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07/11/2018 CLEARWATER DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT BOARD MEETING July 11, 2018—5:30 PM — City Hall — Council Chambers Members Present: Paris Morfopoulos Chairman Stu Sjouwerman Vice-Chairman Caitlein Jammo Treasurer Thomas Wright Member Ray Cassano Member Venkat "Vincent" Devineni Member Absent: Lina Teixeira Member Also Present: David Allbritton Ex-officio Member/Councilmember Hoyt Hamilton Ex-officio Member/Councilmember Amanda Thompson CRA Director Anne Fogarty France Board Administrator 1. Chairman Morfopoulos called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. He welcomed everyone and asked the board and ex-officio members to introduce themselves. 2. Citizens Comments--Items not on the agenda. There were none 3. Approve the Minutes from the June 6, 2018, meeting. Member Wright moved to approve the minutes from the June 6, 2018, meeting. The motion was duly seconded, and, upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Member Morfopoulos, Member Sjouwerman, Member Wright, Member Jammo, Member Cassano and Member Devineni. Nays: None. Motion carried. 4. Adopt May 2018 Financial Statement for Filing Member Wright moved to adopt the May 2018 Financial Statement for filing. The motion was duly seconded. Upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Member Morfopoulos, Member Wright, Member Jammo, Member Sjouwerman, Member Cassano and Member Devineni. Nays: None. Motion carried. 5. Second Reading —Approve funding of the Clearwater Arts Alliance —Clearwater Cultural Map Printing/Update Support in the amount of$5,400 from the Future Downtown Initiatives line item. Roberta Klar was available for questions. Members questioned the difference in the request for this year and Ms. Klar explained they were asking for printing and design only, not distribution costs at this time. Downtown Development Board Meeting—July 11, 2018 1 The quantity of 20,000 maps was felt to be an excessive amount and members requested details wondering if there was a possibility that maps are not distributed. Ms. Klar stated that the last printing of 20,000 was available at 192 locations and lasted 18 months. The update would include new locations and ADA access information. Ms. Klar also announced that the Clearwater Arts Alliance was withdrawing their funding request for next fiscal year. Member Wright moved to approved funding on second reading of the Clearwater Arts Alliance— Clearwater Cultural Map Printing/Update Support in the amount of$5,400 from the Future Downtown Initiatives line item. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Member Wright, Member Jammo, Member Cassano and Member Devineni. Nays: Member Morfopoulos and Member Sjouwerman. Motion carried. 6. Budget discussion. a. Certification of Taxable Value Received from Pinellas County Property Appraiser. Chairman Morfopoulos stated that the DDB had an increase of over 20%, which was due to significant new construction including the Nolen and the Skyview. Member Wright asked what that meant to the DDB. In discussion, Board Administrator France and CRA Director Thompson clarified that last year the ad valorem/property taxes were $281,758 and this year the figure was $342,497. CRA Director Thompson offered to provide the formula used to create the numbers. b. Funding Requests. Organizations requesting funds were advised that their 3-minute presentation time would be strictly followed and then board members may then ask questions of the presenters. Funding amounts will not be discussed at this meeting (1) Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Report and Funding Request for Jolly Trolley North Coast Route / PSTA— Debbie Leous provided a brief PowerPoint presentation. Chairman Morfopoulos opened the item to questions and began by asking about ridership to downtown. Ms. Leous said while ridership increases 18.8% during spring break, there is currently no way to track which passengers disembark at which location but that is coming next year with auto-counters installed on every bus. Member Sjouwerman asked for a justification of 20% increase in the request, which Ms. Leous attributed to new equipment. Member Devineni asked about competition with the Clearwater Ferry; however, Ms. Leous pointed out the compliment of bus and trolley stops within a couple blocks of the ferry stops making it easy to walk between the two. Member Cassano requested information on the cost per trips; Ms. Leous quoted $2.20 one-way and $5.00 per day. Board Administrator Fogarty France advised the board of a request from Santa and Suds 5K to move up on the agenda due to a scheduling conflict later in the evening; the board agreed to hear them immediately. (9) Santa and Suds 5K Race/Walk— Katherine Pederson and Pete Scalia presented this year's request. The family-friendly event is set for December 31, 2018, downtown from 4:00-7:00 p.m. with projected attendance of 300-600. Chairman Morfopoulos Downtown Development Board Meeting—July 11, 2018 2 opened the item to questions. Member Jammo asked about the increase in