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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-20-10 Downtown Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Board Minutes Downtown Tax Increment Finance Board Meeting Minutes April 20, 2010 Attending: Bobby Bear, Vonda Laird, Bob Lashaway, Bill Stoddart Cyndy Andrus, Chris Naumann Absent: Bob Heitala Public Comments None Disclosures Bill Stoddart disclosed that he participated in the Mayor’s Climate Change Task Force commercial building working group. They discussed a number of recommendations that could incentivize energy efficiencies in downtown buildings. Minutes Bobby suggested that Chris correct the spelling of “laissez-faire” in the February minutes and Vonda indicated that she was in fact absent from the February meeting. ACTION:Bob Lashaway motioned to accept the minutes from February (with corrections) and March Bill Stoddart seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Financial Report th Chris indicated that the 4 quarter management fee to the Partnership had been paid. Chris reported that the only other activity since the last report was the purchase of additional 10 pedestrian benches from Landscapeforms. He noted that 4 of the benches were to be purchased by the Library Foundation for $6000. Chris said that Anna Rosenberry was waiting to get the final mils from the County to more accurately project the TIF revenues. May’s financial report will contain updated revenue figures. Program Director’s Report None for April Executive Director’s Report Downtown Explosion Recovery Appropriations City Commission awarded the funds requested by the F & H Building project to add a third floor on March 8, 2010. The Legion declined to be considered for funding due to the Federal requirement that they would have to halt all construction until the Environmental Assessment could be completed which would be a minimum of 60 days. The CC decided that the requests made by Jalal Neishabouri could not be accommodated due extenuating financial circumstance involving his properties at the blast site. Ann Bates withdrew her property from consideration CC earmarked remaining $180,000 to be invested in alley improvements that would benefit all of the properties between North Bozeman and North Rouse. The City is working through the Environmental Assessment required by HUD. Downtown Explosion Alley Project I orchestrated a meeting to discuss the potential components of the Downtown Explosion Alley Improvement Project which will be funded by the HUD-EDI federal appropriation awarded to the City of Bozeman for projects related to the explosion. The meeting was attended by John Vandelinder (COB Streets), Dustin Johnson (COB Engineering), and Chris Saunders (COB Planning). We identified the following alley improvements to be included in the Downtown Explosion HUD- EDI Appropriation Proposal: Repave entire alley Replace bridge railings Construct/Install dumpster enclosures Install employee bike racks Side-street streetscape improvements This provides a wonderful opportunity to design and implement what a pedestrian-friendly, aesthetic alley could look like in downtown as is recommended in the Downtown Improvement Plan. To this end, I will be calling out to the architect and planning community to attend an alley design workshop that will develop a sketch book of potential alley improvements. Many of these concepts will be implemented behind the explosion site as part of this project, but will also serve as the template for future alley improvements elsewhere in downtown. Northwestern Energy Downtown Funds The three-way agreement between the City of Bozeman, Northwestern Energy and the Downtown Partnership to transfer NWE’s $50,000 from the COB explosion clean-up to the Partnership has been finalized and signed. I established an oversight committee consisting of myself, Heather Bellamy of Northwestern Energy and Jennifer Allain of First Security Bank to oversee the allocation of the funds. I established a “Downtown Enhancement Fund” under the Partnership at First Security Bank. Anna Rosenberry, COB Finance Director informed me that the check was signed and mailed to the Partnership on Monday, April 19, 2010. These funds will be invested in the downtown wayfinding signage project and/or the Bozeman Creek/Public Parking Lot project. Discussion and Decision Items “No Plywood” Policy Chris updated the board that he had a brief discussion about the plywood-covered windows at 201 East Main Street with the owner, Jalal Neishabouri. Jalal indicated that he had received cost estimates from Lake Glass, but did not have the funds to perform the work. Chris said that Jalal agreed to let him contact Lake about the potential of the TIF paying the window replacement costs. Chris met with Lake and requested a revised cost estimate. The estimate submitted is $7880 to nd replace 4 large street-level windows and 4 2 floor windows. Chris asked the board to consider approving this expense. He also indicated that he was still trying to contact Sue Doss regarding the Rialto to propose that the TIF cover the minimal costs of painting the plywood on the façade and a few other minor cosmetic repairs. The board discussed that funding such repairs and improvements would meet the mandate of the TIF to eliminate blight. Bobby pointed out that the TIF was going to pay the impact fees associated with the reconstruction of the destroyed buildings and since there are no impact fee’s associated with 201 East Main that investing the window replacement money would be comparable. The board agreed that the investment in 201 East Main would be appropriate. ACTION:Bob Lashaway motioned to authorize the expenditure of TIF funds to replace and repair the windows of the Rocky Mountain Rug Gallery building at 201 East Main Street and to perform minor repairs to the façade of the Rialto Theater at 10 West Main. Bobby Bear seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Development Assistance Program Chris indicated that he had e-mailed the program documents to the architectural firms that work on commercial projects. He asked for other ideas on how best to inform the correct people about the program. The groups suggested that Chris also send the program documents to select engineering firms, commercial real estate firms, and the City Planning and Engineering departments. Bobby asked if the application documents for both assistance programs could be posted on the TIF page of the downtown website. Chris said that they certainly could and he would do so. Streetscape Improvements Chris confirmed that Tire-Rama is going to install 3 new streetlamps as part of their new streetscape. He also informed the board that Heeb’s decided to install new sidewalk and streetlamps. The Gallatin Building will be upgrading the sidewalk along South Black complete with trees and lamps. Chris said that all three projects would be submitting applications for the Streetscape Assistance Program. The board agreed that it is a good sign that owners are not only taking the initiative to improve their properties but also to take advantage of the TIF assistance. Board Terms Chris informed the board the only term expiring June 30, 2010 was that of Bob Lashaway. Chris asked Bob to give some thought to whether or not he would be interested in applying for another term on the TIF Board. Bob indicated that he thought he might like to stay on board. New or Old Business Chris mentioned that he had received an inquiry to whether or not the TIF would be interested in paying the impact fees associated with a change in use project on Main Street. Chris indicated that one such inquiry involved a project that was converting a commercial space into a restaurant that involved the installation of a one and a half inch water line. The board indicated that their initial reaction was to restrict the payment of impact fees to those directly associated with the March 5, 2009 explosion. They added that if the TIF paid one project’s impact fees they would potentially have to pay all downtown impact fees and in a year with significant re-development and/or new development that could equate hundreds of thousands of dollars. With no future or old business to discuss, Bobby adjourned the meeting.