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Tag: Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency

City commissioners extend CRA through 2047

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners adopted a city resolution on March 5 that extends the expiration date of the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) through 2047.

The commission action was taken in response to state legislation which would sunset the Bradenton Beach CRA in 2039, absent a city commission extension.

The intent of a CRA is to collect additional tax revenues to address and eliminate blight in a designated CRA district. When the Bradenton Beach CRA was formed in 1992, the Bridge Street area was considered blighted. In the decades that followed, numerous CRA-funded projects and initiatives helped transform the Bridge Street area into the thriving business district it is today.

The CRA board consists of the mayor and the four city commissioners. Working in unison with the city government, the Bradenton Beach CRA operates as a separate entity with its own annual budget, which is controlled by the CRA members.

The CRA receives a portion of the property tax revenues collected from the residential and commercial properties located in the CRA district that extends from the southern side of the Cortez Bridge to the southernmost property lines along Fifth Street South. The city is also obligated to make an annual contribution to the CRA, using money from the city’s general fund.

In October, the CRA members discussed coming into compliance with state statutory requirements after CRA Chair Scott Bear, Police Chief John Cosby and City Treasurer Shayne Thompson attended The Florida Redevelopment Association’s annual conference in West Palm Beach.

“One of the things that I took away was in 2019 there was legislation that said every CRA will sunset in 2039, regardless of what is in the (CRA) plan,” Bear said during the October 2025 CRA meeting. “Our current CRA plan has us going into 2046 or 47. The legislation sunsets us in 2039 unless we do a resolution requesting approval to extend the sunset beyond 2039. So, we’re going to need to get that resolution done quickly.”

Bear said the state legislation set a date of March 1, 2026, for the city to have a resolution approved and in place.

The city commission adopted the needed city resolution on March 5.

March discussion

During the March 5 city commission meeting, Resolution 26-993 was read aloud by Mayor John Chappie. 

It states in part: “City of Bradenton Beach resolution of the city commission of Bradenton Beach, Florida, approving the existence of the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) through 2047 as adopted in the Community Redevelopment Agency 2017 plan.”

Attorney Robert Eschenfelder was advising the city commission that day due to City Attorney Erica Augello’s planned absence.

“It’s fairly simple,” Eschenfelder said. “You have to do this to keep the CRA alive.”

According to the new resolution, the Bradenton Beach CRA was created on Jan. 23, 1992.

The resolution states: “On June 21, 2018, the CRA adopted Resolution No. 18-894, adopting the 2017 amendment to the CRA plan and the 2017 plan extended the CRA for an additional 30 years, bringing the CRA to a conclusion in 2047. On April 6, 2017, the CRA advised Manatee County of its intent to extend the CRA for an additional 30 years.”

The new resolution notes that effective Oct. 1, 2019, state law mandated that a community redevelopment agency in existence as of that date shall terminate as of Oct. 1, 2019 or Sept. 30, 2039, whichever is earlier – unless the governing body (the city commission) that created the CRA approves its continued existence by a majority vote of the current governing body.

The city commission unanimously approved the adoption of Resolution 26-993 and extended the expiration date of the Bradenton Beach CRA through 2047.

The other two Anna Maria Island cities never had CRA districts.

CRA may need separate attorney

CRA may need separate attorney

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – Com­munity Redevelopment Agency (CRA) members discussed hiring a separate CRA attorney at an Oct. 20 meeting after learning that the city could be out of compliance with statutory requirements.

CRA Chair Scott Bear, Police Chief John Cosby and city Treasurer Shayne Thompson attended a Florida Rede­velopment Association meeting from Oct. 14-17 in West Palm Beach.

“First and probably foremost, one of the things they told us is it is probably not a good idea, in fact in one session, it was also suggested that it was illegal, to have the city attorney be the CRA attorney,” Bear said. “So, we need to look for a CRA attorney through Trask. My understanding is they do have a CRA attorney who can help us, so we need to engage that person really quickly.”

