Loading...
Immokalee CRA Advisory Board Minutes 01/28/2015 Collier County Community Redevelopment Agency IMMOKALEE CRA i The Place to Call Home! Enclosure 1 MINUTES Meeting of the Joint Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Committee, the Immokalee Lighting and Beautification MSTU Advisory Committee, and the Enterprise Zone Development Agency Board on January 28, 2015. 750 South 5th Street, Immokalee, FL A. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Mike Facundo, CRA Chair and Cherryle Thomas MSTU Chair at 8:45 AM B. Roll Call and Announcement of a Quorum. Advisory Committee/EZDA Members Present: Mike Facundo, Floyd Crews, Ski Olesky, Cristina Perez, Carrie Williams, Frank Nappo, Robert Halman, Estil Null, Martha Williams (10:00AM), Cindy Lozano, and Marvin Courtright. Advisory Committee/EZDA Members Absent/Excused: Julio Estremera, and Jim Wall. MSTU Advisory Committee Members Present: Cherryle Thomas,Norma Garcia, Andrea Halman, and Lucy Ortiz. MSTU Advisory Committee Members Absent/Excused: Bill Deyo Others Present: Pam Brown, Armando Yzaguirre, Lisa Koehler, Maria Perez, Michele Mosca, Tom Taylor, Gary Haim, Amy Patterson, Laurie Beard, Byran Fluech, David Torres, Juan Gomez, and Elizabeth Lazzara. Staff: Brad Muckel, Christie Betancourt, and James Sainvilus. C. Introductions. The board members present and members of the public introduced themselves. D. Announcements. 1. NCDA Conference: Audrey Nelson Award Ceremony 1/23/2015 Staff announced that the First Street Plaza: Immokalee Zocalo was presented an award in Washington DC on January 23, 2015. In attendance to accept the award were CRA staff member Bradley Muckel, David Corban our design consultant, and Kristi Sontag, and Kim Grant from Collier County Community and Human Services attended the ceremony. This is the fourth award the plaza has received. 2. BCC Chair, Commissioner Nance—Vice Chair—Commissioner Fiala Staff announced that the Board of County Commissioners has a new Chair and Vice Chair. Commissioner Nance is the Chair and Commissioner Fiala is the Vice-Chair. 3. CRA Chair, Commissioner Fiala—Vice Chair Penny Taylor Advisory Boards Staff announced that the Community Redevelopment Agency Governing board has reelected Commissioner Fiala as Chair and appointed Commissioner Taylor as the Vice Chair. 4. 2015 CRA Annual Workshop—April 7, 2015, 1pm, BCC Board room Staff announced that the CRA Annual workshop would be held on April 7, 2015 at the BCC Chambers at 1:00 PM. Details of the meeting setup/format will be given at a future date. 5. LEED Training—Miami 1/21 & 1/22/2015 Staff announced that Bradley Muckel attended Leed Training in Miami on January 21 & 22, 2015. 1 6. Robert Halman Retirement—OF/IFAS Extension office Staff announced that Mr. Robert Halman had retired from the University of Florida Extension office and that Mr. Bryan Fluech would be taking his place as the Ex- Officio. He said he would think about applying as a Resident in the Zone since the board still has one vacancy. E. Adoption of Agenda. Enclosure 13 was added to Agenda items P.3.ii. Architect Report Action: Mr. Ski Olesky made a motion to adopt the Agenda with added Enclosure 13. Mr. Estil Null seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote.10-0. F. Communications. 1. Public Meeting Notice: November Meeting 2. Advisory Board contact list 3. Gulfshore Business Magazine Articles 4. NCDA Conference; Audrey Nelson Award Powerpoint 5. Collier County SHIP HOME Rehabilitation Program Staff listed all the items that were in the communications folder. The Public Notices for January 28th and 30th Meeting, the contact list for the advisory board members, 5 articles from Gulfshore Business Magazine one of them listing Southwest Florida's Top Attractions and the Seminole Casino in Immokalee as the top attractions with 2,028,968 people visiting the casino in 2014. The powerpoint presentation presented at the award ceremony in Washington DC, and the complete application and Flyer for SHIP HOME Rehab program the CRA is assisting Collier County Community& Human Services with. An Informational Session will be held on February 5, 2105 at the Careersource office here at 6:00 PM. G. Approval of Minutes. 1. Approval of Minutes for the December 17, 2014 CRA Advisory Committee Meeting. Action: Mr. Ski Olesky made a motion to approve the minutes for the December 17, 2014 CRA Advisory Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Frank Nappo and the minutes were approved by unanimous vote. 10-0. 2. Approval of Minutes for the November 19, 2014 Joint EZDA Advisory Committee Meeting. Action: Mr. Ski Olesky made a motion to approve the minutes for the November 19, 2014 Joint EZDA Advisory Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Frank Nappo and the minutes were approved by unanimous vote. 10-0. 3. Approval of Minutes for the November 19, 2014 Joint MSTU Advisory Committee Meeting. Action: Ms. Lucy Ortiz made a motion to approve the minutes for the November 19, 2014 Joint MSTU Advisory Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms.Andrea Halman and the minutes were approved by unanimous vote. 4-0. H. BCC Agenda Items for January, 2015. 