Loading...
Minutes 05-31-00MINUTES OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING (CIP) TOWN MEETING WITH MAYOR GERALD BROENING, HELD AT THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM, SEACREST BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2000 AT 6:30 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Broening called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. and informed the audience that this was the fifth Capital Improvement Planning (CIP) meeting held this month. II. INTRODUCTION BY MAYOR BROENING Mayor Broening introduced Quintus Greene, the City's Development Director, who initiated this program and felt that the program has proven to be very beneficial. Mr. Greene will explain how each of the projects are rated and that public input is going to be very helpful in assisting the City in determining which projects are important. CIP Projects are projects that cost above $50,000. Mr. Greene will also be giving an update on the CRA later on during the program. Also introduced were Commissioner Bruce Black; Bob Brown, former mayoral candidate; Dick Hudson, City Planner; Larry Roberts, City Engineer; Dan DeCarlo, Neighborhood Specialist; Ms. Virginia Farace, Library Director; and Mrs. Gerald Broening. III. PRESENTATION BY STAFF Mayor Broening asked Mr. Greene to present an overview of the purpose of the CIP presentations. Mr. Green pointed out that any City project that costs over $50,000 is considered a capital improvement project. Cities throughout the Country do capital planning and normally City Departments submit their wish lists of projects they feel need to be done. The City Commission then looks at the projects and determines how much money is available and then decides which projects get funded and which projects don't. Normally, public input occurs at the end of the process when the obligatory public hearing takes place before the City Commission. At this point the wish list has already been determined. Boynton Beach wants to know about all the potential projects in the City and the best way to determine this is to go out and ask the citizens what they feel are the capital needs for their community, thus the MEETING MINUTES CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 31, 2000 purpose of these CIP meetings throughout the city. The capital needs of the citizens will be considered together with the City's departmental capital needs wish list. All projects will be evaluated the same way. There are 15 criteria that are weighted. The first five criteria are weighted at three points; the second five at two points; and the third at one point. 1. Available grant funds. These are projects that don't cost the City any money. 2. Public sentiment; how strongly does the public want this project. 3. Public health, safety and welfare. 4. Federal, State and County mandates. 5. Ongoing operating costs. Some projects can be very costly because the operating costs are very costly. 6. Revenue generation potential. These are projects that make the City money. 7. Quality of life, which includes parks, libraries and the like that enhances the quality of life. 8. Consistency with emphasis areas. The Visions 20/20 document has seven emphasis areas that were identified as follows: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) City government; Commercial revitalization; Economic development; Quality of life, image and character; EduCation and youth involvement; Neighborhood revitalization; and Public safety and crime prevention. 9. Economic impact, jobs and tax base. 10. Continuation of prior funding. These are usually ongoing projects that occur over a period of several years to complete. 11. Intergovernmental cooperation. Certain projects promote intergovernmental cooperation. 12. Public/private venture potential. 13. Historic preservation. 14. Disaster prevention. 15. Environmental Impact. Mr. Greene also pointed out that each of the criteria could be weighted either positively or negatively. The City Commission will then receive a spreadsheet that ranks all the projects by their scores, which will be provided with a framework on which they can make their final decisions. It is anticipated that this process will be completed by the middle of September to coincide with the City's budget process. What we have done in Boynton Beach is give the citizens an opportunity to have input in the CIP process. 