Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Commission

AGENDA Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - 4:00 P.M. The regular meeting of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Commission will be held in the Executive Conference Room, 800 Municipal Dr., Farmington, NM 1. Meeting Called To Order 2. Approval of the April 19, 2022 Meeting Minutes 3. Animas Area / Healthcare District plan RFP Status Update 4. Main Street Advisory Board Business a. Staff Update – Karen Lupton i. Upcoming Events and Trainings 5. City Staff Updates – (Warren Unsicker) 6. Business From: a. Floor b. Chair c. Members d. Staff 7. Next Meeting – June 21, 2022 8. Adjournment ATTENTION PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES: If you plan to attend the virtual meeting and will need an auxiliary aid or service, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at 599-1101 prior to the meeting so that arrangements can be made.  MINUTES Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners – April 19, 2022 Held in the Executive Conference Room at 800 Municipal Dr., Farmington NM Members Present: John McNeill, D.D.S. – Chair - Telephonically Jill Tanis – Vice Chair Doug Dykeman – Commissioner Elizabeth McNally - Commissioner Members Absent: None Staff Present: Beth Escobar Julie Baird Shana Reeves Karen Lupton Warren Unsicker Tami Spencer Others Present: Dr. Lehmer Gloria Lehmer 1. Call to Order Vice Chair Tanis called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m., Chair McNeill (telephonically) Commissioner Dykeman and Commissioner McNally in attendance. There being a quorum the following proceedings were duly had and taken. 2. Approval of the March 22, 2022 Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Dykeman and seconded by Commissioner McNally to approve the minutes of March 22, 2022, and upon voice vote, the motion carried unanimously 4-0. 3. Discussion and Recommendation to Council of RFP Scope for the Animas District/Health Care Hub Plan – Through a collaborative effort and RFP was created. See RFP below: 1  Request for Proposals Animas Area / Healthcare Hub Development Plan The City of Farmington (City) is requesting proposals (RFP’s) from qualified professional planning consultants (Consultant) to create a Development Plan for the Farmington Metropolitan Redevelopment Area (MRA) Animas Area / Healthcare Hub. The Development Plan will draw upon the catalytic priority projects in the 2019 Downtown MRA Plan to include: 1. Placemaking – Identify methods and processes to create destination locations and experiences in the district to attract private investors, businesses, residents, and visitors. a. Conduct public engagement with essential stakeholders to develop methods to promote cultural and historical connections. b. Identify community assets including existing public spaces and future opportunities to provide new connections creating a sense of place. 2. Development Plan - Produce a development plan that addresses: a. Potential Rezoning/Overlay District opportunities that promote residential/mixed use development and identify target locations for possible rezoning or application of an overlay district to encourage more appropriate land uses in the area. b. Provide implementation steps to help create a distinct neighborhood within the Animas Area, with details for site planning, walkability, parking, public open space, trails, landscaping and complementary architectural design. c. Conduct public engagement with businesses and/or property owners, including San Juan Regional Medical Center (SJRMC) to identify future development potential. d. The plan should include concepts to accommodate transportation, trails, bicycling and vehicular traffic. e. Solicit input from City departments for issues relating to parks, streets/roads, and utilities/infrastructure. f. Incorporate placemaking methods identified in item #1. 3. Trail Development/River Connection/Wayfinding Signage – produce a rough design of routes within the Animas Area and to the City facilities along the Animas River. 4. City Project - Develop a conceptual plan for a transformative City project on existing City properties adjacent to the Animas River. 5. Deliverables a. Collate and summarize all public comments b. Prepare draft documents for further public review and comment. c.. Present draft in a public meeting to the MRA d.. Present draft in a public meeting to the Planning & Zoning Commission e.. Present final draft to City Council f.. Prepare final plan, with documentation of concepts to allow for further development of architectural and/or engineering plans. 