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Minutes 05-11-98 MINUTES OF CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HELD IN THE LIBRARY PROGRAM ROOM BOYNTON BEACH LIBRARY, 208 S. SEACREST BLVD., BOYNTON BEACH ON MONDAY, MAY 11, 1998 AT 7:00 P.M. PRESENT Gerald "Jerry" Taylor, Mayor Henderson Tillman, Mayor Pro Tem Nellie Denahan, Commissioner Ja!mie Titcomb, Commissioner ABSENT Shirley Jaskiewicz, Vice Mayor Kerry Willis, City Manager Jim Cherof, City Attorney Sue Kruse, City Clerk M~ m, OPENING REMARKS tyor Taylor called the joint meeting of the City Commission and City of Boynton ~ach Chamber of Commerce Workshop Meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. and stated the ;eting would focus on issues and items that are of concern and presented three items the Agenda for this evening: · Visions 20/20 Reunion · Development of Community Support for Implementation of the Comprehensive Master Plan; and · Community Redevelopment Agency Mayor Taylor also stated that if any persons had any other issues they would like to address they would be welcomed. 2. VISIONS 20/20 REUNION M~ MI Ur pa ~yor Taylor introduced Wilfred Hawkins, Manager of Support Services to the meeting an update on the Visions 20/20 Reunion. · Hawkins stated that the Reunion is scheduled for Wednesday, June 3, 1998 at the ~ited Way Building in Boynton Beach at which time the original one hundred that rticipated in the original Visions Planning Session will be brought together with other MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 invited guests. The report produced from this Reunion will result in a summary of the victories that have been accomplished to date in the City. The DUncan Plan will be reviewed in its entirety so that everyone will know where the City is today. This will provide an overview of when the Plan started, where it is today and what the Plan holds for the future. Financing will also be discussed and priority projects of the Plan will be addressed and methods of financing those projects. It is anticipated the meeting will be all day, tentatively between 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with lunch being served. T~lks have taken place with Clarence Anthony, as well as Sara Chambers from FAU anid each has agreed to work with the City on that date. M¢yor Pro Tem Tillman inquired as to how the United Way Building was selected and wtly the Reunion was scheduled for a Wednesday. Mr. Hawkins stated that the location anid size of the facility was convenient and on this particular date the United Way COnference Center was available. COmmissioner Denahan asked if invitations would be mailed out. Mr. Hawkins replied pqsitively. The original 100 will be sent invitations, and there will be advertisements that the public is invited to attend. COmmissioner Titcomb inquired if there is a large attendance by the public in addition to thb original 100 members; can the facility accommodate a large public turnout? MC. Hawkins stated that the facility could hold approximately 200 people. MAyor Taylor asked how the idea of a reunion surfaced. MC. Hawkins stated that the City Manager and staff felt this was a good means to explain to the public what the planning process is all about and it was felt this was the beist means to accomplish this goal. Ciy Manager Willis spoke next and stated it was felt that the Visions 20/20 Reunion would be a good way to unveil the Duncan Master Plan and the Community will be able to hear about the final project. Funding possibilities could be addressed at that time. The timing is such that the Plan will then be brought back to the next Commission Meeting to be considered for adoption as a Resolution and a consensus regarding funding options can be agreed to. MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 Mayor Pro Tem Tillman asked if there was a planned agenda for +~'"+,,,,~, ~.'~"" the defined outcome. Mi. Hawkins stated that some of the quick victories will be discussed and the Master plan will be introduced in its entirety to give the public a better understanding of the Plan. Secondly, the financing of the various projects will be addressed. Lastly, the pUblic will be able to express their opinions on the Plan. MCyor Taylor stated that the Reunion was a good idea, but should be thought out completely on how the meeting can be controlled due to the large number of participants that will be present. When you consider that there could be at least 150 people in attendance, it is very important those guidelines be in place and that all the issues can be covered in one day. Also, the Mayor stated that the Reunion should not result in a setback of all the accomplishments to date and that backtracking on issues sh!ould not take place. Mayor Pro Tem Tillman agreed with Mayor Taylor's statements and stated that the Reunion should not result in any kind of setbacks. Attendees should be apprised of the a§enda for the day and what parameters have been set so that the Reunion does not get out of control. CCmmissioner Titcomb said that the material for the Reunion should be made available well in advance. The entire Vision 20/20 document that was created two years ago should be available, as