CRA to resolicit Baptist master plan; council probes selection committee and boundary expansion process

Council members used the briefing's Q&A to ask about the CRA agenda for next week, including plans to resolicit the Baptist master plan and revisit CRA boundaries.

Cliff Collins, an associate director, said the selection committee will have five members (three city representatives and two community members) and that staff reworked the RFP after prior controversy to simplify it and divide work into three phases: phase one will focus on community engagement; phase two on development feasibility advisory; phase three would be a master‑developer RFP informed by the work of phases one and two. "We took a hard look at the previous RFP and...we sort of put it in this three‑phased approach," Collins said, adding that the current RFP does not yet exist and that the mayor pledged support for Councilman Wiggins' selections for the committee.

Council members also asked whether expanding CRA boundaries would require county commission approval because of potential effects on tax revenue. Collins said he did not know offhand and would follow up, noting the boundary update has been under study and that the CRA board will receive the report and decide how and when to proceed to public input.

Other topics raised during the Q&A included the Triumph meeting schedule (the 22nd in Crestview), traffic-control updates on the Palifox/roundabout project (temporary barrels and fencing will be adjusted as part of a second phase), and business outdoor‑seating approvals (staff said most arrangements are on file and that a hardship allowed a unique layout for one business). Staff closed by reminding the council that the CRA planning process dates back to earlier plan adoptions and that the board will provide guidance on next steps.