Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Commission

AGENDA Tuesday, July 19, 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 June 21, 2022 Meeting Minutes 3. Animas Area / Healthcare District plan RFP Status Update 4. Presentation on the Annual Juried Sculpture Show – Presented by the Arts Committee 5. Main Street Advisory Board Business a. Staff Update – Karen Lupton i. Upcoming Events and Trainings 6. City Staff Updates – (Warren Unsicker) 7. Business From: a. Floor b. Chair c. Members – Update on Three Rivers Estates Project (Senior Living Facility) by Beth McNally d. Staff 8. Next Meeting – August 16, 2022 9. 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 – June 21, 2022 Held in the Executive Conference Room at 800 Municipal Dr., Farmington NM Members Present: John McNeill, D.D.S. – Chair Jill Tanis – Vice Chair Doug Dykeman – Commissioner Elizabeth McNally – Commissioner Members Absent: None Staff Present: Beth Escobar Warren Unsicker Karen Lupton Julie Baird Shanna Reeves Tami Spencer Staff Absent: None Others Present: None 1. Call to Order Chair McNeill called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m., Vice Chair Tanis and Commissioner Dykeman and Commissioner Beth McNally in attendance. There being a quorum the following proceedings were duly had and taken. 2. Approval of the May 17, 2022 Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner McNally and seconded by Vice Chair Tanis to approve the minutes of May 21, 2022, and upon voice vote, the motion carried unanimously 4-0. 3. Animas Area/Healthcare District Plan RFP Status Update Planning Manager Escobar informed the Commission: The RFP was published on June 6 and will close on July 7.  The following firms were notified via email of the RFP posting:  Placemakers – Planning/Design Firm in Albuquerque  DPS Design – Albuquerque  SEH – Planning/Engineering St. Paul MN  Logan Simpson – Planning Fort Collins/Phoenix  Blue Zones  WGI Engineering & Design – West Palm Beach  MPA Architects – San Diego Questions have been received from Placemakers, Sites Southwest and Blue Zones, which have been referred to our Buyer 1 Sharron Rowe. A review committee has been assembled. The committee consists of Planning Manager Escobar, City Engineer Isaac Blue Eyes, Tristan Hawkins, someone from the Fire District, and an MRA Commission member. The Commission will need to vote on a member from the MRA Commission for the review committee to be complete. Ms. Escobar explained the review process to the Commission. 4. Open Meeting Resolution - 2022 Chair McNeill called for a motion to approve the Open Meeting Resolution - 2022. A motion was made by Vice Chair Tanis and seconded by Commissioner Dykeman to approve the Open Meeting Resolution - 2022, and upon voice vote, the motion carried unanimously 4-0. 5. Election of a New Chairperson Commissioner McNally nominated Vice Chair Tanis to be Chairperson of the MRA Commission; Commissioner Dykeman seconded the nomination. Vice Chair Tanis accepted the nomination. Chair Tanis nominated Commissioner Dykeman to be Vice Chair of the MRA Commission; Commissioner McNally seconded the nomination. Commissioner Dykeman accepted the nomination. The Commission voted to accept the nominations and upon a voice vote, the motion carried 3-0. Commissioner McNeill abstained from the vote. 6. Main Street Advisory Board Business – Karen Lupton Ms. Lupton updated the Commission on Downtown events; Makers Market started on June 2, 2022 and will run every Thursday through September. TGIS started June 3, 2022. The Gem and Mineral show will be held at McGee Park. July 1, 2022 is the first Art Walk to kickoff Freedom Days. July 2, 2022 is the Ice Cream Social in front of the E3 Children’s Museum and the Chevel Shepard concert will be at the Civic Center that night. Monday night will be the Electric Light Parade on Main St. Commissioner McNeill asked when the next New Mexico Main St. meeting is. Ms. Lupton replied in the fall. He also inquired about the status off exploring Certified Local Government certification Ms. Lupton stated she was not familiar with this certification and a conversation was held about the Certified Local Government program. 7. City Staff Updates – Warren Unsicker Mr. Unsicker informed the Commission that Locke St. Eats, the food truck court on Arrington, has been doing phenomenal business. The overflow from the Civic Center and Locke St. Eats has been beneficial, people are going downtown and they are staying longer. The restaurants have been doing quite well and are trying to hire additional staff. He added there is still interest in the empty storefronts downtown. This phase of the Totah Theater is nearing completion. The seating and projector have been delayed due to Covid supply issues. Assistant City Manager Baird presented Farmington, NM Christmas Décor, Downtown 2022  Discussion Chair Tanis asked Assistant City Manager Baird about year round maintenance and is there a budget for that or would it fall under Parks and Rec. Ms. Baird replied Parks and Rec would maintain the lighting, and General Services may maintain the electrical aspect. Chair Tanis stated she liked the year round lighting option. Commissioner McNally asked Ms. Baird if there was any consideration to adding more art/sculpture to downtown. Ms. Baird replied there is another committee that is working on a juried sculpture show for downtown. Chair Tanis asked if the juried sculpture show would help meet some of the measures to become an Arts and Cultural District. Ms. Lupton and Mr. Unsicker replied that checklist is almost complete. Commissioner McNeill suggested the Arts Council come to an MRA meeting to see how the three entities (the City of Farmington, the MRA and the Arts Council) could work together. Commissioner McNeill made a motion to support the effort to proceed with a design as conceived. Chair Tanis seconded the motion and upon voice vote, the motion carried unanimously 4-0. 8. Business From Floor – There was no business from the Floor. Chair – Chair Tanis asked if any of the board members would be interested in participating on the review committee for the Animas Area/Healthcare District Plan proposals. After a discussion, it was decided Chair Tanis would be on the review committee. Commissioner McNeill made a motion for Chair Tanis to participate on the review committee for the Animas Area/Healthcare District Plan RFP. Commissioner McNally seconded the motion and upon voice vote; the motion carried unanimously 4-0 Members – Commissioner McNally informed the Commission the update on the Three Rivers Estates Project has been tabled until the next MRA meeting. Commissioner McNally asked Mr. Unsicker for an update on Black Bear Unlimited and Desert River Guides. Mr. Unsicker replied they are doing well. They had a change in partners and the name. They had their grand opening Memorial Day Weekend. He added Desert River Guide has had a successful year. They have a good presence locally; they are getting their name out there. Commissioner McNally added they had over 400-raft ride at Riverfest this year. Desert River Guide also offered to come to an MRA meeting to talk about their business. Commissioner Dykeman brought up that Lock St. Eats has brought in two portable restrooms on the west side of the property. He would like to know why they are there. Mr. Unsicker replied it might be a capacity issue, when they have their concerts. Planning Manager Escobar added Lock St. Eats has morphed into more of an event center rather than just a place to eat. Ms. Escobar will follow up on the portable restrooms and let the Commission know what she finds out. Commissioner McNally asked of the Food Hub has opened back up yet, Mr. Unsicker replied the Food Hub is working with San Juan College on a $900,000 grant to bring in the kitchen portion. Commissioner McNeill mentioned a trash dumpster in a buffer zone, one block up from Main St. across the street from Lock St. Eats. He would like looked into. Chair Tanis thanked Commissioner McNeill for his many years of service to the MRA Commission and everything he has brought to fruition while he was here. Commissioner McNeill let staff know he has always appreciated their input, knowledge and ability.  Staff – There was no business from Staff. 9. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner McNeill and seconded by Commissioner Dykeman to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously 4-0. The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency meeting was adjourned at 4:58 p.m. __________________________________ ____________________________________ Jill Tanis Tami Spencer Chair Administrative Assistant THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK