OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Ocala North Magnolia Redevelopment Advisory Committee Meeting - January 29, 2026

City Council & Boards — Thursday, January 29, 2026
BodyOcala, Florida
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateThursday, January 29, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 48:07

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Ms.

0:02

Mr.

0:02

Hirschberger.

0:03

Here.

0:04

Mr.

0:04

McAllister.

0:05

Here.

0:05

Mr.

0:06

Needham?

0:06

Here.

0:07

Miss Kerberto?

0:08

Here.

0:08

And Miss Clifton.

0:09

Here.

0:09

Here's a quorum.

0:10

Thank you.

0:11

Do we have public notice?

0:15

The public notice information for the North Mag CRA Advisory Committee was published on January 20, 2026.

0:22

Thank you.

0:23

Has everybody had the opportunity to we don't have minutes.

0:26

Oh, we don't?

0:27

No.

0:28

Okay.

0:29

Why is that on here?

0:31

It's on the agenda.

0:33

Well, yeah, but I put none.

0:34

Oh, okay, okay.

0:35

Thank you.

0:35

Sorry, I didn't even see that.

0:37

Okay.

0:37

Um, so before the the rest of the team gets in, so we obviously all know that Clark Yandel passed.

0:45

And I was wondering if there was, and we kind of talked a little bit about it, but want to talk about it on the record.

0:50

Is there a way for us to, you know, the horses that are all around town?

0:55

We did one for the Chief Greg Graham Legacy Foundation for Chief Greg Graham that moved around the area and it ended up at the City of O'Cala police department.

1:05

What I would like to ask and entertain, could we do one of those horses, have the family and some of us do the artwork on it just like we did with Greg Graham's, and then put and then mount it and have him mounted at the entrance to the miracle mile.

1:22

Is that something Roberto that we we have the ability to do?

1:27

Uh we definitely can do that.

1:29

Um we'll need to coordinate with our cultural arts um department or division, and then see what the the process for getting a new art piece installed um is what all that entails.

1:43

Um but we've had initial discussions and how we can commemorate the the service of Mr.

1:50

Yandel.

1:51

Yes.

1:51

Um so that is one of the things staff is already discussing, and definitely that idea is a good one.

1:56

So we'll we'll move it further and provide updates as we go along.

2:01

Okay.

2:01

The great thing about that horse is it becomes a living breathing piece of art that's there from here to eternity.

2:08

I mean, there are horses that were placed 26 years ago that look today like they did 26 years ago.

2:14

So they hold up on the weather, and the family, Clark's family, as well as many of those sitting here, would have the opportunity to pick some of the artwork that goes on it.

2:25

If you've not had the opportunity to see the Chief Greg Graham one at the police department, if you look at that horse, there are so many intricate pieces.

2:34

So for example, the artwork of all of his tattoos are on that piece of artwork.

2:39

His his baseballs that he collected, and he had eight really high-end baseballs.

2:45

All of the pic a picture of all of those baseballs are on that horse.

2:50

A picture of him water skiing is on that horse.

2:53

So it there's so many opportunities that we have.

2:56

We worked with Jay Bailey, she's kind of the coordinator of all that, and Sheriff Urgle, past Sheriff Urgle, Gerald Urgel.

3:04

Um, the two of them are the ones that we worked with to help us get the horse, mount the horse, and Gerald Urgold is the one that puts the horse in and makes it last for the rest of eternity.

3:15

And my my grandson does the painting on the water.

3:18

Yes, yes, and his grandson did the painting on ours.

3:22

One possible location that you could consider would be uh right next to the restaurant by the railroad tracks.

3:28

There's a grass area there, and it probably belongs to the city, I would assume.

3:33

Where we have that sign that mounted.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement████████████████████████████████32%
Public Engagement███████████████15%
Economic Development███████████11%
Public Works███████████11%
Procedural█████████9%
Arts And Culture████████8%
Capital Improvement Planning██████6%
Flooding████4%
Homelessness████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Ocala North Magnolia Redevelopment Advisory Committee Meeting - January 29, 2026

The North Magnolia Redevelopment Advisory Committee met on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at Ocala City Hall at 8:30 AM. Five members were present (Angie Clifton, Floyd Hershberger, Wendy Kebrdle, David McCollister, Mike Needham). The meeting began with remembrance of former member Clark Yandle (deceased) and former council member Mary Surich.

