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AGENDA MINUTES
MEETING
AGENDA
MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2026 5:00 PM
1. CALL TO ORDER
The City of Leesburg, Carver Heights/Montclair Area Community Redevelopment Agency held a regular
meeting on Monday, January 12, 2026, at Leesburg City Hall. Chairperson Berry called the meeting to
order at 5:00 p.m. with the following members present:
Commissioner Robert Alderman (5:02 pm)
Commissioner Jimmy Burry
Commissioner Jay Connell (5:01 pm)
Commissioner Theresa Conner
Commissioner Mike Pederson
Commissioner Alan Reisman
Chairperson Allyson Berry
Also present were City Manager (CM) Al Minner, City Clerk (CC) J. Andi Purvis, Deputy City Clerk
(DCC) Anna Rottermond, the news media, and others.
INVOCATION
Chairperson Berry gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United
States of America.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
A. Regular meeting held September 22, 2025
Commissioner Resiman made a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes of September 22, 2025,
and Commissioner Pederson seconded the motion.
Chairperson Berry requested comments from the Commission. There were none.
The roll call vote was:
Commissioner Pederson Yes
Commissioner Reisman Yes
Commissioner Conner Yes
Commissioner Burry Yes
Chairperson Berry Yes

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Five yeas, no nays, the Commission approved the meeting minutes as presented.
3. DISCUSSION ITEM:
A. Future Goals for the CRA
Chairperson Berry stated that since the last meeting in September, Commissioner Alderman, along with
other members of the Greater Leesburg Community Development CRA, attended the Florida
Redevelopment Association Annual Conference in West Palm. It was held October 14th–17th, 2025. The
conference provided an abundance of valuable information, and they would like to thank the city for the
opportunity to attend. The knowledge gained from the conference allows them the opportunity to better
align with the future goals of the CRA. She asked Commissioner Conner to start with her comments.
Commissioner Conner said she did not attend the conference in West Palm, but she did have a couple of
things that she wanted the commission to look at. Her concern dealt with park security cameras in Berry
Park because there have been a couple of incidents which have not been solved. She would like to have
someone monitor those cameras. CM Minner pointed out on Friday she sent him a list of items she
wanted to discuss. However, this item he believed could get tackled now because Chairperson Berry also
asked about it a month or so ago. He talked to the police chief as well as the IT director and they both
looked into it. At this time, he believed they could knock this item off the list because it does fall under
his spending authority, but before he went ahead and did it, he wanted to make sure the commission all
agreed to get it done. The police chief along with the IT director have identified some locations where
they believe additional cameras would help. As the commission knows, there are always two pieces to
the puzzle, which include capital costs and recurring costs. The capital cost to add six additional cameras
in the areas where the police chief believes it would be sufficient is about forty grand. The police chief
feels comfortable that it would provide more coverage of that area. Next, it will cost about two thousand
dollars annually for fiber. The cameras are hooked to fiber and the city pays about two thousand dollars
annually for that. So, if the commission is fine with this, they will move forward and have six cameras
installed for about forty thousand dollars with the annual cost of two thousand dollars for the hookup to
fiber. At this time, there is money in the budget to get this done, and it is within his spending authority.
Commissioner Connell asked for clarification of where they were talking about putting in the cameras.
CM Minner replied it would be in and around Berry Park. Commissioner Connell inquired if the costs
would come from this CRA budget. CM Minner responded yes. Commissioner Pederson said he was
personally fine with this, but he wanted to know how many cameras were currently out there. CM
Minner answered three. Commissioner Pederson added that if they felt the city needed that many, he
was not going to say no. Commissioner Burry wanted to confirm that there were three in Berry Park
right now. CM Minner agreed, that currently, there are three cameras in and around Berry Park.
Chairperson Berry stated that they do need that many cameras out there to cover the whole park. CM
Minner remarked that by adding these six there would be a total of nine cameras out in that
park. Commissioner Reisman indicated that he was fine with this.
By a nod of the head, the commission authorized the city manager to move forward with installing the
additional security cameras at Berry Park.
Chairperson Berry asked Commissioner Conner if she had anything else she wanted to
add. Commissioner Conner replied no, she was good. Moving on, Chairperson Berry asked
Commissioner Alderman about his future goals.

