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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-IURACDC-1980-07-14 IURA/CAC July 14, 1980 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. Common Council Chambers Present: R. Bordoni , S. Brown, J. Dennis, K. Evans, A. Jones, J. Lim, C. Reed, D. Siewrattan, M. Van Cort Minutes Mayor Bordoni requested approval of the -minutes of April 14, 16, June 11 and June 16. K. Evans submitted the following correction to the June 11 minutes: East Hill School , Section 5, Page 6, last paragraph: "After further discussion, Reed and Jones indicated they would be willing to serve on East Hill School ; Reed said he would serve unless . Stein had a particular interest in serving." Citywide Materials, last paragraph: $20,000 should be $20,500. • A. Jones moved that the minutes for April 14, 16, June ll (as corrected) and June 16 be approved; motion seconded by C. Reed and unanimously approved. Final Report - Handicapped Accessibility S. Brown presented the Final Report on Handicapped Accessibility (copy of report attached to official minutes). S. Brown indicated that positive feedback had been received from the Access Ithaca booklet distribution and no corrections or changes have been reported. Ms. Brown also indicated that members of the handicapped community have been very appreciative and encouraged by recent movement in Ithaca such as curbcuts, transportation and housing for the handicapped. S. Brown informed the group that copies of the accessibility booklet, files, etc. , will be housed in The Advocates for Handicapped Office (which will continue to be maintained) at the Youth Bureau. M. Van Cort suggested that a sheet be included in each booklet for people to respond regarding corrections or suggestions which would help keep the booklet current and accurate. Ms. Brown also reported that the sub-committee on housing had met with Beth Prentice, Ithaca Neighborhood Housing, and they had discussed the possibility of renovating one or more apartments within the city to make them accessible to the handicapped since often employment for the handicapped is available in Ithaca but suitable housing is very scarce. Housing Assistance Plan K. Evans presented the Annual Goal for the Housing Assistance Program (copy attached to official minutes) ; she explained that the Housing Assistance Plan is a section of every one of the community development applications. 2 Ms. Evans informed the group that approximately six weeks ago she had met with the sub-committe of the Planning Board to begin to set up criteria for location of subsidized housing within the city; what is criteria for both family housing and elderly housing within the city? This criteria is needed to make judgments between devolopers' proposals - to plan within the community before allocation arrives. Ms. Evans further stated that when the subcommittee had agreed upon the criteria needed it will be presented to the IURA. Contract Amendment - GIAC Tot Lot C. Reed moved that an upset of $700 be approved for construction of new fence, landscaping and new gate latch at GIAC Tot Lot; motion seconded by A. Jones and unanimously approved. Contract Amendment - DPW/Sidewalk Program C. Reed moved that community development staff develop a contract (to be approved by the City Attorney) between CDA and homeowners participating in the sidewalk program and that the Director of Planning be given the authority to execute such contracts; the motion was seconded by J. Dennis and unanimously approved. Discussion of the possibility of reprogramming money from City Materials to Sidewalk Program followed; it was decided to wait until a definite number of applicants is available before reprogramming is undertaken. Authorization to Hire Surveyor - Neighborhood Improvements III The motion was made by C. Reed, seconded by A. Jones and unanimously approved to designate authorization to the Planning Department with advice of the Engineering Department to commit up to $2,500 from Line CD 309 - CD Study to hire a surveyor. Administration a. Audit for 1979-1980 Program Year HUD requires audit every two years and recommends every year. M. Van Cort suggested that no firms be considered unless they had prior CD work experience. Audit last year was $2,500; should be less expensive this year because it is for one year only. C. Reed recommended advertizing throughout a larger area - "Affirmative Action statements, also prior CD experience preferred." Planning Department will present the recommendation at the next meeting; seconded by J. Dennis and unanimously approved. b. Planning Director Authorization of Expenditures under $1 ,000 J. Dennis moved that the Planning Director be authorized to execute contracts and agreements and authorize payment of expenditures amounting to less than $1 ,000; C. Reed seconded motion; all in favor. 3 c. Contract Amendment - Raymond, Parrish, Pine and Wiener C. Reed moved that the personnel services contract between IURA and Raymond, Parrish, Pine and Wiener be extended until the $10,000 has been expended or the CD program is terminated; affirmative action plan of that organization will be obtained. The motion was seconded by J. Dennis and unanimously approved. Discussion - 312 Program Administration Tabled. Status Report - AME Zion and First Baptist Tabled pending receipt of clarifying letter. Executive Session C. Reed moved that the appointment of an Executive Director for the IURA be approved; A. Jones seconded; unanimously approved. A. Jones made the motion that the position of the Director of Planning and Development be re-evaluated in terms of job description and adequate salary for that position and referred to the Finance Committee of City Council for assistance in making evaluation; motion seconded by J. Dennis and unanimously approved. Meeting adjourned at 10:25. 1 IURA/CDA SPECIAL MEETING JULY 24, 1980 MINUTES 8:00 pm - COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Jim Dennis, IURA/CDA Clarence Reed, IURA/CDA Anne Jones, IURA/CDA 'Stuart Stein, IURA/CDA H. M. Van Cort, Director, Planning & Development Jasmine Lim, C.D. Coordinator Bruce Silvey, Executive Director, Strand Theater Herman Sieverding, Planning & Development Press In the absence of the Chairman, Mayor Bordoni , Jim Dennis opened the meeting at 8:15. 1. Cherry Street Lease Van Cort asked that a Resolution be passed authorizing the Mayor to sign a lease with Precision Filters so that they can begin building on the Cherry Street site. He said that they hope to occupy the building before winter and that they are ready to start. Reed asked if the City Attorney had reviewed the lease changes and deletions and Van Cort said that he had. Stein asked for a brief explanation of what steps had led up to the present lease. Van Cort said that the City now planned to share the additional $4,000 incurred by the lessee for land preparation done six months ago when Precision Filters hoped to move to the site in the Spring. This arrangement had been made to avoid the time involved with permits and paper work which would have been necessary if the City had prepared the site. The $970 which represented the cost of the purchase option is added to the $3,750 which is the base amount of the payment. Furthermore, the acreage was found to be 2.879 rather than 3 acres and this also affected the cost change. Stein asked if there was documentation to support these landfill costs and Van Cort said there was. Reed MOVED and Stein SECONDED the following Resolution: WHEREAS, this Agency has worked closely with Common Council in the planning and development of the Cherry Street Industrial Park, and WHEREAS, Common Council has authorized this Agency to assume a lead role in the project's leasing program, and MINUTES July 24, 1980 Page 2 WHEREAS, a draft lease agreement has been written that is acceptable to city staff and Precision Filters, Inc. , a local firm, and WHEREAS, this Agency has reviewed said draft lease agreement and finds it acceptable, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute said lease agreement. A member of the public, Peter Rogers, asked if the lease is calculated on the City's investment. Van Cort said that the investment was about $600,000 total , the city's part being $180,000, including payment to NYSEG for facilities. Rogers asked if Precision Filters had disclosed the size and value of the building and if they will pay taxes on the building as soon as it is constructed. Van Cort said that there was the usual 50% property tax abatement in the first year which decreases by 5% for the next 10 years. He added that all non resi- dential construction or rehabilitation over $10,000 can avail themselves of this arrangement. , Jones asked about the purchase terms and Van Cort said that the lease could be terminated by an option to buy after 20 years. Stein asked what the incentive for purchasing would be if the lease then cost only $1 a year. Van Cort said there were many advantages to fee simple ownership such as the possibility of re-sale and mortgaging, etc. Rogers asked if other tenants will have the same terms and Van Cort said that it would be negotiable. The IURA/CDA would have to decide as it was a policy matter. Van Cort added that Precision Filters had been in on the Cherry Street Project since its inception. Precision Filters, he said, was a perfect example of the kind of business the City wants in the project. After further discussion, a vote was taken and MOTION PASSED. 