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10-21-14 Minutes CRAawJ 0C.()(> COMMUNITY RF.GEVEI.OPMENT AGENCY COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING Ocoee Commission Chambers 150 North Lakeshore Drive Ocoee, Florida October 21, 2014 MINUTES 6:00 p.m. I. CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL AND DETERMINATION OF QUORUM CRA Chairman Keller called the Community Redevelopment Agency Board together at 6:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. City Clerk Eikenberry called roll and declared a quorum present. Roll Call: Chairman Keller, Member Grogan, Member Wilsen, Vice Chair C. Johnson, Member Vandergrift, Member R. Johnson, Member Corless Also Present: City Manager Frank, City Attorney Cookson, City Clerk Eikenberry, CRA Administrator Russ Wagner and Assistant City Manager Shadrix. II. Public Comments None III. Annual Designation of Board Chair and Vice Chair Member R. Johnson nominated Member Corless to serve as the board's Chair for the FY 2014- 2015. Nominations were closed. Member R. Johnson, seconded by Member Wilsen moved to elect Member Corless to serve as Chair of the CRA Board for the Fiscal Year 2014-2015. Motion carried 6-0 with Member C. Johnson absent. Member R. Johnson nominated Member Grogan to serve as the board's Vice Chair for the FY 2014-15. Nominations were closed. Member R. Johnson, seconded by Member Wilsen moved to elect Member Grogan to serve as Vice Chair of the CRA Board for the Fiscal Year 2014-2015. Motion carried 6-0 with Member C. Johnson absent. IV. Approval of Minutes of the May 20, 2014 Regular CRA Board Meeting Member Wilsen, seconded by Member R. Johnson, moved to approve the minutes of the _M_ay 20, 2014 as presented. Motion carried 6-0 with Member C. Johnson absent. V. Review and Discussion of FY 2014-2015 Budget CRA Administrator Wagner said this year they tried to simplify the budget message; he will hit some of the high points. He noted that the CRA budget the last few years has been considerably reduced; there has not been money for large scale capital improvements. We are primarily left to do administrative things; some small capital projects and several marketing activities which include the tri -city project. We seem to have a lot more developers coming to the city with project ideas as well as businesses wanting to expand. These are all good signs the economy is stronger. 6:06 p.m. City Attorney Cookson arrived 6:06 p.m. Member C. Johnson arrived Joint Interchange Master Plan, We received a $100,000 Grant from the State of Florida for this joint project we are doing with Winter Garden for the three interchanges along State Road 429; Colonial Drive, Plant Street, and West Road. We will be doing a vision plan and a capital improvements plan for these interchanges. Assistant City Manager Shadrix explained that we are finalizing the Grant Agreement with the State Department of Economic Opportunity and then it will come before the Commission. We are additionally finalizing the Scope of Services for that work which will also come before the Commission. The CRA participates in the Tri -cities Partnership, but that work is much broader than simply the CRA. As quickly as the details get worked out it will be on a future agenda; we anticipate 2-3 months before completion. Mr. Wagner advised that with regard to the Tri -Cities Partnership, their CRA packet includes the Final Executive Summary of the Strategic .Recommendations that were proposed by Angelo uEconomics. This wraps up the first phase of that study; he believes it is the group's intent to get that interchange plan going and give Apopka more time to work through their transition, and then we can go into the marketing and branding for the tri -city effort. He encouraged them to read through the study. Mayor Vandergrift received confirmation that the study was completed a month or two ago. Member Wilsen asked if this study came from the meeting that was held at the University of Florida. Mr. Wagner advised there was a subsequent report done after that, and then this report is a summary of the original three reports. This was put together so the data would be concise to get people interested in. looking further. Member Corless asked if she could have a copy of the Scope of Services for the Joint Interchange Master Plan to review before it goes to Commission. Assistant City Manager Shadrix said he would send it out as soon as it is finalized between the parties. She also asked if Winter Garden was going to be taking the lead in the consultant management or will it be handled by the "Tri -Cities Partnership. Mr. Shadrix explained that there is specific language in the grant agreement as to how this needs to be handled, but some of those details are still being worked on. Mr. Corless said she would like to be involved, she sees the importance of the Master Plan as it relates to the regional aspect, the CRA, and the City as a whole. It needs to be looked at for the potential for economic development, as well as the connectivity/mobility in the partnership. There have been meetings summarizing the three main functions of the study and the commission and CRA board members should have been invited to those. This document is a summary of those meetings. The CRA is a relatively small participant in it in the grand scheme of things and he doesn't want to take away from all of the other CRA. items that Russ needs to