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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2197 - MINUTES - CRA MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING CITY OF DANIA BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, •2006 - 6:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order Chairman Castro called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Present: Chairman: Anne Castro Vice-Chairman: Patricia Flury Board Members: Robert Anton John Bertino City Attorney: Tom Ansbro City Clerk: Louise Stilson Absent: Board Member: C.K. McElyea City Manager: Ivan Pato Mr. Bertino motioned to excuse Mr. McElyea and City Manager Pato; seconded by Vice- Chairman Flury. The motion carried unanimously. 3. Approval of Minutes of November 15, 2005 and November 22, 2005 W Mr. Anton motioned to approve the Minutes of November 15, 2005 and November 22, 2005; seconded by Mr. Bertino. The motion carried unanimously. 4. Discussion of Status of Property Acquisitions Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development, advised the City has withdrawn its application for the acquisition of the Dania Beach Hotel and adjoining properties, due to the fact that we have entered into an agreement with the developer of the Dania Beach Hotel. We have taken the position that we will not pursue the acquisition of the adjacent parcels because they are too small to be worthy for development. We hope the Dania Beach Hotel developer will acquire the parcels in order to expand his proposed condominium/mixed use project. Chairman Castro commented the County Commission is not inclined to proceed with eminent domain procedures at this time. Attorney William Salim confirmed the County is reluctant to proceed with eminent domain. We had two issues, the first was whether the County needed to give us specific authority to proceed after the Board approved it; and second, whether or not it was required indirectly for their r approval to proceed with eminent domain through their power over the funding. He noted that County staff was unwilling to concede on either issue and he concurred the County Commission would not proceed with eminent domain. He advised the parcel owners are not interested in selling at the appraised values. Chairman Castro asked Mr. Leeds to bring back a status report of conversations between the developer and the property owners regarding the purchase of the adjacent properties. Attorney Salim noted the County would consider funding voluntary sales. Vice-Chairman Flury commented the CRA has to decide on direction; we still have an infrastructure project which we do not know if the County will fund. She questioned if we needed a CRA. She would like us to identify a big project and apply to the County for funding. Chairman Castro asked the Board what direction they wanted to take. Vice-Chairman Flury would like another major project within the CRA district. Mr. Leeds acknowledged we could look for parcels with 2-5 acres and make a list. However, he needs the CRA Board to tell him what their threshold is. Mr. Bertino noted we need a large piece of land, preferably north of what is going to be • developed. He stated we cannot do any development without infrastructure. First we need to obtain a grant from the County for the infrastructure; then we should amalgamate smaller parcels into a larger parcel. He suggested we look for space for a parking garage in the downtown area. Chairman Castro commented the infrastructure will go through because the City has obtained SRF funding. The loan/grant from the County would alleviate us from having to pay the State for the funds. Vice-Chairman Flury thought anything over an acre and a half was feasible. Mr. Leeds responded the typical commercial parcel size in the CRA area is 15,000 square feet or 1/3 acre. He will provide a list of properties with at least one and a half acres. He indicated the infrastructure plan should be sufficient to service the residential load proposed for vertical development. He will confirm this information with the Public Services Director and the engineer for the project. Vice-Chairman Flury thought the area west of the railroad tracks on Old Griffin Road along the canal could be developed. Chairman Castro commented she is receiving many inquiries from developers, but they need to know what we want. She noted we need to meet the interest so that we can choose quality projects. • Minutes of Regular Meeting 2 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Thursday,February 2, 2006—6:00 p.m. Mr. Bertino remarked we are losing development because we do not have any incentives to offer developers. Chairman Castro opened the workshop for public comment. Joe Van Eton commented he is a supporter of an FEC railway station in the City. He suggested the Board look for appropriate locations for railway stops, especially at a City Center. He indicated there has never been any talk about preserving our special things, such as our heritage and culture. 5. Discussion of Status of Funding_Application Chairman Castro commented Items 5 & 6 were the same subject. 6. Discussion of Infrastructure Grant Request Mr. Leeds advised we applied to Broward County for a $6M grant to install additional infrastructure for mixed use vertical construction in the downtown and CRA areas, as well as South Federal Highway. The County now agrees this is necessary to change Dania Beach. The County is suggesting a loan that would convert to a grant based on the City meeting certain conditions. • Attorney Salim explained we are seeing resistance from the County staff level for a grant; they are now proposing a loan to grant program that has two major conditions. First, the infrastructure improvement be completed within the five year period; and secondly, that the net increase in the tax base to the County be increased in a level sufficient to cover the money they are granting. He indicated they have had several discussions with the County Commissioners, but have had no success with County staff. Vice-Chairman Flury does not think we should ask for a grant; she indicated the attorneys, as well as the City, were not effective at getting the County to do anything. She indicated we should work toward what the County wants, if possible. Attorney Salim clarified the loan is interest free for the first five years; payments do not start until the end of the first five years..: If we start paying interest, we pay at the Municipal Market Data (MMD) "A" revenue bond rate in effect when the interest rate starts. This is one of the areas we need clarification on. Mr. Leeds noted the County wants us to prove that in 20 years we will generate at least as much revenue to the County as they would receive from their investment. We would get one-third of the grant at building permit; we could get another third of the grant when half the floors are completed; and the final third converted to grant when the building receives it C.O. He indicated we need to review the document because we just received it yesterday. • Mr. Anton remarked we need to go above County staff and deal with the political aspect. Minutes of Regular Meeting 3 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Thursday,February 2,2006—6:00 p.m. Consensus of the Board was for the consultants to approach the County Commission, as opposed to County staff. Chairman Castro noted the ultimate decision should be a dual track; talking to the County Commissioners to see if we can get a straight grant; if we can't, then we need to continue with the current path. Mr. Leeds agreed we should continue with the dual track; the consultants will deal with the County Commissioners, and staff will continue to work with County staff. 7. Establish Schedule for Meeting Dates Vice-Chairman Flury would like monthly meetings unless something special is required, at which time a meeting could be held one hour prior to a regularly scheduled City Commission meeting. Vice-Chairman Flury motioned to schedule regular CRA Board meetings for the first Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m.; seconded by Mr. Anton. The motion carried unanimously, with Mr. Bertino out of the room. S. Adjournment Chairman Castro adjourned the meeting at 7:13 p.m. • COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ;/AT4EST: ANNE CASTRO CHAIRMAN - CRA LOUISE STILSON 'CITY CLERK Approved: February 14, 2006 • Minutes of Regular Meeting 4 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Thursday,February 2,2006—6:00 p.m.