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Minutes 09-01-22 Uu MINUTES COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ADVISORY BOARD 100 E. OCEAN AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA "a)pry THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2022, 6:30 P.M. PRESENT: Sharon Grcevic Thuy Shutt, CRA Director Yvonne Skovron Timothy Tack, CRA Asst. Director Naomi Cobb, Chair Vicki Curfman, Admin. Assistant Joe Josemond, Vice Chair Leslie Harmon, Prototype, Inc. Pemell Davis ABSENT: Golene Gordon Warren Sweet 1. Call to Order Chair Cobb welcomed all to the meeting and called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 3. Roll Call Roll was called. A quorum was present. 4. Agenda Approval A. Additions, Deletions, Corrections to the Agenda—None. B. Adoption of Agenda Motion made by Vice Chair Josemond, seconded by Ms. Grcevic, to adopt the agenda. Motion passed by unanimous voice vote. (5-0) 5. Information Only—None. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 2 September 1, 2022 6. Public Comment Ernest Mignoli, 710 NE 7h Street, Condo 4407, Boynton Beach, Florida, believes the CRA and City is corrupt. 7. Consent—None. 8. Assignments A. Pending Assignments Thuy Shutt, CRA Director, indicated Pending Assignments are to review the CRA funded Current and New Business Promotion and Marketing Events and include strategies to promote the marina. At the last CRA Board meeting, the CRAAB Board was assigned a two-month period to investigate and bring a report back to the Board, which will be presented to the CRA Board at their November 9, 2022 meeting. The packet that goes to the Board with the agenda is due on October 25, 2022,by 5:00 p.m., so this Board will have the October 11, 2022 meeting to make last minute changes. She suggested members look at this discussion to come up with ways to outreach, market, and promote CRA events. New eligible events that might have been researched with costs associated or at least a budget would be helpful for the CRA, and then perhaps they could elect a Board member to help draft or write the report and present it to the CRA Board during their November 9, 2022 meeting. It was noted that members can tag team each other at the meeting, but they cannot work on this as a group project. Ms. Skovron questioned if a Workshop could be announced. Ms. Shutt stated she would have to advertise a Workshop, record the minutes, and make sure staff is available. Ms. Grcevic thinks it is a little touchy with Sunshine laws and using staff's time, which is very limited. It is a good idea, but the logistics could be touchy. Ms. Shutt commented they could probably use the October 11, 2022 meeting to discuss things. They can even put a white sheet on the meeting and ideas can be filled in. There must be a consensus on those types of things. The Board could recommend some things CRA staff are doing are okay and maybe they would like to have more outreach to the western community because that is part of Boynton Beach. She will have to check the schedule because it is a tight deadline since the packet is due the next Tuesday. Mr. Davis liked the second idea about October 11, 2022, but he also liked Ms. Skovron's idea. Even if they have discussion on October 11, 2022,they are still rushed and if it is done as a Workshop,they have time to collaborate with each other. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 3 September 1, 2022 Ms. Shutt reiterated they would have to hire a court reporter because minutes must be taken, and they have to advertise in the newspaper. It would have to be the week after the CRA Board meeting, so there is only a window of one or two weeks. Ms. Skovron asked if the next meeting could be held as a Workshop. Ms. Shutt recommended discussion at the October 11, 2022 meeting at which time ideas can be put on the screen. She stated the last agenda had things to consider as they are researching. She referenced the last bullet on the second page; Additional Assets to Consider When Brainstorming. She noted the first three bullets talk about what staff has been doing and the last bullet talks about the aspects; the intent, goals in the CRA Plan, and Economic benefits that can be clearly identified and measured by providing the event. One example is why they cannot expand business promotion to include Pirate Fest or some of the larger events is because they are free. Larger events become more of a tourism type of event because of the number of attendees, unless money is charged to show money has been expended somewhere in the CRA District. They try to follow up by having people at the event answer questions and by having Boynton Bucks to report back. Ms. Skovron asked if the City could take over the Pirate Fest and charge a fee. Ms. Shutt replied that has been discussed. The cost is almost $440,000 and when this was discussed with the former City Manager and her staff last January, an effort was made to extend the contracts. At that time, the City Manager said the event is a lot of money and she can pay several jobs for that cost; it is too big for her to decide as a City Manager and she would like to meet with the incoming Commissioners and talk to them during budget time. Unfortunately, she was not there shortly after the election to tag the Interim City Manager and the City starts budget