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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRC-04-12-00f,. 1. i CARMEL REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Wednesday, April 12, 2000 DOCS Conference Room 6:00 p.m. AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Presentation by Mr. Wilhelm Brans, from Artec, New York City 3. Approval of Minutes, 3/1512000 Meeting 4. Financial Report 5. Old Business A. Discussion about Community Survey Proposal B. Resolution 5-2000, Stayer Property 6. New Business A. Resolution 6-2000, designating the. Redevelopment Commission President as purchasing agent B. Resolution 7-2000, designating the Redevelopment Commission President as the only person who can call a special meeting of the Commission C. Resolution 8-2000, authorizing a settlement agreement with Barbara Ann Godby, dba Four Seasons Beauty Salon, to vacate the leased premises at 20 1" Avenue S.W., Carmel, by April 15, 2000, in return forpayment of $3,535.00 for moving and relocation assistance 4?.- Opening of bids for "City Center Site Preparation and Improvements, Phase 1" E. Opening of bids for private redevelopment of "Redevelopment Parcel No. IA-in City Center F. Approval of Invoices 1. Baker & Daniels $ 4,110.56 2. Baker & Daniels $ 5,174.01 3. CSO Architects $ 6,450.00 4. CSO Architects $ 8,996.00 5. Daily Ledger $ 116.12 6. Indianapolis Newspapers $ 137.94 7. London Witte Group $ 9,337.00 8. Paul I. Cripe, Inc. $20,271.96 9. Wallack Somers & Haas $ 4,816.50 10. Wallack Somers & Haas $151651.75 •11. Wallack Somers & Haas $ 9,918.75 12. National City Bank $ 1,400.00 Invoices #1-11 are to be paid from the 1998 City Center Bond..Invoice #12 is to be paid from the Merchants Square TIF; it is an administrative fee that must be approved by the Redevelopment Commission. CRC Agenda, April 12, 2000 (Continued) 7. Signing of Documents (if any) 8. Schedule Next Meeting 9. Adjournment Z:\redevcomm\2000 April 12 Agenda CARMEL REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Meeting, Wednesday, April 12, 2000 The meeting was called to order by President Rick Roesch at 6:05 p.m. Commission members present were Amy Boldt, Susan Westermeier, and John Koven constituting a quorum. Also present were Mayor Jim Brainard, Councilors Wayne Wilson and Luci Snyder, Paul Reis, attomey for AMLI Residential, Les Olds from CSO Architects, Karl Haas from Wallack Somers and Haas, Phil Dunlap from the Indianapolis Star. Other citizens present: John and Barbara Mallon, owners of Framemakers and Harold Parker, manager of Framemakers. Phyllis Morrissey as Staff Support. Amy Boldt moved the order of the minutes be changed. After a second from Susan Westermeier, the motion was unanimously approved. Invoice Approval Mr. Roesch noted the invoices submitted for payment have been approved by the department heads and/or the City Attorney. He asked for clarification on invoice #10 and the redevelopment agreement with Davis. Mayor Brainard responded it should read "proposed agreement", noting Mr. Haas has been negotiating with Davis what Davis would be willing to do so we know when we write our RFP. It might also refer to the Davis sale of property to us. Ms. Boldt recommended we ask Clerk-Treasurer Cordray that when payment is made to the vendors to also include copies of the invoices which have items deleted or amounts changed so the vendors' accounting departments know not to rebill and the accounts can be reconciled. Documentation should be included with the checks.. This was agreed to by the CRC. Ms. Westermeier moved the CRC approve the twelve invoices listed on the agenda. After a second by Ms. Boldt, the motion was unanimously approved. Mr. Roesch noted Invoice #12 ($1,400) is to be paid from the Merchants Square TIF. The others are all paid from the 1998 City Center Bond, totaling $84,980.59. Ouestions from Citizens Mr. Harold Parker, manager of Framemakers on Rangeline Road, and the owners of the property had questions about what's happening in Old Town Carmel. Mayor Brainard responded: There is a newly formed committee to look at some long range planning for Rangeline Road between Old Towne and the new City Center. A lot of people were concerned about a used car lot that "popped up" overnight and we found out that was already in our zoning code and there wasn't much we could do about it as long as they met all the rules and regulations that are required for used car lots. The overall plan we've discussed over the years has been wouldn't it be nice to have a streetscape