Diamond Square CRA - Special Meeting

MINUTES  
CITY OF COCOA 
DIAMOND SQUARE CRA 
SPECIAL MEETING 
May 1, 2025
The Special Meeting of the Diamond Square Community Redevelopment Agency was held on 
May 1, 2025, at the City of Cocoa, City Hall, 65 Stone Street, Cocoa, FL, as publicly noticed. 
I.Call to Order 
Chairperson MOORE called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm.
Invocation:  Chairperson MOORE provided the invocation. 
Pledge of Allegiance:  Chairperson MOORE led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of 
the United States of America.
ROLL CALL: 
Tracy A. Moore Chairperson
Crystal McQueen Vice Chairperson
Larry Brown Agency Member
Brenda Fox Agency Member
Jackie Isom Agency Member
Angelia Smith Agency Member
Marilyn Smith Agency Member
Joseph Colombo Agency Attorney
Ryan Browne Recording Secretary 
PRESENT:
Tracy A. Moore Chairperson
Crystal McQueen Vice Chairperson
Larry Brown Agency Member
Brenda Fox Agency Member
Jackie Isom Agency Member
Angelia Smith Agency Member
Marilyn Smith Agency Member
Joseph Colombo Agency Attorney
Ryan Browne Recording Secretary 
ABSENT: 
STAFF PRESENT:


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Community Services Director NEUTERMAN and City Manager WHITTEN Agency Liaison 
GOINS present too.
 
II.Approval of Agenda:  
AGENDA: 
Agenda - Special Meeting of May 1, 2025.
*MOTION by Agency Member FOX; SECONDED by Agency Member M. SMITH to 
approve the Agenda for the Special Meeting of May 1, 2025, either as written. 
AYES: MOORE, McQUEEN, BROWN, FOX, ISOM, A. SMITH, M. SMITH.
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0)
III.Delegations:   
1.Anita Gibson.  451 Stone Street.  Two items:  32 homes in MCB.  Crime concern.  
Community Watch.  Cold Case Unit. Her son murdered on May 1, 2016.  School.  
Kids age out of Summer Camp.      
IV.Presentations:  None.   
V.Action Items:
1.Request Agency acceptance of the FINAL DRAFT of the CRA Plan Update 
(2024-25) produced by Inspire Placemaking Collective for the Diamond Square 
CRA and provide any recommended changes.   
i. Introduction.  Director NEUTERMAN introduced the item.
ii. Page-by-Page Presentation and Discussion (combined) - led by Director 
NEUTERMAN. 
1. Laura Martinez via phone.  
2. If you have a note for those pages, please let us know.
3. Introduction.  Pg. 3.  MOORE:  any comments?  She 
proceeded:  on the Vision.  Does not contain a mention 
of “businesses” enhance and economic growth”
4. Consultant:  restatement of City of Cocoa, not a new 
Mission.  
5. Add in introduction, rather than the values.


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6. History of Section pg. 3 – History.  Similar to the 
previous update.  Any updates?
7. Pg. 4 – Timeline:  MOORE:  add Diamond Square, 
Black History and businesses.  Add Monroe Center
8. FOX:  add BROWN, and STONE businesses.  Lost 
history.  Gas stations, grocery stores.  Moore Center.  
State history (CN will provide to consultant).
9. Administration and Governance pg. 6.  Boundaries.  
Pulled directly from last plan as historical perspective.
10. Previous Plans and Studies. Resilient Cocoa challenges.  
Flooding and stormwater infrastructure improvements 
and plans that supplement this plan.  Shows Goals of 
Resilient Cocoa plan.  
11. Pg. 7 – BROWN:  Flood prone area – southeast corner.  
Rosa and Railroad.  Ponds we constructed.  Along 
Whaley, behind Habitat houses.  Still FEMA noted.  
Already done significant projects.  Included Pond by 
Habitat Homes.  Flooding at both sides of the railroad 
(CN will discuss with Public Works).  MOORE:  we 
need to notice these types of items.
12. Pg. 8 – Public Engagement.  SWOT analysis provided 
feedback and interviewed in-depth.  
13. Pg. 10 -11 – has been corrected.  The Vision. FOX:  
how improve property value if you are not require  - 
Code Enforcement measures this is how we regulate 
that.  CN:  new homes will increase property values 
significantly over the years.  Like the Paint and 
Beautification Grants.  Neighbors look to each other.  
Over our next 8 years.  Since 1998 value has 
significantly.
14. Community Places – space add at Squarein – Square in.  
MOORE:  like the layout; shows how you can help the 
community. Key words drawn from public feedback.
15. Pg. 14 – Existing Conditions.  Planning and Zoning 
maps for DS area.  References demographics.  
MOORE:  provides a birds eye view to each designated 
area.  Visually shows what is needed. BROWN:  
second paragraph; housing predominately rental 
housing.  LAURA M. gathered ESRI Business Analysis 
online; not pulling data only from our area; just saying 
that of the housing stock in DSCRA; 60% rentals (from 
US Census) on the ground may be different.  14% of 
units are vacant.  Overall analysis.  WHITTEN:  Census 


