Downtown Development Authority

The minutes of the DDA meeting of October 10, 2002 were approved. Rummel moved; Anscomb seconded.

Accounts payable for months ending October 25, 2002 and November 25, 2002 were approved. Blohm moved; Anscomb seconded.

The final audit report was presented and reviewed by Stamiris. The audit for Fiscal Year 2001-2002 (ending June 30, 2002) was approved as presented. Galsterer moved; Blohm seconded.

The finance report for month ending November 30, 2002, was received.

The board will make its annual presentation to the Council for the TIF plan as required by ordinance on January 7, 2002.

The slate of officers including Wayne Bronner (Chair), Al Zehnder (Vice Chair), Mike Galsterer (Secretary) and Jerry Blohm (Treasurer) was presented by Bronner. No other nominations were received. The slate of officers was approved. Keller moved; Rummel seconded.

The board thanks member John Benson for serving as the Treasurer in recent years. He will continue service on the finance committee.

Weiss Street Recap. Stamiris highlighted the project as presented by MC Smith and Associates to property owners earlier this week. The concepts were well received. These issues were specifically discussed:

Board members were generally favorable to roundabout and boulevards. It is recommended that Smith estimate construction costs for the project.

Construction Close Outs and Problem Resolution. North Main project is closed out. Phase 3A will be closed out with the exception of the mast arm project. 1B will be closed out with the replacement of ill-fitted brick pavers. 1C and the Grant funded projects will likely be completed this spring, focusing on landscaping and minor adjustments.

Bids will be opened for the lighting project on Tuesday, December 17. Lights are to be delivered mid January and we are gearing to have lights installed by Snowfest.

Unilock bricks installed at crosswalks in 3A will be stripped and sealed at the cost of the manufacturer in the spring. Whitacre Greer bricks installed in crosswalks at Covered Bridge, the restaurants and at Cass are substandard and will be replaced at the manufacturer’s expense in the Spring. The drainage cross slope will be removed at that time.

Mast Arms remain in discussion between the architect, engineer, manufacturer and installer. Options presented earlier by the board have been ruled out as "too expensive" or "not our responsibility." Smith is proposing a solution to the manufacturer that could have the project complete in 6-8 weeks after Christmas.

New Business.

18 Month Work Plan. The Executive Committee met and reviewed the goals established in 2000. These remain fresh and activity ongoing. The revised workplan for the next 18 months focuses on continuing the initiatives defined in the TIF plan, identifying new fund sources and working cooperatively with other organizations to complete projects within the DDA area. (A copy is attached.) The board approved the recommendation by the Executive Committee. Galsterer moved; Anscomb seconded.

TIF Finance. Newly elected treasurer Jerry Blohm presented an updated worksheet forecasting TIF performance through 2021 (the year of the last (current) bond payment). The shortfall for this fiscal year was less than anticipated. His report no longer shows interest income because of its negligible impact on the budget. Projected TIF income is much higher for the fiscal year than budgeted. The option to pay off the Spring Hill Suites/CDBG loan from the state will be reviewed later. The DDA is capturing nearly $30 million in taxable value and this capture represents fantastic growth. Projected increases remain at 3%, but realistic analysis shows a much higher annual growth since the DDA began capturing funds. The new value will allow us to move ahead on a $1 million project (i.e. Weiss Street) much faster than originally thought. Blohm feels we are in very good shape financially.

Blohm feels the board has four basic goals:

Vates Street. The board had endorsed the closing of Vates Street. Mike Young group will pay for a traffic study of the three key intersections.

7 Acres at Schleier and Franklin. The property has been listed for sale at $1.26 million. It is currently zoned for manufacturing; the property owner has leads to sell if the zoning can be changed. The changing of the zoning on the property is approved the zoning board in a public hearing.

If the public (perhaps the DDA) were to purchase the property, it could hold it for a manufacturing use. Evaluation is necessary to determine what the cost to hold the property until the DDA (City) could sell it would be. These comments were offered:

No action was taken.

Landscape Ordinance for new developments. Stamiris summarized the recent initiative of the Planning Commission to develop a landscape friendly ordinance for new developments. Comments were few excluding "a hair-brained idea" and the excessive cost of parking development without the ordinance. Graham felt the ordinance would be revised or eliminated in the near future.

Corner of Cass & Main. Gary McClelland has notified Stamiris that he wants to install the changes to his building to provide ADA qualified entry at the southern portal. Our guidelines were outlined in a letter from the DDA to him on June 5, 2001. The DDA will reimburse him up to $20,000 for such improvements. All work will be done by him and his contractors according to City building codes.

Miscellaneous. The board is interested in selling the Tivoli lighting to a potential user through Nuechterlein.

City staff is working to go to "paperless" board packets. There was some discussion with no consensus.

The meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Sheila Stamiris