Finance Committee

Finance Committee Monday, April 15, 2024, 8:00 A.M. Virtual meeting pursuant to Chapters 113 and 115 of the Codified Ordinances (as amended in Ordinance 22-28), and Resolution 22-29, enacted on March 22, 2022. Members present: Council Member, Nancy Moore, Chair Council Member, Anne Williams Council Member, Kim Bixenstine Council Member, Carmella Williams Citizen Member, Martin Kolb Citizen Member, Anthony Moore Citizen Member, Ketan Patel Citizen Member, Kandis Williams Others present: Mayor, David E. Weiss Chief Administrative Officer, Jeri E. Chaikin Director of Finance, John Potts Director of Recreation, Alexandria Nichols Director of Public Works, Patricia Speese Director of Building & Housing, Kyle Krewson Interim Director of Public Works, Jeffrey DeMuth Commander, John Cole Commander, Timothy Kohanski Assistant Director of Public Works, Christian Maier Facilities Manager, John Doyle Principal Planner, Kara O’Donnell Planner, Anna Mates Neighborhood Development Specialist, Brendan Zak Senior Program Coordinator, Katie DiFranco * * * * APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING MARCH 18, 2024. Chair Nancy Moore stated that the minutes of March 18, 2024 meeting were unanimously approved with minimal edits. * * * * REQUEST TO APPROPRIATE $200,000 IN COUNTY GRANT AND $59,500 IN CITY FUNDS IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LEE ROAD STOREFRONT AND EXTERIOR IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. Principal Planner Kara Hamley O’Donnell requested to appropriate $200,000 in County grant and $59,500 in City funds in the Capital Budget for the construction of the Lee Road Storefront and Exterior Improvement Program. The City adopted the Lee Road Action Plan in 2023, with planned infrastructure construction beginning in 2027. As recommended in the Plan, a strategic first action is to develop shared parking and access to improve safety, enhance the district, generate excitement, and create a highly visible and positive impact. As Planning and Economic Development staff strategize to implement the plan, this project has risen to the top due to the importance of creating shared parking and eliminating curb cuts prior to roadway reconstruction. The project also includes focused project area storefront renovations to be paid from the Economic Development Department’s 2024 operating budget. A plan was presented to and supported by the property owners. The Preliminary Shared Parking Site Plan was included with the memorandum for review. The City is currently working with property owners to execute the necessary agreements and easements required to implement the project. The total project cost is estimated at $325,000. This is an early estimate based on the preliminary design as the project has not gone out to bid yet. Planning and Economic Development have monthly meetings where the departments work on their strategy to implement this plan. The project is getting ready to move into final design and has not gone out to bid yet. There are $200,000 in grants of which $150,000 is coming from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and $50,000 from the Community Development Supplemental Grant (CDSG) both from the County. There are shared property owner costs in the amount of $59,500. These funds are committed and will be reimbursed to the City after construction is completed. Owners are expected to pay a range of between $5,000 and $12,000 each, depending on parcel size and specific improvements required. There is currently funding in the General Capital budget to fund the $65,000 of right-of-way and City-owned parcel improvements for this project. expected to The total appropriation request is $259,500. At the April 4, 2024, Safety & Public Works Committee meeting, the Committee members were impressed that the City was able to get the required property owners to participate. Staff clarified that the trees in the public right-of-way would not be impacted by this project and that the driveway aprons that would no longer be used will be blocked by bollards now and, in 2027, removed and replaced with streetscape and landscaping improvements. The Committee unanimously recommended that Council appropriate the funds. Citizen Member Martin Kolb expressed his positive approval on this project and what the Planning and Economic Development departments have been able to accomplish together. Mr. Kolb also expressed his support in this particular program that allows owners to contribute and have some ownership in what is being done. The Finance Committee approved the request to appropriate $200,000 in County grant and $59,500 in City funds in the Capital Budget for the construction of the Lee Road Storefront and Exterior Improvement Program. * * * * Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 2 of 12 REQUEST TO ACCEPT AND APPROPRIATE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION FUNDS TOTALING $8,500 INTO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT OPERATING BUDGET TO SUPPORT A SUMMER INTERN. Planner Anna Mates requested to accept and appropriate Cleveland Foundation Funds totaling $8,500 into the Planning Department Operating Budget to support a summer