funding request, which appeared doubled from last year's $5,000. It was clarified that the request is for$7,000 with Board Administrator Fogarty France apologizing for the error. (2) Achieva Box Car Rally— Chelsey Wilson was present for questions. The event is scheduled for October 27, 2018 in 2019 it will be their 10th anniversary. Entry funds are used for classroom grants in the schools. Chairman Morfopoulos opened the item to questions and asked about the number of volunteers, which Ms. Wilson stated was 134 last year. This year they expect 2,500-3,000 spectators. (3) City of Clearwater Post-Event Reports/Clearwater Celebrates America, SeaBlues and Bay2Beach and Funding Request 2018 Clearwater Sea Blues Festival & Clearwater Celebrates America— Kris Koch stated that a full recap of the events (Clearwater Celebrates America, SeaBlues, and Bay2Beach) would be emailed to Board Administrator Fogarty France, and that their request is $12,500, which is the as it was last year for SeaBlues and Clearwater Celebrates America. Chairman Morfopoulos opened the item to questions; there were none. (4) Clearwater Jazz Downtown Party— Gary Hallas was present to talk about the event coming up in October, with the same funding request amount as last year. Chairman Morfopoulos opened the item to questions. Mr. Hallas estimated the impact of the Jazz Holiday event at possibly $7-million overall, with the Wednesday night party bringing people to downtown, showing them what there is to stop for on the way to the shows. Chairman Morfopoulos asked about the number of people the Downtown Party brings to downtown; Mr. Hallas estimated 500-600. (5) Post-Event Report Downtown Clearwater Craft Beer & Music Fest—Jay Polglaze was present to report the success of the collaboration with Dunedin House of Beer that represented over 50 brewers and brought 5,000 to the event. CRA Director Thompson commented on the pre-event `match' of brewers with downtown property owners, and Mr. Polglaze stated that input from the previous year had resulted in a larger child-friendly area with including a rock wall. Chairman Morfopoulos opened the item to questions; there were none. Mr. Polglaze thanked the board for their sponsorship. (6) Downtown Clearwater Merchants Association (DCMA) Yearly Events —Carolyn Bradham was present to review last year's events and answer questions about this year's funding request of$15,000 which was the same as last year's request. Ms. Bradham stated that the DCMA was looking at new events to supplement the 600 block. The first art walk took place last month and had a good turn-out despite the weather. Chairman Morfopoulos opened the item to questions, and asked, if the funding was not approved, what events would be their priority, or would they just adjust their budget. Ms. Bradham deferred the question to Member Teixeira when she returns, commenting that DCMA would like to look for the events that needed the most funding and would also seek out new sponsors. Chairman Morfopoulos asked which events DCMA felt were best attended; Ms. Bradham said Miracle on Cleveland Street was traditionally the most well-attended followed by Downtown Funk, Blast Fridays, and BBQ Block Party were big draws. Member Jammo noted that only $10,000 of the $15,000 funding from 2017 had been used. Ms. Bradham responded that all funding was budgeted and would be absolutely be used and was appreciated. Downtown Development Board Meeting—July 11, 2018 3 (7) Festival Series including Blast Fridays, Miracle on Cleveland Street & Cruisin' at the Capitol — Brianna Hartigan noted that the new funding request of$40,000 would cover the annual Miracle on Cleveland Street, five Blast Fridays, and two Cruisin' at the Cap events, all of which accounted for about 30,000 in attendance over last season; the hoped-for involvement of Harley Davidson next year should increase that. Chairman Morfopoulos opened the item to questions. Member Jammo commented on the amount of$7,500 from last year's funding; Board Administrator Fogarty France clarified that payments are made quarterly and that will be distributed in June. Member Devineni noted that the requested amount had increased to $40,000; Ms. Hartigan explained that the events being budgeted had increased from seven to eight and included a bike show which normally requires about $15,000 extra funding. (8) Hooters Clearwater Super Boat National Championship Festival — Frank Chivas thanked the board for their support of eight years and noted that this year the parade would see the addition of the Polaris Slingshot and the Hooters NASCAR vehicle. Chairman Morfopoulos opened the item to questions; there were none. Chairman Morfopoulos commented that this was a significant event for the area, with a tight budget. (10) Clearwater Arts Alliance has withdrawn its application. 