CRA may need separate attorney
The CRA board discussed compliance with statutory requirements at the Oct. 20 meeting. – Leslie Lake | Sun

The city has retained the Trask Daignault LLC law firm on an interim basis with Erica Augello as lead at­torney. Retired City Attorney Ricinda Perry formerly represented both the city and the CRA.

“We’re finding out that we need specific knowledge attorneys for certain things,” Cosby said. “One size fits all is out the window, so I 100% agree with chairman Scott, we have to get this person on as fast as possible. I asked Terri (City Clerk Terri Sancle­mente) while we were there to call the firm, and she spoke with Erica.”

Cosby said the Trask firm has an attorney that specializes in CRAs and expressed an interest in meeting with them once the agreement with the firm is signed, which was scheduled at the Oct. 23 commission meeting.

Bear said that there were two statutory updates, one in 2019 and one in 2024, that impact the CRA board.

“We need to do a couple things,” Bear said. “The update required that as of Dec. 1 this year every CRA must submit a status report. We’re going to need to work with the CRA attorney, once that person is under contract to get on that report, because we’ve got about a month to put it together and then brought back to this board for approval.”

Bear said the 2024 update stipu­lates there cannot be events in the CRA without a specific plan.

“The other thing is, during an event, you have to have a table set up with a handout that you provide to people that are there explaining how the event helps with the redevelop­ment of the CRA,” Bear said. “So, we’re going to have to pretty quickly work with someone to get that to­gether and then figure out how we’re going to man a booth and do the handouts and explain it. That’s going to be a big issue for events within the CRA going forward. It could result in some really ugly actions if it were proven not to be consistent with that statute.

“One of the other things that I took away was in 2019 there was legislation that said every CRA will sunset in 2039 regardless of what is in the plan,” Bear said. “So, our current CRA plan has us going into 2046 or 47. That doesn’t matter, the legislation sunsets us in 2039, unless and this was the thing I took away, unless we do a resolution from the CRA to the city commission request­ing approval to extend the sunset beyond 2039. So, we’re going to need to get that resolution done quickly.”

Bear said the legislation set a date of March 1, 2026 to have the resolu­tion approved and in place.

“The last thing I took away is, there are very specific things that need to be included in the CRA plan and also on the website,” Bear said. “We do have a CRA page on the city website, so we’re OK there. One of the first things I think we need to do is get the CRA attorney to review our plan and make sure it’s complying with the legislation.”

“I think the three of us have a clear path forward, we just have to get the right people into place and move forward,” Cosby said.

“Some of the presenters have availed themselves to help us,” Thompson said. “One had been the CRA director in Palmetto, and Delray Beach has expressed an inter­est to help us as we move forward.”

The Bradenton Beach CRA district extends from the south side of the Cortez Bridge to the southernmost property lines along Fifth Street South.

CRA members discuss 2025-26 budget

CRA members discuss 2025-26 budget

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – Com­munity Redevelopment Agency members discussed the proposed 2025-26 budget of $2,231,070 at a work meeting on Aug. 6 in prepara­tion for the next steps in the budget process – two public hearings before final approval.

City Treasurer Shayne Thompson introduced the proposed budget.

“We carried some things forward that were in last year’s budget, for example, some undergrounding and pavers,” he said. “Beyond that, it’s kind of placeholders for the projects to come.”

CRA Vice Chair Ralph Cole said he would like to see the underground­ing projects continue.

Thompson said $300,000 for undergrounding from the previous year’s budget was carried forward.

“I don’t want to say placeholder values can change, but direction can change, priorities can change, so what’s in the budget doesn’t necessarily mean it has to stay where it is,” Thompson said. “If during the course of the year, let’s say, for example, undergrounding isn’t something we can accomplish, those funds can remain for a future time or be reallocated to a new priority project.”

Thompson said some projects such as pier improvements became tied to the storms and were funded differently.

“Do we still have to allocate all that money 100% each year?” Cole asked.

“We have to demonstrate the need to use the funds,” Thompson said. “This budget does that.”

Police Chief and Public Works Director John Cosby outlined some proposed projects in the CRA district, particularly on Bridge Street.

“We have an unbelievable amount of foot traffic in the CRA district, and we need to look at widening the sidewalks in the main thoroughfare areas,” Cosby said.

Cosby discussed building projects from the ground up beginning with wiring for lighting, irrigation systems and then moving on to the next level including paving, concrete and sidewalks.

“In the past we’ve put stuff in and had to dig it out and we don’t want to do that,” Cosby said. “We want to revitalize what we have there and try to make it more pedestrian friendly.”

Cosby suggested scheduling a work meeting to get input from residents and businesses.

“The hurricane has taken so much out it does give us the op­portunity to do this,” he said. “You can see the age of the street when you look at how nice the pier is and the docks and the pergola and you look at the rest of the street and that age really comes out.”

Cosby addressed flooding in the district following heavy rains.

“The rain that we had yesterday that lasted 45 minutes, every­thing in the CRA district was underwater and it’s because of the system that was put in. The pipe is clogged, and we’ve got to clear that out. We had a conversation with our stormwater engineer about putting in the baskets to collect the silt. It may not look pretty for a little while because we’ve got to get started from the bottom and work our way up.”

Mayor John Chappie said the CRA board could talk about putting out an RFP (request for proposal) at a future meeting.

“Maybe not all in one year or two years, but we could plan that out in stages,” Chappie said. “In the budget we have $675,000 for the CRA enhancements and another $450,000 for district improvements along with the $300,000 for undergrounding and streetlights. There’s quite a nice amount of money in there.”

Chappie said undergrounding has never been on the back burner.

“It’s always been in the forefront and that’s part of the foundation before you start doing the other work on top of the ground,” he said.

“If we have a project that can’t be completed in the coming fiscal year we can plug it into the budget for the following, so we’re still demonstrating using it at a future time,” Thompson said.

CRA member Deborah Scacci­anoce said that standing water in the district is a problem and she would like to take steps to move forward with repairs.

“Yesterday when it was raining and with the blockages on Bridge Street, the water was bubbling up out of the storm system because it was so overwhelmed,” Cosby said. “Everything that way is blocked and I want to use that money to fix what’s broken before we move forward and put money into other areas.”

He said the standing water will eventually undermine the roads.

“The pipes are good; the main issue is this damming system that was put in to try to force the water to flow slower and percolate into the ground,” Cosby said. “We’re on a barrier island – that’s not going to happen. When we get that fixed that will take care of that.”

Two public hearings will be held in September for the fiscal year 2025-26 CRA budget prior to final approval.

CRA board discusses initiating new projects

CRA board discusses initiating new projects

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – Proposed state legislative bills that would prohibit new projects for Communi­ty Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) after Oct. 1 prompted Bradenton Beach CRA members to identify several new potential projects to begin before the deadline.

“Ricinda (City Attorney Ricinda Perry) has an update about what’s going on in Tallahassee with regard to CRAs,” Mayor John Chappie said at the April 17 meeting. “That’s going to affect us big time.”

Senate Bill 1242 and House Bill 991 propose that:

  • A community redevelopment agency may not initiate any new projects or issue any new debt on or after Oct. 1;
  • A community redevelopment agency in existence on July 1 shall terminate on the expiration date provided in the agency’s charter or on Sept. 30, 2045, whichever is earlier; and
  • A community redevelopment agency operating on or after Sept. 30, 2045 may not extend the maturity date of any outstanding bonds.

“We’ve got the CRA money for 20 years and if they pass this law we have to quit using the money?” CRA member Ralph Cole asked.

“Correct, no new projects,” Perry said.

“You had authorized me to pre­pare a letter,” Perry told the CRA. “I have that letter ready for the execution of the chairman stating that we oppose this and see where it goes.”

Perry said the proposed bills are a real threat to the future of CRA districts.

“It springboards me into the next discussion I wanted to have,” she said. “I’ve alluded to this in past meetings that we may just want to go ahead and move forward on all of our projects that we have discussed previously in the CRA and anything in the future that you might be interested in.”