intern. The Planning Department applied to be a host organization for the Cleveland Foundation’s Summer Internship Program in 2023 and was selected to host an intern. The intern candidate selected by the Planning Department took another internship late in the process and the Cleveland Foundation deferred the Planning Department’s participation in the program to 2024. The Planning Department will now host a summer intern through the Cleveland Foundation’s Summer Internship Program starting at the end of May 2024. The total funds awarded by the Cleveland Foundation will be $8,500 and will be used to pay the salary of the intern as a temporary, full-time employee of the City for the duration of the Summer Internship Program. The intern will work 37.5 hours a week from May 29 – August 9, 2024. The intern’s projects will focus on working with the Planning Department staff on the Recreation Strategic Plan, grant research and writing for a variety of different grants and assisting the Landmark Commission meetings and special projects, including the Biennial Landmark Commission Preservation awards. The City Planning Commission unanimously approved the request. The Finance Committee approved the request to accept and appropriate Cleveland Foundation Funds totaling $8,500 into the Planning Department Operating Budget to support a summer intern. * * * * SANITARY & STORM SEWER STATUS AND FEE INCREASE. Director of Public Works, Patricia Speese presented a sanitary and storm sewer status update in conjunction with a proposed fee increase. The Sustainability Committee was formed in 2014 as a result of a major storm and flooding event. 100-year sewer infrastructure, which was constructed to last 50 years, is at a critical juncture and requires rehabilitation to last another 50 years. A very detailed plan is attached to this document showing $21,092,645 in worked performed during the past four years with $8,151,845 in grant funding obtained to offset the cost to the city. A power point presentation was presented to City Council at the work session on March 5, 2024. When the sewer fee was increased in late 2019 the intention was not to just improve the sewers but also to also be aggressive in seeking grant funding. The biggest project is going to be underway very shortly which is the Lynnfield / Lomond Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO). This is the largest SSO in the City and will impact over 1,200 households. Director Speese also discussed two recent culvert projects including one on South Woodland, just east of Green Road about three years ago and a joint project with the City of Beachwood on Bryden Road. Many of the City’s sewers are of great quality but are old and leaky which necessitates the sewers to be rehabilitated. Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 3 of 12 A complete assessment of the sewers is performed by Public Works to ensure they are checked, cleaned and repaired as necessary. Prior to street resurfacing, every sewer and lateral on the street is checked and repairs are made if necessary. The Public Works Department has also completed the Brantley Road Sewer Improvement Project and the Almar / Warrensville Center Road project to help those businesses. Almost $22 million of sewer work has been completed by the department. The Public Works Department has also taken on a cleaning and maintenance program, as well as an inspection program. This is all a part of the comprehensive plan that the City has to rehab the sewers throughout the entire city, along with the culverts and other parts of the sewer system. Chair Moore introduced Assistant Director of Infrastructure Christian Maier and commended him on his expertise and management of these sewer projects. Director of Finance, John Potts explained the proposed sewer fee increase. The City has been levying sewer fees since 2019 with a gradual increase to the fixed fee and the variable fee to allow for the financing many of the sewer projects the past few years to provide funds for the maintenance and repairs mentioned by Director Speese. Prior to that, the General Fund was covering almost $3 million a year in sewer operations and debt service, which is now being funded by the sewer fees. As of the end of last year, the balance in the fund is approximately $300,000. Director Potts went on to state the importance of mentioning that the 10 year forward-looking capital plan for the City’s sewer projects is almost $30 million. The sewer fees have increased gradually from May 2020, and will be expiring next month. These fees have allowed the City to take out about $8 million in debt financing which equates to $677,000 of annual debt service that the sewer fees are covering each year. Now as the City is at the end of the gradual increases, the fund will likely go negative by 2025. Without another gradual increase the General Fund would need to go back to subsidizing the Sewer Maintenance Fund for these projects. Director Speese and Director Potts have been working for the past few months to develop the appropriate increases for the next four year to ensure that the City can continue to get financing for sewer maintenance and repair projects in addition to covering