Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-IURACDC-1980-08-04 IURA/CDA SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 4, 1980 - 7:30 p.m. Mayor's Conference Room PRESENT: Mayor Bordoni , Chairman, IURA/CDA Jim Dennis, IURA/CDA Anne Jones, IURA/CDA Clarence Reed, IURA/CDA H. M. Van Cort, Director,Planning & Development Mick Bottge, Planning and,Development The Mayor opened the meeting at 7:45. The Minutes of the July 24th meeting were not approved because they did not show the resolution passed in public session on the request to have the position of planning director re-evaluated. I. Ithaca Center Bottge explained the revised financing terms as stated in the draft resolution presented to the IURA. He said that the financing terms which had been acted on by the Agency and Council in May had been based on the original • pro-forma for the project that estimated project costs as well as income that would be derived from it. Based on these figures, the financing plans for land acquisition for the loan repayment ($1 .2 million) was structured so that, in the opinion of the city staff and the ACC, the cash flow would be able to handle a certain amount of payment to the city. The ability of the project to generate a given amount of cash was in large part a determination in setting up the terms as they were originally presented. Between May and July, the ACC market analysis and the bank's and developer's appraisal of the project showed that a) the market demand in downtown Ithaca would be sufficient to justify the proposed retail/office/residential square footage of the project and b) that the income and pro-forma statements may have been understated. That understatement went into a recalculation of the financing terms that showed that by increasing the income from the project, there would be a bigger bottom line from which the city could get a cut. To sum up, Bottge said that the three elements that brought these new terms and provided the cash to support them were: 1 ) higher demand than was anticipated; 2) market would support higher rents than originally projected, generating higher cash flow than was anticipated; and 3) both the bank and the developer's giving some fiscal concessions. The object of the new proposal , in addition to maximizing the return to the city, was to improve the city's chances of receiving the UDAG. He added that the original proposal was not competitive with other projects around the country. Jones asked if this was because of the mix of private and public dollars but Van Cort said that it was because of the return on the UDAG to the city and not because of the leveraging ratio. IURA/CDA August 4, 1980 page 2 Bottge said that when the UDAG staff come to make a recommendation to Secretary Landrieu, they must base it on its financial competitiveness. Because of this, HUD advised the City that although Ithaca Center was an ideal project, the city had to come up with some way to increase its returns. Staff met with HUD people in Congressman McHugh's office and were informed that the present terms would present "a good chance of being approved". Van Cort added that Bottge, Gesslein, McRobb and himself had also met with HUD officials early in June. At that time they had been told the original figures were not good enough. During the last two months there have been continual negotiations to arrive at the present package. Bottge said that without ACC involvement he did not think they would be this close to having the project. He said ACC had proven crucial in many ways they had not anticipated. The market analysis served in good part to preclude the necessity of having pre-leasing requirements that killed previous projects. Their ability to show that a higher income returned to the city was an important element in the securing the FmHA loan. The city will be getting an 8% return on its loan to the developers. That income stream will be augmented by the city per the provisions that are shown on the first page of the draft participating in gross income derived from the project once certain conditions have been met. Staff was faced with the precarious task of having •to restructure the financing and still keep the project healthy, stimulate private sector incentive, plus better the city's position so that the UDAG would be awarded. In working this out, Bottge said, they followed the lead of other cities around the country and once these provisions shown in the draft resolution are met and the developers get a fair market return on their investment, the city will receive a portion of the gross revenue (not the net income of the project as misstated in the Journal ). • Jones asked who would decide what that gross would be. She asked if any outside agent was going to be involved and said she didn't think that would - be a good idea. Van Cort said it was in the agreement that the bank would have a certified accountant examine the developer's books every year. FmHA requires this. Based on that analysis, a determination would be made as to what the developer's cash return is on actual cash equity. The reason the bank is involved is that in the original loan agreement, the developers were going to pay back 20% override to the bank. In the course of the negotiations that override was first split 50/50 and then surrendered entirely to the city. Van Cort added that he thought the bank's involvement was good in that the private sector was preferable in this role to the public sector. He added that the bank and the developers have been more than cooperative through the whole period of negotiation. IURA/CDA August 4, 1980 page 3 Reed asked if the draft resolution had been reviewed