downtown development board this time we'll move to item 2.1 on the agenda approve the minutes of march 2 2026 downtown development board meeting is there a motion move to approve second all those in favor aye those opposed unanimous now move to item 3 on the agenda this is to be heard regarding items not on today's downtown development board agenda is there anyone to be heard regarding a downtown development board business item that's not on today's agenda hearing seeing none we'll move to item 4.1 the st petersburg college fresh start market event recap presentation good afternoon big shire cr division manager st petersburg college staff will be presenting an event recap for the fresh start market including the overview of the event key highlights an outcome and i think staff is here to present for presentation here for you but um st petersburg college would like to thank you again for your partnership and doing the fresh start market um for the the friday nights um we had uh january and that first weekend of february um but what we did find out is that the um after marketing the event and we had great reception um to businesses and our students we had gauging spc students and um we had a good turnout on the nights that it was pleasant out um but what we did find out is let me see um tracking attendance was a little difficult because there's so many ways to enter into the event um but we did have a high attendance in that 400 and 500 block um primarily i think it was the 400 block that was a little bit further away from the water um tend to be a good um place where the music was and we had the entertainment so we had um a good attendance those nights um we had a great media and marketing event uh efforts by our um our partner here and saturday shops she's here as well to support me in this report out um and through the we did a lot of reporting through the titan hub and on titan news um here's our social media strategy to show all the events and how we um you know the beautiful flyers that we use to get strongly with the audience and the community um the team all of our team and this is their first night so um as we moved to the nights latin nights was a very popular night the music brings people um food always brings the people so we had a good attendance uh student steel drum player so this kind of um pets night now it was very popular as well and then our salsa night was one of the last nights along with the pre-pool super bowl party which is very chilly by the time we got to the end of the event um that's about all i have i mean what we do have is what worked and um what we feel like um drew the crowds primarily and that stronger attention to the 400 block uh it did boost the restaurant traffic and the cultural events are always very popular as well so um i think that's all i have um thank you for your partnership and allow me to be here show up for the team that's it did you have questions questions from the board vice mayor excuse me council member text here uh first of all i want to thank you for the presentation and i want to thank formerly uh saint people college for this partnership um reflecting on some of the earlier conversations that i specifically had with dean hernandez i recall several discussions of a vision that um included a campus kickoff a different timeline okay integration into the curriculum to student-run businesses student performance and artwork sold by student artists excuse me councilman sorry microphone on thank you and naturally from experience i understand um that plans naturally evolve right you have to adapt to the circumstances i just simply wanted to note that i think if those initial actions were implemented i think that the turnout would be better and it would be the success would be at a higher level with a more student focus i agree thank you thank you for the partnership st petersburg college it's very important to us here in clearwater it's um i'm told it has the largest enrollment of any st petersburg college campus um now even more than the campus in st petersburg so right i don't expect they'll be changing their name anytime soon but we're getting ready to celebrate 100 years so but but uh it's certainly that campus and your institution has played a pivotal role in the growth and development of clearwater and thank you for involving your students in this project and and letting them interact and help us here at the city of petterwater i appreciate that all right thank you thank you so they have a move to item 4.2 on the agenda approve a high impact funding request in an amount not to exceed twenty three thousand seven hundred sixty dollars for the cinco de mayo taco fest produced by unamex at coachman park on may 3rd 2026 biggie shire cria division manager this item before you is to approve a high impact funding request for the cinco de mayo taco fest produced by unamex at coachman park on may 3rd 2026 cinco de mayo taco fest is a free family event that will include live performances contests and a variety of vendors this event is expected to attract approximately 2 000 attendees place your ai data shared last year's event had approximately 4 000 attendees the total event budget is twenty nine thousand seven hundred dollars with projected revenue of five thousand nine hundred and forty dollars the applicant is requesting twenty three thousand seven hundred and sixty dollars in ddb funding the staff recommends approval of funding not to exceed twenty three thousand seven hundred and sixty dollars the applicant is present to answer any questions at this time i would like to note that staff did receive an updated map this morning so i'd like to present this hello council members my name is helmer piokinto i'm here representing unamex thank you for having me today i'm here with my partner uh cecilia and um i'm just here um to see to answer any questions about the event um i've already went and see if you guys had any questions on our budget members yeah guest member take chair first of all i attended your last event and i thoroughly enjoyed myself the numbers make sense i i thought it was more like the four thousand range um i am kind of curious why you're uh estimating two thousand this year are you being modest or uh is there something that's changed that you think is going to be less um attending yeah i think um at the moment yes we do expect internally that there may be more people um given to the fact that this year we have hispanic television network telemundo doing our advertising we have uh two new hispanic radio stations as well in tampa bay the reason why we stated two thousand is that due to the political climate um majority of our events whenever we advertise it advertises beyond just pineapples county we've got people coming down from like sarasota um other areas so we are you know in that limbo of the current political situation um we may see a big response we may not and due to the fact we're just really hopeful that at least anybody in the community uh can come along so once again it might exceed beyond our expectations it may not that's just the situation currently well i hope you do thank you board members councilman uh excuse me yeah councilman i'll take it thank you for being here um i i as well was there and just put on a great event uh i have the same exact question that's what caught me the 50 percent reduction in expected attendance so often when groups come in that's one of the first numbers that's inflated expected attendance so uh your your honesty is appreciated but um i i do think if you hit your 4 000 almost number last time according uh to the data that i'd expect you to probably be right there if not more again and put on another successful event so i look forward to being a part of it