discuss. Commissioner Wilsen confirmed that the grant was for the City of Ocoee. Rail Service — Mr. Wagner said this is the 20 million dollar project that the City was involved in; the CRA didn't contribute money, but helped support that effort on behalf of the city. The joint excursion train event went over very well, every trip was full. They are actively running this train between Mount Dora and Tavares, the latter of which spent $600,000 on a train station. We hope that over time we can get more train activity in Ocoee. Regional Event Center — Mr. Wagner noted that we have been getting parties who are seriously interested in this in recent months. Hopefully, in the next few months, we will have some good news to share; it remains a viable project. Member Wilsen confirmed that a study CRA Budget Meeting 10-21-2014 Page 2 had been completed on this, and said it seems like it has just been sitting on a shelf since then. Mr. Wagner said the Feasibility Study is available on the website or he can get her a paper copy. He added that projects of this size (30 million) typically take a long time to come to fruition, but it has not been sitting on a shelf as there are many interested parties looking at the study. Member Grogan asked if there was a specific location or multiple locations for this project. Mr. Wagner said a site has not been chosen; just some parameters have been set for the site. He said the location or multiple locations will be chosen as developers want to develop it. West Oaks Mall- Mr. Wagner said although it is not in the CRA, it does have an effect on the rest of that corridor. There are new owners now, and the city staff will be more actively involved with them. We have been working with them on demographic data and we may accompany them to the ICSC conference in New York City to help promote the mall. Economic Development Marketing. Mr. Wagner showed an advertisement in the Florida Trend magazine that he felt was a large expense ($6000 for single page) but it would me a good use of marketing dollars. He added that internet advertising seems to be the best way to spend money since that is the way people do business today. MarketingActivities CRA Website. He said he would like to hire a technical consultant to help prove the visibility of the CRA website. We need to reach out to social media, and we need make our data more conveniently available (two clicks). Ile said marketing money would probably be better spent on internet advertising. He noted that when they ran the large ad locally in OBJ, we did not get any response from it. "There was further discussion of how usage is trending toward mobile applications. CRA Banners. The State Road 50 project will begin the first of the year and all of the 50 West banners will have to come down. They would like to continue advertising the 50 West area as a recognizable destination or sense of place in Ocoee. Ile is working with public works to put some banners up to replace the banners while the construction is underway. They will additionally place some way -finding signs up to help people find the businesses and city facilities while the construction is going on. Community Promotions. He showed the board an advertisement for a charity dinner from Lake Meadow Naturals Farm. It is a farm -to -table event for $175 a plate, complete with celebrity chefs. He noted he would like to do something like that for the CRA, in generally attracts higher end clientele and would probably be coupled with wine tasting and entertainment. iShopOcoee Program. He advised they are working on final details of a mobile app to get marketing out on social media as the biggest problem with it has been that it is internet-based. Video Marketing. He noted they are working on a 30 second video spot for the West Orange Cinema to show as a prescreen ad promoting the FiftyWest businesses. This should be seen by thousands of people each week and be a very effective marketing tool. Art in Public Places. Mr. Wagner said that this outdoor venue is a great way to engage local businesses, promotes community events, etc. He showed photos from other cities including the Design District of Miami. He said the artwork can be done in a temporary or permanent fashion. It has been a very popular way to get people out to the area. Member Coreless said she would like to be involved with the program outline or focus area; she said there are very simple things that can be done to get people's attention such as Mills 50 and Downtown South are good examples of how they have integrated art and bring out local artists, even looking at utility boxes. Mayor Vandergrift asked if the art would extend to City Hall because he has always wanted to have artwork displayed at City Hall. Mr. Wagner noted that even though City Hall is not in the CRA, it could easily spill over from the CRA into those areas of the community. CRA Budget Meeting 10-21-2014 Page 3 Project Activities Target Area One / Colony Plaza. We need to look at a way to clean up the whole area of the Colony Plaza and gas station properties. We may be able to do some kind of event in the large open area. Mayor Vandergrift noted that they are under code violations. This site was supposed to be one of the main focuses for the CRA. Target Area Two / Lake Bennet Target Area Three / Health Central. They have been saying for a few years that they are going to expand their hospital, but we believe