Agenda; to reorder VI. Public Hearing New Business switching Item B, Site Plan Time Extension with Item A Site Plan Time Extension; hearing VIII. Old Business Item D immediately thereafter followed by pulled Consent Agenda Items A, C and F. Ms. Heavilin seconded the motion that unanimously passed. C. Consent Agenda: A. CRA Board Meeting Minutes Approval February 6, 2007 B. Special Meeting Minutes Approval February 15, 2007 C. MLK Corridor Workshop Meeting Minutes Approval February 15, 2007 D. Workforce Housing Ordinance Meeting Minutes Approval February 27, 2007 E. Approvals of the Financials Period Ended February 28, 2007 F. Old High School Update G. Deleted Item and Added to as Item E under Old Business H. Support of Local Artists I. Deleted item entirely J. Table Purchase Approval for Annual Award Dinner - BB Faith Based CDC K. Approval to Allow Electronic Funds Transfer "EFT" V. Public Comments Chair Tillman opened the floor for public comments. No one coming forward, Chair Tillman closed the floor to public comments. VI. Public Hearing Attorney Spillias requested board members disclose whether they had any ex parte communications. Vice Chair Norem reported he met with Richard Baron of McCormack, Baron Salazar, while in Tallahassee, but not on any public hearing items. Attorney Spillias administered the oath to all persons who would be testifying. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 Old Business: None. New Business: Site Plan Time Extension (Heard out of order) B. PROJECT: AGENT: OWNER: LOCATION: DESCRIPTION: Seaview Park Club (SPTE 07-003) Lorie Moccia, Lennar homes Lennar Homes, LLC 1620 N. Federal Highway Request for a second one (1) year site plan time extension for Seaview Park Club (NWSP 04-014) approved on February 15, 2005 Gabriel Wuebben, Planner, presented the request and announced staff was satisfied the applicant put forward a good faith effort. The applicant had requested a Site Plan Time Extension in February 2006, and was requesting a second extension to February 15, 2008. The applicant would need to approach Palm Beach County again to extend the build-out date as contained in Exhibit C of the terms and conditions of approval. Staff recommended approval of the one-year site plan time extension subject to all the original terms and conditions and noted there were no new regulations to review the project against. There were no comments from the board. Chair Tillman opened the floor for public hearing. Michael Weiner, Attorney for the applicant, advised they had a list of good faith efforts from the applicant on the project. The project underwent a substantial amount of work; however, the site preparation was not completed. Harry Woodworth, 685 NE 15th Place had property that adjoined the building site. He explained the applicant had been working on the project for two years. He asked the board to consider what it was like living next to diesel fumes, noise, the dewatering pumps and other issues, and to be considerate of those aspects when granting the extensions. He also noted the notice he received for the meeting was dated 2006. Attorney Weiner explained the applicant needed another 60 days to complete the land development portion of the project, and then infrastructure would go in. They placed shielding where possible to minimize any development impacts and placed monitors on site. Attorney Weiner explained they wanted to continue on in the process. Chair Tillman closed the floor to public hearing. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 Johnny Lynch, Lennar Homes, reported the architectural drawings, which were previously submitted to the board, were completed. The permits for vertical construction were not submitted, but were expected to be submitted shortly. Motion Mr. Myott moved to approve the request. Vice Chair Norem seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Site Plan Time Extension A. PROJECT: AGENT: OWNER: LOCATION: Ocean Breeze West (SPTE 07-002) Bradley Miller, Miller Land Planning Consultants, Inc. Larry Finkelstein, Affordable Housing, LLC Southwest corner of Northwest 8th Avenue and Sea crest Boulevard, located approximately 1,700 feet north of Boynton Beach Boulevard. Request for a one (1) year site plan time extension for Ocean Breeze West (NWSP 04-014) approved on February 15, 2005, from February 15, 2007 to February 15, 2008 DESCRIPTION: Kathleen Zeitler, Planner, presented the request and explained the applicant requested the one-year site plan time extension and had a list of the details for the project. There were no new regulations to review the project against. It was clarified the extension would actually be for 10 months, to January 3, 2008 and the project would be exempt from the Art in Public Places Ordinance. Staff reviewed the request and recommended approval subject to the original conditions of approval. Bradley Miller, agent for the applicant, explained some permits were received and discussions with the CRA on what to do with the project brought it to a slow halt. This project pertained to the western portion of the site. Chair Tillman opened the floor to public hearing. Rev. Glen Lyons, 2190 NE 1st Lane, received notice of the meeting and commented his parcel control number was on it. He was unsure why he had not been personally contacted regarding the reason his property was referenced on the letter. Vivian Brooks, CRA Planner, explained the parcel control number was listed because he was within 400 feet of the subject property and, statutorily, notification to surrounding property owners must take place. Chair Tillman closed the floor to public hearing. Ms. Zeitler explained staff reviewed the request and recommended approval subject to the original conditions of approval. 