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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10172007SPECIALcrrvc~ ~~~~-s-r .,',~` HOME OF PELICAN tSLAND CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT VISION SHORT AND LONG TERM GOALS MINUTES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2007 - 6:00 PM CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA Mayor Coy called the Workshop to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. ROLL CALL City Council Present: Mayor Andrea Coy Vice-Mayor Sal Neglia Council Member Dale Simchick Council Member Eugene Wolff City Council Absent: Council Member AI Paternoster (excused) Staff Present' City Manager, AI Minner City Attorney, Rich Stringer City Clerk, Sally Maio 4. WORKSHOP ITEMS A. Economic Development (Chamber Letter, Draft Economic Development Plan) Mayor Coy reminded Council there can be no formal motions at a workshop. Don Wright, 720 North Fischer Circle, Sebastian, Director in the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce and member of the Economic Development Council, addressed City Council on the need for an economic development plan. He turned the presentation over to Beth Mitchell, Executive Director of the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce. City Council Workshop October 17, 2007 Page Two Ms. Mitchell said we last talked about this issue in April when Bill Fruth made a presentation to Council. She said the Chamber has submitted a proposed format for a plan (see attached), after meeting with individual members of Council. She cited page 37 of the City's 1997 Strategic Plan noting economic development is not a new issue, cited page 3 index of a draft plan, and page 8 which suggests creating a Chamber organized committee and she listed its proposed tasks. She offered the Chamber for facilitation so as not to burden City staff, suggested two Chamber members, one City staff member, and two citizens with business expertise appointed by Council, and that one individual member of Council could attend each meeting if they wanted to. Mayor opened the floor to the public. Damian Gilliams, 1623 US 1, Sebastian, said he was appalled that no one in the community cared about economic development, the City competes with private business, in 1998 people took time and effort and the plan collected dust, it took Council from April to October to get this meeting together, the agenda backup was incomplete, now we are going to start a new plan and maybe we should make the Collier Creek project an economic development project to put local people to work, people are out of work, contractors are cutting grass, and asked if we are contacting Port St. Lucie to see how they are doing it. Todd Klitenic, read from the Strategic Plan from 1997, and volunteered for the committee. Mayor Coy thanked the Chamber, noting she was a member of the Indian River County Economic Development Council. Mr. Neglia said this has been a long time coming, Mr. Gilliams hit on some good points, things were done but never really got off the ground, and we have done things with the Riverfront. He asked Ms. Mitchell whose vision statement was in the packet. Ms. Mitchell said it was crafted by Don Wright and herself. Mr. Neglia said some of what was approved was put on the back burner, the comprehensive plan has not been amended yet, the department heads were supposed to get on this and he did not think much has been done, we need to work with small businesses, and need them to come before us, that we give them a grant and they still take a year to do it. He said we have tried to maintain businesses, and some have gotten new permits and are ready to rock and roll Ms. Simchick thanked them for all the hard work, and asked if housing would be included in the economic plan. Ms. Mitchell said if the Council wants housing in there they can put it in. Ms. Simchick discussed inclusionary zoning, said the Chamber did a lot of work, expressed concern for a city committee which should meet in Chambers. She asked if this was considered a City committee and wanted to be sure it is handled the right way, she did not need the answer now. 2 City Council Workshop October 17, 2007 Page Three Ms. Mitchell said the Chamber is trying to create an environment where they can facilitate discussion, get the right people and get the job done. She recommended creating the committee, the Chamber will facilitate, will keep minutes and records. Mr. Wolff thanked the public for attending and the Chamber for their work, said perhaps the climate in these Chambers of late has not been conducive to public participation, and thanked Mr. Gilliams and Mr. Klitenic for volunteering but thought we could use the Pelican Brief to find talent that is out there, suggesting three members to provide for an alternate. He said we have to consider the choice of the members of the