thank you that's member albright yeah i didn't get to attend the uh i'm sorry i didn't get to attend the event but um uh last year it did and uh in my opinion when you put on a successful event it builds on itself so i do appreciate you being conservative about that but i'm hoping that you'll have more than four this coming year so i think it does build and and it'll be more successful in the future thank you thank you so much yeah it looks like a great event um last year was i i believe it was successful too um i do have a question uh we have uh as a merchant as well in downtown we have a great mexican restaurant called tequilas on the fourth block did you um guys get into touch with them to see if they would like to uh coordinate or cooperate with you for some reason somehow or maybe even attend the event as a vendor yes uh helmer and i did go down to all of the businesses um over the weekend due to the fact that there was multiple events happening at the same time um tequilas was not there the owner was not there um previously beforehand um in the years before we have reached out to her to be a part of and the line has always been open but no communication has been received from that party thank you i was just curious i think it would align well with that i guess i guess that's the question i had too was whether or not because i i see are are the estimated vendor fees and sponsorships the same as it was last year the stands yes it's the same fees it would seem like we had 4 000 people then these vendors did pretty well you would think so i don't you know the whole purpose of this this organization is to support our downtown businesses and so that's the only thing that you know that i i see here is if you know are we uh funding outside vendors to come in to succeed perhaps you know at the expense of our downtown merchants which is the whole reason why we're uh funding this is to bring them to those businesses so do you feel did you analyze the vendor fees and the sponsorship and yes compare it uh you know to what you know maybe that pricing might have been higher based upon the results that you had last year yes yes it was a lot higher um this this time around we did increase the the vendor fees slightly above more than what we predicted last year in order to cover everything um i think we're on a really good track at the moment obviously you know if we don't spend that entire budget we're not gonna ask for it but um we definitely feel that the results has been high we do have high participation but obviously we want to ensure that there is enough space that everybody has the priority those local uh hispanic vendors in the area are given priority because that is you know the whole point is not only just the downtown but all the way up to the gateway um to continuously support them okay okay any other discussion now is there a motion to approve agenda item oh excuse me first uh is there anyone here from the public that desires to comment on uh this agenda item hearing none uh now is there a motion motion to approve that's it all those in favor opposed unanimous okay thank you we look forward to a successful event thank you very much move to the agenda item 4.3 approve a high impact funding request an amount not to exceed thirty thousand dollars for the market marie at kosher and park occurring monthly from june 2026 through may 2027 with a presentation to include an event recap of market marie from june 2025 through february 2026 director sarah division manager staff will make sure they connect tequila's manager amanda with the applicant so that they can get in the conversation if that's okay this item before you is for the market marie to provide a report out on the previously awarded grant for 2025 25 26 market season in addition the applicant will be requesting a high impact funding request for the 12-month series running june 2026 through may 2027 the market marie is a monthly market held on the second saturday of each month at coachman park the event features 130 plus local vendors and helps activate downtown clearwater the applicant requested thirty nine thousand forty dollars and staff is recommending thirty thousand dollars consistent with the eligible program criteria and last year's funding support staff recommends a pool of a high impact funding request not to exceed thirty thousand for the marker marie at kosher park for the 12-month series running june 2026 through may 2027 at this time i have blair valentine to provide you with her presentation hi everyone thank you vicki i'm blair valentine for those who have not yet met i run the market marie every second saturday in coachman park and i'm going to start with a recap of my last request and i'll go through my question um we like she said we average over 130 vendors there have been months where we've gotten closer to 150 but on average it's above 130 it's 10 to 2 at coachman park every second saturday and we have a diverse group of vendors um essentially every category whether you have a pet or a child or just there for food there's something for everyone including you have pet adoptions there bounce house space painting and of course you know coachman park already has some built-in features like the playground and splash pad and things like that um we have brought over 60 000 guests roughly per year to the downtown area um we average over 5 000 customers each market and are continuously growing and hope to just see that number continuously go up especially with all the construction happening in downtown and more parking garages and more things to do um we hope that number continues to increase for social media and marketing we do paid campaigns every month through facebook instagram google other things as well that it's too long for the slide show i guess but um we reach over 350 000 a month on our social media we have over 30 000 followers and growing um all of our ads are going strictly to local areas so those numbers are locals or tourists that their phones picked up they're in the location um nearby um so there's this i'm not going to read this whole entire thing due to time but we have a lot of awesome reviews so it's fun to go through um on our google reviews and actually go through and see all the nice things people are saying um one of the attendees says this is the best outdoor market in florida um beautiful venue for the market enjoyed the view and collection of food arts and craft vendors um i mixed in a few vendor reviews there as well i believe the rest of the slides are photos so i'll click through those quickly um but yeah i'm here to answer any questions obviously this is a recap but i'm also here for the next year as well so if you have past questions about the past future okay questions from the board yes council member no questions i just want to add to one of your reviews um from my sister who lives in canada she actually aligns her vacation with your market that's how much she enjoys it um and she has also solidified my opinion of which that your your markets are consistently beautifully executed they consistently improve in number and in quality um and you are the perfect example of an applicant that i fully support and consistently and continuously um funding your event because you your outcomes align with our mission so thank you for your hard work thank you for all your continued support thank you mayor um blair thank you so much for coming in uh agree totally what a success this has been for our community and especially for downtown you put on an amazing event uh the results show uh every saturday that we get a chance to get out there um your numbers are awesome the atmosphere is awesome i was down there this weekend uh and there was a market um and it didn't have the