where people walked and as these older buildings between here and Old Town get rebuilt to have a plan in place. There's no plan in existence except what CSO put on a master plan for that area. Mayor Brainard continued: My plan over the next several years into try to widen Rangeline Road a little bit because that center turn lane is dangerous. Twenty feet on each side... we can't do that. I don't know the exact amount, but it would be a few feet; four to seven maybe on each side at most to try to make that center turn lane safer. It might be only two feet on each side. What you see happening at 126`h and Rangeline is the widening of that intersection, adding some turn lanes. Beyond that conceptual plan put out by some of our architectural firms two years ago, there're no immediate plans to do anything there. I have started this committee, which will be dealing with zoning rules, and trying to decide, and help the community decide, how Rangeline should look in 10-15 years. If you'd all like to serve on that committee, we'd love to have you. Councilor Snyder: If you rezone an area, you usually "grandfather in" the businesses that are there. They can stay there as long as they want to stay there. But the zoning will change when you go to sell the building (or rebuild). For instance, if you were an industrial business in an area which was rezoned to retail or residential or commercial, but not industrial, the industrial user could stay there until he or she.sold that property. But whoever bought that property would have to conform to the uses [of the new zoning.] The moratorium was discussed. Mayor Brainard noted it is probably almost over now. He continued: Because of the used car lot, Council passed a moratorium on permits for structures that could be seen from Rangeline. They were concerned about aesthetics and there were a couple of proposals coming up that they weren't ready to deal with at that time. One of the individuals asked what we wanted to see there and he's totally redesigned his plan and it's going to look really nice. It's going to help property values in the area and that's what we're after. This is the center of Carmel and we want to make sure it looks as nice as the rest of Carmel. Mayor Brainard thanked the citizens for coming to the meeting and told them they were welcome at any time at these meetings or during the day in his office. They were again encouraged to join the committee. Councilor Wilson, noting there are indeed.many rumors going around. He said, "I've talked to most of the businesses [in Old Town] and there are some things going on on Rangeline Road which are not really related to the City, some early conceptual plans. In fact, there is some kind of deal going on which has not yet come to the City for the entire block which includes Cancun Restaurant, the Auto Parts Store, Crystal Flash and Tom Wilson's building. It's a private development, which is what we love to see." Further discussion followed. Mayor Brainard noted the City has received a proposal from Mr. Harry Elliott that the City purchase Mohawk Plaza. The Mayor has not taken this to any group for action. The City did buy right of way from Mr. Elliott for part of the intersection at 126 `h & Rangeline. ,Old-Business Mr. Haas reported Resolution 5-2000 regarding the Stayer property is being withdrawn at this •time, Minutes Mr. Koven mii&4.motion to approve the minutes of the March 15; 2000, meeting with the following addition for clarification, in paragraph seven on page four at the end of the first sentence:, (because they are always-estima(es and,always changing)- Following a second,by Ms. Boldt, the minutes were unanimously approved'. Financial Reno : tMayor Brainard distributed the Financial Report of projected revenues and expenditures as of 4/12/00; it does not include the invoices on today's agenda, The money from the Build.Indiana Fund is included'in the cash lincbIt was deposited`in.the CRC';general funds. Mayor -Brainard, noted,the rent money received and the buyout received when Kroger paid us to get out;of their lease•is also in the CRC general fund. Revenues & Cash estimated at S11,614,032, (Copy enclosed with•mihutes.)'Expenditures also totaled $11,614,032. Discussion followed: Ms. B61dt asked when the AMLI:escrow would be released. Mayor Brainard responded that the:Hamilton CountyParks Board approved our wetlands resolution, allowing our wetlands mitigation to take place in two of their park sites. Our final wetland`plan will be submitted to IDEM,tomorrow at the,latest