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02/07/2018 CLEARWATER DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT BOARD MEETING February 7, 2018—5:30 PM — City Hall — Council Chambers Members Present: Paris Morfopoulos Chairman Stu Sjouwerman Member (arrived at 5:45 p.m.) Thomas Wright Member (arrived at 5:35 p.m.) Caitlein Jammo Member Lina Teixeira Member Ray Cassano Member Venkat "Vincent" Devineni Member Also Present: Bill Jonson Ex-officio Councilmember Micah Maxwell Asst. City Manager Amanda Thompsons CRA Director Anne Fogarty France Board Administrator Absent: 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: Natalie Nagengast from Markets for Makers, 331 Cleveland Street, addressed the board. Ms. Nagengast gave the DDB an update on the Pierce Street Market that she held for two years. She extended her thanks to the board for its financial support and stated how important it is for the board to continue to fund these strategies. She said they are moving the market to other cities this year and may target Tampa as a possible new venue. She stated that the market helped about 500 small businesses that moved in and out of the market. Chairman Morfopoulos thanked her for work with the market. 3. Approve the Minutes from the January 3, 2018, Meeting Member Wright moved to approve the minutes from the January 3, 2018, meeting. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Member Morfopoulos, Member Wright, Member Jammo, Member Teixeira, Member Cassano, and Member Devineni. Nays: None. Motion carried. 4. Adopt December 2017 Financial Statement for Filing Member Jammo moved to adopt the December 2017 Financial Statement for filing. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Member Morfopoulos, Member Wright, Member Jammo, Member Teixeira, Member Cassano, and Member Devineni. Downtown Development Board Meeting—February 7, 2018 1 Nays: None. Motion carried. 5. Introduction of CRA Director Amanda Thompson—Micah Maxwell Micah Maxwell, Assistant City Manager, introduced Amanda Thompson as the new CRA Director. He thanked Denise Sanderson for all her help in the interim. Ms. Thompson stated she is excited about being here and has moved to downtown Clearwater. She is impressed by everyone's passion for downtown. 6. Adopt 2017 Annual Financial Reports and Audit Results—Andrew Laflin, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP Andrew Laflin reviewed the audit results. He stated the purpose of the audit is to evaluate internal controls, review state compliance and review compliance. They reviewed the top ten vendors. There were no unfavorable results. Revenue increased due to property value increases. Mr. Laflin noted that there is a loan receivable balance from the CRA of $48,000. This was for a piece of property purchased several years ago and will be returned to the DDB when the property is sold. When asked what the plan was for this property members were advised that Mr. Maxwell and Ms. Thompson will be reviewing all CRA property and will have an answer for this next month. Staff was asked if the parking garage mural had been started. Ms. Thompson advised that there was a misstep made by City staff that will be addressed within the next 30 days and will either commence or the money will be returned to the DDB. Member Wright moved to adopt the 2017 Annual Financial Report and Audit Results. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: "Ayes": Member Morfopoulos, Member Wright, Member Sjouwerman, Member Jammo, Member Teixeira, Member Cassano and Member Devineni. "Nays": None. Motion carried. 7. Post Event Report—Clearwater Brews& Jeep Festival—Stephanie DiPolito provided the board with a written report. She stated the event was good but did not meet the expected outcome. Ms. DiPolito said she would hold the event again but would schedule if for a different time of year. 8. Post Event Report—Santa & Suds--Kathryn Pederson stated that the Santa & Suds Fun Run was very successful. They had 130 runners and walkers registered before the event and 20 people registered on the day of the event. There were 132 people who finished the race. She thanked the board for its support. When asked where the proceeds from the event go, Ms. Pederson said the money earned will go towards the group doing the event on its own without outside financial support. 9. Bazaar Art Throwdown Funding Request—Jennie Pearl, Bazaar Art addressed the Board regarding her request for funding for art throwdowns. At the last meeting she relinquished funding for the final two events that had been approved and is submitting the new request to hold these throwdown events in conjunction with other events the DDB is funding, such as Blast Fridays. Downtown Development Board Meeting—February 7, 2018 2 Ms. Pearl was asked what happened with the January event. Ms. Pearl stated that there were issues with the way the road was closed for the Latin American Festival that was scheduled for the same day. Vehicles had to enter through the Garden Avenue Garage alley and many of her artists would have difficulty getting to the venue. Members were perplexed with the request because the return on investment is not there and the DDB already provides$30,000 for Blast Fridays and $2,000 for the DCMA. Ms. Pearl said her events will embellish these other events. Members did not feel funding this event was economical and the board does not fund events to augment other events it is already funding. Discussion ensued with board members in consensus that this was not something it should continue to fund. Member Sjouwerman moved to deny the additional funding request for the art throwdowns and to return the original $3,000 to the Future Downtown Initiatives budget line item. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: "Ayes": Member Morfopoulos, Member Wright, Member Sjouwerman, Member Jammo, Member Teixeira, Member Cassano and Member Devineni. "Nays": None. Motion carried. 10. Recognition for former Vice-Chairman Dennis Bosi—Member Wright suggested the board recognize Dennis Bosi's service on the Board. Mr. Bosi served on the board from 2005 until 2017. He suggested the board present him with a plaque thanking him for his service. Member Jammo moved to approve recognition of Mr. Bosi with a plaque. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: "Ayes": Member Morfopoulos, Member Wright, Member Sjouwerman, Member Jammo, Member Teixeira, Member Cassano and Member Devineni. "Nays": None. Motion carried. 11. Discussion Regarding DDB Purposes& Goals—Chairman Morfopoulos advised new members how the board developed its current purposes and goals. He suggested members review the document and come back to the next meeting with any suggested changes. Ex-officio Councilmember Jonson stated this was a good idea. He said he went back and read Section 2.149 of the ordinance and there are things in the ordinance that are the board's responsibility that are not included in this document. Mr. Morfopoulos advised him that the board chose the items in the document as the most important things to focus on. Anne Fogarty-France advised that the ordinance was included in the packet for the new members, but she will send the link to all the members. 12. The Dali Tours Downtown Clearwater Funding Request—Member Lina Teixeira recused herself from the vote as she was owner of Galleria Teixeira. She provided background for the event. Carolyn Bradham, Vice President of the Downtown Clearwater Merchants Association (DCMA), addressed the board with the request for $1,500 to fund a tour of the downtown art galleries by members of the Zodiac Committee from the Salvador Dali Museum. Holding this event in Downtown Clearwater will help members to consider Downtown Clearwater as an art destination. The event will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 21 st. The tour will consist of stops in the Galleria Teixeira, Marlene Rose Gallery, and Second Century Studio. They will purchase Hors d'oeuvres and Downtown Development Board Meeting—February 7, 2018 3 desserts from downtown merchants and provide live entertainment at each venue. There will be between 40 and 70 people on the tour. Chairman Morfopoulos asked what this will do for downtown Clearwater and was advised that having support from members of Dali Museum will legitimize Clearwater as an art destination and the event will benefit downtown merchants. This group has access to 18,000 members and 8,500 households. Members felt Clearwater is ready for an event like this. Member Wright moved to approve on first reading funding for the Dali Tour in the amount of$1500 from Future Downtown Initiatives. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: "Ayes": Member Morfopoulos, Member Wright, Member Sjouwerman, Member Jammo, Member Cassano and Member Devineni. "Nays": None. Abstentions: Member Teixeira Motion carried. 13. Chairman's Report Chairman Morfopoulos advised the Board that the new website is up and running. It is www.downtownclearwater.com. The old website is redirected to the new site. Members asked for a monthly report on how many people visit the site. Ms. Fogarty-France will check on this. The Chairman also read a list of upcoming events. 14. Final Comments Member Cassano asked about the sunglasses that were distributed and was advised by Ms. Fogarty-France that they were part of the new website launch. Member Teixeira welcomed Ms. Thompson and said she is looking forward to working with her. Member Wright asked when the Harborview Center will be knocked down. Mr. Maxwell advised him that the city hired an engineer and they will investigate the bluff area and come back with a plan for demolition in three months. He told Ms. Thompson he moved here from Miami in 2000 and loves the area and hopes she will like it here. Member Sjouwerman congratulated staff on the new website. He once again mentioned the need for a list server to promote the website. Member Jammo welcomed Ms. Thompson and said she was also excited to work with her Member Devineni welcomed Ms. Thompson and stated he was looking forward to working with her. He asked that board members think about moving money from the reserves to the operating fund to be used to fund events. He also felt the new website should be marketed via Facebook. Ex-officio Councilmember Jonson said he had an opportunity to eat at Clear Sky on Cleveland and there were several suggestions made that included a drop off spot for ride sharing for Uber and Lyft, more signage for Clear Sky and pedestrian oriented signage under the canopies. The canopy signs are allowed per the code. He said that if the board is hearing from citizens asking about the timelines Downtown Development Board Meeting—February 7, 2018 4 for implementation of Imagine Clearwater, members should share this information with staff. He advised the board that the contractor for 1100 Cleveland Street has changed so this project should be moving forward. The lights on Cleveland Street will be changed to LED lights in March. He was at the opening of the new section of Tampa International Airport and TIA is very interested in having a bus from the airport directly to Clearwater Beach. He said PSTA will be promoting a spring break trolley to Clearwater Beach from either City Hall or the Harborview Center which will provide patrons with a free all-day pass. Chairman Morfopoulos thought the board would be interested in regular updates on Imagine Clearwater. He thinks a list server is a good and asked how we go about it. Mr. Maxwell stated the Information Technology Department would be able to assist with this task. Ms. Thompson said they would investigate this because they want to make sure that everything is true to the new branding. She advised that she would love to hear more of the board's ideas about what they felt would be more impactful. She said communication is one of her top priorities for the CRA. Print ads were not as important but maps are critical. Ms. Thompson was not sure if this work would be done in house or if we would have a contract. This would be tied into the DDB goals and purposes. She said we also need an editorial campaign which was equitable and promoted our businesses and branding. 15. The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Downtown Development Board Meeting—February 7, 2018 5