Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Commission

A G E N D A Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 4:00 p.m. Executive Conference Room Farmington City Hall, 800 Municipal Drive, Farmington, NM 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of the MRA January 21, 2016 Minutes 1 3. Update on Complete Streets Construction Document Proposal for City Council (Cindy) 4. Native American Museum Update (Cindy) 5. Downtown Association Updates-Shaña Reeves a. Farmington Downtown Association Executive Director Updates b. Annual Review c. Winter Quarterly 6. Business from: a. Floor b. Chair c. Members d. Staff 7. 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  MINUTES Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners – January 21, 2016 Commissioners Present Carletta Thompson, M.D., Chairman Derald Polston, Vice-Chair Linda Barbeau John McNeill, D.D.S. Commissioners Absent None Staff Present John Armenta Michael Bulloch Bob Campbell Fran Fillerup Cindy Lopez Andrew Montoya Shaña Reeves Steven Saavedra David Sypher Charlie Trask Duane Wakan Karen Walker Others Present Andy Chen-Mikasa Restaurant Morey Havens-Boon’s Thai Paul Martin-Sakura Engineering & Surveying Daniel Sheesly-Brown’s Shoe Fit 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 DECEMBER 17, 2015 MEETING MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Polston and seconded by Commissioner McNeill to approve the minutes of the December 17, 2015 meeting. The motion passed unanimously 4-0. 3. RECOMMENDATION FROM THE MRA CONCERNING THE PROPOSED TATTOO PARLOR AT 115-A E. MAIN STREET Senior Planner Cynthia Lopez recounted a previous discussion from the December 17, 2015 MRA meeting regarding the proposed body art establishment at 115-A E. Main 1 Street. Ms. Lopez requested a recommendation from the Commissioners prior to the petition moving forward to City Council. Chair Thompson commented that the concern for the MRA Commissioners pertained to the façade of the building. Planning & Zoning would monitor the dimensions of the business sign on the front of the building. Commissioner Barbeau made a motion to approve the body art establishment at 115-A E. Main Street. The motion was seconded by Commissioner McNeill. Motion passed 4-0. 4. DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL FOR RECOMMENDATION OF UNWARRANTED STREET LIGHTS ON MAIN STREET AT LOCKE, ALLEN, AND COURT – DAVID SYPHER David Sypher, Public Works Director for the City of Farmington, described a traffic study that determined lights at the intersections of Main and Locke, Main and Allen, and Main and Court are unwarranted. Mr. Sypher explained the criteria used to determine the traffic lights were unwarranted. The criteria included pedestrian volumes, crash data, and traffic volumes. An information campaign to inform the public and a 90-day flash mode of the traffic lights will be implemented prior to removal of the traffic lights. Mr. Sypher asked the MRA Commissioners for recommendation and approval prior to requesting approval from City Council. Commissioner McNeil asked what the time frame would be to remove the traffic lights. Mr. Sypher stated the projected time table is to have the process completed in July or August of this year. Morey Havens, the owner of Boon’s Thai at 321 W. Main Street, said he was concerned about the removal of the traffic lights prior to the building of the proposed roundabouts that are currently being discussed for the downtown area. Mr. Havens concern involves pedestrian safety and the ability to cross four lanes of traffic on Main Street without the assistance of traffic lights at those intersections. Mr. Havens is also concerned about the speed of traffic if the traffic lights are removed. He suggested the timing of the roundabouts and the removal of traffic lights should be coordinated at the same time. Mr. Havens suggested that a pedestrian count during peak lunch and dinner hours would better serve the discussion. Andy Chen, owner of Mikasa Restaurant at 400 W. Main Street, stated the inebriates were also a concern in the downtown area. Charlie Trask, City of Farmington Traffic Engineer, commented that safety was the biggest concern for pedestrians and vehicle traffic. Mr. Sypher agreed with this concern. Ms. Lopez suggested further discussion after public feedback is obtained, and stated that timing of implementation could be accommodated. Mr. Sypher noted that there was not a rush to eliminate the traffic signals. He agreed to discuss more specific pedestrian volume information with Mr. Havens. 2 Several suggestions were voiced to help the public with the transition. Commissioner Polston suggested painting the road to create better traffic strategies. Mr. Sypher expressed concern that constant changes are confusing to the public. Chair Thompson commented that removing traffic lights before the implementation of roundabouts will help the public get used to upcoming changes. Dr. Thompson noted that City Council will have further comment and recommendation on the timing of the removal of the traffic lights. Duane Wakan, City of Farmington MPO Planner, suggested paint or temporary structures to slow traffic at the intersections where the traffic lights will be removed. Commissioner McNeil suggested removing the traffic lights in phases as the roundabouts were completed in each phase. Commissioner Polston proposed painting the road to reduce it to one lane when the first phase of the roundabout construction begins. Mr. Sypher mentioned that it could be considered. Commissioner Polston made a motion to recommend approval of the removal of the traffic lights by the MRA when presented to City Council. The motion was seconded by Commissioner McNeil. Vote passed 4-0 5. DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL FOR RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF MRA FUNDS FOR CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS FOR DOWNTOWN MAIN STREET COMPLETE STREETS PROJECT Senior Planner Cindy Lopez presented the estimated cost of construction drawing from Souder, Miller & Associates (SMA) for the Main Street Project. Ms. Lopez discussed the amount of money in the MRA budget available for these construction drawings. She noted that grant funding will continue to be sought for this project. Ms. Lopez stated that she discussed with SMA to include the cost of Gateways in this estimate. Commissioner McNeil commented that fiber optics and upgraded water lines for future use should be included in the Request for Proposal (RFP) for construction documents. Ms. Lopez stated that a detailed RFP can be presented. Commissioner McNeil made a motion to proceed with Phase 1 construction document expenditures and a request to City Council to expend money so that an RFP for review can be submitted as soon as possible. Chair Thompson asked that the dollar amount requested from City Council for construction drawing be $225,000. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Barbeau. Vote passed 4-0 6. MAIN STREET PROJECT – ELECTRICAL – JOHN ARMENTA John Armenta, Electric Engineering Manager for the City of Farmington, stated the City’s electrical department will be including the cost of installing electrical upgrades in 3 the downtown Main Street area in their budget for the upcoming year. Mr. Armenta asked the Commissioners to identify where they needed additional electricity. Commissioner Polston inquired as to whether several utilities can be placed in the same trench. Mr. Armenta said that would be possible. Mr. Polston expressed a desire to install all utilities at one time. Mr. Armenta stated he would like to implement the installation of the entire Main Street area at one time rather than in phases. The project is estimated to take 3-4 months to complete. Chair Thompson said that actual construction drawings for the electrical department should be available in June or July. Mr. Armenta commented that an estimate of $500,000 would be included in the upcoming budget to pay for the electrical costs. 7. RFP FOR MRA ANIMAS DISTRICT – BOB CAMPBELL Bob Campbell presented a summary of a possible Request for Proposal (RFP) for prospective development in the Animas District. The plan for the Animas District, explained Mr. Campbell, is to incorporate Mixed Use Retail and Office Professional. The MRA Plan describes a building with retail or restaurant space on the first floor and professional office space on the floors above. Single family homes, townhomes, and small apartments are also in the plan. Mr. Campbell noted the idea is not to tell prospective developers what they have to build, but to give examples and incentives to promote desired development. Mr. Campbell presented the board with a feasibility study by Sites Southwest which was done in 2009. The study discussed possible projects that could be included in the MRA Plan in various areas of the Animas District. Mr. Campbell mentioned property that was under consideration with Ms. Price, a potential developer, at the December 17, 2015 MRA meeting. That project has been put on hold until a few more parcels of property can be acquired. No action was needed by the MRA Board at this time. 8. RED APPLE TRANSIT UPDATE – ANDREW MONTOYA Andrew Montoya, Transit Manager for the City of Farmington, gave a presentation on changes he has implemented with Farmington’s Red Apple Transit. Mr. Montoya served with the Army for 24 years and has a background in aircraft, rail, and bus transportation. After being hired by the City of Farmington, Mr. Montoya has made several changes in the routes of the Red Apple Transit to improve ridership. Recently, Mr. Montoya has worked to put the Red Apple Transit routes on Google Maps. Mr. Montoya presented a feasibility study by Huitt-Zollars on the design of transit facilities. Currently, the Red Apple Transit uses the parking lot at Orchard Plaza as its Transit Hub. The top three sites for a Transit Hub in Farmington based on the feasibility study are downtown on Animas Street, downtown next to Wells Fargo Bank, and on Scott Avenue where the old Family Fun Center was located. Mr. Montoya stated the estimated cost for a Transit Hub is $1-$1.5 million. Mr. Montoya asked for input from the MRA before he presented the idea to City Council. 4 Commissioner Polston commented that a Transit Hub downtown could be a nice opportunity to bring people downtown that might stay and shop for a while before leaving on the next bus. Commissioner Polston made a motion in favor of a Transit Hub in the downtown area. Commissioner McNeil seconded the motion. Vote passed 4-0 9. DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION UPDATES – SHAÑA REEVES a. Winter Quarterly in Santa Fe-Shaћa Reeves mentioned that Dr. McNeil had signed up to go to the Winter Quarterly to represent the MRA. b. Upcoming Annual Assessment-Ms. Reeves announced the Annual Review will take place on February 5, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. at 302 Main Street. Ms. Reeves explained the Executive Director will send the MRA Commissioners a link to a survey for the assessment. She proceeded to walk the Commissioners through some of the questions and answers that will be on the assessment to help the Commissioners understand some of the questions and what would be required. Ms. Reeves stated an ad will be placed in the Daily Times newspaper to let the public know about the Annual Assessment meeting. c. MRA folders – consolidation of information-Michael Bulloch presented a rough draft for an MRA folder that would include business cards, brochures, registration paperwork for a business application, and other documents to help start a new business for people considering a new business in the downtown area. Ms. Reeves explained that although the information is on the City of Farmington web site, the folder will put everything in one place for people who may not know where to look for the information. The folders can be put in locations such as the Small Business Development Center, Farmington Downtown Association Main Street Program, Chamber of Commerce, 4-Corners Economic Development. Ms. Lopez commented that the folders could be placed in other locations where people would normally go if they were searching for information to start a new business such as the City Clerk, Community Development, and San Juan College. Ms. Reeves said she hoped to have a final folder to present to the MRA at their next meeting. 9. BUSINESS FROM: a. Floor – There was no business from the Floor. b. Chair – There was no business from the Chair. c. Members –Commissioner McNeil asked Cory Styron if there was any news on the Brownfield Grant. Mr. Styron said it had been submitted. 5  d. Staff- There was no business from Staff. 10. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Commissioner Polston and seconded by Commissioner Barbeau to adjourn. The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners meeting was adjourned at 5:50 p.m. ___________________________________ ____________________________________ Carletta Thompson, Chair Karen Walker, Administrative Assistant 6