Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-24-20 Work SessionMinutes Board of Commissioners 7 p.m. Feb. 24, 2020 Town Hall Annex Board Meeting Room, 105 E. Corbin St. Present: Mayor Jenn Weaver and commissioners Mark Bell, Robb English, Kathleen Ferguson, Matt Hughes, and Evelyn Lloyd Staff: Economic Development Planner Shannan Campbell, Human Resources Director/Town Clerk Katherine Cathey, Assistant to the Town Manager/Deputy Budget Director Jen Della Valle, Assistant Town Manager/Planning Director Margaret Hauth, Town Attorney Bob Hornik, Town Manager Eric Peterson, Public Information Specialist Cheryl Sadgrove, Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood, and Public Information Officer Catherine Wright Opening of the workshop Mayor Jenn Weaver opened the work session at 7 p.m. with a quorum of three commissioners present. 1.Public Charge Weaver did not read the public charge. 2.Agenda changes and approval Motion: Commissioner Kathleen Ferguson moved to approve the agenda as presented. Commissioner Matt Hughes seconded. Vote: The motion carried upon a unanimous vote of 5-0. 3.Items for decision — consent agenda A.Schedule public hearing at March 9 meeting to solicit public comment on Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) financing for the Eno River Academy to acquire ownership of its school campus on N.C. 57 B.Miscellaneous budget amendments and transfers Motion: Hughes moved to approve the items on the consent agenda. Ferguson seconded. Vote: The motion carried upon a unanimous vote of 5-0. 4.In-depth discussions and topics A.Updates and discussion with developers of Collins Ridge and Daniel Boone Village redevelopment Weaver reminded everyone that this discussion was to be at a high level to gauge the board’s interest in the developer’s ideas. Planning Director Margaret Hauth reminded everyone that this was not an official submittal and not a public hearing. She reviewed that there were four questions the developers hoped the board would answer and that staff had provided feedback on each question in the packet. Feb. 24, 2020 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 1 of 5 March 9, 2020 Marion Uter of Criteria Development said the second question was whether the board would consider permitting apartments to be built over retail space on the Daniel Boone Village property. Uter said the retail space would be built without waiting for tenants to commit to leasing the space. The second floor would be a residential parking garage. The third and fourth floors would be apartments. He proposed 384 apartments. Uter said there is interest in the hotel sites and some interest in some medical office space. Ferguson said she would like to see a large employer, such as a pharmaceutical research company or LabCorp. Uter explained that those interested in building office or lab space for a large company would choose land that is less expensive than land in Hillsborough. Commissioner Mark Bell said that a developer building in the Waterstone neighborhood had told the board there was not a market for residential units over retail. Uter said it is successful in some places and not in others. He believes it will work in Hillsborough. Bell also asked if the town would be losing opportunities for commercial space by building residential on top. Hauth answered the former Daniel Boone Village shopping center had 75,000 square feet of commercial space and Uter is proposing 224,000 square feet. Hauth said the Spinnaker Strategies report, a study the town paid for to forecast commercial and retail needs in town, said that not much new retail space would be needed in Hillsborough because current commercial space could be redeveloped to a higher density, which is what Uter is proposing. Bell said he did not want the town’s mix of commercial and residential tax base to get out of balance. Uter answered that he does not think the redevelopment of the Daniel Boone Village property would change the town’s balance. Board members recalled that there had been three-bedroom apartments proposed for the Collins Ridge development and expressed some concern that the apartments proposed over the retail space would be one- and two-bedroom units. When asked whether the apartments would be luxury apartments, Uter said that the typical rental price for mid-level apartments in this area is $1 per square foot, which translates to $1,200 per month. He said the apartments cannot be built for less to lower the rental price. Uter said the townhomes would likely cost around $200,000. He said no one can compete with Hardin, a company that builds townhomes which retail in this area for around that price. He said the townhomes would not be high-end units. Uter said he would prefer to keep the apartments in the location indicated on the approved master plan for the Collins Ridge development and build apartments over retail space in the Daniel Boone Village redevelopment. He said he needs the apartments over the retail spaces to create the demand for the retail uses. He added that apartments over retail has worked very well in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and in Chapel Hill. Uter added that the sketch depicting the placement of such mixed-use buildings was not how he envisioned the buildings to be designed. He would propose more green space and better connection between buildings. He mentioned the buildings in Fort Lauderdale have connecting decks. Feb. 24, 2020 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 2 of 5 March 9, 2020 When asked, Uter said he has tried several times to attract a grocery store to the development and has had no one accept. He said he talked with builders of Publix and Harris