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Economic Development Manager Wayne Applebee is a guest on WSLR talk show ”Justice Matters” and discusses the Newtown CRA, its purpose, funding and many initiatives.
Uh you’re listening to wslr 96.5 LP FM In Sarasota and wbpv 100.1 LP FM in Bradenton and now since it’s almost 9 30. uh it’s time for justice matters It’s uh brought to you on the third Wednesday of each month uh at 9 30. by Legal aid of Manasota legal aid of Minnesota has been a champion for the Most vulnerable in Sarasota and manatee Counties for over 30 years they provide Free civil legal services to Residents Uh who who By hardening partnering with local Lawyers and their mission is to give Everyone regardless of their ability to Pay a fair shake at Justice our hosts Are Linda haradine and and Larry eager Linda has been the CEO of legal aid of Minnesota since 2001. she has a master’s In social work and a law degree from the University of Buffalo Larry Larry is the Elected public defender of the 12th Judicial circuit which serves DeSoto Manatee and Sarasota counties so welcome Linda and Larry Thank you so much for having us we’re Happy to be here as always you’re Welcome so um as as we always say it’s Wonderful to partner with the peace and Justice report we love having the Opportunity to come in and talk about Some Community Issues I think one of the our main Purposes is really to let people know
That it’s difficult for people to Understand sometimes when they have a Legal issue and that there’s legal Solutions to a lot of different things Such as domestic violence debt Collection guardianships Etc and these Are really life-changing problems so It’s really important that people know Their rights and responsibilities and Try to seek help before a small problem Becomes a much larger problem And again this show really helps us Helps the community understand that Really the legal system touches almost Every aspect of our lives and the Inability to hire a lawyer can make a Significant difference for somebody so That we hope we can provide some Resources that are helpful during Today’s episode we’re going to talk About some of exciting projects with the Newtown CRA and what they’re undertaking To improve economic prosperity and Diverse housing options in the Newtown Neighborhood in addition to Economic Development the Newtown CRA is making Newtown more pedestrian friendly Beautifying homes expanding Legacy Trail Making Park improvements among many Other things and one part of our segment Today is going to talk about our Partnership with the city with our title Clearing project so we’ll get to that in Just a little bit but first I want to
Welcome our guest Wayne Appleby Wayne is The economic development manager at the City of Sarasota in his role Wayne Serves as the city’s Project Lead for The Newtown cra Sarasota is very fortunate to have Wayne Serving the Sarasota Community for over 15 years his background is very Impressive he’s served in a variety of Roles including criminal justice Coordinator human services policy Coordinator director of homeless Services and Senior manager of Health And Human Services prior to moving to Sarasota His other experiences included Developing a state-of-the-art Regional Jail in Maine that served all inmate Populations with best practices in Correctional Rehabilitation he’s been a Chief Deputy for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office where he’s oversaw five Divisions and he’s been recognized Numerous times by colleagues at Different organizations for his work so We’re just thrilled to have him as our Guest today And I’m going to jump in here for just a Moment and introduce myself I am Larry Eager and I am co-host Um and I want to before we get started I Just want to remind everyone that we are Unable to provide specific legal advice This is our our annual disclaimer
Um and that this show is for Informational purposes only Um also we would appreciate any Responses that you might have uh and if You have any questions that have been Raised as a result of our show I do I Really wish that you would contact us Either me at the public defender’s Office or Linda at legal aid and um and Also with any suggestions and speakers And topics that you would like to Address since this is really your show So with that Linda I’m going to turn the Show over to you CRA can you tell us what that is how it Operates what it stands for Sure well first thank you to my host uh Linda and Larry and the whole team at Wslr for having me excited about the Opportunity to share uh activities uh Going on within the Newtown Community uh And initiatives that the city is leading Through the Newtown CRA so what is the CRA so the CRA stands for community Redevelopment agency and they’re Um a special district that’s allowed Under chapter 163 of the Florida Statutes communities have Special Districts all over the state and in this Particular case the city of Sarasota Established the district back in 2008 to To essentially create an opportunity for Uh taxing Revenue that comes in from That Community or that District to be