2. Ithaca Center Van Cort said that the City Attorney has asked that a resolution be passed giving the Mayor authorization to sign documents dealing with the Ithaca Center. Dennis asked if this would involve design changes and Van Cort said no. The resolution would state that no documents representing major departures from project approvals would be signed. Stein asked if the Mayor was willing to sign the documents and Van Cort said yes, that the resolution had been reviewed with him. MINUTES July 24, 1980 Page 3 Stein asked why this resolution was necessary and Van Cort said that the City Attorney thought it was appropriate at this time but that it was not aimed at any specific action. Jones said that she was worried about the phrase "major departure" and said that it was a matter of detail. One small change after another could alter the entire project. Van Cort asked if she had an alternate suggestion and after further discussion it was decided to delete the word "major" in the last two paragraphs of the draft resolution. Reed MOVED and Stein SECONDED that WHEREAS, planning and development of Ithaca Center requires and will require the signature of the Mayor on numerous documents; and WHEREAS, authority to sign said documents has been granted by this agency on an individual basis in the past, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor is hereby authorized to sign documents associated with planning and development of Ithaca Center, upon the advice of the City Attorney and Director of Planning and Development, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that said authorization is granted with the under- standing that no document be signed by the Mayor that represents a departure from project approvals previously passed by this Agency for approval and authorization for Mayoral Signature. MOTION PASSED. 3. Strand Theater Lim said that the Strand Theater had received notification of their receiving an Appalachian Regional Commission Grant of $290,488 for renovation. She said that last year, the IURA/CDA had agreed to act as the basic funding agency and had added the Strand Theater as a 5th Year Entitlement project receiving no C.D. funds. As HUD has been designated the federal agency responsible for administering the ARC funds, the IURA/CDA will have to authorize a contract with HUD and another with the Strand. She )had not yet seen the HUD contract but said that she understood it to be a standard C.D. contract. The contract with the Strand would be the same as other sub-grantee contracts and the Appendix A would include the project description and the budget, plus any special conditions made by HUD or ARC. MINUTES July 24, 1980 Page 4 Stein asked Bruce Silvey, Executive Director of the Strand, what the nature of the matching funds would be. Silvey said that $20,000 would be local cash and $82,320 would be local in-kind contributions. He said he foresaw no difficulty in matching the funds. Stein asked what the IURA/CDA's responsibility would be in producing these funds if the Strand was otherwise unable to procure them. Silvey said that $11 ,300 had already been raised and that the audit in September had to show that the matching funds had been received. Any funds not matched would be returned to ARC. Lim added that the City Attorney would review the contract with the Strand and that these details could be added into the body of the contract. Dennis suggested seeing the contract before making a resolution and Jones asked who was responsible for the quality of the renovation work. Silvey said that he served at the discretion of the Board of Directors of the Strand and that all purchases must be approved by them. Stein noted that the Strand was a National Register building and asked if these renovations had been reviewed by the State. Silvey said that ARC approval only came after a review of renovation, plans and designs and said that the Planning Department and Parks and Recreation had been involved in the initial plans. Stein asked if arrangements had been made for a professional architect to review the work and Silvey said that Bill Downing had been doing this but was no longer involved. Van Cort said that the contract will require that the Strand have the work approved by a certified architect or engineer and that this approval would be signed and passed on to the IURA/CDA for review. Stein noted that the IURA/CDA had been very supportive of the Strand and said that the questions now being asked were procedural. He said that he would like to hold off on passing any resolution until more information ,' about the matching funds was available. He said he did not want the City to become liable for these funds and that the IURA/CDA needed to know more to be certain that the City would be held harmless. Silvey said that there were very strict regulations as to the ownership of equipment and suggested that the equipment could.be used as a lien to any expenses but Stein said that equipment was not money and that the equipment would have to be sold. Jones said that the Agency has no "pass through' experience and Lim added that C.D. funds have no matching requirement. MINUTES july 24, 1980 Page 5 Stein said that he was concerned about three things: that the City be held harmless for the matching funds; that the renovations meet the standards of the National Register; and that the agency not be held to the list of estimated costs. Stein added that the project could take a lot of C.D. staff and IURA time. He said that would like to see the proposed contract before taking action. Silvey said that the agency and the Planning Department had the wrong • conception of the grant. He said that the IURA/CDA had only to take care of HUD regulations. He said that the Environmental Review had to be done before August 20 and asked when the next IURA/CDA neeting was. After discussion it was agreed that a contract would be prepared for review at the regular IURA/CDA meeging on August 11 which would give' enough time for the Strand to complete their Environmental Review. Reed added that he would like to see a copy of the grant application and MOVED to Table the Resolution regarding the Strand at this time. Stein SECONDED and MOTION PASSED. 4. East Hill School Sieverding noted that the proposed resolution included neighborhood concerns surrounding the open public space. He said that since- the designation of Sawtooth as preferred developer for the East HIll School property was conditional , there would be opportunity for the City to discuss uses for the gymnasium building and the public open space before contract finalization. Reed MOVED and Dennis SECONDED that WHEREAS, the East Hill School Proposal Review Committee has, after considering four development proposals, recommended Sawtooth Builders as the preferred developer for the East Hill School , and WHEREAS, the concerns of the neighborhood, including protecting the residential quality of East Hill by encouraging low density development, residential stability, preserving open space and minimizing the impact of additional noise and traffic in a congested traffic area, are addressed by the Sawtooth proposal , , NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency accept the Review Committee's recommendation and designate Sawtooth Builders as the conditional preferred developer of the East Hill School , and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City continue to work with the developer in the allocation of public land on the site, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that since there are a number of unresolved concerns related to both public open space and the possible uses of the existing gymnasium building, that further negotiations be undertaken between Sawtooth Builders, the City and the neighborhood as represented by the East Hill Civic Association, and MINUTES July 24, 1980 Page 6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the results of those negotiations be brought before the IURA/CDA and the Common Council for their review and approval , and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that if Sawtooth Builders are unwilling or unable to complete the project, the City of Ithaca reopen discussions with William Downing Associates, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Director of Planning and Development and the Attorney for the Agency be authorized and directed to negotiate terms of sale for the Easthill School with appropriate representatives of the Board of Education and that such terms be brought before the IURA/CDA and Common Council at the earliest possible date for their consideration and action. • Stein asked why it was necessary to specify reopening discussions with Downing and Van Cort said that it was because the City wanted to express its interest and appreciation of Downing's presentation. Stein suggested that since negotiations would take another few months it would be better to leave it open to rebidding at which time new proposals might also be reviewed. • Jones mentioned that except for the terms of sale, she saw no mention of the IURA. She asked what- the steps were from 'conditional proffered' to 'preferred' status and also how, if the price is negotiated, the price comes back to the agency and to Common Council . Van Cort said that the agency has to be involved with the closing and that all final decisions will return as a matter of course. It was agreed to amend the.-Resolution to include this condition. (The Resolution above is as amended ' Jones said she was not satisfied with the development plans and said that. putting a park on the public space might result in another neglected site such as already exists on South Hill at the corner of Columbia and Turner Place where the park grass and bushes are not looked after. Stein said that this was a matter to be taken up by the BPW and that the • agency should not contradict the East Hill neighborhood's desire to have . a .park on this basis. He suggested expressing this concern to the community and Jones said she already had. Reed said a Resolution could be sent to the BPW regarding park maintenance and added that it was a Council decision. Dennis called for a vote on the Easthill Resolution. MOTION PASSED. MINUTES July 24, 1980 Page 7 5. 