11/06/2019 CLEARWATER DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT BOARD MEETING
November 6, 2019–5:30 PM–Main Library–Council Chambers
Members Present: Paris Morfopoulos Chairman
Venkat "Vincent" Devineni Vice-Chairman
Caitlein Jammo (arrived 5:42pm)Treasurer
Ray Cassano Member
Lina Teixeira Member
Also Present: David Allbritton Ex-officio Member/Councilmember
Jay Polglaze Ex-officio Member/Councilmember
Amanda Thompson CRA Director
Absent: Thomas Wright Member
Stu Sjouwerman Member
1. Chairman Morfopoulos called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
2. Approve the Minutes from the October 9,2019, Meeting
Member Teixeira moved to approve the minutes from the August 7,2019,meeting. The motion was
duly seconded and upon roll call,the vote was:
Ayes: Chairman Morfopoulos, Member Devineni and Member Cassano.
Nays: None.
Motion carried.
3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the agenda.
Mark Bunker reviewed the recent Tampa Bay Times and Scientology publications regarding the
unused/vacant buildings downtown. Mr. Bunker encouraged the city to "take action"fining owners who
leave their buildings vacant and challenge the Church of Scientology's tax-exempt status.
William Neubauer suggested avoiding the 'common' sound of Coachman Commons in favor of Coachman
Magical Mystery, drawing musical groups and citizen interest.
4. New Business
4.1. Adopt September 2019 Financial Statement for Filing.
CRA Director Thompson noted that the fiscal year closed September 30 with $84,188 carried over to
the new year. With cash in bank of$306,879 less mandatory$75,000 reserves. Chairman Morfopoulos
questioned and CRA Director Thompson confirmed that approximately$230,000 is available for re-
allocation through budget amendment moving forward.
Member Teixeira reported a discussion with The Downtown Clearwater Merchants Association
(DCMA) regarding the lack of resources and time to create successful events,whereas the Capital
Theater has proven repeatedly its ability to do so. Member Teixeira suggested re-focusing funding
toward more successful events, i.e.the possibility of adding two Blast Fridays earlier in the season, and
the DDB's possible interest in that effort. The item was tabled for future discussion.
Member Teixeira moved to approve the September 2019 Financial Statement. The motion was duly
seconded and upon roll call,the vote was:
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Ayes: Chairman Morfopoulos, Member Devineni, Member Jam mo,and Member Cassano.
Nays: None.
Motion carried.
4.2. Presentation Light Up Downtown -Eleanore Lyda and Janelle Branch.
Citizens propose three lighting concepts to brighten downtown Clearwater, focusing on the most
popular and newest of Tree Mapping for the 21 trees along Cleveland Street medians in blocks 400,
500,600 and 700. The group asked for a letter of support from the DDB to include in their proposal as
they move forward.
The PowerPoint is available for viewing online.
Member Teixeira moved that the board write a letter of support. The motion was duly seconded
and upon roll call,the vote was:
Ayes: Chairman Morfopoulos, Member Devineni, Member Jam mo,and Member Cassano.
Nays: None.
Motion carried.
Chairman Morfopoulos requested that CRA Director Thompson draft the letter for review.
5. Old Business Items.
5.1. DDB Work Plan Updates-CRA Director Thompson
Rosemary D'Amour reported on 'Paint the Town',the Augmented and Virtual Reality project in
partnership with USF. All printed material has been received and is ready for distribution, and the
webpage is live from www.downtownclearwater.com. App to launch in the spring. Hoping this lays
the groundwork for future research projects with the schools.
Ms. D'Amour also reported on the short video promoting downtown competition winners and
showed the three winning and two honorable mention videos. All videos will be shown on the City of
Clearwater, CRA, and Clearwater Arts Alliance websites as well as on Facebook, Instagram,Twitter
and via email. Member Teixeira asked if TV was an option; Ms. D'Amour offered to look into the
option.
Chairman Morfopoulos offered congratulations to the artists and commended Ms. D'Amour for her
handling of the successful campaign.
DDB meeting is moved to December 11 with a special work session to be set separately.
5.2. CRA updates-CRA Director Thompson
Mayor submitted a letter to the editor in the Sunday Tampa Bay Times regarding the city's
commitment to investing in downtown and supporting existing and new businesses.
6. Chairman's Report.
Nov 1-22 Urban Conga Playable Cities, Second Century Studios
Nov 9 and 14, Playable Scavenger Hunt, Second Century Studios
Nov 22, City Change Through Play, Second Century Studios
Nov 2, 2nd Annual Veterans Half-Marathon, Coachman Park
Nov 11, City offices closed in observance of Veteran's Day
Nov 28-29, city offices closed in observance of Thanksgiving
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Nov 30, Holiday Extravaganza begins
Nov 30-Dec 1, World's Largest Food Truck Rally, Coachman Park
More information at www.DowntownClearwater.com
7. Board Members to be Heard.
Member Cassano likes the idea of the lighting and is very excited about the possibilities.
Member Teixeira is very excited about the tree lighting with Eleanore and Janelle's help, and requested a
presentation on wayfinding progress at the next meeting. CRA Director Thompson commented that the
county has approved the sign at the pedestrian overpass on 19 so construction planning can move
forward.
Member Devineni said light up the trees, light up downtown, and create more videos about downtown.
Member Jammo echoes the comments on the promotional video program and feels inspired for the
lighting of downtown.
Ex-officio Member Polglaze feels that Coachman 'wow factors' are yet to be determined, lighting the trees
would be the 'wow factor'for downtown. It's a very exciting idea.
Ex-officio Member Allbritton thanked Eleanore for continuing the work of promoting Clearwater. The tree
lighting would be another way to bring people to downtown, completing the circle with the park and the
bridge.
Chairman Morfopoulos expressed gratitude on behalf of the board for the volunteers like Eleanore and
Janelle, encouraging others to step forward with help and energy. Also, the video campaign was a great
success at a small cost and now affords a greater opportunity to draw visitors to downtown.
8. The meeting was adjourned at 6:36 p.m.
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