The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1999-01-20 Community and Economic Development Committee Minutes COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Wednesday, January 20, 1999, @ 11:00 AM MINUTES � COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Councilor Michael Aube, Chair Councilor John Rohman Councilor Gerry G.M. Palmer, Jr. Councilor Judith Vardamis OTHER COUNCILORS PRESENT: Councilor Nichi Farnham Councilor James Tyler Councilor Michael Crowley STAFF PRESENT: Edward A. Barrett, City Manager Rodney G. McKay, Director of Community & Economic Development Stan Moses, Asst. C.D. Director Sally Burgess, Development Projects Coordinator Peter D'Errico, Economic Development Officer OTHERS PRESENT: Representatives from Maine College of Art, Portland Representatives from University of Maine Art Department at Orono • The meeting was called to order by Committee Chair, Councilor Aube at 11:00 AM. ITEM #1 - Presentation by the Maine College of Art - Proposal for Use of Space in the Former Freeses BuildinQ Roger Gilmore, President of the Maine College of Art (MECA) in Portland, Maine, gave background on MECA and presented his proposal for use of space in the former Freeses Building. MECA is a private, nonprofit, independent, nationally accredited professional college of art and design. They have a 34-member Board of Trustees and a National Council. They offer a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program and a two-year Master of Fine Arts graduate degree program at their downtown Portland campus with enrollments of some 400 adults and 500 children and teenagers each semester in evening, weekday and Saturday classes through its Continuing Studies Program. They are in their 8th year of running an extension program geared to high school students on Saturdays at Hampden Academy in Hampden. This has been a very successful program; it started with inquiries from area teachers who wanted to have such programs to supplement those of the local public high schools. MECA proposes to relocate this program to downtown Bangor and to expand it to include classes for younger age groups as well as for adults. They would also be able to offer some classes weekdays and late afternoons. However, no degree programs are offered but the program can provide college credits. Their requirements at the Freeses building would be for 4,800 square feet of first floor space consisting of exhibition and presentation space, reception and office area, gallery storage • and preparation space, two studio classrooms, bathrooms and pantry kitchen. As additional options, 6 individual artists' /designers' studios averaging 250 SF for 1,500 SF and a 300 SF slide and video viewing room/conference room. They would prefer the gallery and related space be on the first floor street level; instructional space could be on the upper floors. They 2/ would need this space by September 1999 (or as late as January 2000). Have requested from the • City that they provide the space free of charge; the proposal offers $3,000/year. They expect to employ 1 director, 2 co-directors, 6 to 10 faculty, an assistant and several internships for high school students. Their investment in the facility at this time is undetermined but would include funds needed to complete the renovation for their proposed use. Questions were presented to Mr. Gilmore by the Committee members. One question in particular was whether or not MECA has an endowment to which Mr. Gilmore replied "yes - it is almost$2 million". With respect to providing programs for the handicapped, they have a funded internship with"Very Special Arts For All"which is a non-profit organization that deals particularly with handicapped, or disabled or disadvantaged populations. MECA is also in the process of making their facilities in Portland handicapped accessible which is quite challenging due to the buildings historical significance. Committee thanked Mr. Gilmore for his informative presentation. 12:00 Noon - Recessed for Lunch Meeting resumed at approximately 12:30 PM. ITEM #1 - Update on the former�V.T. Grant Building • Staff updated the Committee on the former W.T. Grant Building as follows. To date expenditures for 6 Central Street, (the former W.T. Grant Building) have been acquisition $250,000; improvements - $214,888.90 and operating expenses - $23,057.56 for a total of $487,946.46. Projected additional costs to make the entire building occupiable �vill be $413,000. Annual financed cost per square foot of net leasable space (53,120 sq.ft.) is $1.46. Arinual operating loss at current revenues from Cadillac Mountain Sport is $19,747.08; annual tax revenue loss is $2,265.76; effective annual cost to the City. ITEM #2 - Authorization for Improvements to Reactivating Flag Pole on former W.T. Grant Building The estimate of cost provided by Public Works for activating the flag pole, including installing lights and a walkway on the new roof from the elevator penthouse to the flaQ pole at the opposite corner of the building is $2,365. The walkway is to provide access to the flag pole without violating the terms of the roof warrantee which prohibits walking on the roof. The lights allow the flag to be flown night and day. It was suggested by members of the committee that an alternative method be used to access the flag pole, such as use of the Fire Department ladder truck. It was expressed that the flag should be installed as soon as possible. A motion was made to go into Executive Session. ITEM #3 - Executive Session- Property Acquisition and Disposition • A motion was made to go out of Executive Session. 4/ Councilor John Rohman asked what would happen if enrollment was only 50% - where • would this put their program. The reply was that it would depend on their fixed overhead; perhaps they could schedule the classes on a percentage basis where the instructor gets a certain percentage of the total tuition that is collected. So, this may not be a problem but it could come down to such things as the heating bill, lighting, how many staff would be required in the building, how much it cost them to publicize, and the incidental costs such as supplies. Since they have very little data on this at this time it is difficult to project. It would probably take a year or two running this kind of facility to see what the traffic would be like. They estimate that the costs for getting the physical modifications completed (as well as furnishings) would be in the area of$300-375,000. Utilities they estimate would cost around $25-30,000 a year. Salaries could run in the range of$75,000; miscellaneous expenses (such as cleaning) could run in the area of$20-40,000 a year. These overhead issues will have to be addressed as to how they�ti-ill be handled. They would like to get this project to where it is "revenue cost neutral"to where it does not cost a lot of money in the lonQ run to the University. University representatives further stated that in the process of trying to establish true costs it will be necessary to find out what other kind of funding sources there mav be available to off-set the costs so that it would be a minimum to the citizens of Bangor but at the same time making the facility available. Overall, if the City is willing to partner with them, they would like to work and see if this project can happen. Committee thanked the University representatives for their presentation. • 2:30 PM - A motion was made to go into E�ecutive Session. Executive Session - Property Disposition A motion was made to go out of Executive Session. The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:00 PM. •