by the City Attorney. Van Cort said that the terms of the financing had been reviewed by him but the resolution per se had not. He said that another opportunity for the City Attorney to see it would be when it went before Council . In the mean- time, the language had been worked on by city staff and M . Gesslein from the bank. Van Cort said he thought that it accurately reflects the terms of the arrangement. Jones asked for an example of how much pay kJc.the city would get. Bottge said that an example of the worst return would be if the cash return to the developers was less than 5% of their verified equity in the project. In that case, the city would get no override payment or participate in any gross revenues (only 8% on the 1 .2 million dollars which would be $125,000) . The best the city could get would be if the developers would get 15% of verified cash equity. In that case, the city would get 20% of gross income above $1 .25 million up to a point where 9% return of the full $1 .7 million UDAG would come to the city at 12% return on the 1 .2 million loan. The difference between the worst case and the best case would be a minimum return of $125,000 and a maximum return of $153,000 per annum. Van Cort noted that the absolute worst case would be that the project goes bankrupt. Bordoni added that if it works well , the returns would be well above the land value. Discussion followed about the extra returns and Van Cort said that a use for these funds would be decided before the closing. Bottge said that since the dollar amounts are changed, it may not be possible to stick to the original percentage distribution between INHS and econmic development. Stein asked if it was possible to modify after the fact and Van Cort said they would have to ask UDAG. Bottge added that it would not be a factor in their receiving the grant and that some work on the UDAG should be available the next day. Jones asked if there would be an up-dated pro-forma produced and Van Cort said that the Agency could require the developer to present one. Bottge said an up-dated pro-forma as submitted to HUD would be provided to the Agency and Council . Stein asked who had been involved in writing up the agreements and Van Cort said that locally there had been himself, Bottge, the City Attorney and the Mayor, developer Scott McRobb and Mr. Gesslein of Citizens Savings. With the exception of Mr. McHugh, who was involved in negotiations in Washington, people from HUD and FmHA had worked on the agreements from the federal level . The UDAG staff had reviewed all elements of the project and Nad looked out for the city's interest as reflected in the advice they had given to improve the city's chances of receiving the grant. IURA/CDA August 4, 1980 page 4 Reed MOVED and Dennis SECONDED that Whereas, City staff have negotiated new financing terms for land acquisition and repayment of UDAG loan with the designated developers of Ithaca Center, and Whereas, said terms will supersede previously approved financing terms, and are acceptable to City staff, the developers and Citizens Savings Bank, and Whereas, City staff strongly recommend Agency approval of revised financing terms, Now Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the following terms for land acquisition and UDAG loan repayment are hereby approved: UDAG Loan Repayment Amount. of UDAG: $1. 7 million UDAG Loan : $1.2 million Terms: Payment during first partial year (1981) waived; • 4% interest only for 1982 and 1983, payable quarterly; starting in 1984, interest and principal amortized at 8% for 19 years, payable • quarterly; override provisions as follows: Terms of payment of gross income override to the City of Ithaca: • a. If net cash income to owners is equal 'to, or less than 5% of verified cash equity, no override will be paid to the city. b. If net cash income to owners is between 5% and 15% of verified cash equity, an override of 10% of gross income over a base of $1 ,250, 000 gross income will be paid to the city. c. If net cash income to owners is equal to, or greater than 15% of• • Iverified cash equity, an override of 2O% of gross income over a base• of . $1,250,0O0 will be paid to the city. d. The net proceeds of override payments to the city will be paid until the total return on the city' s outstanding $1.7 million UDAG investment equals 9% per annum. e. All override payments will be collected by Citizens Savings Bank, and paid to the city net of any collection costs and within thirty days of collection. IURA/CDA August 4, 1980 page 5 Land Acquisition Cost : $400,000 Terms:. Payment during first partial year (1981) waived; 4% interest only in 1982 and 1.983 , payable quarterly; starting in 1984 , interest and principal amortized at 3% for 30 year term; balloon payment of outstanding balance of $243,619 at the end of the fifteenth year. Jones said she would like the statement "Terms of payment of gross income override to the City of Ithaca" as phrased in the memo of July 30 be added to the resolution (already included in the text above). MOTION PASSED. Reed commended the city staff for its fine work in preparing the application. Van Cort said that Bottge had been responsible for most of the work and praised his excellent performance. II. Executive Session - Personnel Resolution Dennis MOVED the Agency go into Executive Session, Stein SECONDED and MOTION CARRIED. After Executive Session the Agency reconvened and Dennis MOVED and Jones SECONDED that WHEREAS, the IURA/CDA has been given responsibility for an increasing number of major projects and programs, including the Community Development Program, Ithaca Center, Cherry Street Industrial Park, East Hill School , etc. , and WHEREAS, the efficient administration of these new response— bilities can be best accomplished through the appoint- ment of an Executive Director for the Agency who would have overall responsibility for the direction of the Agency' s business, and IURA/CDA August 4, 1980 page 6 WHEREAS, the IURA/CDA Administrative Manual already provides for an Executive Director position which is currently unfilled, and WHEREAS, the Common Council will consider .authorizing a pay increase- of $2,891 per annum effective -September 1 , • 1980 at its August 1980 regular meeting for H. M. Van Cort , Director of Planning and Development. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, THAT: 1 . H. M. Van Cort , Director of Planning and Develop- ment , . is hereby appointed Executive Director of the IURA/CDA at a salary of $2,199 per annum effective September 1, 1980. . 2. Annual increases by the IURA to the Executive Director's salary will be at the same rate as the t ..annual increase given the Director. of Planning and Development by Common Council . 3. The Chairman of the IURA/CDA is hereby authorized and directed to execute a staff contract with H. M. Van Cort . Stein asked from which line the funds for the salary would come and Van Cort answered they would come from the C.D. Administration line. He added that most contracts are reviewed on the first of January so that he thought this contract would also run through the same time period. IURA/CDA August 4, 1980 page 7 Jones asked if it would be pro rata and Van Cort said yes, at an annual rate of $2,199. Reed asked what percentage of administrative costs were being taken up by this salary and Van Cort said about 10%. Reed noted that part of the success of the program was that administrative costs had been held very low. He said that this amount should not change this record. Dennis noted that it would come to about $183 a month. After further discussion, MOTION CARRIED. Dennis then MOVED that the IURA/CDA authorize the Mayor, as Chairman of the IURA/CDA, to sign the C.D. Staff Contract with H. M. Van Cort for the position of C.D. Executive Director. Reed SECONDED and MOTION CARRIED. Before adjourning the meeting, Bordoni said that he had two questions con- cerning the Minutes of the July 24 meeting. He asked if Peter Rogers, who had been present during discussion of the Cherry Street Lease, had gotten a reasonable explanation to his questions and if he had left the meeting satisfied with the answers. .Both Dennis and Stein agreed that they were not sure of Mr. RogersIfeelings. Referring to the discussion about the MCA on page 8 of the July 24 -Minutes, PIO Mayor asked What progress.was being made in this area. Van Cort said he was actively working with Paul Grenell and had discussed the possibility of creating with him an Unassisted Urban Renewal project. Van Cort said he hoped that he will be able to find a arrangement that would keep the YMCA downtown. Bordoni asked if any new site suggestions had been made and Van Cort said no, that this had been the problem all along. Stein said that it appeared • the Agency was only looking at sites already on the market. He suggested investigating other possibilities. The Mayor agreed and mentioned the Cortland YMCA which is located 2 residential lots from the Main street and is situated on a site that once housed a mansion. He said there were similar situations in downtown Ithaca that should be looked into but he admitted it might be difficult because of conditions imposed by the historic district. Stein said he felt the IURA/CDA should take a more active role and Dennis asked how a site on West State Street, perhaps as far down as the bus terminal , would be viewed. Bordoni said that in past discussion, the Y Board had said they particularly wanted the facility placed in the middle of the commercial sector in order to draw people from all neighborhoods. • IURA/CDA August 4, 1980 page 8 Dennis said he felt an opportunity was being missed in development of the West End. Reed agreed that the area should be investigated and said that some creative ideas might be worked out with the Y in terms of using the inlet. Bordoni said that he was in touch with a group from Rochester that was anxious to discuss a waterfront project. He said that he hopes there will be some time in September to follow• up this idea. • Reed asked who owns the property adjacent to the Station Restaurant and Van Cort said that there were a number of different owners. He agreed that • the West End was not being properly utilized. He said that the northern edge of Cass Park which is owned by the State would be a perfect site for a boatel/motel/restaurant complex. The problem, however, is that it is Ir tied up with public ownership which would be difficult to free. Bordoni said that there is a dredging project in the workings and a possibility could be to fill in the northern part of Cass Park as had been done with Stewart Park years before. Brief discussion followed and the Mayor adjourned the meeting at 9:30. - Respectfully Submitted Approved, Natalie de Combray H. M. Van Cort IURA/CDA August 13, 1980 9:00 a.m. Common Council Chambers PRESENT: James Dennis, Vice Chairman, IURA/CDA Clarence Reed, IURA/CDA Stuart Stein, IURA/CDA Jasmine Lim, C.D. Coordinator Kathe Evans, C.D. Housing Specialist Donna Siewrattan, C.D. Bookkeeper Mick Bottge, Planning & Development Jon Meigs, Planning & Development Bruce Silvey, Strand Theater Press In the absence of the Mayor, Jim Dennis opened the meeting at 9:10. 1. American Cities Corporation - Acceptance of Final Report Bottge asked that the resolution on the ACC report be tabled until all materials included in the contract have been received. He said that the estimate types of retail and the estimated square footage are to be provided in an addendum from ACC. Reed MOVED and Stein SECONDED to table the Resolution on this matter and MOTION PASSED. Bottge then summed up plans for the next several weeks. On August 14 test borings will be done and the ground breaking ceremony will take place in about two weeks. Developers are finalizing construction contracts and are on a fast track to get construction going before winter. He said that the Green Street area under the parking garage will be used as a staging area for heavy equipment. This use will not interfere with the delivery service to the Commons as it will be contained on the west end next to Rothschilds. Legal negotiations are still in progress to grant early access to the land. Bottge added that detail on the facade design will to brought to the Agency for approval b'ut' that structural work on 'the building will begin as soon as possible. Stein asked about the liability insurance and Bottge said that the City Attorney will address that issue during the legal work to be done and that the City will be held harmless for any accidents on the site. He said that the closing would take place sometime at the end of September and added that there is still a volume of documents involved. 2. GIAC Media Access Center - Approval of Contract Evans asked approval of a Resolution approving a contract with low bidder Trades- men of Freeville for construction of the Media Access Center at GIAC. She said that Architect Bob Boehlecke had also recommended the two alternate bids for a coffee alcove adjacent to the MAC and for plumbing improvements in the art room. She said that this project was high on the priority lists of the GIAC Board of Directors and GIAC staff, as well as the Youth Bureau. She added that the Day Care Center was to be moved downstairs and that the MAC would double as a meeting room. IURA/CDA August 13, 1980 page 2 Stein asked if there was a process to check up on their past performance and Evans said that a form in the bid document requires a list on recent jobs and a line of credit, etc. She said that Phil Cox and Bob Boehlecke had checked them out and approved them. Payment for the access center would come from line S206-GIAC Improvements. She added that notices for Requests for Bids had been sent out within a 60 mile radius but that only bids from local contractors were received. The same process.and outcome was true for the sidewalk construction project but she said that more small local contractors were bidding than before. Stein noted that he did not recall the access center as being on the priority list discussed a year before. At that time, he said, items dealing with health, safety and energy had been listed as being most urgent. Evans said that those items had been taken care of with $27,000 of exterior work being done in Fall of '79. At that time the roof was repaired, the masonry was repointed, trim re-painted and the fire-escapes were brought up to code. After the new lease with the School District was signed, $60,000 of interior • work was done. This included repartitioning of space, re-painting, and energy concerns as well as the new Tot Lot that was built in Spring 1980. She said that GIAC has undergone a complete face lift to include grounds landscaping and new signage. Remaining projects to be completed are toilet facilities and handicap accessibility. At the time these priorities were set, she said, the GIAC Board hoped to be able to fund the MAC through private funds. When these funds did not materialize they turned to C.D. for. them. Some equipment and furniture is being supplied by private agencies such as the Chemical Bank and the United Way. Dennis, also a- member of the GIAC Board, told Stein that the GIAC Board did support the Media Access Center and that it was high on the priority list. Stein MOVED and Reed. SECONDED that WHEREAS, the apparent low bid for a Media Access Center (MAC) at GIAC is a base bid of $15,715, Alternate i1-$921 and Alternate #2-$2,043 for a total of $18,679, and WHEREAS, the Youth Bureau, GIAC Board and GIAC staff have the MAC as one of their highest priority improvements, now, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, to approve the execution of a contract with the low bidder, Tradesmen of Freeville, N.Y. for $18,679 encum- bered against line S206, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that work begin as soon as possible on the MAC. MOTION PASSED. IURA/CDA August 13, 1980 page 3 Evans added that another priority was a locker room facility that would include the modern toilet facilities and handicapped access. This would be a major capital improvement and CD will spend $75,000 on these features. 3. Sidewalk Grant Program - Approval of Contract -_ Lim explained that there had been a greater requirement for Sidewalk Repair Grants than anticipated. Of the thirty applications received, all were eligible and 83% came from the target area. 50% of eligible applicants were elderly. The $10,000 set aside for these grants would help 16 applicants. At this time, she said, staff was requesting that $7,000 reserved for EOC CHORES be used for the sidewalk repair grants_ so that all applicants could be • helped by the program. Stein asked if these grants paid for 100% of the sidewalk repair and Lim said yes. All applicants are at or below Section 8 guideline income levels and therefore eligible for 100% aid. She said that the Citywide Materials Grant funds can be used because the program description lists projects that are concerned with code abatement, health and safety. As EOC has