At this time, we'll call to order the October 12, 2026 meeting of the City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency. At this time, we'll move to item 2.1 on the agenda. Approve the minutes of the September 28, 2026 CRA meeting. It's through a motion to approve the minutes. So moved. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Now move to item 3 on the agenda. Are there any sentences to be heard regarding items not on today's CRA agenda? There is one individual, Barbara Sori-Love. My name is Barbara Sori-Love, president of Clearwater African American Foundation. I stand before you not just as a resident, but as an organizer who has spent years alongside this community fighting to ensure Clearwater's rich African American history is never erased. Through our work renaming Pinellas High Innovation, installing the historical marker at the North Greenwood Cemetery, advocating via Save the Garden, and mobilizing through Mount Olive AME Church's civic engagement, we have proven one thing. Our community will show up to protect its roots. That is why I'm here this afternoon to give you a critical update on our latest initiative in Clearwater Heights. For decades, industrial rezoning and adjacent downtown development has chipped away at the physical structures of the heights, but our legacy remains unbroken. So, to ensure this neighborhood transitions into its next chapter with its heritage firmly intact, we aren't coming to you today with a vague wish list. We are coming to you with an executed plan. We have finalized a comprehensive business plan to revitalize our community corridors. Furthermore, we have officially been approved for state-sanctioned Florida historic markers to formally commemorate the St. Matthew Cemetery and most recently submitted wording to Pinellas County Historic and Preservation Board for Clearwater Heights, a.k.a. Historic Mike Dixon Subdivision, founded in 1909 as one of the very first African American settlements in Clearwater. With our historic markers and our business road map set, we ask the CRA to match our energy and partner with us on three immediate actions. One, placemaking and installation infrastructure. With the markers, we need the CRA to coordinate with City Public Works for a structural installation, right-of-way permitting, and high-visibility placemaking layout so we can turn these markers into a cohesive educational trail. Number two, infrastructure equality, physical memory requires safe access. As major corridor improvements roll out, we need immediate pedestrian safety upgrades, sidewalk expansions, and modern lighting. The residents and visitors walking to read these markers deserve safe, walkable, and dignified neighborhood streets. Three, targeted commercial activation. Our business plan lays out the framework for commercial revitalization, but legacy businesses within the Heights need a boost. We ask the CRA to deploy its commercial grant program and business spotlight program aggressively into our neighborhood to turn the area surrounding these markers into thriving economic hubs. We have the leadership. We have the business plan. Let's work together to ensure that the urban renaissance taking place in Clearwater lifts the McDixon subdivision equally. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your continued partnership. Thank you. Any others to speak to items not on today's agenda? Not that I've turned in a card. Thank you. Good right. Item 4.1 on the agenda. September business spotlight. My apologies. Tequilas Mexican Grill in Cantina. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Tasha Hatley, CRA specialist. And today, I'm pleased to recognize Tequilas Mexican Grill in Cantina as our September business spotlight winner. Located at 422 Cleveland Street in downtown Clearwater, Tequilas has been a part of the downtown business community for more than a decade. The family-owned restaurant has built a loyal customer base by offering Tex-Mex favorites, margaritas, live music, and a welcoming dining atmosphere. Tequilas has remained connected to the community by supporting local organizations and events. That commitment to its customers has helped make the restaurant a longtime part of downtown Clearwater. This spotlight reflects the city's and CRA's shared goals of supporting local businesses, strengthening economic vitality, and contributing to a vibrant redevelopment district where businesses and residents can connect. To help share their story, the CRA and Public Communications produced a video, which is available through my clearwatercra.com and social media channels. At this time, we invite you to view the video. Thank you. My name is Amanda. I'm one of the owners of Tequilas and the general manager. So, I do most of the day-to-day stuff. Tequilas has been part of downtown Clearwater for over 13 years. When customers come in and enjoy time with us at Tequilas, they can expect a really fun atmosphere. We always have drink specials going on. We love live music down here. So, on Taco Tuesday, we always have live music. We have really great mole that we make in-house. Staples like fajitas, of course, our margaritas, right? And really good desserts as well that we make in-house. We chose downtown Clearwater as Tequila's home because it has always felt like home to us. Community is so important. So, whenever we do get the opportunity, we involve ourselves with local charities, high schools, churches, and veteran events. It's really important that the people who support us, we can also give back to them. We