1. Immokalee CRA Sweat Equity Grant Program—Update Staff informed board that this item would go to the BCC on the summary agenda on Tuesday, February 10, 2015. I. BCC Agenda Items for March 2015. 1. 2014 CRA Annual Report Staff informed the board that the 2014 Annual Report will go before the board on March 10, 2015. Staff will bring a draft Annual Report to the next board meeting. 2 Collier County Community Redevelopment Agency IMMOKALEE CRA Enclosure 1 i The Place to Call Home! J. Red Flag Item 1. Floyd Crews: Immokalee Property Tax Assessments Mr. Crews would like to have someone from the Collier County Property Appraiser's office attend out advisory board meeting and explain to us why the property value is still listed so low. This is hurting the community. He would like for an assessment be done on all the community of Immokalee. An appraisal for the town should be a requirement of the counties appraiser's office. Action: Mr. Frank Nappo made a motion to ask a representative from the Collier County Property Appraiser's office attend an Immokalee CRA/EZDA meeting to address this matter. The motion was seconded by Mr. Estil Null and the motion was approved by unanimous vote. 10-0. 2. Floyd Crews: Esperanza Place—Empowerment Alliance of SW Florida Mr. Crews wanted to know the status of Esperanza Place. He heard that they are selling the property. Where did our money go? Do we have claim to the property? What does our agreement say? Empowerment Alliance of Southwest Florida, Inc. was awarded $300,000 for the project infrastructure improvements. The property has been sold to a new developer. Staff reviewed the agreement with Mr. Crews and the advisory board and stated that Empowerment Alliance followed all the terms and conditions of the CRA agreement. Staff will follow up with the new owner of the property to see if they plan to do what was intended to be built on the property which was 60 unit homeownership affordable housing development. 3. Façade Grant Staff informed board that Mr. Jack Johnson from Jack & Ann's Feed Supply came to see Floyd Crews and has voiced his opinion on the CRA not helping his business with a Façade Grant or any other assistance with his business. Staff informed board that we made several attempts to assist Mr. Johnson with a Façade Grant and with a Brownfield designation on his property. Staff would like to have Mr. Johnson apply for a future grant once funding is available. Staff also announced that they will be applying for a CDBG grant for future commercial façade improvement funding. K. CRA New Business. 1. CRA's The Basics—Presentation Staff announced that the full presentation was provided to the CRA board at the December meeting for review. Since we have a lot of items on this agenda would you like to table this to the next meeting or would you like to discuss certain items in the powerpoint presentation. Carrie Williams suggested we review the presentation in detail at the CRA Annual Operational Workshop. 2. FSU School of Medicine Partnership Staff informed the board that Mr. Javier Rosado from Florida State University School of Medicine wants to partner up with the CRA to do a nutritional food study at our local grocery stores. Ms. Rosado wants the CRA to provide the contact information from the grocery stores and make the initial contact. More information will be relayed once received by Mr. Rosado. 3 Collier CAT Bus TDP Update Committee Staff provided board with Enclosure 4 a general comment card form for the Collier Area Transit Development Plan. If you would like to see more shelters, stops, and route changes in Immokalee please fill out comment card form and return it no later than March 2, 2015 to pwhittenAtindaleoliver.com. Board members would like for the bus stop located at the Goodwill on 15th Street be repaired. The bus stop area was damaged from a fire. 3. Ciclovia Immokalee Event Staff informed the board that the first Ciclovia event will be held on Saturday 2/7/15 at the Immokalee Community Park area from 9AM — 2PM. Portions of 1st St. and Roberts Ave will be closed off for the event. CRA staff will be attending the other two dates on March 7th and April 4th and will be handing out helmets. TIME CERTAIN 10:00 A.M.AGENDA ITEM:N.2. CRA Old Business—Arrowhead PUD 2. Arrowhead PUD—Presentation Staff provided board with Enclosure 8 which was a copy of the presentation provided by David Torres, Tom Taylor, and Gary Haim from Arrowhead Reserve at Lake Trafford Property Owner's Association, Inc. A brief history was provided by Mr. Torres regarding Arrowhead Reserve at Lake Trafford Property Owner's Association, Inc. which is the homeowner's association serving the Arrowhead Reserve subdivision in Immokalee, FL. One of Immokalee's newest subdivisions, Arrowhead Reserve is approved for 1,245 homes and 15 acres of commercial uses. It was developed by MDG Capital Corporation but was affected and unfinished after the recent recession. A new non-developer board has taken control of the association and seeks to improve the premises and encourage continued construction in the community. The Property Owner's Association request from CRA; Arrowhead Reserve at Lake Trafford POA, Inc seeks help form the CRA in the completion of offsite improvements committed to by the original