Gainesville City Commission hears from Streatery businesses, discusses emergency funds for the Cotton Club Museum, postpones Mobility Plan

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the April 23 General Policy Committee meeting, the Gainesville City Commission heard from businesses affected by the Streatery construction, discussed ways to provide emergency funds to the Cotton Club Museum, and postponed their Mobility Plan because of Senate Bill 180.

Businesses impacted by Streatery construction

During a General Public Comment period that Mayor Harvey Ward added because “we have some representatives from the community with a couple of out-of-the-ordinary things,” a downtown business owner asked the City for help with letting people know that businesses impacted by the Streatery construction are still open.

The first speaker said she has two businesses in downtown Gainesville, and although she is excited about the Streatery, her business volume is way down and potential customers are either assuming the businesses are closed during construction or they give up when it’s hard to find parking.

Ward said he believed the City should get signage up pretty quickly, and Interim City Manager Andrew Persons said he didn’t have a time frame for the signs, but they’re being designed and fabricated. He said the City is looking for options to help with parking, signage, and rent abatement (on City-owned properties only). 

Mayor Harvey Ward: “When you look at other downtowns, there is usually a merchants’ association that invites you to go to their downtown. It is uncommon for a city itself to be the one that does the marketing.”

Commissioner Bryan Eastman encouraged people to support the businesses, and Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker encouraged staff to do more to get the word out that the businesses are open. Duncan-Walker suggested a “Go Downtown” campaign, but Ward said, “Celebration Pointe invites you to go to Celebration Pointe. Butler Plaza invites you to go to Butler Plaza. Thornebrooke invites you to go to Thornebrooke. When you look at other downtowns, there is usually a merchants’ association that invites you to go to their downtown. It is uncommon for a city itself to be the one that does the marketing.” He said signage is important, though.

Ward concluded the discussion by saying, “Thank you all for bringing this to us. I’m available for conversation always, so it doesn’t have to wait for a Commission meeting.”

Cotton Club Museum

The next speaker was Evelyn Foxx, speaking for the Board of Directors of the Cotton Club Museum, who said the “institution’s mission plays a vital role in cultural enrichment to our city and has been compromised by the failure of our air conditioning system.” She said that over the past month, the organization’s primary source of revenue, facility rentals, has been “severely compromised due to the mechanical failure of six of our eight air conditioning units.” She said the organization “lacks the necessary capital to address this substantial expenditure,” and the deficit threatens their ability to hold “essential annual programming,” particularly for Juneteenth events and summer youth programming. She asked Commissioners for $40,000 to replace the air conditioning units.

Ward said, “The last time somebody came to ask us for money, we spent about four months trying to figure out how to make it work, and you don’t have four months.” He said he preferred to approach the problem through private fundraising and said he would personally make phone calls: “That is a faster path.”

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said the situation was similar to Heartwood Soundstage, which was recently granted a $45,000 three-year forgivable loan, and she said she would like to refer the issue to the City Manager, along with private fundraising, which she also offered to help with. She continued, “But I think we just find ourselves in a situation with our aging structures, from the Matheson Center to Heartwood to the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center.”

Commissioner James Ingle also wanted to refer the issue to the City Manager and look at “pre-buying some rentals or anything on the front end that would be money that you could use quickly, for a service that we’d be getting from them, anyway.”

Commissioner Ed Book said, “I think we are kind of stuck, in that we just funded a different organization that has been around a lot shorter period of time, and the Cotton Club has typically been self-sustaining,… so that puts us in a rather unique position, and one we could anticipate.”

Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker: “I just wonder what it looks like to reshape or reframe [our grant programs] so that we can make sure we’re able to provide at least access to a greater pot of resources, so that individuals will be able to continue the wonderful cultural work that they’re doing.”

Duncan-Walker said the Commission needed to have a conversation “around how our grant programs may be reshaped or tailored to accommodate the services that are being provided by some of our cultural organizations. The outside grant is a wonderful grant, but when you think about, not just the Cotton Club museum, but also other organizations as well who have dire needs, I just wonder what it looks like to reshape or reframe [our grant programs] so that we can make sure we’re able to provide at least access to a greater pot of resources, so that individuals will be able to continue the wonderful cultural work that they’re doing.”

Motion

Chestnut made a motion to “refer to the [City] Manager, to work with the Cotton Club Museum in trying to resolve their financial situation at the moment of $40,000 and to work with [the GCRA] to see if the Cotton Club Museum would be included as another agency in their grant process.” Ingle seconded the motion.

Persons said the funds could come from GCRA reserves, and the City could also rent the space to provide additional funds. When Commissioner Casey Willits pointed out that the museum is inside the boundary for the GCRA Business Improvement Grant program, Persons said, “We’re not currently in the cycle right now, but if that’s the direction of the Commission, we will take that direction.” Chestnut said she wanted to resolve the Cotton Club Museum’s issue that day, but she also wanted to get them in line for the August cycle of GCRA grants.

