Downtown TIF Advisory Board

LACONIA DOWNTOWN TIF ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES CALL TO ORDER: Tuesday, February 19th, 2019 @ 10:07am @ Laconia City Hall Room 200B. Present: Breanna Henderson, Chris Condodemetraky, Patrick Wood City Staff: Kevin Dunleavy, Scott Myers Absent: Charlie St. Clair Public present: None Patrick Wood thanked Kevin Dunleavy for all his work with the TIF Advisory Board and wished him luck in his new job. Kevin thanked the Advisory Board for all their efforts and said that much has been accomplished and great improvements have occurred in the Downtown TIF District. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES January 15th, 2019 Minutes – Patrick Wood stated that no changes were presented and the minutes are accepted as written. OLD BUSINESS 3.1 Riverwalk 3.1.1 Landmark Inn Kevin Dunleavy said that the work on the Landmark Inn segment will be completed when the winter weather is gone and once the Landmark Inn is done with their improvements. Kevin said that he is not sure when the Landmark Inn will be done with their work and he will be reaching to the owner to find out their schedule. Kevin explained that the remaining work at the Landmark Inn will take a couple weeks to complete. 3.1.2 City Hall to Church Street Kevin Dunleavy said remaining work includes paver installation along the Laconia Spa drive area, final paving and fencing installation. Kevin said work will commence when spring weather arrives. 3.2 Parking Garage Kevin Dunleavy said a report was completed in October that has some specifics on the condition of the garage. Kevin said that the report indicated that timber shoring and shims related to the temporary repairs will need some attention. Kevin said there was a recent article in the Laconia Daily Sun on the parking garage that included thoughts from some of the tenants of the private retail space. Patrick Wood said there has been discussion about angled parking on Beacon Street East and West that could provide more parking. Kevin Dunleavy said that this parking is at the conceptual stage and also includes bump outs at some crosswalks. Breanna Henderson said she has concerns about safety with cars backing into the street with fast moving traffic. Patrick Wood said that the bump outs would slow down traffic by narrowing the road. Breanna said that the parking and intersections in all of Downtown need to have study. Patrick said that the bump outs are for pedestrian safety. Kevin said that the City has installed bump outs at the crosswalk on South Main at Vista Foods as a pedestrian safety measure and there have been some accidents at this crossing. Kevin said bump outs are a trend that are becoming more prevalent for pedestrian safety as they slow traffic down and shorten the distance of the crossing when needed like the crossing at South Main where the road is wide. 3.3 Wayfinding Signage Kevin Dunleavy said that the Request for Proposals has been drafted and will be advertised by the Purchasing Department. 3.4 Master Plan for Downtown No Discussion. 3.5 TIF Director Patrick Wood said that there is need for a City TIF Director to oversee the three TIF Districts. Patrick said that this position could also have economic development responsibilities. It was discussed that the position could be a part time position. Patrick said that it is difficult for existing City staff to take on this role with all the other responsibilities they have. 3.6 Banner Poles Kevin Dunleavy said that soil samples need to be obtained to help determine what size the pole foundation will need to be. Kevin said that current winter conditions do not allow soil sampling and samples will be taken as soon as the conditions allow. Kevin said the exact location of the poles will be determined by existing utility locations. Kevin said that previous discussions with the owner of the Landmark Inn specify that a location of a pole in front of the lobby and dining area are not preferred because it detracts from the view of the river and Stewart Park. Kevin said that he will be transitioning this project to others due to his leaving the City for other employment. 3.7 Colonial Theater City Manager Scott Myers gave a summary of the Colonial Theater project funding. Scott said that the City has committed $4.2 million to renovation of the theater, lobby, and Canal Street portions of the building. Scott said this money will not be used on the Main Street storefront nor the 2nd and 3rd levels of the building. Scott said the City Council is considering use of $900K from the Downtown TIF fund for theater amenities like lighting, projection equipment and sound systems. Scott said this additional $900K would make the City’s contribution a total of $5.1 million. Scott said that all the funding pieces need to come together for the City to use any of these funds. Scott said the project is awaiting the award of $15 million in tax credits. This money will be spent on the theater and Main Street storefronts. Scott said the 2nd and 3rd levels of the building where the apartments were located in the past will be dealt with under a separate project with only essential systems being installed in this areas initially. Scott provided a proforma of the Downtown TIF funding and what the projected balance of the TIF Fund would look like based on estimated annual revenues. Scott said that at year 7 of the projections would be a low point in the TIF account balance estimated at $280K. Scott said that some project might be able to be funded even though much of the funding will be tied up with existing bond payments and Colonial Theater project payments. 3.8 Future Riverwalk Projects Kevin Dunleavy said that work on securing easements and conceptual design could occur from the Walgreens Riverwalk segment to Fair Street. Kevin said that easements still need to be obtained from the Mason’s, Gilbert property and the Hebert Foundry before any expansion of the Riverwalk across these properties occur. Kevin recommended that this be a priority moving forward since other areas of the proposed Riverwalk along River Street are already accessible to the public where areas from Walgreens to Fair Street are not accessible by the public at this time. Kevin said that once easements are in place, funding for the Riverwalk expansion could be explored. Breanna Henderson said the connection to the Fish and Game Boat Launch to the WOW Trail and Riverwalk should be considered. 4. NEW BUSINESS None 5. PUBLIC COMMENT None 6. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting is scheduled for March 26th at 10:00am at Laconia City Hall, Room 200B. 7. ADJOURNMENT Chris Condodemetraky made a motion to adjourn, Breanna Henderson seconded. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 12:03pm. Respectfully submitted, Kevin Dunleavy, Ex-officio member