4 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 Motion Vice Chair Norem moved to approve the request. Ms. Heavilin seconded the motion that unanimously passed. VIII. Old Business, Item D. Ocean Breeze Options discussion - (Heard out of Order) Lisa Bright, CRA Executive Director, explained an incentive for this project was approved a year ago. Mr. Finkelstein had been involved in an accident and in September, staff was given direction to purchase the parcel(s) from Mr. Finkelstein. An appraisal was ordered, which showed a discrepancy in the appraisal price provided by Mr. Finkelstein. This property greatly enhanced the land acquisition control of the HOB project area and staff negotiated a purchase agreement for $6.4M. Additionally, fee waivers would be included in the amount of $496K, bringing the total purchase price to about $7M. Ms. Horenburger asked why the $400K for demolition was not included in the appraisal. Mr. Finkelstein explained the appraiser was only asked to look at the value of the land and not the additional value of the other components associated with purchasing the property. The impact fee waivers were half a million dollars from the County that ran with the property. Mr. Reardon explained he directed the appraiser to eliminate those values from the original appraisal. He provided a letter from the County and indicated he tried to discount the waivers but the issue was non-negotiable. The letter from the County was given to the appraiser who verified the amount was a true value. When the project is sold to a new developer, the CRA would likely receive the money back, have additional workforce housing built, or receive some other type of quid pro quo. Mr. Reardon took responsibility for why those monies were not included and indicated he tried to save the money. Mr. Reardon explained the reason the demolition fees the CRA paid were not included in those calculations was the board exonerated Mr. Finkelstein from the cost of the fees, which was $371K. Attorney Spillias confirmed Mr. Reardon's statement. When the project was completed, the lien would be waived. If the board moved forward with purchasing the property, the CRA would be purchasing it subject to its own lien and it would still be on the property. Ultimately when the CRA decided what to do with the land the CRA could make a decision then. Until that time, the lien was still a debt owed from the property. Ms. Horenburger asked if the lien issue was factored into the current appraisal. She thought not recapturing those monies was taking money out of the public's pockets. Mr. Reardon explained it was not. It would be a moot point when the board passed the lien back onto itself. Vice Chair Norem explained if there were buildings still existing on the property today, they would be factored in because then there would be a cost of demolition and it would devalue the property. Mr. Reardon confirmed that as correct and explained the CRA would have to demolish the buildings at present day cost. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 Rev. Chaney asked when the appraisal was conducted if the lien would be included. Mr. Reardon explained land has a value irrespective of any liens on it. The sale price would reflect that point, but the intrinsic value of the land was not deteriorated by any liens. Mr. Finkelstein was present and announced, for the record, he was prepared to sell the land to the CRA now. He announced, on record, he agreed to a contract on the CRA terms and price, from their appraisal. He agreed to execute the contract drafted by the CRA attorney. He announced there was no other parties he was negotiating with and the CRA attorney had the contract. The contract had a time frame for execution and had to be signed by tomorrow in order to be valid. Motion Vice Chair Norem moved to approve the item. Ms. Heavilin seconded the motion, which passed 4- 2 (Ms. Horenburger and Rev. Chaney dissenting) VII. Pulled Consent Agenda Items A. CRA Board Meeting Minutes Approval February 6, 2007 Attorney Spillias noted corrections on pages 11 and page 12 as "Mr. Sims read correspondence from the CRA Attorney" The sentence should read "correspondence received from the CRA Attorney" since the correspondence was not his correspondence. On page 12, the last word of the first partial paragraph, third line last word should be "contracts" as opposed to contract. Motion Ms. Horenburger moved to approve the minutes as amended. Vice Chair Norem seconded the motion that unanimously passed. C. MLK Corridor Workshop Meeting Minutes Approval February 15, 2007 Attorney Spillias noted corrections to the February 15, 2007 Workshop meeting minutes. Page 1 - Agenda Approval, Spillias was spelled "Spills" Page 1 - Under Old Business, Mr. Myott discussed what everyone's "roll" would be. The word "roll" should be spelled "role". Page 1 - Last paragraph