Reinvested back in the community to Enhance it redevelop it those kinds of Things you may have heard of a tiff tax Incremental financing Mechanism it’s actually what’s the same Mechanism that’s being used for the the Bay project downtown so basically it’s It’s essentially where uh the Established base year of taxes Remains The Same coming into the city and then Any growth within that district is set Aside for the district to reinvest in The district so there are reoccurring Revenues annually and of course it’s the Amount of that revenue is based off the Property values of the of the area and The amount of growth year over year So that is the CRA the city commission Actually sits as the governing body of The CRA but they’ve they’ve appointed a Advisory Board to help advise them on Initiatives and projects within the CRA And so there is a five-member board of The community who serves as the Newtown CRA Advisory Board uh includes our chair Richard Harris Dr Rachel Shelley Jesse Hubbard Carlos Yancey and Alexandria Child those are our five members and we Meet every other month the next meeting Is is March 9th and at the city Commission chamber at three in the Afternoon and the Public’s certainly Welcome to attend so that’s a quick Overview of the CRA itself
So when I know you just named the five Members and you said those are the Members are appointed by the city Commission are there certain um roles That they have to fill or certain Neighborhoods have to come from is there Some composition that’s required yes so There is uh a resolution that creates The um The board itself and provides its Governance and its purpose uh and Establishes what you’re what you’re just Asking so essentially the five areas are One representative who is a resident of The district so it’s just a citizen Representative uh an individual who is a Landowner uh within the district so they May not live in the district but they They obviously have an interest uh by Being a landowner a person involved in Urban Design planning or commercial real Estate A representative of The Economic Development Corporation or their Representative or a person uh in the the Fifth um position is held for those Involved in banking or Finance However often when you have advisory Councils as you establish positions you Sometimes don’t get applicants uh you Know if you create the structure so Structured that you might not get an Applicant when you have an opening that Exactly fills that role so the
Commission does when they if they have That situation they have the ability to Over override those those specific seats But those are the goal and purpose of The positions And when the so The Advisory Board are They tasked with prioritizing Um or are the priorities set by the city Commission and they’re Implement Implemented by The Advisory board or how Does that work and is there funding Associated with it because it’s some Large tasks I know um that have been Laid out so The Advisory Board itself Are non-paid non-compensated individuals Who volunteer their time Um for uh essentially making Recommendations they’re a they are Solely a recommended recommending body To the city commission and so um the the The primary funding or dollars that They’re recommending Are those annual revenues that came came In as a result of increased property tax Values which generated increased Revenue So whatever that dollar amount is Annually that comes into the district Above the base tax year and of course Any carryover that they may have from Previous years those are the revenues in Which the Advisory board can establish Priorities that would then be Recommended to the city commission Really it’s not the city commission it’s
The it’s the city commission members but They’re sitting legally as the Newtown CRA advisory agency excuse me Wayne can I ask can I ask you um you say that the CRA was established in Sarasota the city Of Sarasota in 2008 and and it relies on Governmental contributions can you give Us kind of a A guesstimate of from 2008 what are the Annual uh ex monies that have been Available to the CRA for these these Projects sure so I can tell you Um in uh the current fiscal year uh we Actually saw an increase in the annual Revenue coming in from the ad valorem Tax Um and it was 256 thousand dollars Um Which was an increase from previous Years which had been uh roughly around 170 000 that’s lowest point of Evaluation it dropped closer to a Hundred thousand so those are the annual Amounts that come in but um over the Years obviously not all of those funds Uh have been expended entirely Um and so there are some programs that Have some fun balance to go with them so In total there are there’s approximately About uh in rough numbers uh three Million dollars roughly uh available to The CRA uh to uh invest in programs Within the district And the Tiff tax that you were referring
To that’s a newly established tax is it Not No it’s been around uh it’s been around Since the CRA was established that’s how It’s that’s how they established the Revenue coming in annually Go ahead I’m sorry I was just gonna say You may have heard it recently as new Because it’s it’s also kind of a funding Mechanism they’re using for the Bay Park So that’s where you might have recently Heard about it so can you give us some Examples over the past Well since 2008 of programs that have Been specifically implemented with these With these Monies Sure so generally Um generally you know I’ve been with the City about four months so I don’t have a A long depth back to 2008 of all of the Things they’ve done Um but um In general uh things related to uh Improvements to remove Blythe in the Community so they’re uh we we have a Business assistance grant program which I’d love to talk about it allows folks Who are business owners uh in the new Town District uh to receive CRA funds to Improve their storefront to improve Um their their their business Um from a you know from a storefront Perspective safety perspective lighting Flooring
