Committee of the Whole Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City Hall – Council Chambers June 15, 2020 The Committee of the Whole met at City Hall via teleconference at 5:25 p.m. on June 15, 2020, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Mayor Robert M. Green, Frank Darrah, Simon Harding, Daryl Kruse, Mark Miller, Dave Sires, and Nick Taiber. Susan deBuhr was absent. Staff members attended from all City Departments, as well as members of the community teleconferenced in. Also in attendance were Dale Schrad, Mark Kittrell, Nick Hildebrandt from Emergent Architecture, Brad Leeper and Brian Sunderman from Invision Architecture, and Larry Wiele from AECOM. The Mayor introduced the first item on the agenda Planning & Zoning Commission Interview, Dale Schrad. Mr. Schrad introduced himself and stated he has lived in Cedar Falls awhile and he stated he is ready to serve the community. A brief discussion was held. The Mayor introduced the second item on the agenda High School Site. Stephanie Houk Sheetz introduced the speakers for tonight’s presentations. Brad Leeper with Invision Architecture reviewed the design of the inside of the new High School building. He reviewed a couple of aerial views of the campus. He stated future plans include a swimming pool. Brian Sunderman from Invision Architecture reviewed the site and landscape plans of the new High School. He reviewed the campus layout, including student and staff parking areas, and bus lanes. He stated the fire lanes have been reviewed with Public Safety. He stated there will be approximately an acre of solar panels on the site and additional panels on the roof of the building. Mr. Sunderman stated there are other sustainable features on the site include bio swales and two storm water detention areas and the majority of the site will be planted with prairie grasses. He reviewed the roadway and pedestrian connections from the outlying areas. Mr. Sunderman reviewed the schedule of the project, including remaining design development, construction documents, etc. He stated Larry Wiele from AECOM will review the development requirements of the site. Mr. Wiele stated the additional 19.6 acres are zoned agriculture and the rezoning will take place over July and August. He stated the site plan will take place on a similar timeline. He stated the City has agreed to reconstruct W. 27th Street from the western edge of the high school property to Hudson Road. He reviewed the traffic circulation along W. 27th Street, which includes three roundabouts. He stated a sanitary sewer extension will be completed to service the high school site and the West Fork development and future development in the area. Mr. Wiele reviewed the W. 27th Street reconstruction and sanitary sewer extension schedule, with a completion goal of 2022. Mayor Green opened it for questions from the Council. Ms. Sheetz responded to a question about the extension of Greenhill Road stating it could continue north, but there are wetlands which need to be considered. Mayor Green introduces the third item on the agenda River Place Development Agreement and Downtown Parking. Ms. Sheetz reviewed a PowerPoint presentation to review the Extension of a Development Agreement for additional public parking and its relationship to the Downtown Public Parking System. She stated tonight’s presentation will be a review of the concept and full details will be later in the process. She reviewed the River Place Development agreement primary components, which goes through July 1, 2027. The current rebates have totaled just over $600,000. Ms. Sheetz explained the proposal will be to add the property at 3rd and State Streets to the agreement, which includes retail on first floor, and 90-100 public parking spaces. She stated the agreement may include the transfer of the public plaza to be back to the City. The proposal will extend the agreement, in order for these amenities to happen. She explained the public parking project phases. She stated public bidding would be a requirement, and the city would help with this process. She said if given the go ahead with the agreement, the City would pay for the operating costs of the parking component, but stated details with regards to city participation for damages to the structure/property is unknown. The next steps would be to create the development agreement at the City’s expense. But she explained before we do this, we want a consensus from the Council on this proposal, since there are a lot of details to work out. Ms. Sheetz went on to explain how this fits into the Downtown Public Parking system. She reviewed the current parking options and the changes to the system since the Downtown Parking Study was completed in 2018. Additional parking has been a frequent request over the years and she stated a public private partnership is one option in providing parking. She stated parking ramps are expensive to building and maintain. To manage a parking ramp long term the whole parking system will need to be reviewed, and the addition of a parking ramp would mean the on-street parking would also need to be paid. Ms. Sheetz stated it is staff’s recommendation to proceed with the development agreement amendment, and to continue implementation of the Downtown Parking Study, including moving to a paid parking system. She said this would include for staff to acquire a letter of support from Community Main Street. Mayor Green opened it up for discussion from Council. Ms. Sheetz stated details would still need to be worked out on the cost of the project. Councilmember Taiber voiced concerns for actual demand for the public parking ramp. Ms. Sheetz stated the terms of the agreement will need to be negotiated, explaining standard development agreement terms have be 5 years/100% rebate. Councilmember Miller asked if we do this, do we need a parking authority, and would Community Main Street or the City manage it? Ron Gaines, City Administrator stated if we do go this route, there will probably be a new division of the City. Mayor Green asked about the design in the presentation. Mark Kittrell from River Place Development stated it is a conceptual level, and the new tenants may drive the need for additional parking; a banking and technology firm and a secure location for permit parking may be a need. Nick Hildebrandt from Emergent Architecture stated the site plan will blend historic with the River Place design elements. Mr. Kittrell answered questions with regards to the number of parking spots that may be needed, based on his management experience and the Downtown Parking Study. He also explained this proposal would include 6,000 square feet of 3-4 retail tenant spots, consistent with other downtown locations. Mr. Kittrell explained the site is being developed with a flat roof deck, to leave the option to repurpose the parking area if needed in the future. With there being no further discussion on item three, the Mayor introduced the fourth item on the agenda Cash Management Report. Lisa Roeding, Controller/City Treasurer gave a PowerPoint presentation. She reviewed the investments and rates of return, the operating cash reserves and information on capital expenditures. She stated the average rate of return for the investments was 1.89% down from FY2019 at 2.77%. She explained the three city policies for holding cash reserves, to meet current obligations, protect for emergency needs, and it is a component of our bond rating. She stated the City’s position is to maintain cash reserve balance between 15% - 25% in the General Fund for cash flow and emergency purposes. Ms. Roeding stated this is the 30th year for the Vehicle Maintenance Program. She explained this schedule is made out a year in advance and may change if certain vehicles warrant replacement before others. She explained we will want to watch the property tax rollback and State backfill in the coming months and years. Ms. Roeding stated the Covid-19 pandemic will cause revenue shortfalls for us and other cities in Iowa and the nation and city staff will continue to monitor the effects locally to major revenue sources. She said staff is seeking a motion to approve the FY2021 Cash Management Report. Mayor Green opened it up for discussion. Ms. Roeding stated there was no change in the property tax backfill in the current legislative session. She explained that the cash reserve rate could be reviewed during the goal setting in the fall. Mr. Gaines stated the cash reserves helped with the most recent bond rating upgrade. Jennifer Rodenbeck Director of Finance and Business Operations stated we have used some of the cash reserves for capital expenditures projects such as the Public Safety Building and it is planned for the City Hall remodeling. Frank Darrah motioned to approve the FY2021 Cash Management Report, seconded by Daryl Kruse. The motion carried unanimously. There being no discussion, Mayor Green moved to the final item on the agenda, bills and payroll. Daryl Kruse moved to approve the bills and payroll as presented, and Mark Miller seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. There being no further, Mayor Green adjourned the meeting at 6:56 p.m. Minutes by Lisa Roeding, Controller/City Treasurer