developer of Arrowhead Reserve. Developer was foreclosed out of all property in the community and has no involvement at this time. Advantages to the Immokalee CRA: Arrowhead Reserve is fully zoned for its intended uses. A work plan for these outstanding commitments would bring zoning to compliance which would allow for new construction New construction would increase values within the CRA and provide additional income to the CRA. Mr. Torres also reviewed estimates they received following discussion with Collier County staff. Improvement#1 Turn Lane on Carson Road and signalization adjustments $200,000 Improvement#2 Sidewalk replacement on Lake Trafford Road $300,000 Design $50,000 CEI at 10% of Construction costs. $50,000 Contingency at 10% of Construction costs $50,000 Total $650,000 The Association will discuss with larger property owners in the community about a potential contribution. 4 Collier County Community Redevelopment Agency IMMOKALEE CRA i The Place to Call Hoe! Enclosure 1 Home Mr. David Tones is asking board today for a letter of support stating that they support this association and will work with owners to get project back in compliance with requirements. After a lengthy discussion the CRA advisory board agreed to send a letter of support to the county for Arrowhead Reserve at Lake Trafford Property Owner's Association, Inc. Action: Ms. Carrie Williams made a motion requesting that the CRA send a letter of support to the county supporting the Arrowhead Reserve at Lake Trafford Property Owner's Association, Inc. to allow the owner's a three year extension to get the project back in compliance with the requirements. The motion was seconded by Ms. Cindy Lozano and the motion was approved by a 10-1 vote with Floyd Crews voting against the motion. L. EZDA New Business. 1. 2014 New Businesses in Immokalee Staff provided board with Enclosure 5 which is a listing on all the new businesses or business expansion during 2014 in Immokalee. New Businesses or Business expansions during 2014 in Immokalee: 1. Aviva Pizza and Wings 2. Paralegal &Notary Multiservices 3. Subway 4. Tienda Guatemala 5. Family Dollar 6. El Cubano 7. China Chef Restaurant 8. Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union 9. Jorge De La Mar, PA 10. Eye Center of Florida—David C. Brown Realty 11. Dr. Puerto 12. Mr. Fix It 13. 5 Star Lounge 14. Toy's Auto Repair LLC Businesses being constructed and slated to open in 2015 in Immokalee: 1. Tacobell on 15th Street(SR29) 2. Family Dollar on 15th Street (SR29) 3. Pharmacy on Main Street 4. Caribbean Restaurant on Alachua Street 5. Yogurt Shop on Main Street (next to Subway) 6. Casino Hotel on 1st Street on Seminole Tribe property 2. Land Available Staff provided board with Enclosure 6 which is a draft Immokalee CRA Properties Available list of Land in the Immokalee CRA boundary that is for Sale/or for Lease. In the upcoming months staff will compile a list of all the properties available in Immokalee. The enclosure provided only had property available on 1st Street as a sample of the format. After discussion board would like for staff to include owner's asking price. 5 3. Immokalee Tax Collector—Occupational License List Staff provided board with Enclosure 7 which was tabled from the November agenda since the Enterprise Zone Development Board didn't have a quorum in December. The list provided was all the business owners from Immokalee who received business licenses for the month of October. Staff will continue to provide list to board on a quarterly basis. Cherryle Thomas the MSTU Chair items: M. MSTU New Business. 1. Entry Monuments Staff discussed entry monuments options with the CRA/EZDA and MSTU boards. The MSTU board would like to have monuments on both entry ways into Immokalee. 2. Banners Staff and A&M Property maintenance discussed banner design and types with boards. After discussion the MSTU board would like to install Christmas and Immokalee Banners for next year. Banner criteria for the Immokalee banners would be up to public and board input. We would like to advertise for suggestions in the Immokalee Bulletin and on our webpage. Banner poles will need to be measured and labeled so banners will fit correctly on each pole. N. CRA Old Business. 1. Land Exchange 9th Street—Save A Lot Staff informed board that they will be meeting with Save A Lot representatives to discuss options for development. The advisory board was notified that it would be publically noticed and they were invited to the meeting. The Board had a brief discussion on the status of the land swap. 2. Arrowhead PUD—Presentation Item was discussed time certain 10:00AM. 3. CRA Project Manager Report i. Drainage and Sidewalk Improvements Projects a. Immokalee Drive Project b. Colorado Avenue Project Staff provided board with an update on the two Stormwater projects. O. EZDA Old Business. None. Cherryle Thomas the MSTU Chair items: P. MSTU Old Business. 1. Budget Report Staff provided boards with copies of Budget Report, PO report and Expenditure report for boards review. i. Current Budget ii. PO Report iii. Expenditures 2. MSTU Project Manager i. First Street Plaza Cherryle Thomas announced that Mr. Tony Alves from the Seminole Casino and Hotel Immokalee wanted to be involved in the next Christmas Tree Lighting event. 