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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-01-07 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes � ' BUSINESS AND E CONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMIVIITTEE ' Jan, 7,2009 Minutes 1 Councilors Present: Bronson,D'Errico, Gratwick,Hawes,Nealley, Palmer Stone and Wheeler ' Staff Present: Ed Barrett,Rod McKay, Mike Dyer Others: Jon Johnson-Hollywood Slots , REGULAR AGENDA 1. Cost Sharing Agreement—Bams at Bass Park � City Manager Barrett-the last meeting held on this subject was a Council Workshop in July 2Q08. At that time,the Council}ndicated that it was interested in � financially supporting our cost sharing in the barn{eplacement at Bangor Historic Track. They asked that staff work with Jon Johnson(Hollywood Slots)to come up with an agreement and to figure out an appropriate mechanism for establishing the city's portion ' of the funds. McKay has put together a 5-year outline of capital expenditures tha.t would come out of the downtown TIF. Au outline of an agreement with Bangor Historic Track will also be done. If this is agreeable with Jon Johnson it obviously will have be reduced ' to a specific contractllease agreement amendment. A rec}uest for authorizing an . agreement will be on the Council agenda.for Monday. We would also be required, probably in Feb,.to hold a public hearing to amend the TIF and then submit it to the _ � state;the state has 30 days to approve it. Bronson-is there another source of funding that could be used for this project. Barrett-the only other source they could identify is the racino fund. Ed added � that he received very strong indications from members of the council and of the special committee on arena implementation that we ought not to go there. Bronson-will there be improvements put in place in order to improve the exit � area from the in field pazking azea Banett-all of the necessary site work will be done in order to significantly improve the area. � Stone-expressed concern with the City's involvement with tlus project. Banett-when Penn National and the City negotiated the initiat lease,one of the things that were included was a requirement that a barn mai.ntenance plan be developed � jointly. That plan has evolved into the Barn Replacement Plan. Penn has expressed some concerns about that approach given the fact that,from their business point of view, harness racing is a lost leader;it's there because it's necessary for the slot operation. , Over time,that might change. Johnson-the City is the landlord there and Hollywood Slots cannot own the buildings,so for them to carry the entire burden alone seems to be unfair. � Barrett-because we will be investing ttus kind of money in this project,it obviously has an impact on other projects that potentially could be funded through the downtown TIF. Investing in bazn replacement helps to secure and continue the slot � � , � o ration which roduces revenue for the Ci . Another one of the ro'ects that is , Pe P tY P J included(all projects aze listed on page 85 in our plan)is the Arena,and the dowatown ' TIF could be used to help support tha.t should we need it Gratwick—what about a ship-in hack possibihty. Barrett-in the original discussion ship-in track was one of the early ideas that , were discussed;ttus is why the timing of the project was adjusted. There aze lixnited facilities in this part of the state and country for non-local horse people to stable their horses. A major contingent of the horses that race at Bass Pazk are from Canada while , others come from outside of the immediate area. There was a hope that if barn space was limited at the race track,that some of these alternatives might anse. They're not there now and there probably will be a period of time when they're no� Based on the � economics of this, it would not make sense for someone who owned a farm to simply construct a half million to three quarter million dollar facility to house horses. All of this is tied into the position that the harness people have taken-that the Bangor Track is a � yeaz-round training facility for them since there is not any other such facility available to them. Without it they might not be able to produce horses for Bangor as well as for other fairs and race meets that occur throughout this part of the state. When the first new barn � � is opened,we will see what the reaction is and,if the rents go up a little bit,whether people will start looking for other alternatives. Ed added that probably both barns will be built but he feels it's worth taking that year to see how the harness people react to the � � new barn and thea make a judgment whether the second barn needs to be built. Gratwick-what is the process to amend the downtown TIF. Barrett-a public hearing will have to be held in order that citizens can express ' their opinions;the council then has to vote on amending the T'IF plan then it is submitted to the state that has 30 days to approve it. I would sunply point out that,yes there is nothing on here that says barn,but in a very real sense replacing the barns at Bass Pazk is � an infrastructure project in that it is designed to support industry economic activity both at the race track and at the slots facility. Also interfaces between public and private sector are a way of life in this cauntry and,to a greater extent,in Maine and this � community. General Electric is the beneficiary of a TIF;that TIF was established because it was necessary as an incentive to attract them to Bangor. So many projects that we do such as Maine Business Enterprise Pazk—the City invests significantly in public ' infrastructure in an effort to attract or support private inveshnent. It is not unusual or out of the ordi.nary. � Wheeler—stated that he has observed a younger adults attending harness racing— � ttus is potentially a new mazket being developed for harness racing. Bronson—feels that the cost for this new barn is an extraordinarily Iazge aznount; he expressed hope that this new barn will have a longer life thea previous barns. � Banrett—the current barns were built in 1975, so we've gotten close to 30 yeazs out of them. The cwrent barns did not have a foundation;the new barn(s)will have a foundation which should enable them to last longer. , Bronson—proposed a better fire alarm system in the barn(s). Johnson—the system proposed does meet code;what Bronson is talking about exceeds code;we will look at it. � Nealley- has heard from local businesses how their business has increased due to Penn National being in Bangor. The impact locally and state-wide is overwhelming;it's � , � . � way beyond what inirially we perceived for an economic punch from this type of a � project. I am higlily supportive of the barn(s)replacement. A mofion was made and seconded tha.t the Cost Sharing Agreement for the � Replacement of Barns at Bass Park goes forwazd to Council on Jan. 12,2009. So voted. 2. Proposed Zone Change to 103 and 113 Maine Avenue(former Chancellors' office ' complex) Rod McKay reviewed this item stating that properties at 103 and 113 Maine Ave. 1 had formerly belonged to the University of Maine System-now the City owns them. They are comprised of 3 buildings and are currently in a G&ISD District. The City has an option agreement with David Lawler for development of the building at 113 Maine � Ave. Mr. Lawler has asked that the zoning district,as required in his Purchase Option Agreement with the City,be changed from Government and Institutional Services District(G&ISD)to a contract Industry and Service District(I 8t S). This zone change � is needed in order to accommodate additional pazking for Mr. Lawler's project. It will go through the normat process which is to go to the City Council,be referred to the Planning Board and come back to City Council. Staff is recommending that both sites(103 and , 113 Maine Ave.)be changed thus there would be no buffer yard requirement;Mr. Lawler can put in his extra row of pazking and the City does not have to give up any additional land. � A motion was made and seconded to approve staff's recommenda.tion to go forward with the proposed zone change for city properties at 103 and 113 Maine Ave. as presented. So voted. � 3. Executive Session—Economic Development Proposal—Negotiations for the Disposition of City Owned Property for Development,Maine Business Enterprise Park— � M.R.S.A. Title 1 §405 (6) (C)—Discussion of publicly held property for Economic Development , A motion was made and seconded to go into Executive Session on iYem M.R.S.A. Title 1 § 405 (6) (C) -Discussion of publicly held properiy for Economic Development. � 4. Committee Action on Above Item � No Committee action was taken on this item. , � � '