and they have promised a.two-week turnaround- ,The,other remaining wetlands issue is that a `low level' official`at the Louisville office oft ' hc.A=y Corps, of Engineers claimed that the borrow pit from:whiIch we took the dirt for the City Center property, is now.a navigable waterway of the United. states and comes under their jurisdiction and.they wanted a plan for that, too. David Hatchett was trying to get in touch with her supervisor today. The law is thafif you abandorfthose,.that is what 1appens- We haven't abandoned it winter just took pI"ace. We intend to use`itas'this road. project continues so it'snpt,abandoned and does`not"come under their jurisdiction. We think we'll be successful with that... Assuming we,get that resolved correctly: The last thing that-has to happen%is-for the 'City Council to rezone that site, and-it will be up fonfirst,reading-,at [heir meeting-on April 17-. Mr: Koven, asked why•it wasn't on the, Council; agenda; for April l0. Mi ayor'Brainard explained about the'delay'being caused' by,some.paperwork not.being'delivered in time and noted he did,no€^want to ask the Council to consider it as an add-on. Mr. Koveii noted there seemed to be several unanswered questions:from,the'March 1-5 meeting and,they are not on tonight's agenda for completion. "When do we'ev&,close them?' Other Commission members were in agreement. New Business Resolution 6-20001 sponsored by John Koven,°designating the Redevelopment CommissionPresident as purchasing. agent; was.discussed. Mr: Roesch'noted.Mayor Brainard, asked Mr._ Haas to look At-the resolution as written. Mr.,Haas has written an altemativeresolution which includes a whole procedure,on purchases, contracts expenditures: Mr. Roeschi We need'to"bring some order and accountability to all that we are doing and all our City"agents are doing. In addressing this we've done several things. We're rnoving to a cash flow.report. We.need to have procedures, about how we'approve various projects and various stages of those projects and the, expenditures made on those projects. In addressing that, Mr. Koven;wrote Resolution 6-2000.-Mr. Haas has written an alternative one but I don'tthirik We're prepared to discussit tonight:since some of the members have just now received it. We are in need ofa resolution and none of us intend to slow things downthat are in. progress right now, If d new procedure' does; however, it is necessary for us to.get control of this before we go furtherwith other projects..My inclination is'to approve Resolution 672000 [Mr Koven's version] tonight, have a couple of weeks to-took at Mr. Baas' version; get back and meet again: Mr. Koven reiterated-the need-for the resolution, noting theiinportance ofithe Commission knowing-in advance about any purchases. Mr. Koven continued:,The Council and everyone,in the community will know what's going on. The Carmel City Code specifically provides,that`the Carmtl Redevelopment Commission shall'be the purchasing7agent, for the,Carmel Redevelopment Commission: The,Redeveiopmeni Authority has its own purchasing authority;--the C6uncil has its:;own,purchasing-authority but 'the Board of Public Works.is the'purchasing.agent fonthe Department of Administration.. And from what I can see; the Board,of Public Works. and others within 'the City havc'lust been freelancing with our money. and,spending'it- We're,in_a situation now where our money's -almost gone: We need to-have control over what's going on and some determination over where,the money is:being spent. This resolution does establish us as our own purchasing agentbyour own resolution and it,also sayssanyone who goes. out and does anything without coming to us first, we'•re not going to pay the'bill,and it's null and void, ,so you'd.better have;somewhere else.for the money to come from. Mr. Koven continued: Diana Cordray and.I put ihisresolufion-together::and,sent-it to the City Council attorney for review. We,made the suggestions they recommended. The same thing applies to Resolution 7-2000. The time and money spent wasivery little..Not-to put you,on'the spot:Kart, burin preparing this alternate-proposal, I bet w,e,have,spent a thousand dollars of theRedevelopment Commission's money trying ;to'getaround this, and none cf us had,any say so in whether this could be done. Yet I as a Commission mernber couldn't authorize anybody:to,do. this. So asa Commission member I can't. spend money, but those who are not Commission members do. And I just don't think it's right. My whole idea here is from this point forward