Um you know exterior paint Um Actual Capital Improvements to their Business and if in fact uh they are a New town resident and their business is Also a new town uh it’s um an 80 20 Split so they have to provide 20 Matching funds and then the city will Provide up to 80 percent of the funds With a cap of sixty thousand dollars so A seventy five thousand dollars project If you wanted to maximize the CRA funds That could be available to you you would Have to contribute fifteen thousand and The city would fund sixty thousand uh Now if you business is in the district But you live outside of the district and It’s a 50 50 match so to receive all of The city’s maximum cap of sixty thousand You would also have to invest sixty Thousand for a hundred and twenty Thousand dollar project and so just Actually Um this week we have sent out flyers uh To all of the businesses that have a Business tax receipt within the city of Sarasota in that district and all of the Property owners of those businesses in The district uh to highlight the program We’d love to have applicants for that Program so there have been a number of Projects that have uh utilized that Grant the most recent during the Pandemic was actually a couple of food
Trucks so there are there are new food Trucks that have been established along The MLK Corridor that have been uh Provided with funding from this business Grant Um so that’s that’s one area Um also another priority for the Community that we continually hear is Sidewalk and lighting improvements you Know from a safety perspective Um that certain parts of the community Are darker than others at night Sidewalks have gaps in in our need of of Repair so actually our biggest funding Right now allocated is to a sidewalk and Lighting project and we’re actually in This in this year going to be surveying All all of those sidewalks having Professional surveying done so that we Can then begin constructing or replacing Those sidewalks within Newtown now we Don’t have enough funds to do the whole Community so they there was previously Been done by our transportation folks And Public Works uh you know Establishing a priority of of priority List of which sidewalks would be done First as we have funding we’re also Searching for outside grant Opportunities to add to the length of Sidewalks that we can build what might Be really important for the community if Anybody from listening to that is one of Our challenges will be after the
Surveying is we know that we will need To work with uh individual resident Owners of property to have easements Because the current sidewalks are not The width required for ADA Compliant and The city doesn’t necessarily own all of That property so we will be working with Homeowners to have easements to build ADA compliance sidewalks throughout the Newtown area before we get into the Collaboration with legal aid and um And your program I’m curious are you Engaging private philanthropic Organizations for contributions to this Fund Um and also uh other uh Businesses that even exist outside of The area is there has there been Contributions within the community where The uh the government is not picking up The difference yes so um I guess to answer that question in my Short time here we have focused our Energy and our time on those available Grant opportunities Um through exterior funding sources Which could be both private and public Money Um that’s a great Point Larry um Actually last week I did begin my first Outreach to the local philanthropic Community not necessarily specifically About the sidewalks although that’s a Great opportunity to have that
Conversation but really more about Creating a vision for the Redevelopment In the future so we’ll continue to work With the philanthropic community and and Private sector in that I think Larry just Tom could a non-profit apply For some of those funds as well as a Business to I’m thinking like the Newtown Farmers Market somebody like That yes so for the CRA dollars uh if You’re talking about the business grant Program that I just described yeah that Is for uh businesses it is not Not-for-profits are not included in that Grant that particular grant program Um Um the uh you know the city has other Grant programs outside of the business Assistance grant program that I just Described Um you know that may be an opportunity But the this particular dollars was Really again because going back to where Does the revenue come from for the CRA It comes back in increased property Values so improving the capital front of A pain pain Businesses that pay avalorum taxes so The funds were set aside for that versus An entity who already receives the tax Exemption thanks I mean I’m going to Interrupt here and just remind our Audience that we’re listening to the Justice matters segment on wslr peace
