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Immokalee CRA Minutes 01/20/2021 Enclosure 1 1 MINUTES Meeting of the Immokalee Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Committee on January 20, 2021. The Advisory board members, staff, and public appeared virtually and in person. Hybrid Remote Public Meeting Immokalee CRA Office 750 South 5th Street, Suite C Immokalee, FL 34142 A. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Dr. Frank Nappo, CRA Chair at 9:07 A.M. B. Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer Dr. Frank Nappo, CRA Chair, led the Pledge of Allegiance and Pastor Rick Heers opened with prayer. C. Roll Call and Announcement of a Quorum. Christie Betancourt opened roll call. A quorum was announced for the CRA board. CRA Advisory Committee Members Present: Dr. Frank Nappo, Patricia “Anne” Goodnight, Andrea Halman, Edward “Ski” Olesky, and Yvar Pierre. CRA Advisory Committee Members Present via Zoom: Mark Lemke. CRA Advisory Committee Members Absent/Excused: Michael “Mike” Facundo, Estil Null, Francisco “Frank” Leon. Others Present: Pastor Richard Heers and Jonas Mervilus Staff: Debrah Forester, Christie Betancourt, Yvonne Blair, and Monica Acosta. Other Present via Zoom: Silvia Puente, Victoria Peters, Dottie Cook, Mark Beland, Brent Trout, Lupita Vazquez Reyes, Alberto Estrada, Pam Brown, Dr. Arthur Boyer, David Turrubiartez Jr., and William “Bill” McDaniel. Action: Mr. Ski Olesky made a motion to allow board members on Zoom the ability to vote. Ms. Anne Goodnight seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 5-0. D. Approval of Agenda. Staff presented agenda to the board for approval. Action: Ms. Andrea Halman made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Ms. Anne Goodnight seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 6-0. E. Approval of Consent Agenda. 1. Minutes i. Joint CRA & MSTU Committee Meeting for November 18, 2020 (Enclosure 1) 2. Budget Reports (Enclosure 2) 3. Community Meetings (Enclosure 3) 24.B.3 Packet Pg. 444 Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021) Enclosure 1 2 4. CRA & MSTU Advisory Board Meeting 2021 Calendar (Enclosure 4) Staff presented the board with the November 18, 2020 Joint CRA & MSTU Meeting Minutes, Budgets, Upcoming Meetings, and the 2021 CRA & MSTU Meeting Calendar. Staff explained that the meetings for November and December of 2021 will be optional, they will be listed as Joint Meeting for now, if there is something on the agenda the meeting will be held. If there isn’t an item for the agenda, then it will be cancelled. Action: Ms. Anne Goodnight made a motion to approve the amended Consent Agenda as presented. Mr. Ski Olesky seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 6-0. F. Announcements. 1. Communications Folder Staff reviewed the communications folder with the board and members of the public. The folder contained the public notice for this meeting, a copy of the FDOT Public Hearing for the Five-Year Work Program, and the Winter addition for the Friends of the River of Grass Greenway Newsletter. 2. Public Comment speaker slips CRA staff reiterated the public 3-minute speaker slip policy. The board will give more time if they feel it necessary. 3. Budget & Work Plan Workshop – February 17, 2021 @ 9:00 Staff announced that the Budget & Work Plan Workshop has been set for February 17, 2021. Board members and public are asked to attend and participate. 4. Immokalee Lighting and Beautification MSTU board vacancies Staff announced that the Immokalee Lighting and Beautification MSTU board currently has two vacancies. There are currently five applicants and recommendations will be made at the next MSTU meeting scheduled for January 27, 2021. G. CRA New Business 1. Nomination for Chair and Vice-Chair Staff announced that it was time for the boards to nominate Chair and Vice-Chair for the upcoming year. Nominations for CRA Chair and Vice-Chair began. Ms. Anne Goodnight made a nomination to appoint Frank Nappo as Chair. Mr. Ski Olesky seconded the nomination. Mr. Frank Nappo made a nomination to appoint Anne Goodnight as Vice-Chair. Ms. Andrea Halman seconded the nomination. Action: Ms. Anne Goodnight made a motion to appoint Dr. Frank Nappo as CRA Chair. Mr. Ski Olesky seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 5-0. Action: Dr. Frank Nappo made a motion to appoint Anne Goodnight as CRA Vice-Chair. Ms. Andrea Halman seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 5-0. 2. Road Maintenance – Repair Proposals Ms. Debrah Forester, CRA Director, provided an update. Road maintenance did an assessment of some private roads that need repair. 