11/12/2014 - Special Council Work Session Meeting Minutes November 12, 2014
City of Clearwater
City Hall
112 S. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33756
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Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
6:00 PM
Council Chambers
Council Work Session
Special Work Session on Urban Land Institute Panel Report
6:00 p.m. through 8:00 p.m.
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City of Clearwater
Council Work Session Meeting Minutes November 12, 2014
Roll Call
Present 5 - Mayor George N. Cretekos, Vice Mayor Doreen Hock-DiPolito,
Councilmember Hoyt Hamilton, Councilmember Bill Jonson, and
Councilmember Jay E. Polglaze
Also Present: William B. Horne 11 - 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 listed in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm at City Hall.
2. New Business
2.1 Introduction and Overview -William B. Hornell, City Manager
The City Manager said staff requested earlier this year for council approval
to fund a report regarding the impact of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium,
relocation of City Hall, renovation of Coachman Park, and development of
the North Marina district. Staff embraces the report fully, except the
recommendation to repurpose the Clearwater Country Club as cannot
implement all of the recommendations simultaneously. Staff is requesting
firm direction regarding the projects to pursue.
2.2 Review Draft Implementation Matrix and Approach - Rod Irwin, Assistant City
Manager
At the September 29, 2014 Council Work Session, staff and Council had an
initial discussion of the results of the recent ULI Advisory Panel Report
(Report) concerning redevelopment opportunities in the Downtown and East
Gateway areas. The discussion was informed by a preliminary staff analysis,
outlining the major issue areas within the Report and recommending a
process/schedule for moving forward in developing an implementation strategy
to address the multiple conclusions/recommendations in the Report.
As a result of that discussion, the following staff take-aways were noted:
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Council Work Session Meeting Minutes November 12, 2014
• Council concurred with the staff recommendation that the scope,
importance and detail of the Report conclusions/recommendations
warranted a Special Work Session, held in the evening to allow
maximum public attendance;
• Staff was requested to develop a more detailed, item-by-item staff
analysis of the conclusions/recommendations in the Report, including
costs, timeframe and Work Program impact, to inform and guide the
Council discussion and direction to staff on Report implementation at
the Special Work Session.
• There was not a consensus to move forward with the significant
Bluff/Waterfront Master Plan effort at this time, pending clarification of
the CMA (Clearwater Marine Aquarium) and Greenlight projects affects
on the planning effort;
• There was consensus to move forward at this time with development of
the North Marina Special Area Plan;
• There was consensus to move forward with the Boating Master Plan;
• There was a consensus that the Implementation Matrix developed for
council consideration at the Special Work Session identify those items
in the Report that lend themselves to early implementation, within
existing legislative authority and resources (low hanging fruit).
The Implementation Matrix was developed within these Council-indicated
parameters.
However, the scope, cost and staff work program impact of addressing the 48
individual action items in the report simultaneously would be extremely costly
and disruptive of the overall work program of the City. Therefore, staff believes
a more feasible approach to implementation may be to identify 10-15
initiatives, balanced across the implementing departments, which could
reasonably be commenced within the first 90 days of implementation. Those
items recommended are indicated by a bold (P) next to the item on the
Implementation Matrix. They would be, of course, in addition to those items
indicated to be underway or ongoing in the matrix.
A number of the items have TBD (To Be Determined) annotations on the
Matrix, primarily due to three factors: 1) work items that are not determinable at
this point, because they are impacted by events not within the city control (i.e.,
CMA); 2) items that are not sufficiently scoped as to work program to allow
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City of Clearwater
Council Work Session Meeting Minutes November 12, 2014
staff to provide valid work cost estimate (i.e., the Mercado in East Gateway);
and 3) items where legal or charter considerations need research or voter
approval in order to determine the true scope of options (i.e., providing
recreational boating options at Clearwater Harbor Marina). The Matrix will be
revised and updated as these processes clarify.
Staff looks forward to council direction whether the proposed priority projects
meet council expectations, or whether modifications/additions/deletions are
desired.
Assistant City Manager Rod Irwin reviewed proposed action items detailed in
the Project Matrix.
3. Council Discussion
In response to questions, Assistant City Manager Rod Irwin said ULI has
stressed the need to create a Downtown for and of the residents. Downtown
should include attractions that attract. Mr. Irwin said staff is analyzing the
recommendations to determine the staff support needed to implement the
action items. For the plan to be successful, the private sector will have to
step in. Studies show successful technology incubators are owned and
operated by the private sector and supported by the city. Staff is expecting a
white paper from the financial advisor regarding tax increment financings.
The City Attorney said Council may place referendum questions outside of
the charter review process. If a referendum is conducted prior to 2016, the
election costs will be greater.
The City Attorney said the ferry service is permitted by charter.
In response to questions, Mr. Irwin said the Economy Inn site is one of the
few development tracks available. Staff anticipates aggressively marketing it
to see if there is developer interest. The City Manager said the proposed
High and Dry Marina in the Old Clearwater Bay neighborhood requires policy
guidance for how that area of the City will evolve. Planning and Development
Director Michael Delk said it is a matter of how to maximize the assets
cohesively.
4. Public Comment
Four individuals spoke in support.
One Individual supported the High and Dry Marina.
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City of Clearwater
Council Work Session Meeting Minutes November 12, 2014
One individual urged Council to include residents and Downtown
homeowners in the process.
One individual support the ferry service.
One individual opposed the High and Dry Marina.
One individual urged to pursue the Bluff Master Plan soon as possible.
One individual pointed out what is perceived to be a grammatical error on
page 23 of the ULI report.
5. Establish Date for Next Special Work Session.
Discussion ensued with comments expressed regarding the pros and cons
of the Sunshine Law in regards to the Stakeholders Committee.
The City Attorney said the already self-organized group of business
representatives are not subject to the Sunshine Law because Council has
not given them a role. Once appointed by Council, members of the
Committee will be subject to the Sunshine Law. Individuals are allowed to
attend committee meetings and provide public comment.
There was consensus to scheduled another public meeting after the new
year.
6. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
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City of Clearwater