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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBID Minutes 10-16 Downtown Business Improvement District Board Meeting Minutes October 19, 2016 Attending: Mike Basile, Eric Bowman, Ileana Indreland, Susan Neubauer, Chris Naumann Absent: Jolee Berry, Erik Nelson, Eric Sutherland Public Comments: None Disclosures: None Minutes ACTION: Eric Bowman moved to approve the minutes from August as presented. Mike Basile seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Finance Report Chris presented the financials as of October 19, 2016. He noted that revenues were tracking as expected with just over $65,000 received. The only significant expenses to report is the 2nd quarter Partnership management fee of $17,850. The board had no further questions about the finance report. Executive Director’s Report Maintenance Program Update As we continue to transition from summer to winter, the BID maintenance staffing is being reduced as we do each fall. Currently, we have two part-time maintenance staff—one concentrating on the garage cleaning and the other overseeing the rest of downtown. Below are the maintenance statistics comparing year-to-date figures from this year (FY17) to the statistics from the same period last year (FY16). FY2016 FY2017 Total Ave/mnth Total Ave/mnth Difference Trash Emptied 1154 385 1066 355 -88 Recycling Emptied 184 61 134 45 -50 Graffiti Removed 142 47 135 45 -7 Downtown Fiber Network Project Update The first phase of the downtown fiber network project has been completed. The network consists of aerial fiber runs in the alleys as follows: North of Mendenhall between Rouse and Tracy; North of Main Street between Broadway and 5th; and South of Main Street between Church and Willson. The network also has underground conduit infrastructure along East Mendenhall, West Babcock, Broadway, Church, and 5th. Three Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have contracted to with Bozeman Fiber to offer a variety of high-speed internet services. The ISPs and Bozeman Fiber will be reaching out to the downtown business community in the coming months with more information about the new service options. Intersection Cable Anchor Repair Project Back in October 2015, I retained Kerin & Associates to perform a structural analysis of the intersection cable and anchor systems that support the Christmas decorations. The four intersection systems (at Willson, Tracy, Black and Bozeman) involve anchors on 16 different buildings. The analysis prescribed basic maintenance on all 16 building anchors and specific repairs for six of the anchors. In November 2015, Montana Crane performed the recommended repairs on five of the building anchors. In August 2016, I release an RFP for the work on the remaining 11 building anchors. I awarded the contract to Montana Crane. The began performing the prescribed improvements on October 17, 2016 and anticipate completing the work by the end of the same week. The Downtown TIF District has funded all of the work involved from the original structural analysis, to the anchor work, to the follow up reports prepared by Kerin to document the work completed. Building Project Updates Lark Addition (corner of Grand and Main) 4 story building with 28 new Lark hotel rooms. Construction is expected to begin October 2016. 5 West Building (northwest corner of Mendenhall and Tracy) Construction began on October 2016. First floor businesses scheduled to open in April 2017 and the upper floors completed in June 2017. Etha Hotel (old Armory building) first phase of foundation work complete. No date for when construction will resume. Willson Residences (old East Willson School) being redeveloped into 18 residential units with underground parking. Partial completion scheduled for Summer 2016. NeBo (400 block of East Mendenhall) 2 buildings, four floors each. 12 residential units each with 2-car garage. Expected completion October 2016. Rialto Theater under construction to be completed by August 2017. Black & Olive Apartments formal site plan application was submitted in late September. Would like to begin construction in March 2017 and be completed in May 2018. New Businesses Update • Montana Fish Company Japanese Restaurant—to open this week • Rockford Coffee—now open • Jam Fusion Restaurant—renovations underway at old Universal Athletics • Union Market— Mendenhall/Rouse…Service Elec (south) opening date unknown • Squire House—Element Hotel restaurant has a new proprietor • F-11 Space—vacant • Headroom Space—vacant • Reflections—going out of business Planning Updates In this section I will provide update about several ongoing City planning processes. Community Development Director Martin Matsen was hired as new director and will start October 24th. Transportation Master Plan www.bozemantmp.com Consultants: Peccia & Associates (Helena), Alta Planning (Bozeman) Timeline: September 2015 (kickoff) through September 2016 (adoption) Update: Draft plan available in July 2016 UDC Revisions http://bozeman.net/Projects/UDCCodeupdate/Home Consultants: Makers (Seattle), Leland Group (Portland), Studio Cascade (Spokane) Timeline: September 2015 (kickoff) through February 2017 (adoption) City Vision & Strategic Plan Consultants: HDR Timeline: March 2016 (kickoff) through October 2016 2017 Downtown Improvement Plan Consultants: yet to be determined Timeline: yet to be determined 2017 Community Plan (City Growth Policy) Update Timeline: October 2016 through late 2017 Discussion and Decision Item Floodplain Map Update Brian Heaston, City of Bozeman Engineer Brian presented a memo titled “Downtown Floodplain Update” (see below). In summary, the initial 2D modelling shows promising reduction in primary floodplain. The City Public Works department recommends using 2D models to appeal the proposed FEMA floodplain map. The cost estimate to prepare and submit the appeal is $80,000 to $100,000. Brian asked if the BID would consider contributing some funds for the appeal. The board discussed if and how to fund a cost-share. Chris said TIF Board also discussed contributing funds to the appeal. The board agreed to submit a letter with the TIF Board to the City encouraging the City Commission to approve preparing and funding the appeal. Flower Program Policy Discussion Chris reviewed the flower basket policy (attached below). The board discussed and agreed that it is a good policy and can be adjusted in the future if needed. ACTION: Ileana Indreland moved to approve the Flower Basket Policy effective immediately as presented. Eric Bowman seconded the motion. All voted in favor. New Business Chris informed the board about several upcoming meetings that he will be attending: internal COB parking meeting; Black Olive DRC and DRB; City Commission policy discussion about downtown (November 21 or 28). Chris also said he is writing a guest editorial about the Downtown Plan and its continued importance as a guiding document. **Meeting was adjourned at 1:15pm** Downtown Business Improvement District Flower Basket Program Policy Overview The Downtown BID has managed a flower basket program since 2001. Currently the BID procures and waters 250 flower baskets. The BID invests approximately 25% of the annual property owner assessment in the flower basket program. The flower basket program boundary includes Main Street from Wallace Avenue to 3rd Avenue. The program extends north and south of Main Street for one block on Church, Rouse, Bozeman, Black, Tracy, Willson and Grand Avenues. Due to fiscal and labor constraints and in the interest of maintaining a high-quality program, the BID is not able to extend the flower basket program to all of the properties within the BID district. Background The Flower Basket Program began in 2001 following creation of BID in 2000. For the first five years of program the Downtown Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District funded the purchase and planting of the baskets. In 2006, the BID assumed the full cost of the flower basket program including procurement, planting, and watering. From 2001 to 2008 the BID contracted with a local landscaping company for the daily watering of the flower baskets. In 2008 the water contract cost $15,000. In 2009, the BID board decided to bring the flower watering “in house”. This was accomplished by purchasing a truck, water tank, and water pump. At the same time the BID began hiring dedicated staff to water the flowers seven days a week. The program continued to grow as parts of the downtown streetscape were upgraded. Over the last ten years the number of baskets has increased from 140 baskets to 250 baskets. Parameters The BID solicits and contracts with a nursery company to procure plant, grow, install and remove the downtown flower baskets. The contractor is selected via a competitive RFP process. The BID awards 3-year contract to the lowest most responsible respondent. As the program expands within the designated boundary, the BID purchases the wrought-iron hangers, the coconut liners, and the initial plantings from the contracted nursery. Periodically the coconut liners need to be replaced. Annually all the baskets are a replanted with new flowers. The contracted nursery prunes the flower plants once or twice a season. The BID staff waters the flowers seven days a week from installation until removal (mid-June to the end of September). The BID administers a Flower Basket Sponsorship Program by which businesses provide philanthropic financial support at various levels. The sponsorship program yields approximately $7000 of funding annually. Finances The Flower Basket Program expenses exceed $30,000 which requires approximately 25% of the annual property owner assessment which is currently $120,000. Accounting for the $7000 in sponsorships, the net program expenses are approximately $25,000 annually. Flower Program Expenses Nursery Contract $ 18,000 Watering Employee Wages $ 