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Minutes 08-14-01MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY REGULAR MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2001 AT 6:30 P.M. Present Larry Finkelstein, Chairman Jeanne Heavilin, Vice Chair Josh Aguila Al DeMarco Don Fenton Michelle Hoyland Absent Henderson Tiliman Also Present Kurt Bressner, City Manager Commissioner Mark McCray I. Call to Order Quintus Greene, Director of Development/CRA Lindsey Payne, Board Attorney Mike Rumpf, Planning and Zoning Director Hanna Matras, Economic Planner Chairman Finkelstein called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and noted that a quorum was present. IlL Agenda Approval: A. Additions, Deletions, Corrections There were no additions, deletions, or corrections to the agenda. Motion Vice Chair Heavilin moved to approve the agenda as submitted. Mr. Aquila seconded the motion that carded unanimously. IV. Approval of Minutes Motion Mr. Aguila moved to approve the minutes of the July 10, 2001 meeting as submitted. Mr. Fenton seconded the motion that carried unammously. Meeting Minutes "'/ Community Redevelopment Agency BoYnton Beach, Florida ........................ August 14, 2001 V. Director's Report A. Financial Mr. Greene called the attention of the members to the financial statement for the month of July 2001. The CRA had a beginning balance of $1,019,826 and after expenditures for legal fees, business meetings, and a transfer io the Community Improvement fund, the ending balance was $1,014,406. Staff services billing for the month totaled $3,295.03, with 110.5 hours of staff time dedicated entirely to CRA business. Vice Chair Heavilin thought that [he application review cost in the employee billings should have been covered, at least in part, by the application fee itself. Mr. Greene responded that the application fee did not cover the full cost of the actual time that staff spent on the application review. Chairman Finkelstein asked about the $4,085 transfer to the Community Improvement fund that came out without backup and without prior approval of the CRA. Mr. Greene read from a letter he had received from the Finance Director, Diane Reese. The last three sentences are as follows: "...When the City Commission adopted the CRA budget for 2000/2001, the separate CRA Board had not been appointed. Included in that adopted budget was a transfer to the Commumty Improvement Fund of $49,017. The $32,678 expense in May was 8 months of the $49,017 budgeted transfer to Community Improvemen~ The balance of the $49,017 is being expensed in monthly increments of $4,084.75 on the monthly statement. Since October 1, 2000 all dollars spent from the CRA budget have been for CRA related expenses except for the expense of the transfer to Community Improvement Fund, which was budgeted. ....... "Mr. Finkelstein asked if this $49,017 was different than the $50,000 that came out in February and Mr. Finkelstein was to call Ms. Reese to determine this. Mr. Greene provided a copy of Ms. Reese's letter to Mr. Finkelste~n. Mr. Fenton asked about Mr. Rumpf's fees and the necessity of having City staff make presentations on variances that were repetitive in nature. Board Attorney Payne confirmed that the presentations were necessary. Loan Status Mr. Greene reported on the status of the requested $3M loan. The condition for the City to approve the loan and agree to act as co-signer will require a Resolution, and this was expected to be on the September 4, 2001 City Commission agenda. Mr. Fenton noted that interest costs had come down since the original loan request and Messrs. Greene and Finkelstein indicated tha~ the CRA would get the prevailing rate and that the rate was based on an index and would be fixed at closing. B. Project Updates 1) Federal Highway Corridor Plan Mr. Greene reported that the consultant had provided a working draft of recommended land use regulations for a mixed-use zoning district in this Corridor. The final 2 Meeting Minutes .... ~ v Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach. Florida .............. ............................................................... 2__0_0_! recommendations should be brought before the CRA Board at their September meeting. Mr. Greene was to disseminate this to the Board members as soon as a final version was available. 2) Martin L. King, Jr. Boulevard Plan This project is proceeding according to schedule. A community workshop was held August 11 at the HeadStart Office and a final workshop to address community design issues will be held on August 25, 2001 at Poinciana Elementary School. The Board members are welcome to attend. 3) Ocean District Plan This project has been put on hold since the planner in charge is out on maternity leave. 