Minutes: Redevelopment: May 2008

Evansville Redevelopment Authority
Board of Commissioners

Regular Meeting
Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 5:30 pm
Evansville High School, 640 S. Fifth Street, Evansville, Wisconsin

MINUTES

I. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 7:38 pm by Chair John Decker. Present: John Decker, Betsy Ahner, Tony Wyse, Barb Jacobson, Chris Eager, Roger Roth, and Tom Calley. Also present: Executive Director Dan Wietecha, Mayor Sandy Decker, Alderperson Janis Ringhand, Cheryl Fuchs, and Dick Woulfe.

II. Quorum. There being a majority of the commissioners present at call to order, a quorum was declared.

III. Agenda. Jacobson made a motion, seconded by Ahner, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion approved unanimously.

IV. Minutes. Jacobson made a motion, seconded by Wyse, to approve the April 17 minutes as presented. Motion approved unanimously.

V. Old Business.
a. 16 West Main Street. Fuchs indicated that they had originally planned a 38-foot addition to the back of the building. This would have enabled a larger retail area on the main floor and two apartments upstairs. The expansion triggers a requirement for firewalls under the State Building Code. This would push the project over budget and detract from the historic appearance of the building, so they have scaled back their plans. The Board indicated that they had expected the larger building when agreeing to provide a grant of the lesser of twenty percent of construction costs or $20,000. The scaled back project would likely reduce the amount of tax increment produced by the rehabbed building but also reduce the amount of the grant. Wyse made a motion, seconded by Calley, to recommend the Common Council approve a revised development agreement with Eager Fuchs LLC for the smaller building. Motion approved 6-0 with Eager abstaining.

b. Properties in TID #5. Wietecha indicated a couple of property owners would likely be coming to a future meeting to discuss rehabilitation of their properties.

c. Economic Development Summit. Wietecha gave an overview of the recommendations from the Downtown Revitalization Task Force. The Economic Development Committee has started reviewing the recommendations of all the task forces and has scheduled a special meeting to keep on task.

d. Advertising TID #5. Jacobson said it was time that a mass mailing was sent to all property owners in TID #5 as a reminder or promotion of the availability of the tax increment program to encourage upgrading of properties. Eager made a motion, seconded by Roth, to host a lunch so we could talk with property owners directly in addition to the mailing. Motion approved unanimously.

VI. New Business.
a. Senior/Community Center. Ringhand, as interim chair of the Friends of the Senior/Community Center, indicated that they have had some contact with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. It appears a significant portion of the construction costs for the Senior/Community Center would be eligible for a community development block grant (CDBG). The Friends cannot apply for the grant directly; applications are only accepted from municipalities. Eager made a motion, seconded by Calley, to sponsor the application for CDBG funding. Motion approved unanimously.

b. New Floodplain Map. Wietecha distributed maps representing the current and new floodplain boundaries. He emphasized the maps are hand-drawn and only approximate the locations of the floodplains. On North Union Street, several the floodplain designation will be removed from several properties. On South Union Street, the floodplain will expand to include a number of properties. The new floodplain becomes effective August 19. The Board may want to consider floodproofing or similar expenses the next time the “exceptional project criteria” are reviewed.

VII. Suggestions for Future Agenda. John Decker suggested including LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects next time the “exceptional project criteria” are reviewed.

VIII. Adjournment. With no further business, Wyse made a motion, seconded by Jacobson, to adjourn at 8:57 pm. Motion passed unanimously.