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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-16-10 Downtown Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Board Minutes Downtown Tax Increment Finance Board Meeting Minutes February 16, 2010 Attending: Bobby Bear, Bob Lashaway, Bill Stoddart, Chris Naumann Absent: Vonda Laird Peter Bertelsen (resigned from the board 12-21-09) Thail Davis (resigned from the board 1-30-10) Public Comments None Disclosures None Minutes ACTION:Bob Lashaway motioned to accept the minutes from January 2010. Bill Stoddart seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Financial Report Chris noted that the only activity in the past month has been the receipt of half of the state entitlement funds ($17,310). He noted that he included the increment ($1,060,000) but needed to confirm that with Anna at COB. He will also determine the YTD interest income figure for the next report. Chris also pointed out that he added a line item under “Planning” expenses for “Dtn Explosion Impact Fees” with a note that this expense was not expected to exceed $60,000 this fiscal year. He indicated that the City Commission would be ratifying the TIF-COB MOU in the coming weeks. Program Director’s Report Winter/Spring Events and Programs: th  Bridal Walk, Saturday, April 10 Same-day Registration at the Baxter Hotel Ballroom o st  Annual Breakfast, Thursday, April 1 @ 7:30am Presenting the DBP Annual Awards, still finalizing a keynote speaker and/or o presentation th  Bobcat Fest on Main – Friday, April 30 (last day of classes) Event to celebrate the students and faculty that live and play within our o community…updates to come! th  Art Walks – first one June 11 6-8pm Other Items: 2 new DBA Board members Jon Edwards (owner of Schnee’s Inc.) and Jodie Delay - (Director of MSU Public Relations). Winter Crazy Days over President’s weekend was very busy downtown on an otherwise - quiet time. th “Moment of Silence” planned on March 5 at 10am. We will send everyone the details - and please help us get the community involved. Executive Director’s Report Tax Increment Finance District Board Downtown Explosion Recovery Appropriations There have been three meetings to discuss the specifics of the two federal appropriations that have been awarded to the preservation and reconstruction of the explosion site. The first is a $150,000 grant from the Save Americas Treasures program of the National Park Service for the preservation of historic buildings. The second is a Housing Urban Development grant of $974,000 awarded for reconstruction at the explosion site. The property owners impacted by the March 5, 2009 explosion were asked to submit letter of intent if interested in applying for these funds. The following owners submitted letters: Jalal Neishabouri (Rocky Mtn Rug), Ann Bates (Lilly Lu), Mike Hope (Rockin’ R), and Tom Jones (American Legion). Each of these owners has been asked to submit proposals outlining the projects they would like to be funded. Project proposals are due March 1, 2010. The City Commission will decide which proposals to include in the City of Bozeman Environmental Assessment, which must be completed to be eligible for the funding by HUD. Northwestern Energy Downtown Funds After a few rounds of revisions, we are finalizing a 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. Bob Rowe, Northwestern’s CEO, and I have discussed the possibilities of investing those funds in a public project downtown. We agreed that the Downtown Partnership could administer the money in a similar fashion to that of the Downtown Relief Fund. To that end, I established a “Downtown Enhancement Fund” under the Partnership at First Security Bank. Mr. Rowe expressed interest in letting the downtown boards recommend a high-priority project in which to invest the NWE funds. Board Vacancies Update I met with Bob Hietala, Director of MSU College of Technology and Prospera board member, to discuss his interest in serving on the TIF Board. He indicated that he would indeed like to serve on the TIF board. My recommendation would be to request that Mayor Krauss appoint Bob to serve the remainder of Thail Davis’s voting term. If granted, this would strengthen the board to 5 voting members and leave 2 non-voting positions vacant. Discussion and Decision Items Board Vacancies Regarding the 2 vacant non-voting board positions, the group briefly discussed filling those seats. Chris mentioned that we could approach First Security Bank as one of the largest property owners in the TIF and one of the major lenders for downtown redevelopment projects. Bobby mentioned that we for some time have tried to get a representative from BSD7 acknowledging that to date our efforts have been unsuccessful. Bob noted that the other taxing entity in the TIF is the county and perhaps John Vincent would be interested. Chris said he would have some preliminary conversations accordingly. Streetscape Improvements Chris informed the board that there could be quite a few projects involving streetscape improvements this summer. He presented the board with a matrix outlining how Streetscape Assistance Program might assist with the purchase of street lamps. Chris estimated that between 6 and 10 lamps could be installed along East Main and between 8 to 11 could be installed along various side streets. Chris expressed that the TIF has the opportunity to further incentivize these improvements than previously outlined in the Streetscape Improvement Program. Chris proposed two assistance options: 1) reimburse 15% of the purchase