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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-07-16 NURB Minutes NURB Meeting – June 7, 2016 1 Northeast Urban Renewal Board (NURB) Regular Meeting Tuesday, June 7, 2016 The Northeast Urban Renewal Board met in regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, in the Conference Room, Professional Building, 20 East Olive Street, Bozeman, Montana. Present: Absent: Voting Members: Tom Noble, Chair Erik Nelson Daniel Doehring Robert Pavlic Jeanne Wesley-Wiese Non-Voting Members: John Usher Commissioner Liaison: I-Ho Pomeroy Staff: Brit Fontenot, Economic Development Director Robin Sullivan, Recording Secretary Guests: Shane Strong, KLJ Engineering Chris Nixon, 719 North Wallace Avenue Call to Order – Chair Tom Noble called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Changes to the Agenda – No changes were made to the agenda. Public Comment – No comment was received under this agenda item. Minutes – May 3, 2016. It was moved by Dan Doehring, seconded by Bob Pavlic, that the minutes of the meeting of May 3, 2016, be approved as submitted. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote. Discussion/Action Items – Presentation from representatives of True Dragon Brewery. Erik Horn, Ensitio Design, gave a brief overview of the project. He stated the mundane transfer and storage building located on the trapezoidal property at the southeast corner of the intersection of East Peach Street/Plum Street/Avocado Street is to be converted to a brewery. His client has been NURB Meeting – June 7, 2016 2 going through design revisions and the City’s conditional use permit process for the sale of alcohol in an industrial zone, and that approval was received about a month ago. He is now about two weeks from submitting plans for a building permit, and he anticipates construction will begin in about six weeks. Responding to Chair Noble, Erik Horn stated his client is requesting the use of TIF funds for construction of the sidewalk connection between the sidewalks on East Peach Street and North Broadway Avenue since that sidewalk extension is one of the conditions of approval for this application. His client does not own the entire street frontage; rather, the parcel to the east is the site of a coffee and pastry shop project that was mothballed about a year ago. It appears the changes for that project are so minor that they do not trigger a planning review process. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese noted she just paid over $1,000 to have the sidewalk in front of her property within the district replaced and questioned why the owner of this subject property, located outside the district is seeking assistance for installing the sidewalk required under the conditional use permit. She then noted that a few years ago, the residents along Fridley Street were required to install sidewalks where none existed at their own expense. Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot stated the City can and does order in sidewalks. If the property owner does not do the installation, the City will do so and charge the property owner. He then noted that during the public hearing on this brewery, the Commission discussed the need to create better connectivity to this site. He reminded the Board that it may use tax increment monies to extend infrastructure improvements outside the boundaries of the district as long as they benefit the district. Chair Noble stated he feels extension of the sidewalk is a good idea; however, he does not feel Mr. Horn has provided adequate information for this Board to consider the request. He wants to see a site plan showing the location of the sidewalk and estimated costs of the installation. Dan Doehring stressed that the subject property is outside the boundaries of this district. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese stated she does not support this request. Chair Noble noted this Board has identified improvements to East Peach Street as one of its highest priorities and the sidewalk already exists along the south side of that roadway. He stated that connectivity within the area is also important, and that is why he is willing to consider this request if adequate information is provided. Erik Horn stated he finds the request for additional information reasonable and will contact the consulting engineer to get the needed drawings. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese noted that the engineering for the Peach Street improvements showed elevation issues with both the sidewalk and the street. Shane Strong noted that the work done by Morrison-Maierle stopped on the west side of the East Peach Street/Plum Street/Avocado Street intersection. He then stated he can provide the applicant with the typical section for the street so that they can carry the sidewalk alignment through this property. NURB Meeting – June 7, 2016 3 Erik Horn stated that he can ask the consulting engineer how difficult it will be to construct the sidewalk at the appropriate elevation. He then noted that he will verify that the street reconstruction has been taken into consideration when identifying the location of the