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Economic Development Minutes 2013 06-04-13 APPROVED 8/5/13 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 7:00pm Yorkville City Hall, Conference Room 800 Game Farm Road In Attendance: Committee Members Chairman Ken Koch Alderman Chris Funkhouser Alderman Carlo Colosimo Alderman Joel Frieders Other City Officials City Administrator Bart Olson Community Development Director Krysti Barksdale-Noble Code Official Peter Ratos Other Guests: Stan Free, Castle Bank Stuart Oseroff, Imperial Investments Mark Shea, Attorney/AID Kathy Hazelwood, VP/AID The meeting was called to order by Chairman Ken Koch at 7pm. Citizen Comments None Previous Meeting Minutes May 7, 2013 chains Alderman Frieders noted one correction on page 2. Last line should read “...restaurant have also been...”. Minutes were then approved as corrected. New Business 1. EDC 2013-20 Building Permit Reports for May 2013 Mr. Ratos commented that there is activity in Autumn Creek, however, the rain has slowed things a bit. There is also activity in Blackberry Woods and Ms. Barksdale-Noble said the ravine is being monitored for flooding. 2. Building Inspection Report for May 2013 A form is being created for the “windshield” inspections that will begin next week. Mr. Ratos said he tries to notify the homeowner directly of any violations rather than sending a citation and he said people are responding well to this approach. Citations are sent for homes in foreclosure. Citizens can send complaints to a link to Krysti's email or, to remain anonymous, they can make a phone call to city hall. Complaints can also be taken on Twitter or Facebook. Citizens have 5 day to rectify a weed complaint and other complaints are dependent on the discretion of the Code Official. Mr. Funkhouser said he had received complaints about parks which have now been rectified. Page 1 of 4 3. EDC 2013-22 Disconnection of a Portion of the Hoover Forest Preserve Bart Olson said this item would allow a de-annexation of about 20 acres around and including the lodge. He gave a brief synopsis of the past events and said the City and County would each have a portion of the property. It was determined the Rivers Edge residents are the closest residents and Alderman Colosimo expressed concern that the City should have some control in the event of problems at Hoover. The County has complete jurisdiction over this property. It was also stated that Hoover may not have approved of the fees the City planned to charge for weddings held there. The de- annexation was requested by Jason Petit at the direction of his Board. The committee members were not in favor of this request. 4. EDC 2013-23 Third Amendment to the Redevelopment Agreement for the Downtown Yorkville Redevelopment Project Area (Imperial Investments, LLC) Mr. Olson said there are 3 components in regards to the pumphouse and they were put into a TIF agreement for clarification. They are: undergrounding of Com Ed lines, installing new facade on pumphouse and teardown of 5-10 feet of eastern end of the building. Each component requires sign-off from both the City and Imperial. He said, in general, Imperial will pay for the costs of the undergrounding, due diligence study (requiring 8-12 weeks to finish) and teardown. For the undergrounding, they are asking the City to split the study cost 50-50, which would be about $15,000 from the TIF fund. In general, the City would pay for 50% of undergrounding upfront. Mr. Olson said the City has only about $250,000 in the TIF fund now, some of which will be used for the Rt. 47 project including street lights. Alderman Frieders asked if the east side of the street would be handled in the same way. Mr. Olson said the City would like to do this, however, the cost would be about $5 million. It would also require a $30,000 study. Commenting on the power lines, Alderman Colosimo said the lines are functional for the City, however, the developer is asking the City to pay for 80% to benefit Imperial. Mr. Olson noted that the upgrade would be a line item in the budget and that the City would be doing this project in a few years at 100% of the cost, if not now. Mr. Oseroff added that one power line has already been buried and that it is a benefit for all to increase the efficiencies and improve the appearance. He also noted the problems with power deficiencies last summer. Alderman Frieders asked if there would be a problem with underground utilities due to the close proximity of the pumphouse. Mr. Ratos said it would be within a safe distance and the conduit is extremely thick. Alderman Funkhouser commented that the pumphouse should be improved since it is city-owned and since the funds are available, the City should move forward. The nearby parking lot is expected to be done by November. Limitation of the TIF funds was discussed. The City's liability for the Rt. 47 project is already budgeted in the 5-year budget. The property value is increasing so it is expected that the TIF fund will grow. Chairman Koch asked if the east side of the street would be affected by the TIF if those property owners requested money. The east side TIF agreement specifies that money will be awarded when those properties generate revenue. Mr. Colosimo said he would be more comfortable limiting the liability to TIF funds and not using money from the general fund. He wants more of the burden on the developer and not the taxpayer. Olson suggested sending the amendment to Imperial with this stipulation. Colosimo said he was OK with using $15,000 from the TIF for the study. He said it should be written Page 2 of 4 in the agreement, (in the event of litigation), that all expenses be paid only from the TIF--- the amendment will be brought back next month. Citing a PR issue, Alderman Koch agreed the money should not come from the General Fund. Mr. Olson said the amendment is currently drafted so that it requires authorization from him or the Council. th This item will move forward to the June 11 Council meeting with revisions and language will be included stating the funds must be in the TIF. 5. EDC 2013-24 Second Amendment to Grande Reserve Annexation Agreement Stan Free of Castle Bank was present on behalf of this agreement. Castle Bank currently holds the debt certificate issued to build the Grande Reserve school. The bank would like it recorded against the property owner Avanti/Ocean Atlantic Partnership. The amendment was never signed by the City. The school district could not get a referendum passed when needed and the school asked for a creative way to build the school. Mr. Free said he thinks there might be a market for the debt certificate at this time and Avanti might possibly purchase part of it. Mr. Olson said the developer is working to improve their reputation, even though the City has not been able to collect past judgments. th The committee agreed to this request and the agreement will go to Public Hearing on June 25 and to the Council in July. Alderman Frieders asked if Public Hearings were posted on Facebook and Twitter and Administrator Olson will facilitate these postings. 6. EDC 2013-25 Amended Development Agreement for 708-710 N. Bridge Street Ms. Barksdale-Noble said this is a development agreement which limited the driveway configuration. The property is now owned by AID (Association of Individual Development) and will be used for office space. This document shows their new configuration with the Rt. 47 expansion. AID Attorney Mark Shea said there is a common driveway easement, a private drive on the north end and the common driveway will be moved. The consent of the owners of 712-714 N. Bridge will be needed and a letter has been sent. A new dedication of easement is being prepared with a clean up of the covenants and restrictions. Engineering staff has reviewed the site plan and the city approves of the scope of the th plan. This item moves to the June 25 consent agenda. Old Business: None Additional Business: 1. Alderman Colosimo asked about the status of the outlots by the theatres and there has been progress made. Committee members agreed businesses are also needed on the south side of the City. 2. Alderman Frieders said there are 3 CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture) in the area from which customers can purchase a box of random food. However, he would like to see a farmer's market held 9-5, Monday through Friday and comprised of local vegetable farm vendors. He said the current farmer's market is difficult to attend due to the parking on Rt. 47 and cited Oswego's market as being very well-organized. Alderman Koch suggested research should be done on the Oswego event and Alderman Colosimo proposed handing out fliers to the Oswego vendors. Much marketing is needed to insure a successful market according to Krysti. The ordinance now restricts the farmer's market to the town square and Alderman Frieders suggested the area around River City Roasters as a possible venue and coordinating it with a green fair each Saturday. The idea will be presented to the Park Board as well. It was noted there are several vacant buildings in the industrial park that might be available. Page 3 of 4 Adjournment There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned at 8:27pm. Minute respectfully submitted by Marlys Young Page 4 of 4