well as the Duncan & Associates Comprehensive Master Plan that will be developed from the Workshops that will be ending this week, and any other m ~terials that are planned for the workshop. All these items should be made available at least two weeks before the June 3rd date so that they can be reviewed well in a¢lvance in order to avoid answering questions throughout the entire workshop. M ke Bottcher asked if the Final Plan would be available by May 14th for review. M' Henry Iler of Duncan & Associates stated that the Final Plan won't be ready on May 1 ih and further stated the purpose of the June 3rd workshop is to gather input with re;lard to financial resources and also some of the urban design projects will be prgsented at that time. Mr. Bottcher asked if the Plan would be ready for the June 3rd Reunion. M~-. Iler stated that Plan will be ready, but won't be available on that date. It will take al~out a week to ten days after the workshop to put the entire package together. 3 MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 MS. Willis stated that the June 3rd meeting is designed to review what has transpired between 1995 and 1997 and to turn the City's focus to the Master Plan. At that point the City will work with Duncan & Associates to complete the document to be known as the Master Plan. Also, the projects that make up the Master Plan can be addressed, the funding necessary for those projects and the time frames that will be imposed. This should give us a feeling of what Phase 1 would consist of. Various sources of funding wi!l be necessary and the City is continuing to seek out'additional grant funds and these can be better identified on June 3rd. Ms. Willis stated that financial planning imPlementation is a priority of the June 3rd workshop. Kathy Shabotynskj of the Chamber of Commerce asked if the workshop is intended to briing the Community together for their feedback from what has transpired to date and then prepare the Master Plan, or will the Master Plan be presented at the workshop and is it the final version? M~yor Taylor stated that the Master Plan would not be prepared for distribution at that meeting. That purpose of the workshop will be to fine-tune everything done up to this point. MS. Shabotynskj asked if the input from that meeting would be used to finalize the Master Plan. Mayor Pro Tem Tillman stated it was very important that major changes not be considered at this point. It is hoped that a final draft of the Plan will result from this wqrkshop and staff will be making their own suggestions that will be presented at the w(~rkshop. However, there is always room for some fine-tuning in lesser degrees. M~;. Shabotynskj suggested that a great number of staff would like to be involved in the final planning, as well as many residents. Ms. Shabotynskj stated that she had heard th;~t in the past staff was not included and there were hurt feelings and hopes this situation would not surface again. M~yor Taylor stated that this Plan was developed with the assistance of experienced pe~rsons and he was advised that staff should be excluded. This issue was discussed at length and the City followed that advice. Mayor Taylor stated that the City knew there w~re hurt feelings in this regard, but the iresults of the Plan was the main focus. M~. Shabotynskj inquired if any participant at the Reunion wanted to speak would they b~able to. 4 MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 Mayor Taylor said that anyone who wants to speak would be able to speak. However, a time limit will have to be set so that all the issues can be covered. Mr. Bottcher asked if the City was hoping to come up with a consensus at the end of the daY. The Mayor responded that this is what is expected from the Reunion. MS. Willis asked if anyone present would prefer to have the Reunion on a Friday or at a different location? Ms. Willis stated that the facilities at the United Way were well suited for the Reunion and are one of the largest available in the area at a reasonable cost. A Saturday was suggested, however, most people don't want to give up their weekends. Mayor Taylor inquired if lunch would be provided, since the Reunion is scheduled for the entire day, but some guidelines will have to be set, since the City can't feed all its citizens. Ms. WilliS stated that sponsorships are being sought to cover the cost of the luOch. MS. Shabotynskj suggested charging $10 per person for lunch. Discussion continued regarding the cost of the lunch. Mayor Taylor stated that it is important {hat people attend the Reunion and that the City should pay for the lunch. Ms. Willis agreed with the Mayor that it is important that the Reunion have participants and is a form of celebration. DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN. MS. Shabotynskj asked what role the Chamber of Commerce will be taking in developing the Community support. COmmissioner Titcomb inquired what was the status of the Chamber of Commerce's · i, V~s~ons 20/20 Steering Committee? Commissioner Titcomb indicated that at one point the Chamber's 20/20 Steering Committee indicated they wanted to take an active role in the implementation of the Comprehensive Master Plan. MS. Shabotynskj