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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-01-16 NURB MinutesNURB Meeting – March 1, 2016 1 Northeast Urban Renewal Board (NURB) Regular Meeting Tuesday, March 1, 2016 The Northeast Urban Renewal Board met in regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in the Conference Room, Professional Building, 20 East Olive Street, Bozeman, Montana. Present: Absent: Voting Members: Tom Noble, Chair Jeanne Wesley-Wiese Daniel Doehring Erik Nelson Robert Pavlic (arrived at 6:48 p.m.) Non-Voting Members: John Usher Commissioner Liaison: I-Ho Pomeroy Staff: Brit Fontenot, Economic Development Director Robin Sullivan, Recording Secretary Guests: John How, KLJ Engineering Shane Strong, KLJ Engineering Maurice Quanbeck, 520 North 11th Avenue Call to Order – Chair Tom Noble called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Changes to the Agenda – No changes were made to the agenda. Public Comment – Erik Nelson thanked staff for their support of this Board as it moves forward with bonding for infrastructure projects. He recognized that the Board is now moving into processes it is not familiar with and is being asked to move at an aggressive speed. Chair Noble stated he also appreciates staff’s support. He cautioned, however, that the agenda must be set in a timely manner that gives the Board and the public an opportunity to prepare for each meeting. He noted that he has no problem with a month delay if an item has not been placed on the agenda in a timely manner. Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot introduced Lanette Windemaker to the Board, noting that she has been contracted by the City to assist the tax increment financing district boards with the bonding process. NURB Meeting – March 1, 2016 2 Minutes – February 2, 2016. It was moved by Erik Nelson, seconded by Dan Doehring, that the minutes of the meeting of February 2, 2016, be approved as submitted. The motion carried on 3-0 vote. Discussion/Action Items – Update on North Wallace Avenue project. Economic Development Director Fontenot stated the public hearing on creation of the special improvement district for improvements to North Wallace Avenue will be on the Commission’s March 7 agenda. To date, one letter of protest and several letters of support have been received. Following the public hearing, the Commission will adopt a resolution creating the special improvement district and then proceed with construction of the improvements this summer. He noted that this is a high priority project for many of the residents in the area. John How stated the final bid documents will be ready no later than March 8. The advertisement for bids will then be published, with the bid opening on March 29 and award of the bid on April 4. Responding to Erik Nelson, John How stated there are any substantive changes since the last meeting. He noted that a conversation with the City’s Water Specialist revealed there are no species of vegetation that will last more than two or three years in the median and traffic circle without irrigation, so the City’s Engineering Department has made the determination that the design include stamped concrete in those locations. He stated a concrete platform will be included in case the Board wants to put up a sign. Responding to Erik Nelson, John How stated the traffic circle must be poured in conjunction with the street improvements in a manner that allows trucks to roll over it. He then stated that if the Board wishes to consider adding a planter box in the future, it will be easy to cut the concrete out and install the box. He suggested another option might be to consider rotating statues into and out of the median and traffic circle. He stated that, if the Board wishes to pursue that option, he can easily revise the plans to include a thickened concrete pad on both sites. John Usher noted there are a lot of artists on the northeast side of town, and suggested that including artwork on the median and traffic circle could help identify this district. The Board agreed that the design should be revised to include a sculpture pad on both the median and the traffic circle. Update on pedestrian crossing at railroad tracks. John How reported that he received a response from MRL about the proposed pedestrian crossing improvements last week. He noted that the design originally submitted was for widening the crossing so that the existing roadway and the pedestrian crossing would be located within the arms. That design was preliminarily approved; however, when Brad Koon submitted the final plan, Montana Rail Link responded that they do not allow contractors to install improvements within their right-of- way. Under MRL’s new policy, they will do the improvements; and the estimate for the 8-foot- wide pads is $50,000. In light of those costs, he has revised the design to provide a 4-foot-wide sidewalk; however, that reduces the lane width to 27 feet; and the City’s Engineering Department is not supportive of that reduction or putting pedestrians so close to the travel lane. NURB Meeting – March 1, 2016 3 John How stated that, as a result of this new development, the pedestrian crossing is not included in the North Wallace Avenue improvements. He suggested that, if an acceptable resolution is reached, it can be added to the street improvements through a change order, or it can be included in the bids for the East Tamarack Street and East Peach Street improvements. Responding to Erik Nelson, John How stated the pedestrian crossing is located outside the boundaries of the special improvement district. Director Brit Fontenot reminded the Board that he and Erik Nelson had previously met with representatives from GVLT and the Parks Department in an effort to get them to participate in the costs of this pedestrian improvement; and they were not interested in doing so. He has since met