committee. He said as to a staff member, it must be someone committed to the committee, and be imperative that the member can take time from their duties. He said the sooner we conduct the search the more likely our chance of success. Mayor Coy said the Chamber has set some good projects and tasks, and asked for a consensus as to whether the projects and tasks list is amenable. Everyone agreed. Mayor Coy said she would like affordable housing to be a separate issue, because the plan is to increase wages, salaries and jobs. The City Manager recommended working with the Chamber to put together some economic goals, that with a Council appointee we would get into some sunshine issues so would rather see the Chamber make those appointments, and then he or the Airport Director could sit in for staff. He said he would advertise in as many venues as available. Mr. Neglia suggested someone from Growth Management rather than the Airport Director. The City Manager said due to work load, and because Growth Management is more bureaucratic, it would be more appropriate to use the Airport Director since economic development goes toward the airport and that has been our focus, but if Council would rather go with Growth Management he would assign them. Mr. Wolff said he would prefer the Airport Director and Ms. Simchick agreed if Mr. Griffin was willing. Mr. Neglia agreed the Airport Director would be fine. Ms. Mitchell said we can work with the Airport Director, and said it was their intent to get input from individual department heads as an issue relates to them, and that any staff member can sit in. The City Attorney advised if Council appoints committee members who then report to Council, it will become a sunshine board. Mayor Coy asked if we need to bless this at a regular meeting. It was decided it was best to have the Chamber appoint the citizen members. The City Attorney said the best thing would be to adopt a resolution at the next meeting supporting the process. City Council Workshop October 17, 2007 Page Four Ms. Mitchell said if Council has anyone in mind to contact the Chamber at 589-5969 or visit their website. Mr. Wolff asked how the City Manager will gauge whether this is a waste of staff time or if it is a positive meeting, and the City Manager answered that staff will report to him. B. Vision (Clerk Memo at Simchick Request, 1997 Strategic Plan and Related Documents) Mayor Coy turned the item over to Ms. Simchick. Ms. Simchick said this evolved from discussion of short and long term goals and evaluations for the City Manager and City Attorney, and advice from Ruth Sullivan as to the 1997 Strategic plan. She said she applauded the 39 people who got together in 1997, that some of the issues addressed then have been implemented, said she would like us to continue to listen to the citizens, focus efforts on achieving citizens' goals, and would like to see this continue. She said the housing elements in the comp plan are ways to address goals, would like to see community input, would like to see a Council committee with local groups and see what their needs are. She said this was a solid document and would like to see it continue. Todd Klitenic, 1274 Barber Street, Sebastian, discussed some of the issues, noting the first priority on the old plan for road maintenance still continues, like lack of jobs and drainage, there are some new hotels, no restaurants, no meeting rooms for small groups, there is Barber Street Sports Complex but nothing for seniors or for thirty and forty year olds, and recommended we could use a YMCA. Damian Gilliams, 1623, said it was great picking Joe Griffin for the Chamber committee, for the record Chamber reps already left the meeting, and he wouldn't count on them, said it would be nice to set aside CRA money to pay people to serve on the committee, there needs to be an incentive package, and wished good luck to Joe. Mr. Wolff said the previous plan does not include a solid action plan for putting ideas into place, said he is not sure if the City can take credit because we have some hotels, that after speaking with Tom Collins to replicate what he has on the riverfront would be difficult because of the permitting process. He said as a Council we need to look at what we can influence in this plan, and focus on what we can do. He said he asked Beth Mitchell what she would do to gauge success in jobs and said we may be talking increased jobs of only double digits. He said success in his mind is getting some jobs going and is interested in the list Mr. Neglia has of new businesses. Mr. Neglia read the list (see attached). 