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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRC-03-26-011 CARMEL REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Meeting, Monday, March 26, 2001 President Rick Roesch called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Members present were Luci Snyder and Ron Carter constituting a quorum. Also present were Steve Engelking, Director, Kate Weese, City Engineer, Karl Haas, Wayne Wilson, City Councilman, Les Olds, from CSO. Also present from Ryland Homes were Alan Goldsticker, Steve May, Joe Harvey, Kenny Windler and Jim Thomas from AMLI. Sherry Mielke and Phyllis Morrissey as support staff. Approval of Minutes The minutes from February 26th meetings could not be approved since Ms. Snyder was not at those meetings. Approval will be tabled until the April 11th meeting. Report from the Mayor No report since Mayor Brainard is out of town. Report from Director Mr. Engelking reported he will have updated information before the next meeting about the surveys from Artec and Brian Vargas. He will have the information sent to the commission members prior to April 11th so it can be discussed at that meeting.. Financial Report Ms. Mielke distributed the financial report. Balance at the end of February is $4,075,758. Estimated balance for end of March is $3,768,000. Report from Attorney Mr. Haas reported he has received a reimbursement agreement with Merchants Pointe Associates and the Linder Company. Both have agreed to sign. “I want to make sure we end up with an entity that has assets. It’s in the same form almost exactly as the last reimbursement agreement we had with Duke Weeks.” Mr. Carter made a motion that Mr. Roesch be authorized to sign the agreement. Following a second by Ms. Snyder the motion was unanimously approved. Mr. Haas reported he has received a claim for $1,650 from the tenant farmer for damage to soybean crops when the CRC or the BPW was doing work on the Mueller property. Ms. Snyder moved the CRC approve the claim. Following a second by Mr. Carter the motion was unanimously approved. Mr. Haas reported he had received no further contact from the Hamilton Group. He notified them that there would be a meeting tonight at which the CRC could discuss a counter proposal but they did not respond. Sherwin Williams litigation is proceeding. The trial is postponed till fall. Their expert has stated the valuation of $230,000, which is a significant improvement over the court appointed (residential) expert. 2 Mr. Carter thanked Karl for the role he played in the March 14th meeting at the public hearing, “…giving us your opinions on such short notice. It was certainly helpful to the Commission overall and to us getting our business done that night.” Mr. Roesch and Ms. Snyder also called Karl to thank him the day after the meeting. Report from the Architect Mr. Olds reported that regarding Parcel #3, the site will be ready for Mr. Kestner’s contractor approximately the first of May. Mr. Kestner still needs some approvals from the State. Mr. Olds continued: Regarding the plaza area and the involvement of the Rotary Club in terms of some changes to the plaza, costs for these have been given to Mr. Kestner and Mr. Carter and they are going to be talking to the Rotary Group regarding whether they want to make these upgrades and changes. Once they start construction of the wall those decisions will need to be resolved. Mr. Roesch asked if a special meeting will need to be held to do that. Mr. Olds felt the April 11th meeting would be soon enough. Reports from CRC Members Mr. Roesch asked Mr. Carter to discuss the Rotary Plaza. Mr. Carter: It appears we will be receiving a letter back from the Rotary after they meet with their board next Friday. We had Karl put together a letter for Rotary to send back to us that in effect is an offer to us as to what their participation would be. The total cost of the first phase was approximately $35,000. There are additional phases to the plaza that would cover the walls, landscaping, etc., which would take the cost of the plaza up to $56,000. Right now it appears that changes to the plaza for Rotary to have their name and other materials on it would total about $14,000, taking the cost of the plaza to right at $70,000 in total. It appears Rotary will propose to us that they will provide $35,000 towards the cost of the project (about half of the project) to a maximum of $35,000. We hope to have that back from them in that form for the Commission to look at at the next meeting and decide if it and the whole project meets our needs. Mr. Roesch announced that Amy Boldt has resigned from the Commission effective immediately due to her husband being transferred to Chicago. Mr. Roesch noted Sherry Mielke received a courtesy call late Friday afternoon, March 23, from Greg Silver saying there would be a lawsuit against the Redevelopment Commission filed in Judge Barr’s court in Noblesville. This was done today (March 26) and we will probably receive a copy of that suit tomorrow. 3 Approval of Invoices The invoices totaling $26,733.26 were for legal services and repair of one of the audio tapes from the March 14th meeting. Ms. Snyder moved the invoices be approved. Following a second by Mr. Carter the motion was unanimously approved. Old Business Mr. Roesch noted the Ryland Project Agreement was sent out to CRC members prior to the meeting. The closing is set for June 21st. Ms. Snyder moved the CRC approve the Ryland Project Agreement. Mr. Carter seconded the motion. Before approval of the motion, Mr. Haas asked Mr. Olds to explain about any costs involved. Mr. Olds: The expenses would be for streetscape and landscaping the right of way (which includes the lighting) for the full length of Parcel 6, all for approximately $100,000. Autumn Drive needs to be extended about 130 feet for a cost of $40-50,000 to make Ryland’s plan work. Mr. Roesch asked if that wasn’t to be done by the City. Mr. Olds: That’s where part of our problem lies. The original