sidewalk. Responding to questions from Bob Pavlic, Erik Horn stated the northern portion of the alley has been abandoned, so it now ends near the southern boundary of this property. A shared access agreement has been executed for that abandoned alley right-of-way, but it does not extend all of the way to the existing alley. Erik Horn stated he will work with the consulting engineer and with Economic Development Director Fontenot once he has that information pulled together. Update on financial analysis for issuance of tax increment financing bonds. Economic Development Director Fontenot stated that several weeks ago, he and Lanette Windemaker met with Administrative Services Director Anna Rosenberry to review debt coverage requirements and possible interest rates. He stated that, given the small size of the bond issue, some local banks have expressed interest in a private sale process, which will result in lower costs than if the public sale process is pursued. Lanette Windemaker stated that this year’s taxable valuation would support a $1.5 million bond issue; and she does not anticipate a change in the new certified value, which will be received in August. Economic Development Director Fontenot noted that, prior to last legislative session, reappraisals were done every six years; they are now done every two years and provide more current taxable valuations. He stated the remaining question now is timing. He stressed that the upfront work takes some time, and that has now been accomplished, so the financial component is ready to move forward when the projects are. Lanette Windemaker reviewed the timeline in the memo she prepared, dated May 16, noting it begins with August since that is when the certified valuation is received. She stated that if this Board adopts a resolution in September, it will trigger the hearing and bond sale process, which would allow for the sale of bonds and award of contracts for the improvements in November. Economic Development Director Fontenot stated he would not like to see this Board’s projects held on by other City departments. Chair Noble noted that Director of Public Service Woolard says he is supportive of this Board’s projects. He then asked how long it will take to complete the consulting engineering work to have the projects ready for bid. Shane Strong estimated it will take three months to complete the design work for these streets. Following a brief discussion, Chair Noble requested that this item be placed on next month’s agenda. NURB Meeting – June 7, 2016 4 Updates on current projects. North Wallace Avenue. Shane Strong provided an update on North Wallace Avenue, noting construction started the day after Memorial Day. He reviewed the preliminary work that has been done to date, noting that the contractor is now working on the low level utilities then moving up through the utilities and road base. East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street. Shane Strong stated that the engineering design completed to date is for edge replacement on East Peach Street and half of East Tamarack Street. The City Engineering Department has requested core testing to determine if the road base for those streets is adequate or if full reconstruction is needed. He has had trouble scheduling that testing with Terracon, so they should be boring tomorrow, with preliminary test results being available within a week and the report prepared in two weeks. He noted that multiple cores will be taken on both road beds, with most of them being two feet deep and one being ten feet deep on each street. Based on those results, he will prepare a preliminary design recommendation for this Board and the City’s Engineering Department and prepare a revised cost estimate for Board consideration. He also noted the City Engineering Department wants to have the waterline in East Peach Street between North Ida Avenue and Plum Street replaced and possibly some portions of the sewer line along the length of the street, and those would be included in the bid for the street reconstruction project, with the City bearing its portion of the costs. Responding to Chair Noble, Shane Strong estimated the costs of total pavement replacement at triple the current estimate. He cautioned that, if these roads need to be more fully redone, they may take all of the funding available. Chair Noble asked if the City will bear the costs of items like stormwater. He then noted that the design for East Peach Street includes bioswales. Shane Strong responded he is trying to figure out how to incorporate bioswales into the design, particularly since the Engineering Department is not a fan of them because they store water in the road base and impact the road through the freeze and thaw process unless the bioswale is lined. He drew attention to the stormwater issues near the street’s intersection with Plum Avenue and the way that this area naturally drains to the east and the north. Chair Noble voiced his frustration with this new information, questioning why it did not arise during the prior engineering design meetings. Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot stated that the City’s stormwater program was not in place when the preliminary engineering design was done. Shane Strong stated that under the stormwater program, stormwater is to be collected and piped rather than being allowed to remain on the surface. Chair Noble noted that at this point, it appears the initial design is to be thrown away and a new design developed. He then stated the initial design included the bioswale on the north side of East Peach Street that was to carry water to Bozeman Creek. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese stated this Board is interested in maintaining the character of the district and is not interested in seeing a typical street design. She noted that was one of the main reasons for including a bioswale along East Peach Street. NURB Meeting – June 7, 2016 5 Based on the estimated timeline for completing the design process, Lanette Windemaker stated the issuance of bonds and award of the construction bid will probably be delayed a month from the schedule she had initially prepared. She noted that the best bids could probably still be obtained in December or January. Chair Noble questioned why so much pressure is being put on getting the design complete and the bonds issued for construction to be done in 2017 rather than 2018. He also asked how much money the Board has spent on designs for these streets that are no longer usable. Shane Strong stated that the street designs completed to date are preliminary and not full designs. He then noted that the surface on East Peach Street is wobbly and, if it is not properly redone, the result will be curb and gutter that follows those same lines rather than being straight and even. Chair Noble suggested the Board may wish to reprioritize all of its projects in light of this new information. Bob Pavlic asked about the sewer line in Front Street that serves the hospital area. Shane Strong responded that he met with Director of Public Service Craig Woolard, and it sounds like the interceptor sewer in Front Street is being moved to a higher level priority because of development pressures. He noted that project will involve laying of a larger pipe and probably removal of the existing sewer main. Responding to John Usher, Economic Development Director Fontenot stated that, based on the current valuations, $1.5 million is the maximum bond issue that can be serviced with the annual tax increment. Work plan and budget for Fiscal Year 2016-17. Recording Secretary Sullivan distributed a spreadsheet showing the revenues and expenses to date for this fiscal year. She then noted that copies of the draft work plan and budget were distributed to Board members via e-mail. She highlighted the changes that were made as a result of the discussions at last month’s meeting. Economic Development Director Fontenot stated this work plan and budget are to be presented to the City Commission at its meeting next Monday night. He noted that these documents will be included in the Commission packet once the Board has acted on them. Responding to Dan Doehring, Recording Secretary Sullivan stated that the Board may allow projects to exceed the amount budgeted as long as those projects are identified in the work plan and budget and as long as the total bottom line is not exceeded. Lanette Windemaker stated that if the Board wishes to change the priorities of the projects to be funded through the bond issue, that change can be accommodated in the resolution to the Commission. Recording Secretary Sullivan reminded the Board at that last month’s meeting, they voted to approve the work plan and budget as amended to include $5,000 for a public arts program, with the revised document to be brought back to this meeting for review and final adoption. She NURB Meeting – June 7, 2016 6 noted that the new language has been highlighted in yellow and asked the Board if any changes are needed. Following a review of the work plan and budget for Fiscal Year 2016-17, it was moved by Tom Noble, seconded by Dan Doehring, that the budget for Fiscal Year 2016-17 be approved as submitted. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote. It was moved by Tom Noble, seconded by Dan Doehring, that the work plan for Fiscal Year 2016-17 be approved as submitted. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote. Set agenda for July 5, 2016 meeting or cancel meeting. During a brief discussion, Jeanne Wesley-Wiese and Dan Doehring indicated they would not be available for the meeting. In light of the lack of agenda items and the potential that a quorum cannot be reached, the Board cancelled the July 5 meeting. The next meeting will be held on August 2, 2016. FYI/Discussion (formerly Neighborhood News). Staff Updates. Economic Development Director Fontenot stated he has no additional information at this time. Dan Doehring asked who is posting the traffic signs during the North Wallace Avenue reconstruction, noting that people are driving down North Church Avenue to its end and creating a hazardous situation. Shane Strong stated he will contact Knife River and ask them to facilitate additional signage, particularly at East Cottonwood Street and North Church Avenue. Adjournment – 8:02 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