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Minutes 01-12-00 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2000 AT 6:30 P.M . PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT: Gerald Broening, Mayor Wilfred Hawkins, Interim City Manager Henderson Tillman, Vice Mayor Quintus Green, Director of Development/CRA William Sherman, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Rumpf, Planning & Zoning Director Nellie Denahan, Commissioner Dale Sugerman, Assistant City Manager Ron Weiland, Commissioner . Larry Roberts, P.E John Wildner, Parks Director I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Broening called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. II. AGENDA APPROVAL Motion Mayor Pro Tem Sherman moved to approve the Agenda. Motion seconded by Commissioner Weiland, which carried unanimously. III. PRESENTATIONS None IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – December 8, 1999 Motion Mayor Pro Tem moved to approve the minutes of the December 8, 1999 meeting. Motion seconded by Commissioner Weiland, which carried unanimously. V. PUBLIC AUDIENCE Mayor Broening announced the public audience. No one in the audience wished to speak; therefore, the public audience was closed. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2000 VI. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Status of Ocean Avenue Promenade Project (Larry Roberts, Project Engineer) Mayor Broening requested that Mr. Roberts present an update of the Ocean Avenue Promenade project. Mr. Roberts said that the project is moving along well. He has received the 100% design plans for the project and on Friday a review will take place. The project should be on schedule to be bid out after the G.A.L.A. in March. Some of the fixtures for the project have been ordered and will be on display in City Hall, such as tree grates, benches and miniature light fixtures. Mr. Roberts reported that they are working with FPL, Bell South and the cable companies to try to get the overhead cables put underground prior to the start of the project. Commissioner Weiland asked for clarification on bidding the project out after the G.A.L.A. and Mr. Roberts said that the project would be bid out prior to the G.A.L.A. and that review of the bids should take place by April. Mr. Larry Finkelstein, 1014 Asbury Way, Boynton Beach asked if there would be a viewing for the public of the completed site plans of the final project prior to going to bid? Mayor Broeningreplied that it was a public document and would be available for viewing by anyone. Mr. Finkelstein clarified that he wanted to know if there would be a public presentation. Mayor Broening thought this would be a good idea and that this could take place at a City Commission meeting. Mr. Roberts stated that he spoke to Mr. Greene regarding a presentation of the project to the public. Mayor Broening apologized for not introducing the City’s new Director of Development/CRA, Mr. Quintus Green. Mr. Green confirmed what Mr. Robert’s stated and reiterated that they would be pleased to make a presentation before the City Commission. There was a consensus on the Board that they would like to have this presentation made. Mr. Kevin Scully , of Scully’s Market inquired if anyone has addressed any of the issues that he has brought up over the past few months? Interim City Manager Wilfred Hawkins noted that there is a meeting scheduled for th tomorrow, Thursday, January 13 and Mr. Scully stated that was correct. However, Mr. Scully said he was not informed what the meeting would be about. Mr. Hawkins said that the issues Mr. Scully has raised would be discussed at the meeting. Mr. Hawkins inquired if Mr. Scully had received a letter that had been 2 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2000 sent to him and Mr. Scully said he received a letter of a conceptual plan. Mr. Hawkins said that also would be one of the topics of the meeting. Mr. Scully said he has concerns because Mr. Roberts stated the plans were 100%. Mr. Roberts said the plans are in review and there is nothing that would prevent them from making changes. B. Status of Parking Study (Mike Rumpf, Planning & Zoning Director) Mr. Rumpf said he would be presenting the current findings of the parking study. Mr. Rumpf stated the study has really progressed since the first draft. He was pleased with the findings and stated it was good to see the details broken down by sub-areas. Mr. Rumpf said that staff is continuing to review the draft, but he expects to have a final draft within a couple of weeks and he is preparing to go before the Commission. The study includes 10 different sub-areas and is broken down based upon use characteristics, walking distances, major corridors and natural separations. Mr. Rumpf said that the findings are theoretical based upon the City’s target requirements by code, as well as the shared methodology. There are deficits in most of the areas based upon the findings. The study also addresses the current economic activity and the City’s timing is good. The two areas identified with the greatest anticipated parking space deficiencies are the Marina and the Dolphin Square area. Items 7, 8 and 9 of the study recommend several typical strategies. The study places a great deal of emphasis on shared parking agreements. Mr. Rumpf said a representative of the firm preparing the parking study is present tonight in the event anyone has any questions for him. Staff would like a recommendation from the Board when they would like to have a final presentation made. Mayor Broening said that this is really a Commission issue and would like to have the presentation made at a Commission meeting as soon as possible. Mayor Broening stated that the written summary presented tonight was excellent Mr. Rumpf replied that staff would try to have the presentation ready for the first meeting in February. C. Status of Entry Gateway Feature (John Wildner, Parks Director) Mr. Wildner, together with Mr. Kevin Hallahan, the City’s Forester and Environmentalist, assumed the podium to make the presentation. Mr. Wildner reminded the Board that last month a presentation was made to