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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-20-10 Downtown Tax Increment Finance District Minutes Downtown Tax Increment Finance Board Meeting Minutes July 20, 2010 Attending: Bobby Bear, Bob Lashaway, Bill Stoddart Cyndy Andrus, Chris Naumann Absent: Bob Hietala, Vonda Laird Public Comments None Disclosures None Minutes ACTION:Bill Stoddart motioned to accept the minutes from June Bob Lashaway seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Financial Report Chris indicated that there was no financial activity since the June meeting. He suggested that the board focus the financial discussion on some revisions to the FY2011 budget later in the meeting. Program Director’s Report None Executive Director’s Report “No Plywood on Main Street” I have spoken with Commissioner Andrus and Mayor Krauss about helping reach out to Jalal at Rocky Mountain Rug Gallery concerning the TIF offer to replace his windows. Krauss is concerned that the TIF cannot make improvements to private property. I have compiled various parts of the TIF statute that I think justify and authorize the TIF to make such expenditures. I will be following up with this matter with the coming days. On a more positive note, I met with Sue Doss as a representative of the Rialto Redevelopment Group and she agreed to let the BID maintenance staff make the minor improvements to the old theater façade. The plywood has been painted to match the adjacent brick color, the windows and doors have been cleaned. The Bozeman Film Festival has hung a banner for the Story under the Stars summer film series and will be decorating the ticket booth later this week. Ann Bates and her attorney have declined the offer to create temporary public green space at 221 and 223 East Main Street citing liability concerns despite offers to cover all liability issues with DBP and COB insurance coverage. Mike Hope and I will revisit the issue with her at a later date. Streetscape Improvements Update Tire-Rama has completed their streetscape improvements including all new streetlamps, trees, bike racks, trash receptacles, and a bench. Heebs has also completed their streetscape upgrade and installed street lamps earlier this week. Both property owners have submitted applications for the Streetscape Assistance Program for streetlamp reimbursement. The BID board funded the planting of new trees adjacent to Tire-Rama and the BID has placed flower baskets on all 6 new street lamps. The Gallatin Building has begun replacing their sidewalk with the downtown streetscape (trees, lamps, bike racks, benches, trash receptacles) and should be completed in the coming weeks. I am working with ThinkOne and COB on installing the LUMEC streetlamps around the Holy Rosary Church property. Explosion Impact Fee Update The exact amount of the American Legion impact fees were $10,181. That TIF payment was posted in FY2010. The F & H Building impact fees proved much higher than originally estimated due to the more nd intense use that will be the result of adding a much larger ground floor restaurant and the 2 rd and 3 floors. Below is an accounting of the impact fees and corresponding narrative from Interim Planning Director Saunders: The impact fees have been calculated and entered into the building dept records. The fees reflect the credit due for the buildings which previously occupied the site, the fees are: FIRE IMPACT FEE $4,193.64 SEWER IMPACT FEE $42,075.21 STREET IMPACT-TED $26,515.25 WATER IMPACT FEE $47,129.92 $119,914.02 These have increased since the initial estimate for two reasons. First, the estimate was prepared in 2009 and the fees are based on the day the building permit is submitted which is clearly 2010. The change year over year was quite small this time, only 1.1%. Second, and more importantly, the estimate was based on an intended 2 inch water meter as was described to me. The building permit application shows a 3 inch meter being specified. The credit for water and sewer remains the same, the equivalent of three .75” water meters. Based on the volume capacity differences between a 2 and 3 inch meter the water and sewer impact fees essentially double. If the building department can confirm that a two inch meter is acceptable and will be installed we are happy to adjust the fee down to match. Development Assistance Updates  FY2010 Project Summary and Timeline (see hand out)  FY2011 Project Summary and Timeline (see hand out)  Rialto Application (for discussion) Discussion and Decision Items Mendenhall-Babcock Project Chris provided a brief update regarding the proposed cost-benefit analysis of transforming the one-way couplet. Chris indicated that City Engineer Rick Hixson presented the draft scope of work to the City Commission and the Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC). The scope and concept were well received by both bodies. Some substantive comments were made, including by Chris that will now be incorporated into a draft RFP. Once completed, the draft RFP will be presented to both the Commission and the TCC for approval to be published. Bob Lashaway commented that the important aspect of this complicated project and process is that the various players (DBP, COB, County, MDT) must communicate and arrive at some joint conclusions and recommendations. Bobby asked what the timeline was to complete and publish the RFP. Chris said that it depends on the TCC meeting schedule which is quarterly. If the draft can be completed and approved by th the CC before the TCC’s October 27 meeting then the RFP could be published in November. Otherwise the TCC doesn’t meet again until January. Technical Assistance Program Chris updated the board on the recent applications for Development Assistance. He indicated that he has approved 7 projects involving 3 different professional firms in FY2010. He presented a chart detailing each project and a corresponding timeline with approximate project stages. He anticipates that by the end of July some of the first grant projects should be completed. Chris also presented the chart and timeline detailing the 2 projects that have been awarded grant assistance in FY2011. The board was glad to see 9 different projects being planned downtown considering the sluggish economic recovery from the recession. Chris then asked the board to provide direction on how to handle projects where the applicant is not the property owner nor has the applicant entered into a buy-sell agreement with the property owner. Bob L said that the property owner must have knowledge that an individual is applying for a Technical Assistance Grant to assess their property. Bill S agreed that without such knowledge or perhaps even approving of such assessments the situation could become contentious at a later date. Bobby recommended that the applicant be required to contact the property owner and discuss their intentions. Chris said he would draft a letter that must be signed by both the applicant and the property owner acknowledging that all parties know about each other intentions. Chris said that he would e-mail the board a draft of the letter within a week. Bob L said he would like to see some language in the program documents that specified that the TIF, DBP, and COB would not be liable for any of the professional planning work done with the grant monies and that the materials submitted to the technical assistance library would be for the sole purpose of public information and therefore would not constitute any form of ownership or responsibility. Bill and Bobby agreed that such a disclaimer was critical. Chris said he would draft such language and e-mail it to the board for their review. Housing Incentive Program Chris reviewed some ideas about how to incentivize housing development in the downtown district. He presented a draft program that would need a lot of work to finalize considering the complexity of the program. The board spoke in very general terms about the importance of developing a program that would incentivize the construction of new housing units as recommended by the Downtown Improvement Plan. FY2011 Revised Budget Chris next presented the board with some proposed revisions to the previously approved FY2011 TIF Budget. He informed the board that he failed to encumber the funds allocated in FY2010 by the Technical Assistance and Streetscape Assistance Programs. He created separate line items under the corresponding FY2011 expense headings. The board agreed that encumbering the funds to the next fiscal year was necessary since those commitments had been made. Regarding the Housing Incentive Program, Chris recommended that the board allocate funding to the program in anticipation of launching it later in the year. Bobby asked what amount he thought would be necessary to fund the program. Chris suggested $100,000 as an initial amount. Bill S noted that considering our projected year-end balance in excess of $1 million that this amount seemed reasonable while enabling the program to have a significant impact in new residential development. The final adjustment to the FY2011 budget was to update the anticipated expenditure on the explosion impact fees associated with the F&H Building as was detailed in the Executive Director’s Report. ACTION:Bob Lashaway motioned to approve the revised FY2011 Downtown TIF Budget as presented and discussed. Bill Stoddart seconded the motion. All voted in favor. New or Old Business City Commission Liaison In the consideration of time the board will postpone the discussion of Cyndy’s roll as liaison again until the August meeting at which time we will discuss this item first. Bobby adjourned the meeting.