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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: January 15, 2010 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: SHOPKO TIF PROJECT TO BE REPLACED WITH RESIDENTIAL 1. DEVELOPMENT : Over the past month or so, Planning staff and I have had discussions with the Dumke Group regarding their proposed Shopko development and the TIF District that had accompanied this project. It appears as though the likelihood of a Shopko being developed in this area is minimal. The Dumkes are still interested in doing something with this site that has remained vacant for many years. As a result, the Dumkes discussed with us a complete change in this project toward the development of multi-family, residential townhomes on this site, along with some retail to act as a buffer between new and existing uses. In our discussion with the Dumkes, it was decided that TIF assistance would not be appropriate. We have indicated, however, that we would be willing to support the project should they be seeking any type of financing packages through the state or other programs, similar to the financing that they pursued for the Marion Road development. Although this appears to close the chapter on the original Shopko TIF idea, I do not regret having made that decision and look forward to the possibility of future commercial development on the north side should the opportunities present themselves. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this matter. CITY CENTER HOTEL UPDATE 2.: I had an opportunity to meet with representatives of the City Center Hotel this past week. The hotel has undertaken a market analysis to assist them in determining how they will market the hotel, including options for them to consider on "flagging" the hotel with a brand name. While the city certainly has no say in this matter, I did indicate that if City Center Hotel was going to request public financial assistance, I would feel more comfortable recommending a project with a name brand hotel so that other entities are essentially putting their seal of approval on the project. Planning Director Burich and I explained to Mr. Nash Gill and his representatives that public assistance does not come lightly. Specifically, state law requires that the "but for" clause be met with respect to needing public financial assistance in order for the subject project to succeed. Toward that end, we have requested that Mr. Gill provide us with financial projections for the hotel, based upon whatever decision he makes to remodel and rebrand the hotel. Should Mr. Gill provide us with the necessary information, Planning staff will review this information and determine if a TIF is necessary and/or feasible in this case. Weekly Newsletter January 15, 2010 Page 2 Should a TIF be feasible, it would likely come before the Plan Commission and Council during the month of March. Following approval of the TID, staff would then prepare a development agreement that would outline any type of financial support that the city would provide for this project. The development agreement would likely be presented to the Council in April or May of 2010. Construction and rehabilitation work at the hotel would begin shortly thereafter, assuming Council approval and that all tasks have been accomplished as scheduled. We have already indicated to Mr. Gill that given the circumstances of this type of development, a "pay as you go" TIF would be the most appropriate vehicle. In the meantime, Mr. Gill is finalizing his marketing plan and will be providing us with financial information in the near future. If you have any questions about the process regarding this potential TIF District, please contact Planning Director Burich or me. OSHKOSH CORPORATION TIF UPDATE 3.: This week, we received the final pieces of information from Oshkosh Corporation regarding their request for a TIF District to help finance their facility expansion on the south side. The city's financial advisor is reviewing these documents to insure that the "but for" requirement for the TIF is being met. The TIF plan will th be presented to the Plan Commission at the January 19 Plan Commission meeting. The Joint Review Board will also meet that day to schedule a time when they will also review this TIF District. Assuming that the Plan Commission agrees with the TIF plan as proposed, this issue will come before the Council sometime in February for consideration. Of course, we are still awaiting the final decision from the Department of the Army regarding the appeal by Oshkosh Corporation's competitors. At this point, we feel comfortable in proceeding with the TIF District creation, with the understanding that any development agreement that we would reach with Oshkosh Corporation would hinge upon the successful awarding of this contract. As we understand it, there still may be additional appeals that may take place even if Oshkosh Corporation is successful in the Army's review. What this means is that there could likely be a protracted delay before we get word. In the meantime, I believe it is appropriate to analyze the feasibility of the TIF and have that issue set aside so that we are ready to proceed once the Army makes its final decision. Assuming that the TIF is approved by Council in late February or early March, any development assistance agreement with Oshkosh Corporation would be presented to Council at a later time, likely in late March. However, as stated above, some of that may hinge on the status of the appeal at that time. I will continue to keep Council updated on this matter as circumstances change. SNOW REMOVAL AROUND BUS STOPS 4.: As the Council is aware from comments made during public input at last Tuesday's