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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-04-02 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Tuesday, April 2, 2013 5:15 PM City Council Chambers MINUTES Councilors: Sprague, Blanchette, Durgin, Longo, Civiello, Nealley Staff: Rosie Vanadestine, Tanya Pereira, Jeff Wallace, Jason Bird Councilor Blanchette was asked to fill in for the Chair Sprague to allow him an opportunity to address an item on the Agenda. Councilor Blanchette called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Community Development Residential Rehabilitation Loan – 40 Blackstone Street. Councilor Sprague moved to approve the requested Residential Rehabilitation Loan at 40 Blackstone Street. Councilor Nealley seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried. REGULAR AGENDA 2. PUBLIC HEARING – Amount of Federal Community Development Block Grant Funds expected to be available for the Period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 and the Eligible Uses of Community Development Funds Councilor Nealley moved to open the Public Hearing at 5:17 p.m. Councilor Sprague seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Rosie Vanadestine, Director of Community and Economic Development, gave an overview of the Community Development Block Grant Funds expected to be available for the fiscal year July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014, and the eligible uses this funding can be used for. She indicated that the City is anticipating a 5% reduction in funding which would amount to $708,870 which is a reduction of $37,309 over last year. In addition to that, there is program income that is received from several of the loans that get paid back. This money is put back into the program and used for programmatic funding, as well. In the past the anticipated budgeted amount has been approximately $250,000. However several loans have been paid off due to owner refinancing so the anticipated budgeted amount is decrease down to $175,000. Vanadestine indicated that they are anticipating a total of $883,870 to use for CDBG programs in the 2 upcoming year. She pointed out that there is a 20% administrative cap which includes the entitlement and the program income. That amount would be approximately $176,774 for administration of the complete program. Rosie Vanadestine outlined eligible activities where funding is expected to be programmed, which include a residential property rehabilitation loan program, planning and design of community development projects, funds to pay for the planning and the consultant for the Third-Main Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and funding for business development assistance and façade improvement financing. Funding of acquisition, demolition and clearance of dilapidated properties if rehabilitation is not feasible and street and sidewalk replacement in low-moderate income neighborhoods are also eligible items. Rosie Vanadestine noted that one item cut from the budget is the funding that pays for the case management work for Park Woods. However, Shawn Yardley will be funding this activity through his department and the City’s focus will be on the Third-Main Strategy area. Councilor Longo indicated that the building on Franklin Street where Northeast Occupation Exchange is located is a monstrosity and they need approval from the City to use the glass building area. Councilor Nealley noted that the amount of funds expected is much less than what had previously been received. He asked if there are other groups or grant opportunities out there for the City to leverage funds to bring more money for programs. Rosie Vanadestine indicated that there are some and it is hoped to partner with others to keep some of these programs going. She said that Staff is trying to find ways to bring more revenues in. Councilor Durgin asked for a run down on the monies that will be used for the Neighborhood Revitalization Stabilization Area. Rosie Vanadestine indicated that she has talked with Evan Richart (planning consultant) about creating an affordable housing TIF which would be used for a specified neighborhood rather than one building or project. The Shaw’s TIF will be expiring and it is hoped to do an extension of that to use some of those funds to improve Second Street Park. Other ideas are for improvements to the Main Street Corridor by using some unused State funding for Main Street. CDBG funds will also be used for streets, sidewalks, and lighting improvements, as well as, acquisition and demolition. Councilor Durgin indicated that he would like to see a progress report on efforts done in the Neighborhood Revitalization Stabilization Area as he is interested in making sure that the project gets funded adequately. Councilor Nealley asked about Department of Transportation funds. Rosie Vanadestine explained that there are unspent funds available. She noted that as the City starts to look at street and sidewalks that need to be done Staff 3 wants to coordinate these improvements with the City Engineer’s proposed improvements in order to be systematic about when improvements are done. The intent is to not to tear them up again shortly after they have been installed. No one spoke either in favor of or in opposition. As there were no further comments, Councilor Longo moved to close the Public Hearing. The motion was seconded by Councilor Nealley. The motion passed unanimously and the Public Hearing was closed at 5:33 p.m. 3. Discussion on Funding for the Arts George Kinghorn, with the University of Maine Museum of Arts, President of Downtown Bangor Partnership, and Vice President of the Cultural Commission; Bari Newport, with Penobscot Theater Company; and Cultural Commission Members, Chairman Timothy Lo, Josh Plourde and Judith Boothby, were present in support of this discussion. Chair Sprague opened the discussion of funding for the Cultural Commission. He spoke of the current budget constraints. He said that in order to expand arts funding they need to find an alternate revenue source. Chair Sprague suggested an optional arts contribution placeholder of $35.00 to fund cultural activities in the community. He suggested a check off box to be mailed out with real estate taxes for those who would like to contribute. This could be a