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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-02-20 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes � BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE � February 20, 2008 , Minutes Councilors: Palmer, Hawes, Farrington, Gratwick, Wheeler , Staff: McKay, Barrett, McKay, Bilancia, Heitmann Others: Heather McCarthy, PENQUIS representatives ' CONSENT AGENDA 1. License Agreement with Consigli Construction , � A motion was made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda, and the ' motion was unanimously passed. REGULAR AGENDA , 2. Amending Parking Schedule X, Court Street Parking Lot, to Change Former City Staff Parking to Parking by Permit ' Bilancia said there are 36 regular spaces and 4 handicap parking spaces, formerly used by City employees, behind the former police station on Court Street. Now that the � Police Department has vacated that building, it is staff recommendation that these be used as permit parking. Not only will this provide the City with an additional parking revenue source, but it wiil also provide an alternative site for those displaced from the , � Columbia Street Parking Deck when it undergoes repairs. A motion was made and seconded and the Committee voted to recommend approval to the full City Council at their upcoming meeting. Palmer asked about the county's parking needs, ice falling off � the structure into the parking lot and appropriate lighting. Staff will look into these areas. 3. Request of Bangor Historic Track, Inc. to Lease Land for Additional Parking , Heitmann said this was discussed at the committee's previous meeting and that staff � recommended that the lease be entered into with certain conditions, namely that when the City needed the lot BHT would vacate it. The City will provide appropriate notice to BHT. Though not a commitment, the City will attempt to locate alternate parking for , BHT. BHT had suggested that the City's commitment be to the Round House parking site. It was not recommended by staff. Staff subsequently met with Johnson, who suggested that BHT go along with the City's original recommendation. Therefore, the ' City recommends and BHT agrees that the City lease them the additional land which they will vacate when the City provides as much notice as possible. The City will cooperate in finding alternate parking space. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff's recommendation. Wheeler noted for the record that the final decision as , to the location of the new arena has not been made and their will be a committee comprised of 17-20 stakeholders. Wheeler said that even if this site was chosen, a � minimum of one year's notice would need to be provided to BHT. Palmer disagreed. , , � Heitmann said there would be no written minimum but once the City is aware that it ' needs the location it would be required to notify BHT. Palmer clarified that any concept of an arena was brought up was to help this group decide if it wants to weigh in to the decision of whether to lease this at all. He wanted that clear to the committee. , 4. Cuitural Commission Grant Request—American Folk Festival 2008 ' Bilancia noted that the Commission on Cultural Development is required to review grant applications from arts and cultural organizations and recommend a course of action to the City Council for its review and consideration. The Commission received a grant ' request from the American Folk Festival for funding of$75,000 in partial support of the 2008 festival. Total anticipated operating expenses for 2008 will be $1,051,000 (combined cash and in-kind). This is a request for cash funding of$75,000, and it is , presumed that the City will maintain the level of in-kind support that it provided AFF in 2007. The Commission noted in its review process that the project met all funding criteria and that the application was complete. The Commission further noted that the ' benefits of the festival are recognized by the community and that AFF has established a reputation that reaches far outside Bangor. The AFF has approached other communities for support. Gratwick asked about the amount of in-kind services from the City. � McCarthy said the total estimated amount would be $50,000 for in-kind services (Parks and Recreation, Police, Fire, Public Works). Wheeler asked how much money is realized from the bucket brigade and concessionaires. McCarthy said the buckets for 2007 , generated $94,900. She indicated that monies from the concessionaires and vendors in 2007 generated about $75,000. Regarding attendance, Wheeler asked about the 150,000 attendance estimate. McCarthy said it is 150,000 visits. Wheeler asked for the , bottom line cost of the festival, and McCarthy replied $1,800,478 with a net profit of $22,275. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of the $75,000 grant. The item will go to full Council at its upcoming meeting for final action. Responding to Wheeler, McCarthy said there are contrects for 7 perFormers at the , moment and offers to an additional six. Hawes commended the fiscal responsibility of the AFF staff. When the arena is constructed, Wheeler asked McCarthy if the AFF would have an interest in running the facility. I5. Cultural Affairs Website RFP ' As part of the Cultural Commission's five year plan, Bilancia said that Sally Bates had prepared along with Finance Director Cyr a RFP for a website. This plan went before the Council back in July of 2007. It will be a separate site from the City's. The RFP will ' obtain cost quotes. $2,200 is available and leftover from the Discovery Research Grant that had a website component. At this time, she requested permission to use a $2,000- 4,000 if the RFP comes in at that price range. Once proposals are received, the � Commission will then come back to the committee to request permission for spending the money. There is $30,950 in the Commission's budget for this current fisca� year. Replying to Gratwick, Bilancia said no small grants have been awarded this fiscal year. � Gratwick thinks the Commission needs to be more proactive in letting smaller organizations know that the money is available as'seed'dollars; Bilancia feels the website will help in this area. Responding to Gratwick regarding the website, Bilancia � stated the next step in the process will be covered in a grant applied for through the 1 , � Maine Arts Commission. If received, the Commission would use it to pay for the next phase which is having someone administer it. It would be a one-year grant. Gratwick , asked the annual cost to run a website. Bilancia said it all depends on the features included but most likely $25-30/month. The RFP will answer these questions. She anticipates the website will be a self-serve model by artists. The initial set up and ' design is the heavier cost. Another part of the grant is also getting the word out about the new website. Wheeler asked if the RFP has been issued at this point. Bilancia said it has been written but not issued. It cannot be done so until a certain amount of ' funding has been reserved to cover the cost. A motion was made and seconded approve stafYs recommendation. 6. PENQUIS Proposal to Provide Residential Rehabilitation Loan Program Services , Palmer noted that he is a member of the Penquis Board. He entertained a motion that ' he has a conflict of interest and asked the Committee for its determination. The motion was seconded and it was deemed to be a conflict. Palmer asked Wheeler to chair this portion of the meeting. Wheeler asked McKay to provide an overview. McKay noted , there have been several retirements from his office and has provided an opportunity to reorganize. He spoke about the residential rehab loan program which has been run in- house through the City since 1974. It is very labor intensive from the staff level, � inciuding a housing inspection, work write-up, specifications, cost estimate, help the homeowner find a qualified contractor, supervise a contract between homeowner and the contrector that contains all of the federai requirements of the CDBG progrem, � supenrise the work being done as it progresses, authorize and help the property owner make progress payments to the contractor. When the Ciry makes these loans, the check goes into an escrow account controlled by the City. As the contractor is eligible, , the payment is made from the escrow account with the consent of the properly owner. All loan applications come before this Committee for approval. Martzial did most of the loan underwriting up through the loan coming before this Committee; Ailen arranged for , the contractor and monitored the work and the debt function. The City has an opportunity is the possibility of PENQUIS administering the rehab program. PENQUIS currently does this for other communities using state approved CDBG funds. They are familiar with the regulations and requirements. PENQUIS refers many individuals to the , City. PENQUIS has provided a proposal to Bangor to carry out these services for Bangor, rather than Bangor hiring replacement staff. It would place the City in the position of being the lender and PENQUIS in the position of administrating the program. , PENQUIS proposes to charge the City up to 15% of the loan about to administer the loan. Traditionally, the Community Development office has administered $300,000- 400,000/annually in rehab loan funds. Their fee would equate to the cost of one staff ' person. McKay asked the Committee to allow the City to a few projects with PENQUIS. They are concerned that the City doesn't overburden their workload. The loan applicants will still come before this Committee. The CD staff would then consist of: McKay as , Community and Economic Development Director; Kaleena Nakowi¢ as coordinating the Community Development program and asking for a new member that would oversee all of the housing programs. � Responding to Farrington, McKay said he estimates 10-15 in the first year. Farrington said it would basically cost the same in-house and farming out a portion to PENQUIS � ' 1 � � realizing that one additional staff member would be required. He asked if the service to ' Bangor citizens would remain equal. McKay said because PENQUIS can bring other funding sources to the table that there might be a greater benefit. He