Fort Walton Beach — Community Redevelopment Agency 2021-22 Annual Report

City of Fort Walton Beach, FL Community Redevelopment Agency 2021-2022 Annual Report Ft Walton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency 105 Miracle Strip Parkway SW Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 850-586-7814 www.fwb.org/cra  City of Fort Walton Beach, FL Community Redevelopment Agency 2021-2022 Annual Report The Vision To ensure that the City of Fort Walton Beach CRA continues to be a waterfront-oriented community that provides a mixed-use urban environment with a diversity of housing, variety of employment opportunities; thriving downtown core; vibrant and distinctive neighborhoods; attractive parks, open spaces, and cultural amenities; and well-designed public street, transit facilities, greenways, trails and blue ways. Ft Walton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency 105 Miracle Strip Parkway SW Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 850-586-7814 www.fwb.org/cra 2  Community Redevelopment Agency Plan Purpose and District The Fort Walton Beach CRA was established in 1977, with the Redevelopment Trust Fund and Community Redevelopment Agency following in 1982. The original CRA was focused primarily on the Downtown portion of the city along Miracle Strip Parkway/Hwy 98 and was approximately 222 acres. The boundaries were expanded with a plan update in 1998 adding an additional 385 acres for a total of 607 acres or about 12% of the overall City limits. In 2012, the CRA plan was updated to address changes that had taken place since adoption and refocus projects, programs, and initiatives to guide the redevelopment process for the next five years. In 2018, per Florida Statute 163.361 (1), the CRA Plan was amended to expand the boundary to include three additional Areas of Concern that were considered “Blighted Areas” based on the findings concluded in the FON. Resolutions 2019-6 and 2019-7 for CRA expansions were adopted by the City Council on May 21, 2019 and extended the CRA District boundary to include an additional 219 acres resulting in a total of 826 acres. The current 2018 updated Fort Walton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Plan is scheduled to terminate at 11:59 on December 31, 2048. 3  CRA Board Members Council Member David Schmidt Council Member Mike Holmes CRA Chair Council Member Kirby Locklear Council Member Nathan Kelley Council Member MG Moran Council Member Travis Smith Council Member Nic Allegretto CRA Administration Michael Beedie Jeff Peters Chris Frassetti Alisa Burleson Outgoing City Manager Interim City Manager Growth Management Director Administrator 4  CRA Year in Review Art and Culture Strategic Plan Beginning in the fall of 2021, staff began reaching out to the local arts and cultural community with the goal of developing a strategic plan and partnership to promote and encourage public art and culture within the CRA. The FWB Arts and Culture Strategic plan was presented to and approved by the CRA Board on March 8, 2022. Once approved, staff worked with the community to create the FWB Cultural Arts League. Vision To unify the artistic community and encourage creative expression by fostering art appreciation and education to the citizens of Fort Walton Beach, FL. Mission To highlight the various talents and abilities of the Fort Walton Beach community and encourage continuous artistic growth, education, and expression. Funding Resource Okaloosa County Tourist Development Tax - Awarded $125,000 for tourism promotion and development. Fort Walton Beach Cultural Arts League (CAL) The Fort Walton Beach Cultural Arts League is an community organization comprised of citizens that donate their time and knowledge toward the desired outcomes of the Fort Walton Beach Arts and Culture Strategic plan. It consists of an elected advisory board for decision and policy making. Additional volunteers assist and support the board with program implementation. The goals of the FWB Cultural Arts League is to provide resources and support for individuals and organizations desiring to develop, cultivate and display their creative and artistic abilities and programs while promoting artistic attributes, venues and festivals resulting in an increase in the cultural tourism to Fort Walton Beach, FL. CAL accomplished objectives: • The CAL team elected an eleven (11) member board of directors and established an executive board. • Logo design was created by a local artist. • Partnered with a the Choctawhatchee High School Art Program for the implementation of the Brooks Street Trash Can Mural Project. • Promoted the CAL at the Billy Bowlegs Festival and painted a pirate themed mural at The Landing Park. • Partnered with “Erase the Trace Okaloosa” for the “Keep Our Waterways Clean” downtown storm drain mural project. Twelve storm drains were chosen for this project and the “Call to Artist” yielded 66 design submissions. 