stated that the Chamber's Committee would be very receptive to ta~ing an active role and is available on:call and asked how the Chamber of Commerce can be of assistance. MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 1'1, 1998 Mayor Taylor stated that he would be better able to respond to this question after the Ju~e 3rd workshop. After the Implementation Plan is in place, various assignments can be made. 4i COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MS. Shabotynskj stated that at the March 12th workshop the merits of the Plan were diScussed and there were some items from that Plan that the Chamber of Commerce would like to address this evening. The governance of the CRA is the City Commission anld the Plan proposed that the governance remain the same in 1998 and 1999. It also proposed that during the1999/2000 budget process the CRA performance would be evfaluated at that time for additional governance. The Chamber of Commerce's GOvernment Affairs Committee has held several meetings during the last couple of weeks and met with other CRA's from other areas and there was a consensus at the Chamber of Commerce's meetings that the CRA should be comprised of independent apipointed people. The Chamber feels this method will keep politics out of the CRA. The CRA will answer to the City Commission, but would not be elected officials. Ms. Sliabotynskj stated this would help boost public confidence if the CRA were appointed. Mayor Pro Tem Tillman stated that ultimately the CRA should be an independent agiency and will be more viable to the Community. There needs to be groundwork done anid setting of some ground rules and the City Commission right now has to focus on getting off on the right track. Right now this means Commission paticipation. At some po!mt, Mayor Pro Tem Tillman stated that a timetable should be set when the COmmission can allocate authority, but now is not the time for an independent CRA. M~. Shabotynskj asked what timeframe Mayor Pro Tem Tillman had in mind. Mayor PrO TOm Tillman stated he did not have anything set yet, but would be glad to discuss the isS~ue. Before this can be done, it is necessary that the Plans formulated be put in pl~ce. Also Ms. Shabotynskj inquired as to the mixture of seven appointed individuals and City Commissioners to serve on the CRA. Ms. Shabotynskj stated the Chamber fel~the CRA should consist of the five Commissioners and two appointed individuals, or any combination of seven. Mayor Pro Tem Tillman stated he did not see a problem with this arrangement, but the present is not the time to deal with this issue. C( wi C¢ Ti1 mi ,mmissioner Titcomb agreed with Mayor Pro Tem Tillman that at this critical time ~en we are trying to get a Comprehensive Master Plan in place, it is important that the ,mmission keep control of the situation in these initial steps. Also Commissioner comb is supportive of bringing lay people onto the CRA, however, it should be kept in nd that the people selected would have development or financial expertise. This 6 MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 expertise could expand the CRA and at some point consideration can be given to a fully independent CRA. Ms. Shabotynskj asked if Commissioner Titcomb was envisioning any lay people on the cRA in at least two years. Commissioner Titcomb stated that was a realistic timeframe. COmmissioner Titcomb stated that the City is at least six months to a year away from realistically implementing any major component of the Master Plan, even though it will bei presented to the public within a month. Considering the time frames discussed in de~eloping cities, a year to eighteen months is not a long period of time. Commissioner TitComb stated it was very difficult to set a time line when lay people could be appointed to the CRA, as the Master Plan has to be implemented and the acceptance of the Plan by the Community has to be in place. You cannot pick arbitrary dates. Issues must be de~ermined by what is transpiring in the City. Mr. Bottcher stated that there are developers who want to get started, but are not receiving the necessary support and are in the dark on places to go to get their plans off the ground. COmmissioner Titcomb did not agree with this statement and said developers can move forWard without a CRA in place. Commissioner Titcomb stated that he has not seen aniy of these parties coming to the City with their plans. It seems everyone is waiting for the Master Plan to be completed, which is a slow process. There are no roadblocks for any developer who wants to proceed with a particular project in the City. The COmmission would be receptive to any new project in any part of the City. COmmissioner Titcomb stated that he did not think that the lack of a CRA would prevent any project from moving forward. Mayor Taylor stated he felt the CommisSion is performing all that is necessary as a CRA to'ay~l and that three years ago the CRA was not doing anything. The City at one time had a CRA director. There were also two CRAs in place, one in the north and one in the downtown. Nothing was accomplished and the City removed the CRA Director. Mayor Taylor stated the Commission has worked hard in the