TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) \u2014 A surprise agenda change and a tense public comment period highlighted Monday night\u2019s Community Redevelopment Agency meeting in southwest Tallahassee.<\/p>\n
Tallahassee’s CRA approved a $30,000 mural grant despite neighbor concerns and pulled a construction grant from Monday’s heated meeting agenda.Neighbors raised concerns about a proposed marijuana dispensary receiving CRA funding.Watch the video below to hear why some neighbors say the project should not receive funding.<\/p>\n
Tallahassee CRA approves mural grant despite community pushback at heated meeting<\/p>\n
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A busy night for Tallahassee\u2019s Greater Frenchtown and Southside Community Redevelopment Agency.<\/p>\n
One agenda item dominated conversation during Monday night\u2019s meeting, and a development grant never made it to a vote.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m neighborhood reporter Lentheus Chaney in southwest Tallahassee, sharing how the meeting ended and what neighbors had to say.<\/p>\n
The meeting began with a surprise.<\/p>\n
A proposal for a new construction assistance program grant for 115 W Harrison St. was pulled from the agenda.<\/p>\n
The board did not address why the item was removed, but some neighbors weighed in on the grant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone is against new retail going up on Adams Street and on Harrison, but I do think that it\u2019s inappropriate for that retail space to be for a marijuana dispensary and also be subsidized by the CRA,\u201d said neighbor Max Herrle.<\/p>\n
The second hot topic involved a request for a $30,000 grant to create a large-scale mural along Oakland Avenue and East Harrison Street.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a 2,700-square-foot public art installation that can be implemented that will create a year-round accessible destination,\u201d said KCCI Executive Director Betsy Couch.<\/p>\n
Several neighbors spoke against that request, raising questions about whether public dollars should again be used for a project connected to a development that had already received funding in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has already received from the CRA $1.5 million dollars,\u201d one neighbor said to the board during public comment.<\/p>\n
Some residents also asked that more community input be included in the planning process before final designs are approved.<\/p>\n
Despite those concerns, the committee voted unanimously to approve the mural grant request.<\/p>\n
The board also moved forward with updates to the Tallahassee Community Redevelopment Agency Assistance Program and the Residential Exterior Painting Program.<\/p>\n
Those updates will help expand access to improvement funds for neighbors in the district.<\/p>\n
CRA leaders say both program updates and future development requests will continue to come before the committee in upcoming meetings.<\/p>\n
In Southwest Tallahassee, I\u2019m Lentheus Chaney, ABC 27.<\/p>\n
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