City Council

^Ss, . ^ "..V Mayor Council President Councilors cmCT, Wood John C Miner JairoRios-Campos LynneaAmend Mark dark DaraTan ?e WOOD VILLAGE URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY MINUTES MARCH 2, 2023 PRESENT ChairJohnC Miner, Vice-ChairStan Dirks, Urban Renewal Board MembersJairoRios-Camposand Lynnea Amend, City Manager Greg Dirks, Director of Public Works John Niiyama, Director of Finance Seth Reeser, and interested parties. ABSENT Urban Renewal Board Member Mark dark and Steve Morasch. URA101 Dirks presented background information on the Urban Renewal Agency and how it operates. The URA is designed to revitalize and improve an area. It can use a variety offinancing options with tax increment financing the one used in Wood Village. The Agency must operate in debt and must have a maximum debt limit when established. There's a limit of 25% on the physical size of the area in the Agency. For tax increment financing, the tax base is frozen when the agency is implemented and all tax increment that occurs afterthatforthe lifeofthe agencyall goesto the agency. Rios-Camposasked ifthat is howthe agencycan provide incentivesto developers. Dirks responded that we use an estimated property tax return from a development to calculate an incentive value. The agency exists until its debt is paid off and the tax increment then reverts to the original tax agencies. The agency wasformed in 2010 and the map and project list were updated in 2019. The maximum indebtedness is $11 .75 million. The agency will not use eminent domain for property acquisition. The redevelopment assistanceprogram enablesdiscretionaryassistancewith a maximum benefitof25% of the estimated returns to the agency for assistance towards infrastructure, SDC's and/or permits. There havebeen a coupleof projects that received little assistancebecausethedevelopmentwas moving forward regardlessofassistance,Therewasan initial loan from the generalfund and then a bond issuance in 2019for $3.3 million. The bond covered part ofthe ByWayincentives, the Aratafenceandthe crosswalks on Halsey. There's still about $150, 000 from the bond that needs to be invested. There's another $7 million that could be spent before hitting the max indebtedness. Once the bonds are paid off there would be some funds available for projects in a couple of years. There are not any big developments on the horizon, although we can still take on more projects even without additional developments. The projects in the plan include infrastructure improvements, redevelopment assistance, economic development assistanceand a fewsmaller projects. Urban Renewal Agency Minutes March 2, 20231 Page 1 URA PROJECT RECAP Dirks presented the LIRAproject recap, Thefirst incentiveofferedwasa businessincentive program that covered permit costs and the first year of the business license fee, totaling about $12, 000. The Riverwood south developmentwasgetting built regardless, so the agencydidn'tprovidethe standard incentive. Instead,the agencybuilta fenceso the Riverwood north HOAwould allowthe Riverwoodsouth developmentto usethe alreadyexisting storm retention. Thisenabled2 additionalhousesin the new development. TheArata Rdfence projectwasanotherproject paidfor bythe agencywith availabletax increment. The ByWay development assistance was about $800, 000 to $900, 000 and included the utility relocation project and SDC's. The agency contributed $1. 65 million towards the City Hall/Civic Center building and about $550, 000 towards the Halsey crosswalks project. Potential future projects include the gatewaysign design and rebuild, park restroom replacement and solarcompactinggarbagecanson Hatsey. The gatewaysign designwould includewood, butalso stone and steel to preventdegradation. The project would cost around $30, 000 to $40, 000 depending on the design. The current park restroom is about20yearsold and is notdesignedto be open year-round. The potential projectwould replacethe restroom with a newprefabstructurewith individualrestroom stalls and addcapacity. The projectwould be funded with approximately $150, 000 from the agency and ARPA and city funds. The proposed compacting garbagecansare self-contained,send notificationswhenfull, and prevents people and animalsfrom diggingthroughthe garbage. Theycan also bewrappedwith photos, graphics,orotherinformationand cost about $4, 000 to $5, 000 each. Rios-Camposasked ifthe garbagecanswould only beon Halsey. Dirksrespondedthat becauseofthe URAboundaries, it would be difficultto fund them forotherlocations. Minerasked ifthe wrapon the garbagecanscan bechangeddependingon the time of yearand Dirks responded affirmatively. Minerasked ifthe garbagecanswould need to be anchoredand iftherewould