are open Sunday through Thursday from 11 until 9. And then Friday and Saturday, we are open a little bit later until 9.30. So, people can hopefully come and enjoy our concerts and live music that we have. Thank you for all standing. We love Clearwater. We've been a part of it, obviously, for a long time now. And we look forward to many more years down here and enjoying the sunshine when it's actually sunny, you know. So, just thank you so much, and we're very appreciative. You've been a staple in downtown Clearwater, like you said, for 12, 13 years now. Yes. And when you moved, you know, to your current location, you know, it was probably, you know, concerning, you know, whether or not the business would go with you, but it did. And folks were very loyal to your restaurant and continue to be so. So, congratulations, and it's great to have you in downtown Clearwater. Thank you so much. Thank you. Congratulations. Thanks for coming in today. Thank you. That's a picture. We'll stand up here. Three, two, one. Three, two, one. Perfect. Thank you. Congratulations. That's great. Now, we'll die. I'm a 4.2 on the agenda. October's Business Spotlight, Emily's Restaurant. Hello again. My name is Tasha Hadley, CRE Specialist, and today I'm pleased to recognize Emily's Restaurant as our October Business Spotlight winner. Located at 101 South Garden Avenue in downtown Clearwater, Emily's has been serving the community for over 40 years. For 17 of those years, former owners Tony and Ronnie Alakzakis helped carry on the restaurant tradition as a welcoming, old-school diner known for its classic breakfast and lunch favorites. Today, Emily's is entering a new chapter under owner Nick Pastis, who is building on that longtime character while bringing decades of experience and a new vision for the business. Nick has over 40 years of experience in the restaurant industry and is a classically trained graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. His career includes Walt Disney World, Seminole Hard Rock Casino Hotel, and City Fish Seafood Grill and Chop House. Emily's is now open on Sundays with plans to expand its hours, introduce dinner service, and hire additional employees as the restaurant grows alongside downtown Clearwater. To help share their story, we created a video highlighting a restaurant's new ownership and what's ahead. At this time, I like to share the Business Spotlight video. My name is Nicholas Pastis. I am the current owner. Anybody who does come in, they'll see me out here every single day, whether it be cooking in the back or meeting you at the tables and interacting with all my guests. I have over 40 years' experience in the restaurant industry. I'm a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. I'm classically trained. Emily's has always been an old-school diner, so obviously the idea of preserving that feel and that integrity in the hall rooms that we have, we also want to make sure that we are a family-friendly establishment, which means that anybody who walks in is automatically going to be feeling a welcoming experience when they come in. What I'm most excited about for the future of Emily's Family Restaurant is the growth potential that is happening in the downtown Clearwater area. New people coming in and hiring more people to work here. I'm absolutely excited about the extended hours for dinner. It's going to be a whole new chapter for this restaurant because the restaurant has never been open for dinner before in 40-plus years it's been in existence. So there's a brand-new chapter moving forward. Thank you. I do appreciate this opportunity to address you. Again, my name is Nick Pastis, and I purchased the restaurant about five months ago. And with everything that's happening right now with downtown Clearwater and the directions that we are moving into, I'm very, very excited with the opportunity for the growth potential between downtown and affiliates with the restaurants. Very excited with opening on Sundays, and eventually moving forward, we'll be opening up for dinners. And please, come down and join us. I appreciate it. Thank you. Well, 40 years, you've got a great legacy there to continue. And certainly all of us knew the late Tony, who he and his wife ran it for many years. And just wonderful people and a wonderful family that have served this community very well, getting to the point where you can take it to a new level. So congratulations on your ownership of this great establishment. We look forward to seeing this restaurant thrive for another 40 years, hopefully. Thank you very much. That one moved to item 4.3 on the agenda. Request for authority to settle case of Crumb Properties 2, LLC, versus Community Redevelopment Agency. So, trustees, that is my item. So the item before the trustees is to settle the case that's pending in Pinellas County Court between Crumb Properties and the CRA for $7.5 million. So the matter involves both contract and court claims related to the CRA sale in 1998 of the property located at 100 South Missouri Avenue to a third-party developer, IMR. And, again, that's the current location of a Frank Crumb Properties. So a little history. In the 1900s, the property was St. Matthew's Baptist Church and was used as a cemetery. In 1955, St. Matthew's sold the property to three Clearwater businessmen. And at that date, it was no longer used as a cemetery. In the 60s, a Montgomery Ward store was constructed and operated for quite some time. In the 1980s, the city acquired the property and remodeled it into a municipal building. It