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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CC - 10/14/2013 - MINS 10 14 13 WS (Migrated from Optiview)Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, October 14, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page I of9 This summary is provided as a convenience and service to the public, media, and staff It is not the intent to transcribe proceedings verbatim. Any reproduction of this summary must include this notice. Public comments are noted and heard by Council, but not quoted. This document includes limited presentation by Council and invited speakers in summary form . This is an official record of the Milton City Council Meeting proceedings. Official Meetings are audio and video recorded. The Work Session of the Mayor and Council of the City of Milton was held on October 14, 2013 at 6:00 PM. Councilmembers Present: Councilmember Karen Thurman, Councilmember Matt Kunz, Councilmember Bill Lusk, Councilmember Burt Hewitt, Councilmember Joe Longoria. Mayor Joe Lockwood: • Work Sessions are an informal setting to update Council on business items. • No votes will be taken during these sessions. • There are three (3) items on our Agenda tonight. • Public comment is allowed that is germane to an Agenda Item. • If you wish to speak you are required to fill out a comment card and turn it into the City Clerk staff. • Public comment will be allowed for a total of 10 minutes per agenda item and no more than 2 minutes per person. • Public comment will be heard at the beginning of each Item. • Once the item is called, no other comment cards will be accepted. Agenda Item #1 was read. 1. Presentation of Project Connect 400. (Janide Sidifall, MARTA) Janide Sidifall, MART A I would like to talk to you tonight about our Connect 400 Project. Connect 400 can increase transit capacity in this highly congested corridor which is auto dominated. We are researching options for this corridor so we can get people out of their cars and onto mass transit. Several years ago we researched this corridor and the numbers showed that it was not mass transit friendly. However, since that time, the demographics, land use patterns, and development patterns have changed. We want to take all of this new information and re-examine the GA 400 corridor. We began the assessment at the end of2011 when we developed the purpose and need of this project. We established goals and objectives and looked at existing conditions. We developed an evaluation methodology and model to look at a wide array of options on how to get from the MARTA station at North Springs to Windward Parkway. We refer to these options as our universe of alternatives. We took these options through an evaluation process and were left with three potential options. Work Session of the Milton City COW1cil Monday, October 14,2013 at 6:00 pm Page 2 of9 Then we moved to the early scoping phase of the project which allowed for input on each of these options prior to moving into the Federal National Environmental Policy Act process. This process takes 6-12 years depending upon the complexity of the project and funding sources. We have had several opportunities for stakeholders and the public to provide their input. We have developed a Steering Committee that is comprised of technical advisors as well as community and business leaders. Now, one of our biggest concerns is where we will receive the funding for this project. We know we will not be able to fund this project the same way projects have been funded in the past. We are looking at a public-private partnership and local funding to make this project possible. We realized that there is an enormous need for a feeder system, not only because of the north/south flow of traffic, but also the east/west travel routes as well. We will have to work with the local governments to develop transit oriented development around the stations to help connect MART A activity to employment centers. We looked at State Route 9 but we discovered too many constraints so GA 400 became the preferred route. We gave a presentation to the City of Alpharetta a few weeks ago, and the overwhelming majority insisted on a high speed rail system that would go directly from Windward to the airport without having to change trains. We went through a three step process to determine how we could get MARTA from North Springs to Windward Parkway. The three steps were: 1. Technology Assessment • Independent review of 6 modes • Most appropriate -Bus Rapid Transit (BRT); Light Rail/Streetcar (LRT/SC); Heavy Rail (HRT) 2. Universe of Alternatives • 3 modes + 9 alignments along GA 400 & SR 9 3. Fatal Flaw Analysis • Reduce 'universe' to a smaller set for Screen I • High-level based on purpose/need & constructability The methodology/assumptions were as follows: • Qualitative and quantitative analysis • Performance measures based on Purpose and Need, Goals and Objectives • Station-related measures normalized for number of stations The results were as follows: • Alignments adjacent to or within GA 400 right-of-way • Fewer potential impacts • More population and employment access • East/West feeder connections • Heavy Rail Transit (HRT) was preferred due to speed and elimination of transfer • Northridge rather than Pitts location • Windward Parkway -Regional Station • Community Stations are preferred for: Northridge, Holcomb Bridge, Mansell, North Point and Old Milton Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, October 14,2013 at 6:00 pm Page 3 of9 The overview of alternatives for GA 400 were: Alignment • 11.9 miles Long • North Springs Station -Windward via GA 400 Transit Technology • Bus Rapid Transit • Light Rail/Streetcar • Heavy Rail Potential Stations • Northridge • Holcomb Bridge • Mansell Road • North Point • Old Milton (LRTIBRT only) • Windward Parkway The summary results were: • Mobility & Access HRT provides higher ridership numbers, transit benefits and reductions in vehicular traffic. • Land Use & Economic Development -all three alternatives are relatively equal in supporting land use & economic development planning. • Cost Effective Service BRT is much cheaper and cost-effective than the other alternatives. • Environmental/Community Impact HRT presents least environmental impact, and most beneficial to reducing VMT and air pollutants. Light rail was viewed more favorably in terms of economic development. In terms of cost effective service, the Bus Rapid Transit would be the least expensive at $473 million and the Heavy Rail option would be $1.6 billion. In terms of environmental impact, the Heavy Rail option has the least impact and it takes the most vehicles off the road. The benefits of this project are: • Reduction in commute times • Reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and air pollutant emissions • Reduction in vehicular crashes • Increased employment • Increased property values around station areas • Reduced impact to environmental and community resources because the alignment utilizes GA 400 right of way Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, October 14, 20 J 3 at 6:00 pm Page 4 of9 The challenges of this project are: • Encouraging higher density, less auto-oriented development • Funding challenges for capital costs & system operations/maintenance Our community discussions will continue. Our early scoping period ends on October 28 th but we are going to extend that deadline. We are going to go out into the community and reach out to some of the students, businesses, and homeowners associations. We hope to get a statistically valid survey on the thoughts and opinions of the community. Once we get this information, we are going to make a recommendation to the MARTA board on how to move forward with this project. We hope to do that by the end of the year, if not, then early next year. Councilmember Longoria How are you calculating your return on investment? Janide Sidifall We are working with the Atlanta Regional Commission. They have an economic model that we are going to use as part of our work to determine the best return on our investment. However, there are a lot of factors that cannot be calculated. On another note, I forgot to mention that each of the options, Light Rail, Heavy Rail, and Mass Transit would all have their own right-of-way. They would not travel in traffic. It is primarily in ODOT right-of-way. MARTA and ODOT have worked together and ODOT has agreed to accommodate MARTA's high capacity investment of any type in its own dedicated right­ of-way. Councilmember Lusk How exactly will this project be funded? I know MARTA has had some financial trouble in the past. Janide Sidifall The next stage of the project is the environmental phase. We have to have the financial plan that states how the project will be funded before we can move into that phase. At this point , the financial plan does not look very promising. We have a lot of work to do going forward, especially getting MARTA back on good financial footing. In the next few months, we are planning to do a comprehensive operational analysis to see what our options are for the short, medium, and long term. We hope to improve our existing service and put back some services that were cut a few years ago. That is where the phasing aspect of the project begins. If we can't fund the entire project initially, maybe we can begin phases of the project such as dedicated bus lanes. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, October 14,2013 at 6:00 pm Page 5 of9 Agenda Item #2 was read. 2. Update on Economic Development Program, including Status of Application for an Economic Opportunity Zone. (Bill 0 'Connor, Economic Development Manager) Bill O'Connor, Economic Development Manager It is a pleasure to be here tonight. I have enjoyed working for the City of Milton both professionally and personally. As you can see from the first slide of my presentation, the quality of life is very high in Milton. It has the best quality of life in Georgia and is one of the best places to live in the southeast. We are proud of that distinction and it is one of the appealing aspects that make people want to move to Milton. We want to enhance the quality of life through economic development by maintaining the economic sustainability of the city. In addition, we want to create jobs and keep the businesses we already have and attract new ones as well. I consulted with several other professionals who have been in economic development for many years. I created four terms that define