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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-06-04 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Tuesday, June 4, 2013 5:15 PM City Council Chambers MINUTES Councilors Present: Chair Sprague, Civiello, Longo, Durgin, and Blanchette City Staff Present: Conlow, Willette, Vanadestine Chair Sprague called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Community Development Residential Rehabilitation Loan – 287 French Street Councilor Durgin moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilor Blanchette seconded the motion. Councilor Longo asked if the applicants were duly qualified for the loan. Vanadestine indicated that there is enough equity in the home so that it should not be an issue. She also indicated that this will be a “deferred loan” that the City gets back upon transfer of the property. Chair Sprague asked for a vote. All were in favor and the motion carried. REGULAR AGENDA 2. Discussion regarding Waterfront Parcels Vanadestine indicated that Staff wanted a discussion with the Committee regarding the parcels that are allocated as development parcels on the waterfront. The Economic Development Staff has discussed with the Engineering and Planning Staff how to possibly move forward and get some direction as to the use of these parcels. Vanadestine explained that there is an issue of ledge on Parcels l, 2, and 3 which are located on Front Street. Another issue is the depth to which one would need to drill down to place pilings. The soil is not great there and it could between $250,000 and $500,000 as an extra development cost for the development of Parcel 3 because of ledge. Staff feels that these are valuable sites and would like to see them as flexible sites and keep them as possible green space for temporary set ups and general public use. Staff is in the process of identifying all of the parcels and wants to start targeting them for specific development to be sent to the commercial brokerage community with the RFP that Staff will be sending out. The Main Street parcel has a 10-year deal with Waterfront Concerts. Staff feels that this parcel should be removed from the list of development parcels, as well. The parcels that Staff feel are viable are the parcel on Summer Street and the Roundhouse site parcel. This would allow Staff to focus its energy on these two parcels for development. Vanadestine also discussed the location of the proposed amphitheater. Staff has been looking at a smaller area along the waterfront which has been built-up for this purpose. Rather than creating several sites and 2 temporary solutions for different organizations, Staff is suggesting that it is important to identify exactly what the City wants and to move forward. Councilor Longo asked if this would be the place for the Bangor Band. Vanadestine indicated that Staff feels that this would be a good site for the Bangor Band. However, it is not finished and it will take some funds to complete it. Chair Sprague asked if the City was currently trying to market all of the waterfront property. Vanadestine indicated that they are but staff does not want to be spending time and energy marketing something that we’re either not going to develop or create an expectation that something is developable if it may not be. Chair Sprague indicated that if the right business located on Parcels 2 & 3 on Front Street he would be in favor of it. But he also felt that people enjoy the open space. Councilor Blanchette said that she felt that Parcels 1, 2, 3 would be a better home for a Gazebo because it would not be used all the time by the Bangor Band and could serve many purposes because it would have a roof. Weddings and other functions could be held there. She indicated that she did not want to place the Bangor Band off somewhere where they are not going to be accessible to the general public. She liked the idea of keeping this area as green space. Councilor Durgin asked if it is the intent to leave the harbormaster’s building site where it is. Tracy Willette, Parks and Recreation Director, indicated that the plan is to keep it where it is, as well as, the two parking lots that are presently used for the harbor operation and waterfront events. Chair Sprague suggested some formal guidelines be drafted and worked on over the summer to have a business plan to refer to when offers come in. He said that it could have a long-term negative impact if it is not the right type of development. Councilor Longo indicated that he felt that the “shack” next door to the harbor master’s office could be removed. He suggested that the City should try and buy the parcel down by the casino that is for sale to have another access point to that side of the waterfront. He felt that the parcels along Front Street should be leased rather for sale to allow the City to maintain control over any future buildings. Councilor Blanchette felt that the City will have to make a sizeable investment in the property before it could be leased to a developer because it will need pilings. City Engineer Art Morgan discussed the slope of the Front Street parcels. He indicated that a number of years ago, an estimate to put in a foundation for a large structure on one of those parcels was in the neighborhood of $400,000. Councilor Blanchette asked if the parcels were in the 100-year floodplain. Mr. Morgan indicated that they were. Councilor Blanchette indicated that this was another issue that they needed to consider. 