10/31/2011
COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCYMEETING MINUTES
CITY OF CLEARWATER
October 31, 2011
Present: Chair/Trustee Frank Hibbard, Trustee George N. Cretekos, Trustee
Paul Gibson, and Trustee Bill Jonson.
Also Present: William B. Horne II - City Manager, 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 9:07 a.m. at City Hall.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the minutes of the August 29, 2011 CRA Meeting as submitted in
written summation by the City Clerk.
Trustee Bill Jonson moved to approve the minutes of the August 29, 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 Approve a parking agreement between the Community Redevelopment Agency
and Sports Facilities Advisory to pay the cost of additional parking needed, not to
exceed $6,480, for the company’s expansion in the CRA Downtown Business
District and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same.
The Sports Facilities Advisory (SFA) corporate headquarters office is located at
600 Cleveland Street, Suite 910, and provides services to new and existing sports
and recreation center operators. The services fall into four (4) main categories
(Plan, Open, Manage, Optimize) which encompass business plans, feasibility
studies, economic impact studies, funding support, staff recruitment and
development, marketing, management systems, and asset management services
for sport and recreation centers. SFA is regularly engaged by economic
development entities, government agencies, conventions and visitors bureaus,
Community Redevelopment Agency 2011-10-31 1
sports commissioners and parks and recreation departments. The goal of the
SFA's economic development clients is to develop sports tourism destinations that
have a positive economic impact. SFA also offers services for the evaluation of
eco-tourism and non-traditional sports. The City of Clearwater receives great
exposure as the operations of this business take the management team around
the world, and SFA also brings potential clients to their offices in Downtown
Clearwater. They have participated in notable projects in Saudi Arabia, Canada,
the Bahamas, and in more than 20 states in the United States of America. SFA
also holds four conferences annually in Clearwater. SFA estimates that between
their visiting clients and conferences, over one hundred (100) clients visit
Clearwater annually.SFA has a three-year lease with 2,818 square feet of office
space and their lease is about to expire. They currently have seven employees
and have indicated that they would like to add three to six new jobs with an
average wage of $50,000+ over a four-year period. Given the economical pricing
of the current office market, SFA is currently negotiating office space in other
locations and intend to make a decision quickly. However, they would like to stay
at 600 Cleveland (Bank of America Building) and are negotiating with the leasing
agent for a new 4-year lease. Existing space will be reconfigured with additional
build out to be provided by the landlord. SFA will be investing in additional
furniture and equipment. As part of the lease negotiations, SFA has indicated a
need for three additional parking spaces in the Garden Avenue Garage.
Unfortunately, the Bank of America office building cannot accommodate the
additional employees. The Bank of America building has a parking ratio of roughly
2.7 spaces per 1,000 square feet of leasable space. In today's market, office
space demands ratios in the 4.0 to 6.0 spaces per 1,000 square feet. This trend
toward higher parking ratios is having a negative impact on the competitiveness of
older office properties, especially in downtown areas, since they cannot compete
with newer, suburban properties. An incentive is needed to offset that competitive
disadvantage and allow this important expansion in our Downtown.
After several meetings with the leasing agent and SFA's Owner/Chief Operating
Officer to enhance this business retention and expansion in the downtown
business district and maintain a competitive advantage over other locations, staff
is recommending approval of a parking incentive. The parking agreement outlines
the CRA's offer of three (3) parking spaces in the Garden Avenue Garage for four
years as an incentive to renew their lease at 600 Cleveland Street, retain the
current seven (7) jobs with an annual payroll of $329,000, and add three (3) new
jobs for a new annual payroll that will exceed $463,390. An estimated $1.3 million
in personal income will have been generated from the ten (10) jobs maintained at
the Sports Facilities Advisory operation in the downtown Clearwater business
district at the end of the four-year parking incentive. The terms of the parking
agreement would be as follows:
Three spaces for 4 years for a total incentive of $6,480.SFA must create one (1)
job above the median wage of $40,724 within one (1) year of agreement. An
Community Redevelopment Agency 2011-10-31 2
Three spaces for 4 years for a total incentive of$6,480.SFA must create one (1)
job above the median wage of$40,724 within one (1) year of agreement. An
additional two (2)jobs will be created above the 115% median wage of$46,833
within two (2) years of the agreement. All three jobs will need to remain in place
through the agreement terms (4 years). The term of the parking agreement will
not exceed four years (4) from the date of execution of the parking agreement.
Economic Development staff will confirm job creation through payroll reports.SFA
agrees to maintain its leased facilities in the CRA Downtown Business District for
a period of not less than four (4) years from the date of the parking
agreement.SFA agrees to pay for each refundable card deposit required by the
City parking system. Each cardholder will be required to complete a standard
monthly parking application. This parking incentive will be conditional upon
confirmation of at least seven full-time employees at its downtown location verified
by a notarized letter from the owner/COO and confirmed by payroll reports.
Employment verification is required semi-annually. Funding is available in the
CRA's 99963 Economic Development Incentives line item for this project.
Trustee George N. Cretekos moved to approve a parking agreement between the
Community Redevelopment Agency and Sports Facilities Advisory to pay the cost of
additional parking needed, not to exceed $6,480, for the company's expansion in the
CRA Downtown Business District and authorize the appropriate officials to execute
same. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
4. Other Business — None.
5. Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 a.m.
Chair
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