And Justice report uh Linda Yeah so I think at this point I really Want to talk a little bit about Um our partnership with the city because It’s um I think we’ve made a lot of Progress and it’s really exciting for us That the city’s partnered with us on our Clearing title project and Um really what our hope is is there’s a Lot of properties especially in the new Town area where they’ve been passed on Generationally when someone passes away It’s left to another family member but If that’s the only asset Um that the family may have they may not Know that they should need to still Probate that estate in order to clear Title to that home and so the home is Not properly titled and that causes a Variety of legal issues for people and We’ve been dealing with this for a long Time if people could end up improperly Claiming the homestead exemption on a House ending up with a tax lien they may Not be able to access certain disaster Relief through FEMA if something were to Happen to their home because they can’t Show that they have proper title to it Accessing Home Improvement Assistance or HUD dollars is also an issue and One example is also they can’t get Building permits we had a client that Came in She was recently widowed and her And her husband lived in the home for
25 30 years and she needed a new roof And she was seeking some assistance and The roofer came out and went to pull the Permits and he said you don’t own your Home and she said what do you mean I Don’t know my own and apparently her Husband had never put her name on it he Had bought it and he didn’t think it Mattered they lived there together and So she was unable to repair her roof Until we got clear title for her Fortunately she found out early on and She didn’t have you know many years to Go back but still it was a real issue You can’t improve your property you Can’t access you can’t refinance on your Your house and one thing that we’ve also Seen over the years is people that there May be a mortgage on the property and The family continues to pay the mortgage Maybe Grandma passed away but there’s Still a mortgage so they still pay it They never clear the title they miss a Payment because something happens the Mortgage company will refuse to speak to That person because they don’t own the House and they could end up losing the House altogether then you’re in the Situation where you have two tracks of Trying to save someone’s house in Foreclosure at the same time trying to Clear title to it so there’s a lot of Complex issues around it but again our Our goal with the city is really to
Identify some of these properties that May need to have title cleared so again They have access to all these benefits And also prevent them from having Complex legal issues down the road that Can be prevented so Um we have been very fortunate that We’ve the new town CRA The Advisory Board we’ve met with them Wayne has Facilitated a lot of those discussions We’ve worked with Bay First Bank which Is I think the First Bank in Newtown and I can’t even say how many years it’s Been a really long time they’ve referred Clients to us and so I just want to talk To Wayne about What The Advisory Board thinks about This what you know if what the benefits Might be to the new town area Sure so uh I I think um you know the CRA Is is very excited about being a partner Uh in this program Um because of the things that Linda had Mentioned specifically around uh you Know individuals being able to access You know Federal disaster relief or Other uh especially coming out of the Pandemic you know not being able to Prove that you own your home uh you know Just cuts you off from from the Government being able to provide those Grant funds to you uh and we saw that uh Over the you know past few years at a Higher level perhaps than we had before
Um and you know for Newtown you know It’s all about Um developing uh prosperity and Generational wealth for the community Um that perhaps a lot of us Um enjoy in our own life but perhaps has Not always been as available to the Folks in Newtown so here may be the Single asset that could provide that Family its generational wealth and Improve not only their lives but the Community’s lives around them and so We’re very happy very excited to Participate in in that Um I know the the the ask and and the CRA a Was uh more than happy to provide uh as Legal aid is managing the program uh They’re going to come across uh Individuals who then have fees to get to You know they’ll need uh title searches And and other fees that are associated With getting to that clear title so While legal aid will provide the legal Expertise uh our funds will help provide Those ancillary costs in order to get That title clear so we’re we’re very Excited about being a partner with legal Aid in that We were Extremely grateful for that because that Is an often a barrier we focus on Clients that are low income who don’t Have access to attorneys or to Legal
Assistants and as you said the home very Well may be the largest asset or Possibly the only asset for the family And so for them to possibly lose that Over a clearing title issue would be It’s just devastating and one of the Biggest barriers they don’t have funding To pay for again you know air searches Certain things that are required in Order to get it through the process and Provide them with with clear title and Um so we’re Beyond grateful that they’ve Given the funds because again we have The legal expertise but we didn’t have The funding to provide those services so That’s going to help us move this along I might add too that kind of segues into An additional program we’re planning to Launch this year with the CRA and it’s The new town uh home front Beautification program and work working With amarillos Park neighborhood Association and and this will directly Result in an issue for us if folks don’t Have clear title and own their homes so The the beautification program is a Program in its concept now but funding Has been placed aside to basically Um again because the CRA is about Removing Blythe in the community uh and Lighting has been an issue that Individual homeowners would would be Eligible for exterior painting of their Home the installation of decorative lamp
