At the Sept. 29 meeting of the Hallandale Beach Community Redevelopment Agency board of directors, Executive Director Dr. Earl announced a community event and described a major upcoming streetscape project on First Avenue.

Dr. Earl said the agency will host "Taste of the 8" on Friday, Oct. 24, in District 8 at the area around First Avenue that includes local restaurants such as Cow and Las Verdes. He described the event as a promotional effort to drive customers to nearby restaurants and businesses before construction begins.

"It should be a great event. It's free food, free mocktails, music, games, and it's a way for us again to hopefully drive a lot more customers to our local businesses here in Hallandale Beach," Dr. Earl said.

Dr. Earl told the board that construction on First Avenue is scheduled to begin Oct. 27 and will last about 18 months. He said the project budget is $9,000,000 and the agency expects to provide shuttles and trolleys during construction to help maintain customer access.

Board members discussed outreach strategies for the event, including postcards and use of recently approved transportation contracts. One board member asked whether the project's traffic management would account for a nearby nursery school; Dr. Earl said he would look into that concern and report back to the board.

The announcement was informational; no vote on event funding or contract awards took place during the meeting.