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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-IURACDC-1979-12-06 MINUTES IURA/CDA - SCHOOL BOARD DECEMBER 6, 1979 PRESENT: Backer, Banner, Price, Curry, Witting, McGinnis, Batterman, Siegel, Ruoff, Dennis, Reed, Jones, Evans, Van Cort, Press Dennis summed up the purpose of the meeting saving that there were problems with putting Federal funds into a building whose future was insecure. Reference was made to the fact that the lease is on an annual basis with a 30 day termination provision and Dennis presented a proposal from the IURA/CDA offering to buy the GIAC building for a minimal amount. (See attached memo) . Backer stated the School District's position saying that the GIAC building comprised a piece of their most valuable property in terms of re-sale. He said that if it were necessary to build a new school to serve present Central School students, the sale of the property would be prejudiced if the GIAC parcel was unavailable. He suggested the possibility of an apartment building needing space for parking. Backer added that if Route 96 were to use Court and Buffalo Streets as access streets to the highway, the present school location would be unsafe and impracticable. Based on the above considerations, Backer said he could not recommend selling a portion of this property. Van Cort said that Common Council was on record as being strongly opposed to the use of Buffalo and Court Streets as feeder streets to Route 96. He added that the City is committed to conserving downtown central neighborhoods and would continue to oppose any plans that would be detrimental to the stability of the area. Reed spoke to the purpose of the School Board and the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency saying that each has a vested interest in the district's quality of life. He noted that the GIAC was directly in concert with school goals and mentioned the afternoon tutorial program as well as the vast range of recreational activities. Reed recalled that several years ago the District had proposed building a new school on the adjacent block which houses the Old Gas and Electric Company, At that time, houses were torn down to•make room for the new school. Reed said he hoped that any plans to build a new school in that area would not mean razing the present Central School and GIAC buildings, Backer said he did not mean to tear down the present school, That building, he said, could be converted into housing and parking could be available on the present GIAC site, Reed asked Backer if these plans showed any responsibility to the neigh- borhood and Backer replied that the community would be astounded at how the School Board has made a commitment to total life. MINUTES IURA/CDA - SCHOOL BOARD Page 2 • Reed said he recognized the work the School Board has done and therefore proposed that the GIAC building be sold to the City in order to demonstrate conpd tment to the program and to facilitate the continuation of C.D. funds toward building improvements, He suggested the sale could contain provisions for return of the building to the School District at the same price should t he school population increase in the future. Backer asked how the School District would be left if 5 years from now the population declined and it was necessary to close Central School. He said full value will not be gotten if the corner building is gone which will hamper finances to build a new school to serve that neighborhood. He said that it was more efficient to build a new building than restore an old one. Van Cort, however, said that studies have proved that in the long run rehabilitation work is cheaper than new construction. After further discussion, Stein asked for suggestions from the School Board on how to assure the IURA/CDA that the funds expended toward the building were not being wasted. McGinnis suggested a long tetra lease and Stein suggested looking at the lease to determine if it was equitable in terms of the depreciation schedule. Backer said the Board would be responsible for depreciated return for capital improvements and Evans noted there was disagreement as to whether the improvements were capital or maintenance. Van Cort said that according to Banner and Backer, most of the items are raintenance improvements whereas the IURA/CDA feels they are capital impro- vements. He said this disagreement puts the Agency at a disadvantage as their charge to both the Federal Government and the City's ConuIDn Council is to use the money.wisely. Per this concept, the IURA/CDA must obtain ownership of the building, or a long term lease, or have some reassurance that the City can get its money back if GIAC does not remain in the building. Evans noted that during a recent visit to Ithaca, H.U.D. was shocked to see that only a year's lease exists for this program. H.U,D. , she added, intends now to direct the agency to use the money in a better fashion. Jones asked the School Board what the district would consider in terms of a long telrn lease. Curry said that while the Board was talking in terms of dollars and cents, it was important to point out that the neighborhood is apprehensive of its future. He sadi that the national trend for community centers such as this was on the decline but noted that GIAC continued to grow. As a sign of support for the community, Curry said he would support the sale of the building to the C.ty for $1.00. MIN.vJ E S IJRA/CDA - SCHOOL BOARD Page 3 Batterman said that she could consider a 3 to 5 year lease and noted that within that time the School District will be under the same pressure to close some elementary schools. Siegel said