To: Mayor Ringhand and Common Council
From: Bill Connors, City Administrator
882-2263
Date: Feb. 10, 2006
Re: February 14, 2006, Regular Common Council Meeting
Overview of Selected Agenda Items and City Administrator’s Report
OVERVIEW OF SELECTED AGENDA ITEMS
Below is a summary of information the Common Council will discuss and consider at the Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, February 14, 2006. Copies of all ordinances, resolutions, and relevant supporting documentation are attached to the agenda provided by the City Clerk/Treasurer.
Amendment of Future Land Use Maps in Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan
The Common Council will hold a public hearing and consider adopting Ordinance #2006-1, which would amend the Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan to change the designation of seven parcels of land on the future land use maps from single-family residential to commercial. These parcels are located along USH 14 north of the intersection with N. Madison St. The current land use of all seven of these parcels is residential. Six of the seven parcels were recently added to the territory of Tax Incremental District No. 5. On January 3, 2006, the Plan Commission adopted a resolution recommending to the Common Council that it amend the plan to designate these seven parcels as commercial on the future land use maps. It appears that these parcels were designated as single-family residential on the future land use maps as the result of an oversight.
Modified Agreement with YMCA of Dane County
The Common Council will consider approving a modified agreement with the YMCA of Dane County regarding the operation of the Evansville youth program. Since 2002, the YMCA has operated the Evansville youth program in the Dean Community Center building. In the adopted 2006 city budget, the city increased the appropriation for the annual amount paid to the YMCA from $31,050 to $33,550. The city recently purchased a larger building at 209 S. 1st St. and is remodeling it to be the new home for the youth program.
On December 13, 2005, the Common Council approved a draft of a new written agreement with the YMCA. However, at that time, the YMCA had not agreed to the draft, and later asked for revisions.
One of the issues the YMCA wanted addressed was responsibility for paying the utilities at the Dean Community Center building and the building at 209 S. 1st St. A small part of each building will be occupied by the AWARE Agency, which has people present in the building more hours than the youth program operates. The YMCA did not think it was fair that the youth program was required to pay 100% of the utilities for the building, and the AWARE Agency suggested that it would need an increase in its $5,000 annual payment from the city if the agency were required to pay part of the utilities. Under the modified agreement, the city would pay all of the building utilities. It is my understanding that the modified agreement is acceptable to the YMCA.
Budget Amendments
The Common Council will consider adopting two resolutions that would amend the adopted 2006 city budget. Resolution #2006-2 would increase the appropriation for emergency medical service (EMS) retirement. The city’s full-time employees qualify for a city-paid contribution to the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) based on their annual wages. Some full-time city employees have served as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) over the years, being paid an on-call fee for hours they were on-call outside of their usual work schedule for the city. The city failed to include the on-call fees paid to these full-time city employees in their wages for purposes of computing the city’s payment to the WRS on behalf of these employees. As a result, the city owes the WRS $10,023. Resolution #2006-2 would increase the appropriation for EMS retirement by this amount.
Resolution #2006-3 would increase the amount to be transferred from the General Fund to the Capital Project Fund by $15,000 and increase the appropriation in the Capital Project Fund for Department of Public Works equipment purchases by $15,000. The increase in the transfer out of the General Fund would decrease the General Fund fund balance by $15,000. However, it appears that in 2005, total actual expenditures for the Department of Public Works will be less than budgeted, which would increase the General Fund fund balance. The $15,000 increase in the appropriation for equipment would be used to purchase a small skid-steer loader for sidewalk snow removal.
No Parking Zones
The Common Council will consider adopting Ordinance #2005-52, which would, among other things, establish as no parking zones (1) the west side of Exchange St. from E. Main St. to Water St. and (2) the south and east sides of Water St. from Allen Creek to E. Main St.
