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Sweetwater hires consultant to study possible Community Redevelopment Area; commission approves $92,500 engagement
Summary
The City of Sweetwater approved hiring Business Flare LLC to prepare a finding of necessity and redevelopment plan under the Community Redevelopment Act (Chapter 163, Florida Statutes), with commissioners citing potential tax-increment financing benefits and approving the consultant engagement unanimously.
The City Commission of the City of Sweetwater on Dec. 2 unanimously authorized the mayor to hire Business Flare LLC to prepare a finding of necessity and a redevelopment plan under the Community Redevelopment Act (Chapter 163, Florida Statutes).
Finance Director Scott Mendelsberg told commissioners the study would examine the entire city but focus on older commercial and residential areas. Mendelsberg described tax-increment financing as a way to capture future increases in property-tax revenue and keep a portion of that increment for local redevelopment projects rather than letting it flow to the county. He said the city could typically negotiate to retain roughly 70% of the increment and that the consultant work is budgeted at about $92,500.
Commissioners asked about governance and whether the commission would serve on any resulting redevelopment agency. Mayor Jose Pepe Diaz and staff said they would examine several governance models and return with recommendations; the mayor said the consultant would also prepare a redevelopment plan so the city would not “waste time” by doing separate studies.
Commissioner Reynaldo Rey moved approval; the motion carried unanimously by voice vote.
Next steps: the consultant will prepare the finding of necessity and related redevelopment plan for Commission review. The commission did not set a timeline in the meeting minutes for completion of the study.