third line down reads, "the City Commission voiced", should read the "City Attorney voiced" Page 1 - Last paragraph fifth sentence reads "Only Mr. Bressner . . ." should include the words "and Mr. Cherof' Motion Ms. Horenburger moved to approve Consent Agenda Item C as amended. Vice Chair Norem seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 6 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 F. Old High School Update Five Towns College withdrew from accepting the Old High School Building for use as an administrative hub for the college. Mr. Myott asked for further information on the second ranked proposer and the property. Ms. Bright explained she had a lot of interest from other developers. Larger developers were waiting to see if City Hall would move because there were looking to develop projects with a larger footprint. Artspace from Ft. Lauderdale was very interested in the building and the Brennar Group was also interested. Vivian Brooks, CRA Planner, explained there were many similar properties being developed as affordable living spaces for artists, with studios and gallery spaces included. The entities were non-profit 501c(3) corporations who usually resided in historic buildings. One was being built in Ft. Lauderdale and Ms. Brooks advised she would be visiting the facility. Mr. Myott suggested getting another candidate and having the information by the next meeting. Ms. Heavilin suggested not taking any action on the item until after the downtown plan decisions were made. She expressed the footprint may need to be changed. Chair Henderson agreed and thought the project did not have to be moved on so expediently. He thought the CRA should get the most deal for the money, and suggested not moving it forward. Ms. Bright would have a staff report on this placed on the Consent Agenda. Chair Tillman wanted to have the updates given and then at the proper time to bring them all together for discussion. VIII. Old Business: A. Approval to Purchase Properties - at NE 5th Ave. Rev. Chaney left the meeting at 7:10 p.m. Ms. Brooks explained staff was authorized to negotiate this property with the Boynton Beach Faith Based CDC. There were five individual lots with homes on them. Acquiring the property would add an additional 16 units on the property as well has have frontage on the street. The CDC agreed to purchase the property from the CRA at half the value and the parties agreed the property would not be sold to the CDC until they had a construction loan for the project. If the CDC could not get the project off the ground, the CRA would purchase the property back. A site plan was developed with the units being in the high 100's and low 200's. Staff recommended approval of the request. Ms. Horenburger discussed tax reductions and expressed concern with other properties and appraisals. On affordable housing units, the property appraiser would appraise the unit as a deed restricted unit that did not have the same value as a market unit. This was a result of the Palm Beach County Days. Ms. Bright reported when she attended Palm Beach County Days in Tallahassee, the language for a bill amendment for affordable housing was added. 7 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 Mr. Myott recused himself from this item and filed Form 8B, Memorandum of Voting Conflicy for County, Municipal, and other Local Public Officers because he worked on the plans for the project. Motion Vice Chair Norem moved approval. Ms. Heavilin seconded the motion that passed 5-0. (Mr. Myatt abstaining). B. MLK Corridor Development Agreement Update & Discussion Ms. Bright announced there was no meeting set or response to the Development Agreement. On the staff level, on February 15, 2007, staff was asked to contract with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) on this item. The TCRPC team was present to discuss deliverables. Kim Delaney, TCPRC Growth Coordinator, advised they conducted an economic and planning analysis. They had brought in Economics Research Associates (ERA), a firm that participated in 20 projects in Florida, many of which were in redevelopment areas and was heavily involved in a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) project in West Palm Beach. Additionally, the firm served as an economic and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) advisor to other areas. ERA announced they clearly understood the issues involved with rehabilitation and redevelopment in complex projects. In May and June of 2005, the firm met with Intown for feedback on a multi- disciplined project, for this area, since ERA has experience with affordable housing strategies and workforce housing. The scope of services for the TCRPC analysis over the next two months would be to undertake a demographic and economic profile of the drivers of demand for real estate and housing. The market slowed and the TCRPC wanted to be clear what the drivers were. Market conditions and comparables for residential and retail segments would be reviewed to understand how quickly those units are absorbed. Then the TCRPC would integrate all the research into different test models to identify a recommended development program that would be tested against what was submitted by the developer in their August presentation. A physical analysis and assessment