that if the School District decided to sell the building, there was no reason to accept the highest bid. She said that this flexibility gave more possibilities to choose to whom the building should be sold. She suggested drawing up a well defined financial agreement and lease including an equitable solution with regards to the different attitudes engendered if the Board takes backe the building to sell it or if it takes back the wilding for use as a school, Van Cort said that the City, Common Council and the Planning and Development Department have never recommended closing any school. He said that instead, the City has urged joint occupancy use where excess space is available, Curry asked what would happen if the School Board decided to take back the building now. Dennis said that the IURA/CDA would have 29 days to look for a new building. He said that it might be possible to construct a new facility but Evans stated that in a recent vacant land survey of the North and Southside neighborhoods, there was no space for construction other than land owned by the School District. McGinnis asked the Board for their iinediate,reactions and with the exbeption of Mr. Curry, whb was- in favor of a 10 year lease or sale of the building, Board members said they-mould consider--a 3 to 5 vear lease. It was noted that the State does not permit more than a 10 year lease of a school building. McGinnis asked if Misters Backer and Banner could look into the leasing possibilities within the next week and a meeting was set up at 9:15 on Tuesday morning, December 11, with Kathe Evans, Stein pointed out that it was urgent that some solution be arrived at as the City is reauired•to spend the allocated funds by January 30, 1980, Siegel said she would like to }o oe why the leasing arrangements could not be resolved at the Tuesday meeting and McGinnis said they will hear the results at the regular School Board 1-Meeting on that evening, December 11, 1979, Respectfully Submitted, Appr.oveD, - Natalie de Combray f Katherine Evans iti b /^j iG_ December 10, 1979 5:00 P.M. Council Chambers A oroval of Minutes of November 19, 1070 , meeting. New Business Report - Disabled Need Assessment - - Performed for the agency by Human Services Coalition - Chris Buscher, Executive Director HSC - Susan Hansen, Principal Researcher (report to be hand carried to you on December 7 or 8) Old Business 1. Ithaca Center - American City Corporation proposal . Appointment of Subcommittee To devel on procram income policy 2. Discussion - Review of meeting with School Board regarding 4. Approval of Design and Scope of work for Phase III, Part 2 work on GIAC - Bob Boe .lecke, architect - Phil Cox, City engineer 5. Reaoi`t. on Citizen Participation - Neighborhood improvements/exterior of GIAC, Washington Park Administration I. Relocation Policv/312 Program - Authorization for Mayor to sign policy 2. Report. of CD Coordinator resumes and interview schedule. Contract for short term consulting services (Roz Williams) . 3. Executive Director ndc MINUTES IURA/CDA DECEMBER 10, 1979 PRESENT: James Dennis , IURA/CDA Ann Jones , IURA/CDA Stuart Stein , IURA/CDA Clarence Reed, IURA/CDA C. Buscher , H .S .C . S . Hansen , H. S .C . E. Holman , Alderperson , 2nd Ward H. Williams , INHS Organizer H . M. Van Cort , Planning & Development K. Evans , IURA/CDA Staff Press The meeting was called to order at 5 : 10 by Vice Chairman Dennis . Approval of Minutes of November 19 , 1979 Jones MOVED and Reed SECONDED to approve the Minutes of the November 19, 1979 meeting. MOTION PASSED. New Business Report- Disabled Need Assessment Chris Buscher, Executive Director of the Human Services Coalition , gave a brief presentation of the survey commenting on its aim, process , and conclusions . Buscher said the HSC had been charged by the City Planning and Development Department , through CBDG funds , to research specific architectural barriers to the city ' s disabled residents . In order to develop information the survey relied on key disabled individuals and representative professionals in local agencies that deal with the handicapped. It was concluded from the study that at least 1000 people in Ithaca have at lease one ( 1) handicap. Buscher referred the Agency to the report itself for details and said that all computer print-outs and research tools used would be given to CD staff . Van Cort asked than an instruction sheet on how to use the print-outs should be included for future departmental use. He also asked why the figure "1000" had been used regarding the number of disabled residents in Ithaca. Susan Hansen ,principal researcher , said the figure was based on the number of disabled people that frequented local support IURA/CDA Minutes December 10 , 1979 Page 2 services. She said that of 31 agencies surveyd, only 18 responded so that a rough estimate was given regarding the 13 non responding agencies . She noted that duplications between agencies was small and that the disabilities in- cluded psychological handicaps. Reed asked for a run down on disabilities and Buscher referred him to the Appendix. He said it was important to read the chart before reading the study itself. Stein asked for an example of a psychological handicap and Hansen cited an instance whereby some Challenge Industry workers have trouble crossing streets in time with the traffic lights as their movements and thinking processes are slower than the non-disabled. She referred to page 22 for a breakdown of disabilities. Stein noted that the largest category was the psychological category and Van Cort asked what kind of person falls into this group. Hansen said most of the information was confidential