BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

200 E. Wells Street City of Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 Meeting Minutes BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RALPH HOLLMON, CHAIR Rhonda Manuel, Vice-Chair Jayme Montgomery Baker, Fidel Verdin, Theresa Garrison, Christopher McIntyre, and Clifton Crump Staff Assistant, Chris Lee, 286-2232, Fax: 286-3456, clee@milwaukee.gov Legislative Liaison, Jeffrey Osterman, 286-2262, joster@milwaukee.gov Wednesday, October 15, 2014 9:00 AM Room 301-B, Third Floor, City Hall 1. Call to Order. Meeting called to order at 9:06 a.m. 2. Roll Call. Present - Crump, McIntyre, Garrison, Manuel, Hollmon Absent - Verdin Excused - Montgomery Baker Individuals also present: Deshea Agee, Department of City Development Mario Higgins, Mayor's Office Housing Outreach Director Akuwa Dantzler, 6th Aldermanic District Legislative Assistant 3. Review and Approval of the Previous Meeting Minutes from September 10, 2014. Mr. Crump moved approval, seconded by Mr. McIntyre, of the minutes from September 10, 2014. There were no objections. 4. Update on Bronzeville RFPs and Projects. Mr. Agee gave an update on the Request for Proposal (RFP) concerning the former “Stella’s” and “Ponderosa” restaurant building now owned by the City. The RFP is due tomorrow, October 16th. There have been some calls received and questions regarding the asking price. A number of responses are expected. Fox 6 News publicized this building twice recently. The asking price will possibly be lowered if there are no submittals. Outreach has been made to the commercial broker community. Further outreach and email notification will be done to those interested, including a range of 300 people from the Bronzeville website list. Mr. Agee gave an update on the RFP concerning the former Garfield Avenue school site. His office did two site visits following the charette process earlier this year that was conducted through Community Design Solutions. There were two open house City of Milwaukee Page 1 BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY Meeting Minutes October 15, 2014 COMMITTEE sessions for the site. The site includes the former school, Black Holocaust building, and former Grants building. A number of developers were present and showed some possible interest with different types of housing uses, such as senior housing. The RFP is for the boundaries between N. 4th and 5th Streets and between North and Garfield Avenues. The Milwaukee Urban League building is excluded. This RFP is due October 30, 2014. Mr. Agee said that these two RFPs have been the most active projects gaining traction. Both RFPs are on the City’s real estate website as well as the Bronzeville website. Both RFPs and submittals will be brought to this committee for review and feedback prior to any decision or responses being made. Both RFPs will very likely come before this committee at its next meeting for review of submittals. Mr. Agee said that there may be a possibility that Morris Development Group may be interested again on a project between N. 5th and 6th Streets on North Avenue. Additionally, a project at the old gas station at the corner of Martin L. King, Jr. Drive and Burleigh Street is expected to move forward although there has been no mention of the timeframe of the project. Mr. Crump said that the committee should be able to review all RFP proposals, including those that fail to meet minimum standards, to gauge interest and the type of interest. Ms. Manuel concurred with Mr. Crump and said that she will communicate in writing to the commissioner of the Department of City Development within her capacity within that office to see all proposals that come in concerning any Bronzeville RFP. Mr. Agee said that the committee should see all proposals. Concerning those that do not meet the minimum standards, the committee can determine possible alternative sites within the district and give those respondents constructive feedback on their submittals. 5. Presentation Regarding Friends of Bronzeville. Mr. Hollmon said this matter should be deferred to the next meeting so that Ms. Montgomery Baker, can be present to give more details on Friends of Bronzeville. At the last meeting, Ald. Milele Coggs gave a brief overview of the organization. 6. Discussion on the Mission and Activities of the Bronzeville Advisory Committee. This matter was deferred to the next meeting for Ald. Milele Coggs, to have a lengthy discussion with the committee on possibly modifying the original resolution concerning the committee’s functions, activities, and missions. 7. Items for the Next Meeting Agenda. Ms. Manuel said that there should be an agenda item about an artist housing project that Mr. Higgins is involved with. Along with the artist housing project, Mr. McIntyre said that the Bloomsberg State wide Challenge can be discussed at the next meeting concerning arts and culture in Bronzeville. Millions of dollars have been donated to the competition. People from cities can submit proposals for public art installations. City of Milwaukee Page 2 BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY Meeting Minutes October 15, 2014 COMMITTEE Mr. Crump said that the committee can benefit from being able to obtain and review all City holdings, including properties owned by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee. Mr. Higgins said that he can assist in providing a mapping and listing to the committee as requested if boundaries can be given to him. He added that he is interested in this committee and is involved in getting work done in the Bronzeville district. Mr. Agee said that he or Mr. Higgins can provide this information without major difficulty. The information will benefit the committee. There are projects related to land uses, rezoning, vacant homes, vacant lots, and the new homes initiative that the committee may possibly consider and weigh in on. In the new homes initiative vacant lots are made available to buyers to purchase and build homes, which has occurred already on a few sites. He can give Mr. Higgins a Bronzeville map. Mr. Hollmon said that the boundaries of the Bronzeville district are also identified within the resolution that created the advisory committee. Ms. Manuel said that an agenda item for the next meeting should include the Bronzeville TID, particularly concerning the process of acquiring TID funding and additional increment. Current TID funds in the Bronzeville district do not support larger projects. Mr. Crump requested information relating to how and what TID funds have been used in the past. He added that bigger projects and TID funds are tied together. Mr. Hollmon asked that a TID be explained at the next meeting. There can be future discussion on whether the committee can weigh in on Bronzeville TID funding and uses. 8. Set Next Meeting Date and Time. Mr. Hollmon said that the committee may have to meet monthly or more regularly as opposed to quarterly to review current and future RFPs and responses. Mr. Agee said that the committee should have its next meeting during the third week of November or first week of December regarding both RFPs relating to the former “Stella’s” restaurant and the former Garfield Avenue School site. His office would like some time to receive as many proposals as possible, compile information, and allow for a developer to apply for tax credits. The former school site RFP is more urgent due to possible tax credits. The former restaurant RFP is contingent on bank financing. Mr. Hollmon said that Ms. Manuel or Mr. Agee should be in communication with clerk staff on when the next meeting should be scheduled. The next meeting will be set on a date and time that garners the most members. Mr. Higgins said that the committee may want to review RFPs and responses in a different setting or possibly through a subcommittee due to the comprehensiveness of RFPs and responses. Mr. Hollmon said that the committee has relied on Mr. Agee and his staff in the past to give the committee summaries and high points. He envisions that staff will give summaries of the upcoming RFPs and responses. City of Milwaukee Page 3 BRONZEVILLE ADVISORY Meeting Minutes October 15, 2014 COMMITTEE Mr. Agee said that standard forms, individual renderings, and financial packages will be given to the committee. He added that the Bronzeville district is a tax incremental district (TID). Ms. Manuel moved that there be a subcommittee from the committee to review and understand RFPs and responses in more detail prior to those RFPs and responses coming before the full committee for review. Ms. Manuel, Mr. Crump, and Ms. Garrison moved to be members on the subcommittee. There were no objections. Mr. Hollmon said that Ms. Manuel will chair the subcommittee and work with Mr. Agee. Mr. Agee said that he can meet with the subcommittee during the first or second week of November. The subcommittee can give him feedback on what information should be included on the summaries. The subcommittee should be limited to three members to prevent a quorum for the full committee. He cannot give any answers on whether funds will be requested from the Bronzeville TID. Requests for TID funding can be included in the summaries. 9. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 9:50 a.m. Chris Lee, Staff Assistant City of Milwaukee Page 4