marie flag on it and it wasn't yours uh and it um it wasn't nearly as attended i asked some of the vendors what they attributed that to they gave all the success to your social media your outreach reach and your community involvement uh that came directly from about six different vendors mouths so um kudos to you and the team on that and continue to to reach out and spread the good news about uh downtown and the excitement down there so i appreciate you thank you vice mayor yes thank you sir um blair i just want to echo kind of the same sentiment here you know when we look at um the new analytics that we have it's roughly you're pulling in almost 3 000 people each event so i mean when we say that those are the the events that we're looking for to draw people not only to our wonderful park but to the businesses in our cleveland street corridor you're nailing it so i genuinely appreciate it keep up the good work and i'm looking forward to this next year too thank you very much thank you mayor i love market marie and uh as a business owner and this is exactly what it should be and the main objection of downtown you know development is to develop downtown and market marie is definitely is on high stakes becoming part of it so um i would like to see it as it as is that it continues maybe twice a month but uh you know thank you so much for everything and it's definitely helping merchants and residents and everybody and people love it thank you very much okay well uh the only thing i want to add is uh i mean this is an easy one to justify the the investment that we're making it's just been phenomenally successful and that's as council members have pointed out it's largely due to your uh the work you put into it personally to make it successful so the only question i have is um uh is is are we getting close to selling out at the vendor space i guess certain times months of the year during the spring are probably more popular but um it again it's worth the money we're putting into it but um if there's is there a possibility down the road if it keeps being successful that will generate enough interest that it'll be self-sustaining and and be able to support itself without our investing in it yeah for sure um essentially as this keeps growing the way it is the vendors continue to tell me they have good sales and their sales are growing um it would give me the opportunity to let them know you have to essentially raise the vendor fee to compensate for that um at coachman there obviously is room to physically put more vendors we've kept it around this number just to make sure it doesn't hurt sales if i've had too many vendors there um but yeah definitely in the future at some point um through sponsorships and raising vendor fees things like that it is possible okay thank you okay any other board discussion if not is there a motion move to approve agenda item 4.3 second all those in favor opposed unanimous thank you agenda item 4.4 approve the february 2026 financial statement good afternoon he says nino cra executive director for the record a staff is requesting approval of the february 2026 financial statements and i'm here to answer any questions if you haven't did anyone here from the public today desire to speak to agenda item 4.4 hearing seeing none is there any board discussion if not is there a motion motion to approve agenda item 4.4 second sorry yeah 4.4 yeah 4.4 all those in favor aye opposed unanimous agenda item 4.5 approve revisions to the clearwater downtown development board pilot micro pop-up grant program guidelines good afternoon piki shire cra division manager this item before you is to prove revisions to the ddb micro pop-up grant program guidelines the micro pop-up grant program was launched as a pilot to smart to support small scale events to activate the 400 500 block of cleveland street and over the past 11 months it has proven successful in activating these areas based on staff's experience the proposed updates are intended to make the program easier to navigate the following revisions are transitioning the program from a pilot to a permanent initiative simplifying the funding structure from by combining all expenses under a single five thousand dollar cap expand locations to include the 600 block of cleveland street and the station square park to encourage a broader activation the updates also establish clear expectations for cancellations by requiring by requiring applicants to reschedule within six months or funds reimbursed within 10 business days staff also recommends limiting funding requests to three per event or organizer within a 12-month period to support fair access to the program overall these changes strengthen the program while maintaining flexibility for creative and engaging activations staff recommends approval of these changes and i'm happy to answer any questions at this time does anyone in from the public desire to speak to this issue if you would come forward then state your name for the record and then fill out a comment card as well dan mahoney colorful sir appropriate it was concert related uh i just uh can you hear me yeah just face us and speak to us sure um a little closer sounds good well first just a thanks to the whole staff for the micro grants that we've been utilizing for the concerts on cleveland street i think they've been uh highly successful and uh that couldn't happen without all the support that we're getting the the one request that i'd make is we transition hopefully from a micro grant setup to something more permanent because i think we've proved the case without taking up too much time we'd just be given enough time to transfer to transition from a micro grant setup to something larger more permanent but we're working with staff on that on a very soon basis and we'll we'll try to accommodate that as quickly as we can that's the only thing i wanted to register thank you other than thanks all right thank you thank you does anyone else desire to speak to this agenda i don't see none is there any board discussion thank you mayor he's first no i'm always first today all right appreciate it um yes uh as mr mahoney said these um concerts and events down there have been extremely successful well attended uh i did just want to take a minute uh to give kudos to our brick and mortar uh merchants down there um especially in that 400 block that are uh truly collaborative and working together uh to make this down downtown area successful uh that wasn't necessarily happening in the past uh and it's making a big difference to all the business owners and their teams down there it's greatly appreciated the the work they're doing the communication they're doing and doing the lifting together for that common goal of of being a alive and revitalized down there so it's nice to see thank you so i support all the amendment suggestions except for one and that is limiting uh three micro grants to um one recipient um and i really thought about this and so i kind of jotted things down so i can make sense when i when i speak about this because i'm quite passionate about it so i believe in supporting proven success um rather than limiting funding arbitrarily we should be prioritizing applicants who have demonstrated interest commitment and success i would like to understand the rationale behind this and i kind of understand what you're saying what you're saying that we should open it to more people um but we should we restrict support to those with proven success track record for the hopes of getting somebody new um we might be unintentionally suggesting that grants are a form of reward rather than something to accomplish our mission or worse uh continued participation something to be curtailed our mission is simply to promote and stimulate