them showing 3 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2000 some preliminary plans for a gateway feature into the City when exiting I-95 at Boynton Beach Boulevard. Since the last meeting there has been a lot of input received, including the cost of the projects. Two projects were presented, one costing approximately $440,000 and the second one costing approximately $500,000. Mr. Wildner requested that Mr. Hallahan update the Board on how the project came to being. Mr. Hallahan said that the request for an entry feature to the City came from Ms. Kathy Shabotynskyj, the then President of the Chamber of Commerce who sent a letter to former City Manager Kerry Willis requesting the entranceway into the City be improved and expanded. Ms. Willis asked staff to look into possibilities with the FDOT. In May of 1999 staff asked the consultant that they had been working with to come up with some proposals for an expanded entryway beginning at Captain Frank’s Fish Market and extending as far west as possible to I-95. Also, discussion about an entrance feature at the Holiday Inn was discussed. In October 1999 the consultants made a formal presentation to the EXCL Team of the City and an expanded presentation was made to the CRA Board in December. Mr. Hallahan noted that the FDOT is in the process of redoing that intersection west of the median adjoining the Holiday Inn Express. Therefore, that particular location will be out of the FDOT’s authority until July 2002. Therefore consideration should be given to the feasibility of holding back the project considering the property would not be accessible until 2002. Mr. Hallahan reviewed the flow chart containing the costs of the entry feature and explained that these are the same figures that had been previously furnished at the December presentation. Mr. Hallahan said that staff was looking at option 2 called the monumental design which would cost $444,000. Mr. Wildner said that no matter which option the City chose, the maximum amount available in grant funds would be $125,000. There is a big discrepancy between the $125,000 and whichever option the City would choose to pursue. Mr. Wildner said that it was not necessary to use all CRA funds and another source of funding could be the City’s general fund. Mayor Broening noted that as the CRA funds continue to grow over the next several years and when the projects are prioritized, this would be one project that should be set aside until a future date. Mr. Wildner said that the project could also be done in phases and that staff could use the two years for planning. Mayor Broening did not feel the difference between the two projects was of great significance with the exception of the site work and asked if the City had the proper staff to do some of the work. 4 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2000 Mr. Wildner was uncertain of the capabilities of Public Works on this point and did not think there was enough street crew that would be available for this work. Vice Mayor Tillman asked if the City has the capabilities to take this project through the process from department to department? Vice Mayor Tillman felt that the work done at the City’s lift stations looked good and questioned if some of the work could be done by the City and this could be option 3. Mr. Hawkins felt that with the addition of new staff coming onboard, this could be a possibility. However, Mr. Hawkins was not sure how much more responsibilities the City could take on in order to bring the project to fruition. Mr. Hawkins felt that the City could take on more responsibility later on down the line with regard to engineering, landscape design and possibly preparation of construction documents. Commissioner Denahan inquired if Mr. Wildner discussed funding opportunities in terms of grants that might be available since she had to leave the dais. Mr. Wildner informed Commissioner Denahan that the only grant funds available are $125,000. Mr. Wildner also said that the City could scale down the project and limit the signage and landscaping to a figure that the CRA and City Commission felt comfortable with. Mr. Wildner said he is stating this as a possibility and not as a recommendation. Vice Mayor Tillman noted that the life span of the project needs to be considered before any decisions are made. Commissioner Denahan feels that the project is worthwhile and would like to see it done on its original full scale and this is what the City deserves. Commissioner Denahan said she would be inclined to wait until it could be done right and said it would be better at this point to use the CRA funds to revitalize some of the businesses in the downtown area. Mr. Wildner said that the plan should be considered for future capital outlay and to bring the project back periodically for review. There was a consensus on the Board that this approach be adopted. Commissioner Weiland suggested that the project be brought back to the Board in approximately nine months to one year for review. th Ed Tedtmann , 869 NW 8 Avenue, Boynton Beach said he thinks the entryway is a good idea and that the streetscape and lighting ideas are very good, but unfortunately the same old, drab buildings are still there. Mr. Tedtmann would like to see some land use change along the road in order to bring in new office type buildings to enhance the area. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2000 D. Status of CRA Budget Interim City Manager Hawkins distributed to the members a report showing projected future funding for the expanded CRA area beginning in December 2000. That is the date when the City should receive its first check in the amount of $62,080. Mr. Hawkins reported that the fund balance in the CRA is $605,211. Mayor Broening asked if anyone had any further comments. Hearing none, Mayor Broening called for a motion to adjourn. VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion Vice Mayor Tillman moved to adjourn. Motion seconded by Commissioner Denahan and the meeting properly adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _______________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (one tape) 6