PALMETTO – When you want to go forward, sometimes you have to look back.
That's what Jeff Burton, interim executive director of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency, did Monday night as he told the City Commissioners, sitting as the CRA board, about his ideas.
”You all remember that,“ he said after a talk about the 1993 CRA plan. ”This is the plan that you are supposed to go by at this time. The 1996 amendment was just an amendment to add more property.“
The plan had seven action areas, Burton said: code enforcement, image, parks, streetscapes, business development and finance, government and zoning.
Absent was any talk about residential, save for some discussion of working with Habitat for Humanity and working on condemned properties to put housing on them.
There was talk then of using federal programs that today don't have any money, he said, but even now there are chances to find cash if they can go for it.
Clearing the blight is the key, Burton said.
”Blighted property can be vacant property, and we want to see families and houses in the CRA,“ he said.
It will be a month before he has a final plan ready for the CRA board, Burton said, and this was just a heads-up about what's coming. Of course, the plan doesn't exist in a vacuum since things are different from 17 years ago.
”You can update the plan,“ he said. ”Changing the boundaries can be an issue, but changing the plan can be done.“
He went through state statutes for each of the areas he mentioned, Burton said, and found ways to get things done.
Standing by the code
For example, with code enforcement he has found ways to clean up bad areas by using police officers. With the right training, they can serve as code enforcers and be the eyes and ears of the professionals in the city offices.
The current setup in city regarding code enforcement has one full-time code enforcement director, a part-time CRA code enforcement officer who spends 25 percent of the work time doing human resources, and a part-time assistant who handles building and code enforcement.
”Basically, right now your code enforcement is pieced together,“ Burton said. ”You can run it that way, but it can run better.“
His idea is to use code enforcement software, and they can hire a laid-off city employee to be a building inspector, he said.
Burton contrasted the usual process for a building where there's lots of crime. The police can arrest people for legal violations, they get sent to the jail at the port, they see a judge and they're bailed out in 30 days or so.
In the other approach, code enforcement is a part of the solution. ”You can go do a full inspection of the property, get it in violation, then go through the process,“ he said. A tag on the building can label it uninhabitable, but the city has to prove that.
Still, it's a process that Burton said he's seen work in other cities.
The process would involve some budget changes, he said, but the CRA board will be aware of them. In addition to software, which hasn't been priced, there will also be a 20-hour-a-week staffer who will get 11 hours more a week to work with the software and speed up the code enforcement process.
Moving forward
The CRA will be involved with the city's booth at the Manatee County Fair, Burton said. A mural will be on the booth, and 2,200 bags have been made with a portion of the mural on the bag.
The mural is an old-time view of the Green Bridge. Also, the CRA is helping sponsor the MLK event, he said, and there are 1,600 T-shirts to be given out, with a design by a local artist.
Plans from 1993 included a grocery store on the west side of Eighth Avenue, he said, and the Albertson's that located there is now a Publix. There was also a plan to create an antique mall on the Taylor Concrete site, and that site is now a Wal-Mart.
In fact, there was something about bringing a Wal-Mart to the city, so it happened indirectly.
”That's why the 1993 plan is the 1993 plan, but the streetscape has changed,“ Burton said. Eighth Avenue needs a plan, but work required diverting traffic to 10th Street. Back then, they didn't want to do that because of the school, but the school isn't there anymore.
This would be great for the businesses on 10th Street.
The city leadership has to define the future of Palmetto, he said. There are great aspects of the city and some poor aspects, and those need to be worked on.
”It's going to take some money, it's going to take some will-power and it's going to take some fortitude,“ Burton said.
He said he hopes to have a timeline and a plan by the end of the budget year. And, he said, something will eventually be done about the billboard.
Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant said that when she was judging the boat parade she was getting compliments about the CBI building and the city's efforts.
”People really understood about Palmetto,“ she said. ”We need to hang onto those areas and help preserve them.“
”This is a great time to do it,“ Burton said. ”It's up to you to determine how it happens.“
Commissioner Brian Williams said he wanted to see action.
”This plan was established 17 years ago, and not much of it was established,“ he said. ”Don't let it be something that doesn't get done.“
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