Community Redevelopment Agency
Regular Meeting
Monday August 26, 2013 @ 6:00 p.m.
Council Chamber, City Hall
August 26, 2013 – Regular CRA Meeting Page 1 of 9
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Farley called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Boardmembers Present: Chair Jim Farley, Vice Chair Mike Gudis, Boardmember Paula Wheeler, Boardmember Ken Brown, Boardmember Robert Holmes
Boardmembers Absent: None
Staff Present: Andy Houston, CRA Administrator; George Angeliadis, City Attorney; Carol Harrington, City Clerk; Michelle K. Russell, Finance Director; Jackie Gorman, Planning Director; Lou Kneip, Public Works
2. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Motion to adopt the Agenda was made by Boardmember Wheeler; seconded by Vice Chair Gudis. Motion carried unanimously.
3. PRESENTATIONS
4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
5. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approve Minutes of CRA Meeting held August 12, 2013
Motion to adopt the Consent Agenda was made by Boardmember Holmes; seconded by Boardmember Brown. Motion carried unanimously.
6. PUBLIC INPUT
§ Dennis Damato, City County Commissioner, District 1
Commissioner Damato explained that he would report on the action taken tonight regarding the Petrella Property to the BOCC. He also stated that he would bring before the Board tomorrow a copy of Mr. Kohler’s Waterfront District Plan for the BOCC to accept as presented. He will also present to the Board an implementation strategy, which is very simple. What can the BOCC do for the City of Crystal River to make all those things happen? He noted that of particular interest is the extension of the CRA, the Stormwater issues, the corner property and GIS Mapping that they can help Crystal River with as well as any regulatory upgrades. He hopes the CRA votes in favor of purchasing the property that is listed on this agenda. If it is approved to purchase, he will bring forward to the BOCC in early September a proposal for the County to purchase the remainder of the property, build a Trailhead on it, clean up the wetlands area, and make it an Environmental Urban Wetlands Educational Facility. He will make the motion to move forward with this.
Boardmember Wheeler asked if she understood him correctly that he was going to ask the BOCC to accept the Waterfront District Plan as presented. Commissioner Damato stated that was correct. To accept as presented because it was a draft. Not endorsed or not approved, accept as presented. He feels that there may be some tweaking to the plan, especially on the Riverwalk recommendation.
§ Josh Wooten, Chamber of Commerce
Mr. Wooten stated that the Chamber is in support of the purchase of the Petrella Property by the City and County and to use it as a Trailhead and educational tool. They are excited about the Waterfronts District Plan and they support the City. There are exciting things happening in Crystal River and they are happy to stand with support.
Vice Chair Gudis stated that he thinks it is exciting to have representation from the County Commission, Chamber of Commerce and representation of the business community working together to help us achieve what we want for our City and County. He thanked everyone for their offers of help. Chairman Farley stated that he “seconded” that.
Boardmember Brown asked if the County purchases the East side of the Petrella Property, would that include the Water Tower. Would we lose control of the Tower? Mr. Houston replied that it would not be included in the land purchase discussed by Commissioner Damato.
7. CRA ATTORNEY
CRA Attorney Angeliadis stated that he had nothing to add to this agenda.
8. CRA ADMINISTRATOR
A. Update on North Citrus Avenue Streetscaping Project
Background: [Agenda Sheet Requested Motion: None – project update.
Summary: This agenda item is intended to provide the CRA Board with a status update on the N Citrus Avenue Streetscape improvement project.
The project has been progressing very quickly. The City was fortunate to have a good local Contractor, Pave-Rite, for the streetscape improvements. They have been well organized and have dedicated full-time crews to expedite the construction. As a result, the project is expected to be substantially complete by the Labor Day weekend, August 31st, based on the following schedule:
August 23 Traffic striping
August 26 Begin landscaping
August 27 Finish brick paver installation
August 28 Finish irrigation system
August 29 Finish mounting benches, banner poles and trash receptacles
August 30 Finish landscaping
The schedule is dependent on the weather. There will be miscellaneous clean-up work the following week, with 100% completion expected by September 6th.
The business owners have been very patient with the construction activities, and nearly all of the owners we spoke with appear to be very pleased with the project so far.
The project is within budget. There have been a few minor change orders, mostly for replacement of additional concrete curb and driveway aprons that were in disrepair. To date the cost is well under the approved contingency amount approved by the Council.
The banners for the poles are being ordered this week and are expected to be delivered in mid-September.
After construction of the streetscape improvements is completed, the Public Works Department will pressure-wash the older existing concrete surfaces within the project limits in order to improve the appearance.
If funding is available within the contingency budget for this project, a “Welcome to Downtown Crystal River” sign will be installed in the first landscaped median, facing north. The sign would match the materials and appearance of the signs currently installed at the City limits; teal and white on wood, with the manatee and City logo.
Staff Recommendation: N/A
Funding Information: N/A End of Agenda Sheet]
Mr. Kneip reported that the project is about a week ahead of schedule and he believes that it will be open for Labor Day weekend. There will still be some clean-up after that. The palm trees were installed this date and he personally thinks they look very nice. He is pleased with the outcome. They have been working very closely with the business community and the feedback he has received to date has been mostly favorable. This project is on budget with only a couple of small change orders for additional concrete driveway and curbing replacement. The banners for the poles will be ordered later this week and should be delivered in mid-September. After all the construction is complete, Public Works will be going out to power-wash everything to try to match the older areas to the new work. We are going to add a Welcome to the Downtown Crystal River sign at the entrance of the first median. Mr. Kneip also complimented Pave Rite for an outstanding job.
Board Discussion:
Chairman Farley stated he would like to see the Welcome sign say Welcome to Historic Crystal River. It was noted that the sign has not been ordered and when it is, it will be ordered as per Chairman Farley’s recommendation.
Vice Chair Gudis had a concern about taking up the sidewalks for the Buy-A-Brick Program. Mr. Houston explained that the bricks would be taken out, engraved and placed back in the sidewalk.
Boardmember Brown stated that the palms are in and he wanted to compliment staff for a great job. He had been initially concerned that with the medians, it might be too narrow and would not make the statement that we wanted to convey. With the tall sable palms, it does make the statement. Very nice job.
Boardmember Wheeler asked if anyone had seen an eighteen-wheeler try to navigate the turn onto Citrus Ave yet. Mr. Kneip stated that he had observed one. As usual, he clipped the curb near the antique store but was well clear of the median. We did adjust the plan to try to pull them back. It also freed up a driveway entrance to the Leather Shop.
Chairman Farley stated that like Mr. Wooten previously stated, there are many good things going on in the City and Public Works is a large part of that.
B. Consideration of Approval of Sculpture Art Work for North Citrus Avenue
Background: [Agenda Sheet Requested Motion: Motion to approve the size, materials and final appearance of the proposed public artwork for N. Citrus Avenue, and authorizing staff to proceed with the associated “Buy-A-Brick” program to raise funds for the artwork.
Summary: On May 13, 2013, the City Council approved the conceptual drawing of a piece of public artwork for N. Citrus Avenue. Guy Zins has prepared a Maquette to provide a visual image of what this art piece would look like. If acceptable, the next step in moving forward is to select the size and materials.
Mr. Zins had provided a quote on a 5’L x 3.5’H x 3’W bronze that was estimated at $19,500 to $23,000 installed. Some adjustments to the size and the appearance were made as follows in an effort to reduce the overall cost: 1) the size of the mother manatee has been changed from 5’ to 4 ½’ in length to better fit in the landscape, and 2) the mother and baby manatees were hovering over the oyster bed in the sketch and they are now shown hovering over a tree stump. Unfortunately, the sculpture will be about a foot wider than originally thought due to the tree stump being included in the scene keeping the estimate at $19,500 to $23,000.
Materials: Mr. Zins highly suggests the sculpture be cast in bronze due to the detail of the sculpture and the engineering needed to support the sculpture. Bronze is long-lasting, yields the greatest detail, and is the strongest material especially since the fins and tails are going to be weak spots. Also strength is going to be needed to support the weight of the 2 manatees from the stump (there will be stainless steel welded in the housing of the manatees). Bronze has a beautiful finish, is virtually maintenance free, and has seamless joints.
The timeline for this artwork is as follows:
1 month for Maquette – COMPLETE
3 months sculpting the approved Maquette to the size specified
1 month mold making
3 to 6 months casting and finishing
Quotes for other materials can be provided but Mr. Zins believes bronze would be the way to go on this particular sculpture.
Once the size and material is decided, staff would recommend moving forward with the Buy-A-Brick Program, offering the pubic the opportunity to participate in funding this project. Bricks could be purchased and engraved with a personal message for $50/brick, and then be installed along N. Citrus Avenue. The proceeds would go towards the cost of this proposed public art project. Somewhere between 390 and 460 bricks would need to be sold to cover the cost of the proposed project.
Staff Recommendation: Staff would propose that the formal commissioning of this art work be delayed for 3 months to allow marketing of the “Buy A Brick” program. If funds equal to at least half of the proposed cost have not been raised by that point, it may be advisable to re-consider either the overall project or the funding source for the project.
Funding Information:
Project Cost: $19,500 - $23,000
Funding Source:
Amount Available: End of Agenda Sheet]
Ms. Gorman introduced Mr. Zins who is the artist of the Maquette. She explained that the final sculpture will be placed in front of the Heritage House.
Mr. Zins was asked about the weight of the sculpture and how it would be anchored. He explained that the size and material used would determine the weight. He is proposing using bronze and the mother manatee being 4.5 feet in length. He explained that steel would be run through the manatee and the tree stump, it would then we bolted down into concrete. He noted that sea life is especially hard because you want it to look like it is floating.
Boardmember Brown stated he had two issues with the design:
a. Not in favor of fish swimming on the manatee. That is not what we see in the river.
b. Vegetation looks more like lyngbya. We are trying to remove that.
Mr. Zins stated that the vegetation would be natural plants. This was just done so that you could see a representation of what it would look like. He has no problem removing the fish.
Council consensus was to take the fish away.
Boardmember Wheeler suggested that we set up booths at the Oktoberfest, Stone Crab Jam and Manatee Festival to sell bricks for the program. Councilmember Holmes agreed.
Motion to approve the size, materials and revised appearance of the proposed public artwork for N. Citrus Avenue, change time to five-months for the ability to sell bricks at the upcoming festivals and authoring staff to proceed with the associated “Buy-A-Brick” program to raise funds for the artwork was made by Vice Mayor Gudis; seconded by Councilmember Wheeler.
Mr. Houston will bring back a revised time line for the finished product.
Public Input:
§ Josh Wooten stated that the Chamber would provide a good location for a booth at the festivals. He asked if someone locally could do the bronze work. Mr. Zins explained there are only a few bronze foundry companies that do this type of work here in Florida. There is one foundry in Tampa and one north of Orlando.