but that it included mental retardation and chronic psychological problems that impede getting around in a usual manner . Stien noted that the survey had been done to facilitate decisions on how to spend CD funds towards removing barriers to the handicapped and he asked for suggestions from Buscher and Hansen . Buscher said that it was the small things that were ultimately important . Many of the disabled are elderly , he said ( 34% are over 66 years old) , and a large number are female (60%) . He said that lack of adequate transportation was a common complaint and noted that services such as GadAbout were popular. Evans asked_ how •many times lack of access to City Hall had been mentioned and Hansen answered it was only specifically mentioned three times . She added that during the interviews "public" places generally referred to the Library , the Post Office, and City Hall together but she said far more com- plaints had been made because of lack of access to shopping areas . Specifically, she mentioned that some people inter- viewed had said that shop people, bus drivers, and airport attendants had been insensitive to their needs . Van Cort noted that the Government has mandated bus systems become Handicap Accessible and said he thought this would be a waste of money if in fact individual services that provide door to door transportation are more popular . IURA/CDA Minutes December 10, 1979 Page 3 Addressing herself to accessibility to Public Buildings , Evans said that alternate services can be provided and she cited satellite post offices as an example. Reed asked how many people need a bus to support a wheel chair and Buscher replied that around 300 out of 1000 were semi- ambulatory or non-ambulatory and referred members to defi- nitions of these terms in the Appendix. Hansen added there was an attitudinal barrier as many elderly persons are afraid of the traffic . Reed said that probably since site entry was difficult , many don 't bother to use downtown facilities and therefore don ' t use public transportation. Evans asked where the most trouble existed within City faci- lities and Hansen said in shopping areas . Van Cort suggested using CD funds to disseminate information to shop keepers . Evans pointed out that this is a focus of the Public Information and Education Project already being funded by CD. Reed suggested putting a bell outside of City Hall to enable disabled persons to summon assistance. Buscher said that regardless of how the information is used , the term "disability" must be defined and barriers must be itemized according to disabled "type" . He mentioned a study being done by Ithaca College whereby non disabled students have been using wheel chairs to get around the city and he said the results of this survey should be considered . Evans asked how many people appeared unaware of what is availalbe downtown to the handicapped. She noted that the Handicapped Accessibility Guide, which is almost : finished;fshould be of help. Buscher agreed that many people did not know about available services but said that the guide must take the Needs Assess- ment into consideration . Dennis MOVED -that the IURA/CDA acknowledge the receipt of the report and authorize payment of the Human Services Coalition bill . Stein SECONDED. IURA/CDA Minutes December 10, 1979 Page 4 Van Cort said he hoped to use the survey in a way to make life better for handicapped people. Bushcer said that within a very short time frame, they ac- complished as much as they could. He said the report was purposely set up analytically so that information could be reorganized according to particular needs . Stein said the 1st step had been taken and that a meeting sould be arranged between Buscher and Hansen and IURA/CDA staff to discuss possible plans . He said that it would be better to use funds to make many small adjustments and improvements rather than spend the money on one large project . Dennis asked that after that meeting, a recommendation should be made to the agency. MOTION PASSED. Old Business 1 . Ithaca Center Van Cort said that he had received the American City Corporation (ACC) proposal and had spken about it to Council members . During these conversations he said he had gotten the impression that the Common Council and the Planning Department and the IURA/CDA were pulling in different directions and he suggested a meeting between the groups to discuss project procedure . He added that he had spoken further with Stan Goldberg and had taken the liberty of showing the ACC proposal . Mr . Gold- berg looked it over and asked for the right of first refusal to whatever the ACC will ultimately suggest . Van Cort added that , in his opinion , the Goldberg/McRobb proposal was the most complete, noted that the group was local and said that he believed Council members were also in support of them. He said that the Fischer/Schechter group had dropped out for the time being. He strongly recommended passing a motion to negotiate a contract with the ACC and grant conditional preferred sponsorship to the Goldberg/McRobb group. Jones asked to discuss whether the IURA/CDA was really interested in the proposal . She noted that the ACC proposal did not state its end product . Van Cort said all that ACC could guarantee was their best effort . They will not guarantee that this will result in development of the Ithaca site . He added that Rouse would not be interested in developing the site as the project is too small . IURA/CDA Minutes December 10, 1979 Page 5 Stein said that previously there was a suggestion that Rouse might be interested in developing the site. By removing this possibility, he said, the IURA/CDA is giving preferred sponsorship to one of the local contractors . He noted that until now the IURA/CDA was hesitant to ask the developers to .expend more money for information but that now the preferred sponsorship was being given and the ex- penses were being paid by the IURA/CDA. He asked why Goldberg and McRobb could not pay their own expenses . Jones said that in this case it would be open to all three devleopers. Evans suggested Goldberg/McRobb pay part of the project costs and Stein noted that normally any developer would be spending some money. Van Cort said that if the IURA/CDA hires the ACC as their client , the ACC will perform to our satisfaction . Stein asked how this could be assured? He said that as the agency believes that Council will support the McRobb Goldberg proposal , it appears that the agency has included them in their recommendation in order to gain Council approval of the ACC proposal . Van Cort maintained that by combining the two proposals , the City has a chance to get a first class project . Reed said he thought that the ACC should take care of the first several items on their work list but that the developers should be involved in the marketing analysis . He ntoed that the exact costs for each work phase had not been included in the proposal and Van Cort said that exact cost allocations would be worked out in the contract phase . At this point , he added, he suggested that the Agency agree with the concept and handle small- items when it was time to draw up the contract . Jones asked if there was any way that Common Council and the Agency could discuss their points of view and Alderperson Holman said she had no problems with this idea. Dennis agreed it was a good idea and added that he did not believe the McRobb/Goldberg plan had enough expertise . He said that the various objections should be made public. In response to a question from an Agency member, Van Cort said that UDC would charge approximately the same as ACC (l i% x project cost = $90, 000) for their services . Jones mentioned that for such an expensive project , it was important to be sure it was a good investment . MINUTES IURA/CDA December 10, 1979 Page 6 Reed stated he had no problems with giving the preferred sponsorship to local developers McRobb and Goldberg but suggested tackling that part of the problem after dealing with the ACC proposal . He MOVED that the IURA/CDA commend the ACC proposal to Council and Jones SECONDED . Holman urged to approve this motion and MOTION PASSED . 2 . Appointment of Subcommittee to develop program income policy. Tabled. 3. Discussion - Review of meeting with School Board regarding GIAC Evans discussed the proposed lease for the GIAC building. As the State does not allow more than a ten year lease on a school building, and as HUD recommends at least 10 years , the proposed lease for the GIAC building is for ten years . Reed said he was very displeased with the meeting and added that he thought Banner and Backer do not recognize their responsibility to the Ithaca community . He noted that the School District 't most valuable property (DeWitt School ) , had been sold for only $20, 000. He suggested that the Agency put pressure on the School Board to come to agreeable terms . Stein asked what the penalties for no lease were and Evans said that CD could lose Small Cities money if a new lease or purchase terms were not attained. Stein asked if the GIAC improvements money could be held up while negotiations are in progress . Van Cort said the Agency has little negotiating leverage and noted that no excuses are allowed on the drawdown rate. Reed said it would be better to lose the funds altogether rather than waste them on a building we could lose . Evans said that awarding a bid could be held up until the end of January and added she would modify the draft lease terms prior to the 9 : 15 AM meeting the following day with Mr. Banner. She said that CD accountant Ken Walker would be present and asked Agency members to attend also . On the 11th of December , Mr. Backer would present the draft lease to the School Board and she said that improvement work can be held off until the lease is settled . She added that Common Council will be appraised of the procedures and the results of these meetings. IURA/CDA Minutes December 10, 1979 Page 7 4. Approval of Design and Scope of work on GIAC Tabled. 5. Report on Citizen Participation Tabled. Administration 1 . Relocation Policy/312 Program - Authorization for Mayor to sign policy Reed MOVED to amend, subject to City Attorney approval , the IURA/CDA and 312 Agency contract to comply with the Rules of Relocation as specified in the Federal Register ( 510. 113) . Stein SECONDED. Jones asked if there had been any trouble with the 312 program and Evans said no , that this amendment was common procedure . MOTION PASSED. Reed MOVED that the IURA/CDA will comply with the Rules of Relocation , Stein SECONDED, and MOTION PASSED . 2 . Report of CD Coordinator resumes - Contract for short term consulting services (Roz Williams) Evans reported on interviews held by Jones and Dennis with Roz Williams and presented a standard consulting agreement which outlines the work program. She also noted that the proposed salary was the same as previously. Reed MOVED to hire Roz Williams as consultant to move the CD program ahead in its project formulation and implementation on citywide programs and other activities as outlined in her contract . Reed further MOVED that the Mayor is authorized to sign the contract . Jones SECONDED and MOTION PASSED . 3. Executive Director - Tabled Respectfully Submitted, Authorized, Natalie de Combray Katherine Evans