not been able to move the funds, Lim said she though this would be a good way to use them. Stein MOVED and Reed SECONDED that WHEREAS, there is a greater demand for sidewalk repair grants than funds available for this program, and WHEREAS, sidewalk repair grants can be considered to be part of the Citywide Materials Program, now, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that $7,000 of line 502-Citywide Materials Gf nt be used for sidewalk repair grants. MOTION PASSED. Lim asked that Kathe Evans be designated as co-signer of sidewalk grant agreements since H. M. Van Cort is on vacation. Reed MOVED and Stein SECONDED that WHEREAS, the IURA/CDA has previously authorized that H.M. Van Cort and Jasmine Lim execute sidewalk repair grant agreements for the IURA/CDA, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Katherine Evans be authorized as an al=ternate co-signer. MOTION PASSED f IURA/CDA August 13, 1980 page 4 Evans said that bids from 5 contractors for the sidewalk repair work had come in on Monday. The apparent low bidder was Finger Lakes Construction, Inc. but as a part of the bid document submitted was incomplete, staff needed advice of the City Attorney on how to proceed. Because of this, the draft resolution proposes that the agency also approve the second lowest bidder, Paolangeli Construction Company. Reed asked why the cost per square feet of sidewalk had two prices quoted for Paolangeli and Evans said that this fact also could pose a problem because they had phoned the engineering department to know how thick the sidewalks had to be cut and had been told that the sidewalks would be between those two thicknesses. However, C.Q. did not bid the project out in this way and this also would be a case for Marty Shapiro to interpret. Dennis asked why there was such a difference in the curb costs and Evans explained that contractors who have bid before on sidewalks try to break tie bids by going low on curb estimates. After further discussion it was decided to table any action on the sidewalk contracts until the City Attorney returned from his vacation. Reed MOVED to table the resolution, Stein SECONDED and MOTION CARRIED. 4. Strand Theater - approval of contracts Lim said that the contract between HUD and the CD Agency had arrived for review and the signed contract was in the mail. She said that it was a standard con- tract as used every year for the Small Cities and Entitlement Grants.except for some exceptions listed on pages 5 and 6. These are the Special Conditions and Modifications of Grant Agreement, a break down of ARC funds, and ARC contracting conditions similar to Section 3 conditions for lower income people. Reed asked if the contract had been reviewed by the City Attorney and Lim said no, the resolution had been drafted to include his review. Stein asked for new information on the handling of matching funds and Silvey, Executive Director of the Strand Theater, said that the Agency would not be responsible for these funds. He said that it was handled through a gentleman's agreement between the Strand and the ARC. It would be the responsibility of the Strand to audit the funds at the end of the grant and would not involve the city. • Stein asked what the IURA/CDA's role would be and Silvey said that the city would act as a funnelling service for the funds. He said that as ARC had no system to handle their grants they used HUD to oversee the funds. No special conditions were attached to this though ARC regulations would be used as would the standard HUD regulations already used by the IURA/CDA. Stein asked to whom the funds were granted and Lim said they were granted to the City and that the Strand was the sub-grantee. Silvey disagreed and said that the grant was directly to the Strand with the city acting as funnelling agent. '4 IURA/CDA August 13, 1980 page 5 Stein said he was uneasy about the situation. He said that he could not believe that there were no requirements for someone producing matching local funds. He added that he had never heard of a gentleman's agreement with a government agency. Reed said he was under the impression that local funds had to be spent first. Silvey said that if the money isn't matched in full the remaining funds would be returned to ARC. He said that since the last IURA/CDA meeting he had ascertained there would be no problem in matching the funds. He said that the audit had to be done at the project's completion but there was no time limit on raising the money. Stein asked CD staff if they felt confident they could manage the ARC grant. He said that other construction projects had the help of the city engineering department but that this project would not be overseen. Lim agreed that it would not be easy but said that it would depend on the contract with the Strand. She said she would require an architect or engineers signature as to the quality of work completed before any check would be issued. Stein asked who would be in charge of the project and Silvey said he had been appointed official executor in April . He would work with the contractors and vendors and has arranged for an architect to check completed work before payment is made. He said he is in touch with a variety of engineers because the work to be done involves many aspects of competence. Many of these engineers had volunteered their services as in-kind services. Stein asked if a lawyer is developing the contracts and Silvey said that the contracts will be written by him and reviewed by a lawyer. ' Reed suggested that further investigation on matching funds be done. Lim said that Silvey had asked ARC many times about this but had received nothing in writing. Reed said it was