the current debt service. Director Potts explained that the proposed increases would begin in May 2024 and go on for the next four years. The fixed fee would increase by 50 cents per customer per year. The variable fee, which based on the number of MCF’s used by residents (water usage), would increase by two dollars per MCF per year. Director Potts compiled a list of what other municipalities are charging in sewer fees. The City will look to obtain an additional $1 million in funds for sewer projects through a bond financing in 2025, followed by $2 million in 2026 and then bond up those financings into $5 million bond in 2027. These financings will result in additional $525,000 in debt service, which would be covered by the sewer fee increases that are being proposed. Chair Moore thanked the Directors for their complete presentation. She went on to summarize that what the employees are doing for Shaker Heights is rebuilding the City’s infrastructure through the issuance of debt that is primarily financed through the sewer fees almost as a user fee. The City is calculating the increase in those sewer fees in basically three year increments. Chair Moore concluded by stating the recommendation of the Finance Committee is extremely important. Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 4 of 12 Citizen Member Ketan Patel questioned what the average household is charged on the variable MCF fee. Director Speese stated the average household consumes about two MCFs a month, which would be four dollars a month for the MCF fees. The variable MCF amount is a bit higher as opposed to the fixed fee because MCF is the metric of cubic feet that is used for the measurement for water and sewer. The more a resident uses, the more they are responsible for paying. Citizen Member Martin Kolb questioned what the base amount would be between the monthly and variable rates proposed. Director Potts stated that on average, it would be a charge of $11 per month fixed and $4 per month variable. This would amount to $15 a month. The increase to the homeowner is 50 cents per month on the fixed side and two dollars per usage MCF on the variable side. So overall a three dollar per month increase. Council Member Kolb commended the Directors and Assistant Director for the presentation. Citizen Member Patel questioned if the City was ever at risk of a consent decree. Director Speese stated that the City has never been officially notified but was told a number of years ago after the City of Cleveland Heights received a consent decree that Shaker Heights would have likely been the next city to be reviewed. Director Speese went on to say that we are known to be the most aggressive community when it comes to addressing sewer issues. Two of the seven SSO’s have been addressed. The third is the biggest SSO. Chair Moore stated that the SSO work has additional benefits as the City is located in a watershed. All the waters that flow on the land drain into Lake Erie, which is the City’s greatest natural resource. If those waters are polluted by infiltration from the sewers than people are putting contamination and pollution in the greatest resource which is one of the reasons behind the work on the SSOs. The Finance Committee approved the request for the Sanitary and Storm Sewer Fee Increase. * * * * REQUEST TO INCREASE THE THORNTON PARK ICE RINK FEES. Recreation Facilities Manager John Doyle requested to increase the Thornton Park ice rink fees. As part of the Recreation Department’s ongoing efforts to implement strategic fee changes, an ice rink fee study was conducted in early 2024. Periodic review and adjustment of ice rink fees allows the Recreation Department to ensure cost recovery through collected fees. Costs for full-time and part- time staff increase annually as do costs for materials and supplies. In addition, with every minimum wage increase, seasonal employee labor costs increase as well. The Ice Arena programs operate at an affordable cost to the community with the knowledge that the revenue does not cover the entire cost of program operations. There are financial assistance programs to ensure youth from lower income families are able to participate in skating programs. The included Rink Fee Comparison spreadsheet that was presented displays the fees by facility. Data was compiled from several Northeast Ohio municipal ice rinks to determine how current Shaker Heights fees compared to other similar facilities. One proposed change is related to the public skating age categories to match those used for admissions and passes for the Thornton Park swimming pool. This will improve uniformity and pricing for different age brackets across city recreation facilities. It is recommended that individual passes are split into three different age categories, and the senior couple pass type be eliminated, as it was for the pool. Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 5 of 12 Public skating fees and pass fees are recommended to increase by approximately 10%. It was originally recommended that the season pass fees be increased to be equal to that of paying 15 daily admissions to the rink, but the team felt changing this fee would be too drastic for the community, and it is now recommended that fees are increased to that level incrementally over the next 4-6 years. Keeping daily admission and rink passes affordable encourages participants in the Learn to Skate program to practice their skills. It is recommended to eliminate City freestyle fees and to charge the same for all City freestyle sessions. Fees for both freestyle and adult drop-in hockey punch cards are based upon six visits. For the morning freestyle pass it is recommended that this be eliminated and replaced with a freestyle pass that will be valid for any City freestyle session from August through June. Family passes are recommended to be added to the fee structure for up to four individuals and a rate for additional family members be created. Public skating fees and pass fees are recommended to increase by approximately 10%, keeping daily admissions and rink passes. It is recommended that skate rental be included in the Learn to Skate fees based upon trends as similar practices at other local rinks. Recommended increases to hourly rink rental fees are modest with a recommended increase of approximately 5%. It is recommended that hockey fees increase as well. It should also be noted that the Shaker Heights High School Hockey team uses the Thornton Park Ice Arena for practices and games during the fall and winter seasons. They do not pay the City any fees to use the rink. This item was presented to the Recreation Committee on April 3rd and they unanimously approved this item. Based upon the information provided, these fees would go into effect of fall of 2024. Citizen Member Anthony Moore commended the Recreation Department on their good work. Citizen Member Moore questioned the financial contribution of the schools because of their use of the arena. Director Nichols stated that the schools do not charge Recreation to use their facilities during the summer and school year for sports programs, camps and leagues. There was a financial agreement in the past. Chair Moore stated that the Shaker schools operate on a no-cost basis for playing sports which is unlike many other school districts. This is done because of the diversity and the economic diversity of its student body so that participation is not prohibited based on the ability to pay. Chair Moore questioned Mayor Weiss whether during the Forward Together meetings these discussions and similar issues have arisen. Mayor Weiss stated that is correct. It is an appropriate time to put this issue on the table during school renovation. It is challenging when it comes to the sharing of expenses. As an example, Mayor Weiss stated for instance if the school facilities are being utilized when the school is not in session, they are incurring an additional fee to hire custodial support and others for that amount of time. Mayor Weiss concluded by stating historically there have been some exceptions to this but in general, it has been agreed upon as no charge for either side until a better solution is reached. The Finance Committee approved the request to increase the Thornton Park Ice Rink fees. * * * * Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 6 of 12 REQUEST FOR APPROVAL TO REVISE THE COAL ROOM STABILIZATION PURCHASE ORDER AN ADDITIONAL $72,184.39; WHICH WOULD INCREASE THE PROJECT TOTAL TO $511,509.39. Assistant Director of Public Works Christian Maier requested approval to revise the Coal Room Stabilization Purchase Order an additional $72,184.39; which would increase the project total to $511,509.39. Shortly after starting the project, the contractor exposed the concrete Coal/Storage Rooms ceiling and it was determined the main entrance canopy columns would require structural support; this was not part of the bid documents and initial scope of work. Given the differing site condition, the contractor requested $27,164.50 for this additional work. In an effort to accelerate the project and minimize the inconvenience to city staff and visitors, the City directed the contractor to work overtime and weekends in late January into early February. The cost for the City’s request amounted to $35,815.00. During the accelerated portion of the project, there was unseasonably cold weather. In order to maintain progress, the contractor needed to purchase winter weather materials in the amount of $6,550.89. The need for winter weather materials was not anticipated when bidding the project or part of the specifications. During excavation, the contractor discovered missing masonry brick that would stabilize the exterior brick under the City Hall Lobby Window. Given the existing conditions of the Coal Room, the designers did not know the masonry brick was missing. As such, the contractor issued the City a change order for additional masonry in the amount of $2,654.00 to install masonry brick. Given the total amount of change orders is over 10% of the contract value, the contract needs to be amended so the purchase order can be increased by $72,184.39; the revised project total will be $511,509.39. There are remaining funds in Ordinance 22-132 specific to the coal room project and from projects that were completed but under budget to cover the additional costs. The Finance Committee approved the