Are Community Redevelopment Agencies a Big Fat Scam? By Geniusofdespair

Also read the Crespogram (Al video-taped the preseentations)

County Commissioner Xavier Suarez made the Keynote Address. Seen here with a member of his staff, Sarah Odio.

The way I see it the County Commission --on occasion --sends Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava back to the drawing board with her proposed legislation ---they didn't send Linda back with her famous FENCE ordinance they just passed it. I think it is a stalling tactic to put off the good work of our new Commissioner who is so polite they are trying not to offend her.  She brought up, at the Economic Prosperity Committee, proposed CRA legislation for future CRA's to prevent their abuse: Namely to focus their mission and make sure the investments go to the communities they are done in and to benefit the residents. I think they sort of...put her off on that one. I was NOT there and I am just offering an opinion. But the money is so often diverted to developers, it is a joke. The community never prospers, they just gentrify the community and hope the disadvantaged move out. They do.

I noticed Mary Cagle, our Inspector General, who has yet to prove herself, was at the Miami Center for Architecture And Design Meeting last night (Sponsored by the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions (CUES), FAU School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP), Co-Sponsored by the Urban Environment League of Greater Miami (UEL),“Miami After Dark” Radio Program, WZAB 880AM, and Grand Central).

Cagle was listening as students from CUES outlined CRA mismanagement and the diversion of funds to other projects in the CRA zone, besides the blight they were meant to address. Perhaps Cagle can find some way to sunset CRA's that are running the wrong way like the one in Homestead. When a devastating audit comes in on the CRA, like the one in Homestead, something should be done about it you can't wait for the damn thing to sunset. As Frank Nero said, CRA's were meant for blighted areas, taking money out of General Funds to fix them. The last thing the money is going to is blighted areas. Too much money is coming from general funds for these boondoggles. I think Mary should formulate ideas for stopping this. The commissioners are not going to stop it. I think they are just stalling Daniella Levine Cava. Cagle you have subpoena power: Use it here. Get all these CRA's audited too. As Blogger Al Crespo says: "For those who care about all of this, the revelation that all of these CRA's in the County have a debt commitment of over ONE BILLION DOLLARS before they sunset should ring alarm bells."

Daniella Levine Cava, a speaker at the meeting.

There needs to be a penalty for mismanaged CRA's like....to get rid of them. I spoke to a student on the side,  boy they dont like CRA's very much after their research projects. Maybe now they can help write the fix???

Graduate Students from CLUES

 The Homestead Audit I wrote about in February 2010.

Read the Crespogram report --- same topic. He was there last night video taping.

Get Your Eyes Opened on April 21st to CRA's. By Geniusofdespair

I always thought CRA's were a crock of shit, a complete scam. Peter Bockweg heads one, come on. I wrote about one in Homestead that was audited.  Here is a second article.

Find out if I am right and let me know. I don't know if I can attend but it is really worthwhile to know what is going on with these as they absorb a lot of money.  CRA stands for Community Redevelopment Agency or Money Sucker.

CRAs IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY:
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Sponsored by the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions (CUES)
FAU School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP)
Co-Sponsored by the Urban Environment League of Greater Miami (UEL)
“Miami After Dark” Radio Program, WZAB 880AM, and GrandCentral

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015

MIAMI CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN (MCAD)
100 NORTHEAST FIRST AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA 33132

6:00PM- Registration and Reception (Light Snacks)

6:30PM- Welcoming Remarks -- 
Professor Steven Bourassa, Director, FAU SURP
 Professor Gregory W. Bush 
University of Miami History Department, Vice President UEL

6:40PM- Keynote Address
In the Beginning...Establishing and Implementing the CRA
-- Xavier L. Suarez, County Commissioner, District 7 Former Mayor of the City of Miami, 1985-1991

7:00PM- CUES Redevelopment Research: Miami-Dade County CRAs

Overview of the CRAs in Miami-Dade County
--Abigail Weiss, Graduate Research Assistant, CUES

--Max Wemyss, Graduate Research Assistant, CUES


Case Study: Southeast Overtown/Parkwest CRA

--Anielle M. Darucaud, Graduate Research Assistant, CUES

Case Study: North Miami CRA
--Christopher P. Riley, Graduate Research Assistant, CUES

8:00PM- The Future

Understanding the Broward County Approach to CRAs
-- Frank Schnidman, Professor, FAU SURP, Executive Director, CUES

Issues and Options for Miami-Dade County
--Daniella Levine Cava, County Commissioner, District 8

8:50PM- Closing Comments: “Redevelopment and Economic Development”
-- Frank Nero, President, Beacon Global Advisors

9:00PM- Adjourn

This seminar is open to the public. There is no charge to attend.
For additional information, please contact Professor Frank Schnidman at: schnidma@fau.edu

Homestead CRA Audit. By Geniusofdespair

$1.2 million is missing (or 10% of the 5 year funding) of CRA funding. Read about it in Homestead is Home blog. I am tired of reporting on it after 3 posts.

Homestead CRA Audit Revisited and Thanks to the County for the Audit. By Geniusofdespair

First, let me say I hate CRA's. They can be abused and they often are, at taxpayer expense. They have morphed into money pits. I reported on the Homestead Community Redevelopment Agency audit on Thursday and again on Friday. I wanted to add to those reports. Second, let me say thank you Mayor Alvarez, County Manager George Burgess and Cathy Jackson for doing this audit. We need every single CRA audited in Miami Dade County. The more audits the better. And, we need the audit recommendations implemented. Or we could do it my way: Sack every CRA in the County.

