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11/14/2022 Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes November 14, 2022 City of Clearwater Main Library- Council Chambers 100 N. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33755 m ap ® e Meeting Minutes Monday, November 14, 2022 8:00 AM Main Library - Council Chambers Community Redevelopment Agency Page 1 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes November 14, 2022 Roll Call Present 5 - Chair Frank Hibbard, Trustee Kathleen Beckman, Trustee Mark Bunker, Trustee David Allbritton, and Trustee Lina Teixeira Also Present—Jon Jennings—Interim CRA Executive Director, Jennifer Poirrier— Assistant City Manager, Michael Delk — Assistant City Manager, David Margolis — City Attorney, Rosemarie Call — City Clerk, Nicole Sprague — Deputy City Clerk, and Matt Jackson — Assistant CRA 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 minutes of the October 17, 2022 CRA Meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. Trustee Allbritton moved to approve the minutes of the October 17, 2022 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 revisions to the Business Renovation grant program for property owners and tenants to improve the visual appearance of commercial properties through exterior and interior improvements. The purpose of this item is to request CRA Trustee approval of revisions to the Business Renovation grant program. On August 15, 2022, the CRA trustees approved the Business Renovation grant program to assist in the reduction of blight and encourage private investment into downtown. Post-approval, property owners previously awarded CRA grants expressed interest in applying for the Business Renovation grant program due to the Page 2 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes November 14, 2022 increased funding opportunity over the Whitebox grant program. Staff agrees that a property owner previously awarded a grant but has not received funding should be eligible to apply for the Business Renovation grant. If approved for the Business Renovation grant, no other grant approvals are eligible until after a five-year period. The program description also includes revisions related to blighted buildings and buildings needing renovation ensuring the grant is in line with the goals of the Downtown Redevelopment Plan. Staff also recommends the addition of"additional permanent improvements will be reviewed by CRA staff' as currently the list of allowable improvements is not exhaustive and restrictive. APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT: Funds are available in CRA project code 3887552-R2003 ED-City. In response to questions, CRA Assistant Director Matt Jackson said staff is looking at all active grant programs to determine if the programs are obsolete or need replacement. Staff will come back to the Trustees with recommendations at a future meeting. The cafe grant program is excluded from the review due to the nature and amount of the grant. He said the Arts and Culture, or outside mural grants, is available through the City, not the CRA. The grant applications are approved by the CRA Executive Director, not the Trustees. He said staff maintains a ledger of all awarded grants in the CRA budget that is available for public records request. Mr. Jackson said there has been a lot of interest in the grant program. Staff has been communicating the grant program with businesses It was suggested that the grant ledger information be made available on the website. Comments were made that the proposed grant application form was easy to understand. A concern was expressed that the CRA is providing less grant funds to those who are spending more. Trustee Beckman moved to approve revisions to the Business Renovation grant program for property owners and tenants to improve the visual appearance of commercial properties through exterior and interior improvements. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4.2 Approve the proposed 2023 Community Redevelopment Agency Board meeting Page 3 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes November 14, 2022 schedule and adopt Resolution 22-04 Community Redevelopment Agency staff has prepared the proposed meeting scheduled of the City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board for the calendar year 2023. The CRA board meeting will be held monthly in the 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. If there is no action for the board to consider 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 questions, CRA Assistant Director Matt Jackson said the North Greenwood CRA will be presented to the Community Development Board in December and Council in January. Interim CRA Executive Director Jon Jennings said the North Greenwood CRA approval is dependent on Pinellas County. A suggestion was made to move the North Greenwood CRA meetings to the evenings upon its approval to ensure public attendance and engagement. Resolution 22-04 was presented and read by title only. Trustee Bunker moved to approve the proposed 2023 Community Redevelopment Agency Board meeting schedule and adopt Resolution 22-04. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: 5 - Chair Hibbard, Trustee Beckman, Trustee Bunker, Trustee Allbritton and Trustee Teixeira 4.3 Approve a second Whitebox Grant extension to Green Culture 2, LLC in an amount not to exceed $50,000 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. At the March 15, 2021, Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting, the CRA Trustees approved the Whitebox grant program for tenants and property owners. Whitebox grant program aims to reduce vacancy in commercial properties by assisting tenants or property owners with funding to renovate Page 4 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes November 14, 2022 vacant spaces for long-term or short-term uses that generate significant pedestrian foot traffic downtown. The program is intended for renovations and repairs that do not exceed a total project cost of$100,000. Eligible exterior improvements include painting, signage, lighting, doors, windows, site improvements, and other minor exterior repairs. Eligible interior improvements include windows, doors, standard lighting and electrical, basic HVAC, concrete floor, ADA restrooms, fountain, and fire code improvements. Green Culture 2, LLC executed a grant agreement with the CRA on June 16, 2021, for the property located at 420 Cleveland Street to complete interior improvements. On June 15, 2022, Green Culture 2, LLC received a six-month grant extension, which will expire on December 15, 2022, from the CRA staff to complete the project. Green Culture 2, LLC requests an additional 12-month extension to complete the project. The reason for the additional twelve-month request is due to: • The COVID-19 pandemic continued to delay the progress o Kitchen equipment is on backorder and will not be available before the grant extension expires in December 2022 o Production shortages & production delays in the supply chain for materials and supplies needed for the build-outs due to COVID supply issues • Two partners left their business, leaving Green Culture 2, LLC unable to manage the day-to-day logistics to open the business by the set timeline of June 2022 • Hurricane Ian halted the building process, which changed their building schedule timeline for scheduling subcontractors to complete tasks. Staff recommends providing a second amendment to the grant to allow a new completion date of December 15, 2023. This location and project are critical to attracting pedestrians to this area, generating a favorable new market downtown. It will also fill a persistently vacant site on Cleveland Street at the 400 block. APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT: Funds are available in CRA project code 3887552- R2003 ED-City and 3887552-R2004 ED-County. It was suggested that staff provide a photo visual for agenda items dealing with properties. In response to a concern, CRA Assistant Director Matt Jackson said the applicant expects to complete the project by first quarter of next year. The applicant did not want to request a 4 or 6-month extension and run into another matter that would trigger another request for an extension. Interim CRA Executive Director Jon Jennings said staff is planning Page 5 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes November 14, 2022 regularly scheduled training for construction companies, developers, and other interested parties that will explain the City's process and online services. Discussion ensued with comments made that a 6-month extension be provided to ensure the project is completed. Trustee Teixeira moved to approve an extension of the grant agreement for six months. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 5. Director's Report CRA Assistant Director Matt Jackson reviewed recent and upcoming events. Staff will be presenting the sale and development agreement for the 306 South Washington affordable housing project at the December meeting. He said the new CRA Executive Director will begin on December 5, 2022. Interim CRA Executive Director Jon Jennings said staff will update the Trustees on the status of all outstanding CRA grants in December or January. In response to questions, Mr. Jennings said Ms. Flaherty's concerns regarding overflowing dumpsters near drains should be addressed by code enforcement. Things are going well with the street outreach team and Kathy Hamm, the Police Department's new Social Services Specialist. The Police Department funds the position. CRA Assistant Director Matt Jackson said he spoke with the development team at The Nolen regarding the ground level a couple of weeks ago. There were some roof leaks in the cafe area that required structure repairs. He said the development team is hoping to complete the project on time. A comment was made that The Nolen was allocated the grant approximately three years ago. In response to questions Public Communications Director Joelle Castelli said both the salsa and sangria festival events received the same amount of co-sponsored event coverage. The difference was that the salsa event was sponsored by a radio station, providing a built-in promotion arm. She said the sangria festival was held on the same day as two other local wine festivals. Staff consults with the event host and provide feedback, staff has recommended the sangria festival not be held on the same day of similar events. Mr. Jennings said staff does a fantastic Page 6 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency 6. Adjourn Attest Meeting Minutes November 14, 2022 job publicizing the event; the event host is responsible for promoting the event. Mr. Jackson said staff does not have a working relationship with the Cleveland Street Alliance; the Alliance is invited to the CRA Open House meetings. Mr. Jennings said he has been in touch with a variety of individuals who make up the Cleveland Street Alliance. The Alliance has submitted a building permit application and have responded to questions raised by Planning staff. A retail broker from Tampa is working with the group to seek tenants for the buildings. In response to a suggestion, Mr. Jennings said he would discuss the Market Marie's request for electronic signs with the appropriate staff. The meeting adjourned at 8:46 a.m. Chair Community Redevelopment Agency Page 7 City of Clearwater