Perry suggested scheduling a special meeting to discuss and commit to possible projects in the CRA district.

“I think it would be appropriate for us to reevaluate where we are on things,” Perry said.

One possible project would be to make paver improvements around the CRA district. Another was to have signs redone in a black and white theme, she said.

“I think revisiting the (eastern) roundabout on Bridge Street and redesigning the roadway system there would be a worthwhile project to look at,” Perry said.

She also suggested revisiting a discussion about a walking trail.

“We talked about doing a trail and scenic routes for bikes and walking that goes to Fifth Street and after you come off of Gulf Drive, all down there it meets up with Bay and then we talked about continuing that forward somehow and connecting going under the city bridge,” Perry said.

She also suggested irrigation estimates along with landscaping projects.

“Some of the areas we talked about landscaping were the two roundabouts and down Bridge Street,” Perry said.

She said seating and lighting could be added to the new gazebo area as a potential project.

“We’ve also looked at parking on First Street North,” Perry said.

She said she is getting pricing from Steve Porter of Duncan Seawall to install a viewer on the pier.

“We had approved and discussed another lift or some dockage for the county’s water taxi on the north side of the pier,” Perry said. “Those waters are more protected with the waves and current action. We had originally talked about putting things in there, but the owners for the Pines Trailer Park, the Jackson brothers, were opposed to riparian access for those slips in there, and I believe that the current property owner is more favorable at granting the city the rights to get in and use that side.”

Chappie spoke in favor of the CRA helping Bradenton Beach mer­chants to promote Bridge Street.

“I think with the marina (Cortez Marina) coming in across the way, especially a public marina, it’s hard to compete,” Cole said. “It is going to be competition.”

“I think we should start prioritiz­ing the projects we want to put money into and figuring out which ones really are important to the board and for improvement in the CRA,” CRA chair Scott Bear said.

A work meeting to brainstorm and prioritize potential projects was tentatively scheduled for May 8 pending confirmation by the city clerk.

Bradenton Beach logo

CRA shifts from recommending to governing body

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners voted unanimously at the Sept. 5 meeting to modify the makeup of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) board from a seven-member to a five-member board.

The five-member board will consist of commissioners only and act as a governing body. In contrast, the seven-member board included two CRA-area residents or business owners and only made recommendations for the commission to decide.

“We have one vacancy and probably will have another one,” City Attorney Ricinda Perry said, introducing the topic at a commission meeting.

The vacancies Perry referred to are resident David Bell, who resigned from the CRA in March, and Ed Chiles, former owner of Beach House Restaurant. Chiles has been absent with excuse from meetings for the past several months.

“Initially the CRA was a five-member board, then we went to a seven-member board, then five, then seven again. Right now, we are looking at these vacancies. My question is do you still want the two alternates, or do you want it to go back to a five-member board?” Perry asked the commissioners.

Perry said the CRA is going into a little bit of a lull as projects are being completed.

“We’re catching up on all the work we’ve done, we’re putting money back into the coffers. Our focus right now is primarily any emergency situations that Chief (John) Cosby as public works director brings to us,” she said. “There’s not a lot of major projects coming forward.”

As a practical matter, Perry said the monthly Wednesday morning CRA meetings could be held on the same night as the Thursday commission meetings.

“The CRA would have to have its own agenda,” she said. “You could have your CRA meeting first, adjourn that meeting and then have the commission meeting.”

“I think it’s an important discussion,” Mayor John Chappie said. “Manatee County does their CRA meetings first and then go back into their regular session.”

Commissioner Ralph Cole, who also serves as CRA chair, said he recommended going back to a five-member board.

“I’ve been commissioner long enough that I’ve seen it both ways and I think we should go back to five,” Commissioner Jan Vosburgh said.

Commissioner Deborah Scaccianoce raised concerns about non-participation by businesspeople if the board returns to five members.

“At the CRA meetings I’ve been to, it’s pretty much only been us,” Scaccianoce said. “Mr. Chiles hasn’t been here and it’s probably been because he sold his business. I don’t know what the role is because I’ve never had a businessperson present for a CRA meeting. How does that impact the businesses if they’re not a part of it?”

