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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-10-25 SEDA Meeting Minutes MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY HELD MONDAY,OCTOBER 25,2004 The Springfield Economic Development Agency met in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield,Oregon,on Monday,October 25,2004 at 6:37 p.m.,with Board Chair Tammy Fitch calling the meeting to order. A 11'ENDANCE Present were Board Chair Tammy Fitch and Board Members Sid Leiken,Dave Ralston,Anne Ballew, Christine Lundberg,and John Woodrow. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Economic Development Manager John Tamulonis and City Recorder Amy Sowa. APPROVAL MINUTES 1. Minutes of October 18,2004 IT WAS MOVED BY BOARD MEMBER BALLEW WITH A SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER RALSTON TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE OCTOBER 18,2004 SEDA MEETING WITH THE CORRECTION TO THE HEADER REFLECTING THE CORRECT DATE. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. COMMUNICATIONS 1. Business from the Audience-None 2. Correspondence • Letter from Mayor Leiken to Affected Taxing Agencies Regarding Proposed Urban Renewal Plan for Glenwood. Mr.Tamulonis said he has had communications with a number of the organizations and met with the Glenwood Water District last Thursday. He will meet with the Lane Educational District on Tuesday,October 26 and may meet with the Willamalane Board and School District 4J on November 3. Lane County is scheduled for November 10. He has not yet scheduled a meeting with the Goshen Rural Fire District. 3. Business from the Staff Mr.Tamulonis said the agenda packet includes a clean and final copy of the SEDA Mission Statement and Goals. Mr. Tamulonis said that 28,004 public notices were mailed out from the city on Friday,October 22 to voters of both Springfield and Glenwood regarding the upcoming meeting November 15 for consideration of adoption of the SEDA By-Laws. This meeting is contingent on whether or not the measure passes on November 2 and gains approval by the Lane County Commissioners on November 10. The cost was about$10,000 total for printing and postage. Board Member Ralston said he would like that money reimbursed back to the city from SEDA following formation of the District,should it pass on the ballot. Springfield Economic Development Agency Minutes October 25,2004 Page 2 Mr.Tamulonis said that in the SEDA By-Laws there is a section regarding formation of a Budget Committee.Once that committee is formed,the budget would be created and can include reimbursement to the city. Board Member Ballew asked why this couldn't have been noticed through local media and papers rather than an expensive mail-out. Mr.Tamulonis said it is state law that a special notice must go out to one of four groups of people: 1)all property owners in the municipality that is forming the district and in the urban renewal area;2)all postal patrons in the municipality and the affected area; 3)all the sewer, water, electric or other utility customers in the municipality or the area; or 4)all of the registered voters of the municipality and the area. The easiest and most accurate information was from the County Elections office for the registered voters of the municipality and the area. The mail-out was exactly like the letter distributed to the board last week. Mr.Tamulonis said there was notification of the Public Hearing on one side of the mail-out and an information sheet on the other side. There was also an addendum that was not available in time for the mail-out which states that because of some peculiarities with some bonds approved prior to October 6,2001,the net affect for a homeowner of a$150,000 home,would be less than ten cents per year. That affect would vanish over time. REPORT OF CHAIR REPORT OF COMMITTEES A Board Member asked whether or not discussion could be held within the SEDA meeting regarding Political Action Committee(PAC)activities. It was determined that it would be best not to discuss those issues in this type of public meeting with staff involved. OLD BUSINESS a. Further discussion of Modifications to SEDA By-Laws. Board Member Ballew noted one additional word to be added in Article IV, Section 1, last sentence. The word"be"should be inserted after'need to' and`given to Board members'. Board Member Woodrow noted a change that did not get made that was suggested at last week's meeting. Article IV, Section 4,remove"roll call,and"the ayes and noes . . . Mr.Tamulonis noted additional changes that were made following last week's meeting in the new Article VI,Administrative Support. Discussion was held regarding the staff liaison and the recommendation of that position by the City Manager as noted in Article IV, Section 3. Mr.Tamulonis said if a contractor was running the agency,but the books were kept through the City of Springfield's Finance Department,the Finance Director could be the staff liaison. Board Member Lundberg said it is the agency's choice. Board Member Ralston said the City Council could direct the City Manager to recommend someone else if they were unhappy with the original choice. Springfield Economic Development Agency Minutes October 25,2004 Page 3 Mr. Tamulonis said there was also a change regarding the Budget Committee under Article VII, Section 2. State law requires at least as many members from the Springfield area, including Glenwood,to serve on the Urban Renewal Agency. It has been left open in the By-Laws. When SEDA gets to the Budget Committee activities,the board could determine who the Budget Committee would include. Mr.Tamulonis noted that on the last page,changes to the amendments would be"by a simple majority". Also,"abstentions"was added under the roll call vote in case a Board Member had to abstain due to a conflict of interest. Board Chair Fitch said a motion would be made on November 1 regarding adoption of the SEDA By-Laws which would allow for the 10 day notification. Clean copies will be distributed at that time. NEW BUSINESS a. Contract for Legal Counsel Mr.Tamulonis distributed the draft contract from the law firm of Harold,Leahy and Kieran. He said the possible contract dates could be November 1,2004 through