planning in April. The City can pay for the event and the CRA is willing to pay half, but the issue is that discussion did not start until July, and they normally start the Pirate Fest in June. Ms. Skovron commented that this could be relooked at for next year. Ms. Shutt advised it is already budgeted. Pirate Fest is in October, so it would have had to be in last year's budget to be able to spend it during this upcoming year; it is a preplanned event. Three options were also proposed to the City in July: Rock the Block in the 500 Block in the parking lot, one event on the Centennial Park site, and a full blow event. There was money and costs associated with each scenario, but the problem is that the events are free, and they cannot control who goes in and out, so people will descend on that small block. If only a certain amount of money is budgeted for Security and Police, no one will be at the crossing for the railroad tracks and safety is always an issue. They did not think it was safe to have an event at Centennial Park because it would have to be fenced. Crowd control is the biggest issue and safety in getting access for people with health issues. They decided it was easier to take a year off and she has committed to make sure the City budgets this amount for next year. She noted it is not easy to get staff to give up weekends and nights to work these events. The City is funding the event and they are putting $300,000+ in the budget. The CRA can still pay one-fourth of the cost for the business promotion part; they can still do the promotion,the treasure hunt, and marketing,but someone has to hire the food vendors, other vendors, and the characters. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 4 September 1, 2022 Ms. Skovron asked when the City would have to make that decision. Ms. Shutt hopes the budget adoption will be on September 20, 2022. There will be a new City Manager and they need to make sure the Finance Director has this item in the line item for next year. They will have to go out for an RFP for services, which is usually is as little as 14 days or a three-week process to be out on the street. Three quotes are necessary for anything over $2,000 and a formal bid must be done for non-construction projects over $35,000. Vice Chair Josemond mentioned Rock the Arts. Ms. Shutt stated it is feasible because they do the Night Market,which is a maximum of four-hour events. They need to look at what kind of promotion there is to the businesses, and they must be mindful of the intent and purpose. There is an Art District already, so it must be in conjunction with some of the artists because that is the CRA District. The Art District has their own events, which the CRA supports. They try to find people to publicize and promote their area. The CRA provides the band and food trucks to activate the Arts. A larger event like a Night Market with artists in Centennial Park is possible, but the question is the number of artists who would participate. She asked if Vice Chair Josemond was looking at Affairs of the Art. Vice Chair Josemond replied yes. Ms. Shutt mentioned that is a little more difficult because it is a huge event and it cannot be during March and April, it must be in the fall. If that is the case, it will compete with Pirate Fest next year. They are looking at having more than one event in culture or Arts next year; she can look at the dates. She commented if they are looking for something quarterly, that could be a suggestion and maybe one could involve the Arts. She asked if Vice Chair Josemond was looking at a smaller event activated at the Art District or one that brings people to Downtown. Vice Chair Josemond replied one that brings people Downtown. Chair Cobb mentioned National Good Neighbor Day, which is September 28, 2022; it is usually the last Thursday or Friday of each year and questioned if this could be an annual event. Ms. Shutt indicated that is up to the Board and how it repeats is based on the success of the first event. They would have to distinguish if it is a City event versus a CRA event. CRA events are usually to leverage business commercial dollars with CRA dollars and events for neighbors have to do with clean up or something to address slum and blight. Chair Cobb commented one of the white papers she wrote is all neighbors, including businesses and residents in the same neighborhood, so they all become neighbors. Ms. Shutt thought the City was trying to have a One Boynton approach. She questioned where these events would be held and noted they must be in the CRA District. