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Home My WebLink About2008-03-04 URA MinutesPage 1 of 4 Regular Scheduled Meeting CALDWELL URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY March 4, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. City Administrative Offices, Conference Room The regular scheduled meeting of the Caldwell Urban Renewal Agency was held on March 4, 2008 at 12:00 noon in the Conference Room at Caldwell Administrative Offices with Chairman ElJay Waite presiding. The roll was called: Present: ElJay Waite, Mayor Nancolas, Rob Hopper (via conference call) Absent: Leona Fouts and Steve Rule Guests: Steve Fultz, Dennis Cannon, Bruce Schultz, Jim Sorensen, Butch Gilliland, Fred Cornforth, Rosalie Cope, Tim Cobb, Jamie Hoover, and Kevin Heinonen. Motion to approve the agenda: Nancolas/Hopper M/S/P Motion to approve the minutes from February 5, 2008 meeting: Nancolas/Hopper M/S/P OLD BUSINESS Dennis Cannon provided updates concerning the Indian Creek Project:  Mayor Nancolas has sent a letter to our congressional leaders appealing the FEMA initial findings.  The date of March 14th has been established to meet with FEMA and other various agencies at the Caldwell Police Station Community Room to discuss the FEMA mapping issue.  CCEDC is considering hiring the services of the Ferguson Group to help expedite FEMA action in resolving the flood plain mapping issues.  Meetings have been required with the Bureau of Reclamation & the Boise Project office to seek an operation agreement for the New York Canal.  Additional studies are being initiated by the City to model the hydrology to reflect the daylighting of the creek and lower basin hydraulic flows, and a field certification of the New York Canal levee integrity. If the operation agreement can be obtained, some of the additional modeling and field work will not be needed.  Electrical lines, lighting, and irrigation lines are being installed along the Indian Creek in the downtown area.  Sidewalk work is scheduled to be done in March.  Landscaping has begun.  A City Council workshop will be conducted on March 6th to discuss the gazebo location. The workshop begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Caldwell Train Depot – 701 Main Street.  Oppenheimer has requested that we install a stone wall (150 feet) along the south side of the creek between Kimball & 7th Avenue to accommodate a building on the north side of Blaine. The cost estimate is $52,000. The wall will increase the value of the property by providing a larger building site.  Cost of the project: $3.15 million if the wall is installed. Page 2 of 4  The Oppenheimer team is working to secure options to purchase key properties for the project. Several property owners are asking 100% or more than the market values. Negotiations are underway to reach economical property sale values. If the negotiation are not production, four principal options remain: o Property trading o Urban Renewal involvement in the purchase o Delay in the Catalyst project construction o Eminent domain action  The City has applied for a $500K ITD grant for streetscape improvements. The grant announcements will be made in May. Discussion followed Mr. Cannon’s report. It was determined that a quorum of members from the Urban Renewal Agency would visit the proposed “wall site” on Thursday, March 6, to gain perspective concerning the request. (Exhibit A) The Mayor reported that he will be in Washington, D.C. next week and will meet with FEMA leaders concerning the Indian Creek Project. Steve Fultz presented the CCEDC Report as follows:  Continued interest in working with TVCC for their new campus at Sky Ranch Business Park.  Continued working with University of Idaho business incubator on developing business attraction, retention and expansion programs including research of designating a foreign trade zone.  Continued working the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce regarding a Business-to- Business trade show. The guest speaker will be Gary Hoover.  