was later called, I believe, the City Hall Annex. Now, in 1998, the city conveyed the property to the CRA. And at that point, the CRA entered into a development agreement with a company called IMR for the sale of that property. Now, prior to that land sale, the land was remediated for oil and gas contamination linked to the Montgomery Ward's Auto Service Center. The city removed about 8,500 tons of soil. And there were no reports of graves being found during the remediation work. So for the development agreement that was entered in 1998, it contains a couple different warranties. One was that the property did not presently include human remains. And that cemetery had previously transferred from the property and all remains were relocated. Now, that contract was entered into, at the CRA's understanding, best at that time, back in 1998. The term of development agreement was 10 years. Now, after that sale to IMR, IMR constructed what was called a global center on the property. Now, during that construction, there was no reports of graves being found during the construction of that building. In 2004, Crum acquired the property from CGI, which had acquired IMR. Now, the development agreement was assigned from IMR to Crum. Now, going forward about 16 years later, in 2020, there were some grade sites located on the property. In 2020, the city hired a car note to conduct some archaeological testing on the property. And then this takes us to the litigation. So, in 2023, September, the Crum filed a complaint against the city and the CRA. And they alleged that the development agreement contained false warranties related to the property not including remains and the remains being relocated. Later that year, November 2023, the city and the CRA each filed a motion to dismiss. In March of 2024, the Crum dropped the city from the case. And at that point, it was only between Crum and the CRA. In June of 2024, Crum filed an amended complaint and alleged five different counts, three of which were contract claims. And counts four and five were tort claims. Now, in December of 2024, there was a mediation between Crum and the CRA and the parties that did not reach an agreement. In March of 2025, the court ruled on some pretrial motions related to summary judgment. The CRA lost its motion for summary judgment. And Crum prevailed on its motion for summary judgment as it related to the contract claims. And all that was left for the jury for the contract claims was for the jury to determine the amount of damage. The counts four and five related to the tort claims were open for both liability and damage at a trial. Now, the CRA filed a motion, filed an appeal. It went through the DCA. The CRA did not prevail on the appeal. And the DCA came back in February of 2026, in which it upheld the trial court's decisions. The case at that point was set for a jury trial in October, actually last week, October the 5th. In July of 2026, the parties, the CRA and Crum had a non-binding arbitration. Now, that arbitration was a three-judge panel, three retired judges. And it was about a day long. And the arbitrators found, as it relates to two of the counts, that Crum should receive about $7.4 million. For count three, which was the indemnification account, the arbitration panel left it to the trial court to determine fees and costs. And as it relates to the tort claims, counts four and five, the arbitration panel found for the CRA. And again, that is a non-binding award. Now, in September, September the 9th, Crum and the CRA engaged in a mediation. It was about a half day. I did not reach an agreement at the mediation. But after the mediation, the parties continued to have discussions about the settlement of this case. On September the 29th, the parties reached an agreement that was subject to the approval of the CRA, trustees. And on September the 30th, there was a notice of settlement filed. The trial that was set for the week of October the 5th was canceled because of the notice of settlement. So, you know, as it relates to this case, again, there are three counts, one through three, of contract claims. And for a contract claim, there is no sovereign immunity cap. Now, for counts four and five, there is a sovereign immunity cap. And what that means for a tort claim is that the CRA would only have to pay a judgment up to $200,000 for a single plaintiff case. In order for that to go higher, there would have to be a claims bill filed. But related to contract claims, there is no sovereign immunity cap. So we could go up higher than $200,000 without a claims bill. So the trustees have really two different options today. One is that they would agree to approve this settlement. And if the settlement is not approved, then what would happen is the case would go back on the trial calendar. And there are certain risks associated with going to trial. If it went to jury trial, I think it's likely that the verdict by the jury would be in the low millions plus attorney's fees. At the high end, it could be up to $16 or $18 million, which I believe is what Crum is asking for. Now, based on what the verdict, it would be likely that the CRA would file an appeal. And the appellate process could take about 18 months. So we're looking at getting a decision at some point in 2028. And, again, there is risk associated with an appeal. And I think only about 15%, 20% of the cases are successful on appeal. And, again, certainly it's my position that the CRA has good appellate arguments. But at the same time, there is risk associated with an