significant revenue generator. This money could eventually be used for the Cultural Development Grant Program, outdoor installation of arts, etc. and construction of a community amphitheater. He felt that this is an option to not depend on tax payers. If only 20% of taxpayers and renters participated $100,000 a year could easily be raised from this source. Josh Plourde said that Bangor has grown a lot culturally and he would like to keep the momentum going. Portland Oregon has a mandatory tax that funds the arts. He indicated that he would like to take that model and tweak it to make it more functional for the City of Bangor. Tim Lo, Cultural Commission Chair, spoke on behalf of the arts. He said that he is very proud of the accomplishments of the Cultural Commission. The cultural landscape and creative economy as a result of the arts has changed a great deal in this region. The Commission has done a great deal of work adapting their purpose and it has a new vision. Councilor Longo said the Cultural Commission is doing a great job. He asked if the Cultural Commission could come up with stricter guidelines as to how grants are given and put limits on the amount of times an organization can apply within a certain timeframe. 4 Tim Lo indicated that the Cultural Commission has made amendments to its charter and has asked the City Council to amend it for changes such as time restrictions and the maximum limits of loans. Also, they want to stipulate that before funds can be disbursed an entity would have to pay for all costs and must be completed. Councilor Blanchette explained that the City Council will be covering the same topics when the Cultural Commission presents its case for budget purposes. Judith Boothby explained that the Commission’s plan for giving grants is to give an institution a good start and then gradually wean them off so that they can become self supporting. Councilor Blanchette asked what she thought of Councilor’s Sprague’s proposal. Mrs. Boothby indicated that she felt it is a good idea. Now people have the option to make contributions when filing state income taxes this could be done with the real estate tax billings. She felt that it was worth a try which may result in funding from a new group of people. George Kinghorn indicated that he firmly supports Councilor Sprague’s proposal and is very much in support. He said that you can’t separate the contributions of the arts to all of the wonderful things going on in the downtown. The arts enrich people’s lives and also contribute to the economy and growth in the downtown. Councilor Durgin felt that Councilor Sprague’s idea is a positive idea. He indicated that they will need to work out how this will work. He said that the City Council will need to know what the Cultural Commission is expecting from the budget and what a voluntary donor program could do. Councilor Nealley talked about multiple sources of revenue. He noted that the Library has asked for $3million for new roof. Councilor Nealley indicated that Councilor Baldacci asked for a discussion about raising the waterfront concert ticket sales another 25 cents and set that money aside for the Cultural Commission; Councilor Blanchette indicated that the City already gets $1.25 per ticket sold and 25 cents goes for ground care. Councilor Nealley indicated that both Councilor Gallant and Baldacci said that they would like to see a fee tacked on for the benefit of culture activities because more than just Bangor citizens attend. He said that he felt that Councilor Sprague’s idea was important. He would like to see the majority of the funds coming from the private sector. As far as the amount, Councilor Nealley suggested that the suggested amount should be at a level that it may get more people to donate. He indicated that he was a big skeptic years ago, when one of our colleagues had an idea of bring the National Folk Festival to Bangor and how important it was going to be to Bangor. He questioned the “creative economy” noting that bit by bit he has been proven very wrong after seeing the new hotels and new restaurants that have opened. 5 He said that the reason for this has more to do with the cultural and arts community instead of the traditional old model business structure. Bari Newport with the Penobscot Theater noted that 33,000 and 7,000 children attended the theater last year. She indicated that they support the check box but want to make it clear that it does not surpass the individual donations. Councilor Blanchette indicated that this needs to be discussed with the Legal Department to make sure that this is feasible and what options are available. Councilor Sprague suggested that they also meet with a representative from the Cultural Commission. Councilor Longo indicated that he appreciated the efforts of Councilor Sprague and Josh Plourde. Councilor Civiello asked if this check box could be done in surrounding communities as their residents attend activities and if renters could be approached. Jeff Walstrom, a Bangor resident, suggested that if this proposal goes forward that the fund not be divided into 35 to 50 pieces. He said that he would like to see a much larger vision. He suggested an idea of a common ticket booth for a variety of events. He said that tying the arts to economic development of this community is very important and what is being proposed could be a great opportunity to make it bigger. Tim Lo agreed with Jeff Walstrom and added that the Cultural Commission is operating with a new vision for future years. The Commission has discussed initiatives to be more accountable and to make the public aware of where their dollars are going. Visibility goes hand in hand with fund raising. He added that he liked Councilor Civiello’s idea about asking other communities to contribute. 4. Executive Session – Economic Development – Property Disposition – 1 M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(C) Councilor Longo moved to go into Executive Session. Councilor Civiello seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried. A motion was made to exit the Executive Session. All in favor, motion carried. 5. Committee Action on Above Item Councilor Longo moved Staff Recommendation. Councilor Civiello seconded the motion. All in favor, motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.