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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08032004CITY OF SEBASTIAN COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 3, 2004 Chmn Dill called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. and the pledge was said by ail. PRESENT: Warren Dill Damian Gilliams Joe Graham Wayne LeBeouf Louise Kautenberg (a) Sal Neglia Tom Frame Patty Jamar Andrea Coy Beth Mitchell Richard Smith (Non-Voting Ex-Officio P&Z Chairman) ALSO PRESENT: Rich Stringer, City Attorney Jan King, Manager, Growth Management Department Susan Lorusso, Secretary Joseph Barczyk, Councilman Ray Coniglio, Councilman ANNOUNCEMENTS Chmn Dill noted for the record that Mr. Bethune and Ms. Bruno are excused and Ms. Kautenberg will be voting. MINUTES MOTION by Mitchell/Neglia "1 make a motion to approve the minutes of July 21, 2004." A voice vote was taken. Motion carried unanimously. BUDGET & FINANCIAL FORECAST PRESENTATION BY SHAI FRANCIS, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE BUDGET DISCUSSION Ms. Francis discussed the balance sheet and income statement prepared by the Finance Department and made herself available to answer any questions. She referenced the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which the members received at the previous meeting. COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF AUGUST 3, 2004 Chmn Dill asked for a detail explanation of the expenditures. Ms. Francis explained that the administrative charges are 2 ~ percent of total estimated revenue as well as contract mowing services. She added that the consultant services contract is completed as of this year and the $108,000 transferred from general fund to the CRA fund for this contract will be paid back by end of this fiscal year. Chmn Dill commented that the CRA funds are for capital improvements and not maintenance. Mr. Frame commented that at some point the CRA will cease to exist and then there won't be any funds for the maintenance. He felt it should have a start up date with a projected termination date where it will transfer over to the general fund. After discussion regarding maintenance fees paid by the CRA fund, Chmn Dill said there is a question from the committee to the city council as to the appropriateness of using CRA money for regular routine maintenance items. With regard to street lighting, the committee thought that CRA funds were for the purchase of street lights but not include the electric bill for the area as well. Mr. Stringer is to bring copies of contracts for special events held in the District. Mr. Stringer advised the committee to decide on a specific project to earmark the $75,000 that will be available at the end of the fiscal year. Capital improvement projects must start within three years from time money has been earmarked. The consensus of the committee was to use funds in the CRA account and not use any of the city's general funds. Chmn Dill said he felt the CRA should participate but not be the sole source of funds for the projects as there will be a time when the CRA will be dissolved. He added that if the CRA is going to pay for an event then they should get credit for it, such as the Fourth of July presented by the City of Sebastian and CRA District. Mr. Smith asked to see what the actual cost is for an event in the District. Mr. Stringer will obtain that information and present it with the sample contracts. MOTION by Lebeouf/Gilliams "1 make a motion we recommend to the City Council that we ask them to instruct staff to give us a long-term forecast that will give us (the committee) an idea of what these expenses would look like in terms of future liability and at the same time pick a date maybe in 2005 once we have the numbers to consider a cap on these future events." During discussion it was clarified that this was for the special events, lighting and mowing expenditures in the CRA. ROLL CALL: MITCHELL no COY no GILLIAMS yes CHMN DILL no LEBEOUF yes GRAHAM no NEGLIA no KAUTENBERG no JAMAR no FRAME no The vote was 2-8. Motion failed. On behalf of the committee Chmn Dill instructed staff to investigate and report back on the mowing, as the consensus is that is not an appropriate charge for the CRA. He added a more detailed breakdown of the street lighting and have special event contracts available at the next meeting for review by the committee. Ms. Mitchell added that for COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF AUGUST 3, 2004 the events that have no contracts, a breakdown of the expenses should be made available to the committee. Mr. Stringer said thero would be approximately $75,000 that must be rolled over into a capital project that has to be established by October 1, 2004. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS DISCUSSION Ms. Mitchell referred the committee to the list of proposed capital projects on pages 39 and 40 of the CRA Plan. There was discussion about obtaining bonding or procuring a loan for capital improvements. Mr. Stringer will contact the city's financial advisor for information on the feasibility of obtaining a loan. Chmn Dill polled committee members for not more than three improvements they would like to see addressed. Parking, landscape, and underground utilities were the most important issues with the 512 triangle, signage, transportation and the band shell also mentioned. There was discussion regarding hiring a consultant to advise the committee on which projects should be focused on first. Also discussed was the possibility of obtaining loans to fund large-scale projects. Ms. Francis will return to the next meeting with information regarding loan options. PARKING DISCUSSION The committee had various opinions regarding the parking issues in the CRA District. Some preferred to utilize off-site parking for large-scale special events and transport patrons to and from the event area. Others preferred parking in the CRA District, particularly near Riverview Park. There was concern about parking for existing and future businesses in the CRA District. Mr. LeBeouf left the meeting at 8:19 P.M. DISCUSSION OF PARLIMENTARY PROCEDURES Chmn Dill requested all committee members address their comments through the chairman to facilitate accuracy in the record. SCHEDULE MEETING DATES AND TIME It was decided to meet the second Monday of each month at 6:00 P.M. beginning October 11, 2004. For the purpose of resolving the budget issues, the committee agreed to meet Monday August 9 at 6:00 P.M., Monday August 30 at 6:00 P.M. and Monday September 20 at 6:00 P.M. Items for the next meeting agenda will be Capital Improvement Projects, Staff Reports on street lighting, special events and borrowing capacity. Chmn Dill adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m. (814/04 SBL)