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Highlands Today

CRA Considers Merging With Chamber

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By Douglas  Carman | Highlands Today

Published: November 26, 2007

AVON PARK — Its members question their own existence. What is their role? What purpose do they have toward benefiting the city, or are they nothing more than a waste of space, time, effort and ultimately the taxpayer's dollar?

After finding out earlier this month that its own members lacked the authority to dissolve itself, the four remaining members of the Main Street Community Redevelopment Agency advisory board considered resigning.

Main Street CRA advisory board Chairman Devon Donaldson, speaking for the board, repeated the frustrations he had with the council, and what they saw as the inability of the board to have much of an input on facade grants as a reason for their attempted disbanding.

Donaldson and fellow member Ed Baldridge both added that they didn't want to force people filing for a facade grant to go through two boards like they have been doing.

At the end of a short meeting Tuesday, they were nonetheless persuaded to hold on to their positions after the Chamber of Commerce suggested that they should try to incorporate as a subcommittee within the chamber.

David Greenslade, the chamber of commerce's executive director, suggested to the advisory board that it could better communicate with the city council through the chamber, since the council needed the CRA's input.

"We got to open up the communications more than they are now," Greenslade said.

Board member John Parry said he was "divided" on the approach, but Parry and the rest of the board said they wanted to "give the chamber the chance to do this," and they will bring the plan to the council Tuesday.

If Greenslade's proposal is approved, the chamber of commerce would host a subcommittee that would replace the old Main Street CRA. It would hold its meetings immediately before the executive CRA board, which right now is the city council. The subcommittee would advise the council the same evening.

Three of the board's four members are also chamber members, but they made it so that the chamber membership would not be a requirement for those wanting to join the proposed subcommittee.

The CRA advisory boards in Avon Park make recommendations to businesses and homeowners seeking facade grants, which are usually matched to a degree with their own expenses as they perform work on their buildings. The council, which doubles as the executive CRA board before its usual meetings, then acts on those recommendations and approves or rejects facade grants as well as budgets for some neighborhood projects, such as the downtown mall or the sidewalk paving. The Southside and the airport also have CRA advisory boards.

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