Minutes: Redevelopment: February 20, 2007

Evansville Redevelopment Authority
Board of Commissioners
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, February 20, 2007, 7:30 pm
City Hall, 31 S. Madison Street, Evansville, Wisconsin

MINUTES
Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm by Chair Chris Eager. Present: Chris Eager, Bill Hammann, Betsy Ahner, and Tony Wyse. Absent: John Decker, Tom Calley, and Roger Roth. Also present: Executive Director Dan Wietecha and Greg Ardisson.
Declare Quorum. There being a majority of the commissioners present at call to order, a quorum was declared by the chair.

Approve Agenda. The agenda, as distributed, was approved without objection.
Approve Minutes of January 16, 2007 Meeting. Bill Hammann moved, seconded by Tony Wyse, to approve the minutes as distributed. Motion approved unanimously.

Old Business.
Bill Hammann noted that the Common Council had approved the development agreement for the Eager Building Historic Renovation Project at its February 13 meeting. Hammann asked that Dan Wietecha make available for the Council copies of the January 16 financial memo from Ehlers and Associates regarding the project.

New Business.

Night Owl proposal.

Greg Ardisson gave an update and overview of his proposed renovations. He still intends to make the lower level into a quiet, family-oriented restaurant and to keep the main level as a sports bar and grill. Maintaining the historic structure, state requirements for a fire suppression system, and other factors have pushed the estimated cost several hundred dollars over budget. Ardisson will be re-evaluating portions of the project to reduce some of the expense, but he needs some indication from the RDA if TIF will be an option on the renovation.

The board noted this is an important building in Evansville’s history and an essential piece of the downtown revitalization. They indicated they would likely be willing to use TIF along the same lines as other recent, significant projects and asked Ardisson to work with Wietecha on financial projections for the proposal.

Building Improvement Grant (BIG) program. Wietecha relayed that the BIG committee recently decided to adopt an open pipeline basis for accepting applications. Betsy Ahner added that the Historic Preservation Commission had loosened their restrictions to allow the BIG committee to apply their funds to assisting with back entrances as well. It was also noted that the program needs to be better advertised in the future.

North Union / Allen Creek Master Plan.

Wietecha distributed an email from City Planner Tim Schwecke proposing development of a master plan and design guidelines for redevelopment of properties in the gateway and corridor entering Evansville from the north. Hammann noted that this comes out of the development of the “big box” standards and is meant to address commercial buildings in the 10,000 to 25,000 square foot range. Wietecha noted that he felt such plan would be premature and recommended waiting some six to eight months to see what comes of an initiative by the Economic Development Committee and the Chamber of Commerce to develop a citywide economic development strategy. Eager noted that some concept or vision for the area is needed to avoid a knee-jerk reaction when a development proposal comes forward.

Bill Hammann moved, seconded by Betsy Ahner, to draft a request for proposals (RFP) for the Allen Creek Master Plan, including properties north of the city limits, for review at the March meeting. Motion approved unanimously.

Promoting TID #5. The board noted that the east end of downtown is in difficult condition with the Angus Haus burned down and a neighboring vacant lot. It may be possible to consolidate several smaller parcels into one larger property for development here. There was a consensus that this area needs to be a priority because of its prominent location.

Adjournment. Chris Eager moved, seconded by Bill Hammann, to adjourn the regular February meeting. Motion approved unanimously at 8:25 pm.