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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-21-10 Agenda NotesHEDRA AGENDA NOTES FOR OCTOBER 21, 2010 MINUTES Please see attached HEDRA Meeting minutes from September 16, 2010 for your review and approval. BILLS SeptemberBills Bradley & Deike $32.00 HEDRA Levy Review $112.00 GA Term Note $80.00 Westview Packaging Amend Ehlers & Associates $665.00 TIF District No. 5 –Napa Liesch Associates $1,848.95 Hudson Phase I Environ. $2,981.07 Hudson Phase II Environ. Fluegel Law Firm $902.00 Mann Property Purchase $9,988.93 Hudson - Jun to Aug Johnson Scofield $1,480.00 Mann Property Survey Mastercard $158.70 MN NAHRO Conf Hotel DCA Title $210,391.65 Mann Property Purchase Please see attached general ledger detailfor September. BUSINESS A.Hudson Manufacturing - Contingency Items HEDRA has until October 25, 2010 to waive or satisfy contingency items per the Hudson Manufacturing Purchase Agreement. In late September, on-site environmental testing took place as follows: Installation of test pits to determine the existence of buried waste and debris. Installation of groundwater monitoring wells. Installation of vapor probes to identify subsurface vapors Installation of hand auger borings inside the existing building to determine evidence of waste or contamination beneath the building Results have been sent to the lab for analysis. Eric Hesse from Liesch Environmental will attend the meeting to provide a report on environmental testing results. ACTION –Reviewenvironmental testing result.HEDRA actions include: 1)Determine environmental testing results are satisfactory and proceed with closing on the property. 2)Elect to terminate the Purchase Agreement and cease action towards property acquisition. Please see the attached Phase II Environmental Preliminary Work Plan for further information. B.Hudson Manufacturing – ALTA Survey and Title Objections Alta Survey - The ALTA Survey has been completed and is being reviewed by City Staff and the City Attorney. The survey has identified certain survey gaps and encroachments, and easement questions. There is also some uncertainty as to the extent of Hudson’s ownership between the building and the Mississippi River. The 1855 plat is unclear as to the extent of Hudson’s northern property line. We have suggested that Hudson provide a quit claim deed for land located between itsbuilding the Mississippi River to alleviate this concern. Title Documents - The City Attorney has reviewed the title documents. All of the title objections: (i) will either be waived upon receipt of documents at closing that will allow exceptions to coverage to be removed by the title company, or (ii) are related to survey matters to be further reviewed. The City Attorney does not have any pure title objections (non-survey related) that he believeswill not be waived prior to closing. We will continue to work We will also draft a with Hudson to resolve these issues prior to closing. resolution for HEDRA consideration documenting any outstanding objections, and authorizing signature of any closing documents. The resolution will be presented at the meeting. ACTION –Adoptresolution to be presented at the meeting. Please see attached ALTA Survey and Review of Title Objections for further information. C.Marketing RFQ Update th Following the September 16HEDRA meeting Community Relations Specialist, Shannon Rausch resent the Marketing RFQ to Local Pigeon as well as forwarding a copy to Himle Horner who is part of the consulting team that MN/DOT has brought on board to work on the Communication/Public Relation portion of the bridge project. Since then, Shannon has meet with Local Pigeon to determine if they would be able to meet all of the criteria HEDRA had outlined in their RFQ. Specifically how would Local Pigeon propose to help HEDRA identify Hastings target audience and plan to reach them? If HEDRA were to work with Local Pigeon what kind of marketing means would they propose using, and included in that, what key messages would they use? As well as how would they measure for success? And most importantly, would they be able to provide HEDRA with a marketing plan in the end that would prioritize the marketing activities for the Commission to work on and identify the specific means of implementation of this plan. After meeting with Local Pigeon, it is apparent that Local Pigeon would not provide the traditional marketing plan as the Commission requested. Local Pigeon’s marketing ideas for HEDRA is entirely focused around a social media, online campaign. They are proposing that HEDRA hire Local Pigeon to develop a website which would promote Hastings. This site would include everything from blogs posted by local businesses, to local deals that would be available only through the website and could be daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. The site could even include various contests to draw visitor. Local Pigeon’s intent with this site is to get as many businesses and local providers to get onboard with this site. Use it as a source of advertizing for their business and in turn promote Hastings as a whole. One option that Local Pigeon was open to would be to work on an agreement where HEDRA would utilize their services for less than the initial $10,000 since the Commission would not be getting everything it had specifically asked for, but could make this one part of HEDRA’s overall marketing effort. During this time, Community Relations Specialist has also met with Colin Cox from Himle Horner to see if they would be interested in collaborating with HEDRA on their marketing efforts. In the conversations that we have had, there seems to be plenty of areas of overlap in the efforts that they will be handling with MN/DOT’s Bridge Project and with what HEDRA has proposed in the RFQ that could be tie into. As well as opportunities where HEDRA could take Himle Horner’s efforts one step further to specifically