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Minutes 03-13-13 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD MEETING, HELD ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2013, AT 6:30 PM IN COMMISSION CHAMBER 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BLVD. BOYNTON BEACH, FL PRESENT: Woodrow Hay, Chair Vivian Brooks, Executive Director Mack McCray, Vice Chair James Cherof, Board Counsel James "Buck" Buchanan Mark Karageorge Wayne Segal Jerry Taylor ABSENT: Steven Holzman 1. Call to Order Chair Hay called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. II. Invocation and Pledge to the Flag The invocation was given by Mr Karageorge. Vice Chair McCray led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. III. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll. A quorum was present. IV. Legal None. V. Agenda Approval: A. Additions, Deletions, Corrections to the Agenda None. B. Adoption of Agenda Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2013 Motion Mr. Taylor moved to approve the agenda. Vice Chair McCray 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 There were no conflicts or disclosures to report. B. Informational Announcements Mr. Buchanan wished to express his appreciation and thanks to the current Chair for the terrific service he performed during the very tough year in his interim position. He also reminded everyone of the Red Hot Blues Cruise event that would take place on April 20 th . Vice Chair McCray advised this would be his last meeting and thanked everyone for the experience. Mr. Taylor echoed the comments of Mr. Buchanan and thanked the Chair and Vice Chair. Mr. Segal expressed it had been an honor to serve with the Board and also thanked the CRA staff for the tremendous support. He mentioned under the leadership of Mayor Hay, the CRA, Chamber of Commerce and the City finally had come together. Mr. Karageorge recognized the birthday of Karen Abramson from the Library and shared a few of her accomplishments. He also expressed his appreciation to each candidate that ran in the election. Mr. Karageorge acknowledged Habitat for Humanity had their 101 family move into a house at Ocean Breeze West. Mr. Karageorge mentioned that on April 27 Hands Around Boynton would take place. On that same day, Fire and Rescue has their fishing tournament and chili cook -off at Harvey Oyer Park from noon to 4 p.m. He also echoed the sentiments of the other Board members, and expressed his appreciation to Chair Hay. Ms. Brooks also wished to thank Chair Hay and Vice Chair McCray for their leadership in keeping the helm steady. She advised the audience that the Board members do not receive any pay for serving as CRA Board members. All their time was voluntary. She also advised that for the benefit of the new members, there would be a joint CRA/City Commission meeting to bring them up to speed on what was happening in the CRA. 2 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2013 This would be on April 4th and would include a tour on the trolley and lunch and would take place from 9:30 to 1:00. Chair Hay expressed his pleasure at serving as the Chair of the CRA Board. He learned a lot and was looking forward to working with the new Chair as a team. He also mentioned that Kelly Smallridge of the Business Development Board (BDB) was very warm and supportive. Last week there was a private function in which three mayors were invited from 38 municipalities and he was one of them, along with the mayors from Boca Raton and Delray Beach. He was honored to be a part of it. VII. Announcements & Awards: A. Ocean Ave. Concert — Friday, March 15, 2013 Kathy Biscuiti, Special Events Director, advised Celtic Mayhem would be performing Irish and Celtic music in honor of St Patrick's Day Specialty food items from The Little House along with special beverages and snacks would be available for purchase. B Movies on the Ave. — Friday, April 5, 2013 Argo would be shown on April 5 th at the amphitheater. Moviegoers should bring blankets and chairs. The same food vendors would be available at the event. C. Sunday in the Park — April 7, 2013 This event is held at Ocean Avenue Park from noon to 3 p.m. Ron Bivona will perform the music of Frank Sinatra. VIII. Consent Agenda: A. Approval of Minutes — CRA Board Meeting, February 12, 2013 This item was pulled. B. Approval of Period Ended February 28, 2013 Financial Report C. Monthly Purchase Orders IX. Pulled Consent Agenda Items: A Approval of Minutes — CRA Board Meeting, February 12, 2013 Mr Karageorge had a change to the minutes. On page two, where he thanked Harry Meeks for holding the walk, it should read to Heritage Park. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2013 Motion Mr. Karageorge moved to approve the minutes of February 12, 2013, as amended. Vice Chair McCray seconded the motion that unanimously passed. X. Information Only: A Public Comment Log B. Media Outreach and Editorial Coverage C. Recap: Merchant Workshop Mr Karageorge thanked the staff and those who volunteered their time D. Pallesen, Tim. "Stability missing ingredient in improving downtown." The Coastal Star (March, 2013): 1, 33. E. "Palm Beach SFBJ Ultimate CEO Awards 2013:" South Florida Business Journal (March 1 -7, 2013) Mr. Karageorge commented it was nice to see leaders in Boynton that were recognized for the CEO Awards It was also nice to see that one -third of the BDB's Board was involved. Mr. Taylor congratulated the great work done by the CRA. XI. Public Comments: (Note: comments are limited to 3 minutes in duration) Chair Hay opened public comments. David Katz, 67 Midwood Lane, commented regarding a negative mailer that was distributed during the campaign about Commissioner Taylor. He reviewed the five items and shared his opinion of the research he had done and its findings. Sherri Johnson, Community Caring Center, 145 NE 4 th Avenue, thanked everyone for their sponsorship for the Hunger Walk. It was the most successful hunger walk to date. There were 27 sponsors and almost $13,000 was raised. The money would be used to support the Senior Veggie Mobile Program and to purchase food during the summer She passed out tee shirts to the CRA Board members. Ms. Johnson expressed that next year the event would be bigger and possibly have other things added to it like an art show or a car show. Chair Hay closed Public Comments. 4 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2013 XII. Public Hearing None. XIII. Old Business: A. Consideration of Adoption of Special Events Grant and Aid Program and Application Process Ms. Brooks explained this process. It would help the Board make better decisions for the applicant and the special event. There is a legal nexus to support a special event, it cannot simply be held. There must be an economic reason that would benefit the area and where money for improvements is being spent as in the amphitheater, marina, and The Little House. Those locations are where the special event would have to be promoted. The special event holder would have to indicate how the event would help the area, the downtown, merchants and so forth. The Downtown Master Plan supports special events for that reason. The potential applicant should apply at least six weeks prior to the event so that application could be processed in a timely manner and get it on the Board agenda. After the event was completed, the organization would have to complete a report indicating what the attendance was, and what the impact of the event was on the City. There would have to be a match to the funds and the money would be reimbursable The onus would be for them to go out and fundraise as they are reimbursed at the end. It was also pointed out that any event sponsored through this program could not conflict with one of the CRA events. Motion Mr. Karageorge moved to accept the Staff recommendations of creating a Special Events grant and aid program and application process for providing funding to non- profits and other groups to hold events within the downtown area. Vice Chair McCray seconded the motion with discussion by Mr. Taylor. Mr. Taylor requested clarification on the reimbursement clause. If someone, for example, wanted to hire a band for $5,000 and the group raised $5,000 for the band, if the CRA reimbursed 50% of the cost, it would look like the special event group received an extra $2,500. Mr. Karageorge opined that the expense could be incurred and be billed and not outlay cash. The funds could be raised and proof would have to be provided. This would match all the CRA's other grant policies and would be in compliance with the statute. Ms. Brooks added that, for instance, when City Services are used, it was not billed until after the event. There were, of course, exceptions to the rule, if money was needed ahead of the event. 5 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2013 There were comments regarding possibly having a clause added under 9. Procedure, "unless approved otherwise by the Board" where it states the maximum amount for three years. The motion was amended to include the clause and passed unanimously. B. Consideration of Adoption of Special Events Grant Program up to $5,000 for Remainder of FY 12/13 Ms. Brooks explained this was the funding component for the program for the remainder of the year. If someone wanted to come forward for an event before the end of the year, there was funding available. Otherwise it would be rolled into the next year. Motion Mr. Taylor moved to approve and was seconded by Mr. Buchanan The motion passed unanimously. C. Consideration