05-10-2021 WS Minutestzm 5�-
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 6-6w- �001
MAY 109 2021
WORK SESSION
The City Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida, met in Work
Session on Monday, May 10, 2021, at 4:00 PM, in the City Commission Chambers, 1St
Floor, City Hall, 300 North Park Avenue, Sanford, Florida.
Present: Mayor Art Woodruff
Vice Mayor Kerry S. Wiggins, Sr.
Commissioner Sheena Britton
Commissioner Patrick Austin
Commissioner Patty Mahany
City Manager Norton N. Bonaparte, Jr. (Arrived 4:30 PM)
City Attorney William L. Colbert
City Clerk Traci Houchin
Deputy City Clerk Cathy LoTempio
Mayor Woodruff called the meeting to order at 4:14 PM
1. Interviews for Sanford Housing Authority.
Mayor Woodruff said there was one person who wished to be interviewed
for the Sanford Housing Authority (SHA) and that person was not in attendance. He also
reminded the Commission that there is still one resident position that will need to be
filled. Mayor Woodruff said he has asked the Sanford Housing Authority for their help in
finding an individual that is interested in that position. Mayor Woodruff asked the
Commissioners if there were any comments or suggestions and Commissioner Britton
said she would like to appoint Brian Dodd to the vacant seat on the SHA. Mayor
Woodruff said the Commission will have to appoint Mr. Dodd at tonight's meeting.
Mayor Woodruff said Mr. Bonaparte is upstairs meeting with the Sanford
Waterfront Partners and will join the meeting shortly.
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MAY 10, 2021
WORK SESSION
Mayor Woodruff asked if the Commissioners had anything they would
like to discuss in the meantime.
Commissioner Britton asked the Commission if they received the email
regarding the presentation to the Seminole High School Dazzlers this evening (not being
able to receive a Key to the City).
Mayor Woodruff asked Commissioner Britton to read the proclamation for
the Seminole High School Dazzlers. He asked Vice Mayor Wiggins to read the
proclamation for Glorious Hands and he said that he will read the proclamations for
Maureen Maguire, Coach for the Seminole High School Dazzlers, and the Police
Department.
Mayor Woodruff recently met with Andrew Thomas, Community and
Neighborhood Engagement Director, to revise the Community Development Block Grant
Application to make it more user friendly. He said that Mr. Thomas has approved two
grants and that four that have been referred for technical assistance.
Commissioner Britton said the Garden Tour was really lovely this past
weekend and the weather was perfect. She was told the group sold 300 tickets online and
an additional 100 the day of the event. She said her house was on the tour and there was
constant traffic.
Commissioner Mahany said the Art Festival was the best they ever had,
with more artists than they have ever had. She said three of the artists were completely
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MAY 10, 2021
WORK SESSION
sold out by the end of the day Saturday and the artists packed up and went home Sunday
morning.
Vice Mayor Wiggins said two Saturdays ago was the 3`d Annual Boys II to
Men's Dinner Event. He said there were 100 men and young men, with a few of the
young men that presented testimonies. He said former student and Sanford resident, Gabe
Davis was there to share his story as well as two 12 year old fifth graders from Idyllwilde
that gave testimonies. Commissioner Mahany said that Chianti's provided the food for
the event, and that Ian Schneider, owner of Chianti's, really enjoyed the event and would
like to speak with Vice Mayor Wiggins in regards to volunteering and donating for future
events. Mayor Woodruff said that he really enjoyed the event. He said he was very
impressed with the boys and that the testimonies were very moving and powerful. Vice
Mayor Wiggins said public speaking is one of the things that the program focuses on with
the young men.
Commissioner Britton reminded Vice Mayor Wiggins about the sisters
that helped with the event. Vice Mayor Wiggins said yes, the sisters did help out and
there were a few other groups that helped out.
Commissioner Britton said she attended the CRA Work Session. She said
it is very exciting to see all the things that will be happening with Main Street.
Vice Mayor Wiggins said the residents that will be residing in the 1 st
Phase of Redevelopment of the Sanford Housing Authority in the Goldsboro Community
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MAY 109 2021
WORK SESSION
at Monroe Place, will include a swimming pool? He said the kids are so excited that they
will have a pool.
Mayor Woodruff paused the meeting at 4:29 PM.
Mayor Woodruff resumed the meeting at 4:35 PM.
2. Update on Heritage Park Project by Sanford Waterfront Partners, LLC.
Mr. Bonaparte introduced the representatives from the Sanford
Waterfront Partners (SWP); Richard Heisenbottle, Venny Torre and Catie Sacks. Mr.
Heisenbottle presented a power point pertaining to the Heritage Park project. He handed
out a revised master plan and provided the history of how the project began. He said the
master plan has been adjusted several times due to parking.
