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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.16.2022 Redevelopment Authority Minutes__________________________________ Redevelopment Authority Minutes 1 March 16, 2022 REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES March 16, 2022 PRESENT: Lori Palmeri, Susan Panek, Thomas Belter, Steve Hintz EXCUSED: Archie Stam, Jason Lasky, Jack Bermingham STAFF: Kelly Nieforth, Executive Director/Community Development Director; Sean Fitzgerald; Economic Development Specialist, Jason Pausma; Economic Development Services Manager Chairperson Palmeri called the meeting to order at 4:04pm. Roll call was taken and a quorum declared present. The minutes of January 19, 2022 were approved as written. (Belter, Panek) 22-01 Approve Offer to Purchase 1125 North Main Street; TDS Metrocom, LLC ($5,000.00) Motion by Belter to approve 21-01. Seconded by Panek. Hintz asked if this was a buildable lot. Nieforth replied that the City owns a lot and the RDA owns a lot. The City lot is former railroad right-of-way, so it is a bit more challenging to develop on. As far as making the area more buildable, TDS will need to square off a piece of the RDA property which they will discuss in closed session. Palmeri stated that this is one of the potential community garden lots. She asked if this has been discussed with the business on the corner of New York Avenue and Main Street because they had discussed an interest in the site. Nieforth replied that TDS is looking to put a large fiber expansion in the City. Staff worked with TDS and Public Works on the location. They didn’t have a conversation with the property owner and were unaware that they had expressed interest. This is further to the south, so they could certainly work with them if they would like some property for a community garden. Palmeri asked if other locations were offered to TDS. Nieforth replied affirmatively, adding that staff wanted to preserve lots that are more developable because this site is more challenging. __________________________________ Redevelopment Authority Minutes 2 March 16, 2022 Belter asked if the lot is too narrow and small for development. Fitzgerald replied that it’s irregular. There was a house there previously that was demolished in 2014 and this was the area for the garage. It’s only a 40 foot wide property. TDS was looking for a location as close to the intersection of New York Avenue and North Main Street as possible. They didn’t necessarily have options to look elsewhere given the nature of the technology and this facility being the central hub for the technology. Belter asked if they were going vertical. Fitzgerald replied that its 82 square feet total. Palmeri asked for confirmation that it’s not a building. Fitzgerald replied that it will be mainly used to store servers. Palmeri asked what the 22 foot grey box represents. Nieforth replied that it is a driveway to park a vehicle. Palmeri replied that she will not be supporting this because they’re looking at paving this over which would prevent any groups from coming back on the community garden piece of this. It would also eliminate their ability to have any kind of green space on that central city section of Main Street between New York Avenue and the river. Panek asked if the space north of it is viable for sale and development and if that could be the green space. Nieforth explained who owned the surrounding properties. The .15 acre site makes sense from an internet and telecommunications perspective. It will need to go through site plan review, so they’ll need to meet landscaping guidelines and zoning code requirements. Panek asked if the space was offered as a community garden and no one was interested. Palmeri replied that the way the RFP was written created a barrier for a number of groups who were interested. She doesn’t know that they did their best job there. Nieforth replied that the issues were wanting the groups to have insurance, not allowing groups to do site investigations for contamination because it would make the city liable, the size of the lots, and access to water and parking. They weren’t able to offer an optimal site. Panek asked what is located across the street. Palmeri replied that it’s a small strip mall with the Hmong grocery store and former vacuum cleaner store. __________________________________ Redevelopment Authority Minutes 3 March 16, 2022 Palmeri asked if the utility piece is what would be seen from the street. Nieforth replied that it would be somewhat similar, but it does have to go through the site plan review process for landscaping requirements. Motion by Hintz to amend the agenda to place item III following item VII and reopen the meeting after closed session. Seconded by Panek. Motion carried 4-0. RDA Landbanking Strategy Nieforth stated that she would like RDA to discuss if they’d like to have staff focus on certain redevelopment areas. There will be upcoming workshops with Council regarding implementation of the housing study and RDA will have a role in that. Nieforth stated that the Marion Road and Pearl Avenue redevelopment area is almost completely redeveloped. RDA has some property under the ATC lines around the river right next Mercury Marina, but they can’t build anything there because the lines go directly over it. They have some property on Jackson Street saved for future right-of-way. They also have property saved for the Oshkosh Avenue and Sawyer Street reconstruction project. The plan was to use the money accumulated from TIF 34 improvements on Oshkosh Avenue to fund the reconstruction project, but they’re also looking for funding opportunities with the bipartisan infrastructure bill because they know it’s a busy intersection that doesn’t function as well as it should. They continue to work with T. Wall on development of the 43 E 7th Avenue property and they continue promote the properties to the west of Main Street. Nieforth stated that they’ve been acquiring properties on the block between 8th and 9th Avenues. Most of them were demolished due to their condition, with the exception of one property that’s leased out to ADVOCAP. RDA owns around half of the block, so this might be an area where they could lean on the recommendations of the housing study. They considered doing something similar to what is across the street, so RDA will need to determine if they should still focus on that or consider other types of housing. She thinks they will be focusing on the South Shore area in the near future. They’ve also been discussing revisiting the opportunity sites identified in the Imagine Oshkosh Plan to see if any updates can be made. Palmeri asked what opportunity site A is and what an add value site is. Nieforth replied that it is the former King-Clift lot next to the Roxy. A value added site is one that they don’t own, but perhaps something could be done to enhance it. Palmeri asked how old the Imagine Oshkosh Plan is. __________________________________ Redevelopment Authority Minutes 4 March 16, 2022 Nieforth replied that it’s around five years old. Nieforth stated that they’ve had some success talking with multiple developers about Jefferson Street. The properties are in a qualified census tract, opportunity zone, and severely distressed new market tax credit area. There’s incentive