12/13/2021 Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes December 13, 2021
City of Clearwater
Main Library- Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
m
Meeting Minutes
Monday, December 13, 2021
8:00 AM
Main Library - Council Chambers
Community Redevelopment Agency
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City of Clearwater
Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes December 13, 2021
Roll Call
Present 5 - Chair Frank Hibbard, Trustee David Allbritton, Trustee Hoyt Hamilton,
Trustee Kathleen Beckman, and Trustee Mark Bunker
Also Present—Jon Jennings—City Manager, Micah Maxwell — Assistant City
Manager, Michael Delk — Assistant City Manager, David Margolis
— City Attorney, Rosemarie Call — City Clerk, Nicole Sprague —
Deputy City Clerk, and Amanda Thompson — CRA Executive
Director.
To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
1. Call to Order— Chair Hibbard
The meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the October 18, 2021 CRA Meeting Minutes as submitted in written summation
by the City Clerk.
Trustee Hamilton moved to approve the October 18, 2021 CRA
Meeting Minutes 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 the proposed 2022 Community Redevelopment Agency Board meeting
schedule and adopt Resolution 21-03.
Community Redevelopment Agency staff has prepared the proposed meeting
schedule of the City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
Board for the calendar year 2022. The CRA board meeting will be held monthly
in City Council Chambers, 100 N Osceola Avenue. The meeting schedule will
be posted on the CRA's website, with separate meeting notices provided by the
City Clerk's Office and noted on the City's website prior to each meeting.
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Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes December 13, 2021
If there is no action for the board to be considered at a schedule meeting, staff
will recommend the meeting be cancelled. Changes to the dates may be
required to accommodate needs of board members and/or CRA staff.
If there is a need for a special meeting, CRA staff will notify the board and the
meeting will be noticed by the City Clerk's Office as well as on the City's
website.
In response to a question, CRA Executive Director Amanda Thompson
said there is no meeting scheduled in April because there is only one work
session scheduled in April.
Trustee Allbritton moved to approve the proposed 2022 Community
Redevelopment Agency Board meeting schedule. The motion was
duly seconded and carried unanimously.
Resolution 21-03 was presented and read by title only. Trustee
Beckman moved to adopt Resolution 21-03. The motion was duly
seconded and upon roll call, the vote was:
Ayes: 5 - Chair Hibbard, Trustee Allbritton, Trustee Hamilton, Trustee Beckman
and Trustee Bunker
4.2 Ratify and confirm the contract between the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
and Kokolakis Contracting authorizing an increase to the contract by $52,809 for costs
associated with the installation of the America's Everglades exhibit.
The purpose of this item is to request approval of a $52,809 increase in the
contract with Kokolakis Contracting for work related to the installation of the
America's Everglades exhibit.
In May 2021, the CRA Trustees approved a program budget of$500,000 for the
purposes of establishing a three-year arts exhibition, gallery space and
programming with the Clyde Butcher Gallery featuring the work of internationally
renowned photographer Clyde Butcher. The 2018 Downtown Redevelopment
Plan (Objective 3F and Policy 15) and the CRA 2021-2022 strategy calls for
investment in cultural amenities to provide free, family friendly entertainment
options. The CRA solicited quotes from a list of pre-qualified design/build
contractors to develop cost estimates to construct a gallery and then to build
the gallery. Kokolakis Construction was selected because of their experience
with cultural institutions and strong relationships with electrical and drywall
subcontractors.
After a review of multiple sites in downtown, staff determined that the
Clearwater Main Library would be the most effective and financially feasible site
to establish the gallery space since it has the lowest buildout costs and existing
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City of Clearwater
Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes December 13, 2021
staffing. We reviewed three vacant commercial spaces in downtown and
Kokolakis estimated buildout costs of$215,00 to $325,000. Each space would
have required hiring staff to operate the space as well.
The initial estimate to construct the gallery space was $97,148. During
construction, it was determined that the light levels in the atrium were too high
and would damage the artwork. The team resolved this issue by raising the
height of the gallery walls and installing vinyl over several windows. This
resulted in an increased construction cost of$52,809. The total costs of
construction and installation for this exhibit is $149,957. The gallery walls, lights
and some of the black vinyl panels will be reused for future exhibits. Including
this change order, the CRA has spent approximately $170,000 of the $500,000
program budget to create the gallery, pay exhibition costs, and market the
exhibit.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
Funds are available in capital improvement project 3887552- R2002 Community
Engagement as part of the approved program budget.
In response to questions, CRA Executive Director Amanda Thompson
said the CRA will be able to keep the items purchased for the exhibit, to
include the vinyl design. The opening attracted approximately 400
attendees. Staff is looking into different pedestrian counting systems to
have a more accurate number of attendees.
Trustee Bunker moved to ratify and confirm the contract between
the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and Kokolakis
Contracting authorizing an increase to the contract by $52,809 for
costs associated with the installation of the America's Everglades
exhibit. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
4.3 Report on the 2021-2022 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Strategy.
The purpose of this presentation is to provide an update on the implementation
of the 2021-2022 CRA strategy. The goal of this strategy is to improve the
perception of downtown among investors and residents through creating and
sharing positive, authentic stories about downtown, increasing investor
confidence and investing in placemaking.
CRA Executive Director Amanda Thompson provided a PowerPoint
presentation.
In response to questions, Ms. Thompson said 33% of the commercial
spaces found in the CRA are currently vacant. The City Attorney said
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City of Clearwater
Community Redevelopment Agency
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2021
the CRA does not have direct power over private lease contracts. Ms.
Thompson said CRA staff assists businesses navigate the city sidewalk
cafe; permit process. A bulk of the $50 million private investment
goal will come from the South Washington and 1250 Cleveland Street
developments. She said the private investment goal also considers the
development of the Bluff property. The CRA has provided additional
funding for the officer who responds to calls regarding individuals who
need mental health services. She said staff is working with Bandwagon to
establish goals that analyzes the perception of downtown. She said staff
is developing a fact sheet regarding Downtown property ownership. To
date, the CRA has had 26 print/digital pieces and 16 television pieces
about downtown.
Staff was directed to provide the current commercial space vacancy data.
5. Director's Report
6. Adjourn
CRA Executive Director Amanda Thompson reviewed recent and
upcoming events and provided a video presentation of the properties
that participated in the holiday window decoration program. She said 48
businesses participated in the program.
The meeting adjourned at 8:52 a.m.
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