City Council Regular Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES DATE: Monday, November 13, 2018 TIME: 7:00 P.M. PLACE: Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S. Vine St., Urbana, IL 61801 The City Council Committee of The Whole of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in regular session Tuesday, November 13, 2018, in the Council Chambers of the Urbana City Building. ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: Aaron Ammons; Bill Brown; Dean Hazen; Eric Jakobsson; Jared Miller; Dennis Roberts; Maryalice Wu; Diane Wolfe Marlin, Mayor; Charles A. Smyth, City Clerk ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE: None ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Brandon Boys; Mike Brunk; Elizabeth Hannan; Elizabeth Horwitz; Charles Lauss; Kay Meharry; Carol Mitten; John Schneider OTHERS PRESENT: Members of the Media Chair: Maryalice Wu, Ward 1 1. Call to Order and Roll Call There being a quorum, Chair Maryalice Wu called the meeting of the Committee of the Whole to order at 7:00pm. 2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting Council Member Dean Hazen made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 22 meeting. There were corrections made to the minutes, after which the motion to approve was seconded by CM Jared Miller and carried by voice vote. 3. Additions to the Agenda There were none. 4. Public Input There was none. 5. Presentations There were none. 6. Discussion – Consent agenda The response of council members to the consent agenda was positive. City Clerk Charles Smyth reiterated some of the rules for using it. 7. Staff Report Economic Development Coordinator Elizabeth Horwitz presented the Business and Development Report for October. Updates included: • Green Street Realty and the City of Urbana entered into a Letter of Intent for redevelopment of the 200 block of South Vine Street. The proposed townhouse-style development will include 42 two and three story units. • The City of Urbana sold the property at 1301 East Washington Street to Ed and Committee of the Whole Minutes Tuesday, November 13, 2018 Page 2 of 4 Michelle Salfelder. They plan to build a family-friendly restaurant that will include some retail space. • A&R Mechanical completed a 14,278 square foot expansion at 711 Kettering. • Carle will add 20,000 square feet to a new main entrance for the hospital and a garage and canopy for ambulance drop off and pick up. This will be at a cost of $13.2 million. They have also renewed their lease at Ray Timpone’s 221 N. Broadway and will be doing a $1.8 million renovation there. Upcoming events include: • Urbana Sculpture Project Ribbon Cutting for RACES, corner of Race and Green at 3:30pm, November 17 • Urbana Business Association Connections Over Cocktails at Comfort Suites, 2001 N Lincoln from 5:30-7:00pm, November 27 Economic Development Manager Brandon Boys gave an update on the Urbana Landmark Hotel. He reminded everyone that it is privately owned, not a City property. He summarized the attempts to sell and auction the property in the last couple of years and the incentives prospective buyers requested from the City. He said the City would continue to support the owner in trying to sell the property, and would continue to focus on development opportunities in downtown to better the Lincoln Square Mall and downtown. Mayor Marlin added that prospective buyers said the hotel would be a $15 to $20 million project and was considered a high risk project. Demolition alone could be around $2 million. When questioned about the safety of the building, Community Development Director John Schneider responded that it is inspected on a regular basis and is in safe condition. When inspectors find problems the owner is notified and corrects them. City Administrator Carol Mitten said there would be no money offered by the City up-front to a developer, which would leave the renovation and getting the hotel up and running completely to the developer. She added that the types of incentives offered to an investor would depend on what the investor had to offer as far as experience and resources. 8. Resolution No. 2018-11-052R: A Resolution Estimating the Tax Levy (Fiscal Year 2018-2019) Finance Director Elizabeth Hannan presented this resolution. She went over the basics of property tax and said that for most properties in Urbana, the City’s portion of the taxes are about 13% of the total collected. The 2018 tax levy will increase total assessments by about 1.8%. Ms. Hannan said it is possible, although not probable the hospital properties could be included in the tax rolls. If they are, the Mayor recommends a tax rate for this year’s levy of $1.3152 and if they are not, then it will be $1.3550. After discussion, CM Miller made a motion to send Resolution No. 2018-11-052R to council with recommendation for approval. Motion seconded by CM Eric Jakobsson and carried by voice vote. 9 Ordinance No. 2018-11-076: An Ordinance Revising the Annual Budget Ordinance (Budget Amendment #7 – Omnibus) Finance Director Hannan presented this ordinance. She said this covers adjustments made to items from various departments, including relocation assistance, additional money for an exhaust removal system for the Fire Department, a change in the Ameren Franchise