4) Marina Phase One The parking lot at Ocean Avenue and 6th Street just began and shop drawings for Casa Loma drainage work have been released. Some fill will be delivered the first week of September and the project is getting underway. C. Commission Actions The items on the CRA agenda previously: Habitat for Humanity, Pence Park Setback Variance, Animal Control Fence Variance, were all approved on the Consent Agenda. The U.S. #1 Corridor Land Use Map Amendment was approved by the Commission with the condition of deleting Boynton Isles and Lee Manor Isles from the mixed-use designation. They also approved an Ordinance amending Chapter 23 of the Land Development Regulations to provide parking lot standards for the CRA area. D) Future Agenda Items The September 11 agenda will contain two lot variances, Cherry Hills Lots 312 and 313, and the Federal Highway Corridor zoning regulations. VI. Announcements & Presentations Chairman Finkelstein noted the presence in the audience of the City Manager, Kurt Bressner, and Commissioner Mack McCray. VII. Public Hearings Mr. Finkelstein asked Mr. Greene if the cases had been publicly noticed and he responded that they had been advertised in the Palm Beach Post on July 31 and notices had been mailed to property owners of record within 400 feet of each case at the same time. The Board attorney administered the Oath to all who would be giving testimony or speaking in relation to any cases on the agenda. 3 Meeting Minutes '- Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach Florida ............................ August 14, 2001 Variances Project Name: Agent: Owner: Location: Description: CHERRY HILLS Lot 62, 63, & Portion of 64 Octavia Sherro(~, Community Development Derek and Tracy Wiley th South side of N.W. 9 Avenue, between N.W. 4th And N.W. 5th Street Request relief from the City of Boynton Beach Land Development Regulations, Chapter 2, Zoning, Section 5.D.2 a, to allow a single-family house on a 7,200 square foot lot in lieu of the 7500 square foot required by Code in a R-1-A zoning district. Mike Rumpf, Planning and Zoning Director, reported that the City acquired the subject lots, assembled and reconfigured them to m~ ~he 60-foot frer~tage requirement and provided them to Derek and Tracy Wiley, who Will develop them using SHIP funds The properties are still 300 feet short of the 7,500 Square foot area requirement. Mr. Rumpf displayed the original plat and noted the city'S recent Ordinance that allowed building on previously non-conforming 50-foot wide lots. These lots are 25 feet wide. Staff supported this variance in light of the hardship due to the rezoning that made' these lots non-conforming. Ms. Hoyland thought that very few of the lots in the subdivision would be able to meei Code and asked Mr, Rumpf if there were a way to make these 25 foot-wide lots conforming. Mr. Rumpf said itwas a matter oftimin§ but that their intention was to make the Ordinance apply to 50-foot lots or equivalent. Motion Mr. Fenton moved to accept the recommendation of staff and approve the variance for Lots 62, 63, and 64 (portions) in the Chbrry Hills Subdivision. Chairman Finkelstein opened the Public Audience. Mr. Bressner stated that if the Ordinance before the City Commission pertained to lots and not parcels, there would be a problem in applying that Ordinance to any other 25- foot lots of record without some definitional changes ~n the Ordinance that would either specifically define them as lots or parcels of record. That could block someone from even assembling the properties to meet the 50-foot lot frontage. He thought the City might want to look at the language in the Ordinance to make sure that if there are any 25-foot in width properties that were in the original platted area, that the intent would be to allow these properties to be assembled by the property owners. Otherwise, there will be more requests for variances and the whole Ordinance was to avoid the necessity for what are currently legal non-conforming lots with respect to a lot area only. Chairman Finkelstein closed the Public Audience. 4 Meeting Minutes ' - Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida ....................................... August 14, 2001 Mr. Aguila seconded Mr. Fenton's motion to approve the variance for Lots 62, 63, and 64 (portions) in the Cherry Hills Subdivision. The motion passed unammously. Project Name: LOTS 64, 65, 66, and 67 (PORTIONS) CHERRY ~ HILLS SUBDIVISION Agent: Octavia Sherrod, Community Development Owner: Sandra McPherson Location: South side of N.W. 9,n Avenue, between N.W. 4th and N.W. 5th Street Description: Request relief from the City of Boynton Beach Land Development Regulations, Chapter 2, Zoning, Section 5.D.2.a, to allow a single-family house on a 7,200 square-foot lot in lieu of the 7500 square-foot required by Code in a R-1-A zoning district. Mr. Rumpf reported that this property was adjacent to the previous case and consisted of 5 feet assembled from the remainder Of Lot 64, all of Lot 65, all of Lot 66, and 5 feet from the remaining portion of 67, to meet the 60 foot lot width requirement. The City initiated the project by purchasing the lots and Ms. Sandra McPherson will develop the property with SHIP funds. Staff found that there was hardship and recommended approval. Chairman Finkelstein opened the Public Audience. NO ONE IN THE AUDIENCE WISHED TO SPEAK. Chairman Finkelstein closed the Public Audience. Motion Mr. DeMarco moved to approve the variance on Lots 64, 65, 66, and 67 (portions) in the Cherry Hills Subdivision. Mr. Fenton seconded the motion that carried unanimously. VIII. New Business A) Proposed CRA Work Plan 2001-2002 Mr. Greene stated that he broke down the major work projects into three priorities A, B, and C, including the criteria for determining those categones. Many of the work projects were identified in some of the early workshops and some were projects that were currently underway. Way-Finding Sign Project A lengthy discussion ensued about the way-finding sign project, With a