downtown area for redevelopment and has been very proactive in attracting businesses to Boynton Beach. M; ph P~ P~ ~yor Taylor stated the City has a DeVelopment Director who is the City's contact to ;eive new plans; or any one of the Commissioners would be glad to discuss any new ins with developers. Mayor Taylor further stated that the last 200 acres at Quantum ~rk have been purchased and an explosion in building will be taking place in Quantum ~rk, as well as the downtown area. 7 MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 Ms. Shabotynskj reiterated her position that the Chamber feels now is the time that one orltwo lay people should be included in the CRA for their input. This will be necessary so! that when the Commission is ready to turn the CRA over to an appointed Board, there will be people in place for this transition. M~yor Taylor stated that it is very important that the Plan does not get splintered at this polint and the Commission is very focused in the direction it wants to take. The COmmunity has been involved in decisions. Mayor Taylor stated that the Commission hais made giant strides and that the City and the Chamber of Commerce have to work haind-in-hand. M~. Herb Kahlert stated that the Chamber is going to be behind the Commission and the position of the Chamber expressed this evening has come after a great deal of thought anid a great number of meetings on this issue. MS. Shabotynskj also asked if development projects would be established from the Master Plan. If this were the case, this would be a good time to establish a CRA adlvisory committee to be involved in these projects and could be viewed as a training gnF)und for further CRA appointed board members and people with expertise could be identified. AlSo, Ms. Shabotynskj asked about CRA boundaries recommended for expansion by the Dbncan & Associates Master Plan. Ms. Shabotynskj aSked if a smaller CRA could be established temporarily or is there a need to go into a larger area. Ms. Shabotynskj stated that if the CRA area is too large, the Plan may not succeed and could the CRA goals be accomplished in a smaller area. M; thi if ex ~yor Taylor stated that Mr. Iler's presentation on Thursday, May 14th would address s issue. Also, Mayor Taylor stated the CRA boundaries have not been determined or n fact the CRA would be expanded. The whole purpose of these workshops is to ther information to determine whether the boundaries should or should not be )anded. M!. Iler stated that different options will be presented including full expansion or less expansion and will include the tax base consequences. At the moment the tax base in the CRA is about $76 million. If you include the full CRA area recommended at the Fetbruary workshop the tax base would increase to over $180 million. Mr. Iler stated they would be presenting alternatives, tOgether with the fiscal consequences at the May 14~h workshop. I 8 MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 Mayor Pro Tem Tillman stated that it is important that within the larger CRA there would bei major corridors that would be developed, while monies are coming in from smaller corridors. Prioritized major corridors could be developed. Mayor Pre Tem Tillman was in favor of a larger CRA with prioritizing corridor development in certain areas. MS. Willis stated that staff has wanted to enlarge the CRA area and that parcels cannot beI carved out of the CRA area. Also, there must be a good base year to work from. Thie original base did not work, and the City did not attract or build redevelopment. The CRA expansion is a critical tool. The City has done a lot of research and analysis and feels it is on right track with the plan. Mayor Taylor stated the whole key to success is about funding. It is important to make ani impact in downtown and to do something substantial. It cost $26,000 just to install eight street lamps on Ocean Avenue. Commissioner Denahan stated we should approach CRA expansion with an open mind anid cautiously and to examine input from this workshop. Commissioner Denahan also feit it made sense in the infancy of the CRA to heed caution in order that the CRA will bei successful. M~. Kahlert stated that the Chamber is requesting that all issues be kept in balance as the Chamber of Commerce wants to see a vibrant downtown and the Commission should consider the input from the Community. M;~yor Taylor stated that the Commission appreciates the Chamber's involvement and commitment and that Commission needs input from the residents of the City in order to m~)ve forward. Also the suggestion of Ms. Shabotynskj that the Commission receive in )ut from task force meetings for speCific purposes could be of great assistance and could work in an advisory position. M~. Shabotynskj felt that the more the people of a City become involved, the more they will feel ownership of the Plan. This is an approach that this City should take. Ms. Sl~abotynskj also suggested that after the June 3rd meeting the names of some citizens sh~ould be selected to become involved. She also asked if the staff plan is in place, is it part of the CRA Master Plan and has the plan been accepted? M; U~ ~yor Taylor stated that staff recommended the