Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Commission

A G E N D A Thursday, November 19, 2015 - 4:00 p.m. Executive Conference Room Farmington City Hall, 800 Municipal Drive, Farmington, NM 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of the MRA October 15, 2015 Minutes 7 3. Brownfield Grant-Cory Styron-Approval and Recommendation to City Council 1 4. MRA Commission and Staff Roles and Responsibilities- Bob Campbell 5. MRA Senior Living Project Discussion-Bob Campbell 6. Leadership San Juan-Business Day Representation from MRA 5 7. MRA Incentives Package-Shaña Reeves-Approval and Recom- mendation to City Council 8. Downtown Association Updates - Shaña Reeves 9. Business from: a. Floor b. Chair c. Members d. Staff 10. Adjournment ATTENTION PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES: The meeting room and facilities are fully accessible to persons with mobility disabilities. If you plan to attend a meeting and need an auxiliary aid or service, please contact the City Clerk's office at 599-1101 or 599-1106, prior to the meeting so arrangements can be made 1 2 3 4 5 6  MINUTES Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners – October 15, 2015 Commissioners Present Carletta Thompson, M.D., Chairman Derald Polston, Vice-Chair Linda Barbeau John McNeill, D.D.S. Commissioners Absent None Staff Present Cindy Lopez Keith Neil Karen Walker Others Present Michael Bulloch Gloria Lehmer Dr. Robert Lehmer Shana Reeves Dianne Smylie Tom Taylor 1. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Chair Carletta Thompson, and there being a quorum, the following proceedings were duly had and taken. 2. APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 MEETING MINUTES: A motion was made by Commissioner McNeill and seconded by Commissioner Polston to approve the minutes of the September 14, 2015 meeting. The motion passed unanimously 4-0. 3. DISCUSSION & ACTION ON REVITALIZING MAIN STREET PLAN BY BLUE ZONES Note: This item was moved up in the agenda because Shana Reeves had not yet arrived at the meeting. Ms. Lopez stated that she had met with the City Manager, Rob Mayes, and the Assistant City Manager, Bob Campbell in regards to estimates for the Main Street project. Mr. Mayes and Mr. Campbell would like staff to develop estimates based on their experience so an informed decision can be presented to the City Council. Ms. Lopez added that she will be meeting with Mr. Campbell and David Sypher from Public Works, and a cost estimate for the Main Street project may be available in November. 1 Shana Reeves arrived at the meeting at 4:05 p.m. Ms. Reeves commented that a decision has not yet been made in regards to which city has been awarded the Main Street Grant. An announcement for the award may not be made until December. 4. DISCUSSION ON MRA INCENTIVES APPLICATION-SHANA REEVES Ms. Reeves presented the Application for MRA Incentives. The goal of the application is to find out what the public wants in the way of incentives to help bring businesses to the downtown area. Ms. Reeves explained the MRA incentives need to be comparable for everyone who asks for help when opening a business downtown. Those businesses need to comply with what is laid out in the MRA plan. Tom Taylor interjected into Ms. Reeves presentation. He has been trying to open a coffee shop for several months inside his downtown business, Artifacts. He commented that the cost of bringing his building up to code is very expensive. Mr. Taylor stated that he has run into numerous issues due to the age of his building in regards to Fire Code and the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act. The concern mentioned by Mr. Taylor is whether other business owners would be able to afford the renovations involved in opening a business in an older building in the downtown area. Gloria Liemer inquired as to whether there was any place in town that would help small businesses in opening a business downtown. Ms. Lopez commented that the Planning and Zoning Department, the Building Inspection Department, and the Public Works Department works with businesses and offers help. Chair Thompson asked if someone could develop a handout or packet for small businesses to help them with the process of opening a business. Commissioner Polston said Pagosa Springs has someone assigned to help businesses through the process and asked if the City had a budget to do something similar. Ms. Lopez commented that a Planner in the Planning and Zoning Department is assigned to work with individuals who come in and inquire about opening a business downtown. An open meeting is held weekly to discuss new petitions. This meeting gathers people from the Fire Department, Public Works, Planning and Zoning, Building Permits, Code Compliance, Traffic Engineering, and the Electric Utility to review petitions. All developers and business owners are offered the opportunity to bring their projects to this weekly meeting for feedback. Mr. Taylor mentioned that he was frustrated at not being able to get a business license or open a bank account for his coffee shop until he had a Certificate of Occupancy. Dianne Smylie confirmed that the City did not issue business licenses until the Certificate of Occupancy was issued. She added that she has written letters to the banks so that owners can open an account before the issuing of the business license. 5. DISCUSS RFP FOR 119 W. MAIN Ms. Reeves reported the building at119 W. Main which is currently owned by the City is generating interest from several people who have expressed a desire in opening a business at the location. Ms. Reeves asked the MRA Commissioners to think about what should be done with the building. Ms. Reeves felt a business in the entertainment industry such as a restaurant could be appropriate. 2 Mr. Taylor asked if he could have a list of downtown buildings that currently have kitchens. Ms. Reeves said she was working on a list that would show the possible use of each vacant building based on the buildings contents. 6. DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION UPDATES – SHANA REEVES Ms. Reeves reported events for the downtown area were progressing. Ms. Reeves is working on a Grower’s Market for next summer to be held at Orchard Plaza. The Art Walk on October 9, 2015 was a success with numerous people turning out for the event. 7. BUSINESS FROM: a. Floor – Dr. Liemer inquired as to why the building housing Brown’s Shoe Store on Main Street was torn down and rebuilt. Ms. Lopez said she thought the building was probably not in very good condition and the owner made the decision to tear down the building because it was more cost effective than renovating. Many buildings downtown were constructed of a soft brick. Also, some of the building’s foundations have deteriorated or are non-existent, making renovations very expensive. b. Chair – There was no business from the Chair. c. Members –There was no business from Members. d. Staff- There was no business from Staff. 8. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Commissioner Barbeau and seconded by Commissioner Polston to adjourn. The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners meeting was adjourned at5:10 p.m. ___________________________________ ____________________________________ Carletta Thompson, Chair Karen Walker, Administrative Assistant 3