City Council Regular Meeting

CITY OF URBANA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE – Monday, June 24, 2019 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS - 400 SOUTH VINE STREET, URBANA, IL 61801 The City Council Committee of The Whole of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in regular session Monday, June 24, 2019 in the Council Chambers of the Urbana City Building. ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: Bill Brown, Dean Hazen, Shirese Hursey, Eric Jakobsson, Jared Miller, Dennis Roberts, Maryalice Wu, Charles A. Smyth, Diane Wolfe Marlin ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE: None ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Brandon Boys, Sheila Dodd, Wendy Hundley, William Kolschowsky, Charles Lauss, Carol Mitten, Todd Rent, John Schneider, James Simon OTHERS PRESENT: Michael Blank, Ken Beth, Jerry Cripps, Elliott Estes, Jennifer Hixson, James Kilgore, Lucia Maldonado, Ben Mueller, Sam Spiritos, Diane Ore, Mike Orloff, Ousmane Sawadogo, Jeff Schrader, Stephen Siegel, Bishop King James Underwood, Rev. Dr. Evelyn B. Underwood, Members of the Media 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 7:02pm 2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting Alderman Jared Miller made a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting held on June 10, 2019. Alderman Bill Brown seconded. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. 3. Additions to the Agenda Chair Maryalice Wu introduced a change to the order of the agenda as follows: interchange items item seven and eight. Alderwoman Hursey made a motion to accept changes as presented. Alderman Dean Hazen seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. 4. Public Input Bishop King James Underwood and Rev. Dr. Evelyn B. Underwood did not wish to speak, but asked that their position be entered into the record regarding the Dr. Ellis Subdivision sewer issues. Ousmane Sawadogo did not wish to speak, but asked that his position in support of CU-Fair be entered into the record. Lucia Maldonado addressed the committee and read a statement in support of CU-Fair highlighting some of the work that sets CU-Fair apart from other organizations according to her own experience. Noting that the organization advocates for incoming immigrants, unaccompanied minors, and asylum seekers. Diane Ore from Bend the Arc Jewish Action addressed the committee in support of CU-Fair and the work they are doing in the community with the immigrant/refugee population. Page 1 of 4  Jennifer Hixon addressed the committee to express her views about the social service designation and its process as a taxpayer. She does not disagree with the previous speakers about the excellent work provided by CU-Fair, but as a grant writer, she felt that CU-Fair did not meet the grant criteria. President of CU-Fair Ben Mueller addressed the committee about some of the concerns expressed about his organization. He said that the criteria for the grant were to provide an audit and if one was not available to provide a CPA certification, which his organization provided. Moving forward, the organization will be working with a CPA to make sure that all requirements are met when applying for grants such as the ones from the city. James Kilgore did not wish to speak, but asked that his position in support of CU-Fair be entered into the record. CU-Fair is a much-needed organization in this community. Please support their work. 5. Presentations There were none 6. Staff Report There was none 7. Ordinance No. 2019-06-036: An Ordinance Approving a Redevelopment Agreement with Marksons Affiliates, LLC (Urbana Landmark Hotel - 2019) Alderman Dennis Roberts addressed the council and clarified that at this time he will not be recusing himself from voting on this item because the group that he had met with in the past is no longer working on this project. Mayor Marlin addressed the board and read a written statement. She highlighted the countless hours of work and efforts by many city staff and their departments, including the developer’s team. She is proud to see this project realized after many months of hard work and negotiations with potential buyers and developers. The goal was to collaborate with a team that would renovate, restore, and operate it in a way that would benefit the community. This proposal is the first step in the transformation of the entire Lincoln Square site in the heart of downtown. She thanked Mr. Sam Spiritos and staff that have demonstrated that they share the same vision with the city of commitment and transparency. Mayor Marlin also acknowledged the interest, concern, and support for envisioning a new life for the hotel. She added that the original opening day for the Urbana Lincoln Hotel was in January 1924 and is looking forward to celebrating the next one hundred years. Economic Development Manager Brandon Boys and Economic Development Specialist William Kolschowsky presented Ordinance No. 2019-06-036 with the recommendation for approval. Mr. Boys said that the proposed redevelopment agreement with developer Marksons Affiliates, LLC for the renovation of the Urbana Landmark hotel into a Tapestry collection by Hilton hotel and conference center. The redevelopment agreement presented to the council is consistent with the interim agreement and letter of intent approved by council and signed by the Mayor. The Developer proposal is for a minimum of $15M project. Mr. Boys introduced all of the representatives that were present to address any questions and concerns from the committee, staff, and residents.  