Posts in their yard to help the Community overall but again as we launch That program if you’re interested in Owning you know and being a recipient of That and you think you’ve owned your Home but you haven’t through the death Of a relative you haven’t gone through Probate you haven’t cleared that that Issue will be very difficult for the for The city to provide those CRA funds to Somebody that we can’t we can’t figure Out who owns the home so we appreciate And that partnership and look forward to That work Right and that’ll be another great way For us again one of our challenges is Identifying these homeowners Um you know you can’t really go door to Door and say hey do you own your home Are you sure that the title’s in your Name any any one of us would be a little Suspect if someone knocked on our door And said that so it’s reaching out into The community and letting them know that Um you know we’re here to offer some Assistance if we can but identifying Those homeowners so that we can provide The assistance has been a real challenge I think that’s going to be another great Way for us to do that Um another thing that That we’re trying to do in coordination With this project is also the prevention Piece of trying to get the word out in
The community to make sure people have Wills and advanced directives and things In place so that hopefully we’re not Getting them after the fact maybe you Know Grandma or mom or dad passed away Several years ago and we’re trying to Clear title now but let’s get your Documents in place and so that your Wishes are laid out you’re not having People argue over the property upon Someone’s death and so that it’s really Clear and I think that prevention piece Is going to be equally as important as They move forward hopefully we’re going To clear titles along the way and then Prevent some issues in the future for Some of these families Um going forward again this the house May be their their biggest asset and the Importance of preserving generational Wealth is really key Um one other thing I wanted to ask you Wayne is you is there also a down Payment assistance program through the CRA or that something that’s yeah I know We’re running short on time but just Highlighting a few other things uh yeah The the CRA has um set aside some funds To work with the office of Housing Community Development uh this year in 23 To reopen a down payment assistance Program so those details will be coming Forth through the office of Housing Community Development it’s not uh
Available quite yet some of the other Things that the CRA does relative to Trying to make a prosperous Community is They have some funds set aside for Park Improvement so the Martin Luther King Park is the next park within the CRA That is slated for some improvements so We want to enhance the city’s normal Funding for Park improvements to improve That Park we also do a lot of things Around Um educational or summer camp programs For Newtown youth really from a Long-term preventative perspective of Trying to hit those you know social Determinants of Health that are good Predictors of their future as they Become adults and trying to make sure Kids are engaged so we do some things With the summer camp program at RL Taylor uh the SCF stem coding summer Camp those types of things in order to Invest back in the youth in a long-term Way so all of this is is really Encapsulated in a a new town CRA plan And it was adopted by the by the Newtown CRA agency and the city back in 2021 so It’s not that old it’s available on the City’s website if you go to the city’s Website and the page is on the um office Of Economic Development page you can Actually read the 100 page plan for for The for the city you know my personal Goal would be to try to create this plan
Into a visual rather than a 100 page Document so that we could get the whole Community around what is the vision and Future Absolutely and is there and and maybe I Misheard this or miss that is there some Discussion about Legacy Trail expanding Into town we’re not sure yeah that is uh The Newtown CRA Advisory Board did in Their budget priority set some money Aside to help uh expand the Legacy Trail Um uh to put its funds along with some Other dedicated City funds Um to expand Legacy Trail uh the public Works of Transportation folks within the City do have a connectivity plan Um to to do that uh to to connect the Legacy Trail to not only downtown uh but Also up into the Newtown Community Um and you know kind of through Bobby Jones as well up to uh UTC so there is a Large plan with that our funds have been A set aside to help with uh the Extensions within the Newtown community The whole city Is it and uh you know some nice bike Trails yes Well I hate I hate to do this but um we Kind of come to the end of our hour and I just want to uh thank Wayne Appleby so Much for uh the information he’s Provided and special thanks to wslr and The peace and Justice show for allowing Us this regular segment to discuss the
Relevant issues of the day we hope that Everyone will tune in again on Wednesday March 15th at 9 30 a.m because as the Saying goes Justice matters thank you All very much