important to have this in writing as the people doing the project were not the same as those who would do the audit. He recommended spending the money on a ratio. to ARC cash and not wait until the end of the project. He said that in-kind work should be accompanied by a voucher and should be collected as the work is done. He asked if the work would be bid out and Silvey said yes and that a bidder could take 20% off his price as a donation to the Strand. Stein asked if the plans had been approved and Silvey said that they had been sent in with the apolication and 6iad been signed by HUD before ARC was able to approve the grant. At present, he said that the paper work for the historic section of the work was in process concurrent with the Environmental Review. The time table was to begin on the 25th of August. Although it takes ten business days before the city can request funds, Silvey said that the contractors have agreed to begin work before the money is received. He added that they were seven weeks behind schedule and that the work would take a large bite from their fall season and would cost the theater $1000 a week which will be difficult to make up during the rest of the year. IURA/CDA August 13, 1980 page 6 Reed said he was very much in support of the program but there were still some questions he had concerning the contractor's in-kind services. He said that the GAO would require written reconciliation of every process. Lim agreed and said that written verification of everything said orally would be required. Reed MOVED that the Mayor execute the Strand Theater Renovation Project contract with HUD subject to City Attorney approval and that another contract with the Tompkins County Center for Culture and the Performing Arts be executed subject to City Attorney approval. Dennis SECONDED but Stein said he would vote no because he had great misgivings about too many aspects of the project. He said that as it was a Nationally Registered building all plans had to be approved in Albany. He said that he was in touch with the field representative there and they said they had not yet approved them. Stein said the building . had to be handled with care and that as yet there were no assurances that this was being taken into consideration. Silvey said that the design had been executed three years ago by architect Downing and had been specific in their application to the original Strand. These plans are still contained in the approved application. Stein asked what assurances there were that the plans would be followed and Silvey said that a number,of people had been willing to check the work. Dennis said that as Vice Chairman of the Agency he was not sure that he was able to second a motion. At this point he said, he felt that too many of the assurances given were verbal. Written confirmation should be available. Silvey said that at the last IURA/CDA meeting the agency's concerns had been about the contract. Now that the contract was available he said that these other details don't have anything to do with the agency. Dennis said that the agency had dealt with ARC grants before and that it was important to straighten out the bureaucratic aspects beforehand. Silvey said this would mean the bidding would have to be done all over ,ag•airand that the Ballet and the Opera would have to be cancelled in the fall.' He said that any fur- ther delay would kill the project. Dennis said that he felt it would be wiser to discuss the issue with the City Attorney who returns on Monday. A special meeting of the agency could be called after Marty had looked over the contract. After further discussion it was agreed that no delay would be incurred if the meeting was held by Thursday, August 21 . The Agency made a list of what further verification would be required by the Strand in writing. The list included: assurance that the city would not be liable for matching funds; names and statements from people who had volunteered in-kind services; NY State Division of Historic Preservation approval . of design; designation of an architectu►t'trth.techni,cal expertise to.te=oyerall project reviewer and who would report to the IURA on project` prog'ress. Stein MOVED to table the resolution, Reed SECONDED and MOTION CARRIED. IURA/CDA August 13, 1980 page 7 5. Parallel Use - Discussion Evans said that the South Hill Day Care Council had asked CD staff if the program description of Rarallel Use could be re-written to include their moving from South Hill School to Markles Flats. Evans said that $30,000 was available in 5th Year Entitlement for the Parallel Use project . She said that South Hill School has asked them to move and that Mr Backer and Mr. Banner had suggested their taking over the ground floor of Markles Flats for the center. Dennis said that at a more recent meeting of the South Hill School it was not sure that the center would be asked to leave their present location. It was decided to table discussion of this topic until accurate information was available. 6. 312 Administration - Status Report Lim reported that the program was presently in limbo due to INHS not being ready to administer the program until September. At that time they hoped to be able to rearrange staff duties and train someone in 312 procedures. INHS plans to hire a consultant with 312 expertise for this training and if the cost is under $1000 Executive Director Van Cort can go ahead with the contract. If the cost is above this amount, staff will return to the Agency. Lim added that HUD was out of 312 funds until October 1st so that the timing would be just right for continuation of the program. 