appeal. Now, if the trustees approve the settlement, it would be a settlement for $7.5 million. In exchange, the city and the CRA will each receive a full release. And the pending civil action will be dismissed with prejudice. So with that, I'm open for questions. Questions from the trustees? I'd just like to share, you know, that this is we're simply considering settling the litigation, which is between the property owner, Crum Properties, Roman numeral II LLC, and the CRA. And we're only talking about settling a contractual tort claim litigation dispute. It's not any broader than that. It's just they have made these tort claims and contractual claims against the CRA. And we're only discussing how to resolve those. And we do. I think we feel good about the appeal possibility. But there is that risk that, you know, we would not prevail on appeal. And then there would be additional expense to the city in proceeding all day. So, excuse me, the CRA. So I just want to clarify to the public that this is simply settling litigation between a property owner and the CRA. And it's not anything broader than that. Correct. Any other questions up here? Okay. With that, is there anyone from the public today that would like to comment on this? Hearing, seeing none, we'll proceed to vote. Yes. Okay. Good afternoon. I'm Diane Stevens with the Clearwater Colored Cemetery Society. First of all, you know, they say success isn't only measured by medals. Sometimes it's measured by the distance you're willing to travel when someone tries to erase you. And right about now, we have been traveling a long distance. And we do not want to be erased. We're talking about crumb. We're talking about the city. But as I walk through downtown, and I walk through downtown, I used to walk a lot before my house got damaged. And I would see signs that says, and pictures, that say preserving our heritage. I look around and I don't see too many things trying to preserve our heritage. Yes, we've been here. We've helped build Clearwater. And yet, we're being erased. But right about now, I'm here to say that we would like for the city, for Crumb, for help, and the school board to make our community whole. And I know you had to do this, and you had to make a settlement with Crumb, but I was almost willing for it to go to court so that we can pull everything out, lay everything out, and see what the city of Clearwater has done to us. But I am willing to talk with you all, and we have been talking with the city, and we have never come to a conclusion. We'd like to have our remains and our people that have been buried in those cemeteries. And Benny Race, we'd like to see them honored. We'd like to have our community made whole. But I agree that you have come, and you say you've listened to us, and that you couldn't do it until everything has been litigated. Well, now that we're in the process of doing that, are you willing to really talk to us now? We've given you our ask, and I'd like for you to go and revisit that. Thank you. But thank you so much, but we really would like to have our community made whole. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. I'm Mayor of Council. I'm Pastor Childs of the Pounders County Ministry Alliance, Three Society. I've said this before. We just celebrated 20 years of pastoring here in Pounders County. And when I became pastor, I inherited a lot of problems that I wasn't responsible for. And I said the same thing to you and the council. I know you guys wasn't there when a lot of this happened back in the 1900s, but you're here now. And I feel and we're praying that now that Crumb, Shettlement, or whatever has been moved out of the way, that you would decide to do something for this community. It is very emotional for not only myself, but for the community. Now that we have found out that the number has really escalated to about 1,000 graves that has been confirmed by death certificates and descendants. And there needs to be some resolutions. I know we feel now that this is on the CRA and it's not the city's responsibility, but it's all the same. I think we need to stop playing the numbers games and the words, vocabulary words and playing games with the words and make a decision to come alongside this community because we're not going nowhere. I'm not going nowhere. I mean, this is very close to my heart. It's very dear to my heart. All of y'all know that. Many of y'all know this. And I feel that it's time that we come together as human beings. We've been friends for a long time. I talked to Chief Slaughter, and we want to remain friends. Hey, there's no reason why we shouldn't. But there needs to be something done, some type of resolution to bring some time to heal this. Let us begin to heal this thing. We've been sitting and waiting, and it's time for the city and the leaders, the elected officials, to help us out in our community. Your pleasure. Good afternoon. My name is Reverend Lee Hall Perkins. I serve as the pastor of Mount Zion United Methodist Church, historically African-American congregation here in Clearwater. A pastor that has a century worth of ministry and longstanding commitment to justice and equity. I stand before you today not simply as a pastor, but as someone whose church history is personally connected to this issue. Our founding pastor, the Reverend Arthur Lane Jackson, was buried at St. Matthew's Cemetery. His resting place is a part of a sacred history that deserves dignity, recognition, and respect. So I'm asking the city to do three things. First, convene a meeting with