Submitted by
Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
About a dozen people attended the warm-up meeting an hour before the regular meeting of the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) on July 17, 2012. In this meeting, the FBCC convened as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) for its second quarterly meeting of the year–and only the second meeting since its creation in 2004. The single item on the agenda was discussion of the establishment of an Amelia River Waterfront CRA Advisory Board. Commissioner Tim Poynter was absent from the meeting.
To assist in that discussion, city planner Kelly Gibson provided the FBCC with a draft resolution providing suggestions on mission and membership of such a board as well as other administrative details. In response to commissioner questions, Gibson said that the advisory board could provide recommendations regarding modifying the current area covered by the CRA. She also reported that she had included categories of membership in the draft resolution after studying practices in other CRAs. She suggested that the FBCC might want to add a city commissioner to the list of board members. There was no move to do so.
Commissioner Charlie Corbett asked if any member of the audience was interested in serving on such a board, and if so, why. Four people came forward in response.
- Tony Herndon, owner of 8th Street Diner, indicated that there are 54 buildings that with proper marketing and ground work with contractors could be used to bring in more tax revenues to the city;
- Lou Goldman, downtown resident and CRA property owner, said that the CRA never got off the ground when it was formed. He sees a potential for the proposed advisory board to be a catalyst in getting developers, property owners and the city together to start bringing in money for the city;
- Cindy Jackson, owner of Bijoux Amelia, a Centre Street business, has a background in working with businesses and economic development in the state of Maryland;
- Mike Zaffaroni, city resident and owner of two local businesses, expressed his interest in seeing other businesses in the city profit from spurred activity in the CRA.
Mayor Arlene Filkoff asked the other commissioners, “Do we agree to support creating this board since there seem to be mixed feelings as to whether the CRA should stay alive and whether it ever had a fair chance?” Vice Mayor Jeffrey Bunch moved and Commissioner Sarah Pelican seconded creation of the advisory board. Discussion ensued during which commissioners reiterated that there was no money to support the work of this board.
Vice Mayor Bunch said that the advisory board must understand that their task is to attract more business to the CRA so that the money in the CRA TIF fund will help the city enhance the downtown. He said that he would support any move to bring in more business. He said it would be foolish not to have some seed money in the effort, and that starting on the waterfront park would demonstrate what the city has in mind with respect to CRA development.
City Manager Joe Gerrity said that the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners would take up the question of resetting the CRA base year at its July 18th meeting.
Mayor Filkoff expressed a hope that some seed money would be available to the board and that they would be able to advise the FBCC on what else the FBCC could do to attract businesses to the CRA.
Commissioner Sarah Pelican reminded commissioners that the city had put $450K from the general fund at the CRA’s disposal initially. Mayor Filkoff agreed, saying that the money was for projects that have never been approved. Vice Mayor Bunch expressed his opinion that the city needed to do something to show its commitment to the CRA, for example, paving Front Street. Commissioner Charlie Corbett said that the firm of Zev Cohen has spent $200K of that money on plans and permits. Pelican said that the advisory board would need to look at businesses closing downtown due to “backbreaking impact fees and arduous permitting processes.” Bunch countered this saying there has never been a time when businesses have not closed, but this is mainly related to their business plans. He said that he would be willing to listen to ideas about waiving or reducing impact fees. “I’m here to make the city better,” he said. Pelican replied, “We all are; we just have different ideas on how to do it.”
Audience member Tony Herndon was recognized to speak again. He said that developing the CRA is all about salesmanship. The city needs to sell them on all the positives. “Let’s not let them see us bicker,” he said. “Let’s make the greatest environment that they can thrive in.”
Mayor Filkoff said, “So we will say to the advisory board, here is the CRA. What needs to be done to make it better? We will benefit from their input. They will give us a report so we can make real decisions about the CRA.”
Vice Mayor Bunch said, “We are in competition for business with 49 other states and 66 other Florida counties.”
Commissioner Corbett expressed concern about putting more money into the CRA. The Mayor suggested that talk of money be left until the advisory board reports back to the FBCC. On a 4-0 vote the CRA Board voted to support creation of an advisory board as presented in the draft resolution. The official resolution will return to the FBCC on August 7th for its vote.
Kelly Gibson suggested that those interested in serving on the advisory board provide a resume/statement of interest to her [email protected] or call for additional information (904-277-7325). Membership categories listed for the positions defined in the draft resolution include:
- 2 city residents or property owners or business owners
- 1 business owner or property owner (or their agent) within the Amelia River Waterfront CRA
- *1 resident of the Amelia River Waterfront CRA or within one-mile radius
- *1 legal professional or financial professional or marketing/advertising/branding professional
- *1 general contractor or developer of project manager or real estate professional
- *1 architect or engineer or landscape architect
7 Total Voting Members
* Retired professionals/individuals are acceptable
Author Note: At their regular July 18, 2012 meeting, the Nassau County Board of Commissioners voted 5 – 0 to approve a request of the City of Fernandina Beach to cooperate in resetting the tax base year for the Amelia River Waterfront CRA. No other details were forthcoming.
July 20, 2012 8:54 a.m.