of the site would be conducted and a final report would be available shortly after May 8, 2007. Ms. Bright explained Ms. Delaney was proactive and was meeting with the Intown principals to review the pro forma, which was new. Ms. Horenburger pointed out in the original analysis, the CRA paid enormous prices for property. She wanted to see a true analysis of what was there, based on current value. She explained knowing the realities of the current costs were important. Ms. Delaney explained the current land values were higher than what they wanted to see, which created different strains in the market and value was built into the market now. She clarified they needed to determine what housing products were, if they would work, as well as 8 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 what a reasonable buy down would be in order to be absorbed into the market. Ms. Horenburger also pointed out there would be a change in the dwelling units per acre and asked what was the process for zoning and land use changes. Mike Rumpf, Planning and Zoning Director, explained the process could be either a large or small-scale amendment, with the threshold of a large-scale amendment being 10 acre. The process ranges from 4 months to an 8 to 12 month process, which involves the state, public hearings and a City Commission transmittal hearing. Mr. Wobash, also of TCRPC, explained they look for three key issues, which were, return to developer, what is a supportable land value, and if there is a gap at the end of the day, what role does the public sector play to close the gap. The study is not a full financial feasibility pro forma, but it should be considered based on declining land values and market conditions. It was requested a financial model be conducted. Mr. Wobash indicated that model would require about a month to do, after the market analysis was completed in May. Ms. Bright explained she received information from the CRA lobbyist about financing for the CRA. Mr. Reardon alerted the board to outstanding debt and/or contemplating debt financing and the pledging of TIF revenues that the bondholders lien does not attach until the deposits are made into the trust fund. Mr. Reardon reported CRAs are not insulated from decreases in property values or milage rates and they needed to know the property tax reform debate would directly affect them. Mr. Reardon cautioned about pledging future bonding on projects that the CRA might not be able to pay the debt on. The City, as the CRA backstop, also needed to be cognizant of that fact. The bond documents stipulate, on both bonds, that there is a debt cap of 150%. The CRA cannot pledge upfront bonding because it may violate the CRA bond documents irrespective of what the legislature mayor may not do and the board can not pledge up front bonding without running the issue through bond counsel first. This fact added to the necessity of including a financial analysis. Ms. Delaney advised they would add that as another task and bring back the information. Motion Ms. Horenburger moved approval to have the TCRPC conduct a financial analysis of whatever the result of the legislative session is with regard to TlF and other matters in regard to the MLK project in particular. Vice Chair Norem seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Mr. Reardon added TIF funds are received on the back end of the project, not up front. Ms. Bright announced Mr. Baron spoke to CRA members at Palm Beach County Days and indicated a joint venture partnership agreement had been executed between McCormack Baron Salazar and Intown. The City Manager was not aware of this. Both Ms. Horenburger and Vice Chair Norem advised Mr. Baron informed them he had submitted the agreement to Mayor Taylor. Mayor Taylor was present and responded he was shown the document but did not have 9 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 it. After further discussion, Attorney Spillias announced he would make a formal request for the document. C. Approval to Purchase Property - at NW 12th Avenue Ms. Brooks explained this property was a standard infill lot and part of the Heart of Boynton work program. Motion Ms. Horenburger moved approval of the purchase. Vice Chair Norem seconded the motion that unanimously passed. D. Ocean Breeze Options Discussion - this item was addressed earlier in the meeting E. Approval of Dive Shop Lease Amy Dukes, CRA Counsel, explained after the last meeting she met with counsel for Ms. Simmons on the Dive Shop lease. The board had revised the document. Attorney Dukes advised all the issues were worked out except for one, which were the property taxes. She asked whether the board wanted to include the property tax on top of the $1,500 per month rate. The tax worked out to be $167.89 broken down on a square foot pro rata basis per month. A discussion ensued about what was customary for government leasing property and the County Commercial Real Estate Property Division would not send out an appraiser until July. It was possible the taxes would be raised or lowered. Ryan Copple, Attorney for Splashdown Divers, disagreed on the issue. He explained the lease was an interim lease for the period of one year. During that time period, there would likely be construction ongoing and the client would not be on the premises