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 5 September 1, 2022 Chair Cobb stated that includes Seacrest and some of the park areas. Ms. Shutt showed the CRA boundaries,which are primarily along Federal Highway, Woolbright up to the FEC Railroad tracks east, which includes Boynton Beach Boulevard to Industrial Avenue on the north, then it jogs along Seacrest and 2nd, then goes up to 26h south of Miner Road, to the north end. The heart of Boynton Beach is about 40% of their area. Anything north of the Stanley Canal, which goes east/west is not in the CRA District. Vice Chair Josemond asked if there is anything north of there. Ms. Shutt stated there is a sliver east of NE 4h Street. Ms. Skovron questioned how much time the CRA needs to organize an event. Ms. Shutt replied at least two months for a smaller event. They are currently working on the Rock the Marina event that will be held the first week of November. Usually, the CRA Board approves all the dates and expenditures for each event at their Budget meeting. She mentioned last months' CRA meeting, so members would have an idea of what is going to be approved;the Board has already approved 95% of the budget. There is a list of events and expenditures for the events as well as the dates. Ms. Skovron mentioned street painting in Lake Worth and suggested doing something with Pete's Pond. She noted work will begin in January 2023, so with the Marina event around the corner, it would be nice to have kids drawing something. Ms. Shutt advised that is done by a non-profit, not by the City or a CRA. As far as the pond, it would probably have to be contingent on the City and how their construction works with the contractor they hire. She is not sure of the ceremonial part of the infrastructure projects and did not know if they would want kids around. She noted that anything like that needs to be part of the Rock the Marina event because there is no way they would be able to do anything during the holiday events. They are currently booking boats for the Rock the Marina event because there is an environmental component. As far as reusing the pavers, she would have to ask Gary Dunmeyer, City Engineer. Ms. Skovron stated all the stamped concrete is being pulled up. Chair Cobb asked about other events to get clarity of the inclusivity of all the communities in Boynton Beach, particularly in the CRA areas that are not around the Downtown area. She questioned if there has been a multicultural event on Martin Luther King or if there has been something to include minorities with businesses within the City; Black owned businesses and Women owned businesses. Ms. Shutt stated the CRA used to have MLK Unity Day, but that has been transferred to the City since they have broader powers and can be more inclusive whereas the CRA has to concentrate on their area. Neighborhoods around the Downtown area are very limited; they can get the Homeowner's Association contacts from the City. For something more inclusive, it would probably be a City event versus a CRA event. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 6 September 1, 2022 Chair Cobb asked which events the CRA is involved with. Ms. Shutt referred to the attachment and mentioned events already scheduled and other events that were mentioned last month. Next year, under the MLK Mixed-Use project, they are looking at Rock the Plaza at Heart of Boynton Village. By this time next year, the Mixed-Use and ground floor retail will be done. Five businesses will be serving the community and they are looking to do Rock the Plaza at that location, which will highlight the Heart of Boynton. This is something the CRA can fully support because there will be businesses on MLK that are serving the community. There could be a Blarney Bash or Rock the Block in March, so they could have an option. They are not looking to do St. Patrick's Day anymore;they are staying away from holidays that can be done by the City. They do the boat parade because they promote the Marina. Chair Cobb wants to make sure their cultural events represent the same thing, that there is an equity not just to new homeownerships or dwellings,but also for businesses in those communities and some of which have been on MLK for many years, so they have an opportunity to be highlighted. Ms. Shutt stated they will approach all the businesses but noted some of the businesses do not want to participate for whatever reason. They always provide a packet of how to brand the event and ask businesses if they would like to participate, but sometimes they do not want to. Chair Cobb thinks both the CRA, and the City have to look at this. She thinks it builds good relationships with Law Enforcement for all different parts of the community; it creates a different kind of level of relationship in communities and makes everyone feel like neighbors. She stated parking is an issue. Ms. Shutt commented if it is a relationship building between the businesses and the community,they need to figure out which businesses will commit to participating in the events;they are finding they are lacking in staff. Out of 54 vendors they have in the Night Market, only 11 CRA businesses could participate because they cannot man their business and send one or two staff members out. Chair Cobb stated the City Parks and Recreation is having the same issue; they were going to have an event at one of the parks a few weeks ago and were told they could not do it because they did not have staff. Mr. Davis questioned why not allocate monies. Ms. Shutt stated that could be a recommendation. Each event is $12,000;they normally allocate $500,000 for business grants and rent assistance, and they find those programs are longer lasting and more helpful to the businesses than a one-day event because $3,000 may be able to pay for several months of rent assistance. Another thing to think about is how to slate who gets the $3,000; is it a lottery or first come first serve and what do businesses have to submit to the government to verify what they are losing or what it takes to operate for one day. Many people are funny about giving away their business information for such a small amount. She would recommend parameters to encourage more business participation, a set amount, and how to slate the businesses and track the success of that night. It is a great idea to cover the staffing shortage. The key is how to implement it. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 7 September 1, 2022 Chair Cobb commented this is not about advocating for black businesses; this is a multicultural area, and 17 languages are spoken. She mentioned Broward by the Numbers and would like to see how they can be more inclusive. Ms. Shutt stated one of the parts of the assignment was to look at ways to market and promote events. She mentioned a property sold to a Haitian talk radio station and one thing the CRA gets is free ads and radio time. Staff works with them, but that only covers Creole speaking demographics. When releases are granted, it is done in three languages. They could reach out and use the radio station as a way to promote and invite people to get the word out. Mr. Davis asked about social media. Ms. Shutt advised they print material and use social media. She asked what other platforms the Board would like to see and what the best ways to reach out to the communities are. Chair Cobb stated there are several different Chambers,but the focus should not be on one racial or cultural group. Maybe they need to find out who lives in the City and in the CRA zones and not make an assumption as to who lives there. Ms. Shutt indicated the City should have their demographics. Most times they go to churches and utility bills. They have also done door hangers. Mr. Davis suggested reaching out to schools to advertise and having sports announcers provide the information at high school games, etc. Ms. Skovron mentioned they could put banners on Fire trucks. Ms. Shutt stated she would put a list together of these ideas for the next meeting. Ms. Grcevic asked if the events could be shared with businesses so they can help advertise. She questioned if anything could be done to the flyers that say, "Come in for your Boynton Box" and how they can track who is coming to the events. Ms. Shutt stated they cannot do anything outside of the CRA area, but they have a scan code on some of the flyers, so people can scan it and do a quick survey, which is by zip code. There are key questions and that is how they report back as to whether a campaign is effective or not. Merchants that honor Boynton Bucks after an event turn it in and staff writes the zip code and the amount spent. Ms. Grcevic mentioned the Boynton Beach Toy Drop for Christmas and noted that people have been dropping off at her office due to COVID. Ms. Shutt asked if Chair Cobb could summarize his discussion, so they have something to narrow down at the next meeting. She stated that the CRA prints posters for events and anyone who wants to pick them up can come to their office. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 8 September 1, 2022 Chair Cobb commented that some of the churches in the zone are doing electronic programs for Sunday services. Ms. Shutt advised they give everything to the Coalition of Clergy in their area and sometimes print out 50 to 100 flyers for the Pastors and Ministers to distribute during their services. She stated the Back-to-School program with the Police Department was well received and mentioned the Halloween event, which families attend. Ms. Grcevic mentioned calendars have not been done for the City and asked if there is any way to invite kids to pick the top 12. Perhaps that can be suggested when some of the Art events are done. Ms. Shutt stated that is a City question. Ms. Skovron asked if articles posted on social media for events could be shared with businesses by email, so they could use them on their social media page rather than sharing. Ms. Shutt asked if Ms. Skovron if she was talking about businesses they are doing events for. Ms. Skovron replied yes. Ms. Shutt advised the CRA has Media Kits for the businesses. The kits provide graphics and a logo, and all the businesses have to do is fill in their information. Staff does fun engagement activities to make advertising exciting. They also have something called a SMOCK program, which is a social media outreach program. As soon as they receive Business Tax Receipts from the City of new businesses in the CRA, staff contacts those people. They offer them the grant that is available, free social media assistance, staff will tell them how to schedule their media, how to have a professional look, and how to boost their post. People must subscribe to the newsletter, which is on the CRA website. Their website has many platforms. Ms. Grcevic asked who watches the local news every morning and only three of the members replied yes. Ms. Shutt stated one or two press releases are done a month and Fridays are not good because there is too much competition for the weekend. They can look at the media, but unfortunately, the CRA does not decide what is picked. She noted that residents do not know about CRA's, but businesses do, so they need to figure out ways to reach the public. She mentioned the Awareness Campaign to make people aware of what CRA dollars can do and what has been done in their neighborhood. The CRA pays for a lot of development that people do not know about. Chair Cobb thinks Faith communities are learning as they are moving into a different level of connection with communities and that it is going to come from multiple sources. St. John Baptist Church used to be the hub of information, but it is not anymore. There are gatekeepers in every community, and it would be a good idea to know who those gatekeepers are in those communities. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 9 September 1, 2022 Ms. Grcevic commented the visibility of the CRA on Atlantic Avenue was much more visible about 20 years ago. Chair Cobb commented that people see change, but they do not know what is going on. It is a matter of a neighbor helping a neighbor to help get the information out, so they do not feel they are going to be gone. Ms. Shutt indicated that perhaps a CRA Awareness Campaign needs to be reactivated because it needs to connect to the residents. One thing she learned from Delray is that they had an Annual workplan that mirrors the budget. After the budget gets adopted, the workplan gets attached informally, but it can be done indirectly. While there, she had their social media person meet with the press, so they could control the message and show the workplan to neighbors. Chair Cobb stated the public needs to get information from the volunteer Board members. She thinks a better communication plan from the CRA will cover everything discussed. Ms. Shutt provided the following recap: • Look at media and maybe connect to neighborhoods in the CRA. • An Awareness Campaign for the neighborhood to connect to residents and create a workplan. • The City would like events that promote the Marina. The CRA owns and leases out 19 slips to tenants. • Bring school bands and local vendors to Pete's Pond. o Parking is an issue and in the past,they did a separate agreement with the owner let them use it for parking, but the new owner did not receive the parking agreement very well and want all the risk and liability on the CRA. • The agreement for public parking allows for 150 parking spaces, so they need to consider additional parking at other places. • Reactivate banners. Ms. Shutt asked the Board who they would like to be their spokesperson at the CRA Board meeting. Vice Chair Josemond volunteered. Ms. Shutt provided a recap for ways to market and promote CRA events as follows: • Announcements at high school events, sports programs, etc. to outreach to parents. • Advertising on Fire trucks, Police Cars, churches, buses, specifically Palm Tram, bus shelters and benches, and the Tri Rail. Channe120. • More outreach for residents, which may be through a CRA Awareness Campaign, more posting on CRA projects and programs, and churches within the CRA District. Anything outside of the CRA District will have to be partnered with the City to see how to get the message out to those churches. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 10 September 1, 2022 • HOA groups. • Run promotions on the screen at meetings. o Look at City Commission meetings as well. • Incorporate an Arts component to the Night Market and increase the number of Night Markets. • National Good Neighbor Day or an event that will promote Multicultural attendees and participants. • Promote Marina by using the Boynton Beach Boulevard Extension to advertise with banners at the intersection and reactivating the Banner Program for the Marina. Any events with the Marina will require additional parking for attendees and one example is to try to do some improvements in the parking lot behind Veteran's Park. • Engaging bands and performers to activate Pete's Pond. • Vice Chair Josemond, speaker for the CRA Board, will report back to the Board in November. • Put list in a more organized fashion for the next meeting. • Look at more TV media sources, but that would be subject to who the Editor is or what news they pick up. • Branding Downtown requires more public input for something people will recognize. B. Reports on Pending Assignments —None. C. New Assignments —None. 9. CRA Board Items for CRA Advisory Board Review and Recommendations A. Old Business 1. Review and Discuss the CRA Funded Current and New Business Promotions and Marketing Events including Strategies to Promote the Marina See Item 8A. B. New Business —None. 10. Future Agenda Items Ms. Shutt announced the FRA Conference will start on October 12 through mid-day October 14, 2023, Wednesday through Friday. The CRA Board has a budget for five CRA Board members and if they cannot attend due to other obligations, they usually leave spots open to two Board members from the CRAAB. She requested everyone look at their calendars for availability and select two CRAAB members to attend if there are spots open. Mr. Davis and Chair Cobb volunteered. Vice Chair Josemond volunteered if there is a third opening. Meeting Minutes Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board Page 11 September 1, 2022 There was a consensus for Mr. Davis and Chair Cobb to attend the Conference and if there is a third opening, Vice Chair Josemond will attend. The next meeting is scheduled for October 6, 2022. Ms. Shutt advised the Parks Master Plan Presentation may possibly be given during the October meeting. 11. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, Chair Cobb adjourned the meeting at 8:41 p.m. [Minutes transcribed by C. Guifarro,Prototype, Inc.]