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Minutes 07-10-12 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012, AT 6:30 PM, IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS CITY HALL, 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Woodrow Hay, Chair Vivian Brooks, Executive Director Mack McCray, Vice Chair James Cherof, Board Attorney James "Buck" Buchanan Steve Holzman Mark Karageorge William Orlove Marlene Ross I. CaII to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chair Hay. 11. Invocation and Pledge to the Flag Mr. Karageorge gave the invocation. Mr. Buchanan led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. III. Roll CaII Roll call was taken. A quorum was present. IV. Legal None V. Agenda Approval A. Additions, Deletions, Corrections to the Agenda Mr. Orlove pulled Item X. B. for comment. 1 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2012 B. Adoption of Agenda Motion Mr. Buchanan moved to approve the agenda. Ms. Ross seconded the motion that unanimously passed. VI. Informational Items and Disclosures by Board Members and CRA Staff: A. Disclosure of Conflicts, Contacts and Relationships for Items Presented to the CRA Board on Agenda Items Mr. Karageorge disclosed that under Consent Items, D & E, he personally knew the principals of the Company, both socially and professionally, but there would be no conflict. B. Informational Announcements Vice Chair McCray commented the fireworks were beautiful. Also, the funeral service for Mrs. Gertrude Sullivan was very well attended and well done. Mr. Buchannan concurred. Mr. Orlove also praised the CRA staff on the fireworks display. Ms. Ross commented she attended Mrs. Sullivan's service and was looking forward to attending the Farmer's Market on Saturday. Mr. Karageorge attended the ribbon cutting and award ceremony for Seaborne Cove. They are the number one, largest, green, gold level development in the United States. They have already leased over 120 apartments and are doing very well. He also attended the Town Hall meeting and Boynton United meeting. He commended the staff on the fireworks show, as well, and advised he also attended Mrs. Sullivan's funeral. Mr. Karageorge advised that on July 19 the Breeze through the Arts trolley tour of the Arts District would take place from 5:00 p.m. — 9:00 p.m. beginning and ending at Cuthill's. Chair Hay also commented on Mrs. Sullivan and praised her involvement in the community, as well as conveying positive comment on the fireworks. Chair Hay also announced that he went to the Board of County Commission Office to deal with the marina issue. He provided a brief summary of the results of the meeting which would be discussed later in the meeting. He advised there would be another meeting in a couple of weeks to determine if the County had funds in their budget that could be contributed to the City. The City had been trying to accommodate the business owner involved to no avail. Each time the County was approached, they offer 2 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2012 mere suggestions instead of money, input and help the City had continuously requested. VII. Announcements & Awards: None. VIII. Consent Agenda: A Approval of Minutes — CRA Board Meeting June 12, 2012 B. Approval of Period Ended June 30, 2012 Financial Report C. Monthly Purchases Orders D. Approval of Interior Build -Out Grant to We Care 4U, Inc. d /b /a Comfort Keepers E. Approval of Rent Subsidy Grant to We Care 4U, Inc. d /b /a Comfort Keepers IX. Pulled Consent Agenda Items: None. X. Information Only: A. Public Comment Log — None B. Media Advisories and Advertising Campaigns Mr. Orlove commended Margee Walsh for providing the media information. He would like this done every month. He inquired if there were planned media campaigns for any of the art events and Ms. Brooks advised there was a press release approved for distribution. Ms. Ross inquired how many RSVPs were received for the Facebook seminar. Margee Walsh, Marketing Director advised the CRA would be offering a free seminar on July 25 for small business owners and the theme would be how to effectively use Facebook to generate more business. There was an initial invitation postcard and a second mailing last week to all the businesses within the CRA district She indicated the first free seminar was not hugely successful and felt it was hard for some of the businesses to attend for different reasons. The seminar was posted on the CRA 3 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2012 Facebook page, Twitter, the website and a mailing. The Woman's Club was reserved and a guest speaker would be in attendance for the hour long seminar. C. Events Recap — June 2012 There were no comments or questions. XI. Public Comments: (Note: comments are limited to 3 minutes in duration) Chair Hay opened Public Comments. Herb Suss, 1711 Woodfern Drive, opined that the CRA was making progress in various areas, but felt the time had come to once again consider bringing the CRA into the City. This would decrease expenses if both were incorporated and worked together. If this was done, it could possibly make projects, such as the downtown, move faster. Willie Aikens, 726 NE 1 Street, wanted to thank those that attended Gertrude Sullivan's service and to show appreciation for everything done for the Heart of Boynton. He also advised that there were citizens asking if anything was planned for this year or next for MLK corridor and what the current progress was. Ms. Brooks advised there were four properties being slated for purchase on the west side of MLK, and the drug ridden properties on the south side by