24.B.3 Packet Pg. 445 Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021) Enclosure 1 3 This would help with emergency services being able to access that part of the community. The total repairs would cost $15,000. Staff is asking that the CRA and MSTU boards split the cost in order to help with the repairs. The roads in question are already a part of the MSTU and CRA boundary. Commissioner William “Bill” McDaniel asks that the board table this discussion until the legal department can get involved. He cannot support the way this is being presented. He knows that the roads need to be fixed but the expense should not fall on all of the residents of Immokalee when they are private access roads. The legalities of spending public funds on private property need to be addressed first. He brought forward a resolution last year to create a Collier County MSTU for all of the people who own land or access their property via private road. This would have cost about $50 per year and all involved would pay into the fund and it was specified that first responders would give the road prioritization and those roads would be brought up to standard that the ambulance, the lowest vehicle, could go through. After about a two to three-year period there would be sufficient funds to have the private roads elevated to standard including the ones being presented here today. The resolution failed 3 to 2, but there is a new Commissioner. The proposal was reviewed by the county attorney and met all of the requirements. Ms. Anne Goodnight, CRA Vice-Chair, agreed with Commissioner McDaniel. There are several roads that need repair, but the owners don’t want to turn the road over to the county. The owners want it fixed but they don’t want to spend their money only to have the county take it over. Ms. Debrah Forester thinks that bringing that resolution forward again would be good. The goal here is to make sure that the roads are adequate enough to get emergency services to all the community members. Ms. Andrea Halman stated that those homeowners with private roads should be responsible for fixing their road. Ms. Yvar Pierre wanted to know if there is a list of the people who own the roads so that they could be held responsible for taking care of the road. Dr. Frank Nappo asked if Commissioner McDaniel needed a letter of support for the Collier County MSTU. Commissioner McDaniel asked that he be given some time to go over the resolution with staff and bring it back next month to go over it with both boards. The original resolution was developed by the County Attorney. Action: Ms. Anne Goodnight made a motion to table the item. Mr. Ski Olesky seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 6-0. 24.B.3 Packet Pg. 446 Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021) Enclosure 1 4 H. CRA Old Business 1. TIGER Grant Update Ms. Debrah Forester gave a brief update to the board. Staff has been working with the TIGER grant people to give them feedback as to what is needed in that area. Part of the grant is a requirement to have a public meeting to present their findings. At next month’s joint CRA & MSTU meeting they will present their preliminary design work and it will be a public comment for them as part of meeting. 2. Redevelopment Plan Update Staff gave a brief update to the board. Johnson Engineering has 485 days to complete this project. This project is slated to be completed by March of 2022. In order to get public input, there will be smaller zoom meetings held and a possible outside event. This will be a plan for the next 30 years but also noting that about every five years or so the plan will need to be updated. I. Staff Reports 1. Operations Manager Report (Enclosure 5) Ms. Christie Betancourt reviewed the operations manager report, enclosure 5. Staff has had recent requests that better lighting needs to be put in on Lake Trafford Road. After a meeting with the county, staff was told that the grant is specific to sidewalks and lighting is not included. Currently there are LCEC poles but for the walking path not for the road. There will need to be a lighting justification study to see how many lights are needed and where the placement will be. The issue being timing, the addition of sidewalks to this area is an FDOT project and Stormwater will be involved. If staff moves forward with putting in lighting it may have to be removed or dug up for Stormwater. Working with FDOT to see about maybe putting in conduits when their project gets started would be a better option. Staff is hoping to get lighting as part of design with future projects, then CDBG grants could be a way to pay for the installation of the lighting. Ms. Victoria Peters, FDOT, stated that when projects have been vetted through the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) there is a chance to add safety features like lighting while the project is still in design. If it is an issue of funding, there could be a possibility that funds could be available if the MPO board and Anne Mclaughlin approve the addition. This would have to be in the year of construction or design and if funds are available. She asks that staff get with her to try and see if this is an option for this project. Mr. Alberto Estrada, community member, proposes the lighting be addressed. His brother was recently in an accident because of improper lighting. He feels that the streets are not safe for all of the people that live in that vicinity. Ms. Anne Goodnight has concerns about the non-profit organizations that are building in Immokalee, she is in favor of the new buildings going up and new housing developments but non- profit organizations do not pay ad-valorem taxes so the residents of Immokalee will be paying for emergency services for all of these developments. Dr. Frank Nappo asked Commissioner McDaniel if there is a way for non-profits to pay into emergency services if they are not going to pay ad-valorem taxes. 24.B.3 Packet Pg. 447 Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021) Enclosure 1 5 Commissioner McDaniel is meeting with Fire Chief Choate today to speak about the inequity of such organizations not paying into the emergency services part of the ad -valorem taxes. There is no quick fix. Dr. Frank Nappo would like to work with Commissioner to get this topic addressed. There are a lot of developments going in, but they are all non-profits and so the taxes that would help with emergency services will not be collected. There has to be a way to have those organizations pay an initial fee and then a yearly one even if just for emergency services. 2. Project Manager Report (Enclosure 6) Ms. Yvonne Blair reviewed the project manager report, enclosure 6. Coastal Concrete is moving along with the project on Carver and 5th. The welcome sign is on its way to being completed. The FDOT Main Street Project is at 96% in completion. Ms. Andrea Halman questioned if anything was being done about the lighting outages. It is extremely dark on main street when the lighting isn’t working. Staff is working in coordination with the Sherriff’s department to make sure that any issues are being addressed through 311 to ensure that all agencies are being made aware of the outages. Ms. Lupita Vasquez Reyes wanted to see if there was a specific person to contact as to the clean- up after projects are being completed, specifically the Main Street Project being done now by FDOT. She has utilized 311 and sent in pictures. Ms. Yvonne Blair stated that she would bring that up at the next Main Street Project meeting. J. Other Agencies 1. Code Enforcement update (Enclosure 7) Staff reviewed the Code Enforcement update, enclosure 7. The removal of the homeless camp on South 4th Street. Mr. Jonas Mervilus asked if there was a program for the homeless. He would like to help fund it if there is. 2. FDOT updates (Enclosure 8) Ms. Victoria Peters addressed the board with updates on enclosure 8. She will have a construction timeline for the SR29 and Westclox signal. FDOT has come out with a tentative five-year work program. The first project on that list is for Immokalee, the title is Immokalee City Sidewalks, the design will start in FY22 with construction in FY24 and will be six-foot sidewalks in various locations. This will be presented at the February MPO meeting. Mr. Jonas Mervilus asked about the roundabout that is to be put in at SR29 and Westclox. 24.B.3 Packet Pg. 448 Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021) Enclosure 1 6 Ms. Victoria Peters stated that it is in design, “in design” means the treatment of the intersection. Right now, they will be installing a full traffic signal, but they are looking at a roundabout as a possibility for safety reasons. Ms. Lupita Vasquez asked through chat if Victoria can be contacted for public feedback in regard to the February 12th meeting. Ms. Victoria Peters stated that if any public feedback is given at any meeting, she will respond or will get the information back to whomever is needing answers to any of their projects. Ms. Pam Brown stated that she is on the citizens advisory committee under the MPO board. If there any concerns from the public, she can also take those concerns back to her committee as well. She would also like to see if another public meeting can be held to discuss the potential Westclox roundabout. 3.Collier EDO/Immokalee Culinary Accelerator No update 4.Other Agency Ms. Silvia Puente announced that there is a vacancy at the Library. The job will be posted until the 28th, it is full time position with benefits. Hours are still Monday through Friday from 10 A.M. until 5 P.M. Mr. Jonas Mervilus asked if there are issues with computer access. He has access to 200 laptops that can be given away. Ms. Silvia Puente responded that to her understanding all children that attend school have been issued a laptop. She does not know of any issues with computer access at this time. The issue she knows of is the Wi-Fi access. The library tries to accommodate workspace for those students that come in because their Wi-Fi is down at home. Ms. Christie Betancourt suggested laptops he coordinate issuing laptops to students in need during summertime because the students turn in the school laptops when school is out. Ms. Andrea Halman asked the Commissioner has had an update about the Wi-Fi issue in Immokalee. Commissioner McDaniel responded that the School District had an initiative to provide boosting off of the school owned buildings and they were going to try to incorporate boosting with the government owned buildings. K.Citizens Comments. No Citizens Comments L.Next Meeting Date. M.Adjournment. Joint CRA MSTU will next meet on February 24, 2021 at 9:00 A.M. at CareerSource SWFL., Conference Room 1. Meeting Adjourned @ 11:21 A.M. 24.B.3 Packet Pg. 449 Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021) 09:07:14 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : Good morning, everyone! 