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Commissioner Alderman informed the commission that he brought a list of items with him, which he
passed to each commissioner. His list of concerns/items he felt would greatly benefit Carver Heights and
the city as a whole. Referring to his list, his number one goal is to get information disseminated to the
residents of Montclair, Woodland Park and Carver Heights. Right now, it is a monumental challenge to
get information out to everyone in that area and, with today's technology, they should be able to install
electronic message boards at both ends of Montclair, CR 468, Woodland Park, and Carver Heights. From
Thomas Avenue: Olivet Avenue, Mispah Avenue and Harlem Avenue. From Montclair Road/Center
Street: McCormack Street, and from Griffin Road: Tuskegee Street and Beecher Street. Right now,
people have to walk around and hand out flyers, which is time-consuming since most people have busy
schedules. Again, this would be a great benefit for the area as a whole. He would also like the signs to be
bilingual.
His second item covers sidewalks in the Carver Heights/Montclair area. There are areas he has observed,
such as Tuskegee Street, Harlem Avenue and Waitman. Those roads already have sidewalks, but some
maintenance is required to get them into a better state. This was also a request from a resident.
The next item would be to have a multipurpose center in the area. He believed it would be a great benefit,
and it would add value to the area. It would be tangible for the residents of Woodland Park and Carver
Heights. He knows there have been discussions about the Resource Center, but that is kind of separate
from Carver Heights. He would like to see a community building located right in Carver Heights. It
would be a center for meetings and banquets. He referenced the community center in Winter Park
because he had recently attended an event there, and he was impressed by how it was set up and utilized.
They had a basketball court, a gym, along with three events all going on at the same time. He believed it
was a wedding reception, a birthday party and something else. He only mentioned that as a model. He
was not saying it should be exactly like that, but it would be nice to have something like that in Carver
Heights. One location that could be utilized for a community center could be off Carver Drive because it
would be accessible from Thomas Road and the Leesburg/Wildwood Trail. Another location could be the
three lots at Bradford Avenue and McCormack Street right by Berry Park. The third location could be the
former Dabney swimming pool site.
The fourth item he would like to see is a basketball court at Berry Park, and it would still be an added
benefit to the area even though we already have one at the Boys and Girls Club. He has traveled to many
other areas, and he noticed in West Palm Beach that they have smaller areas in each community, so the
people in those areas have access to stuff like that.
The fifth item was brought to his attention by a resident, which was a request for speed humps/tables on
Simmons Avenue prior to the curve where the street turns into Nebraska. There have been complaints
about people speeding around that curve at high rates of speed and there are kids in that area.
His last item would be to hire a dedicated CRA staff member. That person could help with all the CRAs
on their agendas or goals. He knows it would require some consultants for the best guidance. He would
like to see a dedicated CRA staff member for the CRAs because he has seen communities throughout the
state who have CRA staff members, and it is a great asset.
Chairperson Berry thanked both commissioners for their input. She asked about the type of information
he was looking to have provided and/or disseminated to the residents. Commissioner Alderman
responded, for example, this weekend the city is hosting the Martin Luther King parade, so that could be
displayed. He saw a Farmers’ Market being held downtown, which he was unaware of because it was not
disseminated to his side of town. Also, when it comes to elections, the sign could provide voting precinct
information. When there are cleanup events in the community, that could be displayed. These are the
types of things he would like to see displayed. He knows they get a lot of volunteers from outside the
community, but it would be wonderful to have more volunteers from inside the community. He knows it
is put out on certain social media platforms and newspapers, but not everyone uses those, so a message
board would help get the information out to the community.

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Chairperson Berry thanked them both for their comments. She asked if there were any further questions
or comments. There were none. She said they would use this information when they start planning next
year’s budget, which begins in March.
Commissioner Pederson asked the city manager if he knew how much money was currently in the CRA
budget. CM Minner answered that he did not have the number readily available, but he could get that to
them. Commissioner Pederson said he was curious about the current balance because he had forgotten
what they brought in annual. He was also concerned because he knew they spent quite a bit on Susan
Street. CM Minner pointed out that they took the costs for Susan Street from the U.S. Highway 441/27
CRA. There was only a small snippet of the Susan Street project, about $200,000, that came from the
Carver Heights CRA. Most of the expensive items are on the east side of the line, which is the U.S.
Highway 441/27CRA. Commissioner Pederson thanked him for that information. He was just trying to
get his hands around how much capital they had left in comparison to the list. CM Minner said he would
send an email out with that answer. However, he believed it was in the ballpark of half a million to one
million dollars. Chairperson Berry asked if there were any other comments. There were none.
4. ROLL CALL:
Commissioner Pederson said he did not want to get bogged down. We have not spoken about it for a
while, but he would like to address the city-owned and Carver Heights-owned lots. They have been
sitting idle for a while. He knows they have talked about it over and over, but he would like to have it
resurrected in some form of fashion because we need to get those lots off the books. They are not on the
tax roll, and they are costing us money. Chairperson Berry agreed. They have approved the process so
they should get these going as soon as possible for whoever is interested in the lots.
Commissioner Reisman had no comment.
Commissioner Conner had no further comment.
Commissioner Alderman had no comment.
Commissioner Connell had nothing to comment on.
Commissioner Burry had no further comment.
Chairperson Berry had no additional comment.
5. ADJOURN:
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES NEEDING ASSISTANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY
OF THESE PROCEEDINGS SHOULD CONTACT THE HUMAN RESOURCES
DEPARTMENT, ADA COORDINATOR, AT 728-9740, 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF
THE MEETING.
F.S.S. 286.0105 "If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the Commission with
respect to any matter considered at this meeting, they will need a record of the
proceedings, and that for such purpose they may need to ensure that a verbatim record of
the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the
appeal is to be based." The City of Leesburg does not provide this verbatim record.

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With a motion by Commissioner Reisman and a second by Commissioner Burry, the meeting adjourned
at 5:23 p.m.