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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-01-16 NURB Minutes NURB Meeting – November 1, 2016 1 Northeast Urban Renewal Board (NURB) Regular Meeting Tuesday, November 1, 2016 The Northeast Urban Renewal Board met in regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, in the Conference Room, Professional Building, 20 East Olive Street, Bozeman, Montana. Present: Absent: Voting Members: Erik Nelson, Chair Daniel Doehring Bobbi Clem Robert Pavlic Jeanne Wesley-Wiese Non-Voting Members: John Usher Tom Noble Commissioner Liaison: I-Ho Pomeroy Staff: Brit Fontenot, Economic Development Director Robin Sullivan, Recording Secretary Guests: John How, KLJ Engineering Shane Strong, KLJ Engineering Chris Nixon, 719 North Wallace Avenue Call to Order –Chair Erik Nelson called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. Changes to the Agenda – No changes were made to the agenda. Public Comment – No comment was received under this agenda item. Minutes – October 4, 2016. It was moved by Bob Pavlic, seconded Erik Nelson, that the minutes of the meeting of October 4, 2016, be approved as submitted. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote. Discussion/Action Items – Review of project priority list as contained in Resolution No. 2017-01. Chair Nelson noted that at the October meeting, the Board adopted Resolution No. 2017-01, which includes NURB Meeting – November 1, 2016 2 the priority list of projects to be completed through bond proceeds. He stated that, since Jeanne Wesley-Wiese was not present at that meeting, he requested that the list be reviewed at this meeting, prior to forwarding this resolution to the Commission to initiate the bond sale process. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese noted that pedestrian networking is part of the first goal for this district. She stated that the listed projects reflect spending $1.8 million on street infrastructure but only $78,000 has been spent on trails, which is a significant disparity in funding Erik Nelson stated that, while he does not disagree with that assessment, the street projects also improve the pedestrian network. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese reminded the Board that the pedestrian bridge was one its very first projects. When the Board wanted to know if the area supported the bridge, a survey was done at the NENA meeting, and 45 of the 47 present strongly favored it. She noted that this bridge provides a pedestrian link for the neighborhood. Responding to questions from Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot stated there is no intent to incorporate an SID into the funding mechanisms for these projects at this time. Erik Nelson stated the idea of getting the priority streets in this district on the City’s capital improvement program has been met with an indication that this district has had its fair share of monies with the North Wallace Avenue improvements, so that is not a source of funding to stretch the TIF monies. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese asked if cash-in-lieu of parks could be used to assist with constructing the bridge; the response was in the negative. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese stated she feels the $20,000 permitting costs estimated by the Director of Public Service is extremely high, particularly after talking to the person who manages the permits; Shane Strong responded that the permitting costs include engineering and certification costs, so that estimate is not as high as it may appear. Erik Nelson stated the issue before the Board is to determine if the project priority list in the resolution is appropriate, recognizing that it is possible only the top two will actually be funded with the bond proceeds. He then asked Jeanne Wesley-Wiese where she would put the pedestrian bridge in the priority list. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese responded she would place it at No. 3 instead of No. 5. She noted that East Tamarack Street will benefit Kenyon-Noble, which lies outside the district, and the Brewery property, which is no longer a contributing factor in the district. She reiterated her concern that the more monies are being expended on street infrastructure than on other networking options. Economic Development Director Fontenot noted that the street designs for East Peach Street, East Tamarack Street, Front Street and North Ida Avenue have not been fully engineered; and those designs may include opportunities for pedestrians and bicycles. Erik Nelson stated he appreciates Jeanne Wesley-Wiese’s comments; however, they have not swayed him on the ranking of the priority projects. He believes that having all of the projects shovel ready will give this Board options if other sources of funding become available. He also NURB Meeting – November 1, 2016 3 believes that if the street improvements include sidewalks, the pedestrian miles traveled on those streets would be greater than the miles traveled on the bridge. John How cautioned that if SIDs are to be incorporated into the funding mechanism for these street improvements, it will add approximately five months to the process. Bob Pavlic voiced agreement with Erik Nelson’s comments, stating he feels the priority list is appropriate. As a result of this discussion, no changes were made to the priority list contained in Resolution No. 2017-01. Discussion regarding timeline for preparing plans and construction documents for street improvements and how that dovetails with bonding timeline. Shane Strong stated that, if KLJ receives direction to proceed with preparing plans and construction documents, they will be ready to bid the project in mid-March. John How stated that he anticipates a three-week window for bidding on the East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street projects, and noted that the bid documents will provide for a staggered construction timeline for those streets so that they are not both being done at the same time. Responding to suggestions from Erik Nelson, Shane Strong cautioned that the City may not allow the project to be bid with sidewalks as an alternate rather than a part of the base bid. Discussion regarding quiet zone in work plan. Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot stated the feasibility study for the quiet zone cannot be funded through the bond proceeds. He then noted there has been some initial discussion about talking to other groups and to include other crossings in the feasibility study, including the one at North Rouse Avenue and probably the one at Griffin Drive since creating a quiet zone at just the North Wallace Avenue crossing will not provide the desired effect. John How stated that his discussions with Brad Koon have revealed a single quiet zone would probably not be approved; and it is Brad’s recommendation that all three crossings be included in the feasibility study. Economic Development Director Fontenot estimated the broader study would cost $250,000 and cautioned against expending TIF monies to cover all of those costs for a project that would benefit the entire city. Responding to Erik Nelson, the Director asked how high the priority would be for finding other groups to partner with this Board in funding the feasibility study. He cautioned that if this is identified as a high priority, then other priorities will be moved down the list because it takes time and effort to facilitate partnerships. He then indicated that if the bonding process is completed in January, he could probably undertake this process in March. In light of the discussion, Erik Nelson asked that further consideration of this item be delayed until March. NURB Meeting – November 1, 2016 4 Discussion on possibly directing staff to initiate CDBG application process. Economic Development Director Fontenot stated this is a possible alternative funding source for the quiet zone. Erik Nelson asked that this discussion also be delayed until March. Discussion regarding use of the old Depot. Bobbi Clem stated the depot has been a priority for a lot of people, but it is falling into disrepair and becoming an eyesore. She noted that the district has already lost a historic landmark with demolition of the Brewery, and she is concerned about the potential of losing a second one. Bobbi Clem noted that when serving on the Gallatin County Historic Preservation Advisory Board, she found one of the ways to save older buildings is to move them, citing relocation of the Trident depot to Three Forks as an example. She has researched the depot in Bozeman and found that it is 36 feet wide and 153 feet long and, since it is made of brick, is heavy. There are companies that specialize in moving this type of structure, and she voiced an interest in purchasing the building, moving it less than a block to her property and renovating it since Montana Rail Link is not willing to sell the property and reuse efforts in the current location have been unsuccessful to date. Bobbi Clem noted that if the depot building were moved, it may be possible to use the strip of railroad property as a trail connector between the Library and the Story Mill Trail. Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot noted that liability resulting from the building’s proximity to the railroad tracks is one factor that has hampered reuse. Erik Nelson stated the depot as it sits today is more contextual and better for the neighborhood than moving it. He noted the real challenge for reuse is insurance, which is a paperwork issue. He stated that the Board was interested in trying to help with that issue; however, changes in staffing and board leadership distracted from pursuing that effort. He recognized that the building is structurally sound and should be preserved; however, he noted it is not threated by demolition at this time so there is no urgency in addressing this issue. Bobbi Clem noted people are not willing to put monies into a building that they do not own. Erik Nelson stated he believes the proposals that have been made to date have had other issues. He recognized that some people have floated the idea of putting a brewery or a restaurant in the depot; however, he believes those have been bootstrap operations and did not have the kind of horsepower needed to make them successful. John How suggested that the feasibility study for a quiet zone might help resolve some of the issues identified, noting that if the study calls for an 8-foot chain link fence for the crossing, its installation might help to offset some of the costs and address some of the issues facing reuse of the depot. Erik Nelson voiced his interest in making the building usable where it is; he does not want to see it moved. He noted that many other communities have kept their depots, particularly those where commercial development is located next to the railroad. He then voiced an interest in including the depot in next year’s work plan. He concluded by asking that this item be placed on NURB Meeting – November 1, 2016 5 the agenda for the March meeting. Updates on current projects and updated project cost estimates. Shane Strong stated the North Wallace Avenue project is nearing completion, and should be done by the November 10 deadline. Responding to Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, Shane Strong stated the City has agreed the contractor is to repair the sidewalks along the street if the property owner approaches them. Responding to questions from Chris Nixon, Shane Strong stated that the intersection of North Wallace Avenue and East Aspen Street is not a true intersection, so handicapped access is provided on only two legs of the intersection. Staff updates on items of interest to the Board. Economic Development Director Brit Fontenot stated the Commission will consider this board’s resolution at its November 21 meeting and will hold a public hearing on the sale of bonds at its December 19 meeting. While he will do the staff presentation, he feels it is important for Board members to be in attendance at those meetings. Update on financial status of NURB fund. Recording Secretary Robin Sullivan distributed copies of the revenues and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2016-17 and the spreadsheet showing revenues and expenditures from the inception of the district. She briefly highlighted the financial information, noting that only expenditures have been incurred so far in Fiscal Year 2016-17. Set agenda for December 6, 2016 meeting or cancel meeting. Items to be included on the December 6 agenda, in addition to the standard agenda items, are: a review of the balance of the process for the sale of bonds and a wrap-up of the North Wallace Avenue construction project. FYI/Discussion (formerly Neighborhood News). Jeanne Wesley-Wiese announced that the fall NENA meeting will be held on November 9. Bobbi Clem announced that she has heard the Brewery property sold; and the Treasure State property is under contract. Erik Nelson stated he drove down the reconstructed North Wallace Avenue a few days ago. Shane Strong asked that Board members let him know if anything needs to be addressed since he is doing a punchlist of items to be fixed. Adjournment – 7:56 p.m. There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, Chair Nelson adjourned the meeting. NURB Meeting – November 1, 2016 6 Erik Nelson, Chair Northeast Urban Renewal Board City of Bozeman