Proctor – Tallahassee Reports

CRA Workshop Turns into Frenchtown Redevelopment Discussion

Staff — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 01:37:02 +0000

The CRA Workshop, that was initiated by some Board member concerns about about the appropriate focus of the CRA, turned into a discussion about redevelopment projects for Frenchtown. And some Board members were clearly caught off guard. County Commissioner Kristin Dozier said that “I thought it would be a different process. We did not agree to this process in advance.” City Commissioner Nancy Miller said she “was not given a heads up about the process.” In lieu of addressing the broad goals of the CRA, the workshop, designed by CRA staff, included a paid facilitator and a list of 37 priorities submitted by Board members before the meeting. The goal was for the Board members to narrow the list down to 5 priorities – it never happened. See list of priorities here. Instead, Board members made fun of the facilitator rules on debate and interaction with each other, and at times, simply ignored the rigid format designed to deliver results. Instead, the elected officials did what they do best, talk about their ideas, and that made for an interesting meeting. Commissioner Dozier said that “we need a better assessment of the annual impact of the CRA.” She said the CRA focus should be ” to create conditions that promote private sector development.” In contrast, City Commissioner and Mayoral candidate Andrew Gillum said “my approach is more expansive than the past CRA approach.” For Commissioner Gillum, the CRA should be involved in social services, transportation, education and the health of the community. County Commissioner Bill Proctor said that ” we should not invest in preserving what is going on in Frenchtown and call it culture – because it is not!” City Commissioner Scott Maddox, whose concern for the expansive role of the CRA prompted the workshop, made several interesting observations. Maddox said the “best role for the CRA is to look at infrastructure projects that would spur development. Projects that would not happen if not for CRA.” Maddox, one of the first to advocate for the relocation of the homeless shelter, stated he would support “relocating the Greyhound bus station closer to I-10.” City Commissioner Gil Ziffer reassured the Board that the homeless shelter is moving, but added we “need to send a signal to the Shelter board we are willing to help with their land.” Ziffer also made the comment that the “performing arts center project is in the wrong location – no economic development possibilities.” He was referring to the proposed downtown location for the performing arts center project. In the end, five hours and a paid facilitator was not enough to reach any consensus. Some Board members were visibly frustrated. Another meeting will be scheduled to try and more clearly define the CRA priorities.

Marks, Lindley Offer Strong Support to PAC

Staff — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:00:32 +0000

A lot happened at the CRA Board meeting today.

The CRA Board voted to spend almost $200,000 on leasing parking spaces near the Gaines Street corridor and a consultant that will offer a strategic assessment of downtown Tallahassee.

The CRA staff said that the parking places would help “support retail development” in the area. Mayor Marks asked staff to look into “parking meters with no poles.”

The main part of the meeting was devoted to a presentation from representatives of the Florida Center for Performing Arts Center and Education. The presenters sought support of Board members for a new Performing Arts Center to be located downtown. The presentation focused on the quality of life and economic benefits of the project. Bob Inzer, an advocate for the project, stated that we “should not expect the PAC to be financially self supporting.”

After the presentation, Board members weighed in.

When told that the project will result in over 300 sustainable jobs, Commissioner Scott Maddox responded, “this is not plausible to me.”

Commissioner Mary Ann Lindley: “I really like this project and believe the community will eventually support it.”

Mayor John Marks: ” I support this project. I would support something grander. I want a water fountain in the design.”

Commissioner Andrew Gillum: “We are rolling a boulder up a hill. I fully endorse the complete vetting of this project.”

Commissioner Gill Ziffer: “I really want to believe in this project . The projections are a crapshoot. I would like to know what our citizens think.”

Commissioner Kristen Dozier:”My concern is on operating expenses.”

Commissioner Bill Proctor: “We need a performing central water and sewer system throughout the southside before we contemplate a performing arts center downtown.”

The next stop for the PAC is the Leon County Sales Tax Committee on Friday.

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CRA Board Meets and Discusses Defining Mission and Homeless Shelter

Staff — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:48:42 +0000

The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) board met yesterday in City Hall chambers. The CRA board is made up of all city commissioners and selected county commissioners.

The CRA has current assets of approximately $10 million.

The focus of the meeting was to discuss the future mission of the CRA board per requests from a number of members during the last meeting. CRA staff handed out a document showing expenditures by the CRA over the last 8-10 years. (This information will be the subject of a follow-up story on Tallahassee Reports.)

The discussion veered away from the substance about the CRA mission and toward a structure to address the issue of refocusing the mission of the CRA. The final agreement includes a future workshop to address the mission of the CRA in detail and the possibility of another meeting.

The focus of defining the CRA mission comes from board members concerned about “mission creep” in regards to CRA spending. The discussion that took place at the meeting did reveal a couple of interesting points. County Commissioner Kristin Dozier indicated that her preference is not to pursue CRA policies that help out specific businesses but ones that help the overall business climate.

Also, a debate about helping businesses in the Frenchtown area turned into a discussion about how the homeless shelter has become a significant liability for any current or new businesses in the area. Commissioner Scott Maddox was very critical of the homeless shelter and indicated if he could, he would vote to cut all funding from the shelter. On a lighter note, Commissioner Proctor proposed moving the shelter closer to the Governor’s Mansion.

The CRA is scheduled to meet again on March 25^th at City Hall at 11:00 am. Tallahassee Reports will be there!