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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-14-2018 Minutes BIA Committee of Rate Payers Meeting May 14, 2018 – 1:00 PM Auburn City Hall Council Chambers MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 1:07 pm by Chairman DiQuattro. Roll Call: Committee Members present: Chair Giovanni DiQuattro, Vice Chair William Cowart, Bob Klontz, Ronnie Roberts Excused Absence: Kelly Gordon, Megan White; Ruth Neil-Stover Unexcused absence: Darren Jones Staff present: Jeff Tate, Assistant Director of Community Development Services; Doug Lein, Economic Development Manager; Lorraine Chachere, Tourism Coordinator; and Holly Ferry, Committee Secretary II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Committee Member Klontz moved and Vice Chair Cowart second to approve the April 9, 2018 minutes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4-0 III. FINANCIAL REPORT Manager Lein gave an update on the BIA budget. He explained that a budget amendment could be submitted to raise the amount available to spend in 2018. He also informed the Committee that the City is working on the budget for years 2019- 2020. He stated that any funds that aren’t spent will automatically roll over to the next year into the restricted savings account. If the Committee would like to raise their limit, there are three budget amendments per year when that request could be made. IV. PLANNING DEPARTMENT UPDATE Jeff Tate, Assistant Director of Community Development Services, gave the Committee an update on the Heritage Fire, banners, the Façade Grant, and Parking. The Heritage Fire Last week City staff in Community Development and Engineering sat down with the contractor that the owner of the building has selected for the demolition work. The owner of the building is operating under a code enforcement action to ensure that timelines and progress is being made. The asbestos abatement surveys have been done and will hopefully start at the end of this week to begin surgically removing the asbestos-coated pipes. There is a structural engineer onboard to help with the decisions being made on the demolition process. There are streetlights that need to be removed because they are too close to the building. The sewer pipes need to be capped to prevent debris from getting into the sewer system. They came to an agreement that it would be in everyone’s best interest to leave the foundation in place for the time being as it is probably serving as a retaining wall for the soils underneath the parking lot, the sidewalk and the plaza. The demolition process will most likely take about six weeks. Banners The current banners are about four years old. Assistant Direct Tate provided a handout showing a mockup of a banner. He thought around 60 new banners would be needed. Manager Lein said it would cost the Community Development and Public Works (CDPW) department and the BIA Committee around $3,000 each. The point was made that the banners should be displayed throughout the entire BIA. The question was raised about using conversion kits to allow banners to be hung from the turquoise lampposts. Assistant Director Tate explained that it would be possible but that they would need to be modified to prevent a sail effect that could, in time, cause the lamppost to loosen from its foundation. The idea of having some banners that highlight downtown events was discussed. If the Committee comes up with some other ideas besides the four banners that have already been designed , Assistant Director Tate suggested there could be more conversation about it then . It was suggested by Manager Lein that there should be a discussion with the ADA about what they would like as well as with M&O to come up with a set policy as far as the change out of the banners and how much notice they need. Manager Lein reported that he had asked Puget Sound Energy if they would be willing to help the City put up the holders for banners on the poles south of Highway 18 on Auburn Way S and asked if they would be willing to look at this district for a possible grant, and they are checking into it. The two questions asked were if they would approve it and if they would help pay for it. Vice Chair Cowart requested that the Committee be given a current map of where all the light poles are. Façade Grant Assistant Director Tate showed renderings of two projects going on currently. They are looking for a few more applicants and projects this year. Parking Assistant Director Tate informed the Committee that construction on the building between the Sound Transit Station and Merrill Gardens is l ikely to begin later on this year, and the other one across the street from City Hall will begin right after that. Those two lots currently provide 187 parking stalls, primarily for commuters, which will be lost in a matter of months. CDPW has looked at aerial photographs within 3-4 blocks from the transit station, which show that there are parking lots on Monday through Friday throughout the day that aren’t heavily used. He suggested the idea of promoting private enterprise to connect people who have different kinds of parking demands with property owners who could earn a little money for their parking spaces, and he wanted to know if this Committee would like to open up the discussion to the rate payers. Manager Lein suggested that a webpage be developed with a static map of downtown showing the public-owned lots and a phone number or email address with which they can contact the owner. It was suggested that it be included in the newsletter as well. There will be continued discussion on the topic of parking. V. OLD BUSINESS A. Disbursement of BIA Funds After Committee discussion, it was agreed to submit a budget amendment to raise the Committee’s funding. Committee Member Klontz moved and Member Roberts second to increase the budget to $90,000. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4-0 B. Marketing and Branding Manager Lein reported that there will be a meeting with Smarthouse Creative later in the day and an update will be given at the next meeting. C. Heritage Fire Update This topic was discussed in the Planning Departmen t Update. D. BIA Newsletter Committee Secretary Holly Ferry explained the method that will be used to send out the BIA Update, which will be an electronic version only. Only the main points from the BIA meeting minutes will be listed; however, links will be included within the update where users can access complete meeting minutes of past meetings as well as the upcoming meeting agenda. There will be an invitation to attend the meeting with date, time and location given. Information about upcoming downtown events will be included, and business owners and the ADA are encouraged to provide this information. Requests and details of the information to be included may be sent to either Manager Lein at dlein@auburnwa.gov or Committee Secretary Ferry at hferry@auburnwa.gov. A link will also be given to drive them to the community calendar and the Tourism website. The idea of providing access to privately-owned parking spaces for rent could also be a feature. E. Update on Priority Projects Presented to City Council 1. Additional security lighting The Police department is still working on getting a count on the number of lights. The price to install per fixture is around $400 each. 2. Hanging plants and planters around the BIA Daryl Faber, Parks Director, is working on getting the cost of additional hanging plants and planters. 3. Lights in trees Nothing can be done on tree lighting until after the Heritage demolition is complete. 4. Added police patrols There was no discussion on this topic. 5. Christmas decorations More discussion is needed later on this topic. 6. Banners This topic was discussed in the Planning Department Update. F. Update on 2018 Façade Grant Program This topic was discussed in the Planning Department Update. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Explanation of the Trespass Law/Application by Auburn Police Department Officer April Steinman from the APD, who is part of the Community Response Team, handed out forms and explained the Trespass Law to the Committee. She recommended placing no trespassing signs on the back and front sides of the building and near a dumpster area if there is one present. In an industrial area it should be about 8 feet off the ground; however, in the downtown area it just ha s to be visible. She explained that the form needs to be signed by the business owner, property manager or whoever is in charge of the building and then turned in to the front desk of the APD, or it can be faxed. This then allows the Police to go onto the property and identify if there are people on the property that should not be there and then trespass them. During business hours, the Police rely on the property owners or managers to call 911 and let the dispatcher know that they want a person trespassed. The Police will then show up and complete an official trespass document. A copy of the form will go to the business owner, the Police and the person being trespassed. If the person shows back up, there are no questions asked, they go to jail. Copies of the application can be requested from Officer Steinman at asteinman@auburnwa.gov or 253- 931-3063 or by calling the station. It was requested that the information be put on the BIA Newsletter Update. VII. BIA PARKING SUB-COMMITTEE UPDATE There was no update from the BIA Parking sub-committee. VIII. AUBURN DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION UPDATE Manager Lein reported that the ADA is currently preparing for running the beer garden at Petpalooza as well as planning a Father’s Day weekend event. The parking lot behind Rottle’s has been resurveyed, the boundary lines have been adjusted, and it is now one commercial lot. Those parking spaces can now be shut down for events. ADA now has $2 million of liability coverage to be able to use those parking spaces. IX. TOURISM BOARD UPDATE Tourism Coordinator Lorraine Chachere presented the request for the BIA Committee to collaborate with the Tourism Board in funding a blowup of the downtown area on the back side of the Tourism map. Committee Member Cowart moved and Member Klontz second to set aside $4,000 to give to Tourism to use for their map. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4-0 X. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Committe e, the meeting adjourned at 2:41 pm. APPROVED this 11th day of June, 2018. ________________________________ ________________________________ Giovanni DiQuattro, Chair Holly Ferry, Committee Secretary