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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-04-11 EURA MINUTES• • • ENGLEWOOD URBAN RENEWAL AUTHORITY April 11 , 2007 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Englewood Urban Renewal Authority was called to order at 6:30 p .m. in the Community D eve lopm ent Conference Room of the En g lewo od Civic Center, Chair Bertoluzzi presiding. Present : Absent: Staff: Eric Be rto luzzi, Don Roth, Jim Weeks, Laur a Rogers, Tom Burns (entered 7:51), Diana Helstrom (a ltern ate) Jim Woodward, Liaison from City Council Olga Wolosyn, Mayor (entered 6:40) Ray Tomasso, City Counci lm an Diane Miller, Shaw Construction James Anderson , Municipal Capital Markets Group, Inc. Peter Castricone, TAAG Architects Hersh La ck n er, G lenarm Partners LLC Norman Crandell, Lucile 's Suzanne Ryan, Trust ee on the Englewood Arts Board Weddle (excused), Gallardo (e xcused) Senior Planner Mark Graham 11. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • February 14, 2006 Chair Bertoluzzi stated that the Minutes of February 14, 2007 were to be cons id ered for approval. Mr. Roth noted under Legal Counsel 's Choice Ms . Reid 's n ame should be removed. Roth moved: Weeks seconded: Th e Minutes of February 14, 2007 be approved as amended. AYES: NAYS: ABSTA IN: ABSENT: Bertoluzzi, Roth , Weeks, Rogers None None Burns, Gallardo, Wedd le The motion carried. 111. RESIGNATION OF ROBERT SIMPSON Chair Bertoluzzi noted the letter of res ignation from Rob e rt Simpson in th e packet and asked if there was any discussion . There was none. • • • Roth moved: Roger-s seconded: TO ACCEPT ROBERT SIMPSON'S LEDER OF RESIGNATION AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE ENGLEWOOD URBAN RENEWAL AUTHORITY AYES : NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Bertoluzzi, Roth, Weeks, Rogers None None Burns, Gallardo, Weddle The motion carried. City Manager Sears thanked the Authority for all the work they do on behalf of the City of Englewood. He stated Mr. Simpson announced his resignation two weeks ago and he has done an extraordinary job for the community. Mr. Simpson is not leaving the City for another job; he will be traveling in the next few months. Mr. Sears wished him the best. City Manager Sears said he sees Mr. Simpson 's departure as sudden and certainly unexpected, but it perhaps opens up opportunities to look at the Community Development Department from a different viewpoint. He said he felt it was important to speak to the Authority in person instead of writing a letter. He stated the City is currently in the process of going nationally to all of the key organizations to fill the position of Community Development Director. He stated the City will be advertising for at least a month. He said due to the fact this position interfaces with the community and the members of the boards, he anticipates having at least a mixer or an opportunity for board members to talk to the final candidates. This probably will not happen until late May, early June . He stated he will then summarize for Council the reasons for his choice for the position. He does not anticipate a Director being on board until August 1, 2007. In the meantime, City Manager Sears has asked Mr. Harold Stitt to serve as acting Director after Mr. Simpson leaves on April 20, 2007. He stated he anticipated Mr. Stitt being an applicant for the position. City Manager Sears , Deputy City Manager Flaherty, Mr. Simpson and Mr. Stitt have gone through the key elements of the department and City Manager Sears feels comfortable that most of the areas are staffed. Community Development has a very talented staff and they will pick up the pieces. As part of Mr. Stitt's duties he will also be acting as the interim Director for the Urban Renewal Authority. He in turn can designate that position to Mr. Graham or another member of the staff if he so chooses. He thanked the Urban Renewal Authority for giving him the opportunity to share where he is in the process of replacing Mr. Simpson. He said if anyone has any questions or concerns his door is always open. He reminded everyone to please attend Mr. Simpson 's farewell party on Thursday, April 19 th . Chair Bertoluzzi said the possible delay in replacing Mr. Simpson as the Executive Director of the Urban Renewal Authority will in no way delay any bus i ness that this Board might have to conduct. Is that correct? City Manager Sears said he could not honestly say what 2 • • • will happen. Any time there is a change of a key person within the City there is always some disconnect, but said he does not anti cipate that to occur with Mr. Stitt filling the role of interim Director of the Authority. Chair Bertoluzzi thanked City Manager Sears for coming to the meeting and speaking to the Authority. At this time, Cha i r Bertoluzzi turned the meeting over to Vice Chair Roth so he could present the development proposal for the Acoma property. IV. DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL FOR ACOMA PROPERTY Mr. Bertoluzz i introduced all guests. Mr. Bertoluzzi st ated the purpose of the meeting wa s to initiate a dialogue about a project that Englewood Arts has been work in g toward since the late 1990's. The Cultural Arts Comm ission is an ad v isory board to City Counc il. He stated the Acoma property has been vacant for many years and there has always been some interest in developing the property. Th ere are severa l reasons Englewood Arts be li eves an art cente r is important for Englewood , they serve to revitalize economic areas and enhance the cultural enrichment of the community. He stated he believes an arts center in Englewood will benefit the City no matter where it is located, but the downtown area needs the revitalization at this time. Mr. Lackner, of Glenarm Partners, stated he became involved in the project through Jim Allred of TAAG Architects. He said they have talked abo ut the Fl ood Middle School property and other properties in the City for development. They need a location for their cultural arts center. He met with Mr. Bertoluzzi at the Acoma site and feels a center there will revitalize the City of En glewood. His company can design, build and finance th e project. He also stated they are look in g at development of a 120 room hotel in the area. He said he has talked several times with Swedish Medical Center in regards to having a hotel in the Englewood area. Craig H ospita l also would be interested . Conceptual drawings were passed around to all members for their rev iew . Mr. Castricone stated the drawings were based upon information that was included in the meeting packet. Mr. Castricone stated the site is very narrow and long and presents