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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-18-14 Downtown Tax Increment Finance District (TIF) Minutes / Downtown Tax Increment Finance Board Meeting Minutes February 18, 2014 Attending: Bobby Bear, Shannon Haish, Bob Hietala, Vonda Laird, Bob Lashaway Scott Lee, Bill Stoddart, Carson Taylor, Chris Naumann Absent: None Public Comments None Disclosures None Minutes ACTION: Bob Hietala moved to approve the January minutes as presented. Bob Lashaway seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Financial Report Chris presented the financial report which included only one expense for a Technical Assistance grant payment. There was no further discussion regarding finances. Executive Director’s Report Technical Assistance Program Update The first chart below lists the 3 remaining grants from FY2013 that have not been completed. The second chart lists the grants awarded in FY2014. Keep in mind that the committed grant amounts are only tentative since the actual reimbursement amount will be determined as a one to one match upon completion of the grant work. As a reminder, the Planning grants have a $7500 cap and the Façade grants are capped at $3000. FY2013 Downtown Technical Assistance Program        Project Name Project Address Applicant Professional Grant Type  SWN Creekside 317 East Mendenhall Susan Neubauer Weirich & Greenspace Facade  Bozeman Spirits 121 West Main Jim Harris Locati Planning  Osborn Block 229 East Main Chris Pope Intrinsik Planning   FY2014 Downtown Technical Assistance Program        Project Name Project Address Applicant Professional Grant Type  34 North Bozeman 34 North Bozeman Big Sky Beverage Intrinsik Planning   DURT Project Update The first component will be completed this summer: Mendenhall mill and overlay (new asphalt and epoxy—24” bar ped crossings and bike sharrows). The next component will be a new streetscape and SID for 2015. Wayfinding Project Update After several meetings with the City and MDT, downtown wayfinding will be incorporated into a comprehensive plan for the entire city/community. MDT said they would no longer approve “silo-wayfinding” (Museum, Downtown, Fairgrounds, Parks). DBP and COB are preparing an RFP to develop a city-wide plan. Truck Route Project Update I am planning to partner with WTI to perform data collection and analysis regarding the current and alternative truck routes. Scope of work will include video truck counts, route timing (via dash cam videos), and fuel consumption/emissions analysis. This data and research will be the basis for requesting a modification of the National Truck Route Registry. Downtown Parking Update The graphs on the back show a continued increase in both garage use and revenue for January. Entries and revenue were up 17% and 7% over January 2013. Therefore year-to-date entries and revenue for 2014 are up 17% and 7% respectively over 2013. / / Discussion and Decision Items Bozeman Fiber Network Master Plan Brit Fontenot and David Fine of the City of Bozeman Economic Development Department presented the following overview: ----------- -------------------------------------------- Bozeman Broadband Initiative Summary Affordable broadband access is essential for creating high-paying jobs in Bozeman and Gallatin County. Technology firms, medical providers, banks, businesses, and startups require fast, reliable, and secure connections to their clients. Educational institutions increasingly depend on broadband to provide high quality instruction and meet standards for integrating technology into the classroom to prepare students to be career ready. Broadband connectivity, however, is only available at high prices or is simply unavailable. This initiative seeks to increase access and significantly lower the cost of broadband for business by stimulating private sector service delivery through public infrastructure investment. Business and Economic Development Benefits Entrepreneurs who need fast and secure access to national clients will be able to focus on growing their businesses and creating jobs rather than paying crushing broadband bills. Businesses benefit from an educated workforce that is adaptable and prepared to address the rapidly changing needs of our world community. Broadband infrastructure attracts businesses to move to the community to exploit inexpensive network transport, inexpensive Internet access, and data center services. Businesses that regularly transfer large amounts of data, such as engineers, architects, lawyers, and filmmakers will have options that meet their needs at a reasonable cost. Hospitals and healthcare providers will be able to provide higher quality care by utilizing telehealth services. Infrastructure Partners The City envisions an open access, private-public partnership model in which broadband providers, anchor businesses, School District 7, the City of Bozeman, Gallatin County and Bozeman Deaconess Hospital collaborate to build a community fiber optic network. Increased proximity to fiber will facilitate a greater number of users, which will drive down the marginal cost of providing service throughout the community. Increasing the number of initially connected entities is essential to keeping costs low for all partners. Master Plan Development The City is seeking partners to provide matching funds to finance a Comprehensive Master Plan for developing a community fiber optic network for the City of Bozeman. Interested partners should contact David Fine, Economic Development Specialist at 406-582-2973 or dfine@bozeman.net. ------------------------------------------------------- Brit concluded their presentation by outlining the master plan costs: $80-90k of which approximately $60k was secured from various sources including several grants. He said they were appealing to several community organizations to assemble the gap funding. He asked if the board would consider contributing $10,000 to the master plan project. The board discussed how the community fiber network could integrate with downtown and possibly help attract and/or retain high-tech businesses. The board asked if there were communities with comparable networks. David explained what he knew about the systems in Sandy, OR, Powell, WY, and Butte. Bob Hietala asked about the project timeline and Brit replied they hoped to release the RFP in March then there would be 6-8 months of planning with construction of the system in 2015. Bob Lashaway moved to contribute $10,000.00 to the Bozeman Community Fiber Network Master Plan. Vonda Laird seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Technical Assistance Grants Chris said he would like the board to advise him about several potential technical assistance grant applications. Lindley Park Hotel Chris reminded the board that over a year ago the new owners at 712 East Main Street received a grant and they performed a basic conceptual analysis of the site as a high-end boutique hotel. The grant payment totaled $2500. Recently the same owners acquired the adjacent property currently housing East Main Trading. The owner would like to submit an application for the use of the $5000 balance of the last grant. The board said they support extending another grant not to exceed $5000. Rialto Theater Chris told the board that a local downtown business person is interested in starting a new business at the Rialto and potentially buying the property. This individual inquired about using a grant to perform the due diligence for their business idea. A board member asked if the current ownership of the building was known. Chris confirmed that ownership is not certain at this point. The board said they do not support any additional investment of TIF funds in the Rialto until the ownership issues are definitively resolved. American Legion Chris said he was contacted by an architectural firm that is in discussions with the American Legion about (re)developing the basement into “useable” space. The architect had yet to visit the property and therefore did not know the extent of the basement’s current condition or what would be necessary to make it “useable”. They also indicated that the Legion is considering façade work to open up the front thus allowing for outdoor seating. The board said their interest in issuing any grants would depend on more detailed information. Chris said he would make that available as soon as it is provided to him. Bylaw Revisions Chris informed the board that the City of Bozeman is requiring that standardized provisions be added to all Citizen Advisory Board bylaws. Chris said that he has been unable to find a digital copy of the TIF bylaws and therefore would have to transcribe them from old paper copies. He will bring a draft of the revised bylaws before the board at the March meeting. At 1:10pm Bobby adjourned the meeting.