the Mayor or the Department of Administration, whoever has had freelance with our money, needs to come back tows at the next meeting and say these are all the commitments that we have outstanding; these are all the projects out there and now we know how much money we have and from that point forward they can't go do anything. They can't come to us with an agreement on the Stayer property having encumbered our money or spent out money to do that when we need it for demolition over here. Mr. Koven continued: Everything should be brought before the CRC for authorization to do it. I understand they're not going to know exact numbers but if they need to get an appraisal on a property they come to us ahead of time with an estimate and ask it be set aside. Ms. Boldt: I think in doing this we're bringing up to speed the procedures that should have been in place since day one, but we're new at this. We didn't exactly know what we'd be doing, what our tasks would be so it's hard to put procedures in place when you don't know what you'll be doing. Discussion followed. Mayor Brainard said one of the things we need to do... Indiana State law requires that public bodies appropriate funds before they can be spent, either through their annual budget or by special appropriation if something special comes up. Then the State Board of Accounts has to approve it. In the initial bond documents the initial bond proceeds were appropriated for all the purposes of the original City Center project (and this included these houses on Rangeline, but not Old Town or Mohawk Plaza). But this recycled money has not been appropriated and so as we wind down using the bond proceeds and start to use these recycled funds from the sale of all these lots and other income, we need to prepare a budget (or an appropriation) and submit it to the Redevelopment Commission. I can try to put one together as a starting place for you (since you all have other jobs) with some help from City staff and then for next year sometime prior to September 30`h you need to submit a budget and send it down to the State Board of Accounts and get it approved.and then work within those budget items. We need to have these procedures in place. In the beginning this was kind of delegated to other City boards. You have a right to delegate your power and it wasn't done formally, but informally. Mr. Roesch noted the CRC always has the option to update the resolutions. Mr. Haas explained some of the scope of his resolution version. He noted he did not disagree with Mr. Koven's resolution in principle, only in detail. This resolution is a good step toward professionalizing the CRC, since it is a multi-million dollar company in a lot of ways. One of the things the CRC should have in addition is an annual budget process where the budget is approved and someone is responsible for keeping it updated and making presentations to the Commission. The business of the CRC is two-fold; one is the acquisition ofproperty,and the acquisition of;services!(wiiich'fhis;esolt tion covers);:and the other is the?disposition.In.addition to having a process for approving purchases, the CRC needs a:process for approving; sales" That's a little more complicated than the purchases. "You want to first approve the idea of disposing of some property. Then you. want to approve an RFP., Step.three,would be approying,a bid and.step fourwould be approving the,finaldocuments, a projectagreement: WhIfAMI I we, did go through all those steps; but I thoughtit was a good.idea,to formalizewhat those steps would be. I think in the details the only disagreement I had with what John,did, his calls for all those actions to be taken-at,a.public`meeting.-I definitely"think that when, you're making the final decision on spending money it-,should be done at a .public meeting but when someone's making ,a presentation for the idea' of a project,-especially if you're; discussing price or the status of negotiations that you want.to,at least have the, option of having that occur aCan executive: session." Ms. Boldt: I'd like to have Clerk-Treasurer Cordray:review Mr. Haas' version and see how it fits with heffanction,,, s well. Discussion followed. Ms. Boldtmoved;the CRC approve Resolution 6-2000 as written by Mr. Koven and that the CRC address' V&.'Haas' version fofupdates:in the Riturer Mr. Roesch noted the CRC will probably have to begin meeting twice monthly. Councilor Wilson asked,Mr. Haas: 1 noticed you were.suggesting the director of the CRC become the Director of Administration for the