Destin CRA board asks staff to seek parking-based revenue and funding options for Harbor district

DESTIN, Fla. — The Destin Community Redevelopment Agency board voted to ask city staff to identify nonpaid parking spaces in the Harbor CRA district that could be converted to paid parking and to return with options for generating short-term revenue for the Harbor CRA.

The motion, which the board approved by voice vote, also asked the Harbor CRA advisory committee to present a prioritized list of projects for which it would use any new funds. The requests follow a series of recommendations from the Harbor CRA advisory committee — including a proposal to convert the “Harbor 1” parcel at 1 Harbor Boulevard into a temporary paid lot — and concerns that the Harbor CRA is carrying a roughly $9 million debt with a large balloon payment due in about five years.

Why it matters: The Harbor CRA is already carrying debt tied to past projects, and advisory members said they need a predictable funding source to do planning and small-scale work while larger financing and capital projects play out. Board members and city staff cautioned that some parking revenues are already legally designated to a parking special revenue fund and that changes may require action by the body that adopted the original resolution.

What happened: John Stevens, who identified himself as chairman of the Harbor CRA advisory committee, briefed the board about three motions the advisory group had forwarded. Stevens summarized one passed advisory motion that recommends pursuing a temporary paid parking lot at 1 Harbor Boulevard to generate revenue for the Harbor CRA and said that motion passed 5–1 at the advisory meeting.

Stevens also said advisory members…