Battle Creek Tax Increment Finance Authority

BATTLE CREEK TAX INCREMENT FINANCE AUTHORITY Tuesday, July 16, 2013 At the regular meeting of the Battle Creek Tax Increment Finance Authority held on Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. at the Frederick R. Brydges Customs Cargo Center, the following were in attendance: Messrs. Bobrofsky, Bowman, Christensen, Cutshall, Czerney, Karre, Noble, Rae, Scott, Stewart and Tsuchiyama. Absent was: Mr. Frantz and Ms. Tuggle. Also in attendance were: Messrs. Dehn, Mumford, Ortega, Voshell and Mmes. Albrant, Frantz and Young. Mr. Bobrofsky called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Mr. Rae moved that the Battle Creek Tax Increment Finance Authority Board of Directors approve the minutes of the April 23, 2013 meeting as amended. Mr. Christensen supported the motion and it was unanimously approved. ROBBINS BUILDING FIRE ALARM FOR DAY CARE Mr. Voshell stated that staff was notified that the fire alarm system was inoperative at the Robbins Building. Since there is not a condo association in place, and because of the child care operations at the building, this situation required immediate attention and was taken care of. The cost of the repairs was approximately $17,000. The parking lot was also in disrepair and has been repaved and striped. Mr. Voshell stated that the Robbins Building still has many issues. An expert needs to be brought in to assess the issues and to let us know what should be done to prepare the building for future sale. The issues include heating/cooling, water heaters, power sources, meters, and utilities. Anyone interested in seeing the building can contact Mr. Voshell. PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX ELIMINATION UPDATE Mr. Dehn stated that when he last reported the state legislature was in a holding pattern. The City of Battle Creek was successful in securing several bonds for the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) that would be impacted by the City’s approval of the Renaissance Zone. The City of Battle Creek put forth a proposal to refund the refinance of the bonds. There has been a message relayed onto our legislative leaders, Jase Bolger and Mike Nofs, that the expectation was to make TIFAs whole and replace 100% of the revenue. It is likely to be in September or October 2013 that the legislature will tackle this. Staff continues to contact our legislators to see if there has been any movement, so far there has been none. Mr. Tsuchiyama stated that the City of Battle Creek will be meeting with the bond agency next week. BCTIFA Board Page 2 – Minutes July 16, 2013 BATTLE CREEK AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER UPDATE Ms. Frantz stated that we recently received information from our lobbyist, Dykema Gossett. The last week in June, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees marked up FY 2014 Transportation-HUD spending bills. This is the legislation that funds the FAA for the upcoming fiscal year. Both bills included $140 million to fully fund the Contract Tower program for next year. The Senate report actually states the total funding level is sufficient to keep all 251 contract towers open through FY 2014. The House and Senate bills are roughly $10 billion apart in overall funding. There is a long way to go before resolving spending issues of that magnitude. If the House and Senate are unable to resolve budget differences in a timely manner for FY 2014, a continuing resolution will be the probable result and funding for this year will continue into FY 2014. The most important consideration to keep in mind now is that Congress’ explicit funding of contract tower operations clearly illustrates it is a top priority in both the House and the Senate. CONTAMINATION/LITIGATION DISCUSSION Mr. Mumford recommended that the BCTIFA Board have this discussion under closed session. CLOSED SESSION MOTION: Mr. Rae moved that the Battle Creek Tax Increment Finance Authority Board of Directors go into closed session at 3:15 p.m. Mr. Noble supported the motion and it was unanimously approved. MOTION: Mr. Rae moved that the Battle Creek Tax Increment Finance Authority Board of Directors come out of closed session at 3:37 p.m. Mr. Noble supported the motion and it was unanimously approved. PROSPECT/PROJECT DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Mr. Voshell reported on the following: Janesville Acoustics - held its Grand Opening Ceremony today. Mr. Voshell encouraged board members to attend these celebrations. The company has hired 150 people to date and is ahead of schedule on their hiring. This building is the largest facility that Jason Inc. owns. BleiStahl - is a German-owned company. The company has hired 7 people. This Friday is a meeting with the MEDC to sign the final agreements. The Grand Opening is scheduled for August 23. Cosma Castings – Mr. Voshell stated that he was on the Clark Road site with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) on a possible turnout lane. The City of Battle Creek and the BCTIFA will be participating. BCTIFA Board Page 3 – Minutes July 16, 2013 Denso Manufacturing Michigan, Inc. – The site plans for the expansion have been approved by the BCU Development Review Board. TRMI, Inc. – The company is planning an expansion, 150 new jobs. Two prospects are actively looking at property. There is only one building left empty. Job creation and training development is becoming a bigger issue. Staff will provide an update on BCU’s involvement. Heritage Tower – This project is a possible Battle Creek Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BCBRA) project. The BCBRA will be having a special meeting on July 30. Robbins Building – Space was renovated to allow Cosma Casting to use the space temporarily until their building was ready. The building will need major improvements prior to future sale. Mr. Voshell has contacted McDonald’s restaurants as a potential client for this location. Mr. Rae stated that staff has done an exceptional job in the past two years. He commended staff for the hard work that has been done. PUBLIC COMMENTS No public comments. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m.