City, which-would be Mr, Staehler. What would be the catalyst behind that? Mayor, Brainard: I can answer better than Marl. "When we came info office-four. a half years-ago; the Redevelopment Commission bad never formally been called. Also in our ordinance book, there is an ordinance requiring there'be a director of the CRC: We never had' a difector,and"if we're,going to follow ou"r'own ordinance we're, required to. I got into the,staie law•myseif because Mr. Haney was out of'town and in this'case.it•says the executive of;the-City for the following; boards (and the•CRC. was one.of them) shall nominate a director of thedepaitment.to be confirmed•by'the CRC. That's state law. I proposed, since Mr. Staehler has been engaged ina lot of this :already _ he's a.logical `choic6r6 me." Councilor Wilson: I was thinking,they would.select their. own director. Mayor;Brainard: That's the way state law lays it out and I can fttd thar.for'you. Mr. Haas: It's the director ofthe,depattmentas opposeihto the commission. What's not happened.,-., the statute is setup so you have a commission which is the governing body and then you have a department that reports to you, So you have a commission which governs land then the people who are actually carrying out.. it's to provide the commission with a-staff. Councilor Wilson: Wouldn ?t that;give.that director the authority, though, to=sign on behalf of the commission? Mayor Brainard: We can talk about; that. Mayor Brainard said-Mr.,Staefiler will be attending all, the rest of the CRC,meetings, Mr. Koven,noted that the commission often makes decisions and [hen things get done, but the coinr*sion.does hot know how,these things'are actually accomplished. But:it's being done the wrong wayreWe get'everything after the-fact instead of directing it. Discussion continued, Mr. Haas: To answer-:your question. Tliis js?not set,up;so th'e_ director. would have authority to signpriless spacificallyauthorized to sign. Ms. Boldt restated her motion; moving that"the CRC approve Resolution 6-2000 [W. Koven's version1. Following'a second by Mr. Koven the motion was unanimously approved. Resolution 7-2000 Mr. Roesch noted this.resolution is also addressed in Mr. Haas' version of 6-'2000. Resolution 7-2000 says the. President shall havvthe authority'to call special meetings only after all members-of CRC;have.beemnotified either byphone or,letter at least 72 hours.in advarice•ofsaid meeting. Mr. Roesch noted,a'concem he has with this resolution: in the absence of the president; we would.not have the ability to call a special meeting. i-Ie?suggcsted the resolution'be rewritten-to,read: THAT the President of the CROor two members of the'CRC,.with one member being a Mayoral.. Appointment and one'member being a Common Council Appointee, shall have the authority... Discussion followed Mr. Boldt"moved the CRC' approve-Resolution 7-.2000. with the update of adding the two members as noted already. F.ollowing.a second byMr., Koven,;the motion was unanimously, approved. Resolution 8-2000 Mayor Brainard: Thi's is.an agreement Mr. 'Haas.has`woiked out with Barbara Ann Godby, A/a Four Seasons Beauty. Salon at 20 1" Avenue SW., to ,vacate early for the, amount of 53,335.00. Mr; Haas: This is one of the tenants that occupied the property that;was purchased from G`& 1=1, The;lease,.f believe, had another three yearsIto run. This represents-some rebate of rent and covers some moving. expenses. 7 Mr. Roesch asked.if the CRC'had the ability,to condemn a lease. Mr. Haas replied. affirmatively, noting the=CRCcould condemn any interest'in.reat property which would include a lease. Mr. Haas: What this-represents is an additional $1,500 over what the cancellation would have_been. The benefit to-the CRC is that she leaves earlier and she's happy. Ms.;Boldt: This resolution rcferencesa.lease, but we don't'havea copy of that lease. In. the future when we reference a document„could we please have a copy of that document:. There being no other questions or comments, Mr. Koven moved we approve Resolution 8-2000 and the settlement agreement: Following a secorid.by Ms. Wesiermeier, the motion"was unanim.busly'approved. New Business (Add-on) .Pac Van Contract #0405A;05 Mayor Brainard: This, contract was.incorrectly approvedbythe Board ofPublic 'Works and Safety, but in rry opinion rt,'s null'and v6id because it-We didn't follow the right procedure. I'wanted to bring'it to you:right away to get it corrected., Mr. Stachler has been negotiating with7he Shoe Heeler. The,business owner- wantsto stay,in