there for developers applying for tax credits and other things. They continue to work with the adjacent property owners to see if they’re interested in selling. Palmeri asked if there was discussion about a possible proposal for Jefferson. Nieforth replied that there isn’t a proposal, but they have been meeting with developers. Most would be going for WHEDA tax credits and WHEDA is updating their scoring right now. The new scoring will help them determine what would make sense in the area and how many units would be needed. The sites have been cleaned up and a lot of the brush has been removed. More can be done when the ground thaws. Palmeri stated that they took out the trees. Nieforth replied that it was mainly brush that grew up further than it should. They tried to leave the more mature trees on the property line. Palmeri stated that they took down the whole wooden fence and it looks very open now. Nieforth stated that green space was mentioned at the last meeting. She provided a map from the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan and shared that the Parks Department will be updating the map in the near future. The map identifies areas for neighborhood parks and community parks based on population and location with respect to other parks. The updated map will be a part of the conversation moving forward. There is a clear need for parks throughout the City. Palmeri stated that one third of the population lives in the area with the least amount of parks and green space. Nieforth replied that new apartments and subdivisions are required to dedicate either park land for the area or pay an impact fee. The Parks Advisory Board are the gatekeepers of the plan and are responsible for its implementation moving forward. Palmeri replied that the plan has not addressed historically deficient areas. The Parks Advisory Board added land acquisitions for central city parks to the 2025 CIP. It is quite a ways out, but it at least acknowledges that it is something that needs to be prioritized. She pointed out that the current map has some inaccuracies. Nieforth asked for input from RDA members. She asked if there were any areas they would like staff to focus on or if they wanted to identify any priorities. __________________________________ Redevelopment Authority Minutes 5 March 16, 2022 Palmeri asked if they had a map of the qualified census tracts. Last year there were two tracts and another was added for 2022. Nieforth replied that they have several properties in census tracts 5 and census tract 7 is the University area. Census tract 11 is the new addition that stumped them a bit. Palmeri replied that it might be because of the density. Census tract 5 has 6,600 people in less than a square mile. Census tract 7 is less dense because there’s a lot more open space there, but there are higher poverty numbers because of the student population. The addition of census tract 11 was interesting. Panek asked what qualifies an area as a census tract. Nieforth replied that a census tract is an area where at least 50% of households have an income of less than 60% of the area median gross income or a poverty rate of at least 25%. Panek replied that density isn’t the issue then. Palmeri replied the denser the population, the higher that number. Belter asked how census tracts would impact their acquisition targets. They have a limited budget in terms of the number of properties they can acquire each year. He would like a recommendation from staff of either neighborhood associations or block areas that they’d choose as areas of focus and then they could prioritize those areas for acquisition. They should target where they’d like to have the most impact. His recommendation is that RDA shouldn’t acquire anything that doesn’t have a strategy for how they’re going to use it, sell it, or develop it. That’s what the RDA is here to do. Palmeri replied that in the past it has been opportunity based. The scattered sites that weren’t in redevelopment areas seemed like a good idea, but they weren’t an intention. She asked how many RDA members are familiar with the red line maps. Belter replied that he is very familiar. Palmeri replied that there is an interesting mapping project that she and a Plan Commissioner worked on together that overlays the old red line maps with the lack of park space and some other dimensions. It’s interesting how some of that legacy continues today in the low income and more diverse census tracts. Nieforth replied that she can work to obtain the red line maps for an upcoming meeting if RDA is interested. Belter replied that he and Palmeri had discussed targeting a block and gentrifying it into a block of row housing or something that’s really attractive and affordable. Maybe city subsidies could transform the neighborhood into something really cool. __________________________________ Redevelopment Authority Minutes 6 March 16, 2022 Palmeri replied that there has been some concern about gentrification in the central city. Obviously she is pro-affordable housing especially for their workforce because a lot of their wages are service sector wages and they rely on public transportation in that area, but she also acknowledges that they need a diversity of income ranges reflected in housing as well. Nieforth replied that the housing study identified preserving the character of older homes while also trying to attract higher end homes and offering more affordable options. Palmeri replied that her other pet project for acquisition is green space and working to make it a priority for departments to find that space. Nieforth replied that it’s a lot easier to dedicate park land on the outskirts of town, but green space is an important amenity and feature. People like it and they know they need it, so it should be something that the RDA considers as well. Palmeri asked if green space is being looked at as more of an infrastructure piece because of the storm water and other benefits it can provide. She asked if they are seeing more of that with the bipartisan infrastructure bill or if that’s a ways off. Nieforth replied that she thinks it’s a ways off, but they continue to look for grants because there are a lot of funds out there right now. Nieforth stated that she will continue to keep everyone involved with the housing study recommendation process with Council. RDA can reach out to her with any comments to be incorporated into their next discussion. Executive Director’s Report Nieforth provided updates to the RDA. Closed Session Motion by Belter for the Redevelopment Authority to convene into Closed Session to discuss the acquisition of 122 West 9th Avenue, 0 N Main Street, and 19 East Irving Avenue pursuant to Section 19.85(1)(e) of the Wisconsin State Statutes where competitive and/or bargaining reasons require a closed session. Seconded by Panek. The Redevelopment Authority reconvened into open session at 5:17pm. 22-01 Approve Offer to Purchase 1125 North Main Street; TDS Metrocom, LLC ($5,000.00) Belter called the question on 22-01. __________________________________ Redevelopment Authority Minutes 7 March 16, 2022 Motion carried 3-1. Adjournment There was no further discussion. The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:19pm. (Panek, Belter) Respectfully Submitted, Kelly Nieforth Executive Director