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HomeMy WebLinkAbout415802 - MINUTES - CRA MINUTES OF MEETING CITY OF DANIA BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 — 5:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order/Roll Call Chairman Duke called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Present: Chairman: Walter B. Duke III Vice-Chairman: Chickie Brandimarte Board Members: Bobbie H. Grace Albert C. Jones CRA Executive Director: Jeremy Earle City Attorney: Thomas Ansbro CRA Secretary: Louise Stilson 2. Citizen Comments There were no citizen comments at this meeting. 3. Administrative Reports Director Earle commented on the construction of the Pavilion at the Community Garden site and the W. Dania Beach Boulevard Roadway Project. Board Member Grace questioned the status of NW Is'. Director Earle responded there are no plans to make any changes to it. Board Member Jones questioned the drainage along W. Dania Beach Boulevard. Director Earle responded additional drainage will be added on the site and a system has been designed that will handle a significant amount of the flooding in this area. Board Member Grace questioned if solar lighting would be added to the roadway corridor. Director Earle noted provisions would be made. 3.1 Dania Beach 2014 Arts and Seafood Celebration Kathleen Weekes, CRA Coordinator, provided a status update on the upcoming festival: additional sponsors are being sought; 52 artists are registered to date, with the goal of attaining 75-100; 54 Dania Beach restaurants have been invited to participate, with the goal of getting 12 restaurants or more; changes being made to the festival to better accommodate the physically disabled; and the lineup of diverse entertainment. The Board discussed their desire for improved handicap access to the event, and noted that the expense would possibly offset the cost of a lawsuit if someone were injured at the event. Director Earle noted staff is still investigating how to further accommodate handicap accessibility, and commented on the expense of the interlocking pads for handicap access. Chairman Duke said that he has never seen other events use the interlocking pads; and perhaps we should look into the possibility of sharing with other cities in order to alleviate the costs involved. 3.2 Economic Development Update Director Earle reviewed the updates which were included in the agenda packet. Board Member Grace commented there will be a lot more applicants for the grant programs this year. 4. Presentations 4.1 FEC and All Aboard Florida Update Raymond Jones, FEC, Director of Industrial Development, discussed the improvements at the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, which is a much bigger project of the two. The intermodal in Port Everglades will be operated by the FEC, not the Port. He noted there will be dual main lines from Cocoa to Miami Beach to accommodate All Aboard Florida, and the FEC upgrades at Port Everglades should remove a lot of truck traffic from the roadways. Board Member Jones noted that representatives of All Aboard Florida would be at the next meeting. Gregg Stuart, Executive Director, MPO, provided an update on quiet zones, which have been requested by all cities along the rail line, and noted there will be additional costs to the cities for these zones. Costs are being assessed by the MPO and hopefully, cities will be able to share in a $20 million TIGER grant being sought to help offset expenses. Lastly, he addressed local commuter rail service issues. 5. Consent Agenda Minutes of Regular Meeting 2 Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday,February 11,2014—5:00 p.m. Items added to ConsentAgenda: #5.3 5.1 Minutes: Approve minutes of December 4, 2013 CRA Board Meeting 5.2 Travel Requests:None Addendum 5.3 Approve Budget Transfer of$75,000.00 from the DBCRA Reserve Account in order to update the CRA Redevelopment Plan, as previously approved by the CRA Board Board Member Grace motioned to approve the Consent Agenda,with the addition of Item #5.3; seconded by Board Member Jones. The motion carried on the following 4-0 Roll Call vote: Board Member Grace Yes Vice-Chairman Brandimarte Yes Board Member Jones Yes Chairman Duke Yes 6. Proposals and Bids There were no proposals on this agenda. 7. Discussion and Possible Action 7.1 City Center Project Director Earle gave a brief presentation on the previously proposed City Center development. Kim Briesemeister, CRA consultant, provided an overview of the new project and the developer agreement. She noted this will be one of the first public/private developments for the City and CRA. The project needs financing and the negotiating team is looking for a consensus from the Board that this is a project they want. She explained there are two separate agreements; one for the building and the other for the parking. This is a mixed use development and retail will be limited due to the location. She noted before the developer can take possession of the site,he has to demonstrate that he has adequate financing. Terms include two types of revenues; transaction rent and a license fee of $30,000.00 per year with a 7.5% escalator every five years. Additionally, the developer must keep the project free of liens, would have right of first refusal for the remaining City Center site, and has to maintain the parking sites for the contracted spaces. Chairman Duke commented it is necessary to ask ourselves what is the purpose of this project as the City is putting $3 million in equity into this deal. He felt there are three reasons: to create new households downtown; we have a parking garage to pay for; and we want to create a catalyst for more redevelopment. Minutes of Regular Meeting 3 Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday,February 11,2014—5:00 p.m. Board Member Jones said we need to make sure this is in the best interest of the City. Board Member Grace felt this is a good project, and noted it would put 106 units on the tax roll. She asked if this would be on the Commission agenda soon. Director Earle responded the goal is to bring the agreement back in March. There was a consensus to move forward with the proposed project. 7.2 CRA Priorities Update Director Earle noted the update was provided in the agenda packet. 7.3 Dania Beach PATCH Chairman Duke noted he asked for the operating statement, included in the backup, because the elected officials need to know exactly what is going on with this and every project; secondly, it creates an educational component for the kids working at the PATCH. He felt there needs to be a curriculum set up that will bring the kids in and go over the business aspects of the PATCH. He requested feedback from the Board members regarding this. Board Member Grace said the PATCH is doing exceptionally well, and the staff is top quality. She noted this has to be successful because it is the taxpayers' dollars being spent, and we need to eventually turn the PATCH over to the residents so it will be separate from the City. Director Earle noted 16 kids are currently enrolled in the Build a Bike program; we are hoping for 20. He explained the PATCH is a 3-year program and is the only one run by a governmental authority; the end result is that it will be handed over to the community. He addressed the educational component,noting that we will train people in the business aspect. Dion Taylor, Program Manager, said this is a building block process and programs are being put in place. He noted the business model being implemented for the PATCH is not a farmers market; it is introducing a destination for the community to come to and take pride in. He added this is an asset that needs to be understood. After a brief discussion, Chairman Duke summarized that the Board wants to see something tangible from the PATCH insofar as the tying-in of the educational opportunity to teach children the business aspects. Board Member Jones said he wants to know how community stores are participating and asked Director Earle to get back to the Board with this information. Director Earle noted our model is becoming the standard and other cities are interested in partnering with us. He added we will soon be looking for other vacant properties to expand the program. Minutes of Regular Meeting 4 Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday,February 11,2014—5:00 p.m. I 8. Board Member Comments Board Member Jones said he will be asking the City Manager to work with the CRA to look at the parking study done in 2010 to perhaps bring about opportunities such as improving downtown swale areas and converting SW I"Avenue to a one-way street. Board Member Grace questioned how many Dania Beach residents were hired to work at Jai- Alai as the result of the job fair held at CityHall. Dan Murphy, Economic Development Manager, responded at least 40% of those hired are Dania Beach residents. 9. Adjournment Chairman Duke adjourned the meeting at 6:46 p.m. ATTEST: COMMUNI DEVELOPMENT AGENCY LOUISE STILSON, CMC WALTER B. DUKE III CRA SECRETARY CHAIRMAN—CRA Approved: May 7, 2014 DAN IA RF A rT CnM!V';" Tv RF Minutes of Regular Meeting 5 Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday,February 11,2014—5:00 p.m.