This City Commission/CRA Workshop Meeting was conducted utilizing Communications Media Technology. Some Staff members were present in the Commission Chambers while others were present via the Zoom application to respect the social distancing guidelines.

 

CRA Board Members Present in Chambers:

Shirley Groover Bryant, Presiding Officer

Harold Smith, Chair

Tambra Varnadore, Vice Chair

Tamara Cornwell

Sheldon Jones

Brian Williams (Entered the Meeting at 6:02 p.m.)

 

Staff Present in chambers:

Mark Barnebey, City Attorney (Not Present)

Jim Freeman, City Clerk

Jeff Burton, CRA Director

Mohammed Rayan, Public Works Director

Scott Tyler, Chief of Police

Penny Johnston, Executive Administrative Assistant

Vanessa Cochran, Assistant City Clerk

 

Staff Present Electronically:

Todd Williams, Information Technology (IT) Consultant

 

Mayor Bryant called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

 

CRA PRIORITIES (J. Burton)

   Mr. Burton, CRA Director, presented the 17 proposed priorities to the Board and stated that the Board will rank them from 1 being the highest to 17 the lowest, and the final ranking list will be made part of the minutes.  He emphasized that this will assist in clarifying what the Board wants done first, second, or last.  Then, Mr. Burton asked if the Board had any questions.          

 

  Mayor Bryant asked if the deadline information was included when listing the funding.  Mr. Burton replied that the information is listed on the weekly updates that are submitted.  And, if it is not in the Comprehensive Plan, it cannot be done. 

 

  Mr. Burton reiterated the statement that the City must have a vision and it needs to be identified.  He advised that the CRA can partially fund the task to work on the City’s vision plan, and the City would fund the rest.  Also, Mr. Freeman will assist in allocating what amounts the CRA and City will pay.  He commented that if the Housing Authority is a priority, the CRA can fund it, but it will have to be included in the CRA Comprehensive Plan, which it is not at this time.        

 

  Mayor Bryant asked Mr. Freeman, City Clerk, to address some of the necessities relating to the City’s vision.  Mr. Freeman communicated that the City’s vision is associated with two core documents, which are the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and Budget.  And, these documents aid in achieving our missions and goals.  He declared that it should be a City/CRA vision that moves forward with everyone’s involvement.  Mayor Bryant added that the Government Accounting Standard Board looks for the mentioned vision and mission essentials, so it is a requirement and not a want. 

 

City Commission/CRA Workshop

February 17, 2021

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Mayor Bryant added that the Government Accounting Standard Board looks for the mentioned vision and mission essentials, so it is a requirement and not a want. 

 

  Commissioner Smith questioned which projects move faster.  Mr. Burton replied the projects may take 6 – 12 months.  Mr. Burton discussed other projects and the timing. 

 

 Commissioner Williams asked if the projects could be combined by what they are and dollar amounts, so the list won’t be so extensive.  Mr. Burton replied that the projects cannot be combined because of the funding and completion schedule. 

 

  Commissioner Cornwell gave her opinion on how a vision is written and stated that the Board should work through the list as a group and not listing them as 1 through 17.   She also agreed with Commissioner Williams that some projects could be combined, and some previous mentioned projects were not on the list.  Commissioner Cornwell asserted that the Board should go through the list as a group and not a single entity.

 

  Commissioner Jones requested to have the Celebration Center added to the list, and Mayor Bryant responded that the Celebration Center will be added to an upcoming agenda. 

 

  Commissioner Varnadore expressed that the Board needs to follow Mr. Burton’s lead because we have to start somewhere, so these projects can get moving. 

 

  Commissioner Smith requested that Mr. Burton bring the projects to the Board that can get done.  And, he agreed with Commissioner Cornwell that the Board go down the Priority List one by one and vote on them. 

 

  Commissioner Williams expressed that Mr. Burton needs an assistant, and stated that some of the projects are self-ready, and some should have been design built.  He also questioned some projects’ cost to build and stated that he favors a parking garage project.

 

  Commissioner Varnadore opined that she does not favor a parking garage because she does not think it is a priority.  And, she stated that she thinks the top 3 priorities are Incentive Land-Use Prioritization, CRA Downtown Property Redevelopment, and CRA Land Use and Zoning Cleanup. 

 

  Mayor Bryant stated that the Complete Street Project is 5 years off if we do nothing on the financing to move it forward.  She added that many businesses are looking forward to moving into that area, but they are looking for the   promise before they make a move.

 

  Mr. Burton declared that he has the directions needed and will bring motions to the Board regarding the parking garage at the March 1, 2021 meeting. 

 

  Mayor Bryant adjourned the meeting at 7:47 p.m.