Loading...
05/04/2015 Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes May 4, 2015 City of Clearwater City Hall 112 S. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33756 e d s w r' �mu Meeting Minutes Monday, May 4, 2015 1 :00 PM City Hall Chambers Community Redevelopment Agency Page 1 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes May 4, 2015 Rollcall Present 5 - Chair George N. Cretekos, Trustee Doreen Hock-DiPolito, Trustee Jay E. Polglaze, Trustee Bill Jonson, and Trustee Hoyt Hamilton Also Present - William B. Horne II - City Manager, Rod Irwin - CRA Executive Director/Assistant City Manager, Pamela K. Akin - City Attorney, Rosemarie Call - City Clerk, 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— Chair Cretekos The meeting was called to order at 1:08 p.m. at City Hall. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approve the minutes of the March 30, 2015 CRA meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. Trustee Hamilton moved to approve the minutes of the March 30, 2015 CRA meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda — None. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Approve Clearwater Business SPARK! Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same GOAL 4 of the City's Economic Development Strategic Plan (ED Strategic Plan) states that the City should "support an entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem and collaborate with regional partners to market Clearwater to target industries." Toward that end, the Economic Development and Housing Department (ED&H) began working with the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce Page 2 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes May 4, 2015 (Chamber) in January 2014 to explore the feasibility of jointly developing a business resource center in Clearwater. The Chamber and ED&H evaluated and/or toured nine Tampa Bay and Orlando area facilities and their program and service offerings. Staff also conducted an inventory of existing organizations and the programs/services provided to entrepreneurs and small businesses. In June 2014, the Urban Land Institute Advisory Services Panel (ULI) recommended 1) more active uses of the Clearwater Main Library, and 2) that support should be provided to new entrepreneurial small businesses by investing in a technology innovation center or business incubator. ULI recommendations supported and encouraged the expansion of economic development activities underway. By August 2014, Steve Allen (Founder and CEO of iDatix Corporation - an IT/Software firm, and member of the City's Tech Council), began the development of the Technical Arts Facility for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TAFFIE), a private business incubation and co-worker facility. The convergence of these public and private efforts and the analysis of the information obtained during nine months of evaluation concluded that, for the most part, existing organizations in the city, county, and region are offering programs and services that meet the need of entrepreneurs and small businesses located in Clearwater. However, there is a clear need for a collaborative and coordinated approach for the marketing and delivery of these services. Therefore, in November 2014, the Chamber, TAFFIE, the Small Business Development Center of Pinellas County (SBDC), ED&H and Clearwater Main Library began to work together toward creating the consortium now called "Clearwater Business SPARK!" The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has subsequently joined the consortium due to the emphasis on the downtown and the East Gateway Tech District and support and growth of this workforce. The initial phase of the Clearwater Business SPARK! was to develop an MOU, a non-binding agreement, which details the spirit and intent of the consortium and the roles and responsibilities of the partners. Staff recommends approval of the MOU in order to show the City's and CRA commitment to moving forward with the goals and objectives outlined in the ED Strategic Plan and ULI Report. MOU Summary As described within the MOU, the partners recognize there is strong interest in the greater Clearwater community for new, small business and entrepreneurial development programs and that the strength and areas of expertise each Page 3 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes May 4, 2015 partner provides will together achieve the shared goal of helping this sector of our economy in Clearwater. Toward that end, the partners desire to work collaboratively and continuously to provide entrepreneurs, innovators, creators and small business owners with a wide variety of programs, services, education, networking opportunities, and flexible and creative workplaces and spaces, and to achieve sustainability within three years of the date of the MOU through a combination of fee-based programs and services, sponsorship, and grants which may be pursued. Exhibit A shows a sampling of the proposed offerings each partner brings to the consortium. At the onset, ED&H will coordinate and facilitate partner meetings. Together, the partners will 1) provide networking opportunities throughout the greater Clearwater area, 2) host and/or participate in events and meet-ups, 3) work together to develop a comprehensive mix of services and facility offerings targeting technology innovation and creative enterprises, 4) promote the availability of programs and services, 5) strive to adopt and adapt programs and services to meet the changing needs of those seeking services, 6) make appropriate referrals to program partners, facilities, or services, 7) provide appropriate training of staff who may from time to time engage individuals who seek or need services provided by one or more of the partners, 8) actively and continuously seek additional partners to join Clearwater Business SPARK!, and 9)jointly establish protocols, common intake processes, performance goals and measures. Additionally, the partners will convene annually to establish a work program, identify resources necessary to sustain Clearwater Business SPARK! and to prepare a budget including in-kind and financial resources necessary to support marketing, programs, and activities of Clearwater Business SPARK! Requests for City and/or CRA financial support of Clearwater Business SPARK! will be presented in separate agenda item(s) at a future date. It is expected that such funding request(s) will be for marketing and promotion activities of Clearwater Business SPARK!, enhanced services provided by SBDC of Pinellas, and payment of fees for programs or services that provide clear evidence of public benefit. On a going forward basis, the City's financial participation will be considered as a part of the annual budget process. Requests for funds will be submitted annually according to the budget schedule, and is subject to City Council and/or CRA approval. Representatives of the member organizations in the consortium will be present at the CRA meeting to answer any questions. Page 4 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes May 4, 2015 Economic Development and Housing Assistant Director Denise Sanderson provided a PowerPoint presentation. iDatix Corp.Founder/CEO and TAFFIE (Technical Arts Facility for Innovation and Entrepreneurship) Program Founder said he is trying to generate a core community surrounding innovation and entrepreneurship. Since the launch this January, there are fifteen participants who regularly attend entrepreneurs round table meetings, which address topics such as the initial steps needed to startup a business and identifying ways to take a successful business to a bigger and sustainable business. CRA Executive Director Rod Irwin said the marketing component by Economic Development will come before Council at a later date. Staff is assisting the Library with launching the STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) center. Mr. Irwin said $48,000 is needed to prepare the third floor of the Main Library for this STEM center and collaborative space; funds from the ULI Project will be used. A SAMP 2 employee will be needed to manage the area, staff is proposing to fund it as a temporary position, now through the end of the fiscal year, for approximately$13,000. A broader discussion of the proposed maker space will be included during the upcoming budget process. Staff is considering pursuing an Interlocal agreement with the Main Library to permanently fund the position. In response to questions, Mr. Irwin said the costs to prepare the space and fund the temporary position will not exceed $90,000. In order to provide training for business individuals, the Center must be available during the evening. There may be a need to fund the additional evening hours once programming has been confirmed. Trustee Hock-DiPolito moved to approve Clearwater Business SPARK! Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. In response to questions, Mr. Irwin said staff will be providing a periodic update on the status of the ULI expenditures. A report is anticipated within the next several weeks. Staff will be providing an update on the status of the existing Downtown Redevelopment Plan, to set the platform to engage further planning on the Bluff and Harbor in June. Page 5 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency 5. Adjourn Attest City Clerk City of Clearwater Meeting Minutes May 4, 2015 The meeting adjourned at 1:29 p.m. iVetke 'f Chair Community Redevelopment Agency Page 6