Book 3 Page 31821 04/06/15 2:30 P.M. MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SARASOTA COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING APRIL 6, 2015 PRESENT: Chair Willie Shaw, presiding, Vice Chair Susan Chapman, Members Suzanne Atwell, Eileen Normile, and Stan Zimmerman, and Executive Director Thomas Barwin, Attorney Robert Fournier, and Secretary Pamela Nadalini ABSENT: None The meeting of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) was called to order by Chair Shaw at 2:55 p.m. 1. APPROVAL RE: MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING OF MARCH 16, 2015 (AGENDA ITEM CRA-1) Chair Shaw noted Community Redevelopment Agency Board consensus to approve the minutes of the Special Community Rudevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting of March 16, 2015. 2. REPORT RE: POMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD'S REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 26, 2015, AND FISCAL YEAR 2015 TIF FUNDING REQUEST OF $25,000 FOR THE "WE ARE DOWNTOWN" MARKETING CAMPAIGN (CRA-2) Chief Planner Steven Stancel, Neighborhoods, Redevelopment and Special Projects Division, Neighborhood and Development Services (NDS) Department, Michael Beaumier, Chair, Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency (Downtown CRA) Advisory Board, and Norman Gollub, Downtown Economic Development Coordinator, Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce (GSCC), came before the CRA. Mr. Stancel stated that a report of the February 26, 2015, meeting of the Downtown CRA. Advisory Board and priorities for the spending of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds will be presented; that additionally the expenditure of $25,000 for a marketing campaign entitled, "We are Downtown" is recommended; that the Downtown CRA Advisory Board establishes project priorities on an annual basis and presents the recommendations to the CRA as part of the CRAS review for the budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) process; that the priorities identified in the Downtown Master Plan and subsequent studies are reviewed as part of the process; that fiscal year (FY) 2015/16 is unique as the CRA including the collection of TIF funds is scheduled to sunset in FY 2016; that due to the possible expiration date and possible limited funding to accomplish specific projects, the Downtown CRA Advisory Board chose three priorities which exemplify the necessity for the continuation of the Downtown portion of the CRA. Mr. Beaumier referred to the Agenda Request form included in the Agenda backup material identifying the three priorities unanimously identified by the Downtown CRAAdvisory Board in the following order: 1) Fruitville Road Connectivity and Streetscape Enhancements; 2) Cultural Park Improvements; and 3) Downtown Circulator Mr. Beaumier stated that the Fruitville Road corridor is important due to the large number of projects proposed in the Rosemary District; that connectivity on Fruitville Road and making the roadway pedestrian friendly are items of critical importance with the potentially large number of residential rental units being developed; that the Downtown CRA Advisory Board also firmly believes continuing to update and move forward with the Cultural Park Improvements Plan is critically important to the success of the Bayfront due to the on-going discussions involving the Bayfront 20:20 Initiative and the major opportunities available to the City in the area for improvements to the Cultural Park area; that the third priority is the Downtown Cirçulator; that the ability to keep people out of vehicles, walking or a circulator is also critically important due to the increase in the number of people, hotels, and rental units. Mr. Beaumier continued that the last item addressed is a request for a Downtown marketing campaign entitled "We are Downtown"; that the Downtown CRA Advisory Board unanimously voted to recommend the CRA approve $25,000 of TIF funds for allocation to the program; that the marketing campaign developed by the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce (GSCC), and other organizations appears to be an effective way to help Downtown merchants and organizations move forward. Mr. Gollub referred to a document included in the Agenda backup material entitled, "We Are Downtown Sarasota Marketing, and stated that a group of stakeholders began meeting in April 2014 to discuss a unified branding campaign for Downtown; that many of the current organizations do an excellent job of developing and promoting special events; however, a unified, consistent, year-round campaign promoting Downtown in the entirety did not exist; therefore, the group formulated a plan to develop a 12-month continuous marketing campaign; that would be represented annually; that the group began working with the Downtown merchant community, and referred to flyers and advertising inserts developed to promote the campaign displayed on the Chamber monitors, and stated that approximately 300,000 copies of inserts have been distributed to-date; that the flyers included contents provided and paid for by the merchants for their specific ads, but the covers and maps were paid by other organizations including the DID and the Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association (SDMA); that other components of the campaign were published in Sarasota Magazine which is published four times a year; that the GSCC developed al Banner Agreement with the Downtown Sarasota Alliance (DSA) which agreed to waive some fees; that the banners will be maintained on a year-round basis to help brand Main Street and Downtown; that the banners include reference to merchants on State Street and Lemon Avenue among others; that pledges have been received from some stakeholders for financial contributions; that the merchants have contributed about $72,000 for specific content in the flyers. Mr. Gollub continued that the next step is to work with ABC7, MySuncoast and the Sarasota Observer to create a digital component for all the Downtown organizations in order to increase exposure through an online portal to the organizations' web sites; that the $25,000 funding request is not all that significant; that the