this, area,, hopefully,move into the-new, development. In the rriearitime he'has agreed to go m4 mobile unit during construction period. Mr. Staefiler,located one and negotiated a good price,but:the contract was incorrectly taken to the BPW'instead of The CRC. "I don't know if you want to' add'it'on and approve it, think about it,and bring, itto'the next meeting. It's up to you. The other'thing.1 wanted to cover: back, in•February and March, first of all when we approved the AMLI contract, we approved to do some grading work on that site. It was approved when we did that contract because itwa 'part.of the-parcel. In that contract the CRC was agreeing, to dosome work. We.went.ahead,and'advertised anRFP for that work which'is"estimated to.be around;$963;000. Of course, we, can't give 'a notice to proceed, if itwerc awarded, until we,proceed with AMLI..Part of the,process;for doing work like thaVis that-.,the City hold common law construction wage. And what this group is, the State Dept of Labor has•a yoice,,indu_ stryhas•a voice, the City has appointmentsthey:set the wage thatshall:be,paid and used in all our public works:.projects. We advertise this meeting; hold it,,,say,this is, the list ofprojects that apply (alotof the City,strect projects forthis summer) and so all the bidders; the union and non-union are'on. the same wave is thetheory. 'So anyway, Barnes & Thornburg is the legal counsel to thatgroup,and this gets pretty-tricky because we don't like getting letters`from the AFLCIO threatening to get injunctions againstms. And we got one on this,for awery minor error-I'don't'know.if' the days were off by a couple of days of the meeting versus how,many days have.to pass after it's in the:paper. There were a, couple oFotherissues, .too. One ofthem was-that. the wrong party,had sent the;notice. Notthafthey hadn't gotten the notice-but it'had come from the State Department of Labor, as opposed from Carmel., B &,T thought we?were right on this but we decided it would be easier just to hold another constniction,arrd wage committee even thought the RFP was already published. We will need to advertise it again. Buff also told the Committee that from this point on we're going to bring all requests for proposals or bids to the commission for approval. So even though it's kind of a "grandfathered" one, I still wanted to bring it to your attention. I think, technically, we can almost say there was an approval back when we approved the AMLI contract. This is ready to go and City Engineer, Kate Boyle Weese, has them on a schedule and she wants to have this bid ready so the day after the AMLI project closes we can give a notice to proceed on our part which has to come before they can start construction. I would like action on this tonight because it does affect their schedule. AMLI Bid Mr. Haas has to leave for another meeting, but before he left he explained why there is a second AMLI bid: AMLI bid on property which included land which now has to be set aside as wetlands. AMLI agreed to pay $4,000,000 based on its ability to construct a certain number of units. With the loss of some of the useable land because of the wetlands, what we agreed to do was offer an additional strip of three or four acres and swap it for getting those wetlands back from AMLI and that put them in a position where they were able to build the project. Mr. Paul Reis, Counsel for AMLI, is here this evening. Getting this bid approved is one of the requirements forgetting the AMLI money out of escrow. As long as it's a conforming bid, I would suggest approving it. I would take Paul Reis' word on it being a conforming bid. Mr. Roesch: I would entertain a motion that we approve the bid request for Carmel City Center Site Improvements, Phase I, Project #00-03. Ms. Westermeier so moved. Following a second by Mr. Koven, the motion was unanimously approved. Returning to the PacVan contract Mr. Koven asked where the mobile office would be located. Discussion followed. Mayor Brainard said Mr. Staehler was working on the details. Mr. Koven said we should avoid the expense of having to move it. It should be placed where iris out of our way. He noted the monthly rental is $355 per month, plus the steps are $35 per month. Why is the CRC paying to rent this? He was paying rent in a building. Mayor Brainard responded that he thought we were going to rent the building and then the businessman would lease it from us, but he wanted.to confirm that. He asked that this be brought to the next meeting so he could get the.answers.. The