economic growth and vitality in downtown so in other words we should assess each initiative is it going to be successful is it going to achieve what we want and then progress to how much should be funded to and during i guess i just can't identify any model that does not support continued support of a successful initiative um in the hopes of something new or more especially when we have over 592 000 in unallocated um funds and it's already the end of april and that's roughly about 118 15 percent of our revenue right so it's not like somebody's it's not like everybody's beating down our door for this so i don't want to curtail anyone that has shown consistent participation and commitment and success one of the things i do want to discuss and maybe expand on is maybe if someone is coming to you repeatedly with micro grants give them the suggestion of giving a long-term um a long-term i guess award for consistently doing things like like they're doing but i don't i'm not ready to send out that message that hey you're only allowed to do this three times if you're willing to do it with the time and energy that it takes i want to at least have the opportunity to evaluate it and not stop them vice mayor cotton um i don't disagree with a lot that uh council member tasheda said but you know when it comes to having an allotment in our budget that's over i don't see that as let's you know try and just give it all away in other words let's revisit our budget and what we're taking in from those business owners and maybe we don't have to take in as much money and allow them to spend their money the way they want especially when we have other programs and and things that are doing so well for them you know more money in their pockets allows them to spend the money the way they want to so that's just my take on it um especially when we do have the surplus that we do at this time so can i respond to that mayor can i respond to that the revenue comes from property owners not necessarily business owners um and ultimately if i know it looks good on paper to have such a huge reserve but ultimately right now the only body only person that's benefiting is the bank so i would rather be a good steward of tax of our taxpayers and actually utilize the funds to achieve our goal rather than always um wanting that big huge reserve and just waiting for something that's just not coming and so maybe one of the solutions is for us as a board to have an initiative and we control um something that we would want like if we have a person that wants music every friday instead of making that person apply over and over again maybe we as a board can contract with an event planner or a talent agency and get that done so reduce the workload be more effective and think outside the box and make those tax dollars work for us with the revision suggesting the three um this is not intended to limit successful events but by the second application cycle staff will begin discussing with the organizer the event's performance sustainability and long-term goals if the event demonstrates strong outcomes and continued community value the staff would ask whether applicant is interested in pursuing a larger uh more formal funding request to support continued growth so by the second if this revision was to go in effect by the second application staff would sit down and review and study the the numbers the marketing their event you know the outcome and everything to see if it's something that would be wanting to take in front of downtown development for a larger ask so someone that would want to do a quarterly if we would adopt these amendments would not be able to get that fourth one right if they don't want to do that long-term option correct we're hoping by the second application we can bridge that gap so by the second application they could phone ahead and start gathering the information that's needed to apply for that larger ask the ddb board so there's hoping that there's not a stop if that if that makes sense if i'm particularly in that right that's more menino let me share help me excuse me help me better better understand what is the intent behind making this decision is there a waiting list and some new people aren't being able to be involved is there too many applicants so we need to try to limit it i was just looking for the continuous support of the event to continue to go on like you guys are talking about how you guys want consistent events i think with a larger ask and going in front of you guys it's something that can be consistent continuously done each month versus coming back because our guidelines say they can only apply once a month so that kind of hurts the the policy because technically the policy too is they have 60 days in order to apply now we've not turned anybody away we've accepted all the applications but technically they have to apply within 60 days so my thing is is this will help benefit the future of the event if this is successful i would love to take them in front of you guys so that they could be set up like market maria where they continue just through this series of 12 months and it's just one ask versus them having to apply month to month to month to month because it is hard on staff sometimes when they don't meet that 68 policy because we want to make sure we're doing our due diligence providing great customer service making sure we have the supplies that they need special events permitting too as well so there's a there's a larger kind of behind the scenes you don't get to see but i'm fine with whatever you guys decide today i understand both sides i just was hoping to have someone who you know hello cleveland street is starting to be successful i'd love to take it in front of and from the board so that it can continue on successfully and it's planned so for the next 12 months you can see hello cleveland street you know and there's no ifs ands or buts about it that kind of makes sense versus having to apply each month this program was intended when i when we created it as a staff team for those new events for like gimmick art walk he was a first time event applicant we weren't sure if it was going to be successful or not he's on a second one we talked about the other day about okay what's that look like now coming in the future because he is going to apply for another micro grant because the second one kind of the weather you couldn't kind of gauge it then but we've already talked to him about coming to make a larger ask and he's excited about that too so that we can activate downtown and not just have him apply month to month to month because like i said there's a there's things that staff have to do behind the scenes to make sure that they are successful and they have everything they need if i may mayor council so staff is really trying to outline what i think are kind of that sweet spot of as vicky said these initial events the idea and then supporting them in the short term as as you also know we have other grant categories for events so you have high impact and you have another event category when event attendance is not as high as a high impact so the hope would be is that if someone goes and graduates from a micro grant they grow to a high impact type of thing so that's really what she's getting at is that after that second event if it's so successful let's graduate them up to a different type of grant or maybe we need to retool and come back with something else that fits a different sweet spot so we're trying to right size right fit at the same time use this for the original intended purpose for those startup types of events but there's not um she's not trying to hedge bets in terms of a line at the door if you will this is more or less let's tweak it in the three a