09:24:04 From william mcdaniel : speak into the mikes please 09:25:00 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : For those of us on Zoom, can we identify who the speakers are? 09:26:05 From Monica Acosta : currently speaking is CRA Director Debrah Forester 09:26:24 From william mcdaniel : call on your favorite commissioner plz 09:26:24 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : Thank you Monica. So helpful! 09:38:48 From Monica Acosta : Board Member Anne Goodnight 09:39:44 From Monica Acosta : Debrah Forester 09:43:31 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : who"s speaking? 09:43:58 From Monica Acosta : Board Member Andrea Halman 09:44:32 From Monica Acosta : Board Member Yvar Pierre 09:44:46 From Monica Acosta : Board Member Anne Goodnight 09:45:53 From Monica Acosta : Andrea Halman 09:46:40 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : I think it might be important to see the county attorney's review/approval of what McDaniel proposed. 09:46:41 From Monica Acosta : Yvar Pierre 09:47:35 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : for equity purposes 09:51:12 From Monica Acosta : Debrah Forester 09:55:12 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : town hall type events are highly welcomed and needed 09:58:13 From alberto estrada : we need lighting ASAP 10:00:12 From Victoria Peters : May I please add something to Deb's report? 10:01:10 From alberto estrada : what’s the point of better side walk’s if it’s too dark to walk on early in the morning or at night 10:01:21 From alberto estrada : it’s not safe 10:01:47 From alberto estrada : can I speak 10:02:05 From Monica Acosta : give us one moment 10:02:09 From Monica Acosta : you will be called upon 10:02:14 From Monica Acosta : and you will have 3 minutes 10:03:11 From alberto estrada : thank you 24.B.3 Packet Pg. 450 Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021) 10:06:52 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : what is NPO? 10:09:39 From Monica Acosta : MPO, Metropolitan Planning Organization 10:09:53 From william mcdaniel : It's MPO, Metropolitan Planning Organization 10:10:45 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : thank you Albert 10:17:49 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : million dollae non profits 10:21:56 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : please continue to identify yourself before speaking if you are off camera 10:24:27 From alberto estrada : is there a way we can know if lighting will be added? and if so when? 10:24:55 From Monica Acosta : We can update you as we get information 10:25:39 From alberto estrada : thanks again 10:25:50 From Monica Acosta : You're welcome 10:27:06 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : please continue to speak into the mic 10:27:26 From Monica Acosta : Can you not hear Yvonne? 10:27:52 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : she may have not been speaking up. 10:28:01 From Monica Acosta : ok 10:33:20 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes to Monica Acosta(Privately) : Will there be public comments on this current overview of main street projects and trash/maintenance? 10:37:18 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes to Monica Acosta(Privately) : Thank you Monica. 10:37:31 From Pam Brown : she is sounding muffled. 10:37:43 From Monica Acosta to Lupita Vazquez Reyes(Privately) : ok 10:37:50 From Monica Acosta : ok 10:38:08 From Pam Brown : who is speaking 10:38:18 From Monica Acosta : Project Manager Yvonne Blair 10:42:27 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes to Monica Acosta(Privately) : Come out to 208 Boston Ave on Friday afternoons to speak to most of those homeless, they are our pantry clients. This may give some insight as to the services and needs. Of course they may also be able to answer what their challenges are for housing. 10:47:52 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : I think its an issue of physically present speakers 10:49:39 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : Question for Mrs. Victoria Peters - Could we contact you for specific areas of public feedback that FDOT is looking for? (In regards to the meeting on Feb12th.) 24.B.3 Packet Pg. 451 Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021) 11:05:38 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : llscovr@gmail.com 11:07:19 From Victoria Peters : Victoria fr/FDOT info: victoria.peters@dot.state.fl.us or call: (239) 872-5904 11:15:06 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : Key areas and building like McDaniel mentioned 11:15:14 From Lupita Vazquez Reyes : **buildings 24.B.3 Packet Pg. 452 Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021) 24.B.3Packet Pg. 453Attachment: CRA Meeting Minutes - January 20, 2021 (15141 : Immokalee CRA Advisory Board - February 24, 2021)