length of the lease also needs to be determined and noted in the contract. Ms. Boldt noted there does not appear to be a date on the contract. Mayor Brainard said it was one year. He continued: My purpose tonight was not to ask you to pass it tonight, Ijust wanted to bring it to your attention that we had discovered a mistake. So let's get the answers to these questions and bring it to the next meeting. He said he would have Mr. Staehler call the businessman and tell him it was taken to the wrong body and is being corrected. It will be on the next meeting's agenda. Mr. Koven asked that a copy of the lease the businessman will be signing be brought along with the PacVan contract, so the whole I package is in front of the CRC. Mr. Koven asked if we would have to get water and sewer on site because of restrooms. Mayor Brainard said Mr. Staehler would get answers to all these questions. Opening of Bids for Private Development of Parcel #1 A in City Center. Mr. Reis had the legal descriptions which go with the bids. It was noted that this is basically an exchange of acreage because of the wetlands, mitigation. Ms. Westermeier moved we accept the bid from ANILI for Parcel #IA-in Carmel City Center. Following a second by Ms. Boldt, the motion was unanimously approved. Artec Presentation Mr. Willem Brans gave a digital presentation about how Artec could possibly help the CRC determine who would potentially use the proposed facility. Mr. Brans distributed examples of past surveys his company has conducted and printed copies of his presentation. Following the presentation there was a brief question and answer period. Fees for this basic programming utilization study and the financial analysis of the government's operations plan, based on the amount of time Artec typically spends, the fee exclusive of expenses is $30-35,000. If Artec were to get involved with the strategic planning that would take another ten days possibly on site. Then if Artec were to do a fundraising feasibility that would add another $15,000 after having done all the other work. Ball park, all of those things together somewher: around $50,000. Mr. Roesch asked if Artec would work with a survey company like Mr. Vargas'. Mr. Brans: There are a variety of ways to go. You've already heard his proposal. Our work would simply dovetail with his. I would expect to use the results of his work, but our work on the utilization would proceed his piece of it. Because he would want that information that we developed to be able to focus more precise questions for their interviews. We are very accustomed to working with big teams side by side. Mr. Koven said he felt the CRC would want to do both because even though they are two completely different things, they absolutely dovetail together. He continued: I was really glad that you mentioned a public meeting. Because once :a community realizes that they 10 can be part of it, they are going to have a say, they are going to be listened to, the whole "buy in" concept starts right there. Mr. Brans noted that if the surveys indicate the community is not in favor of the project, he would agree with the results, even though his company would possibly lose an acoustics job. Ms. Westermeier asked if there was anything the CRC hasn't talked about,doing that should be considered. Mr. Brans: In discussing this project with Mr. Vargas, he thinks we should increase the area of our survey beyond Carmel because the catchment area of the facility will be much larger than Carmel's city limits. From a funding point of view this can't be thought of in a regional kind of way, but from a user's point of view it probably does make sense to conduct the interviews with a wider group of people throughout the region. Depending on the event, you might attract people from fifty miles away. Most of the people will be from the immediate area. Ms. Westermeier said her concern is primarily for'doing what the taxpayers want their money spent on. She would like more of a broad base of citizens surveyed rather than targeting, for example, the ISO membership. Mr. Brans said their feedback was gathered from arts organizations as well as other people not known to support the arts, such as voter rolls. He noted, however, that the ticket buyers will come from other places and bring their revenues here. Mr. Koven described the 1500 seat concert facility at Wabash, Indiana, (population 3,000-4,000) where the City Council recently held a retreat. He was told this facility is booked 40 some days per year and draws from 