Cole pointed out everyone on the board is subject to the Sunshine Law.

“Everything has to be discussed at a public meeting,” Cole said. “You can’t approach the mayor as a businessperson and talk to him about something you want voted on.”

“If you’re on the same board you can’t talk,” Chappie said.

“It’s easy for someone to trip up on Sunshine Law and public records retention,” Perry said. “It’s a very challenging thing.”

“I think Sunshine is a deterrent and it also ties their hands,” Scaccianoce said. “I think we would have trouble getting seven.”

Vosburgh noted that all the commissioners now or in the past have been business owners.

Chappie read the motion to approve a resolution to modify the makeup of the seven-member CRA board to a five-member CRA board.

Scaccianoce made the motion. It was seconded by Vosburgh and passed unanimously.

Bradenton Beach logo

Irrigation system to be installed on Bridge Street

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – The 80 newly-planted palm trees on Bridge Street will need a regular watering schedule, and on May 2, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) unanimously approved the expenditure of up to $7,500 to have an irrigation system installed along both sides of the road.

CRA members discussed the cost of the irrigation system versus the $3,500 three-week rental cost of a water truck.

“The CRA has looked at installing more landscape irrigation on Bridge Street. There’s been a lot of trees installed and some additional bushes,” Perry said. “It’s always become an irrigation issue when we come into that dry spell when we’re not getting rain.”

Water trucks come at a high cost, she said, adding that some water meters already exist on Bridge Street.

“And now we’ve invested the funds for trees which we can continue to water and they should be fine once they take,” Perry said. “In the event we come into a dry streak, I would hate to come into the expense of a water truck when we could get an irrigation system for close to what we would pay for a one-time water truck use.”

Irrigation system to be installed on Bridge Street
A rental water truck operator waters the newly-planted coconut palm trees along Bridge Street early Sunday morning. – Leslie Lake | Sun

Perry said she received an estimate of about $5,000 from M&F Lawn Care for the installation of an irrigation system.

“To me that’s a no-brainer to get that infrastructure in place and we know that we’re investing in the pergola and we will probably be doing some plantings in there,” she said. “I’m looking for an opportunity to strengthen and protect what we’ve invested and I saw this as an opportunity.”

Eighty coconut palm trees were planted in late April along Bridge Street and the Gulf Drive roundabouts in a city partnership with developer Shawn Kaleta. Kaleta agreed to accept responsibility for the maintenance of the trees as well as donate $10,000 toward the $50,000 cost of the palms and white river rock. The balance came from CRA funds.

Mayor John Chappie said that one of the things he looked at was doing the irrigation in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

“We can remove the pavers and dig down in the paver row and then put in the irrigation without cutting into any asphalt,” Mayor John Chappie said. “I would really recommend we do this; it will make a big difference and save us some money.”

CRA member Deborah Scaccianoce said it made sense from a financial perspective to install the irrigation system.

CRA member Ed Chiles made a motion with a second by member Jan Vosburgh to approve the installation of an irrigation system by M&F Lawn at a cost not to exceed $7,500.

There was no public comment and the motion passed unanimously among board members.

CRA parking tram remains a work in progress

CRA parking tram remains a work in progress

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – Refinements to the recently launched parking tram pilot program are sought by the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) that’s funding it.

The intent of the pilot program is to encourage those visiting the Bridge Street business district to park a few blocks south at Cortez Beach, or elsewhere in the CRA district, and ride the free trams to and from where their vehicles are parked.

Revisions to the parking tram program were discussed on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

The discussion began with City Attorney Ricinda Perry asking CRA members how they want to handle the monthly invoices received from Joshua LaRose. LaRose heads the Sarasota-based EasyParking Group that is providing the CRA with two golf cart-like electric trams and the tram drivers.

The CRA recently received an $8,675 monthly invoice from the EasyParking Group for services provided in December, which was the first full month of tram operations. The CRA also received a $5,360 invoice for the first partial month of service in November.

