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Minutes 06-05-25 MINUTES OF THE CRA ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2025, AT 6:00 PM IN CITY HALL COMMISSION CHAMBERS 100 E. OCEAN AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Angela Lopresto, Chair Tim Tack, Interim Executive Director Tom Ramiccio, Vice Chair Vicki Curfman, Administrative Assistant William Harper George Feldman Angela Troyanowski ABSENT: Thomas Isabella Leesha Roundtree 1. Call to Order Chair Lopresto called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 3. Roll Call The Minutes Specialist called the roll. A quorum was present. 4. Agenda Approval A. Additions, Deletions, Corrections to the Agenda Ms. Troyanowski moved to add a discussion of a grocery store to the agenda, which was included in Old Business, Item 7A. B. Adoption of Agenda Motion Ms. Troyanowski moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Harper seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Public Comment None. 6. Consent A. CRA Advisory Board Meeting Minutes - May 1, 2025 Meeting Minutes CRA Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 5, 2025 Motion Vice Chair Ramicio moved to approve. Mr. Feldman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 7. Old Business A. Pending Assignment No. 1 - Discussion and Consideration of New Assignments from the CRA Board Assigned at the February 13, 2024 CRA Monthly Board Meeting Tim Tack, Interim Executive Director, summarized the instructions given to the Board, as contained in the agenda item, pertaining to a grocery store and parking garage on Ocean Avenue. He stated that the CRA Advisory Board had previously discussed Palmetto Green Linear Park and redefining the areas on Federal Highway, the intersection, and were to come back with three to five ideas. Mr. Feldman asked about square footage of a grocery store. Mr. Tack replied that it depends on what type of grocer they were talking about. He said that Publix has nothing smaller than 20K sq. ft. He suggested that they could get a smaller store such as 10K sq. ft., such as Howards in Boca. They would need at least an acre with parking. He emphasized that it is situational, based on location, what it is attached to and if there would be a shared use. Ms. Troyanowski asked if grocery stores were contacted. Mr. Tack responded they have not conducted outreach. Ms. Troyanowski stated that with Time Equities and 900 units, it may be time to reach out. Mr. Tack stated that they can make a recommendation it be done. He noted that this was already suggested in the CRA plan for HOB, but it does not have to be dead center in the HOB to have a grocery store. He mentioned that it could be adjacent. Mr. Feldman thought the reluctance to put a store in east of 95 has been due to the different neighborhoods. He asked where Mr. Tack would recommended to get a grocer this far east. Mr. Tack responded that they need access to major routes, if the demographics can support it, and how close they are to other uses. He mentioned that they need a certain number of homes in the area. Ms. Troyanowski recommended making contact with Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Bedner's and others and see what they say. 2 Meeting Minutes CRA Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 5, 2025 Mr. Tack explained that major chains need two or three acres. He said that Howard's had an interest in Boynton and that Fresh Market in Delray needed 36K square feet. Ms. Troyanowski said that they could get a Whole Foods to commit to be inside an apartment complex. She suggested getting a commitment on what the 27K square feet would be. Mr. Feldman said there is a very small Publix in Delray, at George Bush, and another small one in Boca on Federal Highway, near Camino Real. He stated that there are nice higher end condos along Federal Highway and they may be able to pull some people from Delray. There was brief discussion of potential grocers. Chair Lopresto asked about timelines, and pending projects, and in what space a grocery store could come to fruition. Mr. Tack advised that it will be time consuming process because even redevelopment projects, on average, took 14 years to amass that land. It could be 10 to 20 years, as to how soon it could occur. He pointed out that there may be a large change in demographics at this stage. Mr. Ramiccio stated that they are in the planning phase and they need to form a concept of needing a grocery store, but he contended that the planning for it now was premature. He said that when Time Equity came in, it was 7 to 10 years before they had to break ground and complete the project, but now they adjusted it. He spoke about the obstacles and changing demographics. He advised that the Board cannot tell them to build a grocery if the demographics will not support it. Ms. Troyanowski said she thought that they had private resources, and that there were parcels coming available that the City will buy. Chair Lopresto requested a motion to move up a conversation for a grocery store. Motion Mr. Ramiccio so moved to waive the rules and take Public Comment. Mr. Harper seconded the