And um we went into recess and we are back as the city commission.

But the next item on our agenda is for us to recess as a city commission and come back as the community redevelopment agency.

So as the community redevelopment agency, the next or the first item on our agenda is the approval of the minutes of the special Sarasota Community Redevelopment Agency meeting of April 21st, 2025.

Move approval.

Second.

Okay.

Commissioner Ulrich moved approval of the special Sarasota CRA meeting of April 21st, 2025.

Vice Mayor Trice seconded.

If you'll vote, Commissioners.

Oh, I submitted a non-subsidive change.

Sorry, I see Ms.

Greg's looking at me.

That's all right.

Is that your vote, Commissioners?

Yes.

Motion passes unanimously.

All right.

Second item as the community redevelopment agency is CRA two, which is a report regarding the Newtown Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board, and I'm going to call upon our Newtown Community Redevelopment Agency Business Relations Coordinator, Gallant, and Advisory Board Chair Chow to or Chu to make the presentation.

And I'll let her pronounce your name.

And you know, before you speak anyway, we needed uh to for the record state your name and sure.

I'm Alex Chow.

I am the current chair of the Newtown CRA Advisory Board.

And uh Good morning, Rochelle Gallant Business Relations Coordinator.

Okay.

First, I wanted to thank you, Mayor Alpert, Vice Mayor and Commissioners for your ongoing support of our board.

On behalf of the Newtown CRA Advisory Board, I want to reaffirm the mission is to foster economic development, celebrate Newtown's heritage, and improve residents' quality of life.

Today's purpose is going to be a quick update for you on the CRA's marketing and communications strategy.

A little background for you first.

On September 12th of 2024, the Newtown CRA Advisory Board approved the scope of services for a comprehensive communications plan on December 9th of the same year, following the City of Sarasota's procurement process at large was selected as the vendor.

The goal was to build a consistent brand, stronger engagement, and greater visibility for the newtown CRA.

Now I want to talk to you about our progress.

We have our branding finalized.

It is fresh, cohesive identity reflecting Newtown's Heritage and Energy.

This came after one of our most widely attended meetings, which allowed us to gather valuable input from citizens on the logo appearance as well as other aspects of the website.

The website has been launched.

It's Newtown CRA.org.

This is the first dedicated website for the CRA.

We've uh previously just been going through uh city means for advertising our different events and things.

So this is a dedicated CRA hub for updates, events, and other resources.

It makes it easy for residents to learn about our grant programs and other initiatives, which will hope hopefully increase participation.

It also features active developments such as the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition or SAC and the Marion Anderson Place Site Redevelopment to demonstrate to visitors that growth is happening here.

It also tells the stories of people in the neighborhood, which is truly the heart and soul of what makes it special.

The uh at large has developed mock-ups for social media posts, printed materials, and other communication assets.

We do have some slides that will show you uh what some of those look like, uh everything from t-shirts to swag bags, and this will really build uh community visibility as well as pride.

Uh we do have the website home page.

Oh, there you see the logo.

That's the first that's a landing page of the website.

So just a really clear logo.

We have education, heart and family, and then the amarillus just to symbol, you know, symbolize uh faith and growth and renewal and you know everything fresh about the neighborhood.

Um and those are all symbols that again we heard public feedback and were very important to the people of the community.

Uh we also have some social media mock-ups.

Um, these will showcase event promotion, progress updates, and community stories.

So our next steps, um, we're gonna begin a full rollout of the marketing and communications plan.

We will be launching monthly e-newsletters, expanding our social media presence, and using branded items at community events to encourage engagement.

Our expected impact is increased transparency and trust through consistent updates, greater community participation in Newtown CRA programs and events, and a strengthened positioning of Newtown as a place to live, work, invest, and visit.

In closing, this plan ensures Newtown's story is visible and celebrated.

Thank you again, City Commission, for your partnership, and we are excited about the positive changes ahead.

Thank you.

And also as part of the board report, um, we wanted to bring forward uh that the CRA has been receiving regular updates from the Newtown Business Council, which is a recently formed economic focused nonprofit organization that has been doing work in the Newtown community.

On May 8th at its regular meeting, the Newtown Advisory Board, um, CRA Advisory Board received a presentation from the Newtown Business Council on this on its initiative, the Newtown Thriving Community Action Plan.