Seacrest. The City was slated to buy two and the CRA was slated to buy two and that would go into the Sara Sims Park. Currently, the properties are problem areas and are centers for drug activity. Chair Hay closed Public Comments. XII. Old Business: A. Update on the Request to the Board of County Commissioners to Amend the Waterfront Easement for the Marina Ms. Brooks advised the purpose of the meeting was to amend the easement agreement. A tenant who was actually no longer a tenant and had been an at -will tenant signed a legal agreement which was causing a lot of public time and resources to be spent. Mr. Holzman inquired of Attorney Cherof if he felt the County Attorney shifted his original point view. Attorney Cherof stated the matter had gone before the County Commission on three occasions after being reviewed by County staff, including someone from the County Attorney's office. Each time it got there, the agenda item was deemed appropriate, and had been blessed as a proper agenda item to be granted. The 4 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2012 meeting this date seemed to be a turnaround on that particular issue and possibly a misreading on the entire easement document. There was discussion by Mr. Holzman regarding what he felt was a misunderstanding. It was possible the County thought Splashdown Divers was an involved party and possibly was owed something. He thought maybe a letter should be sent to them clarifying what the issue was about. He suggested to possibly resolve the situation, allow them to take over the building, take care of the structure and the maintenance, and rebuild it. If they did not want to do that, they would need to allow the City to tear it down. There was a very lengthy discussion on the content of the meeting and the building at the marina. Attorney Cherof suggested not to go back to the Commission and withdraw the application and proceed to develop the marina as the Board had done in the past to the benefit of the community. Motion Mr. Holzman moved to remove the application and move forward with the plans as set forth by the Executive Director for that particular building. The motion was seconded by Mr. Karageorge with discussion by Mr. Orlove. Mr. Orlove wanted to know what the County's response was to the Board's decision to arrange a situation to help the tenant find another location that was closer, which was what the County originally asked the Board to do. They also stated previously that they would give funding assistance. Ms. Brooks stated additionally, the CRA was going to give them an easement for the new building, but they did not care. She commended Attorney Cherof on an excellent job of making it clear and concise that Lynn Simmons of Splashdown Divers would in no way be a tenant in any property of the CRA. Mr. Simon made a very clear presentation to the County regarding the space found for Ms. Simmons and explained it was a space she put a purchase contract on. She then decided it was totally unsuitable for her. The County ignored the information and advised the Board to come back on July 24 when they would determine if there was funding assistance available. Because Ms. Simmons sued the City, she felt she would get a free condominium retail unit on the backs of the public, the County and the City. Mr. Orlove reminded the Board that the lawsuit had been settled. He also opined that the Board and the City did everything required by the County and even went above and beyond what was required. He suggested moving along with the original plans of tearing down the building and moving forward. There was no cooperation from the County. Attorney Cherof suggested a sequence of steps. First, withdraw the application and then evaluate what the next redevelopment options are and the timing of them. The other recommendation would be to honor the court order entered into to settle the case with Splashdown Divers. Mr. Orlove inquired if the Board could request staff to work with the City to begin the permitting process to demolish the building. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2012 Mike Simon, Development Director, advised the permits were already approved and were waiting for the outcome and direction of the Board and /or the County. CRA was ready to go to an RFP and move forward with the project. Mr. Orlove suggested amending the motion to include the demolition of the building. However, Attorney Cherof advised it would not be the right time to provide that type of specificity to deal with the demolition. That would be another issue in due course that would come before the Board. Ms. Brooks brought up the subject of funds. Other cities had received more funding than Boynton Beach. Riviera Beach received $5 million and had an amendment for their agreement that was simple consent. Palm Beach Job Center received $14 million and had their agreement amended. County staff pointed out that those easement agreements had been amended easily. Ms. Brooks did not understand why the City received the least amount of money, had done the most with the least amount of money and now it almost seemed personal dealing with the County on this issue, which is the feeling received when meeting with them. Vote After continued discussion, the motion unanimously passed. Mr. Simon advised there was an outstanding issue with regard to the funds that had been allocated to Splashdown Divers in the form of grants. There was $35,393.93 that was associated with the approval of the interior and facade grants that Splashdown Divers was to be using. At the last meeting, it was decided not to grant an extension of the grant time period, but