spoke about the lead abatement process. PENQUIS has a funding source, which the City does not have, � to help the homeowner at no cost to the homeowner. Hawes commented that affordable housing is becoming a major issue. She asked if the ' requested additional staff inember wouid insure that Bangor would not be losing the opportunity for grants in a timely manner to get access to more affordable housing. ' Gratwick said the proposal seems to make sense but he is a bit hesitant. It is a major shift in City policy. Workforce housing is a major part of the Community Development departmenYs function. He referred to it as privatization. He felt there should be others ' at the table for discussion for input before making the move. He has unanswered questions. � Barrett said historically the programs run through CD have not been for affordable housing but for individuals with the inability to have housing or who are not able to maintain current housing or individuais who are homeless. Barrett felt that McKay's ' proposal will take a lot of the grunt work out of his department and gives it to another agency. It allows another staff person who could focus on insuring the Continuum of Care for homeless continues and coordination issues involved and to focus on a policy ' level on some of the other issues of how to address workfare housing recognizing that there are limited resources and that it is run by the market. Market incentives would be required. He feels it is an opportunity for someone to step back about contractor issues and to look at larger policy issues which the Council is concerned about. Also this staff � member would update the housing element of the comprehensive plan that needs to be presented to HUD. It is currently a five-year old plan. There are many challenges which are not easily solvable. � Gratwick is still concerned that the issue needs to be discussed by a larger group of involved individuals. He is still concerned that the City has an aggressive search for 1 doilars in hidden pots. He is still concerned about the length of the potential contract with PENQUIS. McKay said he is asking for the Committee's approval of the City working with PENQUIS on a few projects to see how it works. Each project will be ' preliminarily approved by this Committee. If it doesn't work out, the City will end the effort. He thinks it will work out well and much better for the City and more importantly to Bangor's homeowners. ' Hawes said that McKay is asking for something that has been discussed on many occasions and areas— collaboration. She said it will only enhance what the City can � offer to its citizens. She has no problem with trying this on a short-term basis. It has to start somewhere. , Farrington indicated he needs to leave the meeting due to a commitment. He did make a motion to approve staff's recommendation. Hawes seconded. Wheeler said he appreciated Gratwick's cautious approach but change at times can be beneficial and that , McKay has made some very persuasive remarks. He also likes the idea of the trial basis. � , , He asked if there is a typical maximum amount of loan granted. McKay said no. Replying to Wheeler, McKay said the average overall loan is $45,000. ' Wheeler invited PENQUIS representatives to the table. Steve Moores, Director of Housing for PENQUIS, addressed the Committee. He said that McKay has brilliantly � described the process. It is a very labor intensive process and PENQUIS has a myriad of stafF to work on this effort. Affording housing is difficult to develop. He will be coming back to the Committee in the future with a proposal. Two comments supporting the , idea is (1) collaboration and (2) PENQUIS brings a host of activities and funds to bear to the homeowner. PENQUIS embraces the proposed effort. He feels that PENQUIS can make the City's CDBG dollars go further. Moores said he has a great working , relationship with the Community Development staff. Carlton Finney, Certified CDBG administrator, was also present. Gratwick asked Moores if he is concerned that this is an experimental effort. Moores is ' not concerned. In terms of staff expertise, Gratwick asked how his staff is trained. He talked about the City's recent loss of three long-term employees in the Community � Development Department. Moores said the attrition rate in his department is 12-14 years. Gratwick asked if PENQUIS will be able to bring more funds to the City. Moores said he would be more than willing to assist. Gratwick asked about the potential Harlow , Street project with VOA. Barrett said it involves totally different funding. Palmer returned to chair the remainder of the meeting. 7. Executive Session - Economic Development— Negotiations for Disposition of ' Property — Maine Avenue — M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(C) A motion was made and seconded to move into executive session for items 7 ' and 8. 8. Committee Action on Above Item � No Committee action was taken. , 9. Executive Session - To Consider Appointments to a Special Committee on Arena Implementation—M.R.S.A. §406(1)(A) , 10. Committee Action on Above Item ' No Committee action was taken. � , , �