and freights costs for lamp off-Main and 50% for lamps on Main; 2) reimburse 25% for off-Main lamps and 100% for lamps on Main. The group agreed that in these economic conditions a stronger incentive was prudent ACTION:Bob Lashaway motioned that the Streetscape Improvement Assistance Program be modified to offer 100% reimbursement for street lamp purchase and freight costs on lamps installed on Main Street and 25% reimbursement for the same on the side streets. Bill Stoddart seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Downtown Improvement Plan Implementation Chris reminded the board that the TIF, BID, COB and potentially Northwestern Energy have committed funds to implement a high-priority project(s) identified by the Downtown Improvement Plan and selected by the downtown boards. Chris formally introduced two potential projects that had been previously discussed. The first project is a comprehensive wayfinding and signage plan that would build upon the work to date on the Downtown Parking Sign Project and the Downtown Directory Kiosk Project. In addition to the parts of these projects that have already been designed and funded, this project would expand the scope and scale. If additional funding were committed to this comprehensive project, the additional components of the parking and kiosk projects could be fabricated and installed. New components would include the design, fabrication, and installation of wayfinding signs to be placed throughout Bozeman directing residents and visitors to the downtown district. While there are a handful of such signs based on downtown’s old logo, but they are largely ineffective. The second potential project involves creating a creek-side park along Bozeman Creek adjacent to the public parking lot at the corner Babcock and Rouse. The park would compliment and significantly build upon the pocket park installed by First Security Bank on the west bank of the creek. The new creek-side park would involve stabilizing the creek bank, trimming the existing trees, laying sod, installing benches and picnic tables. The park may also require some sore of railing along a portion of the creek and along the alley bridge to maintain public safety. This project would also involve reconfiguring the public parking space to not only make room for the greenspace but also to create a greatly improved and more efficient parking lot. Parking lot improvements would include: better vehicle access, more efficient space layout, and a storm- water catchment system. Chris asked the board which of the two projects they think would best benefit not only the downtown business and property owners but also citizens and visitors. Bob stated that while he loves the creek project, he feels that the wayfinding signage would the best first investment. After a brief discussion acknowledging that both projects have benefits for downtown, the group agreed that the wayfinding project would most directly and immediately benefit businesses, which need all the support we can give them. Bobby expressed that she hoped that by selecting one project that the other would remain a high-priority. Chris told the board that he could foresee having the funds necessary to complete the wayfind sign project and begin to plan the creek project for future build-out. Chris indicated that he would be presenting the other 2 boards the proposals and would report back to all whether there is consensus building around either project. Technical Assistance Program Chris informed the board that he had significantly simplified the Downtown Development Technical Assistance Program. He said that in the simplest terms the program would consider providing assistance to a team of owners and planning professionals that present a potential development project. He emphasized that his preference is to make the program available to the public, get a few application, make an award or two, and be prepared to modify the program if necessary. Bob expressed concern that a laissez-faire program might create problems by establishing expectations for years to come and perhaps an overwhelming strain on the budget depending on how many qualifying projects come in. Chris reminded the group that the program has only be authorized by the board for FY2010 and therefore has an expiration date of June 30, 2010. Chris also pointed out that there is a budget limit of $50,000 allocated to this program. The program would need to reviewed, revised (if necessary), and funded each fiscal year. Chris asked the group how they would like to review each application keeping in mind that it would be ideal to review and decide on an application as quickly as possible. Bobby suggested that we should try to respond to applications within 2 weeks, thus the board meeting could serve as one review time and an interim review could occur if necessary. Chris said a committee could be formed to meet as necessary or he could scan and e-mail applications as they come in for board review. The group agreed to see what the response is from the private sector and proceed with one of these processes. Bill pointed out that in these difficult economic times the program has the potential to get several project rolling that otherwise might sit idle. ACTION:Bill Stoddart motioned that the board direct Chris Naumann make the Downtown Development Technical Assistance Program available to the public and open the application process. Bob Lashaway seconded the motion. All voted in favor. New or Old Business With no future or old business to discuss, Bobby adjourned the meeting.