Ward said that people watching at home who typically get phone calls asking them to donate “should expect those phone calls, and don’t go write me a check just yet, because I’m asking for a bigger number than you think I’m gonna ask you for.” He said he would still prefer to handle the issue through private donations because the next City Commission meeting isn’t until May 7.

Mayor Ward: “Every bit of that is directly impacted by the ongoing punch-down from the legislature that we’ve experienced… Our inability to have a program that can do this is affected by all the other stuff that we read about on social media and in the headlines. These are real things that have real impacts on the City of Gainesville’s ability… to get good things done for our community.”

Ward continued, “We also need… a different sort of system than the ones that we currently have. Every bit of that is directly impacted by the ongoing punch-down from the legislature that we’ve experienced… Our community gets hurt by these things that seem like cast-offs in legislative conversations… So are the other 410 cities in Florida. These are not academic conversations that happen legislatively. These affect people’s lives. They affect communities. This is a real impact. Our inability to have a program that can do this is affected by all the other stuff that we read about on social media and in the headlines. These are real things that have real impacts on the City of Gainesville’s ability, Alachua County’s ability, to get good things done for our community. And it is real important that folks hear that.”

Mayor Ward: “I think this is solvable within the [private] community, instead of us trying to figure out how to build a process that doesn’t exist right now.”

Desmon-Walker asked Ward whether he felt comfortable with promising funds to the Cotton Club Museum by May 10 so they could proceed with the air conditioning work, and Ward responded, “Here’s what I feel comfortable with: I feel comfortable making phone calls. And again, we all should be willing to do that if we’re serious about this, to other private citizens prior to the next meeting of the Gainesville City Commission, which is May 7. I think this is solvable within the community, instead of us trying to figure out how to build a process that doesn’t exist right now.” He said the Commission could still direct the City Manager to bring a plan to their May 7 meeting. 

Amended motion

Chestnut amended her motion to “One, request the City Manager to work with the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center to resolve the air conditioning issue by May 10, and two, direct staff to assist the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center through the Business Improvement Grant process.” Ingle agreed with the new motion.

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut: “The Manager is very creative. He found money for Heartwood. I think he can find money to help the Cotton Club.”

Chestnut said that since they gave Heartwood Soundstage $45,000 a few weeks ago, “I think we’re hard-pressed not to help this organization today… The Manager is very creative. He found money for Heartwood. I think he can find money to help the Cotton Club.”

Ward asked her to “not pit institutions against one another,” and Chestnut responded, “It’s just a reality… It’s an action that we actually took.”

Persons said, “As I understand it, you all are giving me authorization to address the air conditioner issue with the Cotton Club, including and up to paying the $40,000 cost of the air conditioning. However, if there are opportunities to reduce the cost, or through private fundraising, outside of the City’s control, great, but I just want to make sure that I have authorization to cut a check for $40,000 to the Cotton Club for the air conditioning repair.”

Ward said, “I was thinking you would come back with a solution for us to approve by May 7. But anything is fine.” Chestnut said Persons should handle it “however you would like to resolve it and come back to us.”

Commissioner Chestnut: “We’re asking for a plan that resolves the problem by May 10.”

Ward asked Chestnut to clarify her motion, and she said, “We’re asking for a plan that resolves the problem by May 10.” Ward said Persons should bring options on May 7 and be “ready to act.”

Willits said he would be willing to use part of his travel budget to book the Cotton Club for an advisory board appreciation event, and Chestnut said she would be willing to transfer $5,000 from her Commissioner travel account, “which gets it down to $35,000.”

The motion passed unanimously, with Eastman out of the room. 

Alachua County is also exploring ways to support the Cotton Club Museum

The Cotton Club Museum has also appealed to Alachua County Commissioners by email; Commissioner Anna Prizzia sent the request to Tourism and Economic Director Jessica Hurov, who said the Cotton Club “plays a vital role in our community” and County staff “are actively reviewing the situation, with attention to both the immediate repair needs and the organization’s ongoing operations. We are also exploring opportunities to support their upcoming Juneteenth event.”

Mobility Plan

The Commission moved on to its next agenda item, which was a discussion about a proposed Mobility Plan that would set transportation fees for new development. After a presentation from a consultant with recommendations for crafting an ordinance to implement the Mobility Plan, Assistant City Attorney Sean McDermott said that adopting such an ordinance “carries a lot of risk” because of Senate Bill 180; he recommended holding off until October 1, 2027, unless a “glitch bill” is adopted between now and then.

Ingle made a motion to “do as much prep on this as we can and hold off on [drafting the ordinance] until such time as it makes sense to move forward.” There were multiple seconds, and the motion passed unanimously.