Perry asked the CRA members if they want city staff to simply pay the monthly invoices as they arrive or place them on the monthly consent agenda for board review and payment authorization.

CRA chairman Ralph Cole said he wants the invoices included on the monthly consent agendas and the other board members agreed.

CRA parking tram remains a work in progress
The parking tram program encourages visitors to park at Cortez Bridge and ride the free tram to Bridge Street. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Advertising revenues

During past CRA discussions, Perry and the board members expressed hope that advertising panels placed on the two trams would generate enough revenue to cover all or most of the pilot program expenses. The long-term goal is for ad revenues to create a breakeven tram operation.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Perry said the proposed ad rates were originally based on how much revenue is needed per month to break even.

“What Joshua found was no one was willing to pay that,” Perry said. “Times are tough for businesses and they’re looking to be judicious with their expenses on advertising. I accept nothing, or I accept a reduced price for the advertising,” Perry said.

“I don’t believe if we fill the signage on the trams in its entirety that we will break even,” she added.

Operating as a separate but related city entity, the Bradenton Beach CRA receives $400,000 to $500,000 per year in annual tax revenues. During past discussions, Cole expressed concerns that the proposed tram pilot program could potentially require a large portion of the CRA’s annual tax revenues.

During last year’s contract discussions with the EasyParking Group, Perry said the CRA could terminate the one-year pilot program at any time.

With no ad revenues, the $8,675 per month pilot program would equate to $104,100 in CRA expenditures during a 12-month span.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Perry said she was aware of current and pending advertising commitments that total about $2,475 to $2,575 per month.

“That’s certainly not going to cover the $8,675,” she said.

The current advertising commitments leave the CRA responsible for about $6,200 in monthly tram operating costs.

The board members unanimously agreed that LaRose should be responsible for securing the ad revenues because his company stands to benefit the most if the pilot program succeeds and becomes permanent.

Tram travel range

The CRA district boundaries extend from the Cortez Bridge to the southernmost property lines along Fifth Street South.

During Wednesday’s meeting, members discussed whether the CRA-funded trams should travel outside the CRA district, and under what circumstances that should occur.

CRA parking tram remains a work in progress
A tram charging station is located outside the Public Works building. -Joe Hendricks | Sun

CRA member Jake Spooner suggested putting GPS tracking devices on the trams to monitor where they travel and how often they travel outside the district they are supposed to serve.

Spooner said long trips made outside the district boundaries result in diminished service within the district – and can also result in additional downtime while the electric trams are being recharged.

Perry shares Spooner’s concerns, but she also understands the logic in giving an elderly couple or an intoxicated person a ride to accommodations or a home located north of the Cortez Bridge.

Cole said he wasn’t overly concerned about the trams traveling outside the CRA district as long as they achieve the goal of transporting more customers to the businesses within the CRA district.

When providing public input, BridgeWalk resort owner and tram advertiser Angela Rodocker said, “This tram was designed specifically to relieve parking issues that we have on Bridge Street. It was not designed to provide transportation for people all over the Island who live here. We have a free trolley and there are multiple resources like the Monkey Bus or Uber for people who are trying to get home who live here on the Island. If you go outside of this tram’s design, you have already set it up to fail.”

The board members agreed that the trams should remain primarily within the CRA district and trips outside the district should be limited and only occur when justified.

The board agreed that LaRose should research a cell phone app and other potential means for tram users to request a ride, and they agreed that the CRA should pay for standardized signs at designated tram stops.

The board wants LaRose to start attending the monthly CRA meetings in-person or by phone to discuss his monthly invoices and address any concerns, questions or suggestions the CRA members have.

According to LaRose’s initial ridership reports, the CRA trams provided 1,994 rides in November and 2,980 in December. The highest single-day ridership to date was the 173 rides provided on Dec. 24.

The Jan. 6 discussion concluded with the members unanimously agreeing that the monthly reports provided by LaRose should include illustrations that show where the trams have traveled and also provide analysis and suggestions for additional service improvements.