be any issueswiththeft. Dirksrespondedthatthey are anchored,very durableand haveGPSlocators. Minerasked if the restofthe gatewaysign is in good condition. Dirks responded that the wood is deteriorating even with concrete at the footings. Looking at a design that includesmore stoneor metal to increaselongevity and make it easierto maintain. Rios-Camposnoted thatthe restroom project is an importantinvestment in the future and asked if restrooms are planned for the wetland park. Dirksrespondedthe wetland park property is veryconstrainedwith only a small portion wherea building could be placed. S. Dirksaskedwhatthetimeline is forthe project. ReeserrespondedthatARPAfunds must be spent by2026 and the remainderofthe LIRAbond money by Mayof2025. S. Dirks noted thatthe CityCouncilcould makethe restrooms a priority as a project. Urban RenewalAgency Minutes March2, 2023 Reeser noted that staff has had conversations with the Council that winterization of the restroom is not a long-term fix. Dirks added that the restrooms were not designed for year-round use and some parts are obsolete. The restroom needsto be refurbishedor replaced. Miner stated that the restrooms are a priority as they are costing money and stafftime. They are an important feature of the park, and this project would serve residents more than the other projects. Rios-Camposnoted thatthe restrooms should bethe first prioritywith the gatewaysign second. S. DirksandAmend agreed. S, Dirks likes the idea ofjust doing some smaller projects and letting the agency sunset. He noted that the crosswalks were one of the best projects. Dirks noted the agency could possibly add some more crosswalks along Wood Village Blvd. Miner added a crosswalk on Wood Village Blvd is needed and suggested looking at a small city grant for that. 5-YR FINANCIALFORECAST Reeser presented the 5-year financial forecast for the agency. Generally, the predictions for the next year or two are for a slight economic constriction. Inflation impacts projects, construction, staff and materials and services. Prolonged high inflation would erode the operating margin. The development assumptions for the 5-yearforecastdo not includeanyfuturedevelopment in the LIRAboundarysincethere are no known projects pending. During the staff reorganization, costs were reallocated to services provided by the city resulting in a slight increase in staff allocation to the agency. When new development hits the tax roles, they use a changed property ratio (CPR) based on assessment ofexisting properties. In 2022 the CPRfor muttifamily was 47. 8%. From then to 2023 it dropped to 35, 2%. Consequently, the ByWay assessed value was significantly less than anticipated. During the meeting with the county, it was discovered that they have been increasing the values of the mobile home parks which has impacted the multifamily CPR. This resulted in a differenceofabout$100,000a yearin property tax. Dirks noted that Reeser had come up with a solution for the current CPRcalculation and we are working with the legislatureto fixthis problem. Reeseraddedthatthisdecreasein anticipatedrevenues meansthere will no longerbe an increment available for new projects over the next 4 to 5 years. Spending down the bonds will be gradual until they are paid off in 2028 and the agency won't be able to spend any significant money until after that. The agency could still provide a big incentive if a new development with a large project comes along. The agency still has approximately $150, 000 of bond funds that needs to be spent by May 2025. Rios-Campos noted that without the greyhound park or mobile home properties redeveloping, there's not a lot of potential for large developments, It makes sense to just focus on small projects and let the agency sunset. Urban Renewal Agency Minutes March 2, 2023 Dirks noted the Vista Viewproperty will probably develop in the next 5 years, although that would be a smaller project thanthe ByWay. S. Dirksnoted thatthere are nuancesinvolved in agencyfinancingand development incentivesand asked ifwe havethe capacityto handleanotherlarge project likethe ByWay. Dirksrespondedthat it is a balance, andthe ByWaydevelopmentwaschallengingalthough a net positive overall. A project like Vista Viewcould be handled internally, but ifthe entertainment complex goes forward, it would probably be betterto hirea consultantor project manager. Niiyama added that a large multifamily development hadn't been built in Wood Village in over 50 years and that also made it challenging. S. Dirkscommented thatstaffdid a greatjob. ADJOURNMENT With no furtherbusiness, the Urban RenewalAgencyadjourned at 7:21 pm. John C Miner Chair ATTEST: y CITYRECORDER Urban Renewal Agency Minutes March 2, 2023