Loading...
12/06/2017 CLEARWATER DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT BOARD MEETING December 6, 2017–5:30 PM – City Hall – Council Chambers Members Present: Paris Morfopoulos Chairman Stu Sjouwerman Member Caitlein Jammo Member Lina Teixeira Member Also Present: Bill Jonson Ex-Officio/Councilmember (arrived at 5:32 p.m.) Micah Maxwell Asst. City Manager/Interim CRA Director Denise Sanderson Economic Development Director Anne Fogarty France Board Administrator Absent: Dennis Bosi Vice-Chairman Thomas Wright Member Doreen Caudell Ex-Officio/Councilmember 1. Chairman Morfopoulos called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. asking the board and Ex-officio members to introduce themselves. 2. Citizens Comments--Items not on the agenda—No comments. 3. Approve the Minutes from the November 1, 2017, Meeting Member Sjouwerman moved to approve the minutes from the November 1, 2017, meeting. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Member Morfopoulos, Member Sjouwerman, Member Jammo, and Member Teixeira. Nays: None. Motion carried. 4. Adopt October 2017 Financial Statement for Filing Member Sjouwerman moved to adopt the October 2017 Financial Statement for filing. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Member Morfopoulos, Member Sjouwerman, Member Jammo, and Member Teixeira. Nays: None. Motion carried. 5. Post Event Report—Clearwater Jazz Downtown Party—Steve Weinberger, CEO of the Clearwater Jazz Foundation advised the Board that the Jazz Holiday, which celebrated its 38th year, was a huge success. There were about 40,000 people who attended the four-day event. He thanked the Board for its continued financial support. He and Gary Hallas presented the Board with a framed official poster of this year's festival. Downtown Development Board Meeting—December 6, 2017 1 Mr. Hallas addressed the Downtown Party that was held on the Wednesday night before the event. He asked the Board for input on how to improve the event. It was suggested the party be held on a different night, e.g. the Friday or Saturday before the festival and to include the Downtown Party on the poster and marketing materials. Mr. Hallas stated that they don't include the party on the poster because they are not 100% sure if they will receive funding at the time the Jazz Festival advertising starts. Anne Fogarty France, Downtown Manager, suggested that the Jazz Holiday organizers come before the Board earlier in the year to request funding for the downtown party so it could be including in all the advertising. Members agreed that this could be discussed earlier in the year. 6. Post Event Report—Achieva Box Car Rally—Chelsey Wilson of Achieva addressed the Board concerning the Achieva Box Car Rally. She said they had 61 cars registered with 135 race classes entered. There were 270 heats and 136 racers. There were 194 volunteers and throughout the day over 3,000 people attended. She thanked the Board for its continued support and stated that almost $50,000 was raised to provide classroom grants to local schools. 7. DDB Election Results—Chairman Paris Morfopoulos advised the Board that on November 21, 2017, the runoff election ballots were counted. Ray Cassano and Venkat "Vincent" Devineni were elected to three-year terms and Lina Teixeira was elected to a one-year term. 8. Approve the 2018 DDB Meeting Schedule—Ms. Fogarty France presented the meeting schedule for 2018. The July 4th meeting was moved to the next week due to the holiday. There was some discussion as to whether or not the Board wanted to move the January 3rd meeting and it was determined that the meeting would be held on that date. Board Attorney Elise Winters, will be attending the January 3rd meeting to provide an orientation and the Board will also receive an update of the Downtown Redevelopment Plan. Member Jammo moved to adopt the 2018 meeting schedule. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Member Morfopoulos, Member Sjouwerman, Member Jammo, and Member Teixeira. Nays: None. Motion carried. Downtown Development Board Meeting—December 6, 2017 2 9. Chairman's Report Chairman Morfopoulos stated that the Imagine Clearwater referendum initiative passed and the selection process for the new CRA Director was underway. He also advised the Board of upcoming events that are listed on the website. 10. Final Comments Member Teixeira stated she is excited about the Imagine Clearwater referendum passing and all the activities being held in downtown. The Downtown Clearwater Merchants Association (DCMA) recently held a barbecue cook-off and it was a great first event. She thought Miracle on Cleveland Street was wonderful and congratulated Capitol Theatre and Ruth Eckerd Hall staff for their efforts. She ended by stating that we need to keep up the momentum. Member Sjouwerman asked about the Community Survey Report that was distributed to the Board. Ex-officio Councilmember Jonson said he requested at the last meeting the Board be given this report because there were comments about downtown. He said Downtown Clearwater was rated low compared to other downtowns. There was difference in ratings regarding downtown vs. the beach vs. countryside vs. the rest of the city. Member Jammo said she attended Miracle on Cleveland Street and thought it was fantastic. She looks forward to the upcoming events. Ex-Officio Councilmember Jonson stated that he used to be able to attend all downtown events but can no longer do so because there are so many. He acknowledged all the hard work of the CRA, Economic Development and the DDB. He said he enjoyed the Second Century Studios and enjoyed the live active storefronts as they make a big difference. Mr. Jonson stated that the DDB will be presented with the Redevelopment Plan Update. This is being presented to the Community Development Board on December 19th. He looked at the ULI report and identified the good things and the parts of the plan that needed to be fleshed out. There will be some code changes regarding signs and building colors and changes that will not require a development review if a building is changing hands but is being used for the same purpose. The entrance monuments that the board has talked about for a while will also be discussed in the future. Micah Maxwell, Assistant City Manager and Interim CRA Director, advised the Board that interviews for the CRA Director will be held next week. They hoped to bring a recommendation to the Council at the December 21 sl meeting and there will be an opportunity for the DDB to meet the candidates. The Imagine Clearwater referendum did pass and the City is in negotiations with Stantec, the consultant hired by the City. They have submitted a draft proposal that is currently being reviewed. This proposal will also be brought to the Council on December 21 st Chairman Morfopoulos noted that it was the final meeting of the year and thanked all the volunteers and those who come together to make these events successful. He noted that there would be new board in January and hoped the new members would bring new ideas. He wished everyone season's greetings and a happy and prosperous new year, 11.The meeting was adjourned at 6:04 p.m. Downtown Development Board Meeting—December 6, 2017 3