Teeter stores. Uter said that the financing for the proposed mixed-use buildings would be based on the apartments, which would free him to be flexible about the rent for retail spaces. This could attract new businesses and entrepreneurs to lease the retail spaces. Board members expressed interest in this proposal. Bell asked Uter about progress in moving the colonial-era house located on the commercial property. Uter said the house would not be demolished. The board then talked about the CASA project, which would be in the second phase of development on the Collins Ridge property. Uter had earlier noted that the apartments to be built by CASA on the Collins Ridge property are proposed to be moved closer to the town’s future train station and to the existing Food Lion grocery store in the Daniel Boone Square shopping center. Jess Brandes, a project manager for CASA, said the sooner the developer can tell her the specifics of the land set aside for the CASA apartments, the better. She explained two types of federal funding for which CASA could apply for the apartments. Her preference is to apply for the 4% tax credit option, which causes rent to be higher than with the 9% tax credit option but is generally approved faster. She explained that potential residents in the lowest income bracket would need a housing voucher to be able to afford the rent under the 4% tax credit option. She said it would take about 18 months to get the money for the project once the application is made. A dozen units would be set aside with a preference for veterans. She added that 10% of units would be set aside for adults with disabilities, which is part of the state’s efforts to remove adults with disabilities from nursing homes. Hauth said the existing master plan for Collins Ridge is likely enough for CASA to move forward with its application. The board decided that it would formally hear Uter’s modifications to Phase 1 of the Collins Ridge development and plans for Phase 2 at the joint public hearing in April. The board discussed that the third question posed by Uter is whether the town is interested in selling any of its 20 acres near the train station. The train station requires 2 to 3 acres. Uter said he is interested in building more houses on that land. He said he has not studied the feasibility or cost of building a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over Interstate 85, but he would be interested in exploring that to connect with the 12.5 acres that he owns on that side of the interstate. He added that the land would not be for houses but maybe ball fields. Board members said they were not interested in selling him town land for houses. Several board members expressed interest in the connection over the interstate. B.Next steps for the Comprehensive/Sustainability Plan Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood reviewed the presentation available in the agenda packet. She noted that the plan would establish long-range goals and objectives for growth in town but also immediate, short-term and mid-term targets. She and Economic Development Planner Shannan Campbell will be the plan managers and will bring their ideas to the management team. Feb. 24, 2020 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 3 of 5 March 9, 2020 Trueblood added that the plan would take two years. She noted it would be helpful if the board could give approval for her to put together documentation needed for a request for bids for a consultant to help guide the project. Town Manager Eric Peterson suggested that the board could consider giving that preliminary approval at the budget retreat. C.Town logo/branding refresh project Campbell reviewed the logo presentation available in the agenda packet. Several board members said they like the town seal and look forward to being able to use it more frequently now that it is digitized. The commissioners expressed a preference for the clock logo and asked to see variations of it. English said he also likes the Riverwalk logo. Weaver expressed a preference for the Riverwalk logo. It was noted that the Riverwalk bridge near Weaver Street Market has a straight top railing rather than the curved railing depicted in the draft logo. D.Budget planning retreat update The town manager shared that there will not be a detailed draft budget presented at the retreat. 5.Other business None. 6.Committee updates and reports Board members reported on the boards and committees on which they serve. 7.Adjournment Motion: Ferguson moved to adjourn at 9:44 p.m. Hughes seconded. Vote: The motion carried upon a unanimous vote of 5-0. Respectfully submitted, Katherine M. Cathey Town Clerk Feb. 24, 2020 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 4 of 5 March 9, 2020 BUDGET CHANGES REPORT TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH FY 2019-2020 DATES: 02/24/2020 TO 02/24/2020 REFERENCE NUMBER DATE BUDGET CHANGE BUDGET ORIGINAL BUDGET AMENDEDCHANGE USER 30-80-8200-5300-321 SUPPLIES - CHEMICALS 02/24/2020 5,000.00 -2,500.00To cover WW Collection - Misc overages 16503 2,500.00JDELLAVAL 30-80-8200-5300-570 MISCELLANEOUS 02/24/2020 4,500.00 2,500.00To cover WW Collection - Misc overages 16504 6,650.00JDELLAVAL 30-80-8220-5300-320 CHEMICALS 02/24/2020 91,930.00 -40.00To cover increase in support fees 16505 86,890.00JDELLAVAL 30-80-8220-5300-458 DATA PROCESSING SERVICES 02/24/2020 540.00 40.00To cover increase in support fees 16506 580.00JDELLAVAL 0.00 JDELLAVALLE 11:27:53AM02/18/2020 fl142r03 Page 1 of 1 WW Collection WW Collection WWTP WWTP APPROVED: 5/0 DATE: 2/24/2020 VERIFIED: ___________________________________ Feb. 24, 2020 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 5 of 5 March 9, 2020