Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PEDC-2021-03-17 Approved at the December 8, 2021 PEDC Meeting City of Ithaca Planning & Economic Development Committee Wednesday, March 17, 2021 – 6:00 p.m. Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street 03-17-2021 Planning and Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes Committee Members Attending: Joseph (Seph) Murtagh, Chair; Cynthia Brock, Stephen Smith, Donna Fleming, and Laura Lewis Committee Members Absent: Alderperson George McGonigal, Ducson Nguyen and Mayor Myrick Other Elected Officials Attending: None Staff Attending: JoAnn Cornish, Director, Planning and Development Department; Anisa Mendizabal, IURA; Nick Goldsmith, Planning; and Deborah Grunder, Executive Assistant Others Attending: Chair Seph Murtagh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 1) Call to Order/Agenda Review There were no minutes for voting. 2) Public Comment There was no one from the public to speak. Approved at the December 8, 2021 PEDC Meeting 3) Special Order of Business a) Public Hearing – Allocation of CDBG-CV Funding to Support GIAC Youth Programming Alderperson moved to open the public hearing; seconded by Alderperson. Carried unanimously. One comment was read into the record. Alderperson moved to close the public hearing; seconded by Alderperson . Carried unanimously. b) Public Hearing – Allocation of CDBG-CV Funding to Support Community Outreach Worker Position Alderperson moved to open the public hearing; seconded by Alderperson. Carried unanimously. One comment was read into the record. Listen to tape. Alderperson moved to close the public hearing; seconded by Alderperson . Carried unanimously. 5) Action Items (Voting to Send onto Council) a) Allocation of CDBG-CV Funding to Support GIAC Youth Programming b) Allocation of CDBG-CV Funding to Support Community Outreach Worker Position c) Moved by Alderperson Lewis; seconded by Alderperson Fleming. Carried unanimously. Approved at the December 8, 2021 PEDC Meeting Lewis asked about the number of positions and will the Town and the City receive the same number. Brock asked whether this came about due to the need of the Town to protect their properties. Alderperson Smith questioned whether this can be achieved without hindering services that are currently be provided. McCracken doesn’t believe that the services he provides to the City will be impacted. Fleming asked who would handle the technology for this. Bryan stated it will be handled by the company who did it last year. b) Certified Local Government Subgrant for 2021 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference – Authorization to Apply McCracken explained what the conference is and where it’s held. Last year it was done virtually. This year will be the same. The grant will be used to support the keynote speaker and City elected officials. It will fund 100 out of 400 participants. The City will front the money and then be reimbursed. There is no match. b) Green Street Garage Urban Renewal • Disposition and Development Agreement for Vecino Alderperson Fleming stated she won’t vote in favor of this because she’s not in favor of the conference center. Alderperson Brock also stated she will be voting against this. She thanked all who have worked on this. McGonigal stated he is concerned about the businesses on the south side of the Commons. Worried about access to and parking for City Hall. Bohn stated that there is currently an easement in place which will continue with this project. It may be a bit smaller due to the size of the building. Bruce Adib-Yazdi, Vecino, provided a construction diagram of the project. Approved at the December 8, 2021 PEDC Meeting Brock asked of the housing management firm for this project. She pointed out that this firm is mostly known for their work in senior housing. She wondered if this would be a problem. Bohn stated that this property management team has looked at thoroughly at this management. Their experience is broad and are familiar with central New York housing. Lewis stated that this project has been discussed for a very long time. It has been thoroughly looked at. She did agree that there is a risk of this property particularly the conference center. The conference center will not be built until 2024. Nguyen asked about adaptive re-use in the event the conference center fails. Bohn stated there are tall floor to ceiling rooms in the center. He turned this over to Bruce Adib-Yazdi. He stated anything is possible in the center if need be. It would be very expensive, but it is feasible. Bohn stated the first floor could always be retail space, office space, a new City Hall. It is a specifically designed building. McGonigal asked whether Vecino will include local labor. Bohn stated that a 30% for local labor is included. Nicholas Robertson stated that one of the challenges of local labor is you don’t really know if you’re going to match the procurements. We want to pursue it because we don’t want to bring out of town labor when local labor is staying home. McGonigal thanked that local labor is being considered and is also happy that local labor is keeping busy. Murtagh stated he thinks this is a really good project. Is there the assumption that we will be back to in person conferences? Is there a concern that in- person conferences is a way of the past? Tom Knipe answered that the conference center is run mostly by the occupancy tax. He provided projections as to the return to normal. This is a smaller conference center compared to many. We are not competing with the bigger centers. There is a lot of pent up demand of travel and in - person interaction. Approved at the December 8, 2021 PEDC Meeting Peggy Colman stated the surveys that were done this past December not at the start of the pandemic. Ithaca is looked as a smaller, remote place. Those surveyed thought that their staff will be much safer in a place like Ithaca. Murtagh asked if the conference center will be used for other things than just City events. Ferguson stated yes the center will be used for community rates at differential rates. We are very committed to provide this pricing. Nels provided new numbers and percentages to equal; the 100% • Resolution to Recommend Adoption of City Hotel Room Occupancy Tax Local Law Knipe provided a presentation on what was looked at and studied to come up with the current contract. He further stated that 2020 was down 58% in county room tax collections. The projections is to return to 2019 peak in 2025 – a conservative six-year recovery. We do assume a 25% tax-exemptions. We are not assuming any tax collections on short-term Airbnb stays, but we predict $200k in additional revenues. Knipe went through the operating budget provided in the meeting agenda packet. There is a significant loss in Year 1. In Year 3, the loss is more than half of Year 1. Listen to the tape before the questions. Brock asked whether it is state law that CHECK Attorney Lavine stated CHECK Brock asked how the payments back to the City will be handled. Bohn Brock also asked why it’s entitled a voluntary agreement when it really isn’t voluntary. Knipe answered Approved at the December 8, 2021 PEDC Meeting Brock asked for clarification that Airbnbs are being replaced by other BnB type accommodations. Peggy Coleman stated that VRBO has a total of 165 listings county wide while Airbnb has 1053 listings in the county. Knipe answered • • • City Financial Support for Public Portions of the Project LISTEN TO TAPE 6) Action Items (Voting to Circulate) a) Ithaca Energy Code Supplement JoAnn Cornish reminded everyone that this was slowed down because of the pandemic and the Green New Deal. Nick Goldsmith highlighted some changes to the ordinance and supplement. Many comments were received on this. All were very similar in wording. Goldsmith stated from the first draft they received over 100 comments. Murtagh stated that people want to see the 12 points be lowered to 6 points. JoAnn Cornish stated that any new projects that have come forward are recommended to look at the energy code supplement as a guide for this project. How will people find this: Ithaca 6) Review and Approval of Minutes Approved at the December 8, 2021 PEDC Meeting a) August and September 2020 Moved by Alderperson Fleming; seconded by Alderperson Smith. Carried unanimously. 7) Adjournment Moved by Alderperson Fleming; seconded by Alderperson Smith. Carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:05p.m.