Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 10-12-2010-special — reading text

251 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL JOINT COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA OCTOBER 12, 2010 INTRODUCTION A special joint meeting of the City Council of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and the Community Redevelopment Agency ( CRA) Board of Commissioners was held on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 5: 00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, with the following members present: Mayor Mike Anderson Councilmen: Mike Holmes, Joyce gossom, Dennis Reeves, Mike Minich, Bobby Nabors, Bull Rigdon, and Dick Rynearson Also Present: Bob Mearns, City Manager; Helen Spencer, City Clerk; Hayward Dykes, Jr., City Attorney; and Department Directors CRA Board: Doug Reed, Chairman; Christa Machado; Martin Owen; Douglas Pike; and Tom Tona Absent: Jenna Burger and Dean Covey CALL TO ORDER The Mayor called the meeting to order. PLEDGE The Mayor led in the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Minich moved to approve the agenda as the business of the day. Mr. Rigdon seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, gossom, Reeves, Minich, Nabors, Rigdon, and Rynearson in favor. SUSPEND ROBERTS RULES OF ORDER Mr. Minich moved to suspend Roberts Rules of Order during this meeting. Mr. Holmes seconded motion and it carried unanimously with Holmes, gossom, Reeves, Minich, Nabors, Rigdon, and Rynearson in favor. JOINT MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL AND THE CRA Michael Beedie, Engineering and Utility Services Director, informed that at their meeting of September 1, 2010, the Community Redevelopment Agency ( CRA) requested a Special Joint Meeting with the City Council to discuss future ideas and direction for the CRA area for 2010 -2012 in order to stay in tune with the direction and goals of the Council. Mr. Beedie presented an overview and explained the CRA is funded through Tax Increment Financing TIF) revenue, and there are two methods of TIF financing: a pay as you go method, whereby money collected through the TIF is allocated for projects for that year; and the pay as you use method, whereby monies are designated for a major project and financed through bonds or debt certificates and paid back over time. The CRA has used the pay as you go method in the past for small projects using revenue it had. Mr. Beedie discussed some of the opportunities open to the CRA for the upcoming fiscal year including expanding on programs already in place; looking at new and innovative ways to leverage funding for major projects, such as undergrounding utilities, including debt certificates and bonding; and acquiring blighted and vacant properties in the district to be improved and returned to the market. He noted that the CRA Board will sunset in the year 2026 and that any bonding or financing done would have to be paid back in 15 years. 252 Special Council 10 -12 -10 JOINT MEETING (CONT) Doug Reed, CRA Chairman, advised the Board is looking for direction from Council as how to proceed since it has been awhile since Council has given them direction, and the market and conditions have changed. Mr. Reed noted the CRA has always used the pay as you go method, providing businesses and individuals the opportunity of incentives for improvements made. The Mayor asked for Council comments. Mr. Minich suggested the CRA look " outside of the box" and find large projects and ways to finance them. Mr. Minich stated the undergrounding of utilities on Eglin Parkway would be an excellent project, and that projects such as the Around the Mound and the Land Mark would have been. excellent projects as well. Mr. Beedie stated he spoke with Gulf Power regarding the undergrounding of utilities about a month ago. He advised Gulf Power did a non -binding estimate several years and would do another non -binding estimate at no cost. Mr. Beedie stated a binding estimate from Gulf Power would cost between $ 10, 000 to $ 20,000 and the area covered would be from Perry to Hughes. Mr. Rigdon stated his feeling that the CRA needs to look away from the downtown area and concentrate to the north. Mr. Nabors also felt that undergrounding of utilities on Eglin Parkway is a needed project. The Mayor asked for comments from the CRA Board members. Mr. Owen stated he is in favor of the undergrounding of utilities on Eglin Parkway. Mr. Pike commented large projects to create an identity for the community, and if the undergrounding of utilities would enhance the City that would be a good use of funds. Mr. Pike also discussed the use of revolving loans. Mr. Tona also spoke in favor of undergrounding utilities but reminded not to ignore the downtown waterfront, as he feels it is the City' s greatest asset. Ms. Machado feels the City needs to build its own culture to make it a draw, and suggested utilizing smaller programs that can be received through grants to improve the appearance and image of the City, in addition to the large projects. Mr. Reed advised from what he has heard, he believes everyone is on the right page and feels the Board could bring back a budget that emphasizes bonding and grant programs. Mr. Reed also stated he agrees that we need to venture away from the downtown area, but not to lose site of the waterfront. Ms. gossom stated that ongoing grant and incentive programs are essential components of any redevelopment and would encourage the Board to maintain that. She also encouraged the Board to go back and review ` wish lists' that were developed by former CRA members and see what projects are still warranted and what projects can be eliminated. The Mayor asked for any additional Council comments. Mr. Rynearson stated his feeling for the need to explore opportunities to expand the CRA District. Mr. Holmes stated to take advantage of any opportunities that exist to leverage funding for projects. He also expressed the need for a definitive goal of the CRA so citizens know that the CRA is complete and that their goals have been achieved.  253 Special Council 10 -12 -10 JOINT MEETING Mr. Rigdon commented he feels everyone is moving in the right direction, and to ensure tax dollars are being spent in the right place. Mr. Beedie advised Staff understands Council' s direction and will be a topic of discussion at the next CRA meeting. He advised Staff will work with the Board to come up with various projects to be considered. ADJOURN Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5: 46 p.m. v lve Date completed: 10/ 14/ 10