December 31,2005 Board Member Ballew said there should be something included in the contract regarding a limited amount of costs with a provision on how to increase that limit. Mr.Tamulonis said staff could also give the board updates weekly or monthly. Mr.Kelly said the city has a history with the law firm so they know about how much time is spent each year,but there is no history with SEDA. Staff could contact other urban renewal agencies for a reasonable amount. Something will also be added in the contract regarding reviewing that figure as needed. Board Chair Fitch referred to Section 1.6,which discussed the agency's insurance program. She said that it would be nice to see if it would be possible to add SEDA under the umbrella coverage of the city. There would be less likelihood of a gap of coverage for the board. The agency is closely related to the activities of the city and the city staff. It could probably be a very small amount and could be done without very much of a premium. To procure that separately could be more costly. She suggested contacting the agent on record for that information. Mr.Tamulonis said that information would be brought back to SEDA next week. The attorney contract could be signed on Monday,November 1. Consensus was to bring it back November 1. b. Discussion/Questions Regarding Draft Glenwood Urban Renewal Plan and Report. Mr.Tamulonis noted that several changes were made in the Plan. His computer did not show the changes in legislative format,but he could go through the document page by page tonight. Springfield Economic Development Agency Minutes October 25,2004 Page 4 Mr.Kelly said the board could direct staff to recreate those changes or Mr.Tamulonis could go through the document page by page tonight. Consensus was for staff to recreate it with the changes shown. Board Chair Fitch asked board members to look over the changed copy once it is distributed and highlight questions and concerns for next week. Board members can also call Mr. Tamulonis with questions during the week. Board Member Ballew said she noticed when looking through the plan that the central theme is that Glenwood is to be developed for industrial areas. She is not sure that is the best and highest use of the area. It is such a beautiful area. Mr.Tamulonis referred to a map which showed the amount of industrial land in the Glenwood area. Much of the industrial zoned land is vacant. City Council has reviewed this area regarding zoning. Board Member Ballew said there is still a lot of the land along the river that is zoned industrial. She asked if something could be changed within the plan that did not emphasize industrial as much. Mr.Tamulonis said the SEDA board implements,builds and finances projects for the district. If the City Council wanted to make changes in Glenwood,they would have to look at the Metro Plan and the Glenwood Refinement Plan. Part of the planning that is being done by City Planner Susanna Julber regarding riverfront development will be looking at mixed use development in that area. Property owners or City Council can initiate changes. He discussed changes being proposed, such as putting in Campus Industrial. There are stylistic changes,which raise the standards,but do not require a zoning change. That is what some property owners are doing and can continue to do along the river. That change has not been made at the city yet. SEDA follows the rules of the city. Most of the projects in the plan are very general to allow for those types of adjustments. Board Member Ballew said the Metro Plan speaks to an aggressive annexation policy. That is not a city policy. Mr.Tamulonis said that is correct,it is in the Metro Plan. Board Member Ralston asked if the city's policy would supersede that of the Metro Plan. Board Member Ballew said SEDA would have to work with the existing policy. Board Chair Fitch said the SEDA Board could request a change from the City Council. Board Member Lundberg said there is a lot of good information on page 18,Proposed Land Uses. She said it would be helpful if that information was put into a cheat sheet in bullet form for easier reading. That would also help direct what council should be looking at regarding the uses. If changes are needed,it would be helpful. She discussed the mixture of uses in Glenwood. She asked how that mixture is shown in this plan. SEDA will have to pick the projects,but council will have to make any changes needed to allow for the projects. Mr. Tamulonis said under state law,the plan has to conform to the existing land use. The projects in the plan do not generate land use changes. Property owners or the City Council Springfield Economic Development Agency Minutes October 25,2004 Page 5 can initiate those changes. SEDA is the agency that implements the land use. He referred to pages in the Glenwood Refinement Plan which show the zoning. The Glenwood Refinement Plan is a very precise plan and adjustments would need to be made at each segment. There may be more general ways of doing that. He referred to Ms.Julber's work regarding some of those adjustments. Board Members requested color copies of the maps from the Glenwood Refinement Plan. Board Member Leiken said SEDA needs to look at the plan as something to implement. The City Council needs to look at this as an ongoing,working plan. It is always changing and evolving. The agency must focus on the implementation. Mr. Tamulonis discussed an additional change that the City Council is considering which is mixed use. Board Member Ballew asked if there was information regarding start and stop times for the projects listed. Mr.Tamulonis said that information is available which shows timing for the twenty five years. Board Member Ballew asked about the$32M worth of debt that the Urban Renewal Agency was authorized to incur. Mr.Tamulonis said it is up to $32M. That number is arrived when adding up the figures for financing the projects in the plan. Board Chair Fitch said she may miss next week's meeting due to the impending birth of her granddaughter,in which case Vice Chair would be presiding over the meeting. RESOLUTIONS ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:14 pm. Minutes Recorder—Amy Sowa J1 Christine Lundberg Secretary