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Track layered.  All property overlaid.  And classified.  
Angie SMITH:  when data was pulled?  Site the 
reference.  Appendix under Existing Conditions Memo.  
Has more detail.  LAURA can add.  
16. Pg. 15 – Analysis Approach.  Your Strategic Plan.  
17. FOX:  Community Opportunity: refurbish old Joe Lee.  
Under Community Places.  This is general 
NEUTERMAN.  Specific items is where you would 
address.  WHITTEN:  specific not in here for a reason.  
Congressman Haridopolis, request he help us with the 
specifics pushing for Old Joe Lee to help us.  MOORE:  
he can see our analysis and then plug in as a partner.  
WHITTEN:  we justified to him via our request, we 
reference the plan; we explain the story, demographics, 
etc.  Business support, incubator center – committed 
just last week to help us with this.  MOORE: this shows 
what we need.
18. Pg. 16 – Community Living.  Picture of how we 
compare to CRA vs City vs County – pulled from ESRI 
(we can cite on page).  McQUEEN; how old; 
NEUTERMAN; we will cite.  
19. Pg. 17 – density; directly from GIS systems. BROWN:  
affordable housing.  How are we preserving the 
history?  The Real Church.  Are we preserve the history 
and character?  MOORE:  63 acres of vacant land – 
what kind of programs – we can want preservation in 
our next phase.  McQUEEN:  planning and vacant 
parcels.  
20. NEUTERMAN:  Color can be clarified.
21. McQUEEN:  low density residential.  
22. NEUTERMAN:  future land use – broken down in each 
density level.  
23. FOX:  how would you identify those houses?  Would 
you help the historical preservation?  BROWN:  
research how they did the ones downtown; Stone and 
Florida – his family still owns.  NEUTERMAN:  grants 
– private owners have to apply for preservation grants.  
We don’t own or control property.  Cocoa CRA each 
owner put their own or applied for historic preservation 
grants to make those changes.  National Registry.  
Restoration.  City has benefited in Playhouse, Moore 
Center, funding vs. private ownership.  BROWN:  how 
would they know.  National Register.  They have to talk 


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to Florida Historic Preservation.  Moore Center took 
2015-2019 to Federal Side Dept. of Interior.  MOORE:  
vacant land; when you talk about new development; 
you say what is the character of the community.  Like 
St. Augustine.  Encourage historic character in new 
builds.  Golden opportunities for the Board to have 
input.  LAURA:  architectural design standards – may 
go beyond scope.  WHITTEN:  standards – can 
everyone afford to conform.  Not just aesthetically – 
self-contained; mixed use; businesses and living within 
the neighborhood; work on grocery store; Dr. Joe Lee – 
business resource center; train people; needs to evolve; 
self-contained.  MOORE:  design continuity.  
24. Pg. 18 – Community Places.  FOX:  two locations.  To 
access.  Thomas Cole. BROWN:  places of worship.  
Add reference and number of churches.
25. BROWN:  how many schools? Nurseries?  MOORE:  
how do we make a walkable community. Markers that 
designate DSCRA, like in St. Augustine does with 
Lincolnville.  
26. Pg. 19 – mapped out.  Walkability.
27. Pg. 20 – Community Connections – mobility within the 
district.  Sidewalks, bike paths, multiple markings and 
signage.  BROWN:  crossing by Provost?  FDOT – 
timing for Fiske.  July 20, 2025.  Design starts.  180 
days then fund, bid, construction.  $2.3M construction.
28. Pg. 21 – Inter-connect from DSCRA to rest of Cocoa.
29. MOORE:  we should also have our goals and 
objectives.
30. Pg. 22 – Community Opportunities – Businesses 
services, commercial, retail, warehousing.  Grocery 
store; for a big goal to help us to help promote and help 
them see why they should establish their business here.
31. Pg. 23 – Community Identity.  Add more community 
profiles.  Within the page allotted.  Are there specific 
profiles you would like to showcase?  MOORE:  
wanted to see a kaleidoscope – key figures around it.  
You tell us who to put in there.  Angie Smith – high 
schools will highlight their alumni. McQUEEN:  
pictures blerb with space provided.  Need context.  
Angie SMITH – add a QR code?  MOORE:  wants to 
see the BROWN perspective. BROWN:  wants a 
curator.  We need it up and running.  Moore center.  We 