2 MEETING MINUTES CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 31, 2000 Mr. Hudson had distributed at the beginning of the meeting a form to everyone to complete regarding the types of projects and needs they would like to see in their neighborhood, as well as the entire City. Mr. Greene explained how the forms should be completed and asked people to make sure that they fill out the forms completely and submit them so that they can be evaluated and considered. Mayor Broening announced that 58 projects have been submitted by residents from the four prior meetings and have met the cost criteria and are being considered. Mayor Broening also pointed out that all projects will be considered and if it doesn't make the $50,000 threshold, it can be considered for funding with other projects, such as in the Neighborhood Project funds, which the Commission will be asked to fund again at a significant rate. IV. PUBLIC DISCUSSION Questions and Answers Ms. Joy Currier said that her neighborhood has requested sidewalks and Mayor Broening said this fits the project criteria and to put it down. Mr. Herb Suss asked for clarification on the statement that the Golf Course makes money. Mr. Suss was under the impression that the Golf Course was self-sustaining and asked if some of the Golf Course money goes to the City? Mr. Greene said that the Golf Course is self-sustaining. Mayor Broening also noted that some of the Golf Course funds go to the City to pay for the other City services that it receives. A woman in the audience inquired who owns the lot north of Veteran's Park? Commissioner Black stated that the FEC Railroad owns this. She requested that the railroad be asked to clean up this area, as it is an eyesore. Mr. Marcus inquired how much money there is in the capital improvement project fund? Mayor Broening said the amount is very small for a City of this size and is approximately $1 million. Mayor Broening said that there just isn't enough money and there are not enough sources for funds. Mr. Herb Suss stated there are people in the City receiving public safety services that pay no taxes because of the homestead exemption and a special tax district should be created. Mr. Ed Currier inquired if the City is on the verge of bankruptcy, how can the City afford to give grants away, such as the $16,000 that was awarded to Mr. Katz? Mayor Broening said that the money isn't given away, but is received upon performance. Most of the funds come from the County and the awarding of grants is related to the creation of jobs. This in turn also increases the tax base, 3 MEETING MINUTES CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 3'1, 2000 because of the improvement to the property. Also, Mayor Broening noted that the money is not paid up front, but only when the recipient has completed the project. Commissioner Black pointed out that when recommending a project, it doesn't necessarily have to be in your neighborhood, but could be a project that you would like to see done within the City. A woman asked who supports the Senior Center? Mayor Broening said the initial funding for Phase 1 was a grant. Grants are being explored for the funding of Phase 2. She also felt that there should be more fees and charges at the Senior Center than giving everything for free and that a great many seniors utilizing the center are not needy and can afford to pay their share. Mayor Broening stated that the Senior Center wasn't set up this way to charge for services and the meals are paid for by a grant through the Mae Volen Center. Mr. Ed Currier inquired who determines the number of handicapped parking spaces in parking lots and Mayor Broening responded that it was through the ADA (American with Disabilities Act). Mr. Currier felt more handicapped spaces were needed in the City because of the number of seniors that reside in the City. A woman asked if any projects were being planned for the Library? Mayor Broening was uncertain on this. Mr. James Miriana noted that flooding takes place at the end of NE 8th Avenue, along 7th Street and when it is high tide, the area is completely flooded. Mr. Miriana said he was told several times that the City doesn't have money to fix this problem. Mr. Miriana noted there was a newspaper article that the City has $34.9 million in the utility fund and asked if this was correct. Mr. Miriana said that the stormwater fees go into the utility and Mayor Broening said this was not the case and these are separate funds. Mayor Broening said there is $34.7 million in the water and sewer utility reserves. The stormwater issue is a separate issue and is largely mandated. Secondly, a good portion of the utility reserve is already earmarked for necessary expansion and improvements to the water and sewer systems. Mayor Broening explained the difference between the sewer system and the stormwater issue. Stormwater now has to be contained and treated before it is released. If the City does not comply, it would become decertified and lose federal funds. Out of the $34 million, $19 million has already been earmarked for capital improvements to the existing system. Salt-water intrusion must be dealt with and the western water plant needs to be expanded. The City has a responsibility to outside service areas. All this requires financing and this comes out of the utility fund. This fee is based on user fees and this process has worked well. However, the City has only been charging $1.00 for its stormwater 4 MEETING MINUTES CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 31, 2000 fee and this should have been increased a long time ago like other municipalities have. A woman in the audience asked if developers contribute to the system and the Mayor responded that this is required. Mrs. Harmening noted that the agreements when