The Homestead CRA was formed March 2, 1993 to received annually 95% of the incremental increase in County and City property taxes over the base year 1993. Monies are supposed to be used for financing development activities within the targeted area. Since 1995 this CRA has gotten $30,816,904.

During the audit period taxpayer money deposited into the Trust Fund totaled $15.3 million and the audit says "There has been little or no affordable housing development or jobs created in the CRA District over the past five years." So we threw $15 million dollars down the drain, lining the pockets of people like former County Manager Steve Shiver, whose name was plastered all over this audit. Instead of helping the area, his Company hurt the disadvantaged people living in the CRA district by displacing them:

Shiver's company bought a housing development with 44 dilapidated homes and evicted all the families in anticipation of redevelopment. To be fair, however, Gary Eager of Hollywood was the only officer in State records at the time of the 2004 purchase but in City records Shiver is listed as controlling owner see graphic at left Sub-paragraph 4.3. The property was never redeveloped but 44 families lost their homes (sounds like the Hope project in Commissioner Rolle's District doesn't it?). Then the CRA paid Shiver's Company rent to keep the houses vacant, at $400 a pop on all the units, it gave him $310,000 for which he provided no services to tenants, since there were no tenants. Then Shiver's Company sold the land to the CRA for what the audit says was an inflated price: $1.9 million. Steve's company made about $710,000 on this deal at our expense and the expense of up to 44 disadvantaged families.

We can all agree that the above example stinks. Can we agree on the Audit's remedy:

Based on the foregoing, the County, to the extent allowed by law should strongly urge the City to address the audit deficiencies, implement appropriate management and accounting controls to prevent abusive practices, as well as develop a more realistic redevelopment plan that benefits CRA residents. Moreover, the CRA should report annually on job creation and business expansion activities, as well as the progress of affordable housing development initiatives. The Office of Strategic Business Management should validate reported accomplishments assure accuracy and propriety.

Or we could do it my way:
Do away with all the CRA's. They invite fraud. And as you can see in the graphic, only 25% of units would have had to be affordable, a pittance when you count the 44 they had before they started.

Seminole Theatre in the County Audit. By Geniusofdespair

I reported on the County Audit of the Homestead CRA yesterday. I reported on the Seminole Theatre February 15th. In the post I said the theatre had gotten about $3.3 million so far. The audit says that they have gotten over $4.3 million from various sources over the past 10 years. Among other things, the audit says the CRA paid $162,000 for builder's risk insurance even though the management agreement required Seminole to pay those costs, they pay $40,000 a year in management fees, and they paid almost $22,000 for a pigeon dropping cleanup. I find it odd that they paid about twice as much for builders risk insurance during a year (2006) they didn't pay for construction.

The audit recommendation for the theatre:

TIF funding for the project should be discontinued until there is some assurance that the Theatre will be operational in the foreseeable future, and can be financially viable given the competing theatres in the surrounding area.

That was my recommendation too. I said in my post, stop funding it if it won't be used.

In other Peyton Place, I mean Homestead news, another sex text scandal, this time the Park's Director. I reported on the former City Manager's texting yesterday.

Miami Dade County's Harsh Homestead CRA Audit Report. By Geniusofdespair

Steve Shiver Sucks! If you didn't think so before you might now.

Here is the cover letter to the audit which gives a good outline of what is to come. And, yes there is a part about the Seminole Theatre. Will detail more tomorrow.
This audit doesn't look very good to me. It is HARSH by County standards. The audit says that reports furnished to the County over the years disclosed monies that were spent on approved projects but "reported accomplishments were distorted and misleading. There has been little or no affordable housing development or jobs created in the CRA District over the past five years." The audit report identified several questional transactions including:


• Land (approximately 4.2 acres), containing 44 dilapidated "Shotgun Houses," was acquired from Homestead Acres 866, LLC, a Company affiliated with former City Mayor Steve Shiver for $1.9 million, after a planned affordable housing project fee through. In anticipation of development, the CRA paid the Company rent subsidies for each vacant house totaling $310,000 over a two-year period. According to the appraisal report, the only comparable in the area had a value at the time of sale that was much lower than the CRA purchase price.

• The CRA paid $541,000 to develop Losner Park, which included purchasing land and a building that was later demolished. Records suggest the CRA began negotiations to acquire the property from JSG Investments Corp., in November 2003 for $113,000. For unknown reasons, negotiations were suspended and in June 2004, JSG sold the property to an individual for $75,000, who then sold it to the CRA three months later for $159,000. Moreover, Downrite Engineering, a company that employed former City Mayor Steve Shiver was hired to complete the Park improvements.

• Two vacant lots sold by the CRA in1995 for $40,000 were repurchased from the same persons, nine to ten years later for $350,000. One lot was owned by a former employee of the City's Code Enforcement Department.

• A not-for-profit entity run by former City Mayor, Steve Shiver was paid $401,000 to promote the City's Historic downtown, and annual management fees of $14,400 were paid to a museum run by former CRA Board member, Ruth Campbell.