month allow somebody to get three events approved without having to come back each particular time so they're they're trying to be a little bit efficient at the same time we want to graduate people up if that makes any sense that's for menino uh i appreciate the explanation um because kind of what i was visioning we were turning people at the door like nope pad your limit go away and now we have empty spaces so i'm supportive of that process and it does make sense you've proven yourself you're consistent you're here you're successful here's that next opportunity for you and can we move you in that direction versus i'm supportive thank you for the yes mr battle said it much better than i did it was my poor listening okay thank you um as a business owner in downtown i just want to say the process from our end how it works when we apply for these micro grants we are four restaurants and on the fourth block the majority of it i would say 99 percent of the work dan mahoney here actually does it and he puts so much time and effort and work into it while running his own business just to give you an idea of what happened last week the last weekend friday saturday we had sound events and uh capital theater events which is a good problem to have but at the same time we're running our own businesses and that's the priority now from my understanding is that the the the main objective of downtown development board is to to help develop downtown clearwater and what we have been seeing with these micro grants uh we were able to take advantage of it and actually bring on consistent events into downtown but i can say from our end we've actually been putting money from from our bank accounts to to on top of it to keep the consistency because we know we want to develop downtown we want to have to develop downtown um maybe if we can you know come up with a different uh plan at least for merchants on the fourth block or the fifth block uh to help us continue this because the paperwork when it comes to from my understanding what we want to apply for the long-term uh uh grants it's it's very different and that's why we keep doing the micro grants because we've already done it we've seen the success and we continue doing it but um out of that let's say five thousand every time we have a musician come in at least a thousand or something like that i think what dan knows better that just goes to the stage and then you have to do the the marketing and then you have to pay for the musicians you have to pay for the you know city fees and all of that so we are trying our best with to continue this because that's our objective too we're all in this together but uh i don't know how it will help if we want to go towards the uh the special special events and how the paperwork is going to be if we're going to hit our own timeline uh because everything that we we set up we have to know beforehand the musicians we need to book them we need to manage a lot of things from our end too so um just wanted to put it out there for you so that you guys can understand from from our perspective as a merchant as business owners like what we are dealing with too so we we do have a meeting on april 24th with CRA staff and parks and recs to try to see how we can continue with pillow clean street um program and make sure it's successful for the longer run so on the 24th uh dan mahoney frank mahoney and myself and parks and rec staff do have a meeting on the 24th to discuss this um thank you mr battle you really explained it very well and it actually makes a little bit more sense to me but i was wondering if we could do a compromise can we continue to counsel the applicants to what fits well what fits best for them without officially curtailing the macro grants to three at least to four so it's important was that something that we could consider like a compromise so we could continue to counsel uh applicants like dan to a better model that actually uh would work better and we increase you know improve the process and decrease all that repetitiveness but still give that flexibility to a person who wants to do it quarterly i would say we can remove that requirement and it's no longer a pilot so we have the ability to to come back and recommend other changes also meeting that vicky mentioned with parks and um kind of the primary organizer if you will for the current events out there if there's a different budget number you know we can continue to tweak this so of course we can do exactly as you're suggesting is and and more is there a motion motion to approve all amendments except the restriction of micro grants to three recipients three grants per recipient recipient so i understand your motion would be to leave the existing language as it is just for that part on item three but i would approve all the other so it still may only apply once per month but to to strike the rest of it okay is there a second second any further discussion that's been i just want to say i'm glad there's a future meeting i hope um we truly listen to the concerns uh of our downtown merchants find out where that gap in those challenges are and if it's timing if it's too much paperwork if it's too much resources um let's identify what those what those hurdles are and see i don't know how much more information would be got i mean i would think we could pre-populate the majority of what they would need to fill out we should already know after this many months right so maybe we can limit some of that paperwork but truly find out how we can be better partners in that process and what that that gap is that they're coming up short on and how we can be better i think thank you okay okay anything further if not all those in favor opposed unanimous okay okay move to item 4.6 cleveland street activation and mobile vendors initiative presentation good afternoon hey susanino cr executive director today's item i'm going to have mr eric santiago division manager give the presentation and i'll be available to give answer any questions afterwards along with him and the rest of my colleagues hello eric santiago cra division manager and i'm here to provide an update on the cleveland street activation and mobile vendings initiative this initiative brings new energy and momentum to the cleveland street district through a coordinated approach to revitalization it focuses on supporting economic growth enhancing cultural vibrancy through events public activation and strengthening community engagement by creating a more welcoming place to gather and connect built on collaboration across city departments this effort advances a shared vision for a more active connected and resilient downtown that benefits residents and visitors alike activating cleveland street is made possible through a strong partnership between the downtown development board community redevelopment agency and the city of clearwater the ddb helps energize the district by funding special events markets and programs that bring people downtown it also expands opportunities for vendors and small businesses while supporting economic development the community redevelopment agency focuses on improving the physical environment through public art lighting infrastructure signage wayfinding and public art making the district more recognizable the city of clearwater provides the operational and policy support that ties everything all together including ordinance updates program development and permitting together these partners create a coordinated approach to activate cleveland street through an allocated investment of five hundred thousand dollars when we say cleveland street district we specifically are focusing on the 400 and 500 blocks this area stretches from osceola and coachman on the west to garden avenue