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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-03-18 Minutes - Northeast Urban Renewal Board (NURB) NURB Meeting – April 3, 2018 1 Northeast Urban Renewal Board (NURB) Regular Meeting Tuesday, April 3, 2018 The Northeast Urban Renewal Board met in regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in the Conference Room, Professional Building, 20 East Olive Street, Bozeman, Montana. Present: Absent: Voting Members: John Usher, Chair Robert Pavlic Bobbi Clem Dan Doehring Jeanne Wesley-Wiese Non-Voting Members: Dalton Brink Ethan Barlow Nolan Campbell Commissioner Liaison: I-Ho Pomeroy (arrived at 6:42 p.m.) Staff: Shane Strong, KLJ Engineering Brit Fontenot, Economic Development Director Robin Sullivan, Recording Secretary Guests: Chris Nixon, 719 North Wallace Avenue Maurice Quanbeck, 520 North 11th Avenue Call to Order – Chair John Usher 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 – March 6, 2018. It was moved by Dan Doehring, seconded by Bobbi Clem, that the minutes of the meeting of March 6, 2018, be approved as submitted. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote. NURB Meeting – April 3, 2018 2 Discussion/Action Items – Update on design and bidding schedule for East Tamarack Street improvements. Shane Strong highlighted the design for the East Tamarack Street improvements. He submitted the plans to the City’s Engineering Department and the Department of Environmental Quality. He indicated that a deviation request has also been submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) because the existing sewer sets the elevation at which the jack and bore under the creek is to occur. The standard is a 3-foot separation; however, tying to the elevation of the existing sewer results in a 1.1-foot separation between the creek bottom and the pipe. He has received a response from the City, which includes approval of the alignment for the sewer line. He is awaiting responses from the DEQ and, as a result, has pushed the first date of advertising to April 17, with the bid opening on May 8. This schedule is close to the one used in publishing the East Peach Street improvements. He indicated that, if it doesn’t take too long to get the bonds and sign the contract documents, it would be possible to issue a Notice to Proceed with a June 11 start date. Responding to questions from Brit Fontenot, Shane Strong stated the sewer will be tied to the existing manhole. The Front Street interceptor sewer project will tie into that same manhole when that portion of the sewer line replacement is undertaken. Shane Strong reminded the Board that the pipe cannot be run under the bridge without negatively impacting it structurally because of the locations of the footings and pilings at the ends of the bridge. The new alignment moves the pipe to the south side of the street right-of-way but requires a construction easement from one property owner. Brit Fontenot reported that he has worked with the Department of Public Works to get a consulting engineer to pursue the right-of-way acquisition and to bear any costs associated with it since this easement is needed for the sewer portion of the project. Responding to John Usher, Shane Strong stated that if the DEQ does not approve the requested deviation, it may be necessary to replace the sewer all of the way to North Rouse Avenue. If that is required, the City portion of the Front Street interceptor sewer project would be rerouted along Birch Street and tie into the sewer along North Rouse Avenue. Responding to Bobbi Clem, Brit Fontenot stated the Front Street interceptor sewer is included in the Fiscal Year 2018-2019 capital improvements program. He noted that the existing constriction in this section has created problems for development of the property around the hospital as well as other properties to the southeast of this line. He stressed that this sewer line is not connected to the Board’s project but is related to it. Shane Strong indicated that he has updated the cost estimates for the project. He stated that, while he did not change the unit prices or amounts, he did add contingencies. The result is an increase from $618,200 to $693,000 for the street portion of the project and a cost estimate of $79,400 for the fiber conduit. He feels the amounts included in the proposed work plan and budget will cover the actual costs. Update on Vision NorthEast process and findings. Bobbi Clem covered a variety of subjects under this agenda item. NURB Meeting – April 3, 2018 3 NorthEast Neighborhood (NENA) meeting. Bobbi Clem announced that the NENA meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 25, 2018, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Beall Park Center. She noted that Amy Kelly Hoitsma plans to run for President of the organization. Responding to John Usher, Bobbi Clem confirmed that the Vision NorthEast group has been disbanded, and a committee under NENA will assume those duties. She will continue to work on issues that pertain to this Board, including the railroad quiet zone. Responding to Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, Bobbi Clem stated that under NENA’s non-profit status, it is possible to ask for money for specific projects. Quiet zone. Bobbi Clem stated she contacted a person in the North Dakota office of the Federal Railroad Administration. She found that that office is aware of this project and has already reviewed the crossings and found that a study would be appropriate. Additional information is being sent regarding the quiet zone. Bobbi Clem then stressed that funding for the project is still needed. Proposal for rezoning. Bobbi Clem stated she has gone through an informal review with the City to remove the small building at 820 North Wallace Avenue and replace it with a larger building located closer to East Tamarack Street. In light of the issues that she has encountered as well as the problems being encountered by the developers of the Cottonwood & Ida project, she has asked NENA to request that this area be considered a neighborhood and undergo a neighborhood growth policy that may include an R-5 zoning designation and a B zoning designation in addition to the existing M-1 and R-2 zoning designations. She stated that these changes would allow more residential units in the area and would change the manner in which parking spaces are counted. Responding to questions from Jeanne Wesley-Wiese, Brit Fontenot stated the R-5 zoning designation is the highest intensity zoning in the city. Cottonwood & Ida project. Bobbi Clem stated the Planning Department has asked that East Aspen Street be improved to City standards, with parallel parking on both sides, in conjunction with this project. The developers are proposing a Woonerf, a concept successfully used in Europe that results in more of a park-like setting in which pedestrians and bicycles take precedence over automobiles. The street is built on a single level and may include elements such as benches and bollards. Jeanne Wesley-Wiese noted this Board has been interested in instituting creative improvements, which is why it put a lot of energy into possible alternative design elements such as bioswales in its street improvements. She then noted that allowing this short section of East Aspen Street to be improved as a Woonerf would comply with principles in the urban renewal plan and help retain the parklike setting of the existing right-of-way. Bobbi Clem noted that she pointed out the lack of parks in this northeast sector to the Planning Department, which responded that it has the climbing rock and the depot trail and is close to the Story Mill community park. She suggested that feedback from this Board and NENA could possibly help to sway the Planning Department’s reaction to this request. NURB Meeting – April 3, 2018 4 Jeanne Wesley-Wiese voiced her support for improvements that are creative, aesthetic and to human scale. She noted, however, that she would like to hear from Brian Caldwell and Erik Nelson again regarding this project and the requests that they are making to this Board. John Usher voiced his agreement, noting it is important to have more information on the requests prior to the Board taking any action. Brit Fontenot reminded the Board that they adopted a resolution of general support for the project that indicates the plan matches with the primary principles of this district’s plan. He then reminded the Board that the developers have expressed an interest in seeking reimbursement from the tax increment monies for the public infrastructure improvements being made in conjunction with this project. He feels it is important for the Board to better understand that request, noting that the next step may be to enter into a memorandum of understanding. John Usher voiced his agreement, noting that completion of the East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street improvements will fully deplete the district’s annual increment and bonding capacity. Brit Fontenot responded that the developers are proposing the issuance of another bond that would be repaid by the additional increment generated from the project. John Usher requested that another presentation on this project be placed on next month’s agenda. Proposal for redevelopment of depot. Bobbi Clem reported that Bridger Builders, a firm that has a successful track record in the community, including new development and historic redevelopment, has expressed an interest in rehabilitating the depot for a high tech company. Brit Fontenot noted that the developers have been talking to both Montana Rail Link and Burlington Northern and are now moving toward a contract to purchase the depot building. He noted that the structural engineering study revealed the building is in good shape, although it may potentially require abatement of asbestos and lead. There may be federal monies available to assist with abatement of those items and possibly other issues. He identified site constraints, noting that parking will be a problem; and the site has a long street frontage on a street that must be upgraded to standards. The Director of Public Services is willing to allow those street improvements to be added to the East Tamarack Street project. Bobbi Clem noted that there is approximately 200 feet of Front Street between East Tamarack Street and North Ida Avenue; and including that short segment with the East Tamarack Street project may be desirable, particularly since the developer would be responsible for those costs. Brit Fontenot noted that this project would result in remediation of blight and have a positive impact on the district. Responding to John Usher, Shane Strong stated there are no engineering plans for Front Street improvements. He noted that the street design could be done upon direction from this Board; however, he cautioned there are no monies to fund the improvements unless the bid comes in “absurdly low.” NURB Meeting – April 3, 2018 5 Brit Fontenot stated he does not want this issue to hold up bidding for the East Tamarack Street project. He then encouraged the Board to focus on completing the