7. Set Minimum Reserves for FY 2018-2019— Chairman Morfopoulos discussed the memo provided to the board in their packet. Member Wright commented that felt the reserves noted were excessive and should be left alone. He felt the increase was fiscally irresponsible and was raised only by formula not by need and Member Sjouwerman agreed. Chairman Morfopoulos rebutted, reasoning that the reserves were set aside for unforeseen issues or "remarkable opportunities" that require additional funding and increases are prudent. Discussion ensued on the sufficient amount of reserves. Member Wright moved to set the reserves at$75,000. The motion was duly seconded and upon roll call, the vote was: Ayes: Member Sjouwerman, Member Wright, Member Jammo, Member Cassano, and Member Devineni. Nays: Member Morfopoulos. Motion carried. 8. DDB 2018-2019 Work Plan — CRA Director Thompson presented the updated work plan from the special meeting June 25, 2018, asking that board members peruse the new document as they will vote to adopt it at the August meeting. Member Cassano noted two items of forward movement: (1) Trader Joe's had "acknowledged his communication", and (2) a "major hotel" that he is not yet at liberty to name, has contacted him about placement downtown, "specifically not on the beach". This would require some rezoning for entertainment, retail, etc., but it could mean new tourists, new employees and new residents. Chairman Morfopoulos asked board members to review the requests for funding and prepare for the August meeting to commit funds. CRA Director Thompson noted that some items on the work plan showed two board member names as Champions and requested there be a division of labor, and that Board Administrator Fogarty France be the go-between for email distribution. Member Downtown Development Board Meeting—July 11, 2018 4 Cassano clarified that members may not email each other directly but must route communications through the Board Administrator; this was confirmed by Board Administrator Fogarty France. There were no further questions or comments. 9. Appoint Nominating Committee for October 9, 2018 Election - Board Administrator Fogarty France stated that Members Jammo and Teixeira had been appointed, and that they and Member Wright would need to decide if they would be running. The nominating committee was designated as: Chairman Morfopoulos, Member Sjouwerman, Member Devineni and Member Cassano. The board members were asked to find interested parties who might run. Board Administrator Fogarty France said she would contact them and report at the next meeting, with the election set for October 9. 10. Chairman's Report— Chairman Morfopoulos announced the events occurring in July and that more information could be found at downtownclearwater.com 11. Final Comments Member Cassano felt everything was going fine, and the future looked bright for downtown Clearwater. Member Wright wondered when the Harborview Center would come down. Member Sjouwerman commented that he is also a member of the Clearwater Downtown Partnership (CDP) and had noticed a $13-million parking garage on the CRA budget. Downtown Clearwater is badly in need of more parking than the current 2,000 surface parking spaces. Where might the new parking garage be located? What are the options? CRA Director Thompson stated that the options revolve around Imagine Clearwater taking the Harborview parking, which will need replaced, and the challenge will be to create parking opportunities. The current discussions include questions about building three smaller parking garages, or one large parking facility— possibly in the location of the bus station, with the intent to create a park and walk environment downtown for visitors Member Sjouwerman suggested elevating the current Garden Avenue parking to increase it by 500 or more spaces; CRA Director Thompson commented that the cost could be prohibitive, although options included re-building on or building adjacent to that area. Challenges include looking ten plus years down the road to the kind of downtown we will have in the future, with plans for public transportation and residents who will drive less and walk more included, to avoid over- building. Member Devineni suggested that not all events are equal, and he would like to see Clearwater focus more on the craft beer market to take some of the attention from Dunedin, who seems to have cornered the market. Member Jammo said she was heartened by the round table. Ex-officio Councilmember Hamilton commented that he's looking forward to the budget discussions as it is always a fun time of year. Ex-officio Councilmember Allbritton agreed it was a lot of reading this time of year, especially with the budget and Imagine Clearwater. Downtown Development Board Meeting—July 11, 2018 5 Chairman Morfopoulos noted there are many criteria for funding these events, and, while the events are not all equal, deciding should be a simple matter based solely on "return on investment", meaning how many people will attend versus the amount required for the event. He preferred to fund the most cost effective first. Member Cassano reiterated that Trader Joe's or a large hotel would bring thousands of people to downtown year after year, and felt the appropriate focus was on a permanent asset for downtown. 12. The meeting was adjourned at 6:57 p.m. Downtown Development Board Meeting—July 11, 2018 6