the descendants and the community and those who are affected by this issue. Convene a meeting with them, Frank Crum, Properties, LLC, to establish a path that centers the voices and concerns of the families most affected. Second, commit to a transparent process and clear timeline for reaching a resolution with the community. The descendants should not have to continue wondering whether their loved ones will be remembered, honored, and treated with dignity. Third, work collaboratively with Frank Crum and the community to develop a meaningful remedy that acknowledges the harm, honors those who are buried at the cemetery, and provides tangible support towards making descendants and the broader community whole. I'm not here to assign blame or fault, but I am asking you to take responsibility for bringing the right people to the table, establishing a process, and ensuring that this issue does not disappear into another year of inaction with the community. As a faith leader, I leave with you the words of the Hebrew prophet Micah, who said, What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? So bring the people to the table, establish a timeline, commit to a meaningful resolution for the community. More than 300 people are still buried there. These were human beings, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, neighbors, and community builders. Their descendants deserve action and not another response of not yet, not now, or wait. The time is now to do the right thing. It's time to make the community whole. Thank you. Thank you, Andrew. Speaker of the Council, Javante Scott, resident of Cliffwater. I wanted to just, I'm going to be brief. I think enough has been said already, but I will say this. You still got a decision to make in the next couple seconds. You're going to decide whether to settle with Mr. Crumb or not. But I assume and I would hope that that decision does not become one for the larger total picture. I think regardless of your decision in terms of the Crumb property and the settlement there, there must be action taken beyond meeting, beyond convening a conversation, but a real step to an olive branch, if you will, from the city to the community, but not only the community to the families of those who were laid to rest on that property. I think this moment is one unique in our city's history. It has been for a long time a gap between the city government and the North Greenwood area, but the African-American community at large. And I think this moment becomes one in which you all get to decide, not that you were wrong or you were to blame, but you get to decide what kind of leader you decide to be. It won't be a decision that will carry on your legacy, but it will be one that can carry a legacy that is amended, a relationship that is fractured to reprimand decisions that have been made of the past. There is a story told of a group who get told this thing. I'm paraphrasing, but it says that further generations, the generations to come are essentially rest with the responsibility of those that came before them. Some consequences that we don't necessarily, of actions that were not ours, that we then have to kind of take ownership of. And so in this case, you don't owe blame, no, but you do get the opportunity, the responsibility to be held accountable for what happens next. And that is the question, after you make this decision, there will need to be conversation with the descendants of those who are buried there, community at large, as to what should happen next. That's my statement. It is that you would take a moral stand to do what is right. And what is right sometimes hurts. Doing the right thing sometimes goes against what we believe. But our belief does not make it right. I think we all know that right is right, regardless of how wrong we might want it to be. God bless you all. Thank you. Good afternoon. Gloria Campbell, Clubwater Urban Leadership Coalition. And I stand before you, first of all, to thank Frank Crone, because I think if they had not filed litigation, we would not be sitting here today. We would not have an opportunity to do some things right, to revisit what was done in the past, and as so many have said before, make our community whole. But my concern today is about the CRA being responsible for the $7.5 million. There are two CRAs. I have not heard anything that says the money is coming out of the downtown CRA and not the North Greenwood CRA. I have heard about projects that are going to be put on hold, maybe canceled. We do not know where those are. I do not know if you have answers to those questions, but that is top of mind for me, for our community, for projects that we have that we are looking to complete to, again, make the community whole. So if somebody has the answers to those questions, that would be great. If not, I certainly would like to get them sometime soon. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else on this agenda? Good afternoon, everybody. I wasn't planning on speaking today about this, but as luck or perhaps even divine providence has made, I'm here in front of you. I'll be brief. I second everything that these people have said before me. I don't know what their ask is. I'm curious. You need to approve something. Well, I'm sorry. I don't want this to be, as I've seen so many votes, where you silently approve something, and there's quiet, and there's this deathly quiet, and everybody goes on. I recently started attending the St. John's Primitive Baptist Church on Palmetto almost a year ago. And I cannot say enough good about this church and these people. I live on the edge of North Greenwood. I bought a little house in 2009, a foreclosure, fixed it up, still fix it up. And I've seen a lot. I've seen a lot of bad stuff. Yep. And I've seen a lot of good. And I know the heart that these people have. I know the hearts they have. They deserve to be respected. They deserve to be remembered. Put yourself in their shoes. Many of you can't. Some people are just not born that way. They can't put themselves in another person's shoes. I get that. But I strongly think this would be a healing for our community. I'm very aware of other subjects where we have divided people on one side. Scientology, non-Scientologists. That's it. You want a healing, Mr. Menino? You've talked about that a lot, right? I think it should apply in this case as well. It should apply in this case as well. And I think I wasn't aware of where this money 7.5 is coming from. Is it coming from the CRA? That's a very convoluted thing to me. You know, it's complicated. And I would hate to think that you all were taking that money from what is supposed to be money for the development of North Greenwood. Long forgotten. Should have been done a long time ago. There's no excuse for it. Bright and beautiful, clear water? Well, there's a lot of people, a lot of videographers doing a lot of videos on the other parts that are forgotten. If you want to continue to be bright and beautiful and welcoming in a great city, I strongly, from my heart, ask you to delay this vote or to keep talking. Like I said, I didn't plan on saying this today. I told you I'd be short. But three minutes. I should take it all, right? Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else on this agenda? Hey, I just, if there's no one else, I'd just like to say a couple things. First, when I was talking about what we're doing today, I wasn't trying to minimize at all the feelings and the thoughts and concerns that those have come up and expressed. We hear you. I was just trying to describe to all of you of what we're doing today. We're not answering any of the broader questions, which many of you have raised. You know, what's the community going to do here? What's the property owner going to do here? We're not resolving it. We're simply deciding today whether or not this settlement proposal is right for the claims that have been brought against us in this litigation. That's all it is. And the other thing I wanted to say is this, is there was, I think it was you, Ms. Campbell, somebody came up here and asked about, you know, the assets of the CRA. You know, if we went to trial, you know, we don't know what the eventual cost would be. And so, you know, that could jeopardize the assets for most CRAs. But this settlement is well within the resources that we have to settle it, and it shouldn't impact, you know, significantly our decisions in CRA going forward if we settle for this amount. We have the resources to cover this settlement amount. But if we went to trial, it could be a much bigger number, and there could be some uncertainty about our ability to operate going forward. So this settlement is good for that reason as well. It's well within what we have as far as resources to pay. Regarding the Greenwood CRA paying for it, if you recall, we had that very question right at the beginning when we merged the two or the creation of the second one, and we actually asked for a legal opinion. And the opinion was that the two, I call them wallets, would be kept separate. But if you can chime in, I would appreciate officially. Settlements coming from the downtown CRA. That's where the property is located. And we only have, you know, enough assets to more than cover to sell them out for the downtown CRA. That's Mayor Menino. Thank you, Mayor. Probably easier to play it safe and to be quiet, but this is a delicate and sensitive topic in our community. So I think it deserves more than silence and a vote. Respectfully to our community, all our community. My name was brought up a couple minutes ago about healing, and my words towards healing have always been healing of our community in its entirety, not one aspect of our community, not one neighborhood in our community, not one district or organization, but the healing of all of us as a community, but the healing of all of us as a community. And being a healthier community, healing and moving forward makes us a happier community, raises our quality of life. And I think I've been committed to that. But this is delicate, in a sense, to tiptoe because the mayor is right. This discussion is about an agenda item and finding a settlement to move forward on this. We've all tried to find a way for years on how to put this behind us. Some of us have been a little more eager to find a path forward versus litigation than others, but we're finally here, and I know we're all extremely supportive of finding a way out. The delicate balance is how do you adequately and deservingly pay respect to bodies and remains of those, as well as their descendants and the community? How do you respectfully move forward with the valued community business relationship that we have with Crum, as well as respect what we can legally do and the role we have against the rights of a property owner, because we are not the property owner? But I think I would agree with many of the words that have been said in here. It's easy to pass a vote today in a sense of pass that responsibility on or pass that buck. I think where we really move forward from here is what are the