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10/03/2018 CLEARWATER DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT BOARD MEETING October 3, 2018 —5:30 PM —City Hall — Council Chambers Members Present: Paris Morfopoulos Chairman Stu Sjouwerman Vice-Chairman Thomas Wright Member Lina Teixeira Member Ray Cassano Member Also Present: Hoyt Hamilton Ex-officio Member/Councilmember Dave Albritton Ex-officio Member/Councilmember Amanda Thompson CRA Director Anne Fogarty France Board Administrator Absent: Venkat "Vincent" Devineni Member 1. Call to Order. Chairman Morfopoulos called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Citizen Comments - Items Not on the Agenda. Bill Jonson, 2694 Redford Court, Clearwater 33761, was present to discuss Clearwater sign code. He had recently visited Venice, FL, and Newport, RI, and shared photos of the variety of`projecting signs' in their business districts. 3. Approve the Minutes from the September 5, 2018, Meeting Member Wright moved to approve Minutes from the September 5, 2018, meeting. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Chairman Morfopoulos, Member Sjouwerman, Member Cassano, Member Teixeira, and Member Jammo. Nays: None. Motion carried. 4. Approve the Minutes from the September 10, 2018, Meeting Member Wright moved to approve Minutes from the September 10, 2018, meeting. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Chairman Morfopoulos, Member Sjouwerman, Member Cassano, Member Teixeira, and Member Jammo. Nays: None. Motion carried. 5. Adopt August 2018 Financial Statement for Filing Member Jammo moved to adopt the August 2018 Financial Statement for filing. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Downtown Development Board Meeting—October 3, 2018 1 Ayes: Chairman Morfopoulos, Member Sjouwerman, Member Wright, Member Cassano, and Member Teixeira. Nays: None. Motion carried. 6. Second Reading —Approve $9,000 in funding for the duPont Registry Cars & Coffee event from Future Initiatives line item and pending the approval from the City's Parks & Recreation Department and a refined concept—This item was continued to the November meeting at the request of duPont Registry. 7. Appoint DDB Election Canvassing Committee Members —Chairman Paris Morfopoulos advised that two members were needed from the board. Board Administrator Fogarty France provided clarification of the responsibilities upon request by Member Cassano, who then volunteered. Upon discussion, Member Devineni was volunteered in his absence. Ex- officio Member Hamilton also volunteered in the event Member Devineni is not available. 8. Holiday Movies in Station Square Park—Anne Fogarty France DDB Administrator stated that as part of the holiday events in downtown, two movies will be shown in Station Square Park: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on December 16, and Polar Express on December 23. Of the approximate $10,000 Station Square Park events line item approved in the current fiscal year budget, it is expected that these two events will require at least $2,500 to cover fees for the screen and the movies. The balance of the budgeted amount will be reserved for summer events. The movies will be part of downtown's Holiday Extravaganza. All downtown merchants are being asked to participate in some way. A schedule for events was distributed to members and will be available online via a `Holiday Events' link added to the Downtown Clearwater website. 9. DDB Work Plan Item Updates—Anne Fogarty France, DDB Administrator noted that the Work Plan has been approved and several of the items include two Members working together. This is complicated by the Sunshine laws not allowing direct communication between the Members; therefore, a meeting has been called to facilitate the sharing of information. It is set for Friday, October 12, 2018, at 1:00 pm. in Room 222 of City Hall. Chairman Morfopoulos asked for individuals from each work plan item to commit to attending the meeting. Members committing to attendance are: Member Sjouwerman and Member Teixeira. Member Devineni is to be notified of the meeting and other members were invited to attend. DDB Administrator Fogarty France said she will provide to Member Teixeira the task force recommendations for Policy & Project 1.1 so Member Teixeira may plan for step 1.2. Shel also noted that and CRA Director Thompson had met with members of the Permitting Department regarding the "One Stop Shop" (Policy & Project Item 1.4). Downtown Development Board Meeting—October 3, 2018 2 10. Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Updates —Amanda Thompson, CRA Director, asked Ms. Fogarty France to update the board on the sign ordinance presentation. The board was advised that the Planning Department would provide a sign ordinance presentation at the December meeting. Ms. Thompson stated that the hiring process is progressing in the search for the CRA Public Relations and Program Manager. Applicants have been given `homework' in the form of creating social media posts, copy, promos, partnering reviews, etc. based on the Dali exhibit scheduled for early next year. She said they have some great options among the applicants and she hoped to see an offer made by the end of October. The parking study is scheduled for presentation to the CRA on October 29, 2018 and will be presented to the DDB at the November meeting. It will include current counts and use, projected usage and development in 5-10 years, and will take into consideration demand, placement, compensating entities, management and more. The proposed 18-month strategy is based on a four-prong design: 1. Create and share positive stories about Downtown Clearwater. 2. Advocate for Imagine Clearwater. A bid should be in place soon for asbestos removal in the Harborview Center, which could set a date for demolition in March or April. 3. Permit 600 housing units. 4. Attract $100 Million private investment in downtown. Members asked if the full-time PR person would be working on this strategy and where the housing units would be located. CRA Director Thompson confirmed that that PR person would be working on these items and that it was part of the DDB Work Plan budget as approved. As for housing, she noted there were several possibilities for redevelopment in the CRA and the Imagine Clearwater project currently includes some housing as well. Discussion followed regarding specific available lots and possible housing placement, and possibility of putting certain items to public referendum. Ms. Thompson thanked everyone for their participation in and support of the food and drink focus groups saying the meetings were very helpful. A discussion on the incentive grant program ensued and it was noted that there was $1 Million in this fund. When asked how many potential applicants there could be Ms. Thompson clarified there were four presently. She stated that the previous Anchor Tenant program had generated interest and pre-applications but was limited and confusing and the hope is this new plan will provide a clarifying path. Ex-officio Member/Councilmember Albritton stated that this is an important part of"turning it all around" where the Anchor Tenant program had "missed the mark", and thanked CRA Director Thompson for doing a great job explaining it all. Some discussion followed regarding tenant incentives, property owner willingness and ability to offer incentives and what those might be, and other clarifications. CRA Director Thompson observed the current issue is really to make this program work, to generate positive stories in the business community and positive interest in the downtown area. Downtown Development Board Meeting—October 3, 2018 3 11. Chairman's Report - Chairman Paris Morfopoulos advised viewers about upcoming events and noted that additional information could be found at downtownclearwater.com. 12. Final Comments Member Cassano feels things are looking good and that we should see real change in about 12 months with traffic picking up downtown; he is very happy and will be much happier when the Harborview Center comes down and more construction begins. Member Teixeira said September was extremely disappointing for merchants, both downtown and on the beach. The boat parade and block party events were great and noted that it was not a solution but an important part of success. Friday night's event alone offset September losses. She said when you see no one on the streets and then one event changes it all, that's not only an important event but an important model to look at for success in the area. Member Wright said he will be looking for the email with the Harborview Center destruction date. He also asked everyone to mark their calendars for November 1, 2018, to visit the Merrill Lynch open house at 5:30 p.m. in Suite 500, 601 Cleveland Street, at which time they will showcase their new space design. Member Sjouwerman is very interested in data from the parking study. Member Jammo said she is optimistic, very interested in parking study results and excited to plan a demo party. Ex-officio Councilmember Hamilton is looking forward to the holiday season with the calendar full of great events. Ex-officio Councilmember Albritton feels we are on cusp of great things. There is a lot in progress, he is interested in parking study, Imagine Clearwater is moving forward, the Super Boat event was fantastic with thanks to Frank— it had a great economic impact in downtown, on the beaches, and for Clearwater altogether. Many thanks to the Parks Department for their effective and continued cleanup on Red Tide. They have received emails and letters from as far away as England stating, essentially, 'we know you have it, but we couldn't see it' the city was doing such a nice job. Parks and all city departments worked very well together. Chairman Morfopoulos noted the several comments on the parking study and requested the parking update be placed on the November agenda before the valet parking item. 13.Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 6:24 p.m. Downtown Development Board Meeting—October 3, 2018 4