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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-12-22 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes BUSINESS& ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Wednesday, December 22,2010 City Hall Council Chambers, 3rd Floor Minutes Councilors: Chair Weston, Blanchette, Durgin, Longo, Nealley, Gratwick, Bronson Staff: Conlow, McKay, Bolduc, Hupp Others: Pam Shadley of Shadley Associates Councilor Weston called the meeting to order. 1. Acceptance of Small Community Air Service Development Grant BIA Director, Rebecca Hupp, reviewed this item stating that BIA applied for and was awarded by DOT up to$500,000 of federal funds under the Small Community Air Service Development Program. Additional matching funds of$250,000 were pledged through public/private partnerships, including a $50,000 commitment from the City of Bangor. The State of Maine, Mobilize Maine and the Bangor Regional development Alliance also all pledged financial contributions in the grant application. Letters of support were provided by the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce,the Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau, and our Congressional Delegation. Bangor's focus of this grant application is to improve air service to the region by increasing competition and capacity in the market. Under the provisions provided in the grant award,this Small Community Air Service Development Program grant may be used to reduce an airline's risk in entering a new market. Funds will also be used for marketing and advertising to support the service. Staff requests that the BED Committee recommend this item to the City Council for ratification of staff signature on the contract documents and authorize the Airport to enter into a grant agreement with the DOT. The final documents will be in a form reviewed and approved by the City Solicitor. Councilor Durgin made a motion to adopt staff's recommendation as presented to the City Council; Seconded. Unanimous Committee vote. 2. Waterfront Park Update Rod McKay, Director of Community& Economic Development, presented this update to the Committee. Since 2001, significant infrastructure improvements have been made on the waterfront along Front& Railroad Street and along the water's edge. This past summer a contract was let to begin the public park and open space area between the railroad tracks and the river, downriver from Railroad Street all the way to Dutton Street behind Hollywood Slots. A contract has been issued for a portion of the work proposed for that area and there is work remaining to be done there. Pam Shadley,the design consultant on this project, has been invited to bring the City Council up-to-date on where the project is at this time and to give an overview of what is remaining to be done. Staff asked that the Committee give Pam direction on what the next phase of the project should be. The remaining construction work to be done will cost approximately$4 million. We have approximately$350,000 currently remaining in the budget for waterfront improvements. In recent years the City Council has appropriated $400,000 from the Downtown TIF fund for waterfront improvements, except two years ago when they appropriated $1 million. If the Council approves$400,000 in TIF funds in June 2011 and$100,000 from the CDBG funds in March 2011 (as done in recent years),then we could have available for this coming construction season about$750,000. If we continued that level of funding from local sources in the future we would have about$500,000 in funding available each year. Rod has asked Pam Shadley to come up with a proposal to implement work as funds are available again with the assumption that Council will continue funding at the levels suggested using the Downtown TIF program and the CDBG fund. Pam Shadley of Shadley Associates,the City's Waterfront design consultant, made a presentation on progress-to-date on waterfront projects and described what is to be completed and a scenario on what the next steps are to proceed. She added that the intent was to look at the entire waterfront district to see where public investment and open space should be, and where development opportunities are. Projects completed: • In 2003,green space was created; built Front Street parking lot as well as Front Street, showing sidewalk materials, lighting standards, plant materials and signage; • In 2004, Railroad Street was created by making it straight forward; • In 2005, rehabilitation of the bulkhead and the floating dock; • Federally funded new channel which can support large boats that can dock at the large boat vessel dock which is ADA compliant in 11 vertical feet of tide; • A lot of the infrastructure has been completed and the site is ready to take the next steps for the parks; • Had an extensive review with the Maine DEP on site law development that the new park has triggered; • Spring of 2009, put out a bid set. The goal was for this early phase to complete all of the infrastructure needed for the project such as the electrical,transformers, lights on walkways, underground storm water treatment chambers are all constructed as part of this space. However, we are not getting a finished park after this. • $11.5 million has taken the waterfront from 1986 to 2010; the federal, state and local funding was available for the projects. Through these funding sources, this is how the work has been accomplished to date. In November 2009, City staff asked Shadley Associates on how do we finish the park. Projects to be done: • Northeast of the Waterfront Park area are the dry and wet playgrounds,the utility building, public restrooms, and finishing the site where the coal tar mediation was. In November of 2009 it was estimated at that time to cost about$1.7 million. This is the most expensive commitment. • The middle area,which is the amphitheater and the open space north to the amphitheater, will cost about$1.4 million. Proposed to have a paved stage, seats that are close in that are paved, probably concrete seat walls, about 400 people can sit close