hand vote Showing five Board members in favor of moving it to "A" priority and one against it. Mr. Fentod thought the Sign project was self-serving and that the Board should concentrate Meeting Minutes '~*- *~ Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach Florida ......................................... August 14, 2001 on other projects in the "A" category. Ms. Hoyland's approval of moving the item to "A" priority was contingent on the concurrence of the City Commission for the sign project. The general feeling was that it was not expensive, it had already been approved, and it would provide visual affirmation to the public of the CRA's activity. Mr. Greene commented that City staff had gene to Hollywood to study their signage program and found many ideas that might be suitable for this area. Mr. Brassner saw this as a long-term community effort in that directional and way-finding signs were needed all over the City, including the CRA areas. He believed that it would be best handied through the City's Capital Improvement Program, with financial participation by all interested parties. The City had the infrastructure, engineering, and project manager expertise to do it. Their only constraint was the need to go out for bM on projects over $10,000. There was general agreement that there would be economies of scale in a citywide program also. The City was proposing $70K, spread out over five years, for this project as part of the Capital Improvement Program F ve-Year Buoget. The first hurdle would be to get the aPpr~)va of the City Commission to proceed. This item was new to the Capital Improvement Program list and the Commissioners would have to be educated as to the need and purpose for such a signage system. If they approved it, a timeline could be set, the design team selected, some prototype signs produced, and the project could move forward. Property Acquisition Chairman Finkelstein asked Mr. Bressner if a determination had been made as to "who wh " · would be acquiring at and Mr. Bressner repl~ed that it had not. He suggested a joint meeting of the CRA and the City Commission after Labor Day to discuss the details. Parking Authority A question was raised about the parking authority work item. Mr. Bressner thought that the pros and cons of this, including designating the entity that would become the parking authority, needed further exploration and that the ~ssue would probably not be under serious consideration for at least two years. Motion Mr. Aguila moved to approve the Proposed CRA Work Plan 2001-2002. Ms. Heavilin seconded the motion. The motion was passed 5-1, Mr. Fenton dissenting. B) CRA Proposed 2001-2002 Budget The Board discussed the draft budget for the Fiscal Year 2001-2002. Mr. Greene stated that the figures represented "best guess" estimates for the operational expenses of the CRA for the coming year, based on past history and future projections. Mr. Greene sought the input and consensus of the Board concerning the proposed budget. 6 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency BoyntOn Beach, Florida .......................................................................... _s _4_, _ The assumptions were an interest rate of 7.28% for 15 years with semi-annual payments beginning in December 2001 for the $3M loan; TIF revenue for Fiscal 2002 of $820K; and that the $1M currently in the CRA account would be carried forward. The figures might change if the actual loan interest were to be less and if a more recent projection of TIF income of $961K were to be considered. The Board asked that Mr. Greene generate an income and expense type of format, showing the supply side. Mr. Aguila asked about the potential for the Board to have its own full-time director and whether this should be put in the budget. He expressed the frustration the CRA felt about trying to get things done and not having st~ff available to follow through on their projects and priorities. He commended Mr. Greene on the fine job he had done but realized that he was very busy. Mr. Greene offered to prepare two parallel budgets, one with the full-time director and the other without and the Board agreed this would be useful. Ms. Payne remarked that the Ordinance currently provides that Board staff shall be City staff so an Ordinance change might be required. Mr. Greene was to draft the parallel budgets and bdng them back before the Board FaCade Grant Program Chairman Finkeistein suggested that the Board consider putting a line item in the budget for this program. The Board agreed that they would need an in-depth presentation on the history of the program before they could decide about putting it in their budget. Ms. Octavia Sherrod, Manager of Community Development, spoke to the Board about the program. She explained that the program had started in 1997 with $50,000 to assist business owners who wanted to do extedor repairs, landscape or signage improvements [o their property. The program is administered so that the City matches up to 50% of the first $5,000 and beyond that, up to $2500 additional dollars are available for signage or landscaping. The money is almost totally expended and Ms. Sherrod believed it should be re-funded. Ms. Sherred said the City was requesting that the CRA take it into their budget. An oversight committee comprised of Ms. Sherred and other members of City staff approves the applications. Ms. Sherrod suggested