on the east intersected by fort harrison this pedestrian district is closed to vehicle traffic and is home to a concentration of restaurants creating a unique and distinctive urban environment to best tackle this initiative we are focusing on four core areas mobile vendors special events public art pop-ups and streetscaping and placemaking now let's dive into our first focus area mobile vendors we created new opportunities for local vendors during markets and events to generate more activity these vendors add vibrancy to the street while creating more excitement books fruits and vegetables ice cream desserts and flowers are just some of the mobile vendors who have activated cleveland street the fresh start market was one of our first efforts to bring mobile vendors to activate cleveland street through a partnership at st petersburg college just moments ago they provided a full recap of their series which took place back in the winter over six consecutive nights building on the opportunity for mobile vendors our next focus area is special events events play a key role in consistently activating and drawing people downtown for new experiences markets also provide a reliable platform for vendors to reach new audiences and to grow by introducing regular programming we can build pathways for mobile vending success to support the next phase of activation with our city partners at the special events division we instituted a policy change the downtown activation zone special events permit this new permit is designed specifically for the 400 and 500 blocks to include updates that make it easier to host events it streamlines the process makes it simpler to plan schedule and keep events ongoing also to increase special events we launched the ddb micro grant program this was a pilot initiative and just moments ago you extended that to run even further to date 11 micro grants have been issued on the 400 block of cleveland street these events have included a diverse mix of programming spanning arts music and cultural experiences the hello cleveland street series has had seven concerts that support the local nearby businesses the gimmick art walk and show presented two engaging events highlighting live arts and creative expression clearwater sister cities hosted international bazaar featuring cultural performances arts and crafts as well as a variety of vendors cultural programming and live music also brought energy to the 500 block beginning with a vibrant dance performance presented in partnership with the office of the mexican consulate music kept the momentum going with salsa and bachata in the district a vibrant monthly event that is held on the last saturday of each month that transforms cleveland street into an open-air dance floor st pete cornhole league brought consistent recreational energy through an eight-week organized cornhole competition back in the fall the first friday lunchtime market launched a new monthly series designed specifically energize downtown during the daytime hours this series brought consistent midday activity the first friday of the month over seven second seven consecutive months from october through april this event featured a mix of rotating local vendors food dining specials from local merchants live entertainment that turned an ordinary lunch hour into an exciting atmosphere for residents visitors and our daytime downtown workforce to reach new audiences for this series it was promoted through a variety of local media channels as well as we gained local tv interviews the ddb community and high impact funded events support a vibrant downtown by partnering event organizers to deliver consistent special events and community programming throughout the ddb boundary this includes the full cleveland street corridor station square park and coachman park these events these event organizers come forward at ddb meetings to request this funding events are considered in two tiers community events which anticipate 300 or more attendees and high impact events which draw approximately 2 000 attendees from organizers who are experienced in hosting large events since april 2025 11 of these one-time events have occurred involving music from salsa to jazz ukuleles holiday programming food family fun and even the world's largest rubber duck the market marie is one of our outdoor markets held in coachman park every second saturday of the month it continues to grow and we look forward to seeing it continue in over the next year we also look forward to two events coming soon to downtown from sharks to the symphony with the florida orchestra moving their performance from may to the future date of june 6th we invite all event organizers looking to bring their ideas to downtown clearwater through either the recently streamlined and enhanced ddb micro pop-up grant program or the ddb community and high impact grant program to please visit our website myclearwater.com slash ddb and to apply to bring your events downtown as we continue momentum from special events that bring people downtown let's now focus on moments in time from moments in time to new experiences public art and pop-ups introduce creative temporary and semi-permanent elements that activate spaces in new ways adding visual interest and strengthening the identity of downtown our first example of art in action is the grad chalk walk event from 2025 this colorful chalk art activation transformed the 400 and 500 blocks through vibrant temporary art gallery that celebrated graduates from 12 pinellas county high schools this is a great example of how temporary art can create meaningful engagement in activating our public spaces another exciting activation is the gimmick art walk and show as a grant recipient of the ddb micro grant program this event highlights how strategic partnerships can empower entrepreneurs continuing with something that had a larger impact the clearwater arts alliance has brought three new art sculptures to the center medians of the 400 500 600 block through the art sculpture series these pieces do more than enhance the streetscape they create memorable landmarks that strengthen downtown's identity these art sculptures were installed back in spring 2025 and they will be on display through fall 2026 arts alliance also offers a guided way to experience all of the art across downtown through docent led tours on select saturdays visitors can explore all of the art installations that are available throughout our downtown while public art adds creativity and character to downtown our next focus area is going to focus on how the bigger picture ties all of these items together streetscape and placemaking focuses on enhancing the overall urban experience through thoughtful design beautification and details that make a space feel more welcoming and connected it's about shaping not just what people see but how they experience and move through downtown every day one of the first ways we did this was the downtown clearwater banner program launched in spring 2025 this initiative brings a cohesive and colorful identity to downtown through a mix of branded artistic and promotional banners installed along the 400 through 700 blocks of cleveland street these banners help frame the street and create a more welcoming environment this is a simple but impactful way to reinforce a strong sense of place this is downtown building on that visual identity the next step is strengthening how people navigate and recognize the district updated downtown kiosk now feature improved maps and clear visitor information making it easier for people to find destinations and discover nearby parking options complementing this effort three new gateway signs help define and announce entry into the cleveland street district these