2  Commissioner McNally asked what the next steps would be in the RFP process. Planning Manager Escobar replied the next step would be to present the RFP to the City Council. When the Council gives, the approval to publish it would go to Administrative Services Department. Administrative Services will post the bid, after bids are received, the Purchaser for the Planning Division will review the bids for qualifications and assemble a team for further review and ratings. After the ratings are done, the bid will go to the City Council for approval. Then the City would contract with the firm that was approved. Chair McNeill asked how a firm would get on the vendor list. Planning Manager Escobar explained you would register on the website. Dr. Lehmer added he gave some documentation to Planning Manager Escobar regardng obtaining properties, and creating industrial areas that were more attractive. Ms. Escobar let the Commission know that information from Dr. Lehmer will be in the refenence documents, as well as the MRA and Comp plans, for the bid. Motion A motion was made by Chair McNeill and seconded by Commissioner Dykeman to moves the RFP forward to the City Council. The motion carried 4-0. Chair McNeill wanted to ensure the River Reach Foundation, especially Dr. and Mrs. Lehmer be kept informed of the public hearings. Chair McNeill wants to be sure any ideas the Lehmer’s have is communicated to the planners. Chair McNeill also feels it is important to start a stakeholders list now, that way the information will be available when the public meetings get started. 4. Main Street Advisory Board Business – Karen Lupton Ms. Lupton informed the Commission she will be attening a national conference in May. She added the iHeart building was purchased by American General Media, and the Charity Drug building is being renovated by the owner. It will be a needle point shop by this summer. Vice Chair Tanis asked Ms. Lupton if the merchants along Main St. were happy. Ms. Lupton responded she had not received any complaints. Commissioner McNally asked Ms. Lupton how the April 1st Art Walk went. Ms. Lupton replied it was well attended, there was lots of activity on the street and in the park. The next Art Walk will be Friday, July 1st to coinside with Freedom Days. After that the next one will be September 30th, then November 26th which is Small Business Saturday. Ms. Lupton stated Flo Trujillo, NM Arts Council wanted to vendors in Orchard Park on the fourth of July. The first Makers Market is on June 3rd and will run through September 29, 2022. She also added T.G.I.F. starts Friday, July 1, 2022. 5. City Staff Updates – Warren Unsicker Mr. Unsicker stated there is a lot of activity downtown. Locke St. Eats had there soft opening. He also stated there are changes to the regulations for food trucks. The fire department is requiring additional fire suppression in some of them. Mr. Unsicker is trying to understand how this will affect the food trucks moving forward. He informed the Commission that The Alchemist Cannabis Retail Store would be opening at 115 W. Main St. and some of the restaurants downtown have stated they have had the best years they have ever had. He feels this is a positive thing, people are getting downtown, enjoying it and patronizing the businesses. 3  He added, most of the landscaping is almost done and the downtown area has become a venue for some of the local non-profit’s, who are utilizing it for their events. April 30th is the Kiwanis Club, Historical Downtown Walk, and May 7th is the 5k run fundraiser for the Wolf Sanctuary. There has been a lot of positive feedback from those hosting events downtown. Commissioner McNally if this now was the final phase of landscaping. Parks Rec & Cultural Affairs Director Shana Reeves replied all of the trees have been planted, there are many plants that remain to be planted in some of the planters and some of the round a bouts. She also stated, the remainder of the plants will be ready to plant in the next one to two weeks. Mr. Unsicker reported there has been a few delays on items needed for the completion of the Totah Theater. They are working with some of the providers who are coming up with some solutions to get the theater open sooner rather than later. 6. Business From Floor – There was no business from the Floor. Chair – There was not business from the Chair. Members – Commissioner McNally stated she will not be able to attend the next meeting. Staff – Ms. Baird gave an update on the Downtown Center. The first floor is under construction, they are adding some office spaces and the New Mexico Department of Health will lease a portion of the first floor. 7. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner Dykeman and seconded by Commissioner McNally to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously 4-0. The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency meeting was adjourned at 4:25 p.m. __________________________________ ____________________________________ John McNeill Tami Spencer Chair Administrative Assistant 4