projects that have been started rather than getting sidetracked by other issues. Following a brief discussion, John Usher requested that a presentation from Bridger Builders be placed on the agenda for the June meeting. Updates on current projects. Shane Strong reported that JR Civil is to be back in town on April 14. He anticipates that completion of the East Peach Street project will take three to four weeks, including milling and repaving and the remaining work items. He will prepare a punchlist that is to be completed prior to finalizing the project. Staff updates on items of interest to the Board. Brit Fontenot stated the on-line ethics training is now available and asked that all board members follow the link on the e-mail they have received and complete the training and test. Brit Fontenot noted that the City Clerk’s office has also sent out the financial disclosure form and asked board members to complete the form and return it to City Hall. Brit Fontenot stated that the recently passed federal tax bill includes a program called opportunity zones, which are areas identified as LMI by census tracts. He stated the Commission has nominated three tracts, one of which lies within this district. He noted that two of the tracts are very strong candidates for selection by the Governor. Once the opportunity zones are designated, people who have capital gains taxes can use those monies to invest rather than pay federal taxes. Update on financial status of NURB fund. Robin Sullivan distributed copies of the revenues and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2017-18 and the spreadsheet showing the revenues and expenditures from inception of the district to date. She noted there are no changes to the revenues and there was only one small expenditure in the past month. Discussion on initial draft of the Work Plan and Budget for Fiscal Year 2018-2019. Robin Sullivan stated she has identified some potential changes to be made in the initial draft of the work plan. She noted that the bond revenues to be received in July are $583,000 rather than the $594,952 reflected in the spreadsheet. She reminded the Board that the revenues and expenditures are not balanced in the spreadsheet; rather, there is a $49,000 shortfall with the reduction in bond proceeds. Robin Sullivan turned attention to some proposed changes in the language within the work plan. She proposed that under the header “Moving Forward” a reference be made to the Commission’s request that staff review the current board structures and propose potential changes. She reminded the Board that Brit Fontenot had reported a few months ago that he was looking at the creation of an agency and a single board to oversee all tax increment financing districts. She suggested that acknowledging this potential in the work plan would be appropriate, recognizing that changes may or may not be made. A majority of the board members agreed with the change. NURB Meeting – April 3, 2018 6 Robin Sullivan noted that the engineering contract with KLJ expires in August 2018, which will require that the Board go through the request for proposals process again. She suggested that this item also be identified in the work plan; the board members agreed. Brit Fontenot stressed that, even though the engineering contract expires in August 2018, an agreement will be entered into to ensure that KLJ oversees the entire construction project for both East Peach Street and East Tamarack Street. Robin Sullivan indicated the next changes are under “Infrastructure”. She suggested that the project titled “North Ida Avenue” be changed to reference “North Ida Avenue/Front Street” in light of the potential for renovation of the depot. She stressed that this is just for design of the street improvements; and the short section of Front Street between East Tamarack Street and North Ida Avenue should be included. Shane Strong confirmed that the amount budgeted should easily cover the costs of that short street segment. The board members agreed with the change. Finally, Robin Sullivan noted that under the “Pedestrian Bridge” there is reference to The Meat Shoppe, which has closed. Following a brief discussion, the board members agreed that it should be revised to read “formerly The Meat Shoppe”. Responding to questions from Robin Sullivan, Shane Strong stated he has not paid for 60 tons of asphalt on East Peach Street because of the need to mill and repave it. He then indicated that, if the work is done in April and May, the final bill should be submitted before the end of this fiscal year. Set agenda for May 1, 2018 meeting or cancel meeting. Since bids for the East Tamarack Street project are to be opened on May 8, the Board moved the meeting from May 1 to May 8. To be included on the May 8 agenda, in addition to the standard agenda items, are a review of the bids for the East Tamarack Street project; and a continued discussion on the Cottonwood & Ida project, including the possibility of considering a memorandum of understanding. To be included on the June 5 agenda are a presentation from Bridger Builders regarding rehabilitation of the depot, and possibly discussion with the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board regarding wetlands and cash-in-lieu of parkland monies. FYI/Discussion (formerly Neighborhood News). There was no discussion under this agenda item. Adjournment – 8:36 p.m. There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, Chair Usher adjourned the meeting. NURB Meeting – April 3, 2018 7 John Usher, Chair Northeast Urban Renewal Board City of Bozeman