CITY OF CEDAR KEY
COMMUNITY REDEVELOPENT AGENCY
APPOINTS LEADERSHIP, PLANS GRANTS
2025 April 8
The Cedar Key Community Redevelopment Agency met Tuesday evening, April 8, 2025, at 5:50 pm at City Hall, after a “Special Meeting: of the commission. In attendance were Commissioners Nancy Sera, Jim Wortham, Jeff Webb, Jolie Davis, and newly seated Mel Beckham.
CHAIR, VICE CHAIR ELECTED
Annually, after elections, the CRA opens nominations for the positions of chair and vice chair. Prior to this meeting, Jim Wortham and Sue Colson function as chair and vice chair respectively.
This evening, Jolie Davis nominated Jim Wortham as chair. No other nominations were made. Wortham accepted the position. Nancy Sera accepted the position of vice chair.
GOALS, OBJECTIVES
Chair Wortham set what seemed a full, but achievable, set of goals for the evening which included: discussing a budget, finalizing a recovery / resilience grant document, finalizing grant application timelines, working through an application scoring rubric, discussing a list of recovery projects, and responding to a legislative update on CRAs.
A portion of the agenda was achieved, the remaining items were scheduled for the next CRA meeting on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
BUDGET
A draft budget was presented by Dr. Tom Ankersen, with his explanation that budget amendments, when made, must be submitted to the county within ten days.
The “Cedar Key Redevelopment Agency Redevelopment Plan: Programs, Projects, and Generalized Budget” for fiscal year 2024-2025” contains obligated funds for administration of the CRA, City Park’s recent playground equipment replacement, three parking spaces on Third and A Street beside the bakery, and storm drain repairs.
GRANTS TO BUSINESSES, NOT RESIDENTS
Tonight, the discussion centered on the $400,000 the group wishes to obligate in grants of various sizes and make available to businesses in the city. In earlier meetings, decisions were made to make available only business grants, eliminating any grants for residents.
The draft document, “Cedar Key CRA Storm-Damaged Business Recovery and Resilience Redevelopment Grants Program” was presented with seven points for clarification highlighted in yellow.
In earlier meetings, many focused on grant giving centered on storm-damaged businesses recovery and applicant’s ability to articulate how his building efforts would be more resilient than in the past.
Tonight, the focus changed. The group decided to focus not on recovery or resilience, thus minimizing the subject in the scoring rubric. “More business in Cedar Key” is now the mantra.
More discussion occurred focusing upon assurances that a business owner might take the CRA dollars to help his business, then turn that business into a home or a short-term rental or in the worst case scenario, change the type of business or sell it.
Discussion became bogged down in the naming of the grants, the size of the grants, and the scoring rubric dimensions.
Due to the extended discussion and inability to forward on the agenda, the group decided to:
• send “program” and rubric suggestions to Ankersen for possible incorporation into another draft;
• postpone the discussion on timelines and list of projects for the next meeting.
SIDEWALK DOLLARS ALLOCATED
CRA members amorously agreed to allocate $7,500 to repair the sidewalk in front of the newly renovated Cedar Key Realty office on Second Street.
MEETING SPECIFICS
Staff in attendance included: City of Cedar Key Attorney Norm Fugate, Police Department Chief Edwin Jenkins, Public Works Supervisor Jamie McCain, City Clerk / Building Clerk Jennifer Sylvester, Deputy City Clerk Telicia Winfield, and Clerk Heather Lang and Fire Chief / Emergency Operations Director Robert Robinson.
Aung those in the audience were: Jennifer Webb, Janice Fugate, Vanessa and Ken Edmonds, Angie Beckham, Anne Miller, Jeri Treat, Tom Ankersen, Caryn Stephenson, Doris Hellerman, Dennis Gill and the Cedar Key News’ Mandy and Frank Offerle.
MEETING ADJOURNED
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 pm