meeting, staff continues to struggle with the issue of snow removal near bus stops, particularly in the area of North Westfield Drive and Robin Avenue. The gentleman who spoke at Tuesday's meeting raises some legitimate concerns about snow removal for handicapped citizens. Our challenge is to balance those legitimate concerns with the ordinances that we have in effect. Specifically, the city has a 24-hour rule for removal of snow from sidewalks within 24 hours after a snow event ends. In this case, the corner of Robin and Westfield also serves as an access point for bus stops. Furthermore, we enforce snow removal violations on a complaint basis. In order to address this specific issue, I have placed a standing complaint order with the Public Works Department for this intersection. This means that following 24 hours after the snow event ends, Public Works can consider that this area has received a complaint, and is authorized to remove the snow and charge the property owner. Weekly Newsletter January 15, 2010 Page 3 At the same time, the Transportation Department will also monitor the situation to insure that an area is available for riders in this area to access the bus. Additionally, I have asked staff to directly contact the owner of the property in question. It is our hope that the owner will work with his management company to make sure that the snow is removed as promptly as possible, given the fact that the speaker from Tuesday's meeting uses the bus stop on a regular basis. I have asked staff to make this a priority to monitor during snow events and we will continue to do so. However, please be aware that we cannot overstep our authority to remove snow and charge a property until after the required 24-hour period. If you have any questions, please contact me. HEALTH DEPARTMENT MERGER FEASIBILITY 5.: I finally had an opportunity to meet with County Executive Mark Harris this week to initially discuss the potential for a merger of the city's and county's health departments. As previously reported, this scenario would result in the county effectively taking over the city's health department responsibilities. Based upon state statutes, this would be an irreversible decision, so we cannot take these discussions lightly. We agreed that the most appropriate first step is to review the level of services that are provided by each of our respective agencies. There may be some gaps or disconnects between the various services provided by each individual agency. In order for us to effectively have a discussion on a possible merger, we need to be able to identify these gaps and disconnects so that we can reconcile them should we ultimately decide to merge departments. Each of the respective health department staffs are being asked to assemble this information so that we may begin some initial review and discussion. While there is no necessary urgency to this issue, the county is interested in making a determination on whether or not they need to plan for a merged health department at their new offices in the former Oshkosh B'Gosh building. Similarly, our motivation is that the state would like to know what the city's future plans are due to the existing vacancy of the city health officer. Based upon those two mutual needs, we will begin pursuing this so that we can proceed with or without each other. In any event, we mutually agreed that the earliest any merger would be effective would be 2011. This is just a very preliminary update, so please contact me if you have any questions or thoughts on this matter as we begin initial review. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 6.: Items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include an e-mail from Police Chief Scott Greuel concerning the deer culling on December th 30. I am also enclosing a report on the tree inventory of the woodlot north of North High School, near the intersection of Park Ridge Avenue and Vinland Road. This inventory was performed so that the city can plan the construction of a proposed storm water pond on this site. I am also enclosing a letter we received from Marlin Properties, Inc. this week, commending two city employees for their cooperation in the opening of a new business in town. These kinds of letters are always nice to receive. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the thst minutes of the January 5 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the special October 21 rd Redevelopment Authority meeting; the minutes of the December 3 Museum Board meeting; th and the minutes of the December 15 Downtown BID Board meeting. The last item I'm enclosing is the latest edition of The Crime Reporter, sponsored by TRICOM. Weekly Newsletter January 15, 2010 Page 4 th UPCOMING MEETINGS 7.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of January 18 include: th At 8:00 a.m. on Monday, January 18, we will be welcoming Parks Director Ray Maurer to the city. I will be with Mr. Maurer a good part of Friday morning to introduce him to employees, as well as his new staff. On Tuesday, at 8:00 a.m., I will be attending a meeting of the Joint Review Board, at which time we will complete the scheduling process necessary to consider a possible TIF for Oshkosh Corporation. On Tuesday, at 1:00 p.m., Public Works staff and I will be meeting with residents in the area of Highway #91 and James Road to discuss the storm water retention basin that has been identified in our Sawyer Creek Plan. We have agreed to meet with the residents on site so that they may show us areas of concern to them. On Wednesday, at 9:00 a.m., I will be making a presentation at Leadership Oshkosh's Business Day. If you have any questions regarding any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc