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HRA 12/03/1998 - 29832�� CITY OF FRIDLEY HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING DECEMBER 3,1998 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Commers called the December 3, 1998, Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Larry Commers, Virginia Schnabel, John Meyer, Jim McFarland Members Absent: Pat Gabel Others Present: Barb Dacy, Community Development Director Grant Femelius, Housing Coordinator Bill Bums, City Manager Jim Casserly, Financial Consultant Rick Pribyl, Finance Director Craig Ellestad, Accountant � Ben Martig, Housing/Special Projects Intem APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 1. 1998. HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING MINUTES: MOTION by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Mr. McFarland, to approve the October 1, 1998, Housing and Redevelopment Authority minutes as presented in writing. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON COMMERS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. CONSIDER AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE FRIDLEY HRA AND THE CITIES OF MOUNDS VIEW, NEW BRIGHTON AND BLAIN TO ACT AS FISCAL AGENT FOR 1999 METRO HOME & GARDEN FAIR. 2. CONSIDER SERVICE AGREEMENTS WITH THE CENTER ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT (CEE) FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE HOME REHABILITATION GRANT PROGRAM. � HOUSING 8� REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, DECEMBER 3, 1998 PAGE 2 � 3. AUTHORIZE CHAIRPERSON TO SIGN THE FINAL PLAN MYLARS FOR THE FRIDLEY EXECUTIVE SITE. 4. AUTHORIZE PROPOSAL.S FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO ASSIST HRA WITH AUAR AND ISP APPLICATIONS FOR MEDTRONIC DEVELOPMENT. 5. APPROVE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PAY INCREASES FOR HRA EMPLOYEES. 6. APPROVE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXTENSION OF DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT FOR NOAH'S ARK. 7. CLAIMS AND EXPENSES (October and November� Mr. Commers asked that Item 7(Claims and Expenses) be removed from the Consent Agenda for further discussion. MOTION by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Ms. Schnabel, to approve the Consent Agenda, AS AMENDED (Item 7 removed). UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON COMMERS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Commers stated at the last HRA meeting he had asked for a breakdown of personnel expenses. He asked if staff had had the opportunity to do so. Mr. Ellestad provided information in regard to the Administrative Personal Services, noting that this amount is increased annually, based on the COLA that is awarded. The Administrative Overhead Expense is for office space allocation for HRA employees and the Computer Overhead is for HRA computer programs. Mr. Commers asked what the G.O. Temp II bonds were. Mr. Ellestad explained that G.O. refers to General Obligation, which must be issued by the City. The City pays the principle and interest expenses, and the HRA reimburses the City for those expenses. This will be the last payment on the bonds. The new bonds were issued as of November 1 or December 1. Mr. Commers noted that a list of five additional expenses requiring HRA approval was distributed. Ms. Schnabel, referring to the Administrative Personal Services, wondered if a new study should be conducted, considering that the study is five years old. �"� Mr. Bums stated staff would be happy to do so. HOUSING � REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, DECEMBER 3, 1998 PAGE 3 ^ MOTION by Ms. Schnabel, seconded by Mr. Meyer, to approve the Claims and _ Expenses for October and November 1998. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON COMMERS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: 8. UPDATE ON HOUSING PROGRAM EAVLUATION INTERNSHIP PROJECT. Mr. Femelius stated in September of 1998, the HRA hired Intem Ben Martig through the University of Minnesota. One of the duties that assigned to Mr. Martig is to complete an in-depth analysis of the HRA's rehab programs. In particular, staff would like to determine the effectiveness of those programs on improving the housing stock in Fridley. Additionally, he will try to determine who is using the rehab programs in terms of demographic profile — the incomes, household composition, length of residence, etc. This will give the HRA a picture of which the typical borrower is. Mr. Ferr�elius stated Mr. Martig will also be looking at some of the eligibility requirements. Typically, the HRA programs have assisted borrowers who generally would be classified as "middle income borrowers". Staff would like to see if any �'` adjustments in income requirements need to be made. Mr. Ferr�elius stated that, additionally, Mr. Martig will be looking at some of the broader implications of the programs in terms of how they are affecting the city overall — property values, appearance of neighborhoods, etc. Comparisons will be made to other first-ring suburbs to determine whether Fridley is providing assistance similar in nature to other cities, etc. Mr. Femelius reviewed some of the activities which Mr. Martig has accomplished to date. Future activities include surveying loan and grant recipients who have been assisted through the HRA programs. A more in-depth survey and evaluation will be completed of the Hyde Park neighborhood to see how the HRA can boost activity in that area. He stated staff hopes to be able to give the HRA a formal presentation of the findings at the HRA meeting in February. Mr. Meyer stated it appears to be a very comprehensive survey and that it will be interesting to review the results of the studies. Mr. Commers asked what the Old House Special Property Tax Deferment Program is. Mr. Femelius stated he believes this was a law created in 1995 by the legislature which allows property owners of homes over 35 years old to defer a portion of the increased � value due to improvements made to the property. This encourages property owners to rehab their properties without resulting in an increase in taxes. The program has been HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, DECEMBER 3, 1998 PAGE 4 � in place for several years and the HRA would like to determine how many residents have taken advantage of the program. Additionally, they would like to see if there is a way of promoting the program better. Mr. Commers stated he wondered how many residents were aware of the program. He stated he had never heard of it. Ms. Schnabel asked how great a percentage of Fridley's housing stock would fall into the home age category required to be eligible for the program. Mr. Femelius stated that a large percentage of homes would qualify. Many homes in Fridley were built prior to 1970. Mr. Commers asked staff to provide the Board members with additional information on this program with some examples of how it works. 9. MEDTRONIC UPDATE: Ms. Dacy stated that staff has heard from the legal counsel for Medtronic. They will be retuming a"black line draft" to the HRA by the end of next week. Staff was unable to meet with Medtronic prior to the HRA meeting as originally hoped. She noted that she has been meeting with Metropolitan Council, the MPCA, and Medtronics' consultant in � preparation of the environmental review documents which will need to be completed in order for the project to proceed. She expects to have a draft of the AUAR by December 8. In January, she expects that Medtronic will be preparing for the plat and the land use applications: Mr. Commers asked if the intersection has been completed. Ms. Dacy stated the road construction will stop soon due to weather limitations. It will start again in the spring, wifh an estimated completion date of July 1, 1999. She stated she believes additional work is needed on the east side of Central Avenue. Mr. Commers asked about landscaping around the intersection once it has been completed. Ms. Dacy stated the scope of the project includes some proposed landscaping on the East side, adjacent to some of the residential homes that were affected by the realignment of the Central Avenue connection. On the west side, however, she does not believe there was any proposed landscaping in the intersection area. Any disturbed areas will need to be graded and sodded as deemed appropriate. Mr. Commers asked if Ms. Dacy would check to see if any landscaping has been ^ proposed on the south side of the freeway befinreen the frontage road and Central Avenue in front of Menards. � HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, DECEMBER 3, 1998 PAGE 5 Mr. Commers asked if any timetable has been established to get the documents finalized for this project. Mr. Casserly stated that this has become a rather complicated document. Medtronic has informed staff that they will do their best to get it finalized as soon as possible. As soon as they get something back from Medtronic, they will respond. 10. REQUEST FOR TIF ASSISTANCE BY ONAN � MURPHY WAREHOUSE. Ms. Dacy stated no action is requested of the HRA on this issue at this time; however, she expects that staff will be coming back in January or February for some type of action. She noted that Onan is considering selling 26 acres of its campus to Murphy Warehouse who will build a 400,000 square foot facility. Onan would then lease approximately 60% of the building for some of its suppliers, which presents an operational advantage to Onan. At the present time, Onan rents space from Murphy in their warehouses on Main Street. Having an on-site warehouse, therefore, would provide savings to Onan. As a result of the proposed project, they feel it will create approximately 100 jobs. Ms. Dacy provided a history of the site, noting that this is a very good example of what the Metropolitan Council has been attempting to do in retuming brownfield land to the �� tax rolls and trying to make it a productive piece of property. Funds will be needed, however to clean up the problem and address some of the public improvements, which will, need to be made. Onan has hired a consultant and they have made an application to the Metropolitan Council for funds to clean up some of the problems. Ms. Dacy noted that this project would be a tremendous advantage to the City. The value of the property would increase significantly and new jobs would be created within the City. Mr. Commers stated it would be helpful to know the overall tax benefits of this project to all of the available entities that would share in the taxes. Mr. Casserly noted page 10J of the Agenda, which provided a breakdown of the various costs relating specifically to the site as well as various sources of revenue. The HRA is not being asked to subsidize the actual cost of the property, but rather to help with the redevelopment and the pollution costs. The site is worth roughly $1.4 million. Mr. Commers stated this has been a problem property, which has been difficult to develop. Ms. Dacy stated she expects to discuss a number of issues with Onan at the meeting ^ scheduled for Monday, December 8. She will report back. HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, DECEMBER 3, 1998 PAGE 6 n 11. AUTHORIZE INNOVATIVE IRRIGATION TO DO THE MAINTENANCE FOR LAKE POINTE PROPERTY FOR 1999. Mr. Commers noted that a copy of the contract with Innovative Irrigation for Lake Pointe property for 1999 was provided to the HRA. He noted that there would be deductions in price based upon a percentage of acreage; and if the City is successful and the Medtronic project proceeds next summer, there will be a reduction in costs. MOTION by Ms. Schnabel, seconded by Mr. Meyer, to approve the Maintenance Agreement for Innovative Irrigation of the Lake Pointe property as presented. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON COMMERS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ,ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Ms. Schnabel, seconded by Mr. Meyer, to adjoum the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON COMMERS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING WAS OFFICIALLY ADJOURNED AT 8:25 P.M. �`' Respectfully submitted, � Tamara D. Saefke � Recording Secretary ,