with them and, based on the cost estimate of $20,500 at that time, received commitments from Gallatin Valley Land Trust and the City’s Parks Department to each fund $7,500 of the project. He cautioned that he does not anticipate this partnership will survive the cost increase, but suggested that those two partners may be willing to honor their $7,500 commitment. Dan Doehring asked if the $50,000 is an estimate or if it the actual cost. John How responded that MRL indicated they will do a complete cost analysis if the Board is interested in pursuing the improvement. He then stated everyone agrees that this is the preferred design for pedestrian movement. Dan Doehring suggested that staff get a good cost estimate from MRL for this improvement rather than acting on this cost estimate. John How stated that MRL has indicated it will take two to three weeks to approve the design and determine the cost estimate once the design has been submitted. Responding to Erik Nelson, John How stated that once MRL has received and approved the design, the approval will hold for years. Dan Doehring stated that this railroad crossing is bad; and it is important to undertake the pedestrian improvements as soon as possible, particularly in light of the new trail connections that are upcoming. Erik Nelson asked if staff has approached WTI or researched the safe routes to school program to see if there are potential funds available for this improvement. Director Fontenot responded that staff has not, but he will check on the WTI option. John How stated that, if this Board directs staff to pursue the option with MRL, he will contact Brad Koon tomorrow and ask him to submit the design for approval and a cost estimate. The Board asked staff to get an accurate cost estimate and to pursue other possible funding sources. Proposed partnership between the NURD, the Parks Department and Gallatin Valley Land Trust to cover one-third of the costs of the railroad pedestrian crossing NURB Meeting – March 1, 2016 4 improvement. Economic Development Director Fontenot noted this issue was covered in the previous agenda item. He noted that both the Parks Department and GVLT recognize the importance of a safe crossing and recognize that it is important as a trail connection. Erik Nelson stated he still believes that the Story Mill Park improvements will result in significantly more traffic moving through the district. Discussion – project priorities and resolution for bonding. Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot stated that at the last meeting, staff received direction to proceed with the bonding process. The resolution now before the Board identifies the projects to be funded, and it is important for the Board to determine if the projects listed are the correct ones and if they are in the right priority order. Lanette Windemaker stated that she has worked with bond counsel in preparing this resolution, and it is the first step in proceeding with the bond sale. She noted that one concern is how much bonding this Board will be able to do, so one of the key issues is to identify the correct priority in which the projects are listed so those most important to the district are funded first. Responding to Erik Nelson, Lanette Windemaker stated that the next step in the bond process is to complete a financial analysis to determine the maximum bond amount that can be supported by the annual tax increment. She cautioned that, since reappraisals are now to be done every two years, potential bond purchasers may be more cautious about what they are willing to risk. John How cautioned that the cost estimates for each of the projects listed are in 2016 figures and do not include inflation. He noted that if the projects are not actually constructed until 2018, inflation costs must be factored in. Responding to Bob Pavlic, John How stated that the East Tamarack Street project extends east of North Wallace Avenue. Bob Pavlic noted that the portion of East Tamarack Street/Front Street in front of the depot presents a stormwater challenge that has not yet been engineered. He then stated his support for stopping the street improvements at North Wallace Avenue instead of extending to the east. Responding to Erik Nelson, Lanette Windemaker stated that Board is not limited to the order in which the projects are listed in the resolution, however, she noted that hopefully the lower priority projects are the ones that would not be funded if the bond issue is not large enough to accomplish everything. Dan Doehring and Erik Nelson expressed support for including the pedestrian railroad crossing, East Tamarack Street and East Peach Street as the top three priorities, with the other projects to be funded if monies are available. At Economic Development Director Fontenot’s request, Shane Strong showed the Board the new flood map as a result of the recent study. He noted that the new floodway delineation requires that, if the pedestrian bridge is to be located at East Aspen Street, it will need to span 40 to 50 feet and its skirt must be above the floodplain. He stressed that if the bridge is to encroach into the floodway, it will trigger a permitting process that is lengthy and costly. He NURB Meeting – March 1, 2016 5 stated the rule of thumb for a prefabricated bridge is $1,000 per lineal foot for the structure and a similar amount for installation, so the $60,000 currently budgeted for the pedestrian bridge is probably inadequate. Dan Doehring noted there may not be adequate room to install the bridge if it is to be located outside the floodway. Erik Nelson asked if any other projects should be added to the list in the resolution, stating he does not want to miss the construction of any improvement that might benefit the district. John How noted the Board has previously discussed the installation of a quiet zone, at an estimated cost of $250,000. He then asked the Board to