Plan and this is the format for the CRA the next two years. However, it has not been formally voted on. Willis stated that the draft is a preliminary draft and rather than going out and hiring meone new, it is important to bring eVerybody together to discuss what the CRA can 9 MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 do. Creative financing needs to be addressed as well. Also Ms. Willis stated she felt these goals could be accomplished without the need of additional staff. Ms. Shabotynskj addressed the issue of the management team for the CRA as existing staff. The Chamber discussed this as well, and is recommending that a full time CRA director and support staff be in place as soon as possible. The reason for this rationale is that it would be more efficient to have one person run the Program, as well as giving more credibility to the CRA. Mayor Taylor replied that the persons the Chamber consulted with regard to a full time CEA director were themselves full time CRA directors. To be fair, the Chamber should also consult the City officials that have CRA directors and get their opinion as to whether this method was working and why their City has a separate CRA. After this cdmparison, it would present a different view for considering a CRA director. DiScussion continued regarding the pros and cons of having a CRA director in place. Mayor Pro Tem Tillman stated that the issue seems to be the pace at which the C.¢.mm~ss~on ~s mowng. The Chamber and the Community have spoken and issued an edict to the Commission to go through the Master Plan Implementation before any changes took p ace. · Mayor Taylor asked if there were any other issues to be discussed. M~. Shabotynskj stated that it would take about 90 to 120 days to review the Plans from . Dgncan & Associates in addition to the'financing. However, it sounds like it is moving faster than that and asked what the City felt was the time frame for reviewing the Plan. hCily Manager Willis stated that after the June 3rd Community presentation, the City will a~ve to finalize the Plan in a step-by-step process and prepare an outline of the direction the City wants to proceed. There are many steps that must be taken, which could take up to nine months. M~. Shabotynskj stated that some of the plans have already been implemented. The cOSt of installation for the pedestrian wallkways has been applied for through a grant. MS. Willis stated that the grant applications can be modified, but there was a deadline in submitting the grant and that is the reason for applying for pedestrian walkways at this time. The City would have had to wait another year to apply for the grant, if it did not apply now. MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOyNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 Mayor Taylor informed the meeting that funding sources have been discussed and he cainnot at this time state how the funding sources will be secured, because it could jeopardize the funding. Mayor Taylor said it was important to continue with these efforts soi that they can be in place when needed and if all goes according to plan, hopefully new taxes would not be required by the City. Ms. Shabotynskj asked if there were any changes made to the first three presentations by Duncan & Associates in order that the Chamber can evaluate them properly for the Juine 3rd presentations. Mayor Taylor said he did not know what Duncan & Associates would be presenting on June 3rd except what has been presented to the previous workshops. At the June 3rd m~ U~ MI 811 thl im K6 D[ ha pn .~eting, the Commission would be better able to determine what the plans are and can mment at that time. ;. Shabotynskj asked Mr. Iler if there were any changes to his presentations. Iler stated that modest changes have been made, but nothing of any significance what will be presented at the June 3rd Reunion is 90% of what has been previously .~sented. It is possible that there may be more changes in the size of the CRA. Mr. stated that the Thursday, May 14th workshop would deal with financial resources additional detail on the Ocean Avenue Promenade, connecting the Town Square to 500 block, and the Federal Highway streetscape, but will mainly focus on )lementation of financial resources. =n Kaleel, Mayor of Ocean Ridge, inquired if the recommendations being made by ~ncan & Associates are the result of input from the Community and that the residents ve been consulted on these ideas. Also, Mayor Kaleel asked if the information being .~sented at the June 3rd meeting has Community support for the Plan. M~. Iler stated that in the early stages a great deal of community meetings were held though the workshop process, and DUncan & Associates continues to get calls from residents and continues to get input frOm the Commission and the City staff. Mr. Iler stated after the workshop on the implementation of financial planning, it would clear up a 0t of issues and make the whole picture clearer. MEETING MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MAY 11, 1998 There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. ATTEST Cite/Clerk CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH ~ayor Pro Tem m~siOner Commissioner