signs are visible from fort harrison and garden avenue together these elements improve wayfinding and reinforce our identity continuing with streetscape these next improvements focus on function and atmosphere new bike infrastructure including blue and green bike racks will soon be installed across the 400 to 700 blocks making it easier and more inviting for cyclists to access and enjoy downtown we also enhance the lighting in the center median oak trees on the 400 and 500 block these new lights improve visibility while creating a warm and welcoming ambiance during the evening hours the new lights as well as the cleveland street district signs were specifically requested by the local downtown merchants together all of these elements support accessibility and a more vibrant downtown experience day and night another ddb grant program that's making a difference is the outdoor cafe grant program which helps local businesses enhance their outdoor dining spaces by funding improvements such as furniture umbrellas and other design elements these upgrades enhance the functionality of each outdoor dining area and the overall look of the entire district by investing in these spaces we're creating a more inviting environment that encourages visitors to stay longer the recently launched downtown ambassador program is a collaborative multi-department initiative designed to elevate the visitor experience through visible on-site staff presence this program helps guests navigate downtown helping to ensure downtown remains welcoming organized and easy to enjoy our efforts in mobile vending special events public art and pop-ups streetscape and placemaking are not over yet we continue to move forward and look ahead to new larger and more innovative opportunities as we plan ahead for the future to create more opportunities for mobile vendors a proposed amendment to section 28.04 of the city code introduces a new framework for vending specifically targeting the 400 and 500 blocks this initiative opens the door for mobile vendors to operate on a daily basis within the public right of way helping to bring a more variety energy and activity to the district while still ensuring safety accessibility and alignment with our downtown goals a call for mobile vendors will be launched online to build a database of interested businesses making it easier for vendors to connect with future downtown opportunities another exciting step in enhancing downtown is our parklet initiative we have engaged a local design firm to develop two parklets on cleveland street these dynamic short-term installations will transform underutilized parking spaces into a visually engaging public destination adding new places for people to experience downtown in a fresh way looking further ahead the landscape architecture and urban design strategy establishes a long-term vision for cleveland street led by the cra this effort engages a top design firm to guide improvements to the pedestrian experience the selected firm is currently in negotiations to help develop concepts that will shape the future of downtown we are grateful for the opportunity to share the progress of the cleveland street activation and mobile vending initiatives with you today from mobile vending special events public art pop-ups streetscape and placemaking from completed to future initiatives each of these efforts contributes to a more vibrant and dynamic downtown to learn more about all of these initiatives to view our grants to view this presentation please visit myclearwatercra.com thank you to the ddb board city council and the cra trustees for your support and leadership a very special thank you to our city partners across lots of departments including parks and rec planning public works economic development cultural affairs legal the city manager's office and of course the cra team your collaboration and commitment have been essential to bringing all of these ideas to life we look forward to continuing this momentum together as we shape an even brighter future for downtown and cleveland street cra staff is here today and we're happy to answer any questions that you might have questions from the board that presentation comment and then a question i want to thank all the staff involved in developing a new necessary framework and anyone's involved in this project anyway it was something that um we started a few years ago and so i'm very happy to see it progress um i i know it wasn't an easy feat so i really wanted to officially thank all the staff involved in this um in terms of the design firm and the parklets we're talking about coming up with concepts does the staff have any idea where to start are we looking for something that's more zen with vegetation are we looking for more of a um you know a reserved traditional parklet or that look of innovation where the artwork is actually part of the seeding do we have any direction at all or are we about to discuss that yeah so uh for the the parklets we're actually working with a design firm right now and the idea is we pitched one spot on the 400 block which is the parking spot uh just east of chiang mai um that that spot there it's uh as as a spot that could be more of a an active space that would be a good use to the surrounding restaurants but not a dining space but something that could still be utilized for for people to enjoy and then on the other block the 500 block the spot that we have suggested for them to look at is the the spot right when you come out of gaslight alley and try to figure out how to maybe incorporate that into an extension of the alley and the walkway that takes you down there so both are going to be different and the idea is because these are pilot parklets we can then figure out which ones people like more do people like the 400 block one more the 500 block more what people like to see more of in the future and then this pipe this initiative then is how we'll be able to kind of further extend that the work we're doing with the landscape architecture firm so that's why they're coming on next so we'll kind of have these in place first as a pilot we'll see what people like what works what doesn't work and then with the next firm we can figure out how to make something that's a little more long term how to expand on it how to build on it further so that's why that's why it's kind of a two-phase approach if i may jesus nino our executive director the design firm the landscape architectural firm that's going to be a multidisciplinary firm they're going to come in they're going to talk to the merchants they're going to talk to the community they're going to talk to you they're going to talk to us try to put together a good vision for the district as we're calling it the 400 500 block and the rest of the little area around it so it's going to be a discussion before they just they're not just going to put something together just because they're going to talk to everyone that they can so it's not necessarily a permanent structure because we want that flexibility to change if if changes are needed correct yeah the park lists are going to be like a pop-up temporary thing uh and then once the what the landscape architecture firm is going to do which is a bigger picture they'll be able to kind of propose some things that are going to be more long-term okay thank you that's manino yeah no question um just to comment thank you for the presentation um that was a lot long-winded you all right catch your breath yeah um well it's definitely not because of lack of effort i can say that so uh on behalf of you know council thank you and your team for all the work you're putting in to making this work my only input is let's ensure a lot of moving parts we're discussing today about a lot of