3 City Manager Conlow indicated that Staff would take time and draft a set of guidelines for the redevelopment of the waterfront parcels and bring it back to the Committee this summer for review. Vanadestine indicated that Staff is also compiling the list as part of the RFP for commercial brokerage. Chair Sprague felt that all of the parcels should be included and if there are offers, the City Council will entertain them. Tanya Pereira, Business Development Specialist, indicated that the Staff recommendation is to remove the Front Street parcels from the list of available properties. Staff feels that until a long-term plan for the public space and programmable event space is determined , that their energy should be put into the two parcels that are ready to be developed. Chair Sprague asked for public comment. Sue McKay, Treasurer of the Bangor Band, indicated that they have looked at Parcels 2 and 3 very closely for band use and it was her understanding that Parcel 2 is the better of the two for their use. She indicated that the Band is going to be using one of them for their summer concert series. What they really need, however, is to know they have a permanent home with a new bandstand. They cannot go out and ask for money until they know where this bandstand is going to be placed. As soon as that has been determined, they can start fundraising. She said that the Waterfront is a gem and the Bangor Band wants to share it as part of the City’s development process. She asked that the City make this determination as soon as possible. Councilor Durgin asked what arrangement the City has with the Bangor Band. Conlow indicated that it is the same arrangement as before. McKay indicated that they would like to see the City keep ownership of the property. They would like to build a structure that the City would insure and would be able to use as appropriate. Councilor Civiello asked what type of structure they would be proposing. McKay indicated that WBRC Architects-Engineers have offered to put some ideas together. They received copies of those plans that day. She indicated that they would need to have the conductor review them to see if the structures are conducive to their acoustical needs. She indicated that the band has grown in size under their new conductor. She said that she did not know if they are looking at a round gazebo or a band platform which would have a more modern design. As soon as they have had an opportunity to review the plans, she would think that they would sit down with the City. Willette indicated that they have used the terms “performance shell and performance venue” in their discussions. There has been some talk about designs seen on other waterfronts which consist of steel posts with a fabric roof or different roof with an open design to allow for a multi-use. Councilor Blanchette said she feels that they can sit down with Bangor Band, and the architect and come up with an appropriate structure that blends in with the waterfront that allows viewing accessibility to the public. She said that she did not want a structure with a wall that obstructs any view of the river. She added that it will need to be 4 able to be hooked up to electrical outlets buried into the ground. She felt that the City needs to make sure that it is done right. Chair Sprague offered his strong support for the plan to have the Bangor Band occupy one of these parcels. Councilor Civiello asked if they have an idea of what they are willing to pay for. McKay indicated that they have already gotten money from Stephen and Tabitha King. It is their plan to go out to various service organizations who funded the building of the original gazebo. She indicated that if the Bangor Band can be assured as soon as possible where they will be going, then they can go forward and deal with the architectural renderings, working with the City, and fundraising. Councilor Sprague mentioned the proposed optional arts contribution program that would be part of some sort of cultural development fund and administered by the City. This is something that will be worked on after the budget process is over and this would be a perfect project to help with a small contribution towards. Chair Sprague indicated that it was the consensus of the Committee to direct City Staff to work on a agreement with Bangor Band for Parcel 2 or 3 with the estimated costs and the design of the structure. Conlow indicated that the past arrangement with the Bangor Band was that they built and paid for a facility within a city park. Tracy’s office managed it so it was a donation of facilities. We didn’t transfer the land to them. It was publicly owned and maintained. 