9,000 Truck Expenses $ 5,500 TOTAL $ 32,500 Flower Program Revenues Assessment Funds $ 25,500 Watering Employee Wages $ 7,000 TOTAL $ 32,500 Constraints The Flower Basket Program is constrained by financial capacity and operational limitations. These constraints will need to be addressed as more baskets are added within the program boundary. Currently the program expenses account for 25% of the BID’s annual property owner assessment. Considering only half of the block faces within the program boundary have flower baskets, the BID is faced with continued increasing expensive as more properties are improved. Operationally, the current watering system will not be able to provide adequate service when the number of baskets increases to and beyond 275. It may become necessary to invest in a second watering truck so that two employees can water at the same time and thus service a larger number of baskets. The BID should consider ways to encourage, and perhaps even incentivize, new developments to incorporate integrated drip irrigation systems into any new streetlamp installation. Boundary The BID Flower Basket Program boundary extends along Main Street from, but not including Wallace Avenue, to, but not including 3rd Avenue. From Main Street, the program extends north to, but not including, Mendenhall Avenue, and south to, but not including, Babcock Avenue. The following streets are included in the program boundary for one block north and south from Main Street: Church, Rouse, Bozeman, Black, Tracy, Willson, and Grand. Blue = BID Boundary Green Blocks= Current Flower Baskets Red Blocks = Future Flower Baskets Procurement and Maintenance Policies Inside Program Boundary The BID will continue to fully support the Flower Basket Program within the established program boundary. For existing flower basket locations, the BID will fund the annual replanting and installation plus provide the necessary watering services. For new flower basket locations within the program boundary, the BID will fund the initial procurement, subsequent annual replanting, maintenance and watering. Outside Program Boundary In order to ensure consistency in appearance and quality, the BID will purchase and therefore own the necessary hardware (18” Imperial hanging baskets). For flower basket location outside the program boundary but within the district, the BID will coordinate the planting and delivery of the flowers utilizing their contracted nursery. The BID will invoice the property owner for those planting and delivery costs. For flower basket locations outside the program boundary, the property owners or tenants will be responsible for all watering and necessary maintenance. October 11, 2016 To: Chris Naumann, DBP Executive Director From: Brian Heaston, City Floodplain Administrator RE: Downtown Floodplain Update Memo National Flood Insurance Program Flood insurance coverage is required as a matter of federal law for any building located within a special flood hazard area mapped by FEMA with a federally secured mortgage. The City of Bozeman is a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program and has been so since the early 1980s. The NFIP underwrites the community’s flood risk and makes flood insurance available to properties at risk for flooding in exchange for the enforcement of local floodplain development ordinance meeting minimum federal standards. The local ordinance regulates the type, nature and extent of activities that can occur in mapped special flood hazard areas and includes requirements that new buildings or alterations to existing buildings be elevated or floodproofed to a height no less than 2 feet above the predicted flood elevation. Special flood hazard areas, more commonly known as 100- year floodplains, are mapped by FEMA on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). FIRMs are the product of a comprehensive engineering evaluation, known as a federal Flood Insurance Study (FIS), which utilizes flood models to predict the water surface elevation of 100-year flood events for specific flooding sources in a community. Bozeman’s Original Floodplain Maps The original FIS for Bozeman Creek was initiated in the late 1970s and the community’s original FIRMs were completed in 1982. These FIRMs show the 100-year floodplain of Bozeman Creek to be contained within its channel in the downtown reach between Olive and Lamme streets. A digital conversion of the FIRMs was completed by FEMA in 2011 which simply converted the old paper FIRMs into a digital format. See Attachment A for paper FIRM. Unfortunately, FEMA’s digital conversion of the floodplains was fraught with problems, producing digital data where the actual location of Bozeman Creek does not align with the mapped location of its floodplain. These spatial errors impose significant burdens upon property owners that are incorrectly mapped into the floodplain because they must obtain flood insurance, or correct FEMA’s error at their own cost. See