then. He advised the rent would be increased about 10%, but pointed out in the past, property taxes were in the rent. If the rent increased while she was not on the premises, it would put a strain on the business. A discussion followed about the property. The CRA was not in business to pay taxes for individuals outright. It was assumed those businesses could meet that expense. The CRA was being asked to pay the taxes of the business. It was suggested determining the value while they were doing business, and dividing the amount by month. Further discussion focused on increasing the rent to include the amount or continuing the lease for the $1,500 per month and the minute the Dive Shop reoccupies the improved space, the lease payment and tax payment becomes due. Mr. Reardon noted the tenant was occupying the space now. Motion Ms. Horenburger explained the expectation was to pay $1,500 per month and renegotiate next year. Ms. Horenburger moved to that effect. (Motion died for lack of a second.) 10 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 Vice Chair Norem asked if the CRA was charging market rent the public would expect to pay for that property. The CRA was not and it was noted the CRA was disrupting the businesses there for a good public purposes. Mr. Myott discussed there was nothing wrong with giving a break with the expectation that when the bathroom was complete they would go market rate. This was an interim lease. Motion Mr. Myott moved to proceed with the lease as written. Ms. Horenburger seconded the motion and clarified the motion as there were no taxes on the interim lease effective from April 1st for one year and then renegotiate the lease well in advance of the expiration of the lease. It was noted the leases did not need to be advertised. Vote The motion unanimously passed. IX. New Business: A. Consideration of Purchasing the Women's Club Ms. Brooks explained the CRA was considering the purchase of the above. An appraisal was received and she spoke with the Palm Beach County Historical Society. This was a good opportunity for the CRA. Motion Vice Chair Norem moved to direct staff and legal to make preparations for this. Ms. Heavilin seconded the motion for discussion. There was discussion on where the funds for the purchase were coming from. Mr. Reardon explained the General Fund would be receiving reclaimed monies shortly. Ms. Bright clarified a time lapse occurred on the pro forma for 500 Ocean Plaza and other developers were interested in partnering on the project. The Direct Incentive Funding Agreement (DIFA) appropriated would not fund the gap in the market conditions. CRA counsel needed to draft a letter advising the $2M set aside would return to the CRA. Parking for the facility was previously accommodated by the Senior Center parking through an arrangement with the City. Ms. Brooks hoped that arrangement would continue. Ms. Brooks also announced her mother was a member and past president of the Women's Club. Mr. Reardon reiterated, moving forward the board should not spend bond monies up front. There was additional discussion this was a cultural opportunity for small venues and another opportunity to obtain land on Federal Highway. 11 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 Vote There was a vote on the motion that unanimously passed. B. Consideration of Issuing an RFP for Ocean Breeze Ms. Bright explained when staff negotiated the purchase agreement with Mr. Finkelstein she needed to know if the board wanted to wait until the purchase agreement closed before issuing the RFP for Ocean Breeze. The document was already approved by the attorney to get the RFP out to the public. Ms. Horenburger explained the document did not clearly define the boundaries of the east side properties. There needed to be additional language or the legal description included. The board discussed the reorientation of the parcels to face Sea crest and they were included in the package. The CRA was trying to square off the site. Ms. Bright explained there had been significant interest in those properties from various parties. The property encompassed not just the Ocean Breeze site, but the Peters property as well. Motion Vice Chair Norem moved approval. Mr. Myott seconded the motion that unanimously passed. C. Consideration of Sponsoring the Avenue of the Arts Staff explained this item was to kick start the creation of the downtown area where 10 pieces of sculpture, primarily from Ocean Avenue to the Intracoastal as the downtown area begins to emerge. Debby Coles-Dobay, Public Art Administrator, thanked the board and explained the program should stimulate growth in the downtown area. The program was a year-long program, for art to be put on loan and strategically placed to encourage travel to an area. People could see what was being built. This year, there were no funds to do this due to many projects having site plan time extensions. Ms. COles-Dobay reviewed the different locations on the map. She advised they already had podiums and she spoke about the artists who were selected by the committee. A commitment to install the art and to ensure they would be able to withstand the windload standards needed to be made. International and local artists were involved. They were trying to coordinate this to the August 4th event at the Marina, which was the Jazz and Sea fest. Visitors could look at the artwork and listen. She reviewed the costs and procedures to do this. The largest cost was to have the pads poured and installed. She was seeking a sponsorship basically to construct the pads and there were other costs such as stipends to bring in the work. There were sponsorship opportunities for individuals, businesses and others to sponsor cultural events. 