7. Personnel - Vacation, Holiday and Sick Pay Policy for Permanent, Part Time Employees Lim said that as the Personnel Manual does not specify how the term "days" should be tabulated for part time employees a draft resolution had been prepared suggesting that vacation, holiday and sick pay for these employees should be based on the average number of hours worked, year to date. Reed asked part time employee de Combray how she felt about this suggestion. de Combray said she thought it was fair and Reed MOVED that WHEREAS, the Personnel Chapter of the C.D. Administrative Manual does not provide sufficient guidance on vacation, holiday and sick pay for permanent parttime employees, now THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that: 1. The IURA/CDA policy shall be to determine vacation,holiday and sick pay for permanent part time employees based on the average number of hours worked, year to date, by the employee. 2. The above policy be incorporated into the Personnel Chapter of the C.D. Administrative Manual. • IURA/CDA August 13, 1980 page 8 Stein SECONDED and MOTION PASSED. 8. Executive Session - St. James AME Zion Church Evans said that Martin Shapiro had advised that all discussion of subjects that deal with matters of possible litigation should take place in Execu- tive Session. She said that this recommendation of privacy was to insure that no information would leak out to any party that might bring suit against the agency. All members of the agency voiced their dislike of Executive Session but agreed to comply. Reed MOVED that the Agency go into Executive Session, Stein SECONDED and MOTION CARRIED. No action ensued. Meeting adjourned at 11 :20. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, • Natalie de Combray Jasmine Lim • • • IURA/CDA August 26, 1980 5:00 - Planning Department PRESENT: Raymond Bordoni , Chairman, IURA/CDA Stuart Stein, IURA/CDA Anne Jones, IURA/CDA Clarence Reed, IURA/CDA James Dennis, IURA/CDA N.M. Van Cort, Director, Planning & Development Jasmine Lim, C.D. Coordinator Kathe Evans, C.D. Housing Specialist Press Mayor Bordoni opened the meeting at 5:20. Dennis MOVED to approve acceptance of the August 13, 1980 Minutes. Stein SECONDED but suggested adding "a.m." to the meeting's time of commencement and adjournement. The agency members agreed and MOTION PASSED. 1. Approval of Bids for Sidewalks Evans said that decision to approve low bidder F.L.C. Contractors, Inc. had been postponed so that the City Attorney could review the bid document. One section of the document had not been completed and Shapiro had suggested telephoning F.L.C. to clear this matter up. Evans said that when she called it was understood to be an oversight and Shapiro approved finalization of the contract. Jones asked if these contractors had ever':bid for a C.D. project before and Evans said no. Recent completed projects, however, had included the Stone Quarry Road water line for the Town of Ithaca and the chilled water retaining wall at Cornell University. Their bank credit was at $750,000 and their bank reference was the First Bank of Ithaca. Evans said that F.L.C. was a responsible and responsive bidder as well as the lowest bidder. Bordoni asked what responsible and responsive entailed and Evans referred to the bid specifications where 'responsible' is defined as a -bidder who will perform the contract properly and on time, maintains a permanent place of business, has adequate plant equipment, has suitable financial resources and appropriate technical experience. 'Responsive' is defined as a bidder who completes all certifications and attachments required with the bid. Evans added that the principal partner has 25 years experience. Bordoni mentioned that E.L.C. had done a great job in Fall Creek during the flooding and that they had worked fast with the minimum amount of disruption to the neighborhood. . Dennis MOVED that it be RESOLVED that the IURA/CDA accepts the bid for the C.D. Construction job sumbitted by F.L.C. Contractors, Ithaca at $2.05 per square foot. Stein SECONDED and MOTION PASSED. • MINUTES IURA/CDA August 26, 1980 page 2 Evans added that it had originally been planned to bid this contract out through the city but that due to an oversight the DPW had neglected to do this. Because there was a rush to get the specs put together, Evans said that she had not been able to wait the- 6 to 8 weeks necessary for HUD to send an official wage description. Instead, she had used specific wage rates for the job described that were current and applicable though not directly from HUD. 2. Approval of Audit Bid Lim passed out sheets showing the proposals submitted for the C.D. Audit She said that Requests for Proposals were advertised in the Elmira, Cortland, Syracuse, Binghamton, Corning and Ithaca newspapers and that notices had also been sent to all Ithaca Certified Public Accountants. Reed asked who had done the last audit and Lim answered that it had been Maxfield, Randolph and Carpenter. Stein asked if it had been done satisfactority and Lim said yes though some things had been missed. HUD had accepted it as an interim audit but Lim said it had taken a lot of C.D. staff time bec: ..se the auditor had no previous experience with this. kind of audit. She said that HUD and the IURA/CDA had different goals` in choosing an auditor and that she didn't feel comfortable making a re- commendation because policy issues are involved. Jones said that Maxfield Randolph & Carpenter looked good now because they had acquired the experience last year. Evans said that the firm itself had had experience but that the man who had actually done the audit had not. She said that since Jasmine Lim has been the coordinator the records are in much better shape