request for approval to revise the Coal Room Stabilization Purchase Order an additional $72,184.39; which would increase the project total to $511,509.39. * * * * REQUEST TO RECOMMEND COUNCIL APPROVAL OF A FORGIVABLE VISION LOAN IN THE AMOUNT OF $100,000 TO ASSIST IN THE BUILDOUT OF EXPANDED OFFICES FOR MANNIK & SMITH. Director of Economic Development, Laura Englehart requested to recommend council approval of a forgivable vision loan in the amount of $100,000 to assist in the buildout of expanded offices for Mannik & Smith. The City created the Vision Loan program after adopting an Economic Development plan in 2010. That plan recommended that the City provides tenant incentives to make it financially feasible for professional businesses to move and or expand into Shaker Heights. The new income tax revenue from the office workers really helps diversify the City’s income tax base by increasing the income tax that is generated commercially as opposed to by residents. The Vision Loan incentive is structured as a forgivable loan (up to a maximum 50% of new income tax revenue) that can be used to defray Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 7 of 12 the costs of relocation or expansion, and it is most often used for buildout. A business must commit to keep operations in the City for at least double the amount of time it takes to repay the loan from new income tax revenue generated by the business. This incentive requires that businesses meet agreed upon payroll and income tax targets within a set time frame to ensure that the City realizes a return on its investment. Finally, only new income taxes are credited to loan forgiveness; any existing withholdings received by the City are not counted toward forgiveness of a Vision Loan. The City will continue to receive those withholdings as well. The funding for this Vison Loan program comes from the City’s Economic Development and Housing reserve fund. Mannik & Smith currently takes 8,154 SF on one floor of Tower East and they would like to expand into the entire fifth floor which is 13,569 SF. This company has been in the City since 2018 and they continue to grow and expand as they plan to double their employee headcount by adding 50 new employees over the next five years ranging 2024-2028. They originally signed a lease from 2018 through 2028. They now will have an amended lease agreement to extend the term of the lease for an additional two years to stay through 2023. There’s also an option to extend the lease for an additional five years through 2035. The amendment to their lease to extend and expand into the additional space is contingent upon the City approving the forgivable Vison Loan. Based on projections, the ED department is expecting that this loan will be paid off within three years and will be present for an additional seven years. The Neighborhood and Economic Development Committee unanimously recommended approval of this Vision Loan at its meeting on April 10, 2024. In response to questions, staff confirmed that: (i) the tenant improvements will be constructed and paid for in full by the landlord and this loan from the City fills a gap in paying for those costs; (ii) Mannik & Smith has five other locations in Ohio; and (iii) Tower East is largely occupied with only a handful of suites available for lease. The Finance Committee approved the request to recommend council approval of a forgivable vision loan in the amount of $100,000 to assist in the buildout of expanded offices for Mannik & Smith. * * * * REQUEST TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF A ONE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH ONLINE SOLUTIONS, LLC FOR THE CITIZENSERVE PLATFORM IN THE AMOUNT OF $42,000. Director of Building & Housing Kyle Krewson requested the recommended approval of a one-year contract with Online Solutions, LLC for the CitizenServe platform in the amount of $42,000. CitizenServe was adopted by the City in 2019. When initially selecting this regional platform, in collaboration with six other communities through the First Suburbs Consortium, Building & Housing used a robust competitive bidding process to solicit proposals before awarding to CitizenServe. As of December 2023, all the Building & Housing functions are completely in CitizenServe. This includes all permitting, licensing and registrations, code enforcement and administration of the City’s Land Bank Program. Other City departments such as Police and Fire are using it to look up information. Public Works uses the system to plan review and response. The Finance Department uses it to track the escrow process. In all, there are over 29 users currently using the platform. Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 8 of 12 Additional staff users will be added this year as the Planning Department expands their use of the platform to include Boards and Commissions and we anticipate up to $37,200 in user subscription costs. This has already been budgeted in the Building and Housing Department’s 2024 budget. We also anticipate around $2,000-$4,800 one-time costs for further synchronization of County property fiscal data. These one-time costs would come from remaining funds available in the IT capital budget intended for use on this platform. Therefore, the total anticipated costs this year for annual subscriptions would be $37,200 and one-time integration costs up to $4,800. In addition to customer service improvements, the CitizenServe platform creates numerous operational efficiencies, which result in cost savings to the City, including eliminating all paper for internal processes and a reduction of one administrative staff member. CitizenServe not only streamlines internal processes for city staff but also delivers tangible benefits to residents, property owners, businesses, and other stakeholders. As a result of optimizing the department’s internal processes through the adoption of this powerful platform, there is a reduction in errors, improved customer service, an increase in valuable code enforcement data, and a cost reduction of approximately $35,000 annually. The Finance Committee approved the request the recommended approval of a one-year contract with Online Solutions, LLC for the CitizenServe platform in the amount of $42,000. * * * * REQUEST TO ACCEPT AND APPROPRIATE A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $45,757.05 FROM THE OHIO OFFICE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES (OCJS) TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF A VIRTRA TRAINING SIMULATOR FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. Commander Timothy Kohanski requested to accept and appropriate a grant in the amount of $45,757.05 from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) toward the purchase of a VirTra training simulator for the Police Department. The Police Department’s application for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 2023 Program subgrant has been approved by the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS). The Shaker Heights Police Department awaits the award of $45,757.05 to purchase a VirTra V-100 Portable Training Simulator. The total cost for the equipment is $74,707.34. The remaining cost of $28,950.29 would be paid out of the Shaker Heights Police Department Law Enforcement Trust fund. The VirTra system has numerous unique properties and if approved, will be purchased as a sole- source provider. Once the Agreement has been fully executed, it will be served upon the OCJS. This full execution of this Agreement is recommended within 45 days of the date awarded by the OCJS Executive Director which was on April 04, 2024. Due to the time constraints of this award, we recommend bypassing presentation of this item to the Safety and Public Works Committee. The Police Department is requesting to accept the funds of the grant and appropriate out of the Police operating budget and then use the Law Enforcement Trust Fund to pay the difference for the purchase of the virtual training simulator; allowing the department to utilize optimal scenario-based Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 9 of 12 training and various related topics. This will improve the response and performance of the officers in various situations. The Finance Committee approved the request to accept and appropriate a grant in the amount of $45,757.05 from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) toward the purchase of a VirTra training simulator for the Police Department. * * * * REQUEST TO ACCEPT AND APPROPRIATE A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $82,358.40 FROM EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT 2023 PROGRAM TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF BODY WORN CAMERA EQUIPMENT. Commander, John Cole requested to accept and appropriate a grant in the amount of $82,358.40 from Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 2023 program toward the purchase of body worn camera equipment. Last year the Shaker Heights Police Department applied for a grant and was notified of the grant being received in the amount of $82,358.40. The total cost for the body-worn camera and equipment is $149,836.80. The remaining cost of $67,478.40 will be paid out of the Shaker Heights Police Department Law Enforcement grant. These funds would allow the department to purchase and replenish body-worn camera equipment that has proven invaluable in the department’s efforts to preserve and present the best evidence in criminal prosecutions, while providing the level of transparency agreed upon and expected by the City’s residents. The Police Department was not able to present this request to the Safety and Public Works Committee early in the month, but were granted an accommodation by Chair, Anne Williams. The timeframe for accepting this grant expires at the end of the month. The Finance Committee approved the request to accept and appropriate a grant in the amount of $82,358.40 from Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 2023 program toward the purchase of body worn camera equipment. * * * * REQUEST TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE APPLICATION BY MR. RON CARSON AND GLH, LLC TO ACQUIRE EIGHT VACANT CITY-OWNED PARCELS FOR $1.00 PER PARCEL TO CONSTRUCT SINGLE-FAMILY INFILL HOMES FOR OWNER-OCCUPANT PURCHASERS. Neighborhood Development Specialist Brendan Zak request to recommend to Council the