an interesting challenge to fit everyt hin g o nto the site. The site is imp orta nt to th e City of Englewood because of its particular location in relation t o Broadway, Hampden and Englewood Parkway. He briefly reviewed each of th e conceptual drawings. It ems discussed were parking, layout of the project, addi n g a commercial compone nt, closing Acoma Street to through traffic to enla r ge the site, usin g th e Lin co ln parking site to in crease pedestrian act ivity in the downtown, building materials, hotel location, best u se of the Broadway and Englewood Parkway corner, and creat in g public spaces. Mr. Anderson discussed the financial aspect of the project. The building is intended to be a public bui ldin g, not owned by Glenarm Partners. It wi ll be owned by En glewood Arts , a not for profit company. Th e plan is to raise at least three quarters of th e total cost of th e bu ild i n g through grants and also raise an endowment th at could fund the operating costs of the building. The rest of the cost will be from debt. Th e debt wou ld be payable from a 3 • • • variety of sources: ticket tax, revenues of the building itself, and possibly parking revenues . This process could take up to 24 months to complete once a site has been selected and the process has begun. Mr. Lackner said if Englewood wants a Cultural Center we can all make it work. Mr. Woodward asked who Glenarm Partners are. Mr. Lackner provided a company brochure. A copy will be given to all members . Mr. Graham noted that the EURA is only half of the equation to this project. City Council also will review the proposal. He said he feels that part of the task of this group will be to persuade them that the long term operation of the facility is truly one of the capacities that Glenarm Partners is delivering. The endowment needs to be large enough to run the facility. The endowment would be for the operating expenses (i.e., utilities, maintenance, insurance), but the day to clay operations will need to be self supporting. Mr. Bertoluzzi said they would like to move the project another step ahead. Mr. Anderson said what they are really looking for from the Authority is a commitment of their site to the project for a period of 24 to 30 months while they attempt to secure financing. Mr. Graham said most of the site is owned by the Urban Renewal Authority, but the City does own a portion. City Council has the option of weighing in on the use of the property. It will take a commitment from both groups. He said it sounds like this proposal is different from the private party proposals the Authority ha s seen before. He noted the Authority is governed by state statue for the disposition of the prope rty if it goes to a third party. He stated he needs to obtain confirmation from City Council that this is to be a public project before proceeding. If it is a public project, it falls under a different set of guidelines. He said at this time the EURA would not be able to commit the site to the project, but may have an answer next month if that would be acceptable. Mr. Bertoluzzi said that would be fine. Mr. Woodward asked if there would be trip wires built into the proposal so if nothing happens for a period of time it will trigger a discussion with the EURA and /or City Council. Mr. Anderson said that was correct. Mr. Woodward brought up the idea of doing green buildings to help with keeping operating expenses down. Mr. Castricone said that is definitely something they will take into consideration. Ms. Miller stated that is a daily conversation on their projects. Certainly when you are looking at a civic or community structure it can easily be integrated without a lot of cost. Mr. Graham stated Staff is looking at the possibility of using the Xcel franchise fee for undergrounding utilities in the alley. Staff was waiting until they knew what the development proposal was to size the transformers and equipment before proceeding. There is money to underground uti.lities from Englewood Parkway down to the plaza . Further discussion will be held at a later date after Staff has had time to gather more information. 4 • At this time Mr. Bertoluzzi resumed the role as Chair. • • V. LEGAL COUNSEL'S CHOICE Legal counsel was not present. VI. COMMISSIONER'S CHOICE Mr. Burns stated he thought the proposal was a fascinating concept and that the EURA should proceed. Ms . Helstrom asked how Glenarm Partners came to be chosen to present a proposal and if there was any competition for the site. Chair Bertoluzzi said the Cultural Arts Committee had asked for architectural drawings some six years ago and Mr. Allred, who is now a part of Glenarm Partners, responded . He has stayed in contract with the Committee. Mr. Graham stated that a Request for Proposal was advertised and competitive proposals solicited the last time the EURA sought development. Public notice and opportunity to bid are required if the property is to be sold to a private party. The City also has requirements for competitive bidding though perhaps the Council could permit a sole source contract if the situation warranted it. Ms. Rogers said she felt this proposal has everything the Authority would like for the site except for the commercial component. Mr. Roth said he thinks it achieves a lot of the goals the Authority has had for the site. Several members agreed the proposed financing was a plus. Ms . Rogers asked about the use of wind turbines for electricity. They could serve as an architectural element. She said if you make the project green there could possibly be extra advertising, grants, materials etc. ava il able. Mr. Graham stated the question he is going to try to ask for is as a public project what the criteria will be for selecting a proposal and proceeding. Does it have to be competed at all and what does the state require. He will then report back to the Authority and to Council. He said he believes then that Council will need to give the Authority the approval to proceed as a public project. He said at some point it may be useful to have a joint meeting with the Council to have a full discussion. Mr. Woodward asked based on the conceptual drawings provided, what kind of price per square foot range are we looking at so we can get a better idea of what the total debt will be. Mr. Graham asked if there were any phasing in mind so some of the initial facilities could be constructed and then expanded as capital campaigns progressed. Chair Bertoluzzi stated that had been discussed and came to the conclusion that phasing might not work. 5 • • • There was no further business to come before the Authority; the meeting was declared adjourned at 8 : 15 p.m. Barbar a Krecklo , Recording Secretary 6