of Additional Amendments to Executive Director's Contract Ms. Brooks advised this was the result of a conversation with Attorney Cherof and the Finance Director, Tim Howard. Her current contract has actual numbers of sick time and leave time as of the time she became CRA Director. Mr. Howard indicated it should not be done that way as the time changes every two weeks as hours are accrued and used The hours of sick and leave for staff are maintained by City Human Resources. She was requesting it be removed from her contract and made consistent with the CRA's leave policy. She also wanted the salary changed to reflect the change that occurred on October 1. Motion Mr. Buchanan moved to approve the recommended changes The motion was seconded by Vice Chair McCray and unanimously passed. XIV. New Business: A Consideration of Creating an Audit Committee for the Purpose of Selecting an Independent Auditor Susan Harris, Finance Director, advised this was the first step in the process of the new RFP for auditors. The five -year contract has ended with the current auditors. Florida Statue requires that an audit committee be established solely for the purpose of assisting the Board with reviewing applicants, evaluating and ranking the applicants and bringing it back to the Board for review and approval. The recommendation was for the 6 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2013 Audit Committee to include the Executive Director, the Finance Director and the Finance Assistant. If approved, an RFP would be issued shortly and bring results back to the Board in May. Motion Mr. Karageorge moved to approve the recommendation to approve the Audit Committee as presented. The motion was seconded by Mr. Taylor and unanimously passed. B. Consideration of Performance Audit and DIFA Payment Release to PRH Boynton Beach, LLC for the Property known as Casa Costa, formerly the Promenade. Ms. Brooks pointed out that there was a direct incentive funding agreement with PRH Boynton Beach, formerly known as Boynton Waterways Associates. Their performance under this agreement was to lease ten percent of the retail space at that property at below market value and would have to present an audit from a certified public accountant, which they presented. It was an acceptable report and met the guidelines of the funding agreement and payment was recommended for this year. Ms. Brooks met with the new leasing agent for the retail and felt confident there would be better results produced. They were creating plans for access to the north tower and the south tower to the parking structure. They have an aggressive and young team on the leasing side. Motion Mr. Taylor moved to accept the performance audit and approve the DIFA payment of $399,345 to PRH Boynton Beach, LLC. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair McCray with discussion. Vice Chair McCray inquired how many spaces had been leased under the lease agreement? Ms. Brooks responded currently there were none leased out, but at the time this originated, there was Happy Garden which was on the north end. The restaurant was no longer there. The agreement states they have to "attempt" to lease, but PRH certainly was trying to lease as it would only help the project and their sales. Ms. Brooks indicated this was the third payment The first year, they were paid $150,000; second year they were paid $400,000; this year would be almost $400,000. It was 47.5% of the tax increment revenue that was received from the development for 10 years total. Ms. Brooks added that one thing received as a result of this agreement was permanent public parking of 110 spaces in the garage. Mr. Simon interjected that in 2004, the property was assessed for $119,000. In 2012, the property was assessed for $71 M. The motion passed unanimously. 7 Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 13, 2013 C Consideration of Removing Omar Smith from HAP Mortgage Deed per Dissolution of Marriage Mediation Agreement. Ms. Brooks stated that this was a HAP recipient and was getting divorce. She was requesting to remove her ex- husband from the documents. Kimberly Smith, 28A Crossing Circle, stated she also had to do this with the Bank and the terms indicate she could not refinance the home. She may have to in order to remove her ex- husband from the mortgage, so she was requesting approval for that, as well. Motion Vice Chair McCray moved to remove Omar Smith from the deed and to allow refinance, if necessary The motion was seconded by Mr. Taylor and unanimously passed. XV. Executive Director's Report A. Project Status Update There were no questions on the report. XVI. Future Agenda Items None. XVII. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was properly adjourned at 7:32 p.m. Ellie Caruso Recording Secretary 8