discussions going forward? What do they look like? How do we navigate making our community whole, right? What does that look like? What does that process entail? And what is within our ability as a city in that process? I'm willing to sit down. I have the courage to try to have those conversations and respecting all the aforementioned from the business relationships to our community to what we can legally do in the rights of a property owner. I hope that you believe and trust in the leadership of our team as well as this dais, that in passing this agenda item and finding a litigation way out of this, that the conversation doesn't stop there. But I hope you trust in the fact that we will step up and find ways to move forward. And what that looks like, there is no promises. We can realistically do what we can do. But what we can do is take those steps forward to find a way to try to heal the entirety of our community and not just one aspect. So I appreciate you for being here. And I am in support of moving forward with this agenda item. Vice Mayor. Yes, sir. Thank you. To shed a little bit more light, Ms. Campbell, on a question that you had asked too in regards to the monies and the detriment that it could have to the CRAs now knowing which one it's coming from, if we did go to trial, from my understanding, as we've been in those meetings, and a higher judgment was awarded in the double digits of millions, it could have potentially bankrupted both CRAs. So that's another reason why I think that this settlement price point was probably the smart decision. And as has been mentioned by a lot of the community here today, you know, the three points of conveying meetings, clear timelines, and working for a resolution is definitely feasible, especially from the city working with one of our community members. So I look forward to that, and hopefully it helps you clear up a little bit more of why we're where we're at now. I wanted to follow up on that word silence. There's many reasons for that, right? First was litigation. But for myself, it's because this is one of the most difficult conversations it is for me to have. I know I've had it with Gloria, Marilyn, Reverend Childs. Even my parents and I don't have the same values on what happens to remains. My parents, it's like in the earth and that's the only way. My children want to be cremated. So what does that mean to be remembered? In a vase, underground, in a drawer, whatever. And so it's so personal, and it evokes so much emotion that I want to be silent because I don't know what to do with all those remains that have no voice. They have their family's voice, but not their own. So if you would ask my mom what to do if I was buried under a 7-Eleven, she would say one thing. If you would ask me, I would say another thing. And so all that makes me uncomfortable. And it's a very hard conversation to have. And so I acknowledge that. And maybe that's why there was a lot more silence because we're talking about something that is so personal, that has so much value, and we could, you know, do the wrong thing. And so I just wanted to acknowledge that, at least for me, I have been more silent out of respect because I wanted to listen to other people's views and not impose my own. Because if it was me, don't touch me once I'm there. And that might not reflect your values. So that is where the silence came from. I think it's been said, you know, we want to continue the conversation. I think the consensus up here with the community, and this is not the end. We're just, you know, we're just voting on today, settling the litigation. So I appreciate everyone coming out today to share their thoughts. With that, is there a motion? Move to approve agenda item 4.3. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you for those who spoke for coming today. That will move to item 5.1. CRA Director's Report, October 2026. Good afternoon. Jesus Nino, CRA Executive Director. Thank you for the opportunity to allow me to provide this update for the progress from October 2026 for the Director's Report. I'm trying to fix the presentation up there. We'll get through it. So for the audience here as well, so it's an opportunity also to share the progress that we have for our redevelopment areas. So first we'll talk about the downtown CRA, then the North Greenwood CRA updates, as well as our property disposition program. So we'll start with the downtown. So I really thank the mayor for proclaiming September the 14th through the 18th as redevelopment week here in the city of Clearwater. So during that week, we did produce a lot of material that we shared with the world, basically, in the region. And as far as the projects that we have and that we're doing right now, for instance, the Indigo Project, where we contributed $2 million to make sure that that affordable housing project actually happened, as well as the property so that the Osceola Parking Garage could happen, and the mini-container project in North Greenwood, which is going along very well right now, than other projects that we have. So we just shared to the world anything that we could that demonstrates what Clearwater CRA is doing. As far as the Osceola project, as you see here, it's basically already hit its peak as far as how high it's going to go vertically. Now the improvements are being done as far as internally just to make that garage happen. The Ballad Hotel, as well, it also continues to go vertical, and hopefully it stays on schedule. The blocks of construction, too, you just see the cranes just