review the list of projects and place them in priority order, adding projects if they so desire. He noted that the current list includes Front Street and North Ida Avenue as alternates. Chair Noble stated he feels the priority order should be East Tamarack Street, East Peach Street, the pedestrian railroad crossing upgrades, pedestrian bridge/East Aspen Street, Front Street, North Ida Avenue, and the quiet zone. Economic Development Director Fontenot encouraged the Board to consider the impacts that these construction projects will have on those within the district and how much disruption they are willing to accept. Bob Pavlic stated he feels North Ida Avenue should be a higher priority than Front Street, particularly in light of the amount of traffic that uses North Ida Avenue versus Front Street. Chair Noble asked if the quiet zone feasibility study is bondable, noting it is listed in the work plan for next year. Following discussion, it was moved by Erik Nelson, seconded by Tom Noble, that priority list in the resolution be: East Tamarack Street, East Peach Street, the pedestrian railroad crossing upgrades, pedestrian bridge/East Aspen Street, Front Street, North Ida Avenue, and the quiet zone. The motion carried on a 3-1 vote; Bob Pavlic voted No. Recording Secretary Robin Sullivan asked that the Board not act on the resolution at this time, noting that discussion on the work plan and budget should occur before the Board gives consideration to the resolution, particularly in light of the timing of project construction and the funds currently on hand. She gave a brief overview of how the construction bids and bond bids dovetail in the special improvement district process and suggested a similar process should be followed for the issuance of tax increment financing bonds. Following a brief discussion, Lanette Windemaker indicated that the next step is the financial analysis, and the results of that analysis should be available for next month’s meeting. She noted that the bonding process will be delayed until this fall; and one of the first steps at that time will be the adoption of a reimbursement resolution so that any engineering costs incurred for up to thirty days prior to that action can be reimbursed from the bond proceeds. Discussion regarding work plan and budget for Fiscal Year 2016-17. Recording Secretary Sullivan distributed copies of the revenues and expenditures through February 22, the NURB Meeting – March 1, 2016 6 spreadsheet showing the revenues and expenditures from FY2008 through February 22, 2016, the draft work plan and budget for Fiscal Year 2016-17, and the spreadsheet of projects in the work plan and budget with identified funding sources. Recording Secretary Sullivan stated she has drafted the work plan and budget based on the prior work plans and budgets and the Board’s discussions to date. She briefly highlighted the projects and the funding sources she has identified. She stated that, even though engineering costs have been included in the street projects, she has included an additional amount for engineering, in anticipation of the consultant being asked to address items outside those specific projects. She noted that this budget includes an anticipated $1.5 million in bond proceeds and identifies the projects to be funded through that source. Responding to Chair Noble, John How confirmed that the infrastructure improvement estimates for East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street include engineering and administrative costs. Erik Nelson suggested that, since the Board has enough money on hand, it fund the engineering costs for the infrastructure improvements to be made through the bond proceeds. He suggested that if all of the engineering costs are funded up front, the Board may be able to undertake one of the lower priority projects. Chair Noble voiced his support for that suggestion, noting that the Board must be ready to undertake the construction of those projects when it issues the bonds. John How stated he plans to have the East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street improvement projects ready to go to bid next year. Erik Nelson stated the engineering should be completed based on the list of priorities established in the previous agenda item. Erik Nelson asked if there are adequate monies on hand to fund $210,000 in engineering costs this year, so that the infrastructure improvements can be undertaken once the bond issue is approved. Recording Secretary Sullivan responded that, between the monies on hand and annual tax increment, there are adequate monies. Erik Nelson asked that the work plan and budget be revised to include the additional monies for engineering services during the upcoming fiscal year. Election of Chair and Vice Chair for 2016. It was moved by Bob Pavlic, seconded by Dan Doehring, that Tom Noble be re-elected as Chair and Erik Nelson re-elected as Vice Chair for 2016. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote. Set agenda for April 5, 2016 meeting or cancel meeting. Items to be included on the agenda are: information on whether the feasibility study for a quiet zone can be bonded, updated costs for the railroad crossing improvements, a reconfigured work plan and budget that includes $210,000 for engineering, the financial analysis for bonding, an update from Director of Public Service Woolard on the process for adoption of the non-standard street designs, and an update on award of the contract for North Wallace Avenue improvements. NURB Meeting – March 1, 2016 7 FYI/Discussion (formerly Neighborhood News). Chair Noble noted that the marijuana dispensary on North Church Avenue has been evicted because of the recent Supreme Court ruling. Adjournment – 8:30 p.m. There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, Chair Noble adjourned the meeting. Tom Noble, Chair Northeast Urban Renewal Board City of Bozeman