that the CRA could participate in the program by rewewing the applications after the oversight committee had made a determination, adding its input and recommendations. The Board did not want to add another layer of approval and felt it was sufficient that it be notified from time to time of the applications that had been approved. The Board wanted to know why it had taken four years to spend the money. Ms. Sherrod accounted for the slow payout on the program by saying that the City requires licensed contractors and permits. It was her experience that most people did not want to spend the money for licensed contractors and permits, preferring instead to have their relatives do the work. C) Draft Revised Consulting Services Agreement Between the Community Redevelopment Agency and the City of Boynton Beach Mr. Greene discussed the pertinent changes to the existing agreement with the Beard. He directed the Board's attention to Section 2.01(A) where it stated that the City would 7 Meeting Minutes -¢ Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida ....................................... August 14, 2001 provide the following services during the term of this Agreement when requested by CRA: (A) Manage (replaced word "r, ' ' ' ewew'~ the existing and proposed budget and financial documents pertain ng to the CRA and provide other financial services requested by CRA such as monthly financial reports. Under COMPENSATION 7.01 it stated that for the period beginning October 1,2001 the City shall be paid as follows (A) CRA shall pay CITY (an amount up to $25K annually at a rate of $40 per hour) based on the established hourly rates for assiqned staff to ~e ~nvoiced by CITY on a monthly basis by the 10t~ day of each month for services rendered dudng the pnor month. This invoice shall include, but not be limited to. a summary of services provided, the type of service provided, and approximate time spent by CITY staff ("staff was added) on behalf of the CRA during this period. Clerical Note: The words in parentheses and Italics represent the original agreement. The words in bold and underlined represent the revised language. Chairman Finketstein remarked that they would be going from a set lee annual services contract to a contract that reimbursed hourly rates for assigned staff. The Board discussed ways to manage the budget and determined that with monthly updates from staff, they could watch the status oF the various budgeted items and adjust the budget accordingly as necessary. Mr. Finkelstein said that the major problem the Board had was with all the hours that were being spent on a project like Town Center when the Board could have hired an outside consultant for $15K. Instead, they had $50K in hourly bills over the last six months and the Board did not feel that this was appropriate. Mr. Greene said that the issue had to do with a model that was being prepared relative to Town Square. Staff was not specifically authorized Dy the Board. That model was part of the Town Square project, which is part of the Ocean District Planning Update of the CRA Plan. However, Mr. Greene understood the Board's sentiments and had backed this item out of the monthly billings. Motion Mr. DeMarco moved to approve the amended Consulting Services Agreement between the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Boynton Beach and the City of Boynton Beach. Mr. Aguila seconded the motion that carried unanimously. D) ABC's of the CRA The Board discussed the article that Vice Chair Heavilin had prepared for publication in the City's newsletter. She stated that she had incorporated Mr. Greene's comments and those of the workshop attendees and had already submitted the article to Mr. Segal who said it would be published at the end of this month. There were some ideas that came 8 Meeting Minutes '~ Community Redevelopment Agency Boynton Beach, Florida August 14, 2001 up and were discussed and those ideas will be incorporated in future updates, but the Board was satisfied in general with the article as an introductory message. Ms. Heavilin advised that Mr. Segal wished to include a photograph in the article and asked the Board members to stay after the meeting to have a group picture taken. IX. Public Audience Chairman Finkelstein asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak. Commissioner McCray stated that the marquee in front of City Hall showed that the CRA meeting would start at 7:00 p.m. and it actually started at 6:30 p.m. He thought staff should check tnto this. Mr. Finkelstein noticed that also and had already brought it up to staff. X, Other Real Estate Administrator Mr. Fenton asked about the results of the seamh committee to hire a real estate administrator for the City. Chairman Finkelstein stated that the staff had unanimously chosen Urban Group as the best candidate for the job. A Question and Answer meeting is tentatively set for August 22 at 3:00 p.m. n the Utilities Conference Room on Woolbright. Mr. Greene will see that the Board members are notified when the meeting details are confirmed. Mr. Finkelstein commented that the real estate administrator would be updating and maintaining the database file on the land and real estate in the entire City including the annexation and utility service areas. Their services wilJ also ~)e available to the CRA. Xl. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (two tapes) (08/20/01) 9