keep going up. As far as the 600 block, you see all the activities there as far as construction and demolition with the Cleveland Street Alliance. They continue to move forward with their projects there. Then this one that was exciting, Economic Development and the Police Department. We met with an individual who wants to activate the first floor of the Nolan, and hopefully his project comes to fruition. CRA staff, Economic Development staff, and other city staff were working with him. Hand in Glove, in addition to Mr. Battle, has also met with a gentleman. The concept is called V.S. 1932, and those initials are his mother's initials. As far as downtown, we continue to move forward with our grant programs. If you know, in Goff to Bay, there is a Traveler's Inn motel there. We recently worked with the property owners to help him install new windows, doors, and just kind of give the entire motel a paint job, and it looks beautiful right now. With the Clearwater reimagined for the library, we continue to kind of meet with individuals and just kind of get ideas and individuals that are starting to put together proposals, and hopefully they submit those fairly soon. So Ms. Amber Bryce, she has her signature sculpture for Coachman Park proposals, RFP, and it's closed recently. But up there, it says 93 submissions received. It's actually up to 173 received. And she has her evaluation committee in place, and hopefully something spectacular comes because of that. Now going to North Greenwood, CRA updates. Our CAC, we continue to meet with them. Their next meeting is December 2, 2026 at the North Greenwood Recreation Center from 5.30 to 6.30 p.m. And we do have Mr. Mike Twitty, the property appraiser, is going to be the guest speaker. Then the village at the Groves, they had their taste of the village over at Ross Norton, and it was extremely successful. It was a packed crowd. Everyone was enjoying food, including myself. That took place on September the 28th, and all of you that attended, you saw how magnificent it was. Great job. So we're also proud to announce that we have installed a coming spring 2027 for the village at the Groves signs on the property over at North Greenwood area. Then we also have this for the public. We do have open hours for the North Greenwood community from 8.30 to 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Tuesday. Our staff is there to meet with anyone who wants to talk about anything about the community. Even if it's not within our department, we'll share that with other departments that maybe could potentially help. Then our residential grant program that continues to be successful. So we have implemented several grants from opening to closeout, and some of them are still in progress right now. Then the North Greenwood Planned Redevelopment District overlay. Those community meetings continue. The next one is October 27th from 5.30 p.m. till at the North Greenwood Recreation Center. Then after that, we have another one in December. As far as property disposition, we do have two sets of properties that are being advertised now. One is 618 Drew Street. That's three properties. The old creative contractor property. Those are three properties again. Then the other one is 115 South MLK Junior Avenue. Those are two properties that CRA owns. And that window closed October 16, 2026. And from there, I'm going to pitch this over to Mr. Battle to talk about North Ward. Then that will conclude the director of the report. Thank you, Jesus. Appreciate the handoff. So while it's not mentioned there, there's some reason behind that. We had been discussing whether or not we were going to transfer that property from the city to the CRA as it was a part of the discussion with the lawsuit settlement. So we decided to kind of think strategically and also wanted to give you some insights in terms of how we think the process will move forward because I'm sure that's probably more curious to you than property ownership at this point in time. So we'd like the process to look as follows. First, we would do a request for qualifications. I think that is an important first step because we want to establish and have firms that can complete this project be pre-qualified before at soliciting for development proposals. This project is a little bit different than others in terms of vacant land because of the historic properties that are on site, and we want to make sure the teams that come to us give us proposals that address that particular part of the development program. The second thing we would do is then transfer the property from the city to the CRA so that when we do an RFP, it is consistent with the goals and objectives of the North Greenwood Redevelopment Plan. So strategically, those are the steps that we will follow. The staff has already kind of prepared those documents. We'll let you know when they go out and hit the street, but I appreciate Jesus allowing me to say that. I just kind of worked through that with them over the past couple of weeks, and so we're ready to announce that, and we're looking forward to what the process looks like from here. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? Any questions for the members? Thank you. Thank you. Move to item six. Are there any board members to be heard today? Hearing none, we'll move to item seven. That's to adjourn the meeting of the CRA for October 12, 2026. We'll go ahead and move forward with the pension trustees, and then we'll begin the work session briefly. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.