Procedure for Street Closings
The Common Council will consider adopting Ordinance #2005-51, would establish a procedure for granting a license to close a public street for a festival or similar event. The ordinance would require that notices be mailed to owners of affected properties, unless the applicant submitted a petition signed by at least a certain percentage of the affected property owners and occupants. In either event, the City Clerk/Treasurer would be required to publish notice of a public hearing on the application for a license to close the street.
Applications for Tax Increment Assistance
The Common Council will consider adopting a motion committing the city, through the Redevelopment Authority, to give a grant for 25 % of the cost of acquiring and renovating the Eager Building, aka the Economy Store, located at 7 E. Main St., estimated to be $1.9 million, subject to the restrictions recommended by the Redevelopment Authority. The Redevelopment Authority recommended that the Common Council commit to give such a grant, subject to the following conditions: (1) the developers must provide the city with financial data and projections about the project to show there is need for the city to provide financial assistance, (2) David Wagner of Ehlers & Associates must provide projections of the tax increment that will be generated by the project, (3) the developers must provide financial data and renovation plans to the city assessor to allow her to refine her estimate of the equalized value of the property at completion, (4) the parties must enter into a written development agreement acceptable to the city, and (5) the developers must agree that if the city assessor determines the equalized value of the property at completion is less than $1.9 million, they would pay on an annual basis the difference between the increment that would be generated by $1.9 million of equalized value and the increment actually generated by the value assigned by the assessor.
The Common Council also will consider approving a grant from the Redevelopment Authority to Lewis and Marion Farnsworth for façade improvements to the property located at 12–14 E. Main St. The grant would be for 20% of the actual cost of the façade improvements or $6,000, whichever is less, with payment to be made after the applicants provide the city with documentation of costs actually incurred for the façade improvements.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
The Common Council agenda packet includes a summary report providing a preliminary comparison of budgeted to actual expenditures for 2005. Please be advised that many adjustments need to be made to the accounting data before staff will be able to provide a report that gives an a reliable comparison of budgeted to actual expenditures for 2005. For example, the preliminary report in the packet does not include the payment in lieu of taxes that the city expects to receive from its municipal electric and water utilities (budgeted to be $174,115), nor does it include the city’s payment of the public fire protection charge to the municipal water utility (budgeted to be $175,000). In addition, an approximately $40,000 correction in the amount the city paid to the Evansville Community Fire District in 2005 has not been posted to the general ledger, so it was not included in this summary report in the packet.
The search is continuing for a new City Finance Director. Everyone in City Hall is pitching in to make sure time sensitive issues are addressed while this position remains open.
cc: Department heads
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One of the additional agreement provisions, that was discussed at the meeting of the RDA and was suggested by the Development Rep from Rock Co, was that the promise of the developer to pay the tax increment on the 1.9 million could not be voided by subsequent sale to a third party or by transfer to heirs. This was understood, but seems to have been omitted from the list in the Administrators Summary.
ReplyDeleteThe gentleman asked "Have you thought of any "bailout" contingincies. The answer given was "no." This needs to be an enforceable section of the agreement. Call it item #7.
The motion language listed in the Administrators Memo is not the language that the RDA used in the meeting of January. It did not list the amount to be loaned at "25% of the cost of acquiring and renovating, ...estimated to be 1.9 million. Rather, the motion by Decker and second by Mr. Eager was 25% of 1.9 million. Period.... There is a clear difference. By the language of the Admnistrator, the City is set up to cover 25% of any cost overruns, which are reasonably expected. Consider that a $100,000 overrun is only a 5% variance.
ReplyDeleteCitizens should also consider that the other projects heretofore done in TIF #5 were given 20% of appraisal. The Economy Store proposal proposes that the City give 25% of cost, regardless of appraisal. Consider the possibility that if the resulting product is appraised at 1.2 million, and the city puts in 450,000, the percentage the taxpayers will have put in relative to appraised value or value of the project is -------37%. And guess what---for that huge investment, at the moment of completion all the investment by the taxpayers will be vaporized.
After all. Think of it. It has only been estimated by the assessor at 1.2 million.
Pretty amazing, huh?