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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1331 - MINUTES - City Commission MINUTES DANIA BEACH CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING FEBRUARY 19, 2002 1. Mayor Flury called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. 2. Roll Call: Present: Mayor Pat Flury Vice-Mayor Robert Chunn Commissioners: John Bertino C.K. McElyea (arrived after roll call) Bob Mikes (arrived after roll call) City Manager Ivan Pato City Attorney Tom Ansbro City Clerk Charlene Johnson 3. Discussion of goals and objectives with Dania Beach Chamber of Commerce and Main Street. Mayor Flury mentioned that both the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street have done an outstanding job over the past few years. Rick Seay, representing Dania Beach Main Street, reported the following: ® The Tomato Festival was held and Main Street felt that this year's festival was the best ever. Mr. Seay thanked the City and the Chamber for all their support. • One of the major ideas under way is a "Business Development Package" that Main Street would like to put together in conjunction with the "Interest Buy Back Program". Main Street would also like to increase the amount of the "Interest Buy Back Program" from $25,000 to $50,000 to make it more attractive for new business owners. ® Another project underway is the "Streetscape" project involving NW First Avenue which would change the parking spaces on the west side of NW First Street from parallel to diagonal. Landscaping and pavers would also be installed in this area. Main Street would like to turn the area into a park-like atmosphere and make it more MINUTES -WORKSHOP MEETING 1 FEBRUARY 19, 2002 pedestrian friendly. Main Street hopes to accomplish this project with donations and without too much investment by the City. • Another project underway is the idea of placing benches in the downtown area to accommodate business customers which would also make the area more pedestrian friendly. • In conjunction with the Dania Beach Improvement Committee, another project being discussed is the idea of installing a large monument type clock, which could become an icon or landmark for the City. • Main Street is still hopeful and mindful of the project to move the Parker house and stand ready, willing and able to assist the City with that project. • The mural project on the building across from Grampa's Restaurant is also under way and should be accomplished within the very near future. Dick Lehman, also representing Main Street, gave a brief overview of what Main Street was trying to accomplish, including a revitalization of the downtown business district to make it better looking and create an environment that would attract new businesses as well as new customers. He also stated that the monthly Sunday Antique Show has become a real success. Mimi Donly, Chairperson of The Greater Dania Beach Chamber of Commerce, reported the following: • The newly organized Chamber has been in existence for 6 years and there are two paid staff members and several volunteers. • The Chamber has attracted 300 members. • Four professional annual directories and two tourist brochures have been produced. • Monthly breakfast meetings attract approximately 100 people. • Monthly Card Exchanges attract over 100 people for networking and give the member business great exposure. • The yearly Business Expos attract an overflow crowd. MINUTES —WORKSHOP MEETING 2 FEBRUARY 19, 2002 ® • Many special events have been conducted such as barbeques, golf tournaments and balls. • The Chamber has been involved in Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies for the U-Store-It, Finish Line Feed, the Harbour Grille and A Day In Heaven Spa. • The Chamber presents yearly awards to "Teacher of the Year" at the three local schools. • The Chamber had the opportunity to submit their pick for "Small Business Person of the Year". • The Chamber recently instituted the "Community Spirit" award. • The Chamber is a loyal supporter of the Main Street program because the better the downtown area looks, the better for member businesses. • The Chamber is planning to hire an Executive Director this year. Mrs. Donly thanked the City for their contribution towards the directory and the tourist brochure and for providing office space, which allows the organization to continue operations and to act as the City's tourist bureau. Steve Nickerson, AMO, stated that the Chamber and the Main Street organization, over the past few years, have become the focal point of what Dania Beach is all about. He stated that AMO would be supporting the actions of both the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street, which would ultimately support the City. Commissioner Bertino felt it was very important that the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street and the City work extremely close together, because what's good for one organization is good for the other two organizations. He felt that the Chamber was doing an excellent job and he applauded Main Street for their efforts. He would like to see monthly meetings held between the Chamber, Main Street and the City in order to achieve the same goal of bettering the City of Dania Beach. Mayor Flury agreed that the three groups should work close together on certain issues, but pointed out that the mission of the Main Street organization is the improvement of the downtown district and the mission of the Chamber of Commerce is to enhance and promote business. Rose Lizana, Chair-Elect of The Greater Dania Beach Chamber of Commerce and member of the Board of Directors of Main Street, stated MINUTES —WORKSHOP MEETING 3 FEBRUARY 19, 2002 ® that she was very proud to be affiliated with both organizations. She reported that she constantly receives compliments about Dania Beach. Commissioner Bertino questioned why the Chamber of Commerce was not receiving a portion of the tourist development tax levied on motels and hotels and asked that the City Attorney research the matter. Commissioner Mikes suggested that a professionally facilitated vision session be held which would include the entire community, not just the businesses, to work on the future vision of the City. Mayor Flury hoped that a very serious session would be held soon to start to develop the plan for the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency). City Manager Pato reported that a meeting would be held tomorrow on CRA related issues, which would identify the timetable for submitting a CRA plan to Broward County for approval. He advised that the CRA plan would need to be completed and submitted to the County by December 2002, or the City would miss out on one year's tax base. He advised that a committee would have to be appointed soon. Mayor Flury suggested that the City obtain someone from FAU to start a ® series of preliminary meetings. City Manager Pato advised that he had already been in touch with FAU. City Manager Pato advised that the City would eventually have to hire a professional to implement the CRA. In response to someone in the audience, Mayor Flury explained that the CRA stood for Community Redevelopment Agency, which involves tax increment financing from the County to function. She explained that as the taxes in a certain defined area incrementally increase, the increase in funds is set-aside to upgrade that area, but a plan has to be submitted and approved by the County before this can be accomplished. Commissioner Bertino mentioned that the drawback would be that the City would receive no increase in taxes from the CRA district. City Manager Pato gave a brief overview of how the Nyberg/Swanson house was being used. He mentioned that a lease was pending between the Chamber and the City with regard to office space in the amount of $10/year. Staff identified that 50% of the expenses connected with the building should be allocated to Parks & Recreation and 50% should be allocated to the Chamber and Main Street. MINUTES —WORKSHOP MEETING 4 FEBRUARY 19, 2002 ® Commissioner Mikes was uncomfortable, on a long-term basis, with the situation, as it exists. He felt that the Nyberg/Swanson house should be used by the community or as a historic house showcasing the history of the City, not as an office building. City Manager Pato advised that the Parks & Recreation staff was moved to the Swanson House to free up space in City hall and the move was only intended to be for a short term. The objective is to move the Parks & Recreation staff to the parks when the refurbishing of the recreation buildings are complete at each site. Commissioner McElyea mentioned that when the Nyberg/Swanson house was donated to the City, it was intended to be used as a historical building not an office complex, however, on the other side of the coin, the original Chamber building was taken over by the City when the original Chamber of Commerce folded. Commissioner Bertino mentioned that people were under the impression that the City wasn't giving anything to the Chamber, but in fact the City is giving free office space, which could total at least $15,000 per year, not including utilities or maintenance costs. Mayor Flury concurred that approximately $15,000 per year was being ® allocated to the Chamber and $15,000 to Main Street, by the City, for the use of the Nyberg/Swanson House. 4. The meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m. ATTEST: B A TON MAYOR C ARLENE JOH S N CITY CLERK Respectfully submitted by Nanci Denny APPROVED: September 23, 2003 MINUTES —WORKSHOP MEETING 5 FEBRUARY 19, 2002