acceptance of the application by Mr. Ron Carson and GLH, LLC to acquire eight vacant city-owned parcels for $1.00 per parcel to construct single-family infill homes for owner-occupant purchasers. The Developer has chosen five development sites consisting of eight parcels. Two sets of parcels will need to be consolidated to be large enough to fit one single-family home. These parcels previously had side-by-side duplexes on them with a parcel line splitting them. These development Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 10 of 12 sites will require a consolidation plat and survey to be reviewed and approved by the City Planning Commission and the County before transfer. Upon transfer, both the deeds and consolidation plat will be filed. All costs associated with this will be paid for by the Developer. The Developer anticipates receiving all City approvals through the summer and beginning construction in fall of 2024, taking roughly 6-9 months to complete all construction activities. The Developer will finance the projects through GLH, LLC and intends on building all five homes concurrently. The Planning Department will review the Developer’s landscape plan to ensure that all City ordinances regarding tree plantings are followed. During this process, the Developer will need to replace any trees removed during construction. If the Developer damages a tree lawn tree during construction, the City will require the Developer to replace it with a tree of similar size. For lots that do not have a tree lawn tree, a tree will be planted once construction is finished. The Neighborhood and Economic Development Committee discussed three points in review of this item: why the City sells Landbank land for $1.00, if the proposed homes will be built concurrently, and if there is any concern about the new homes not selling quickly. The City has previously discussed the market value of these properties and has concluded that the sheer volume of City- owned vacant parcels, previous lack of interest, and maintenance costs provides sufficient consideration and value to the City to justify selling the properties for $1.00. Staff is currently reviewing this policy to see if changes are needed due to market changes. These homes are proposed to be built concurrently. The Developer and Staff believe that this will overall lessen the disruption to the neighborhood, as opposed to prolonging construction. Additionally, Staff and the Developer will hold a community meeting before construction starts to hear neighbor feedback and concerns. The Committee also discussed concerns with infill homes not selling quickly. Fortunately, every home that has completed construction has sold relatively quickly and there are not currently any completed single-family infill homes on the market. Knez has also began finding a purchaser for a home before it is constructed, with one being marked as “pending” in the MLS just over a month after being listed for sale. The Committee unanimously recommended to Council the acceptance of the application by Mr. Ron Carson and GLH, LLC and to enter into a purchase agreement with GLH, LLC to acquire five development sites, consisting of 8 City-owned parcels, for $1.00 per development site to construct single-family infill homes for owner-occupant purchasers. The Finance Committee approved the request to recommend to council the acceptance of the application by Mr. Ron Carson and GLH, LLC to acquire eight vacant city-owned parcels for $1.00 per parcel to construct single-family infill homes for owner-occupant purchasers. * * * * AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF CERTIFICATES BY THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND THE PAYMENT OF AMOUNTS DUE UPON CERTAIN CONTRACTS FOR WHICH THE FINANCE DIRECTOR HAS ISSUED THEN AND NOW CERTIFICATES IN CONNECTION WITH CERTAIN EXPENDITURES. Director of Finance, John Potts requested authorizing the execution of certificates by the director of finance and the payment of amounts due upon certain contracts for which the Finance Director has issued then and now certificates in connection with certain expenditures. Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 11 of 12 Section 5705.41 (D) (1) requires in part that the fiscal officer certify that amounts required to meet obligations have been lawfully appropriated and are available for expenditure prior to the obligations being incurred. If this is not done the fiscal officer may make such certification, after the fact (commonly referred to as “Then and Now”), however if the amount of the obligation is $3,000 or more City Council must approve payment within 30 days of such certification. Finance Committee approved the request authorizing the execution of certificates by the director of finance and the payment of amounts due upon certain contracts for which the finance director has issued then and now certificates in connection with certain expenditures. * * * * There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 a.m. The next meeting will be May 20, 2024. * * * * Respectfully submitted, ________________________________ John J. Potts, Finance Director Finance Committee Finance Committee 4/15/24 Page 12 of 12