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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-02-17 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes � � BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE � TUESDAY, February 17, 2004 Meeting Minutes � Councilors Attending: Gerry Palmer, Peter D'Errico, Frank Farrington, Richard � Greene, Anne Allen �, Staff Attending: Ed Barrett, Rod McKay, TJ Martzial, Stan Moses, Kate Weber, �� Steve Bolduc, Kathy Patterson Others Attending: Suzanne Roy, Realty Resources � - The meeting convened at 5:00 p.m. � A enda 1. Consent g � a. Perimeter Taking —Waterfront 6. Emergency Rehabilitation Loan — 102 Birch Street c. Extending Loan Payoff Date— RC/BH Corporation � The Committee approved the Consent Agenda. � 2. PUBLIC HEARING —Community Development Program The Committee opened the Public Hearing. McKay noted that each year the City is � eligible for community development biock grant funding from the federal government and we are required to have two public hearings. The first is to inform the community of the amount of funds that would be available to the City and the � second is to note what the funds may be used for. Stan Moses indicated that we have $1,252,000 this year, a decrease of$23,000 from last year. There are three types of activities that are eligible for community development funding: activities � that benefit low or moderate-income persons (a minimum of 70% of funds), activities that aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or activities that meet other community development needs having a particular urgency, typically for � disaster emergency relief. Moses described past activities for expenditures such as business development loans, Park Woods case management services, residential property rehabilitation, property acquisition, relocation, demolition, property � dispositions, public improvements and planning services. Moses said that in addition to the grant amount, we receive a certain amount of program income from the � repayment of loans and the sale of properties, usually $3-400,000. He said one of the main reasons for this public hearing is to obtain public input as to what the public feels is needed for community development. � � � � Greene said that for the 2004 budget, properly rehabilitation has jumped considerably over the previous three years. Moses said that we included a sizeable amount of money in anticipation of the Waterworks redevelopment. � Palmer asked for members of the public to speak during the public hearing portion. � Moses commented on the limitations by HUD, funds to be used for rehabilitation versus new housing. Marizial said that the housing situation is extremely tight with a vacancy rate of 2% or less. He said that the department is thinking of creative � ways to create housing by rehabilitating abandoned or tax-acquired properties rather than just rehabilitating existing stock. Palmer wanted to know how we ;;; compare to other communities in the state for our available housing stock. Marizial � said that we are seeing an increasing problem of a lot of section 8 vouchers going unused due to the lack of available housing. He said that when the markets get tight, the prices go up and the quality of housing goes down. Palmer said that � Bangor is a service center to many surrounding towns, and we need affordable housing for folks in the low to mid income range. Martzia! said that there has been � increased residency in the surrounding towns. He said that there are several work force projects proposed, the Penquis CAP project for GrifFin Road, and Union Place. Palmer asked how we are doing on the Waterworks project on a scale of 1 to 10. � Martzial replied that it is about a 5, and that we have finally received a court date to hear arguments from the railroad, Shaw House and the City. The decision should come 30 days after the court date, and the railroad would have 45 days after that to `� decide whether or not to appeal the decision. Moses said that there have been several obstacles overcome in this project so far. � Palmer asked a final time for any public comment regarding the community development program. Seeing none, the Committee voted to close the public � hearing. McKay said that they would be coming to the Committee periodically for their suggestions of what should be covered under the Community Block Grant program. They will be preparing a final budget for May 15"', and the funds should � be available for City use by July 1�. 