Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 02-13-2007 workshop agenda — reading text

CITY OF FORT WAL TON BEACH City Council Workshop Agenda - February 13, 2007 - 5: 30 P. M City Council Chambers 107 Miracle Strip Parkway, SE Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548 CALL TO ORDER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Anderson I WORKSHOP AGENDA 1. General Public on items of City business. ( No Backup) 2. Discussion regarding placing the City Library up for sale. ( Council Member Tucker) ( See Backup) 3. Update regarding US98 Traffic Congestion Improvements. ( Public Works Director) ( See Backup) ADJOURN Any person who decides to appeal any decision made with respect to any matter at this meeting will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. (FS286.0105). The City of Fort Walton Beach adheres to the American with Disabilities Act and will make reasonable modifications for access to this meeting upon request. Please call City Clerk Helen Spencer at 850-833- 9509 to make a For request. dial the City Hall TOO # 850-833- 9925 or 1- 800-955-8771 ( TOO) or 1- Hearing Impaired 800-955-8770 ( Voice). Requests must be received at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting in order to allow the City time to provide requested service. Feb 02 07 10: 54a Jim Tucker 2441991 p. 2 Relocating Library" Why? Why was the current site chosen? A Little History Prior to acquisition ofthe property on which the library currently sits, it was home to a dilapidated 40s/50s era motel located on the East~West Emerald Coast Corridor. Highway 98 ( a. k.a. Miracle Strip Parkway) in the heart of what was once the center ofFWB' s commerce. The property was a distracting eyesore and like the rest of the three block long once thriving heart of Fort Walton Beach called " Downtown", had reached a stage of decay that caused buildings to have little commercial value except for marginal businesses who came today and went tomorrow. The NWF Daily News labeled Downtown as a " Ghost Town" in a broad, bold headline while residents complained about the head shop, the tee shirt shops and tattoo parlors occupying the majority of buildings not standing empty. Following the long accepted recipe for revitalizing abandoned, rundown downtowns formulated by professional planners and implemented nationwide with great success, a significant municipal building, in FWB' s case the library, was constructed on the high profile property at the comer of Florida Place and Highway 98. The recipe promised that investors would see such a project as a long- tenn commitment by government to rehabilitate the rundown downtown in other ways as well and, therefore, would view the area as a growth opportunity. Fast Forward not even 5 years. The fonnula worked!! Investors committed their dollars just as the recipe promised and today Downtown FWB can already be classified as a walkable community - a place where one can Jive, work & play - anchored by a major shopping center that stood 99. 9% empty just 5 years ago! Today investors and developers continue to tuck the ball to their chests and are running for the goal line of successful commercial enterprise. For all the pluses of the City' s decision to build the sorely needed library downtown,the decision was flawed. Flawed because the selected physical property did not lend itself to building a first class design. The library was constructed on an absolutely unsuitable lot: too small; long & narrow; the ttont faces a thriving car wash business ( in place before the decision to acquire the property) compounded by the decision to construct an oversized building with a 40 year expected life span and population growth based perhaps on voodoo statistics since FWB is today a built out community surrounded on three sides by water. Even ifFWB became a 100% high density condo community it is unlikely to grow into the building anytime in or foreseeable future. The consequence of these decisions are: Location: Users complain awkward to get to Building: From car, entrance is many steps, sometimes more than a Senior can handle, possibly limiting usage Entrance faces wan to obscure car wash on other side. Impossible. Car wash machine sounds are loud & bold Too large for lot, hence, minimal grounds - functional without beauty or style, nothing to break up the cold asphalt, brick, concrete Feb 02 07 10: 55a Jim Tucker 2441991 p. 3 Design is lost - public sees two ends and the back of building; speaks poorly for a project completed just 5 years ago Parking: Inadequate number of spaces causes many complaints, drive arounds. Staff & public share limited spaces. Snowbirds in town or a group meeting routinely causes a full lot with complaints fi" om everybody - locals and out oftowners Inadequate space size results in reports of dings scratches, accidents Narrow through lane makes curb ftequent target practice for cars navigating the lot Overheard from time to time: " Too bad the only big building ( Smith' s) was purchased by an insurance company. We need" .... Fill in the blank: more retai4 an enhanced Indian Temple Mound Museum; an art gallery; an upscale night spot; a national brand restaurant; FWB to become an antique shopping haven." So I propose the following: Why not hang a For Sale sign on the library and let the investors tell us the best possible use for this property and or Use the building? proceeds to construct a suitable building, in a suitable location, on an already suitable piece of city owned property. In fact, I further propose that the new library be relocated to City Hall grounds. What will the citizens gain from this proposal? Tax rolls increased with no offsetting decrease. The property I propose to use is not on the tax rolls currently or programmed to ever be. Easier to navigate to location Easier to use facility ( structure itself & parking lot) built with lessons learned from current one in hand Seize the opportunity to add style & grace to FWB' s public face Assuming the downtown location is a magnet for folks with no specific library business, may increase use by citizens who are offended by its use as a shelter or fmd it unpleasant to navigate the long walk frequently thru loiters Summary As a city we did our job and did it well: The city fulfilled its role of jump starting revitalization of downtown Economic recovery/ stability has ensued contributing already to the city' s tax base with much more to follow Momentum is clearly in forward position Now I believe we have an opportunity to correct a wrong with no loss of$ to the taxpayers. Please join me in committing to re- Iocating the library.  CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP February 13, 2007 Workshop Agenda Update regarding US98 Traffic Congestion Improvements Public Works Director) Agenda Item Number: WA- 3  City of Fort Walton Beach Memorandum To: Joyce Shanahan, City Manager From: Thomas Murray, Public Works Director Date: February 1, 2007 Subject: US 98 Congestion Traffic Congestion Improvements Infonnational Item to Update the Mayor and City Council Back2round: Members of the City of Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa County public works and planning organizations met in August 2006 to develop a common approach for initial traffic congestion improvements on US 98 and other highways in the vicinity of the Brooks Bridge. Since that time, the Florida Department of Transportation ( FDOT) has approved three of the five recommendations from that group, which are in hannony with the Mayor' s June 28, 2006 letter to the Northwest Florida Regional Transportation Corridor Authority. This agenda item presents an infonnational update for those three improvements. Discussion: The improvements, which are detailed in the attached project descriptions, include: Eliminating left-turn movements at the US 98/ Ferry Road intersection. Eliminating left-turn movements at the US 98/ Municipal Parking Lot (just west of Florida Place ). Relocating the stop bar for the southmost westbound lane at the US 98/Florida Place intersection. Prepared and Submitted By: 2/1/ 07 Thomas Murray, PE Date Public Works Director Reviewed and Concur: 01- o c J.. A hanahan "- 1 pi J[ 7 Date City Manager US 98 Congestion Traffic Congestion Improvement Project (As of 2/ 1/07) Location: US 98/ Ferry Road Intersection Immediate Modification: Eliminate left-turn movements at this intersection, making the Ferry Road access right- in and right- out only. This would be accomplished with