3. Re-authorization of Bangor Center Development District /Downtown Bangor Partnership Funding George Kinghorn, President of the Downtown Bangor Partnership, discussed the Partnership’s Annual Report and a letter that was previously distributed to the Committee with the FY 14 Work Plan and Budget. He indicated that the Partnership represents downtown property, business owners, residents and other stakeholders and promotes and markets the activities that enhance the downtown. Next year they hope to continue working on on-going issues relating to Pickering Sq. and West Market Square advocating for good design and pursuing a big picture approach for the whole plan for downtown. Mr. Kinghorn indicated that they have completely redesigned their marketing materials. They want to position Bangor more as a tourist and entertainment destination especially with all of the events happening on the Main Street corridor. They feel that this is a very important part of the downtown plan and also with the opening of the new arena. They also plan to work on parking to improve the patron and visitor experience to downtown. The FY 14 Budget is $99,042 and a significant portion of that comes from sponsorships to do the various events like the Cools Sounds and the Downtown Countdown. $55,542 comes from the annual assessment on property owners in the district. He asked that the Council continue to support the efforts of the Downtown Bangor Partnership and all of their work in enhancing downtown and support the four orders as in previous years which reauthorize the Bangor Center Development District funding. 5 Councilor Longo asked what role the Hammond Street Senior Center plays in the overall mix of the downtown. Kinghorn indicated that it is an important asset to have in our community. They take advantage of the cultural assets we have such as the museum and bring groups. It’s definitely an asset to the downtown. Councilor Longo moved staff recommendation. Councilor Blanchette seconded the motion. All in favor motion carried. 4. Development Process Vanadestine indicated that this has been a top priority for her department. All of the City Departments that are involved with the development process met for several conversations about how the City processes these projects. Currently there is no formal process and a lack of communication at times. This new process will insure a much smoother process for the developer and the City Staff. Tanya Pereira, Business Development Specialist indicated that Staff has worked on producing a development process guideline. She indicated that there is an historical perspective that sometimes the City is difficult to deal with. Development takes place at a very rapid pace today as opposed to a site selection process taking three years just a decade ago. Now it can take between 6 to 8 weeks to zero in on a site and determine feasibility. We need to be able to be more responsive and have a team than can come together and evaluate opportunities, identify red flags, look at the pitfalls of sites that might be evaluated by a developer for a project and be able to walk that project through the process of getting all of the many approvals. One of the most important aspects of this new development process is the assignment of an account manager. A developer will have one “go-to” person and will make it one-stop shopping. The guidelines are designed to improve the client experience, improve the staff’s experience in not have to duplicate work, improve efficiency and streamline Staff’s time, and create a standardized process. The guidelines are a narrative tool which will be given out to clients when they meet with an account manager and will allow them to do some homework. The guidelines explained the process, permitting and approvals necessary. Councilor Blanchette indicated that she thought that this was a good idea. She asked that after 6 months into this process the Council could get a rating from the people who have participated. Councilor Durgin said that this is an excellent idea. 5. Executive Session – Economic Development – Parking Enforcement – 1 M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(C) Councilor Longo moved to go into Executive Session under M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(C). The motion was seconded by Councilor Blanchette. All in favor, motion carried. 6. Committee Action on Above Item Councilor Blanchette moved and Councilor Longo seconded a motion to approve staff recommendation to forward the parking enforcement change to the full Council. All in favor, motion carried. 7. Executive Session – Economic Development – Land Disposition – 1 M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(C) 6 8. Committee Action on Above Item Councilor Longo moved and Councilor Blanchette seconded the motion to not accept the request to amend the lease to credit payments toward the purchase price. All in favor. Motion carried. 9. Executive Session – Economic Development – Land Disposition – 1 M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(C) Councilor Longo moved and Councilor Durgin seconded a motion to go into Executive Session under M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(C). All in favor. Motion carried. 10. Committee Action on Above Item Councilor Blanchette moved and Councilor Civiello seconded to approve Staff recommendation to extend the leases for three months to the end of September. All in favor. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.