the City originally borrowed money for the water and sewer capital improvement program call for the City to maintain a reserve. Mayor Broening stated this was correct, but these funds are already earmarked funds. Mr. Currier asked why the Commissioners were not told about this reserve and the Mayor responded that he was aware of this and was not certain why the other Commissioners were not. Mayor Broening stated that these figures are available to anyone who would like to look at them. Mr. Bob Ensler said he would like to see some type of theater facility placed in Quantum Park where plays and the like could be staged. Mayor Broening said that they had been speaking to some theater companies to determine if existing buildings could be utilized and this is being discussed. A woman in the audience inquired if there were plans for revamping Boat Club Park and Mayor Broening stated that $900,000 would be spent on Boat Club Park for improvements. Discussion took place on possible uses for the 10-acre Intracoastal Park site. Mayor Broening said that more ramps and holding spaces would be placed at Boat Club Park. Another question asked was if there were any plans for a new Civic Center? Mayor Broening said there has been a great deal of discussion about a brand new civic center. However, financing is a problem. Mayor Broening explained that out of the City's general fund of $39 million, less than 50% comes from property taxes. Also, he pointed out that the City's share of State and County revenues will be going down, instead of going up. CRA Discussion Mayor Broening announced that at the last City Commission meeting, the City elected two civilian members to the CRA as the first step to making the CRA independent from the City Commission. Also, the tax incremental funding which is derived from a CRA is beginning to grow and there is a now a CRA professional on staff. Mr. Ed Currier stated that the two appointments to the CRA have their own personal vested interests in being appointed. Mayor Broening acknowledged this and noted that this is suggested by State law that people sit on the CRA who live 5 MEETING MINUTES CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 31, 2000 or have business interests in the district. Before any money is spent, however, the Commission still has control. A CRA is meant to redevelop and a criteria for appointment to the CRA was set which included real estate people, financial people, architects, and City activists who have interests in the City, etc. Mayor Broening pointed out that the boundaries of the CRA area runs from Federal Highway to the water on the east side and to the FEC railway on the west side, and from north and south of City limits. Also, it goes down Boynton Beach Boulevard to 1-95. Mr. Miriana asked how much time was left on the bonds to pay off the Tradewind settlement? The Mayor noted that bonds typically are written for 20 to 30 years and there is a long time remaining on this particular bond. Commissioner Black noted it is important to bring in public/private investors because there is just not enough money in the City budget. Commissioner Black said that one of his CIP Projects would be to tear down the Civic Center and build a brand new one. With Mr. Greene onboard and through his experience and knowledge, Commissioner Black feels that a lot of these projects can be realized. Mr. Greene spoke to the audience about his experience with other cities and how those cities' projects came to fruition. Ultimately these projects produced enough money through creating a tax increment finance district, which financed other projects. Mr. Greene further explained how tax incremental financing works for the benefit of the cities. This is the same way that the City's CRA works. With regard to the construction on Ocean Avenue, Mr. Greene stated the City is very sensitive to the needs of the business community on Ocean Avenue and how the construction will impact their businesses. Mr. Greene explained how he was faced with this same problem in another city and how it was effectively dealt with by working cooperatively with the business community and the developers. It is important to become creative and to look at doing things in new directions and new ways. Mr. Miriana said that the City needs to change its building codes in order to attract more developers and feels the permitting process within the City takes weeks and there is way too much paperwork involved. Mayor Broening responded that this was not the case and that Boynton Beach is considered as a model for developers and ways have changed to attract more development. Mr. Greene also explained that reviewing plans takes time and that the plans have to be reviewed by many departments. Staff is sensitive to these problems and wants to improve the process and different processes are being looked at. Mr. Greene went on to explain some of the methods being explored to decrease the time process for permitting. 6 MEETING MINUTES CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 31, 2000 V. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary