Community Redevelopment Agency Board - Regular Meeting

WHY DON'T WE GO INTO THE CRA MEETING AND THEN WE'LL TAKE A 10-MINUTE BREAK BEFORE WE DO OUR CONFERENCE MEETING. MR. CLERK, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE OF THE CRA BOARD?

COMMISSIONER HERBST? PRESIDENT. COMMISSIONER GLASSMAN? HERE. COMMISSIONER BEASLEY-PITTMAN? HERE. VICE CHAIR SOWERNSON? HERE. CHAIR TRUNTALIS?

HERE. OKAY. Let's move right into M1, motion approving the minutes for May 19, 2026, Community Redevelopment Agency Board Meeting. Do I hear a motion to approve?

So moved.

Second. We move and seconded. Please call the roll.

Vice Chair Sorensen?

Yes.

Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Commissioner Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Chair Trenton?

Yes. And M1 is now approved. M2, motion shortlisted. M2, motion approving property and business improvement program funding in the amount of $193,500 to Queen Progress Investments for the build-out of the warehouse space for retail use at 603 Northeast 13th Street and authorizing the executive director to execute any and all related instruments. Do I hear a motion to approve? So moved. Okay, I have one person who signed up to speak. Frank Luciano, are you here? Just for questions? Okay. Anyone have any questions or comments with regard to this? There being none. I'll second that motion, Mayor. Okay. Thank you, Vice Mayor. So the motion has been made and seconded.

Please call the roll vice chair Sorenson. Yes, Commissioner Herbst. Yes, Commissioner Glossman. Yes, Mr. Beasley Pittman. Yes, sure.

Yes, and M2 is now approved. Moving on to our one resolution amending the interlocal agreement between the Fort L'Oreal Community Redevelopment Agency and the Fort L'Oreal City of Fort L'Oreal to authorize funding for the redevelopment projects to implement the central city redevelopment plan. and authorizing the executive director to negotiate and execute any and all documents or instruments necessary or incidental to consummate the transactions.

Consummate.

Consummate, yes. It's like a soup, right? Yes. No one has signed up to speak. Would someone like to introduce the resolution? Introduce. Resolution has been introduced.

Any questions? Please call the roll. A resolution of the Board of Commissioners of the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency amending the interlocal agreement between the City of Fort Lauderdale and the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency to authorize funding for the development projects and activities that implement the Central City Redevelopment Plan within the boundaries of the Central City Community Redevelopment Area, providing for an effective date. Vice Chair Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst?

Yes.

Commissioner Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Pittman? Yes. Chair Trentals?

Yes. And R1 is now approved. R2, this is a resolution appropriating and authorizing funding in an amount not to exceed $189,952 for professional planning services by MHCP CoLab LLC to prepare the future land use plan amendment for the Central City Community Redevelopment Area. A couple people signed up to speak. Troy?

Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor, members of the Commission. I'm Troy Liggett, president of Middle River Terrace Neighborhood Association. I came here with many concerns, but I think that we have worked them out before the meeting. I just want to make the one point and thank Vanessa Martin, the active director, who is trying to expedite things along. The C.R.A.B. moved to bring this consultant on board in March 2024, and I'm very thankful that it's finally here. And I'm glad we're able to work out our differences. Thank you.

And Troy, I'm glad to see a smile on your face. And I second that motion. Is Nicola Stan here? Right there. Do you want to add to his comments? Please come up.

Mr. Mayor, the commissioners, my name is Nicola Stan. I'm a resident at... uh, in, within the CRA, uh, I'm on the fifth terrace, uh, 1125 Northeast, uh, Fort Lauderdale. I am also a member of the crab, uh, advisory board to the CRA. Uh, and, uh, I wanted to remind, uh, the commission, there was a communication when this item should have been on the agenda, but it was removed last minute. Uh, that was, I think two commission meetings ago about July, right? I think so. Yeah. Um, uh, about, uh, support. This was a communication from the CRAB board, support for this land use amendment plan to be accepted, conditioned upon the scope being Restricted to the reason there to the planned reason areas not the entire CRA so that's the one the one thing I wanted to remind and Put on your radars again in there's exhibit 3 that's attached to your agenda If you look at the second paragraph in the purpose it says is to have one single land use designation across the CRA and That is the only controversial thing there. During the years that we discussed the rezoning, we focused on rezoning. We focused on the areas to rezone. Land use was kind of tagging along as a necessary precursor to rezoning. But we never discussed that the entire CRA was going to be rezoned only. I think it was implied that the land use was going to be amended for the entire CRA. I think it was implied by everybody during our discussions that land use and rezoning would kind of go hand in hand. I think you have to change the land use before you can do the rezoning.

Correct. And the land use is at the county level and the rezoning is at the city level.

Correct. It's the scoping that's mismatched. The land use is not the only requirement. The rezoning is a requirement for live local to be eligible to certain areas, but land use is a one step towards that.

We have to be careful about that. I agree.

Yes.

I know where you're going with that, and I totally agree with you.

Uh, that's the only thing I wanted to bring. Okay. Thank you.

I want to just say one thing and Nicola, thank you for your service, both the middle river terrorists and to also the crab and Troy as well. It's very valuable and it keeps definitely keeps people on their toes. So, uh, but I want to say that these concerns, I believe that we are going to, once we get this consultant on board, we are going to be able to move forward with that and we are going to tweak whatever we have to tweak and we're going to make sure that it works for everybody. Uh, but again, just like the mayor said, I understand your concerns there as well. And that's something that is definitely going to be addressed, whether it's just the entire area or just that little portion. I think we have time to figure all of that out. I really do. So thank you for your service on that. Thank you.

And, Chair, if I could, or Mayor, if I could chime in, I just want to say I appreciate Mr. Liggett and Mr. Sands' advocacy on that. What they've said today is very consistent with what the advisory board has communicated to you and recommended, as well as what you've asked staff to go back and do. So working through Ms. Martin and the CRA, we'll continue to work with them to address this in the manner which they've suggested. Okay. All right.

So... Mr. Clerk, did we vote on R2 yet? No. Okay. All right. Please call the roll. I think it's been introduced. Okay.

Yes.

Has it been introduced? Would someone like to introduce it? Introduce.

Okay. It's been introduced. Resolution of the Board of Commissioners of the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency appropriating funding in the amount not to exceed 189 thousand nine hundred and fifty-two for professional planning services by MHCP collab to prepare the future land-use amendment for the central city Community redevelopment area providing for an effective date vice chair Sorensen. Yes, mr. Herbs Come sure Glassman. Yes. Mr. Beasley Pittman chair Trent us.

Yes an r2 is now approved moving on to our last item r3 a This is a resolution approving a development incentive program funding in the amount of $2,500,000 to the Holy Cross Hospital Inc. for the Holy Cross Comprehensive Outpatient Unit, Ambulatory Surgery Center, and the Emergency Department at 200 East Sunrise Boulevard. Two people have signed up to speak. Steve, is this just to answer questions, or do you want to? Okay. And Pierre Moniz, also just to answer questions. Okay. Okay. Is our acting director here? Yes. Oh, there you are.

Good afternoon.

Hi. So tell us a little bit about this.

Okay, so when Holy Cross came before us, we were turning away a lot of potential businesses. But we later found out that we did have some remaining funds in our debt service. So we did keep them on hold. And so Holy Cross is going to come to you, and they're going to partner with us and bring parking solutions for the Progresso area. Right now, a lot of the businesses are struggling. So that's one of the main objectives in our redevelopment plan. And they're also going to provide jobs. And there's no risk to the CRA. What I mean by that is that, you know, once they CO the first phase, they'll receive $1.5 million from hard cost. So I think that that's excellent. And also the scholarships, scholarships are going to be offered to elevate the quality of life for the residents, um, scholarships for healthcare, and then also healthcare access. So when we think about healthcare access, you know, the residents won't have to travel too far, or if they want to go to their job, they won't have to travel that far. So I did take a look at all of those, um, areas of concern. And I hope that, um, you know, Holy cross can be a part of the Northwest progresso area.

So in terms of your budget and how much money you have every year, approximately how much money is coming into your funds every year?

So $6 million. And incentive-wise, it's about $3 million. I'm projecting that incorporating Holy Cross and the other multi-funds that we did allocate that we'll still have about 3.5 remaining for fiscal year 27, October 1st.

So are there competing applications right now that are pending?

No.

There are none.

No, not at this time. We did have someone that already received funding. They just sent us some information today, but I'm thoroughly reviewing that application.

Okay. And these funds roll over every year. They don't have to just be spent in any particular fiscal year. Is that correct?

Well, now that we only receive City of Fort Lauderdale TIF funds, they can be rolled over. Yes.

Okay. All right. Very good. Anyone have any questions?

I do have a question. Yes, go ahead. It would be to Steve or Pierre. Yes.

And Mayor, if I can just clarify, when we roll over CRA funds, they roll over if they're allocated to a project account. So it can be an incentive account or something general, but they don't roll over automatically. We have to allocate them. Thank you. Mr. Tilburg.

Yes, Commissioner. Yes.

Good to see you. It's good to see you in person. Thank you. And enjoying the conversation we had about those scholarship opportunities. And just wanted, and as I said when we talked before, being transparent and bringing this opportunity to have the conversation. before the city, before the neighbors. In regards to the scholarships, we talked about that opportunity with Broward College, understanding some challenges that we are having currently with some scholarships that are being offered with them being utilized. And my question was then and now is if we have that type of a lack in receiving or pursuing those opportunities. How long would these scholarships be on the table for to receive it? And then also what dollar value, if you can share with us, will be attached to those scholarships?

Yes, good afternoon and welcome everyone. My name is Pierre Moniz, President and CEO of Holy Cross Health. And great question. We had a great conversation recently. And we definitely want to continue to stay invested in the CRA. Obviously, from a workforce standpoint and healthcare standpoint, there's an opportunity on both sides. We see a shortage of healthcare careers and jobs already, and we're committed to seeing not only just from a scholarship perspective, but workforce development. So if it comes to a situation where scholarships are not picked up, we could transition the focus into workforce development. individuals who may have been out of the workforce for whatever reason, whether it's taking care of a loved one, a child, and want to get into the workforce again or re-up their skills. And we want to keep those dollars on the table for however long as possible. By way of dollar amount, we're open to that. That's why we want to partner directly with Broward College, because whether it's a registered nurse position, a full body position, or even a higher level position, we want to stay very open so that those jobs can stay within the CRA.

To answer her question, though, how much money is being allocated? Is there a dollar number for scholarships?

We have not allocated a dollar number. We said we wanted to start with 10 scholarships at whatever dollar amount so individuals can start and complete the program.

So is that like $1,000 of scholarship, $10,000 of scholarship? What are we looking at?

And what is the scholarship for? The scholarship is for someone to start and complete this program at Broward College for any healthcare career. Tuition. Nursing or... Nursing, could be a technician position. Okay, correct. So that dollar amount could vary, but we're committed to the scholarship for a degree pursuing individual.

Okay. If we could add to that conversation, the opportunity for certifications for doulas. That's becoming something that is very in need of, and it's something that this community is embracing now. So if we can add that opportunity to the list of those who could receive that funding, I think that would be great for the CRA area.

And you bring up a great point. I love that idea. And we could even add to that job certificates. So maybe someone who may not necessarily looking for a degree, but a job certificate in the healthcare field, like a doula, I think that makes perfect sense. Very supportive.

All right. Thank you. And again, thank you for... listening to our CRA manager and taking the suggestions that was offered and being willing to bring what we need to our area. The parking is definitely needed as well as elevating us through education. So thank you for this.

Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner.

Commissioner Glassman, do you have a question?

I do.

Thank you, Mayor. So, Commissioner Beasley-Pittman, help me understand. I didn't know. Did we lose the scholarships from Broward College at the YMCA Ancestral?

No, it's still there. What the challenge is, is individuals first advertising, understanding that it is available. So, through our office, we are really advocating to make it known that these scholarships are available. But what the other challenge is, we don't want to lose the opportunity, if I'm not incorrect, Broward College right now is committed to five years, where it was 10, and we're only down to five. So if we're only down to five, we want to make sure it's continuous with who's coming to the table next.

I understand. So it was 10 years, but now there's only five years left of the 10 years? No, they reduced it. Oh, they reduced it. Broward College reduced it. Yes. But didn't we have an agreement with them that they had to stand by?

I don't remember the arrangements, what allowed for the decrease. I don't know if it came with the change in the president's. But it did decrease from 10 to 5.

So, City Manager, can we get some more information on that? Because I remember when we did that arrangement with Broward College and involved in the Y on Cistron. That was all part of what we agreed to. So, I'd like to know if they were able to just unilaterally decrease their commitment from 10 years to 5 years.

We'll provide clarity.

All right. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. And thank you. And I just wanted to say thank you. I think this is a wonderful project for that portion of Sunrise Boulevard. I'm looking at it as an incentive. It's a very handsome structure. I look at this as really basically a combination of job creation, economic development. It's got the educational component. And I really think it's going to be really great. And also access to health care. Access to health care. Right. Well, that goes without saying. Right. But yes, so thank you for that. I think it's going to be a wonderful addition to District 2 in that portion. We need that redevelopment on Sunrise Boulevard there, and I just want to say thank you. Great. Any other questions of Mr. Tilburg?

Anything else? Okay, great. Thank you. Okay, so would someone like to introduce the resolution approving the development incentive?

Introduced.

Okay. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.

A resolution of the Board of Commissioners of the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency approving a forgivable loan of $2,500,000 to Holy Cross Hospital, Inc. under the Development Incentive Program for a comprehensive medical facility located at 200 East Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, waiving certain requirements under the DIP program, authorizing the Executive Director to execute any and all documents related to this transaction, delegating authority to the Executive Director to take certain actions and providing for an effective date. Vice Chair Sorensen? Yes. Commissioner Herbst? Yes. Commissioner Glassman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley-Bittman? Yes. Chair Trentals?

Yes. And that resolution is now approved. Thank you, gentlemen, for being here. And is there any further business of the CRA? There being none, that meeting is concluded. We'll take a 10-minute break.