4 City Council Workshop October 17, 2007 Page Five Mayor Coy said we need to set up incentives to set up and open business. She said the key to economic development is not just jobs, but to attract jobs above the average income. Mayor Coy said the 1997 plan is timeless, and most issues are ongoing, suggested having various departments see what has been accomplished and report back to Council, then have the community comment on them. Mr. Neglia said he would like to look at what we have to do here, what we need. He said we have to get more businesses here, said potholes are an ongoing thing, noting we had pothole volunteers in the past. He said maybe we need to look at what we've done and list what we have to do. Ms. Simchick said we have elements in the comp plan that are similar to the issues in this document. She said this document was written by the citizens, suggested creation of a citizens group, and within a six month period use this document and compose something that fits into today's needs and make recommendations. Mr. Wolff concurred with Mayor Coy that this is a timeless document, and it really needs to be part of the tool of the Council to make sure we are meeting these goals and if you put 37 people together today their ideas would not be much different. He agreed with checking off what we've done on the list and move on. Mayor Coy said the former City Manager and members of council were members of this committee, said we have a difficult time getting members on our current boards, maybe we could do a priority list and get the public in here. Ms. Simchick said maybe after the comp plan we could conduct a citizen input workshop at one sitting. Mayor Coy asked which would come first. Ms. Simchick said she did not know if we can find 39 people. Mr. Neglia said we got a lot of people here because they had a vision and he cannot see another committee because we are not going to solve anything, but just need to make a list and see what we haven't done. Mayor Coy suggested a one afternoon workshop and invite the public and provide this list and they could prioritize the list and give it to the City Manager. Ms. Simchick suggested having the City Manager chop the list down and bring it back to us. Mayor Coy requested the City Manager look at the 1997 list and check off what we have done and haven't done and bring back an update report, which he said he would do before Thanksgiving and which he stated is different than a comprehensive plan. Mayor Coy called recess at 7:30 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 7:40 p.m. All members with the exception of Mr. Paternoster, who had an excused absence, were present. 5 City Council Workshop October 17, 2007 Page Six C. Short and Long Term Goals Mr. Wolff listed items he would like to have accomplished in the next two years of his term Short Term -Economic development and a plan of action -Fast tracking through permitting process -Keep Council out from micromanaging -give City Manager direction and not get bogged down in minutia He said he didn't like to set the bar too high but it is important to figure out what the City will look like in the long term. He said in 1997 it would have been hard to imagine Sebastian in the land rush it went through. Long term -Not see a change in dynamics of Sebastian Ms. Simchick Short term -Comprehensive plan update -the City Manager said the RFP for its preparation has started -Efficient Use of Government - T1 line so the public can download meeting broadcasts -Cease micromanagement and use community relations liaison for Council - a person who could report on problems to completion -Traffic areas of concern on US 1 at Walmart and Main street with high accident rates lobby for better traffic coordination Long term -Buy as much waterfront property as possible -Community Center -like to see in future Mr. Neglia Short term -Comprehensive plan completion -Get high paying jobs -Chamber has to get involved with businesses and work with City Long term -Develop airport to bring in industry -Preserve our Riverfront as a lifetime goal -CR 512 corridor - do center median -add trees as set out in Charrette -Keep quality of life in Sebastian -Update Land Development Code -make it more stringent and forceful -Education -have Indian River College provide more job training 6 City Council Workshop October 17, 2007 Page Seven Mayor Coy Short term -Economic development plan including the airport as an on going goal -short and long term -Comprehensive plan update as an on going goal -short and long term -Community liaison due to receiving many calls because people can't get through to City Hall which she attributes to having cut staff to the bone but it is affecting services and snowbirds are coming back explaining when you dial the phone it goes up to three trees and maybe we need to look at this and see if we can get one number where a person can call and can relay messages -Increase staff morale but she was not sure how, perhaps with recognition She cited an incident last Wednesday night at 11:15 p.m. a resident called her about an alligator in Easy Street park, she called the City Manager and he had Public Works staff there in the morning at the bus stop to protect children and by 1 pm the alligator was trapped and removed. Long term -Drainage -Indian River College campus in Sebastian -CRA projects - CR512 -Waterfront -Police Department and safety and not cutting to the bone so far it affects safety -Community Center -look at it and ask community if they want it -Maintain quality of life Mr. Wolff questioned the idea of a community liaison, stating he has seen volunteer use throughout the County and suggested putting together a volunteer program would be to everyone's benefit. Mayor Coy said she had touched base with the high school, to see if there was interest there and asked HR to put feelers out to see if HS students might volunteer. Mr. Neglia said eagle scouts might volunteer. Ms. Simchick said we talked about advertising and recommended this volunteer be appointed by Council as its liaison and Council can funnel their calls through the liaison. Mr. Neglia asked if we can we use the police academy people. The City Manager said we have talked about that, and Mayor Coy said the idea has some potential. Ms. Simchick said the liaison could act between Council and the City. Mayor Coy asked the City Manager to draft up something and bring it back to Council Mayor Coy opened up input from the public. 7 City Council Workshop October 17, 2007 Page Seven Todd Klitenic volunteered to be the Council liaison and noted Mr. Gilliams came up with the idea. Mayor Coy said the citizens academy was suggested by Mr. Gilliams. Damian Gilliams, 1623, gave Chief of Police credit for citizens academy, suggested Council might find a liaison for each member, waiving fees for occupational license fees this year, expediting permitting for businesses to expand noting Fellsmere is doing it, setting up a fund for businesses, said he didn't want to see Piper on my tax bill, but we have to have incentives for corporations, suggested an Economic Development Board, was waiting for the City Manager to return his calls because he has ideas to generate revenues without raising taxes. Mayor Coy said to Mr. Gilliams that he asked her to donate her salary as Mayor to help out in trying economic times, and said she would have to donate for the next ten years and it would not equal what he owes in back taxes. Mr. Gilliams yelled out that he just wrote a check for $42,000 for taxes last week and would bring her a copy. He continued to yell and she gave him warnings and asked that he be removed from the meeting. Mayor Coy asked staff to compile the list of goals and bring it back to a future council meeting as soon as possible so we can formally agree to them. Ms. Simchick announced the GFWC Junior and Womans' Clubs Haunted House is back on Main Street on the 19tH 20tH and Halloween weekend. She listed their contributions to the community. Mr. Wolff said he had received a call from a Mr. Whalen who did not leave a return number. Mayor Coy said this meeting was a pleasure and Council had a good dialogue and hoped it would continue at our meetings. 5. Being no further business, Mayor Coy adjourned the workshop at 8:32 p.m. .~.rrraroved at October 24`h Re ular City Council meeting. ndrea 8. Coy, Mayor ^ ~~ ATT~ ~ .. t v J Sally A. Maio, C -City Clerk 8 ~~ cmoF ~~~ ~~ HOME QF PELICAN ISLAND City of Sebastian Growth Management Department 1225 MAIN STREET ^ SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA 32958 TELEPHONE (772) 589-5518 ^ FAX (772) 388-8248 MEMORANDUM DATE: October 17, 2007 TO: Councilman Sal Neglia FROM: Rebecca Grohall, Directo ~_ SUBJECT: Site Plans The Growth Management Department is in the process of updating our current projects list showing projects awaiting site plan approval, plat applications, annexations and variances. The update is not complete however, I did want to provide to you a list of commercial projects currently in our office :~ . .: _ ite`'`~~~lan~reu~ei Site Plans (New and Modificationsl: Philipson Airport Storage (Major Mod) Roseland Rd. Sebastian Crossings Mini Storage (New) CR 512 Crossroad Plaza (New) CR 512 Sebastian Center Office building (modification) US 1 Advance Auto Parts Retail Store (New) CR 512 Dental Offices (New) Goodyear Tire Center (New) CR 512 Capt. Hiram's motel expansion (Mod) Indian River Dr Holiday Inn Express (New) US 1 Hyatt Commercial (New) US 1 Hyatt Assisted Living (New) US 1 Coral View Storage (New) Harrison Drive 9707 Retail Center (New) US 1 Ind. River RV (Mod) North Central Avenue Walmart Liquor Store (Mod) US 1 ~9 / ~,/l/~~YC%.~ ~~ / Page 2 Anticipated New Site Plans• Dr. Sygman medical offices (Main St) Burger King (CR 512 west of CR 510) Motel expansion for Capt. Hiram's US 1 Restaurant buildout for Underill site (Indian River dr0 -, Site plans approved (not vet under construction) Sherwin Williams Buena Vista Eyeland 1% 9 c: AI Minner, City Manager