motion. There were no objections. William Morris said that he was a retired real estate developer in Delray and that he was a broker for Whole Foods in Delray. He said that they had serious conversations with Whole Foods and that Jordon, the Vice President with Hyperion, has some relationship with Whole Foods. He commented that there still is a strong opinion for Whole Foods to open a store on the south edge of their Ocean One project and having a store between 28K and 36K square feet, on a single level. He said that they feel comfortable that they could fit it in well, and that it would be a good adjunct to the project. He stated that Whole Foods is interested in having a store there because it would be a gateway to Boynton Beach and to the barrier island and along 3 Meeting Minutes CRA Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 5, 2025 A1A. He mentioned that if there were extra funds, it may be enough to get Jordan and his team his team to take a look at it. Chair Lopresto closed Public Comment. Mr. Feldman inquired who would contact him or who would Jordan contact. Mr. Tack responded he can provide contact information. The Board agreed that Ms. Troyanowski could be the point of contact. Chair Lopresto commented that in the past, they had people come and present to them, and she inquired if they can put it on an agenda. Mr. Tack explained that it is typically based on the CRA Board and the Plan, and it would need to be an assignment from the CRA Board. He said that he did not know if they will have a July meeting and they have to publish the agenda. He stated that they are contemplating moving the meeting day to the third Wednesday of the month. He mentioned that this could be a discussion item at the next meeting. Ms. Troyanowski said that she will work with the gentleman to make a presentation, as the task is to make a recommendation regarding a grocer. Mr.Tack said that it may not be in the Heart of Boynton, that it could be in the downtown and then make a recommendation and update the plan. He noted that Hyperion is looking to break ground in the fall. Suggestions for beautification. Mr. Harper recalled they had discussed types of façade revitalization programs and residential. He checked with other CRAs with similar programs, but there is not a lot out there for residential facades. He noted the tag line, Bring Your Business to Boynton, and reported that he saw blight and rundown commercial buildings and strips centers on Federal Highway. He suggested that they should consider some type of a reimbursement program on a sliding scale, perhaps from $7K to $100K. He reported that the sign by Publix is horrible and falling down ,and that people will shop at places that look nice. He listed several CRA's with commercial programs, and said that there are not many programs for residential, but some programs will address stucco, paint, and lighting, and could be put in place with guidelines. Mr. Tack explained that the CRA does have Economic Development Grants that can be provided contingent on the use, and he said that they are usually more structural. He estimated about 100 businesses took advantage of the Grants and that the Rent Reimbursement Program had a 96% retainage rate. 4 Meeting Minutes CRA Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 5, 2025 Mr. Harper asked if the program is advertised and learned it was. He inquired what the pushback was. Mr. Tack responded that there is a application process and one issue was credit worthiness. He advised that it is not free money and that staff verifies the expenses and then the business is reimbursed. He commented that businesses can only qualify so often and there are caveats, but it is a more utilized program. Mr. Feldman suggested that businesses need to communicate. Mr. Tack explained that they have a Social Media Outreach Program (SMOP) and that staff visits various businesses and asks them to participate and assists with commercial activations and marketing and they have increased marketing. Commercial Façade grants are usually buildouts or renovations, and it could be suggested. Ms. Troyanowski spoke about entryways, street signage on Ocean Avenue, and light pole banners. She said that there should be a focus in downtown and the HOB, or adding the words HOB on street signs and that there should be pavers on Ocean Avenue to make it more walkable perhaps down to the Marina, which would be her recommendations. Mr. Tack explained that they have to be careful with traffic control signage and that pavers have a maintenance cost to them. Vice Chair Ramiccio noted that Clematis was envisioned to have pedestrian traffic only and he thought it would be a good idea because the sides walks are too high and there are uneven areas. He pointed out that it would be great for handicapped and sidewalk cafes to have fifteen- foot sidewalks and that they will never have strollable walkways with five-foot wide sidewalks. Further dialogue ensued that Seacrest is a County Road and part of it falls within the CRA District, and that beautification up and down Seacrest would enhance the area by offering façade grants, landscaping and street signs would turn the neighborhoods around. Mr. Tack thought beautification of Seacrest was part of the Plan and said he would love to see lien reductions. Vice Chair Ramiccio stated he was speaking of the next Plan. He noted that the $2M for a grocery store has been there since 2016, and it is not in this year's budget. He said that it was an opportunity for them, and if they could make it happen, the funding is there, and they can continually budget for it when the opportunity comes. He asked if they could have a water taxi and where the stops would be. He noted that West Palm Beach is instituting a water taxi and he supported Boynton Beach being one of its stops. He said that the gateways should have different beautifications for the on and off ramps. Mr. Tack explained that there is a lot of vertical wall there and that is bland and could have an aesthetic treatment. He said that this would require multi-agency level cooperation and it would 5 Meeting Minutes CRA Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 5, 2025 be a big expense, but they are having an 1-95 Interchange project and they are changing the entire interchange. Mr. Ramiccio stated that they should continue to address the Gateway features and that they need a unified sign system in the City. He said that he counted five different styles, and it goes to the overall image of the City, and it would help if they unified the signage. He mentioned that after beautification, coming off 95, the light fixtures are lacking. Mr. Tack mentioned that Historic Preservation should be wrapped in this, until we start creating unique experiences for visitors, they don't get the strollability. He spoke about ideas for beautification of the downtown area. Ms. Troyanowski said that a few changes can bring excitement. Vice Chair Ramiccio suggested working with the City for a moratorium on convenience stores, and smoke shops. He recommended asking Code Enforcement to work on enforcing the sign code on convenience stores. He suggested that the regulations may need to be revamped regarding window signage, because it would look more attractive to the community. Ms. Troyanowski inquired if an RFP would be issued for the Magnuson House. Mr. Tack stated that it will be a topic of discussion and he gave the history of plans for the property. He said that they need a developer willing to take on the cost of upgrading a historic building and so far it has not worked. He commented they will also discuss different opportunities for beautification and extra funding for the City, so this conversation is part of what the Board will consider, which will include façade improvements. He pointed out that at one time, they had a residential façade program, but it either becomes too cumbersome or there is no interest, and in this instance, there was no interest. There must be community buy-in. There was consensus to move on and come back and re-address these items. They reiterated what the tasks were for the above mentioned items. B. Pending Assignment No. 2 - Discussion and Consideration of New Assignments from the CRA Board assigned at the February 13, 2024 CRA Monthly Board Meeting Regarding Property Acquisition Chair Troyanowski reviewed Assignment 2, as contained in the agenda item. Mr. Tack also gave further information about the item. Mr. Feldman left the dais at 7:15 P.M. The members discussed acquisition of the parcel. 6 Meeting Minutes CRA Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 5, 2025 Mr. Feldman retuned to the dais at 7:18 P.M. Motion Ms. Troyanowski moved to approve acquisition of the 13-parcel assemblage at 444 W. Boynton Beach Boulevard as a land banking opportunity Mr. Harper seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Tack presented the second parcel under consideration for acquisition at 878 Industrial Avenue. Ms. Troyanowski stated that they should address this through zoning, not through land banking, and commented there is not a lot of industrial space. Chair Lopresto commented that in the past, the Board has recommended not pursuing these types of parcels. She said that it is very hard to navigate there, it is poorly lit, has lots of slum and blight, and there is not much parking, and suggested that funding should be allocated differently. Vice Chair Ramiccio stated that it is the Board's job to eliminate slum and blight. He mentioned that the Legislature made changes in zoning for the Live Local Act, which allows for residential to be built in industrial zones with a density bonus. He said that they should look at what the future opportunities should be, and he sees a diamond if the rough. He stated that height and density should back up to the railroad tracks. Mr. Tack said that industrial it is not the pretty end of business, but it means jobs. He said that from a CRA perspective, this is our best opportunity to solicit certain types of industries, and they are in demand and growing. Mr. Harper stated that the Board should move forward with acquisition. He said that with the pending Legislation, the property value would greatly increase. Mr. Feldman supported acquiring the property, and stated the property's value will increase. Ms. Troyanowski said, in reference to the CRA Plan, they should encourage investment there and not land banking, and sticking to the Plan. Motion Mr. Feldman moved the CRA present the properties as a land bank opportunity Mr. Harper seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-2 (Chair Lopresto and Ms. Troyanowski dissenting.) 7 Meeting Minutes CRA Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 5, 2025 C. Pending Assignment No. 3 - Discussion and Consideration of New Assignments from the CRA Board Assigned at the January 10, 2025 CRA Monthly Board Meeting Mr. Tack presented the item as contained in the meeting materials. Mr. Feldman stated that he met with Craig Clark, Director of Recreation and Cultural Services, about the splash pad, and spoke about a park finder on the website. He noted that Mr. Clark believes that they have two splash parks, and he wanted to let all know that the Park Finder was difficult to locate on the City's website. He pointed out that people do not know that there are 33 parks in the City and it should be publicized. Mr. Tack disagreed that there were two splash parks in the City. Mr. Feldman stated that he was informed by Mr. Clark that it will cost about $150K to add a canopy around a park and he thought a splash pad was great. He noted that the estimate provided by Board Member Isabella was $600K for a splash pad, but the question was that if it was less, would the City do it and would it bring people to the area. Ms. Troyanowski said that it sounds like there already is excitement about splash pads. She stated that the Board was to give a vision broadly where they would like to see it located. Discussion ensued that there are three different types of splash pads, which can range from very expensive or on the lower end, and about fountains. Ms. Troyanowski stated that they could cooperate with a public artist and create something custom and unique. Vice Chair Ramiccio said that when he thinks of a splash pad, he thinks of a children's playground and determining what kind of splash pad to a location. He envisioned that the current photo, if it was located on Ocean Avenue, would be more of a fountain type feature. Chair Lopresto inquired how far away the City was from getting a splash pad and location. Mr. Tack said that he thought that once presented to the CRA Board, the concept would be limited by the design and cost. Ms. Troyanowski said that could be part of their recommendation listen. She had solicited input from the public for these types of areas and she was told that they should have food trucks with margaritas and chips. Mr. Harper said that he tried to research playground permits, but could not find any, and explained that he wanted to see how old the current equipment was. He said that the ideal option is to reinvent the current spaces on Ocean Avenue when the equipment is old. He commented that with land being an issue, they could use the land they have in the City's 8 Meeting Minutes CRA Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 5, 2025 playground and children's park when the equipment is old and that there could be art, and activate the space with the water features. Ms. Troyanowski commented that they could do both and as for the park, she noted that iguana droppings are bothersome, but they could look to add a splash pad when refurbishing it. She suggested working on a presentation for the next meeting, to make to the CRA Board. Vice Chair Ramiccio stated that the budget cycle is starting in July, and suggested that with some new projects pending, they could work with them on an active fountain. Mr. Tack noted that if they are amenable, the project would be about five years out. He stated that Board members can speak at the budget hearings. Chair Lopresto said that their recommendation would be to reinvigorate the existing two playgrounds and incorporate more kid friendly cool color park splash pads, and to have an art feature on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway. Ms. Troyanowski said she would compile the two slides as inspiration for option 1, bring it to the next meeting and they can tweak it. Mr. Tack said that the discussion of the Heismann Trophy winner will take place at next meeting. D. Continued Discussion and Consideration of the July 2025 CRAB Board Meeting Date Brief discussed ensued about meeting on July 3rd, and it was ascertained that there were not enough members available to have a quorum. Motion Mr. Harper moved to cancel the July meeting, due to the fact that they will not have a quorum. Mr. Feldman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 8. New Business 9. Future Agenda Items Mr. Tack announced that in the future, they will discuss changing the meeting days to the third Wednesday evening of the month. He stated that it will be an agenda item. 10. Adjournment Motion Ms. Troyanowski moved to adjourn. Mr. Harper seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 9 Meeting Minutes CRA Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 5, 2025 The meeting was adjourned at 8:27 P.M. Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist 10