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lose a lot of history.  His mother is 87 years old.  Ms. 
Purvette’s parents recently lost as well.  Staff is too 
busy.  Eventually we need to find someone to work 
part-time.  MOORE:  Jewel Collins.  COLOMBO:  is 
there a page limitation.  No.  Appendix with more 
detail.  WHITTEN:  significant people.  Who are those 
people going to be?  Staff will not select.  MOORE:  
Harry T. Moore, Zora Neale Hurston, = take profiles 
from the Museum – Exhibits to this page.  BROWN:  
black businesses – highlight?  Grandfather trained 
Angie’s Father, who was - Maj. Sweetwine.  
WHITTEN:  we received delegation cards.  additional 
cards.    
32. Pg. 20-21 – Delegation Card No. 2 – Ms. Purvette 
Bryant Chapman – 317(?) Stone Street.  MOORE:  we 
are looking at this draft applicable to the needs. 
33. Purvette:  reach into Stone Street into.  Grew up on 
Magnolia Street.  Railroad crossing – U.S. 1 to Cocoa 
Village.  Developer planning to seal off the street? Four 
Corner plan.  Developer – has mailed to her.  Look at 
direct connect to economic opportunity.  
34. Stone Street crossover to.
35. GOINS:  Fiske is not a crossover; cross walk;  Stone 
Street Crossover Stone Street.  
36. Purvette:  street needs to be open, not cut off from the 
Village.
37. BROWN:  who is the business that contacted you?  
Orlando developers with Planning and Zoning and 
Maps.  Property Owners along Stone Street received.  
Never been contacted directly.
38. WHITTEN:  Four Corners Visioning.  P&Z next week; 
would like to see the correspondence.  RVI is city 
planners.  We did send out Four Corners.  Still working 
on this project planning.  MOORE:  be proactive; 
connectivity.  WHITTEN:  connectivity piece is 
contained here.  Crossover US. 1 – Stone West and 
East.  Railroad, will not open up.  A heavy lift, FDOT 
funding, but, can be referenced.
39. ISOM:  Stone Street for Ruby STONE – Funeral Home. 
Historic Places 
40.  NEUTERMAN – can refer in Identity (pg. 23)
41. Victoria Jones – Space Coast Black Chamber of 
Commerce.  How much notice was given about this 


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meeting.  When did the Board receive the Appendix.  
When did Board receive info.?  Public notice?
42. Sheila Prude.  Varr Ave.  Wants answers the status of 
her Mom being on the list for almost five years.  
NEUTERMAN:  SHIP Housing Program. Information 
was sent out 2022- lack of reapply information, income 
verification, and eligible; three separate occasions – 
sent to the address and went unanswered; taken off the 
list.  MOORE:  we are not able to affect action, just 
refer to the City.  She was told it would take five years.  
They took her off the list.  She contacted the Mayor.  
MOORE:  truly empathize.  
43. WHITTEN:  Each year in October the list is re-
certified; information you must respond to it.  Come 
tomorrow; you don’t start at the same place;  June 2022 
– took off the list; but, we don’t have that rule; but, it is 
an annual certification; we just send regular mail, not 
certified (due to cost); come up to us.  Title issue needs 
to be cleared up as well.
44. NEUTERMAN:  pg. 24 -SWOT.
45. Pg. 25 – SWOT Analysis Map.
46. NEUTERMAN:  building over 50 years.  Not that many 
commercial buildings.  BROWN:  wants them 
identified.  MOORE:  eventually identify.
47. Pg. 28-29:  CRA Goals – relates to the five Strategic; 
this is the implementation from strategy.  Potentially 
develop a project; keep in mind you have limited 
dollars – for the CRA funds; more holistic with the City 
and other partners.  Community Places:  does not tie us, 
but, allows us to pick something that allows for 
improvements.  MOORE:  intergenerational?  
NEUTERMAN:  Community Identity.  We can 
wordsmith that.  New Enterprise Zones?  State-
initiated, not in use.  Maybe New Economic Growth 
areas.  MOORE:  we have a gap – businesses. 
Community Opportunity.  Community Living and 
Places – Art Center she sees. Community Opportunity.
48. Pg. 29 – 30 – more details, but keep general enough. 
49. Stone Street Flyover.  Community Connections.  
50. Pg. 31 – examples, for potential.
51. BROWN:  LAURA – ask landscape architect where it 
was found.  Walkable garden, at the King Center.  
Community Identity.  Profiles in the garden. Some 