in. There are more spread out concrete seat walls above, about 600 people can sit there. Overall capacity is 1,000 people. Stairs up on the sides; handicapped accessible ramp up the back; 2 shade shelters on either side could house picnics when there is not an event but could house vendors or concessions if there is an event. It is intended that the waterfront walkway swings in and out amongst these elements and attractions, but if there is a venue going on there is a secondary route in the back. • The southern area,which is mostly landscaping, passive open space and planting is estimated at$674,000. • All total cost is$4 million. We took another look recently and tried to create estimates that are more finely grained because we know Live Nation is being talked about and the coal tar area is being talked about. How can we proceed with constructing the waterfront but be very careful with the dollars that are spent. So we took those other areas and we divided them into more finely crafted chunks. The Butterfly Garden is now divided from the green space; we have now pulled out the dry play are; there are the wet play area including the installation of its pumps, underground chambers and the equipment in the building. This figure is to construct a stand-alone rest room, so instead of the double building it would just be the restroom building and the existing utility structure would stand there until the water play comes into play. The last piece is Part 6 -The Waterfront Walk—this would be the continuous walk, its lights and whatever edge restoration we can do (we want to plant, seed, mitigate the harsh stone edge of the coal tar remediation area). Pam stated that in looking at the numbers asking what's reasonable and what's feasible,we came up with this. Of all of these pieces,these two in particular are the ones that could go forward without jeopardizing any other discussions including the Live Nation discussion. Part Five would build a public restroom more people are going down to the site,there's a demand for it. Part 6 would build this part of the walkway that would connect up to the gravel walkway that is already being built as part of this contract and it would restore the edge and our thinking was this is the front door to the waterfront park—we really would like this to look nice; we want it to be welcoming and we want to restore that edge. All together those would total $483,522 which is in the range of the numbers that Rod was telling you we could do with your support. Pam suggested that we also add Part 3 as an alternate and the thinking behind that is: 1) it's a very favorable bidding climate— contractors are still very hungry; it is possible they could come in lower on the cost; 2)there's only two ways in and out of this park for construction purposes—there's the north and then there's along the new improvements along Dutton Street. It would be difficult to think of large construction vehicles going along this newly completed route to access construction in the park, so if this were an alternate in the bid set and the City could afford it if the numbers came in, this would be complete and you could almost see yourself building your way back towards Railroad Street with these construction vehicles and minimizing damage to work that's already been completed. (completion of Pam's presentation). Questions were then taken from the Committee. Councilor Longo made a motion to authorize staff to proceed with three areas of the Bangor Waterfront Park with funds expected to be available for construction in 2011: 1) restroom facilities at the Railroad Street end; 2) grading, landscaping, extension of walkway and creation of a small watercraft (car-top) launch in the area where river cleanup activities have taken place; and 3) a "butterfly" garden with seat walls sloped accessible walkways, native and wildlife plantings, and rain gardens at the downriver area of the Park. Seconded. Unanimous Committee vote. 3. Update on advertising for Business and Community Relations position authorized by Council Resolve 10-245 Rod McKay reviewed stating that as part of the budget for this year, the City Council approved a position in the Dept. of Community& Economic Development for business development and relations. It has been funded for 6 months, the position to be advertised for the 2nd half of the budget year; staff is prepared to go forward with that advertisement following January 1, 2011. The intention is to hire additional personnel to work with the business community to do marketing, public relations with the business community and to do business outreach and attraction. It is hoped by mid to late February of 2011 to have this position filled. City Manager Conlow added that the Council Order also directed the staff to find a permanent or to identify some sources of funding for that which we think can be done out of some of the Tier 3 revenues of the Downtown TIF. When the original Resolve was done on this item it did not have identified funding sources. Rod McKay further added that the Resolve was on the City Council Agenda and before it was considered,the funding for the position was added to the budget and was approved. So the Resolve was indefinitely postponed because the money was in the budget. But the intent is still in the Resolve that was not passed—so we're following the intent of the Resolve with the funding that is in the budget, and for future funding as the City Manager indicated, we're looking at using existing TIF funds under the Tier 3 provision to fund the position on a permanent basis. Tier 3 provision states that it is for the purposes of promoting the community for general economic development purposes. Councilor Blanchette made a motion to go into Executive Session—Economic Development— Negotiations for Disposition of Land in the Maine Enterprise Park— 1 M.R.S.A. §405 (6) ( C); seconded by Councilor Durgin. 4. Executive Session—Economic Development—Negotiations for Disposition of Land in the Maine Business Enterprise Park—1 M.R.S.A. §405 (6) (C) 5. Committee Action on Above Item No Committee action was taken.