5  2021-2022 Projects in Review Completed Projects CRA Façade Grants and Incentives awarded—$16,210 Before The Laundry Room Façade Grant Recipient After Perfect Day Planning / After Emerald Coast Venue Façade & Development Permit Fee Grant Recipient Before 6  Gulfview Museum and Office Suites Street and Building Signage This sign was placed at the Gulfview Museum and Office Suites to provide listings of tenants, therefore eliminated the need for the temporary banners that were attached to the upstairs balcony. Signage was also placed at the entrance directing visitors to the appropriate suite locations. Library Relocations Study This study was completed in spring 2022 and presented to the city council during a workshop on April 19, 2022. The study provides recommendations to relocate the library to a different location. The council decided to not move forward at the moment with any potential relocation. Downtown Pressure Washing The CRA contracted out cleaning services to pressure wash the downtown block along Miracle Strip Parkway and around to Brooks Street. Cleaning services included: • Removal of stickers on light poles • Sidewalks • The Landing park entrance • Two dumpster pads along Brooks Street • Vandergriff Park walkway CRA Education and Training • CRA Administrator, Alisa Burleson completed her requirements for the FRA-Redevelopment Administrator Certification. • CRA Administrator, Alisa Burleson and the FWB Planning Supervisor, Tim Gibson attended the FRA Annual Conference. 7  Projects in Process Renovation of The Landing Park This project bid was opened on August 18th but no bids were received. AVCON (consultant) reworked the bid to split the project into phases for re-bid. The second bid process is scheduled to be post October 2022 and opened in December 2022. Downtown Parking Lot renovation The city council rejected all bids submitted due to unknown future development. Project will go out for rebid upon resolution of potential development project. Infrastructure Master Plan for the “Around the Mound” The city continues to work on finalizing the Infrastructure Master Plan (IMP) and has received a few draft plans for review. This plan will be used for implementing the future redevelopment of downtown. Indian Temple Mound Museum entrance/expansion A project to expand the Indian Temple Mound Museum at the downtown Heritage Park and Cultural Center is currently out for bid. The project will demolish the existing restrooms in front of the museum as well as the adjacent building, which housed the Bluewater Zoo store. The building and property were donated to the city in 2020. The city will receive $390,000 from the Okaloosa County Tourism Development Council’s fiscal year 2022—23 allotment. The balance of project cost will be funded through the CRA. CRA Grants and Incentives Program There are a total of five (5) pending CRA Grant applications for an estimated award total of $ 70,000.  Façade—2  Development Permit Fees—2  Building Code Compliance—1  Nuisance Abatement—1 CRA Officer Patrol The FWB Community Police Force has assigned officers to direct their services within the CRA district. This team has established a trusting relationship with the areas residents, merchants and organizations. Their primary duties and responsibilities are as follows: • maintaining and updating “Letter of Authority” from area businesses. • addressing safety and environmental issues and concerns. • special event/festival security and crowd control. • daily security presence on a scheduled and as needed basis. • traffic enforcement and education. • addressing homelessness issues.  Policing advisors to the Homeless Housing Allowance, area HOAs, and Hotel Owners Association  Assist with housing and relocating  Coordinates with NGOs for homelessness services 8  Financial Review The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Fund encompasses 7.23% of the City’s activities and services and accounts for funding derived from City of Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa County Tax Increment Funding (TIF) - proceeds from increases in the taxable assessed value of the CRA District. The TIF is determined by the growth in the assessed value of taxable property located in the CRA district from the base year to the current tax year and is multiplied by the current tax rate for the City and County. Expenditures in the CRA area target eliminating blight in residential and commercial areas. New Businesses in the CRA - 18 Approved CRA Grant Recipients - 5 Total CRA Awarded Grant funds - $43,055 Private Investment Leveraged as a Result of CRA Grants Incentives - $1,064,062 Adopted 2022 - 2023 CRA Budget Total Tax Revenue ……………………………………………………….....…$4,267,997 City Original TIF …………………………………….$1,090,586 City Expanded TIF …………………………………….$ 420,021 County Original TIF …………………………………….$ 835,580 County Expanded TIF …………………………………….$ 321,810 Dept. of Environmental Protection Grant……….….…….$1,600,000 Budgeted $ Change % Change City Ad Valorem Taxes $1,510,607 $ 92,631 6.1% Intergovernmental Revenue $1,157,390 $ 138,124 11.9% Interest & Other $1,600,000 $1,600,000 100% Appropriations From Reserves $ 0 $ 0 0% $4,267,997 $1,830,755 42.9% • The budget is predicated on the lowered millage rate of 4.9999 mills for the City’s portion of the TIF. One mill equals $144.6 per $1,000 of taxable property value. Total Expenditures and Highlights………………………………………...……...…..$4,267,997 $ Change % Change Personal Services ………………………………….….$ 521,065 $ 53,165 10.2% Operating & Maintenance ……………………………..$2,168,166 $1,667,976 76.9% Replenish Reserves………………….……………………..$ 952,056 $ 65,500 6.9% Interfund Transfer…………………...…………………..…$ 169,210 $ (16,886) (10.0%) Capital Outlay/Improvements ……………………………..$ 457,500 $ 61,000 13.3% $4,267,997 $1,830,755 42.9% • Increases in Operational expenses are primarily due to the Landing Improvements Grant, the Liza Jackson Park design, and Heritage Park & Cultural Center addition. 9  City of Fort Walton Beach, FL Community Redevelopment Agency 2021-2022 Annual Report Alisa Burleson, Administrator Community Redevelopment Agency aburleson@fwb.org cradept@fwb.org 850-586-7814 www.fwb.org/cra 10