Discussion Items

  • Tribute to Clark Yandle: The committee discussed and unanimously voted to create a painted horse sculpture in Clark Yandle's honor, to be placed at the entrance to the Miracle Mile (near the restaurant by the railroad tracks). The project will involve artist Jay Bailey and Yandle's family. The motion passed unanimously.
  • Bylaws and Grant Process Changes: Staff liaison Roberto Ellis presented draft bylaws and proposed process changes. Key elements: (1) Attendance: removal after three consecutive unexcused absences (with an emergent exception to be added). (2) Grant approval: for residential/commercial improvement grants under $1 million, site visits would be done by committee members, but final approval would go directly to the CRA Board (City Council), bypassing committee vote. This proposal was met with strong opposition from members, who stated it would strip the committee of its most valuable role—engaging with local business owners—and several threatened resignation. Staff committed to take the feedback to the CRA Board. The committee also discussed filling two vacancies (Clark Yandle and Darian Mosley, who resigned).
  • Commercial Grant Framework Modification: The committee unanimously approved adding public art (murals and sculptures) as eligible work items under the commercial grant program, keeping the 75% match up to $20,000. Budget remaining is approximately $167,000.
  • Grant Application CRA26-0005: Charlita Whitehead presented a residential improvement grant for 130 NW 17th Street (owner Jack Eason, Kimberly Jack Holmes LLC). The $4,221 grant would convert the property from septic to city sewer (100% reimbursement). The property, built in 1928, operates as a short-term rental. A site visit was conducted by member David McCollister. The committee voted unanimously to approve.
  • Project Updates: Eric Smith (Senior Transportation Project Administrator) reported: (a) An ITN (Invitation to Negotiate) will be re-advertised for six properties north of Magnolia Bakery. (b) A separate ITN for underground tank removal near Temple Cemetery (between 13th and 14th Streets) is underway. (c) He requested committee members submit new project ideas by March 13, 2026 (informally by March 1) for budget planning.
  • Community Concerns: A member reported overgrown weeds and sidewalk damage on 14th Street and North Magnolia, and tree damage to sidewalks on a city-owned lot east of the cemetery. Staff agreed to follow up with Public Works. Another member raised issues faced by business owner Karen Hartzell (Ocala Rehabilitation) involving a homeless camp, code enforcement violations, and facility maintenance. Staff will contact her.

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous approval to commission a horse sculpture for Clark Yandle.
  • Unanimous approval of grant CRA26-0005 ($4,221 for septic-to-sewer conversion).
  • Unanimous approval to add public art to the commercial grant framework.
  • Bylaws and grant process changes remain under discussion; committee feedback will be presented to the CRA Board (City Council) for final decision in February or March 2026.
  • Project idea deadline for budget inclusion: March 13, 2026 (informal deadline March 1).

Meeting Transcript

Ms. Mr. Hirschberger. Here. Mr. McAllister. Here. Mr. Needham? Here. Miss Kerberto? Here. And Miss Clifton. Here. Here's a quorum. Thank you. Do we have public notice? The public notice information for the North Mag CRA Advisory Committee was published on January 20, 2026. Thank you. Has everybody had the opportunity to we don't have minutes. Oh, we don't? No. Okay. Why is that on here? It's on the agenda. Well, yeah, but I put none. Oh, okay, okay. Thank you. Sorry, I didn't even see that. Okay. Um, so before the the rest of the team gets in, so we obviously all know that Clark Yandel passed. And I was wondering if there was, and we kind of talked a little bit about it, but want to talk about it on the record. Is there a way for us to, you know, the horses that are all around town? We did one for the Chief Greg Graham Legacy Foundation for Chief Greg Graham that moved around the area and it ended up at the City of O'Cala police department. What I would like to ask and entertain, could we do one of those horses, have the family and some of us do the artwork on it just like we did with Greg Graham's, and then put and then mount it and have him mounted at the entrance to the miracle mile. Is that something Roberto that we we have the ability to do? Uh we definitely can do that. Um we'll need to coordinate with our cultural arts um department or division, and then see what the the process for getting a new art piece installed um is what all that entails. Um but we've had initial discussions and how we can commemorate the the service of Mr. Yandel. Yes. Um so that is one of the things staff is already discussing, and definitely that idea is a good one. So we'll we'll move it further and provide updates as we go along. Okay. The great thing about that horse is it becomes a living breathing piece of art that's there from here to eternity. I mean, there are horses that were placed 26 years ago that look today like they did 26 years ago. So they hold up on the weather, and the family, Clark's family, as well as many of those sitting here, would have the opportunity to pick some of the artwork that goes on it. If you've not had the opportunity to see the Chief Greg Graham one at the police department, if you look at that horse, there are so many intricate pieces. So for example, the artwork of all of his tattoos are on that piece of artwork. His his baseballs that he collected, and he had eight really high-end baseballs.

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