target a distinct marketing sect to encourage them to visit Hastings, shop Hastings, and even relocate their business to Hastings. Shannon is waiting for final confirmation from Himle Horner stating what or how specifically they can see us working together. More information will be provided at the meeting regarding this option. D.Minnesota Main Street Program The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota has launched the Minnesota Main Street Program to assist in commercial district revitalization. The alliance is accepting applications to participate in the program. The annual membership fee is $2,000. Members can receive up to $6,400 in technical assistance and training, including: Local Main Street program organizational development Legal issues of initiating, managing a not-for-profit organization Fund-raising Technical assistance in support of historic preservation Downtown/local Main Street program website development Promotion, public relations, and advertising Special event management Business recruitment Small business operations Entrepreneurial and business development Market Analysis Visual merchandising, store design Property development Signage system design Writing/re-writing comprehensive plans, zoning codes, other redevelopment- supportive ordinances Urban design Transportation planning Minnesota Design Team visit or other charrette U of M Extension services which are relevant to downtown revitalization (such as BRE, Customer Service Education, Event Management, etc…) Design Guideline development Volunteer and/or staff trainings customized to your community On-site property owner consults Digital façade renderings and recommendation notes Event or festival workshops based around your downtown event(s) The Main Street program is a comprehensive commercial revitalization strategy that helps communities preserve some of their most significant assets- their historic buildings. NTHP has developed the Main Street Four Point Approach, tailored to local needs and opportunities: Design: Enhancing the physical appearance of the commercial district by rehabilitating historic buildings, encouraging compatible infill, and developing sensitive design management systems. Organization: Building consensus and cooperation among the many groups and individuals who have a role in the revitalization process. Promotion: Marketing the traditional commercial district’s assets to customers, potential investors, new businesses, local citizens, and visitors. Economic Restructuring: Strengthening the district’s existing economic base while finding ways to expand it to meet new opportunities. [1] Hastings participated in an earlier version of the Main Street Program during the 1980’s. Further information can be found at http://www.mnpreservation.org/programs/main-street/. ACTION –Authorize Staff to submit application. Please see attached Main Street Program Information E.Hastings Beauty School – Request to adjust interest rate. nd Dan Lynch of Hastings Beauty School, 221 East 2Street (Gardiner House) has submitted a request to adjust the interest rate on his $58,000 promissory note issued by the HRA on June 21, 2005. The note had an initial interest rate of 4% per annum, and adjusted to 9% on June 21, 2010. Mr. Lynch seeks a lower rate and has suggested 7% and has asked if the adjusted rate could be made retroactive. I will be getting more information on the loan balance prior to the meeting. ACTION –Provide input and direction to staff for potential future action. Please see the attached letter and promissory note for further information. F.Hastings Beauty School – Skateboard Damage nd Dan Lynch of Hastings Beauty School, 221 East 2Street (Gardiner House) has submitted a letter asking for assistance to alleviate damage caused to his structure by skateboarders. We do not have commercial grant funds specifically allocated within the budget. We may be able to offer a commercial loan to pay for additional improvements. Further information will be provided at the meeting. ACTION –Provide input and direction to staff for potential future action. Please see the attached letter for further information. REPORTS A. Hudson Manufacturing Bond Sale HEDRA has received two responses to our bond sale proposal. It appears our annual debt service on the 20 year general obligation bonds will be less than originally anticipated. We had planned on a $260,000 annual debt payment; the lowest response submitted had an annual average debt service payment of $230,000. HEDRA is scheduled to take final action on the bond sale at its th November 9meeting. B.TH 61 Bridge Update nd The September 22 groundbreaking and open house attracted 250 people. Attendees were given the opportunity to review bridge lighting and colors, as well as the mural located on the 2nd Street south abutment. The Visual Quality Team th met on October 13 to discuss bridge lighting and color selection. Those attending the open house preferred a blue color. The VQT discussed whether a bold color or lighter color was preferable. The bridge design staff will present updated color rendering at the next VQT meeting and have discussed having the community vote on three final colors. C. Park and Ride Lot Update City staff met with Metropolitan Council to discuss the grant agreement for use of the $600,000 allocation from the Red Rock Corridor. Metropolitan Council was designated as the fund disburser. The language of the original allocation requires Met Council to be owner of the property. City Staff voiced its concern over conveying the property. I am still awaitingthe actual grant agreement. ATTACHMENTS HEDRA Minutes –September 16, 2010 General Ledger Detail –September, 2010 Phase II Environmental Work Plan - Hudson ALTA Survey - Hudson Review of Title Objections - Hudson Main Street Program Information Hastings Beauty School – Loan Adjustment Request Hastings Beauty School – Promissory Note Hastings Beauty School – Skateboard Letter