05/31/2011 COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING MINUTES
CITY OF CLEARWATER
May
Present: Chair/Trustee Frank Hibbard, Trustee George N. Cretekos, Trustee
John Doran, Trustee Paul Gibson, and Trustee Bill Jonson.
Also Present: Jill S. Silverboard - Assistant City Manager, Rod Irwin -Assistant City
Manager, Pamela K. Akin - City Attorney, Rosemarie Call - City Clerk,
and Nicole Sprague — Official Records and Legislative Services
Coordinator.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
1. Call to Order— Chair/Trustee Frank Hibbard
The meeting was called to order at 9:04 a.m. at City Hall.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the minutes of the May 16, 2011 CRA Meeting as submitted in written
summation by the City Clerk.
Trustee Bill Jonson moved to approve the minutes of the May 16, 2011 CRA Meeting as
submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
3. CRA Items
3.1 Authorize the Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to accept
funds from the proceeds of the sale from the City of Clearwater's Voluntary
Clean-up Tax Credits according to the agreement with Clocktower Tax Credits,
LLC.
A tax credit is an economic incentive issued by a government agency to
encourage private activity, typically investments, in economic development. The
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) issued these awards to
the City of Clearwater based on approved FDEP costs incurred for environmental
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remediation work at the Clearwater Automotive property, located at 205 S. Martin
Luther King Avenue. The Voluntary Cleanup Tax Credits (VCTC) are in the form
of four certificates received in fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 for a
cumulative total of$516,944.18. The original intent for the use of the VCTC was
as an incentive for the redevelopment of the property.
An interlocal agreement was executed on July 1, 2006 between the Clearwater
Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the City of Clearwater. The
purpose and intent of this Agreement is to provide a means by which the CRA and
the City would exercise their respective powers and services in a manner that will
best accord with the existing and anticipated resources available to meet specific
expenses incurred for the environmental cleanup of the Clearwater Automotive
Salvage Yard (project site). The CRA is the owner of the project site and incurred
the expenses related to the tax credits issued. The CRA borrowed funds from the
City's Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund for this purpose. The City was
the entity that entered into the contracts for the remediation of the site.
The VCTC have a one-time, transferable limitation and can be sold or allocated to
outside investors subject to the conditions in Florida Statutes Section 220.1845.
The City has a five-year time frame, from the issue date on the original certificate,
to transfer the VCTC certificates to an entity that has a Florida corporate income
tax liability. When a transfer occurs, the five-year clock restarts, the transferee will
receive a certificate with a new issue date (date of transfer) and the transferee will
have five years from that date to use the certificate. The certificate is not eligible
to be sold once a new certificate is issued. As the original certificate deadline is
nearing expiration, staff is recommending the sale of the four certificates together
anticipating a higher rate of return. In addition, as the sale of tax credits is a
specialized service, staff discussed with the FDEP the City's options. The FDEP
provided a list of qualified vendors experienced with Florida's program. Because it
is impractical to bid, the City received two bids from firms that are experienced
with Florida's program. On May 5, 2011, the City Council approved the sale of the
tax credit certificates and a contract with Clocktower Tax Credits, LLC to manage
the sale and transfer of the ownership of the VCTC given their experience and
pricing structure. FDEP verified that in fiscal year 2010, Jeff Jacobson, President
of Clocktower Tax Credits, Inc. successfully processed fourteen of the eighteen
transactions they received. The cities of Orlando, St. Petersburg, Gainesville and
the Jackson Electric Authority verified excellent service regarding the sale of
VCTC with Jeff Jacobson. Clocktower's (Agency) services will include, but are
not limited to: securing its client to purchase the VCTC, drafting all legal
documents (purchase agreement between the City of Clearwater and purchaser
and referral agreement between the City of Clearwater and Agency), file the
required transfer documents and forms with the State of Florida, and manage the
transfer of funds from the purchaser to the City.
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Tax credit pricing is determined by the marketplace. Transferable tax credits are
priced with a cents-per-dollar of credit purchase price. The current pricing being
paid is $0.85 per dollar of each credit (takes into account the time value of
money). The sale of the City's certificates will yield $439,402.55 at this price.
Clocktower Tax Credits, LLC will refer its qualified Florida taxpayers to the City for
an agency referral fee capped at $0.05 for each dollar of credit purchased by its
client, or $25,847.21. The City would receive $0.80 per dollar of each credit
estimated at $413,555.34. If VCTC certificates are sold above $0.85 per dollar,
the Agency will pay the City the additional proceeds.
The funds received from the sale of the certificates will be transferred to the CRA
and deposited into the Downtown Redevelopment line item (94714).
Trustee John Doran moved to authorize the Clearwater Community Redevelopment
Agency (CRA) to accept funds from the proceeds of the sale from the City of
Clearwater's Voluntary Clean-up Tax Credits according to the agreement with
Clocktower Tax Credits, LLC. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
3.2 Accept selection committee recommendation and approve a Professional
Services Contract between the Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency
and M. Arthur Gensler, Jr. and Associates, Inc. (Gensler), for the development of
an East Gateway District Vision Plan according to RFP 15-11 in an amount not
to exceed $68,000 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same.
In June 2009, the East Gateway Stakeholder Advisory Group, the steering
committee for the East Gateway Five-Year Action Program, suggested that the
City/CRA engage the community in redefining a vision for future development and
community character of the East Gateway District. In January 2010, the
Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) staff put the issue before the CRA
Board as a multi-phase project to include vision development as phase one and
implementation based on vision plan outcomes as an optional subsequent phase.
The CRA Board agreed to proceed.
On March 8, 2011, the CRA sought proposals from qualified firms to develop a
comprehensive and collaborative neighborhood vision plan that will address three
main areas: 1) a Neighborhood Market/Economic Analysis that defines the
economic base for market-supportable revitalization efforts; 2) Community
Outreach and Stakeholder Involvement culminating in a Community Design
Charrette that provides a strong, clear vision of the area and responds to current
and future market opportunities; and 3) a Concept Plan and Policy Framework
Community Redevelopment Agency 2011-05-31 3
that identify specific implementation actions and tools needed to achieve the
vision over a 20-year horizon.
On April 8, 2011, the CRA received eighteen (18) proposals from consulting firms.
The five-member Evaluation/Selection Committee was comprised of the following
individuals:
Geraldine Campos Lopez, Director of Economic Development and
Housing Department
Gina Clayton, Assistant Director of Planning and Development
Department
Felicia Leonard, Administrative Support Manager of Parks and Rec. and
member of the East Gateway Task Force
Duggan Cooley, President/CEO of RCS and member of the East
Gateway Stakeholder Advisory Group
Ekaterini Gerakios, Community Development Coordinator
The Evaluation/Selection Committee met on April 15, 2011 to review and rank the
proposals. Proposals were evaluated and ranked based on each firm's
qualifications and experience, project understanding and approach to the
advertised Scope of Work, and quality of previous performance. The Committee
invited the following five (5) firms for an oral presentation:
AECOM (Orlando, FL)
Gensler (Tampa, FL)
HDR Engineering, Inc. (Tampa, FL)
IBI Group, Inc. (Tampa, FL)
Wade Trim, Inc. (Tampa, FL)
The first two (2) oral presentations took place on April 25, 2011. The last three (3)
oral presentations took place on April 28, 2011. On May 3, 2011, after the
completion of all five oral presentations and checking of references, the
Evaluation/Selection Committee chose Gensler as the top-ranked firm.
Staff is recommending Gensler for the following reasons:
Community Redevelopment Agency 2011-05-31 4
Comprehensive approach to the Scope of Work with clear objectives,
strategies, and tactics
Partnership with Social Compact Inc., a nonprofit in operation for 20
years, experienced in performing market analyses in underserved,
lower-income neighborhoods
Unique approach to the market/economic analysis with a proven
methodology called Progressive Analytics for Development (PAD)
Extensive experience with relevant projects including analysis, design,
planning and facilitation skills
Experience with branding strategies to reposition the East Gateway
District for market development
Excellent references from City of Tampa, FL, City of Houston, TX,
Central Houston Inc., Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, and
Washington, DC Economic Partnership
Bilingual staff to be provided as necessary throughout the duration of
the visioning process
The East Gateway District Vision Plan is expected to:
Deliver a workable strategy with supporting rationale
Ensure that new development can be economically viable
Build on previous and current plans, initiatives, and projects
Maximize ultimate return on public investment
Address community interests and concerns
Provide recommendations aimed to enhance the quality of life and
standard of living
The contract is for a not to exceed amount of$68,000 ($60,000 for labor and
$8,000 in direct reimbursable expenses). Funding is available in the CRA's East
Gateway line item (94849) for this contract.
Community Redevelopment Agency 2011-05-31 5
In response to questions, Economic Development and Housing Director Geri Campos
Lopez said the proposed study is meant to look past the 5-year East Gateway
neighborhood stabilization strategy. CRA Executive Director Rod Irwin said the market
analysis will identify how much retail, commercial and residential the neighborhood can
support in the mid- and long-term.
Discussion ensued with concerns expressed regarding pursuing with the study. Mr.
Irwin said that although over $200,000 has been spent in recent years for different
economic studies, downtown and citywide, this study includes a design charrette and
architectural analysis. The community stakeholders requested staff to conduct the
study.
It was suggested that staff provide a status report on all studies for downtown over the
past five years.
In response to questions, Planning and Development Director Michael Delk said the
economic analysis would provide staff with information regarding the East Gateway's
market potential. He commented that it would be worthwhile to revisit the downtown
plan as time has elapsed since it was created and that the community's needs may
have changed. Incorporating all of downtown to the East Gateway area will expand the
scope of the district, which is critical in the long-term.
Trustee George N. Cretekos moved to accept selection committee recommendation and
approve a Professional Services Contract between the Clearwater Community
Redevelopment Agency and M. Arthur Gensler, Jr. and Associates, Inc. (Gensler), for
the development of an East Gateway District Vision Plan according to RFP 15-11 in an
amount not to exceed $68,000 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same.
The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
4. Other Business — None.
5. Adiourn
The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 a.m.
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