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ideas can fall under.  Art fixtures.  On properties that 
are too small to build on.  Cons – outside of the actual 
area – side streets not main corridors, no one would see 
them.  History and Art.  Less than 20 lots after MCB.  
NEUTERMAN: 
52. LAURA:  we already corrected the duplication.  
Presentation had the correct information.  
53. FOX:  photo pg. 31 – top left design; open space.
54. Pg. 32 – color coded; goals.
55. FOX:  vacant property; are you thinking about 
building?  No.  Cocoa housing authority. 
56. NEUTERMAN:  limited dollars for purchasing 
property.
57. MOORE:  why we are trying to get the Rosa property 
back.
58. NEUTERMAN; typical street.
59. BROWN:  develop missing middle housing.  Rosa 
jones houses?  Where do they fit in?  WHITTEN: 
affordable housing listing for vacant properties we 
bring to Council annually.  Problem to putting them out 
to developers.  July property list surplus for affordable 
housing; developers application process.  Hesitation: he 
wants affordable – not flippers.  M. SMITH:  Habitat 
can buy some?  Yes.
60. MOORE:  Affordable Housing.  Idea – zoning?  
Developer?  Who decides the price. NEUTERMAN; we 
would identify the parameters, and the developer would 
develop for us.  WHITTEN; you are saying a mixed 
income neighborhood.  Seen that a lot when touring 
around.  
61. Pg. 34 – Business Corridor imagined.  Such as Stone 
Street; walkable.
62. Pg. 35 – recreational areas; signage; historical signage; 
cultural.  ISOM:  how do you make this safe with that 
store- how can it be safe?  CPTED principles is what 
you would want there to help.  MOORE:  Miami turned 
it around; how they promoted the area visually.  
WHITTEN:  we are trying; four years crime rate is 
down.  We can’t answer your question; we are making 
efforts to make it safer.  Police Chief’s Walks.  City 
Manager – can see who’s in the park.  It will take all of 
us to solve these complicated problems.  It will take 


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time.  Provost Park is different than it was.  Gilmore 
Park is in process.  
63. Pg. 38 – TIF Funding.  Assuming 3% Growth.  Chart. 
$24M to today $85M. Significant progress!!!  Slow in 
the beginning, incremental growth.  Sunset 2032 – use 
dollars wisely – identify projects that can get us there.
64. Pg. 39 – plugged in over the years several types of 
projects; this is not a set-budget, not actual. Coin 
Exercise taught this.  MOORE:  Reinvestment Project 
same as Redevelopment.
65. BROWN:  Bus Stop.  Pad.  520 Corridor, we can work 
with SCAT they partner for shelter stop.  Areas have 
not been identified yet; FDOT corridors.
66. Pg. 40 – find partnerships to leverage the small amount 
of dollars we have.
67. Internal:  Departments within City.
68. External:  FDOT, SCAT, outside agencies.
69. Pg. 41 – partners for each type of possible example 
projects.  
70. Pg. 44 – Governance Compliance. Florida Law we must 
follow.  It gives our parameters.  Standard language for 
that.
71. Pg. 45 – New rules to comply with.
72. Pg. 46 – Neighborhood Impact element.  We must 
identify required to id, Fl statute.
73. Pg. 47 – Statutory Criteria – Consistency with the 
Comprehensive Plan.  We go next to Planning and 
Zoning. Then goes to Council before adoption.  County 
Charter, we have to notify every agency in the County 
that touches us.  Public hearing and comments on the 
plan affects on them.  Four to five months process to 
complete; attorneys review before P& Z Board; you 
will be kept informed; you can attend those meetings as 
well.  Board of County Commissioners must approve 
before adoption. 
iii. Vote.  
 
*MOTION to approve by Agency Member BROWN; SECONDED by Agency Member 
ISOM, as amended.
AYES: MOORE, McQUEEN, BROWN, FOX, ISOM, A. SMITH, M. SMITH.


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MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0)
GOINS:  Museum fund management; would they be allowed to; NEUTERMAN would have to 
research that. Would revert back to the City after DSCRA sunsets. Bring back.
VI.Attorney’s Report: None.  Gardenia blooms to share!  
VII.Updates and Staff Report  
1. Director NEUTERMAN: 
i. No reports.
2. BROWN:  I feel more comfortable with the page by page than last meeting.
3. Public question?  City right of way. You are responsible of taking care of it. Who 
is responsible the Oak tree covering her mailbox?  WHITTEN:  your responsible?  
Mailman said she needs to cut it.
VIII.Next Meeting Date:   
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Diamond Square Community Redevelopment 
Agency will be on Monday, May 19, 2025 at 6:00 pm at the City of Cocoa, City Hall, 65 Stone 
Street, Cocoa, FL, unless a business need arises earlier.
IX.Adjournment 
*MOTION to adjourn by Agency Member BROWN; SECONDED by Agency Member 
ISOM.
AYES: MOORE, McQUEEN, BROWN, FOX, ISOM, A. SMITH, M. SMITH. 
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0)
THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED at 8:47 pm.
__________________________
Tracy Moore, Chairperson 
Respectfully Submitted by:
________________________________
Ryan Browne, Recording Secretary