Sam Spiritos from Marksons Affiliates  Mike Orloff from Stroud Group, project co-lead  Elliot Estes and Michael Blank from Woodmont Lodging, Asset Management Page 2 of 4   Stephen Siegel, Hotel Construction Project Management (H-CPM)  Jerry Cripps from K2M Design, Architect Mr. Boys mentioned several changes requested by the developer including an increase in city support for the project from $5.2MM to $5.5MM, which was based on an analysis of the proposed project’s tax revenue projections. He said that the city retained SB Friedman Development Advisors to conduct a preliminary financial review of the developer’s proposal and the city’s level of support. They recommended that support of $5.5MM for the project would generate above market returns. Mr. Kolschowsky presented an overview of the bond value analysis, pointing out how much the city can offer and what kind of incentives to provide for a project of this magnitude. He showed different scenarios of how much revenue is generated with a max term of ten years for bond values at $5.5M and $5.2M bond. After the presentation, the developers addressed all questions and concerns presented by committee members about the hotel brand, process, design, and the preservation of unique items from the landmark hotel. After discussion, committee members thanked the staff for the great work on this project. Alderman Jared Miller made a motion to send Ordinance No. 2019-06-036 to council with a recommendation for approval. Alderman Dennis Roberts seconded. Motion carried by voice vote. 8. Resolution No. 2019-06-025R: A Resolution Relating to Participation by Elected Officials in The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (2019) Human Resource Director Todd Rent presented Resolution No. 2019-06-025R with recommendation for approval. He said that the resolution certifies to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) that the mayor and city clerk hold positions that require the performance of a minimum of 1000 hours of qualifying work each year. The IMRF board resolution 2017-02-013 requires public bodies who participate in the IMRF system to certify this information every two years, this year’s certification must be completed and submitted by September 1, 2019. After presentation, Alderman Eric Jakobsson made a motion to send Resolution No. 2019-06- 025R to council with the recommendation for approval. Alderman Dean Hazen seconded. Motion carried by voice vote. 9. Discussion: Consolidated Social Service Subrecipient Agreements Chair Maryalice Wu opened the floor for discussion, and she noted that the criteria mentioned for each application were only a way to open dialogue and consideration for programs and funding requirements. There were no scores used in the deciding factor. Discussion followed. Mayor Marlin expressed her concerns about CU-Fair’s financial discrepancies. She told the committee to reconsider funding the Youth Assessments program because it is vital for the community and to keep young children out of the criminal justice system. She suggested the following changes: a. CU-Fair - $ 7,500 b. Youth Assessment Center (YAC) $5,000 out of $10,000 requested c. Refugee Center $7,500 from the $8,000 requested d. Step/Truce a dollar amount from the $5,090 requested Page 3 of 4  The Committee also addressed the funding allocation for Neighborhood Connection Center. Community Development Grants Manager Sheila Dodd explained that the application was for $17,000 for two different programs youth assessment and community study center. After, further review and discussion, the recommendation was to leave the funding amount to $ 17,000 and to give Program Director Janice Mitchell the flexibility to allocate funding to each program. The steering committee felt compelled to award the requested amount because it is the only agency servicing Urbana residents only. After discussion and further clarification, the committee was directed to allocate an amount for the Truce/Step program, and any other program that they feel needs adjustment and submit that information to Grants Manager Sheila Dodd by Friday, June 28, 2019; she will then aggregate them and present results at the next city council meeting. Chair Wu added her thoughts and suggestions as a team member of the steering committee. She said that it would be beneficial for committee/council to revisit the process in February of next year and have conversations about how the board would like to see these funds invested. It would be a good guideline principal for the committee to decide on which programs they would like to focus. 10. Adjournment With no further business before the committee, Chair Wu adjourned the meeting at 8:48pm. Wendy M. Hundley Deputy City Clerk This meeting was video recorded on cable television, and website link to view documents and video is: https://www.city.urbana.il.us/Scripts/CouncilVideo/Video.asp?v=/_Video/City_Council/2019/2019 0624 Minutes Approved: July 8, 2019 Page 4 of 4