different types of grants and events um make sure we truly are uh communicating with our existing brick and mortar businesses as well as those existing businesses that are currently putting on events um ensuring that we're bringing whether it's mobile vendors or what businesses that are working with and collaborative and not in the same space as those businesses is probably important i would imagine they don't want somebody down there selling tacos and pizza on the 400 block that wouldn't make sense when we have those restaurants so uh ensuring that they're not competing with i think is and given our brick and mortar that that open discussion is probably important but thank you uh for all the work that went into that that was that was a lot and the new changes the proposed changes to the mobile vending ordinance um does have that language built in so it is very specific in the types of mobile vendors that would be allowed on the street and and not allowed in the street and that is built in those changes that will be part of that proposed ordinance thank you anything else thank you for the presentation thank you that we'll move to item 4.7 on the agenda schedule a special downtown development board meeting for monday may six excuse me may 18 2026 at 1 p.m good afternoon chair members of the board my name is brian over cra coordinator for the record the item before you is to request a special ddb meeting for may 18 2026 at 1 p.m in the council chambers the purpose of this meeting is to allow rboa to present marketing strategies their overall approach in support of ddb initiatives and downtown activation efforts this is this is dedicated meeting to allow the board an opportunity to review rboa's strategic direction ensure alignment with ddb priorities and offer feedback to help guide ongoing future marketing efforts i'm available for any questions we need to vote on this okay we just give direction i would probably go ahead and vote okay does anyone have the public desire to speak to this agenda i'm saying none is there any board discussion if not is there a motion move to approve agenda item 4.7 second all those in favor all right opposed unanimous thank you and item 5.1 director's report for april 2026 thank you brian jesus nito sierra director this is our monthly director's report for the downtown development board so a lot of the items that they've already been discussed by staff and other presentations so i'm not going to dwell a lot on those particular slides but i do want to mention before i do get started that all the programs that we do have in place currently we do sit down and do retrospectives for all of them what worked what didn't what opportunities did we potentially miss or what opportunities are just there or what can we possibly just get rid of so we do that for all our programs and if there's also any gaps so if we need to create new programs we also talk about that so it is a team effort with multiple departments in place so like brian discussed we do have a special meeting thank you for scheduling for approving that for coming up on the 18th to talk to rboa basically just the marketing and public relations firm that was hired by you to come and kind of rebrand the downtown so we're looking forward to that discussions they're continuing to engage stakeholders in the downtown including yourselves and us to make sure that the deliverable deliverables that they provide you at the special medium are on point for you i'm not going to go into details this either since it was already kind of discussed but the first friday i thought it was pretty successful yes we could do better yes we will do better in the future but it was a very fun type of series of events that occurred we have the statistics there for you to review so these were also discussed already but i still want to kind of just do it again just because we want people to come to the downtown more so we do have the symphony by the sea this has been rescheduled to basically allow country thunder to come to the downtown with their events so this is going to take place again june the 6th 2026 at the baker sound this is presented by the florida orchestra and everyone from the community community is invited to attend market marie again country thunder to make sure that market marie can continue their operations we help them move to the 500 and i think 500 and 600 block in station square so they can continue until country thunder is kind of wrapping up their events sharkapalooza we're starting to get a lot of excitement for this one just because of the name itself it's just cool people just love it that's going to take place saturday may the 16th from 10 a.m to 4 p.m at coachman park that basically concludes the presentation but i did want to put this on the overhead here if it can be turned on so if city administration or someone else wants to say some comments after i'm done they can as well since they were more intimately involved than i was but on may the 8th through the tents here in clearwater the country thunder is coming to the downtown and we're pretty excited for that we're starting to share that on our social media the city's starting to do the same we're just trying to spread the word as much as possible and just works with all our teams and other departments to make sure the operations just kind of go pretty smoothly as far as parking and transportation all those particular items that all work together i wasn't sure if anyone wants to say anything about that yes ma'am to enter your report yes sir thank you yeah any questions or more discussion if i may um one thing i wanted to add especially for the benefit of the ddb that we've worked out with country thunder is that um while it is a um a festival type venue they are allowing one um re-entry so that way um the guests of the country thunder can come in and out and visit um our downtown businesses and and stuff like that while they're here so i want to make sure we spread that we spread that word and to add to that all staff from the cra other departments i think too we're going to meet with all the merchants and just kind of relay that message so they can get ready that's good thank you mayor just um just one comment regarding um this event i just wanted to thank city manager and our entire staff uh events of this size that the last minute less than 30 days out that get moved to your downtown or any piece of real estate in your city uh takes a lot of heavy lifting and i know you and your staff have been working non-stop especially when it first happened and um it's it's appreciated and it's recognized so thank you thank you i wanted to echo that as well um i was sometimes present with the city manager at an event and i would see her on the phone constantly trying to make this incredible opportunity a reality um she could have just easily have said oh it's too much but she didn't um and so i want to thank you and all the staff it is a big um and tall order it's a lot for the staff but i appreciate uh your your commitment to the city and what i think is becoming our brand which is music and um thank you for that thank all of you for that any other board discussion thank you that removed item uh six board members to be heard any board members to be heard no i think you've been heard enough and we got some folks waiting out here for another meeting so i'm sure they'd appreciate that so with that we'll move to item seven which is to adjourn the april 20 26 meeting of the city of clearwater downtown development for those of you waiting on the next meeting uh we take a five minute break so that we can switch some name plates and positions up here and then we will convene the meeting of the um of the community redevelopment agency in five minutes