plan was that the City would also do the streetscape for City Center Drive but there are no funds available for that. Ms. Weese: That was probably part of the City’s intentions ultimately to landscape just like we’ve done Hazel Dell and we’re planning to do our other streets. I’m not too sure about the street lighting because that needed to be done in the course of how City Center developed. I’m not saying what you’re saying is not true, but I don’t recall the road project having a second phase immediately to follow. Mr. Olds: We’ve been carrying it in the budget in terms of cost for the CRC to be responsible only because we had no clarity from the City. And the same is true about the work that goes on the south side of City Center Drive from the west end of the AMLI property over to Third Street. There’s also the other issue. On the south side of the street there is currently kind of a wandering asphalt walking/bike path. We think that’s out of character with what’s happening. Our proposal has always been that that would be a concrete and brick sidewalk package to match the other side of the street, so it’s uniform all the way down from Range Line Road with the same type of lighting, landscape details and sidewalks on both sides. 4 Discussion followed at length about the asphalt paths and sidewalks. Mr. Carter was concerned about the safety of bike riders and roller bladers when using the sidewalk and because of being forced out into the street to get to the Monon. Mr. Olds said there was not a lot of brick being used, just small areas for decorative detail. Mr. Thomas requested the decorative sidewalk be used on the AMLI parcels. Mr. Olds noted there was always the possibility of having a continuous strip of hard surface from the sidewalk area to the street, eliminating a grass strip. He said this might still happen on Parcel #2. Mr. Carter reluctantly agreed to have the decorative sidewalk if it was at least 6’ wide and had only small areas of brick. Getting back to the Autumn Drive issue, Mr. Roesch said he believed that was addressed at another meeting when the Mayor was present and the Mayor said the City was taking care of it. Mr. Haas introduced the Ryland representatives who were here to make a presentation. Mr. Goldsticker presented the Ryland Homes site plan for the town homes proposed for City Center on Parcel #6: seven town homes with a total of 41 units. The outside was designed to meet the requirements of the CRC. Mr. May, the designer, explained the town homes are designed to fit in with the existing City buildings. He pointed out some details such as circular windows, keystones over many windows, brick banding. The interior homes are 1700 square feet; the exterior homes are 2,050 square feet. Price range will be from $159,000 (interiors) to $195,000 for the exterior homes. Ms. Weese expressed a concern about the water line which is under one of the buildings, and asked if that had been addressed. Mr. Goldsticker noted the buildings will be moved around so the water line falls between two of them. Ms. Snyder asked how close the buildings are to the front walkways. The response was that they are between 25-30 feet from the front walkways. No fences were planned for the front yards. Mr. Olds has reviewed all the exhibits presented by Ryland Homes. He noted they have made every effort to be compatible with the other projects and the City buildings. Ms. Snyder again moved the CRC approve the Ryland Project Agreement. Following a second by Mr. Carter the motion was unanimously approved. 5 Ms. Snyder asked for renderings of the project to give to people who are inquiring about it. New Business Ms. Weese explained at length the site work problems encountered in Parcel #1. She referred the members to the memo she distributed. The problem occurred in the southwest corner of Parcel #1, when the site was first surveyed and the survey was off by three feet. The area is three feet lower than first thought which creates a problem with the amount of fill dirt which will now be required. Approximately 17,000 to 24,000 cubic feet of dirt will need to be located and hauled in to bring the site up to where it needs to be for the building pads. Different solutions to the problem were suggested and rejected because of cost or other complications, such as the wetlands. Ms. Weese noted she has been working closely with Mr. Olds. The survey was first done by ACE. CSO, who wrote the specifications for Parcel #1, based their specs on the survey done by ACE. ACE has also been very helpful in trying to solve the problem. The main problem right now is finding the dirt. Work is also being done on the wet areas. Possible solutions are adding stone or liming those wet areas. The goal is to deliver the correct site to AMLI on time. Mr. Thomas noted if the delivery date slips a week or so that would not be a problem. Mr. Olds said he has discussed this problem with ACE and if there are delays and penalties, ACE has been told they are responsible. “They have stepped forward and said they are willing to do whatever is necessary.” Mr. Roesch asked if we should be revising our cost estimates. Ms. Weese replied that it was too soon to tell what the cost would be. All surveying measurements are being rechecked but at this time it is thought the error was isolated to the one area. Mr. Haas said the CRC could expect ACE to pay for the difference in what has to be paid now and what otherwise would have had to be paid. Mr. Roesch expressed appreciation for everyone getting on this problem so quickly. Ms. Weese said she hoped to have the work done and know the final cost by the April 11 meeting. 6 New Business The CRC has been notified, as adjoining property owner, of an addition being planned for the Carmel United Methodist Church. No one expressed an interest or a concern about the project. Adjournment Ms. Snyder moved the meeting be adjourned. Following a second by Mr. Carter the motion was approved and the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.