12 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 She reviewed her Powerpoint presentation and noted there would be structural engineering required. This was for a pad being poured on grass, a paver area and some on existing pedestal areas. There was discussion about the fees being collected. Public art was something other entities might want to be involved in and the Commissioners have been to other cities and been impressed with the art they had. Ms. Bright advised Ms. Adelsperger and Ms. Biscutti were working on a sponsorship kit and were trying to garner business and developer support for the effort. It was thought businesses would love to have their name on pieces of sponsored art. Motion Ms. Horenburger moved approval of a loan for $40K with a cost for the bases from account 58300-200 to be reimbursed to the CRA from funds generated from the Arts Ordinance. Mr. Norem seconded the motion. Mr. Reardon noted this would be an interlocal agreement and they would send it over to the City because the City needs to approve it also. Vice Chair Norem asked if this was included in Ms. Horenburger's motion. Ms. Horenburger added the Interlocal Agreement to her motion. Vote There was a vote on the motion that unanimously passed. D. Funding Request: Lasendra Hoggins for Homebuyers Program - $47,000 Ms. Brooks reviewed this item for program funds and recommended approval. Ms. Horenburger noted when they have items like this, for the benefit of the public, those items should be moved up on the agenda. She had observed a small child in the audience sleeping. Ms. Hoggins thanked the board for the program. She announced she was originally supposed to close by the end of the week, but there was a paperwork issue. She hoped to close within the next few weeks. The board congratulated her. Motion Ms. Heavilin moved approval of the item. Mr. Myott seconded the motion that unanimously passed. E. Consideration of Issuing an RFQ for Professional Services Motion Vice Chair Norem moved approval. Mr. Myott seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 13 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 F. Consideration of Purchasing Property at NE 1st Street (Downtown Parking) Ms. Brooks reviewed this item and advised a parking plan was discussed over the summer to determine where parking would occur. The consensus of the board at that time was to have parking throughout the area. This item was one site that would be used and the surface parking would allow for 88 parking spaces there as an interim until structured parking could be developed later. Motion Ms. Horenburger moved approval of staff recommendations. Vice Chair Norem seconded the motion that unanimously passed. G. Presentation of the New CRA Website Margee Adelsperger, Communications and Marketing Director, announced staff was working with AMBIT on the new website. Mr. Stan Brown, Vice President of AMBIT, reviewed the website which was not live yet. The board was advised there were some adjustments that still needed to be made. Mr. Brown thanked the board and reviewed the site, which was a beta site. He briefly demonstrated each link and page and how to access the information. Ms. Horenburger asked whether the website indicated whether contained the City's logo, which was "Gateway to the Gulfstream" and whether it listed the City elected officials. Mr. Brown indicated there was a link to the City's website which featured CRA funded and private development projects. Mr. Brown advised CRA staff could upload photos from their local office, and without a webmaster, enter any updates, as needed. Ms. Bright also advised the annual report would be mailed out and a copy was distributed to the board. Ms. Bright explained the annual report was a statutory requirement. They had not been in compliance in prior years and it met the State Redevelopment Association requirements. On another matter, feedback for Heritage Fest was received and the main complaint was there was not enough parking for the concert and the VIP tent was too crowded. The police estimated between 4K and 5K people attended. H. Seconded Amended Mediation Agreement Transfer Discussion Ms. Bright reviewed thr document between the City, the Related Group and Two Georges. The agreement was made to create development along the waterfront. The CRA had not been officially brought to the table and added to the agreement. In November of 2006, Ms. Bright began working with the Related Group to end the mediation agreement. The concerns were about the parking with the new parcel. The City Commission took action to transfer the document to the CRA, but the CRA did not know why that was done. 14 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 Attorney Spillias explained the agreement Ms. Bright referred to was the second amended mediation agreement, which was entered into by the parties to a lawsuit who were the City, Two Georges and The Related Group not the CRA. There were three different versions of the agreement. After the meeting on February 13th, Attorney Spillias received notification from Ms. Byrne directing him to prepare an amendment to the second amended mediation agreement to reflect changes to its terms and to have it ready by Friday. Attorney Spillias did not have much background information, and contacted the City Attorney about why he was being asked to prepare the amendment. The City Attorney explained it was a CRA property and the CRA could add into it what it liked. Attorney Spillias announced he prepared an amendment reflecting what he understood to be changes and there were specific items the parties wanted addressed in the agreement which were a Maintenance Agreement for Casa Loma Boulevard, a swap of parking spaces so Two Georges would have more outside spaces, where the Two Georges parking spaces in the parking garage would be, and where the public parking spaces would be, which required additional meetings with the City Staff. The CRA attempted to inform the City the plan the Related Group and the CRA developed was the appropriate approach. The plan also provided for actions having to do with the site plan, which had been approved for a restaurant. A change in the site plan to allow a dock masters building needed to be approved. The CRA needed to address how to maintain the dive shop grandfathered status, and under what circumstances would the CRA lose that. Attorney Spillias advised those were all City approvals that needed to be obtained. The CRA had been told the agreement was transferred to the CRA. The agreement was a court document that the CRA was not a party to, and which contained a lot of obligations to change site plan for signage that the CRA cannot approve without the City. Attorney Spillias contacted the City Attorney to send the documentation about what was being transferred, but he had not received an answer. Attorney Spillias indicated he did not believe the City could not force an agreement on the CRA without the CRA approval, and without the CRA knowing what benefits would be gained, what obligations they had, and what happens to the City's obligations in the agreement. He advised, his understanding was the City would submit the document to the court. Ms. Horenburger asked if the agenda item was reviewed to see what the City Attorney might have. Chair Henderson explained they were trying to work out what would happen on Casa Loma. He advised not to touch the issue and return the matter to Attorney Cherof. He explained if Attorney Cherof wanted to meet, they could. The CRA was not a party when it happened. Attorney Spillias explained the CRA had a stake in the matter and thought the CRA would at some point have an interlocal agreement with the City that brought them into the agreement ,but not into the case. Attorney Spillias explained as the purchaser of Two Georges, there are certain obligations the CRA becomes obligated to, but not the whole package. Ms. Horenburger thought a letter to the Mayor would be appropriate. 15 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 There was no further discussion on this item. X. Comments by Staff None. XI. Comments by Executive Director No further comments made. XII. Comments by CRA Board Attorney None. XIII. Comments by CRA Board Ms. Horenburger noted she traveled along Federal Highway, which looked like a fire from dirt blowing in the wind. She announced she spoke with Commissioner Rodriguez about the issue and he contacted Code Enforcement. Ms. Horenburger suggested asking the City Commission to require the property be grassed and watered and Ms. Heavilin suggested that be added as a condition of approval at time of site plan. Ms. Horenburger also noted there was a trailer at Boynton Beach Boulevard and U.S. 1 and asked if it was allowed to be there. Mr. Reardon explained it was and they were waiting for City permits. Ms. Horenburger thought adding plants or something to assist with the aesthetics of the site would be helpful. She also asked for an update on the community land trust. Attorney Spillias advised they met with the land trust and he was waiting for documentation about trust documents. Vice Chair Norem announced on Thursday, the South Florida Water Management District will vote on Phase I water restrictions. Susan Harris, Administrative Assistant, indicated last month the board discussed additional staff personnel. She reported they advertised the positions, held interviews and an offer was made. Ms. Harris introduced Mike Simon as the new Development Manager for Acquisitions. The board welcomed Mr. Simon. Mr. Myott asked his monthly CRA pre-agenda meetings be reinstated. He announced the items could be challenging and the information was helpful to him. Ms. Bright agreed to the request. Chair Henderson requested when hiring individuals for staff, to take a holistic view of the agency. Ms. Harris explained the recruitment process is blind. She reported she would meet with City staff under the Human Resource Interlocal Agreement to address that issue. 16 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2007 XIV. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 9: 13 p.m. G .(jjwd{ ~lwuma/t^ Catherine Cherry-Guberman Recording Secretary 031907 17