312 Program Lim referred to the packet and memo distributed to agency members and asked for a resolution to accept the resignations of the 312 Program Director, Loan Specialists, and Attorney and to begin work to transfer the 312 Program to INHS: Stein asked if INHS was still willing to handle the program and Van Cort said that this was being worked out. Jones asked if a regular C.D. contract would be made up and Van Cort said yes. Reed MOVED and Jones SECONDED that WHEREAS, letters of resignation have been received from the 312 Finance Counselor, 312 Legal Counsel and 312 Program Director effective August 1 , 1980 and, WHEREAS, it is desirable that the 312 Loan Program .be administered by INHS, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that 1. The IURA/CDA accepts these resignations 2. The IURA/CDA requests the return of any remaining 312 Loan Administration funds being held by the City of Ithaca 3. The IURA/CDA directs the C.D. staff to begin working with INHS on the transfer of the 312 Program to INHS and prepare for IURA/CDA review, a contract between INHS and the Agency. MOTION PASSED. 6. Neighborhood Improvements Lim explained that the architect's fee in the Neighborhood Improvements Projects I and II had not been taken into account. She said that this was an oversight due to the system of bookkeeping then in use. To rectify this, she asked that the agency pass a resolution reallocating funds from various lines to lines S106 and S205. MINUTES July 24, 1980 Page 8 Jones asked if this had anything to do with ACC and Lim said no. Stein. MOVED, that WHEREAS, funds are available in line 309 (C.D. Study). now THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that 1. $21 ,194 from S207 (West State Street Revitalization) be reprogrammed to S205 (Neighborhood Improvements) 2. $370 from S107 (Wood Street Park) be reallocated to S106 . 3. $4,'T4.0 from S108 (Conway Park) be reallocated to S106 4. $5,623 of line 309 be encumbered for the planning work of the overall Neighborhood Improvements Program 5. $5,9.40 from line 416 (Peripheral Street) be encumbered for Neighborhood Improvements II curb cuts on peripheral streets 6. Any excess funds in line S205 be used for architectural services or .actual work on Neighborhood Improvements III. Reed SECONDED and MOTION PASSED. 7. New Business - YMCA Stein asked if the agency could use its power to acquire land to help, in conjunction with Common Council , to find some downtown location for the YMCA building. Van Cort said that the IURA does have that power and that there would be a possibility of eminent domain or financial help as was done with the Strand, Ithaca Center, 'and Cherry Street, etc. Unassisted Urban Renewal is another • possibility. Stein said that perhaps a mechanism was overlooked and suggested looking into the feasibility of this. He said he understood that the sites were limited but that he felt the agency should help the YMCA at this point. Agency emmbers and staff agreed. Dennis adjourned the meeting at 10:00. Respectfully Submitted Approved Natalie de Combray Jasmine Lim WHEREAS, four developers have made proposals to the City of Ithaca for the acquisition and interior remodeling of the East Hill School building on Stewart Avenue, and WHEREAS, all four proposals were attractive and had innovative fea- tures that were appealing and interesting, and WHEREAS, the concerns of the neighborhood are to protect the resi- dential quality of East Hill by preserving the green space around the building, by encouraging low-density develop- ment and residential stability, and by minimizing the impact of additional noise and traffic in a congested neighborhood; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the East Hill Committee does hereby recommend to the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency and the Ithaca Common Council the designation of Sawtooth Builders as the conditional preferred developers for the East Hill School property after the purchase of the property by the City of Ithaca, which will convey the property to the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca will continue to work with the preferred developer in the allocation of public land on the site; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That since there are a number of unresolved concerns related to both public open space and the possible uses of the existing gymnasium building that further negoti- ations will be necessary among Sawtooth Builders , the City of Ithaca, and the neighborhood as represented by the East Hill Civic Association; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That if Sawtooth Builders are unwilling or unable to complete the project, then the City of Ithaca will reopen discussions with William Downing Associates.