D.L. Evans Bank has signed the documents to purchase the site and construct a facility on the corner of l0th and Blaine. The Mayor expressed his appreciation to the CCEDC Board and Steve Fultz for their involvement in pursuing the D.L. Evans Bank development. Mr. Fultz stated his gratitude for the participation of the Urban Renewal Agency concerning landscaping issues for the development. NEW BUSINESS Fred Cornforth, Rosalie Cope, and Tim Cobb of the Canyon County Fair Board discussed the expansion plans for the fair grounds and presented two possible locations for the site. The Middleton Road site contains 70 acres with the trunk line located approximately one mile from the parcel. The parcel adjacent to the Flying J has availability of services to the site along Hwy. 20/26. Property availability and bonding options were discussed and concern expressed by Mr. Cornforth that the project could be delayed due to funding issues. Ms. Cope noted that the new facility could house events year around to assist in defraying expenses. It was suggested that maintenance and safety issues also be researched for each of the sites. (Exhibit B) Mayor Nancolas noted that the Flying J site is already located within the Urban Renewal Agency Boundaries, which could expedite the bonding process. Chairman Waite will contact Rick Skinner concerning additional bonding information. It was suggested that possibly the Canyon Page 3 of 4 County Commissioners could approve short-term financing in the interim until the entire bonding amount is available in 2014. The Fair Board will further review location options and be in contact with Chairman Waite. Chairman Waite reported that the Department of Labor/UR Right-of-Way Easement has been signed and is complete. Steve Fultz presented information concerning the TVCC Campus Relocation Project. He introduced Bruce Schultz, Jim Sorensen, President of TVCC; and Butch Gilliland of Norfleet Development. He stated that the new site contains three acres and is located within Sky Ranch Business Park. The projected start date would be March 2009. CCEDC will contribute $300,000 to assist with the buy down. Bruce Swanson noted that the new facilities will double the size of the current facility. The new location will assist in recognition and awareness of the campus. Jamie Hoover reported that Freehold Development is responding with in-kind investments for the development and is looking forward to the campus location within the Sky Ranch Business Park. Motion to authorize Chairman Waite to construct the agreement with the Urban Renewal Agency and TVCC concerning the Urban Renewal Agency parcel with the provision that the agreement be brought back for review by the UR members before being executed: Nancolas/Hopper M/S/P Chairman Waite noted that the TVCC Campus project was already projected in the current budget. He stated his appreciation to the many individuals who have worked to make this project a success. Butch Gilliland stated that it is their desire to build LEED certified facilities on the campus. Jamie Hoover of Freehold Development reported on the status of the A-Drain Piping with Pioneer Irrigation. Several attempts have been made to negotiate the license agreement with Pioneer Irrigation. The current agreement excludes the City of Caldwell. Discussion followed concerning the City’s role with Pioneer Irrigation and current litigation issues. Chairman Waite expressed the need for the drain to be tiled for future use of the park. Mr. Hoover reported that the Pioneer Board of Directors had previously given permission to construct tiling for the A-Drain; however, since Scott Campbell was not at the meeting, Mr. Hoover was later informed that the motion had been rescinded. Negotiations concerning the agreement have delayed the final plat process since no utilities are allowed to cross over the tile for Phase II of the Sky Ranch project. Discussion followed concerning necessary action to assist Freehold Development concerning this issue. Motion to approve Chairman Waite to contact the City Attorney, Mark Hilty and have him contact the attorney for Freehold Development concerning the necessary steps to file an injunction against Pioneer Irrigation: Nancolas/Hopper M/S/P Page 4 of 4 Financial Report Chairman Waite presented the following invoices for payment: $372.45 Caldwell Municipal Irrigation Assessment $ (5.00) Caldwell Municipal Irrigation Assessment $200.98 Caldwell Municipal Irrigation Assessment $847.13 Caldwell Municipal Irrigation Assessment $ 66.36 Idaho Press Tribune Legal Notice $266.49 YMCA (Nancolas) Membership $266.49 YMCA (Waite) Membership $266.49 YMCA (Fouts) Membership Motion to approve the invoices for payment: Hopper/Nancolas M/S/P Consider amendment to YMCA membership contract language: Motion to establish a policy of paying one-half of the membership dues for Urban Renewal Agency board members who participate at the YMCA: Hopper/ Nancolas M/S/P The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 Motion to adjourn: Nancolas/Hopper M/S/P Meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Debbie Geyer Recording Secretary