Mr. Heisenbottle said the master plan includes the following; 235
apartments, 22 buildings with various styles (stucco, brick, modern mercantile, Dutch and
South African), an art park, a dog park, a recreation area, fitness center, swimming pool
and various commercial spaces. He said the project includes 467 on and off street parking
spaces, live/work spaces and tranquil living. There will be restaurants, a bar, a market, an
ice cream parlor and several retail spaces. He said the buildings will have different levels
so they do not all look the same. Most of the buildings include retail or commercial
spaces on the bottom floor and apartments on the upper levels.
Mr. Heisenbottle said there are FEMA Flood Elevation Requirements that
will have to be met and soil stabilization before construction can begin.
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MAY 109 2021
WORK SESSION
Mr. Torre said SWP has met with five or six contractors and a very
interested broker from New York. He said they have hired an engineer with the intent to
submit for permits within seven to eight months. Mr. Torre said the capital market froze
in the beginning of last year due to COVID. He said the only collateral SWP has at this
time is the Development Agreement. SWP is negotiating with financial investors now
and hope to make a decision in the next few months. He said SWP is in a good place right
now and this is a good location.
Mayor Woodruff asked for the bottom line of when the ground breaking
will be for the project. Mr. Heisenbottle said the goal is in early 2022.
Commissioner Britton asked how likely it is that this is the last design
(master plan). Mr. Heisenbottle said he has no intent to change this one and confirmed
this would be the last design.
The Commission asked if SWP has secured finances. Mr. Heisenbottle
said they are reviewing and negotiating with five different banks to see which one will
have the best term sheet. He said so far, there is one bank that has shown the most
interest, Centennial Bank, but they are still negotiating. He said SWP was using U.S.
HUD, but their requirements were complicated.
Commissioner Britton asked if there is anything concrete SWP could share
with the Commission about the project. Mr. Heisenbottle said the soil stabilization is
complicated and requires a separate bid package to be presented to the City. Mr. Torres
said SWP has invested a lot of time into this project since 2015 and they are not going
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MAY 109 2021
WORK SESSION
anywhere. Mr. Heisenbottle said there are still things that need to be completed by the
City on the agreement.
Mayor Woodruff asked Tom George, Deputy City Manager, what is left
for the City to complete. Mr. George said there is still one splice that has to be completed
by Florida Power and Light. He said the line is so old and complex to relocate, it requires
a special team to complete the repair. He said that team is located in Miami. Mr. George
said he is constantly trying to contact them and he is not able to get them to confirm a
timeframe. Mr. George said once this work is completed, the developer has 24 months to
begin the project.
Commissioner Britton asked about the Community Redevelopment
Agency (CRA) contributions. Charles Davis, CRA Chairman, said the CRA contributed
$5.2M towards the project. Mr. Heisenbottle said these funds are committed to
streetscape and utility work on surrounding streets. Commissioner Britton asked how
long have these funds been tied up. Mayor Woodruff said the $5.2 M was not set aside all
at once, it is taking place over time and the CRA is making payments on the funds.
Mr. Heisenbottle said the project will include workforce housing.
Commissioner Mahany asked for the definition of workforce housing. Ms. Sacks said it is
not really a legally defined housing criteria like Section Eight or Affordable. She said it is
something between what would be considered your market rate and something that would
be affordable. She said the metric that other cities use is 120% of area needed income.
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MAY 109 2021
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Commissioner Mahany said she is concerned that by the time this project
is built it will no longer be viable. Commissioner Britton said that the City has been
waiting a long time for this and she would like to see things happen. Commissioner
Austin said that Central Florida is the hottest market and he also would like to see
something being done soon with this project.
Mr. Heisinbottle offered to meet with each of the Commission separately
to explain the finances in more detail.
Mr. Bonaparte and the Commission asked how long before SWP can
obtain financing. Mr. Heisenbottle and Mr. Torre said within 60 days. Both men said that
they are willing to return in August to provide an update.
3. Briefing Items
■ Glorious Hands 10 Year Anniversary Celebration
Originally, Glorious Hands was going to have a reception in the lobby for
the girls, parents and supporters of the program, however, due the amount of
presentations at tonight's meeting they have decided to go back to the facility for their
reception.
Mr. Bonaparte introduced Tom George, Deputy City Manager who
provided an update on Sanford Mayfair Management of the Mayfair Golf Course. Mr.
George said the Mayfair Golf Course currently has 27 employees. The cost for adding all
additional City employees is $379,000 or $291,000 to hire Pete and Chris, (current
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managers of the golf course), with other employees being hired through a temp agency.
Mr. George recommends hiring a management company to break even on the operations.
Commissioner Austin said when the last management company was
running the golf course, nothing was taken care of and everything fell apart. He said that
by building the new club house, the City will see a tremendous difference in profits. He
said the course is a gem and if the City can get things built and repaired it would be very
profitable. He said there are several opportunities for tournaments and Seminole State
College would like it for their home course for their Golf Club.
Mayor Woodruff and Commissioner Mahany would like Mr. George to
compare, on paper, the differences between the City managing the golf course versus a
management company managing the golf course.
Vice Mayor Wiggins also said that he would prefer having the City
manage the golf course.
:d at 6:13 PM.