agreement, Under the Canopy publication, rebudget of capital improvement projects, rebudget of arbor programs. Committee of the Whole Minutes Tuesday, November 13, 2018 Page 3 of 4 CM Dennis Roberts made a motion to send Ordinance No. 2018-11-076 to council with recommendation for approval. Motion seconded by CM Jakobsson and carried by voice vote. 10. Ordinance No. 2018-11-077: An Ordinance Repealing Ordinance No. 2018-08-054 and Amending Urbana City Code Regarding Changes in Administrative officer Positions City Attorney James Simon presented this ordinance. He said Council passed an ordinance in August 2018 to cover the changes in titles of administrative positions, but the MuniCode Corporation found discrepancies in Ordinance No. 2018-08-054 and recommended that it be repealed and replaced with a more comprehensive ordinance. CM Miller made a motion to send Ordinance No. 2018-11-077 to council with recommendation for approval and put it on the consent agenda. Motion seconded by CM Roberts and carried by voice vote 11. Resolution No. 2018-11-053R: A Resolution Approving Amendment No. 1 to a Non- Endowed Fund Agreement with the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois (Legacy Tree Program) City Administrator Carol Mitten presented this resolution. She explained that it will allow the City to accept a $10,000 donation from Dr. Holly Rosencranz and Warren Lavey that is intended for the purchase of new trees for parkway planting. CM Dean Hazen made a motion to send Resolution No. 2018-11-053R to council with recommendation for approval, and to include it on the consent agenda. Motion seconded by CM Miller and carried by voice vote. 12. Discussion – Mayor/Council Priorities 2018-2021 City Administrator Carol Mitten gave a presentation to continue the discussion that began on October 22, 2018 regarding Council / Mayor priorities. In response to the request that she recommend what the City turn its attention to first, Ms. Mitten reminded council members that the City has a structural deficit that will not solve itself over time. It can only be solved with long-term strategies which will take years. Ms. Mitten said that one commitment the City has made is to increase the tax base, which will be done by promoting new development and reasonable in-fill development. She spoke about recently approved developments, as well as future developments that would add residents in the downtown area. During the initial discussion, Ms. Mitten said that council members seemed interested in working on one priority at a time, and took into consideration that some resources would have to be reallocated to make the most significant impact. In looking at the priorities, Ms. Mitten said there was no question that Priority #1 is the priority that should come first. Priority #1 is: “With consideration of the downtown as a whole, initiate and plan for transformation of the Lincoln Square site into a destination”. There were some key issues Ms. Mitten identified in the Downtown Plan. Those were: the necessity for better interconnectivity with other places and activities in downtown; lack of housing units in the downtown area; and the need for more vibrant spaces. Ms. Mitten said that initiating a plan for making the nine block area that is the Lincoln Square site into a destination is the most important opportunity to address those issues. CM Eric Jakobsson summarized the importance of this priority by saying that it will make the other priorities that require resources more possible. Some of the questions by council members were how changes like reconfiguration and possible parking reallocation could be made at Lincoln Square, since it is a privately owned Committee of the Whole Minutes Tuesday, November 13, 2018 Page 4 of 4 business. Ms. Mitten responded that the owner of Lincoln Square has expressed interest in change at the mall in past years and the parking agreement at Lincoln Square will expire in 15 years, giving the City a little more leverage of that asset. Concern was expressed about concentrating on only one priority because it could take several years to accomplish. It was suggested that priorities that do not require City staff could be outsourced to community groups or a class at the U of I. Concerns were the continuation of work on Priority #2, which is to increase minority participation in hiring and contracting and work with Human Relations to advocate for equity and increased minority rates, and Priority #3, which is to achieve equity in traffic stops and reduce the disparate impact of court costs and fines on people with lower income. Ms. Mitten said she would come back to council with information on the necessary staff and financial resources and options associated with Priority #1. For Priorities #2 and #3, she would concentrate on the staff reallocation of focus, not including the financial resources it would take to move those. A request was made to have staff who are working on the priorities update council members on a regular basis. 13. Adjournment With no further business before the Committee, Chair Wu declared the meeting adjourned a 8:54pm Kay Meharry Recording Secretary Materials and video for this meeting can be found at: https://www.urbanaillinois.us/node/7327 Minutes approved: November 26, 2018