but that she thought the firm would again send an inexperienced person to do the audit. This person would work under the direction of the firm principal and would be able to refer to the audit manual put out by HUD. it would still consume a good deal of staff time. Jones asked to hear the RFP that had been sent out and Lim read it aloud and said she did not think it was clear enough and that she would not send the same one next time. Jones asked about Devillers and Allen from Elmira and Lim said that they had good solid experience in C.D. and had been audited by GAO themselves. She said that she was impressed with the person whom she interviewed in the office as he had asked the right questions and was familiar with C.D. procedures. Stein asked about the third firm on the list,rMylo Eytina of Albany.bim said they had submitted the lenghthiest proposal including standard samples of their work,etc. She said they were a firm of a year's standing and that the principal is a minority listed in the HUD manual. They have no previous C.D. Experience. MINUTES IURA/CDA August 26, 1980 page 3 Bordoni asked what the objections to re-hiring Maxfield, Randolph and Carpenter were and Evans said there were none. She repeated what Lim said and asked that staff not be asked to make a recommendation. Jones asked about Eyetina's travel fee and said that the audit would require probably more than one trip from Albany. Lim said that the firm, in order to be competitive, would absorb the first $500 of travel expenses. Stein asked if there was a HUD requirement to take the lowest bidder for an audit and Lim said no. Van Cort said that the questions to consider were the policy questions and the money differences. One firm is local , one firm is minority, and the third firm has C.D. experience. Lim said that she would be willing to use the staff time to help train an auditor inexperienced in C.D. She said that by educating a non-experienced firm the agency would be fulfilling the goals they have. She added that therefore she was willing to undergo the inconvenience miring an inexperienced firm might entail. Dennis asked if the IURA/CDA should use the best auditor to do the job or if they were in the business of training auditors in C.D. work. Bordoni asked for a resolution and Reed MOVED to hire the Mylo Eytina firm pending investigation of his previous work. Stein SECONDED but said that he was concerned about the distance involved. He added that hiring a minority firm that was situated 200 miles away was not promoting local minorities. Reed agreed with Stein but said that it was an opportunity to employ anminority firm and encourage local minority firms to apply in the future. Jones asked how the audit will be handled if they have no experience and Lim said they could Use the HUD audit manual and generally accepted audit standards. Jones asked when the audit had to be completed and Lim said that through there was no HUD requirement to do the audit this year, HUD had encouraged this iptional interim audit. Because October was a generally busy month, she thought that September would be a good time to have it done. After further discussion, MOTION PASSED. 3. East HI11 School Evans said that the East Hill School had been put on the Agenda because it had initially appeared that additional legal service might be needed. In the meantime the City Attorney had said that he would have the time to do what was required so that no discussion was necessary at this time. • I MINUTES IURA/CDA August 26, 1980 page 4 4. 3rd Year Small Cities Application Lim said that the 3rd Year Small Cities Application had been approved by HUD. She added that the new three year application was now due on December 1 instead of six months later as originally expected. She said that a meeting between herself, Evans and Van Cort would be held to discuss application goals and added that temporary additional staff help might be needed. 5. Strand Theater Lim explained that she had met with the Mayor and the City Attorney to discuss the city's liability for matching funds concerning the ARC grant. Shapiro had said that the city will be liable so that a tight written agreement with the Strand and the building owners is necessary. Bordoni asked if the owners were on the Strand Board and Lim said no, they had resigned because of the conflict of interest involved. Reed asked if C.D. money could be putAnto the,!building and Lim said that the situation was the same as that of the GIAC/School District and required a strong contract. She said that the City Attorney had suggested releasing CD funds as the Strand came up with matching funds. Further discussion followed and it was decided that a meeting with the Strand management, building owners, Board of Directors and IURA/CDA was necessary to clear up the many questions surrounding the ARC grant. Bordoni suggested that a list of the major questions the agency has should be drawn up and sent to Executive Director Silvey so that he can come prepared with answers to the next meeting. Bordoni added that the amount of the grant was such that the IURA/CDA should be dealing with the entire group of people involved and that an understanding between the two groups should be attained in order to speed up the process. Lim said she would send letters to the Strand Executive Board regarding this future meeting. 5. YMCA Jones asked for an update on the YMCA plans and Evans said that Bottge was working along with the Y Board to help find location sites. Some sites have been offered, she said, but the Y couldn't afford them. Meeting adjourned at 6:30. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Natalie de Combray Jasmine Lim