3. Bangor Parkade Inc. Request for Easement � Barrett introduced a memo from Norm Heitmann and maps depicting the current and proposed easements. He said that in October, we provided Bangor Parkade, � Inc. with a property easement for sewer. Bangor Parkade has asked for a new easement that is located closer to I-95. Weber noted that we have not yet received the formal site plan, and that the request is a reasonable one. Greene said that the � residents of Drew Lane had been originally concerned with the buffer zone and wanted to know if this easement change would affect the buffer zone. Weber said � that these are two different issues. The buffer issue will be detailed in the site plan. This easement is to make a utility connection from the proposed development to the � � � � City's existing sewer/stormwater system. The Committee voted to approve the � easement request. Palmer wanted to know if the residents of the neighborhood had received notification of this easement change. Barrett said that he was not sure, however this would still need to go before the Planning Board. � 4. Proposal for Redevelopment of Essex Street Development Site � McKay said that the City received one response for redevelopment of the former Navel Reserve Center property on Essex Street. Realty Resources Chartered (RRC) proposed a 32 unit affordable housing project financed by $3,696,953 in low income � tax credits, private loans, Maine State Housing subsidy and a developer loan. The price offered to the City for the BIA owned land is $400,000. McKay said that RRC informed the City that the site is not in a qualified census tract, which means that it '� is eligible for 30% less low income tax credits than originally thought. McKay said � that it has been recommended that the zoning be changed to Residential 2, � moderate density housing. Suzanne Roy of Realty Resources Chartered described the IRS program Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. She said that the census tract would not change until at least 2010 when new census data becomes � available. Greene commented that the plan had an excellent use of space for the housing project. Farrington noted that the City's original financial obligation was $300,000. He said that the suggestion is that we add another $780,000 to the �` subsidy. He wanted to know what our rationale is for our participation, and where is �� the money going to come from. McKay said that the RFP included a minimum purchase price of$8,000 per dwelling unit, $256,000. He said that RRC offered � $400,000 to be a little bit more competitive. RRC proposed having the City fill the funding gap of$300,000. RRC needs site control in order to gain tax credit financing. Site control only obligates the City to work exclusively with RRC on the � project. Farrington clarified that the money would come from taxpayer funds. McKay said that funds could come from community development block grant funds, � tax increment financing, or the general fund - taxpayer funds. Farrington wanted to know what the other alternatives were for this parcel of land. � Barrett said that there had been a request by CHCS to use the parcel for a special needs school. They did not respond to the RFP. Barrett said that $1 million would be very difficult for the City to handle in terms of financing. He said that we would � need some rezoning, and to get community input. Palmer noted that Councilor Allen had joined the meeting. He asked for public � input. D'Errico wanted to know if the Airport's demolition costs had reached $400,000, and if not could the funds be applied to the project. Barrett said that � there was a value assigned to the property as part of a swap from the Enterprise fund to the General fund. He said that we would have to follow-up on the cost difference. � � � � Palmer suggested including the pool in the development plan, which would allow another egress. Greene noted that the City owns a small parcel of land at the back � of the project that connects to Broadway, and perhaps this could be included in the _ development plan. � The Committee voted to grant tentative developer status to RRC for a period of 90 days. � 5. Expression of Interest— Masonic Lodge Property on Main Street � � McKay presented a draft letter to Masonic Lodge to make them aware of the City's interest in acquiring their site and assisting in the relocation of the Lodge. Ailen wanted to know if the City has worked with the Downtown businesses to see what �� their interest might be in redeveloping this lot. McKay said that Sally Bates is on the staff at Bangor Center Corporation. We have talked to the Masonic Lodge about our � intentions to send a letter to them. Once we send the letter we will discuss options with the downtown merchants. There has been some interest by a private - developer for a movie theater. Greene wanted to know if any other outside parties � have expressed interest in this lot. McKay said that some people have contacted the Masonic Lodge directly. He said that the gentleman that currently operates movie - theaters in the downtown areas of Belfast and Houlton has approached the City � about acquiring this property. Barrett said that the City had control of the lot that Epi's is on, and we worked with � the owners on the design concept to fit into the downtown atmosphere. The Committee approved allowing McKay to send his letter to the Masonic Lodge. � The Committee voted to go into executive session. � 6. Executive Session — Properry Lease Negotiations— Oak Street The Committee returned from executive session. � 7. Action on Oak Street Properly Lease � The Committee voted to accept stafF recommendation to negotiate an agreement � with United Kingfield that would allow them to continue to control and use this lot for parking with the provision that upon reasonable notice the City would terminate the agreement. � 8. Executive Session — Negotiations for Property Acquisition and Economic Development Proposal � �