Attachment B for digital FIRM. FEMA’s New FIS A new FIS was initiated by FEMA soon after the 2011 digital conversion errors were discovered. The new FIS is a comprehensive update to the floodplain maps and uses best available data. The FIS will replace the outdated FIS data (1970s) underlying Bozeman’s current floodplain maps. For the mew FIS, hydraulic structures were field surveyed and ground topography was captured using aerial survey techniques. One-dimensional modeling was then employed for all of Bozeman Creek to simulate 100-year floodplain elevations. The Bozeman Creek floodplain in the downtown reach between Olive and Lamme is dramatically larger that mapped originally. A wide swath of downtown is predicted by FEMA to be in the 100-year floodplain. See Attachment C. If the new FIS and floodplain areas become effective in their current form, many downtown buildings will be required to obtain flood insurance (presuming they are mortgaged). The insurance mandate will add a new and significant annual cost for the building owner. Flood insurance costs will undoubtedly escalate over time. Furthermore, local floodplain regulations will apply to any buildings or property in the floodplain, which may present significant challenges or limitations to the ongoing development of the downtown area. 2D Appeal of FIS The federal FIS adoption process provides a formal 90-day appeal opportunity whereby the technical information of the FIS can be challenged if better data or methodology is brought forward that more accurately simulates flooding behavior. The City believes map accuracy can be improved by utilizing a more sophisticated two-dimensional flood model approach. A preliminary 2D evaluation was prepare by Allied Engineering to determine the potential mapping differences this approach has when compared to the conventional 1D approach employed by FEMA in the new FIS. Results of this evaluation indicate that the high hazard inundation area is reduced due to dispersion of floodwater into City streets that is not accounted for in FEMA’s current 1D model. This 2D model approach may render fewer buildings into the floodplain than FEMA’s 1D approach. See Attachment D. Thus, fewer properties may carry the mandate to obtain flood insurance, or fall under the City’s local floodplain development regulations, if the appeal is successful. The goal of the 2D appeal is to map flood risk in the downtown area as accurately as possible utilizing best available technology such that the costs to comply with ongoing insurance mandates and floodplain regulations reflect the actual flood risk. It is anticipated that the FEMA’s formal appeal process will kick off in February or March 2017. The deadline for appeals is 90 days later. There is sufficient time to prepare a comprehensive appeal data package, but work must begin relatively soon. Mill Ditch Flood Hazard Mitigation Mill Ditch diverts flow from Bozeman Creek near the Gallagator Trail just upstream of Church Avenue south of Story Street. The ditch has potential to serve as a flood hazard mitigation facility which would divert floodwater out of Bozeman Creek to route around the downtown area, thus reducing the flood hazards downtown. Initial evaluation of the mitigation potential was completed by Allied Engineering. Results indicate marginal hazard reduction to downtown without making significant improvements to ditch geometry and alignment. See Attachment E. Further evaluation is warranted to determine the improvements needed to the ditch in order to keep the 100-year flood contained within the banks of Bozeman Creek downstream of the ditch diversion. This is a long-range project that would occur outside of FEMA’s new FIS and flood mapping project. Mill Ditch flood hazard mitigation will not be included in appeal documentation to FEMA. Appeal Consultant Selection Costs to prepare the requisite 2D data package and supporting documentation are substantial. It is estimated that the appeal, together with further evaluation mill ditch flood hazard mitigation potential, will cost from $80k - $100k to complete. This expense is for the community to bear. An RFP for the mitigation and appeal project has been developed and is advertised. See Attachment F. The City aims to have a contract for this project in front of the City Commission for approval on November 7, 2016 and for work to begin immediately thereafter. The Commission will be asked to approve a budget amendment as this project was not anticipated to occur when the budget was prepared last year. Because the map appeal and the flood hazard mitigation evaluation directly benefit the downtown area, a cost-share with the DBP will be requested. Due to time constraints for the appeal, the cost-share discussion will likely conclude after work begins on the project, presuming the City Commission authorizes the budget amendment and contract. The Commission will be notified that the cost-share discussion will occur with the DBP.