this year they really are. FDOT / SR 50 Widening. Staff has met with FDOT regularly to try to make this go as smoothly as possible. They feel that a good way to work with the business owners is to hold a "Coffee with the Crew" on a monthly basis where business owners could meet with FDOT and construction crews and city staff to discuss any concerns that they may have. Mayor Vandergrift stated that we need to be a little more lenient with the way they will advertise during the construction as well. Ocoee Bridge Sign. There was some concern about this signage over the turnpike, but it seems that they have come up with a new design concept over the pedestrian bridge that minimizes the possibility of the sign falling into the turnpike traffic should it ever fall. The signs are internally lit and should be seen from both sides by 80,000 people per day. Gateway Signs. He showed the new paint scheme that will be much more visible at night. We will be redoing all of the signs in this manner. Ocoee Wellness Park. We are hoping to get some money from the West Orange Health Care District to build a fitness park around the retention pond that will be built along Bluford Avenue. Mayor Vandergrift noted that the signs on FiftyWest should show the word Ocoee to be bigger than the word FiftyWest. Mr. Wagner said we are trying to promote that area of FiftyWest to differentiate it from the entire Highway 50 corridor. Commissioner Wilsen agreed it should be the FiftyWest that stands out on the sign. VI. Resolution adopting CRA Budget for FY 2014-2015 CRA Administrator Wagner stated that he has discussed most of the budget items; the budget presented shows those items with a dollar amount attached. He noted that the actual budget did not get attached to the resolution as Exhibit A, but those pages shown in your packet as pages 5- 1, 6-1, and 6-2 will be attached to the resolution as Exhibit A. City Attorney Cookson read the title of the resolution. RESOLUTION NO. 2014-001 A RESOLUTION OF THE OCOEE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ADOPTING A BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014-2015; PROVIDING FOR BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS AND THE APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Member Wilsen, seconded by Member Grogan, made a motion to adopt CRA Resolution 2014-001 approving the CRA Budget for FY 2014-2015, with the budget attached as Exhibit A. No vote taken at this time due to subsequent discussion. Member Wilsen asked about the Colony Plaza property. What can be done as a CRA to improve that area? City Attorney Cookson said the developer has indicated they have things in the works, but they have said that for a few years with no result. We have a demolition lien that is CRA Budget Meeting 1.0-21-2014 Page 4 about $800,000 with about $1,000,000 in interest on top of that. We have discussed if the developer comes in to develop the property we would negotiate the lien; however another option is to force the issue by foreclosing on the lien. We could take possession of the property through foreclosure or force the developer to step up and do something. That would require foreclosure action and some legal funds to do that. There was discussion as to whether finding would come from the city or the CRA. He noted if it is their wish, they can't direct him to find out what the costs would be for the foreclosure action. Member Wilsen asked if anyone had seen the short advertising video loop from the Lake Bennet City Center. Mr. Wagner noted that may not be an active project any more. Assistant City Manager Shadrix said marketing through digital media is always a good idea. We have been meeting with the City Center people. "There have been no applications to date received for a proposed site on that property. We hope they are successful, they hired Madison Marquette Marketing to assist them and they have been marketing the project at various retail projects and have gotten a lot of interest. After Discussion, Motion carried 7-0 VII. Board Member Comments Member Grogan, Member Wilsen, Member R. Johnson had no comments. Member C. Johnson said with regard to the Public Art discussion, she suggests reaching out to the local resources; Orange County has an Arts and Cultural Affairs Administrator who does a phenomenal amount of work in cultural and public art realms. He may be a good resource to give theta some information and successful models if we reach out to them. Member R. Johnson had no comments. Member Coreless said since she is taking on the Chair role she would like to note, as Member C. Johnson has previously stated, that there should be more frequent meetings so that they can remain involved. She will get with Russ to arrange some meeting dates. She feels that she and Member C. Johnson can provide a lot of resources to staff and distribute additional information and educational sources to the rest of the Board that could help with some of our programs since she works with CRAs throughout the state. She agrees with Member C. Johnson that there are great local resources for the Public Art program. There was discussion about creating Sub Committees for task oriented items. Chairman Keller thanked CRA Administrator Wagner for his work on the CRA. ADJOURNMENT -------- -- -- - — ------ ------ Meeting adjourned at 6:59 p.m. Attest: Belk Eikenberry, Secretary APPROVED: CRA Budget Meeting 10-21-2014 Page 5