50 miles. He said they have learned the importance of knowing their audience when booking the performers. Discussion followed about how a Carmel facility would compare to one in Wabash and the competition in the area. It was noted Carmel would have a much larger population to draw from. The importance of restaurants in the area of the facility,,but not actually in the facility was mentioned. The loading dock of a facility needs to have 12 foot clearance into the building. Ms. Boldt expressed a concern that the CRC be aware of the impact of this facility would have on private enterprise competition in the area. Brief discussion followed. Mr. Brans commented on this based on his work in various communities throughout the country. He said the impact of a new facility in Carmel would likely increase the audiences throughout the area because the arts are self-multiplying. "A rising tide lifts all boats." Mr. Brans noted there is another person they have not talked to yet: Mr. David Lucas, of SFX Booking Company. dvtayor Brainard met with Mr. Lucas a year or so ago and Mr. 11 Lucas told him the gap in theater size in this area would be in the 1500-1800 seating. Mr. Lucas was very interested in hearing about the possibility of a new theater in Carmel. Mr. Brans said a concert hall envisioned for Carmel would be of the finest quality imaginable. "It will be the best hall that the Indianapolis Symphony plays in." He compared it to Circle Theater, noting the size there is a constraint on ticket sales. Mr. Brans was thanked for his presentation. Other Old Business Mr. Koven asked what the status of Sherwin Williams is. Mayor Brainard replied that he had talked to Mr. Love, the head of real estate operations in Cleveland, and then talked to 0. J. Stockard, a developer, that they have hired to find anew place. Mayor Brainard told Mr. Love there are lots of spaces available which could be remodeled. Mr. Stockard wants to build a new store. Since these two men seemed to have different opinions of what the move goals were, Mayor Brainard had Mr. Haas come up with an evaluation so we could come up with an offer for a "twenty-five day" letter. This is sent to the business, saying this what we're offering them and giving them twenty-five days to accept or decline before they vacate the,premises. It's precursor to condemn their lease in court. That will go out sometime this week. If they haven't responded within twenty-five days, then we.can file in Hamilton County Court to condemn the lease, eminent domain. Ms. Boldt said there were some utility bills for the Kroger Center which were paid by the Board of Public Works and.Safety were to be presented at this meeting. Could we please have those at the next meeting. Mr. Roesch asked Ms. Morrissey to contact the Clerk- Treasurer about these. Mayor Brainard: I have asked Engineering, Administration, the Clerk-Treasurer to try to put together every contract that is, has been, or should be part of the CRC. As of 5 p.m., tonight this is what we have but there are mistakes so I'm having a meeting tomorrow morning to try to get it corrected. Mr. Roesch noted the CRC needs to set its priorities once it gets some money. First on. the list should be razing the Kroger Center. Mayor Brainard will be bringing to a CRC meeting soon the plans for Nick Kestner's bicycle shop which will be relocating along the Monon. The CRC will be responsible for some site work, some retaining walls, steps, grading. He wants to move in January so construction would need to start in July since it will be a twenty-two week schedule. He'll be including an ice cream shop in his new building. Mayor Brainard said there are developers ready to bid on the townhomes along the north side of City Center, then the office buildings will be next. The retail will probably come last, moving from the west side to the east. Ms. Boldt asked what we were doing about Crystal Flash's application for remodeling. 12 Mayor Brainard said the six month moratorium was either over now or nearly over. He said he would follow up with the Crystal Flash people. Councilor Snyder said the idea was to rezone to prevent unsuitable uses (even though it's currently allowed) along Rangeline and during the six month moratorium we've done nothing, so someone could still put their little trailer there. Adjournment Mr. Koven moved the CRC meeting be adjourned. Followinga second by Ms. Boldt the motion was approved and the meeting adjourned. Next meeting will be Tuesday, April 25, 6 p.m. in the DOCS conference room. 13