program is a public-private partnership which has been cultivated slowly during the last year; that the CRAS assistance would help to continue and expand the growth experienced; that the proposed program promotes all organizations as "We are Downtown." In response to a question from Member Zimmerman asking if 18 months remain on the CRA, Mr. Stancel stated that is correct. In response to a question from Member Zimmerman asking how critical TIF funding is to continue the program beyond the 18 month period, Mr. Gollub stated that the funding will be grown; that the hope is to capture additional funds possibly through grants or consistent sponsorships sO the proposed program can continue; that no continuous twelve-month effort existed prior to the current campaign. In response to a comment from Member Zimmerman indicating should the proposed program cease as the result of the CRA sunsetting would be a shame, Mr. Gollub stated that the thought is the proposed program can continue; that for example, the Bradenton, Florida, CRA has $240,000 in TIF funds with a staff of five people who do excellent work; that the economic impact of the Bradenton, Florida, CRAS efforts has been several million dollars; that the Delray Beach, Florida, CRA has a staff which does a significant amount of branding, promoting, and marketing through the CRA. In response to a comment from Member Zimmerman indicating the CRAS in the cities mentioned are not expiring, Mr. Gollub stated that is correct; that the requested funding will help the campaign but is not a final solution to continual funding. In response to a question from Member Atwell asking if the funding is considered "seed money, " Mr. Gollub stated that the request is further along than "seed money." Discussion ensued concerning the necessity to grow the proposed campaign and the Bradenton, Florida, "Realize Bradenton" campaign. Book 3 Page 31822 04/06/15 2:30 P.M. Book 3 Page 31823 04/06/15 2:30 P.M. In response to a comment from Member Atwell indicating past activities have been somewhat fragmented, contributions for the proposed campaign have been received from different entities and the campaign must continue, Mr. Gollub agreed. In response to a comment from Member Atwell indicating the City should give an imprimatur to the campaign, Mr. Gollub agreed. Discussion ensued concerning the implementation of a mobile application (App) to guide people to Downtown. In response to a question from Member Atwell asking if state-of-the-art applications will be included, Mr. Gollub stated yes; however, baby steps are being taken; that care must be taken to assure the maximum benefit of funding is obtained; that implementation of a mobile App may be excellent. Discussion ensued concerning the possibility of having a mobile App designed at one of the area schools and the small amount of funding being requested compared to the potential large outcome. In response to a comment from Member Atwell indicating more people may be interested once the proposed program is implemented, Mr. Gollub stated that is correct; that some organizations have indicated a possible willingness to contribute based upon the CRAS actions to be taken; that a contribution by the City could help leverage private contributions. In response to a question from Member Normile asking about the status of the Downtown Circulator, Mr. Gollub stated that the DID has been studying the Downtown Circulator, and Mr. Stancel stated that the City is in the process of completing the Transportation Mobility Plan (Mobility Plan); that as part of the Mobility Plan, a Downtown Circulator portion with some recommendation is included, to be seen in the CIP, as a proposal for a study to be conducted concerning a Downtown Circulator or a water taxi concept. In response to a comment from Member Zimmerman indicating engineering and construction funds have not been identified for Fruitville Road connectivity, the conceptual plan process would begin within the next six months, the cost is estimated at between $1 and $5 million, and the CRA is expiring in 18 months, Mr. Stancel stated that a Request for Proposals (RFP) has been issued for a Consultant to develop a Conceptual Plan for Fruitville Road with responses due by April 10, 2015; that the process of hiring the Consultant should take approximately six months; that approximately $400,000 has been proposed in the CIP for FY 2015/16 for engineering and design work; that the hope is the CRA will continue in some form, sO portions of the proposed project can be completed, or other funding will have to be determined, and Mr. Beaumier stated that TIF funds should be reallocated to Fruitville Road connectivity; that the focus should be on obtaining valuable output from TIF funding for the next 18 months; that enhancing the walkability and traffic calming of Fruitville Road is very important; that the Downtown CRA Advisory Board believes the priority of Fruitville Road connectivity should be advanced. In response to a comment from Member Zimmerman indicating the connectivity on Fruitville Road should be vastly improved and a plan will be in place, Mr. Beaumier stated that is correct. A motion was made by Member Atwell, seconded by Vice Chair Chapman, and carried by a 5-0 vote to accept the February 26, 2015, Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Advisory Board report. A motion was made by Member Atwell, seconded by Member Normile, and carried by a 5-0 vote to approve the funding request for $25,000 in Tax Incremental Funding (TIF) funds for the "We are Downtown" marketing campaign for fiscal year 2014/15 and to include a line item of $31,000 for fiscal year 2015/16 for further review and approval during the upcoming budgetary process. In response to a question from Member Zimmerman asking if the Downtown CRA Advisory Board has all the necessary authority from the CRA to proceed forward with an RFP for a Consultant in order to complete the work within the next 18 months, Mr. Stancel stated that the Consulting Contract will be returned to the CRA for approval. 3. ADJOURN Chaipss-ladjoured the meeting at 3:18 p.m. a a Givco.s WILLIE CHARLES SHAW, CHAIR ATTES Oww u. 0Oax PAMELA M. NADALINI, SECRETARY Book 3 Page 31824 04/06/15 2:30 P.M.