City of Dunedin staff on May 22 presented a midterm performance review of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency to the CRA board and said the document will be submitted to Pinellas County staff for the county’s required midterm evaluation under Ordinance 12-26.

Bob Irish (staff member) told the board the county required the midterm review as a condition of the 15-year extension the county granted when the CRA was extended to 2033. "They said, guess what? We want a midterm performance review. We want you to come back in '25 and show us how you went ahead and mitigated blinding influences, how your TIF is doing, how your economic is doing, how your projects are doing," Irish said.

Irish said a consultant prepared the attached report, which assesses performance metrics such as tax increment financing (TIF) performance, the downtown master plan, and capital projects that include Skinner Boulevard and a proposed downtown parking garage. He told the board the interlocal agreement with Pinellas County — originally structured with approximately $4.1 million of debt for earlier property purchases — will likely need amendment because the parking garage will require additional borrowing. "That's something where that interlocal will need to be amended," Irish said.

Irish also said Dunedin staff will seek continued county support for maintaining the CRA TIF at a previously negotiated level (95%) and described the CRA as a local success story: "We think we got a great success story in Dunedin. We're achieving what we expected to achieve, and we're looking to continue on with Skinner, the downtown, parking garage." He said the midterm review will be submitted to county staff and later to the county commission for deliberation.

On housing, Irish told the board the CRA has not yet achieved affordable housing downtown as a standalone product and that staff hoped new mixed-use projects could include an affordable component: "The only 1 probably that we, still have not been able to achieve ... is affordable housing downtown... I think affordable housing as a stand alone is maybe out of reach, but I think it's part of a mixed use that we might be able to get that."

Commissioners discussed the county's heightened scrutiny of CRAs and whether county officials are motivated by revenue concerns. City Manager Jennifer (staff member) told the board county actions reflect both control and revenue considerations and noted that earlier national and state scrutiny of CRAs led to tightened rules in some jurisdictions.

Commissioner Walker moved that the board submit the midterm review to county staff; the motion passed unanimously by voice vote and roll call. Board members did not request substantive changes to the report before it moves to county staff for review.