6 Collier County Community Redevelopment Agency IMMOKALEE CRA I The Place to Coll Home l Enclosure 1 Project Manager, James Sainvilus informed all that he is already using lessons learned from last year to increase our 2015 success rate. Our MSTU Chair suggested that Mr. Alves attend one of the MSTU Meetings to discuss and share your input on the Christmas Holiday Decors at the Zocalo. (Looking for a perfect look). We are planning on having an artificial tree that we could add sections to every year to increase its height without buying a new tree each year, starting at 18ft or have a 24 foot tall fully decorated artificial tree for Christmas tree lighting every year. At our June 24, 2015 meeting, the MSTU Advisory Board would like to have a final draft plan for at least this year's Christmas Holiday in the Plaza. We will have our 2014' list of pros and cons and a proposed plan for three years to work with. This will give us 5 months to prepare. 2015 Lighting Ceremony proposed dates 1st week of December- December 4th or 5th...Friday or Saturday. "Turning the Lights on for the Holidays." ii. Main Street Improvements Project Manager gave board an update on the Main Street Median construction project across the street from Lipman's packing house. The construction is finished we are waiting on FDOT final inspection. iii. General Street Lighting Report Staff provided the board with an overview of General Street Lighting. John Miller from Collier County Traffic Operations will attend the next MSTU meeting to talk about LED Lighting. Board would like to see more colored lighted decorations and other colored items added to the poles for next year. 3. Contractor Reports i. Maintenance Report Staff reviewed Enclosure 12 which is the maintenance report provided by A&M Property Maintenance. ii. Landscape Architect Report Richard Tindell from GWS (Green Works Studios) provided boards with Enclosure 13 and reviewed each section with the boards. He said that at the beginning of 2105 the MSTU maintenance areas appear in the best condition he has observed. Routine maintenance work has been performed. Site is clean and in good condition. Over full trash containers continue to be a problem but well controlled in December and January. Main Street planting remains on hold. New park is beginning to show weed growth. Suggestions remain: — Add engineer cloth over large drains in the shell mulch areas to help keep shells out of system. — Add flags to tree staking guy wires and lower stakes to below grade to reduce trip hazards. Suggest more red be added to Holiday decoration next year. 7 4. Code Enforcement—update Ms. Cristina Perez gave board an update on community effort code enforcement with doing with the businesses in Immokalee. She also informed board that the Next Community Cleanup will be held on Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 7:00 AM at the vacant property across from the CRA Ninth Street Property. We will also try to coordinate operation Medicine Cabinet. Ms. Perez updated the board on the McCrory's noncompliance issues. She announced that they will be going to Special Magistrate Business hearing again on February 6, 2015 at 9:00 AM. They have been imposed fines at $250 per day since November 4, 2014 and have a civil penalty of$500. Q. Citizen Comments: Ms. Elizabeth Lazzara from Habitat for Humanity introduced herself to all. She wanted to inform all that Habitat for Humanity has been providing residents of Immokalee with housing. R. Next Meeting Date: CRA & EZDA Meeting will meet on February 18, 2015 at 8:30 AM and the Immokalee Lighting and Beautification MSTU will meet on February 25, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. S. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 11: 56 AM 8 r Immokalee Lighting and Beautification MSTU j) Irnmokalee Certification of Minutes Approval Form Prepared by: Approved by: '--4\ '7 / Cherr l Thomas, Chairman radle uckel,Operations Manager Immokalee Lighting and Beautification MSTU Liaison These Minutes for the January 28, 2015, MSTU Advisory Committee Meeting were approved by the MSTU Advisory Committee on February 25,2015 as presented. * The next MSTU Advisory Committee meeting will be held March 25, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. at the Immokalee CRA office located at 750 South 5`"Street,Immokalee,FL.,34142. All meetings will be publicly noticed in the W. Harmon Turner Building (Building F), posted at the Immokalee Public Library and provided to the County Public Information Department for distribution. Please call Christie Betancourt, Immokalee CRA, at 239-867-0025 for additional information. In accordance with the American with Disabilities Act, persons needing assistance to participate in any of these proceedings should contact Christie Betancourt, Administrative Assistant, at least 48 hours before the meeting. The public should be advised that members of the MSTU Lighting and Beautification Advisory Committee may also be members of other Boards and Committees. In this regard,matters coming before the Advisory Committee may come before one or more of the referenced Board and Committees from time to time.