instead hold in advance, a lump sum to lease a new place or to fix up the existing place based on the decision of the Board and the Palm Beach County Commissioners. The situation now was that there were grants that had time - expired by 60 days due to 30 day extensions. It was not done at the last meeting and it did not get the approval at the County meeting which was a condition of those grants. As a financial housekeeping issue, Mr. Simon suggested to either grant an additional 30 day extension of the grants or to entertain the lump sum payment again or some variation of it. Attorney Cherof indicated the money was earmarked for the City's compliance with the court settlement. Mr. Simon mentioned the grants language in the settlement indicated that Splashdown Divers may apply for those grants and the Board may approve those grants. It was the opinion of many to recommend not having to continue this ongoing battle to release funds, approve funds, and ask for documentation. Mr. Orlove stated at the last meeting, he made a motion and Mr. Karageorge amended it which discussed the funds being disbursed and that it be done after the July 10 meeting. The motion was remade to state "only when the County Commission 6 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2012 approved our amendment ". That did not happen at today's meeting. His opinion was that the funds should stay with the CRA pending the decision of the County. Attorney Cherof suggested deferring this issue to the next agenda. He opined the communication to the County, which would be communicated to Ms. Simmons as well, would serve a very valuable purpose. The information and options would be better if deferred. There was discussion on whether to hold funds or honor a pending request for funds if there was one. Attorney Cherof suggested complying with the draw requests for funding, as long as Splashdown Divers complied with the request requirements. B. Consideration of Issuing an RFP for the Boynton Harbor Marina Entry Signage & Landscaping Project — 222 N. Federal Highway Mr. Simon advised this was to approve release of the Request for Proposal for the Boynton Harbor Marina signage which was currently the site of the Farmer's Market. The attachments included a diagram and design layout of the project. The RFP would be released on July 11 with a response deadline of Thursday, August 2nd Motion Mr. Holzman moved to approve issuance of RFP. The motion was seconded by Mr. Karageorge and unanimously passed. XIII. New Business: A. Consideration of Issuing an RFP for Marina Management Services Mr. Simon explained this was for issuance of an RFP for the Boynton Harbor Marina, fuel dock and marina slips management services. In January 2007, the CRA purchased the existing fuel pad and at that time, Waypoint Marine was the company that was managing it and was acting fuel dock manager prior to the CRA purchasing the property. The CRA was very pleased with the management services and approved a two -year contract and an additional two -year renewal. The contract had expired and they were required to conduct a solicitation for management services. The RFP would be issued on July 11 and the response would be due by August 2 Mr. Simon suggested the terms be a three -year initial term and two three -year renewals. Motion Mr. Buchanan moved to approve the issuance of the RFP. The motion was seconded by Mr. Karageorge and unanimously passed. 7 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2012 B. Approval of Resolution No. 12 -03 and Budget Amendment Authorizing Funding of Palm Orthopaedic Institute, Inc.'s Economic Development Grants. Ms. Brooks advised in the past, funding was approved for this business from a prior budget year. Because the project could not be finished due to problems such as asbestos in a greater amount than originally anticipated, it took longer to move forward than they anticipated. Ms. Brooks stated the intent was to move the dollars into this current year so the project could be finished. Motion Vice Chair McCray moved to approve Resolution No 12 -03 and budget amendment. Mr. Karageorge seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Dr. Rena Amro, 638 East Ocean Ave., responded to Mr. Holzman's query on time frame anticipated. She advised the building had been very old and had never been brought up to Code, so everything had to be redone. She anticipated having the project completed no later than the end of August. C. Approval of Interior Build -Out Grant to Palm Orthopaedic Institute, Inc. Motion Ms Ross moved to approve the interior build -out grant. The motion was seconded by Mr. Holzman and unanimously approved. D. Approval of Rent Subsidy Grant to Palm Orthopaedic Institute, Inc. Motion Mr. Holzman moved to approve the rent subsidy grant. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair McCray and unanimously approved. E. Consideration of match to grant application for the creation of a Heritage Trail and Interactive Online Map. This item was not discussed. XIV. Executive Director's Report XV. Future Agenda Items: A. Review of Executive Director — August 14, 2012 8 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 10, 2012 Ms. Brooks advised her annual review was approaching and she wanted to know if the Board desired the same form as the City Manager or an NCCI form she located from the private sector. The Board advised to send both forms and they would review them. XVI. Adjournment The members recited the Branding Promise. There being no further business to discuss, Chair Hay adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m. Ellie Caruso Recording Secretary 9