the job and they are: • Economic Development is a contact sport -the more collisions you have the better off you are. Be everywhere and meet as many people as you can. However, it is more than having contacts, you need to build relationships and create an effective network. • Economic Development is a team sport -you can't do it alone. It takes many people from several different areas and organizations to achieve and maintain economic growth. We need a wide range of representatives from all areas of the community. • All Boats Ride with the Tide -we think of ourselves in competition with other surrounding cities. However, we are really in competition with other states. It is very important that we take a regional view of economic development. It is great to bring a big business to Milton but it is equally important to have that big business come to any of our surrounding cities. We are all inter-connected and benefit from companies coming to our area. It doesn't help us at all if a business decides to move to another state. • Economic Development takes time -it takes time to build an organization, to build a program, and then we need good prospects. We need to have all the pieces in place and be prepared for when a business wants to come to Milton. In the spring, I took a four day Economic Development course at Georgia Tech. In August, I took the two day Business Retention and Expansion Program. I am currently enrolled in the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. As with any good program, it has to have a vision. I have been thoroughly impressed with the vision that the City of Milton has established for itself. When looking at what we have projected our city to look like in 2030, most of the land will be dedicated to horse farms and high end housing in a pristine setting. However, by way of planning, you have dedicated an area in the Deerfield corridor for high density development to include commercial, office space, and retail. The Crabapple area will have a live, work, play environment with housing, restaurants, shops, and recreational facilities. The Birmingham Crossroads will have commercial development as well. For this vision to work, we have to build relationships. I have enjoyed the Milton Business Alliance. Tom Hobby is the President and he has built the group to 100 members. Progress Partners has also been a good resource for me. I also have regular contact with Peter Tokar in Alpharetta, Steve Stroud in Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, October 14,2013 at 6:00 pm Page 6 of9 Roswell, and Andrew Hall in Sandy Springs. We meet and talk about what IS gOing on In our communities. They have been very helpful. I joined the Georgia Economic Developers Association and they have regular sessions with guest speakers and also provide an opportunity to network with others in the business. The Georgia Economic Development Department has been great. Their mission is to bring businesses to Georgia. I have six very good contacts from that organization who have come to Milton to meet with me, drive around our city, and have lunch at a local restaurant. They now have Milton in their portfolio when businesses are looking to move to Milton. I also have about ten strong contacts with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Conunerce that focus on the 29 county region around metro Atlanta. I have met with them and shown them around Milton. They understand our vision as well. I also meet with the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce on a regular basis. We listen, learn, and network. I also participate in the North Fulton Advisory group where I meet with business leaders and hear presentations regarding business opportunities in the area. I have contacts with the Economic Development Authority of Fulton County. Georgia Power is a very strong player in economic development in the area. They have been fantastic. Georgia EMC and Sawnee EMC have been very helpful as well. I attend regular meetings with the Conununity Improvement District. Gwinnett Technical College is ready to come to the table to develop training programs for any particular business enterprise that we see on the horizon. I also know that our schools are "second to none" which we have to capitalize on when trying to get businesses to locate in Milton. I know some of the brokers and developers who work around the Milton area. I have met many individual business owners and we have to build those relationships as well. Many of the people I have met with have indicated that they did not know that Milton wanted business development. We have a reputation that we will need to tum around. The strategy of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Georgia Economic Developers Association is to look at targeted clusters such as bioscience, healthcare , information technology, supply chain management, advanced manufacturing , technology, corporate headquarters, and global conunerce. When I meet with representatives from these associations, I can tell them that the Milton Deerfield area is ready for these types of industries. When the economy rebounds, we hope to see a significant increase in small businesses. Commercial development lags about 18 months behind housing. Housing has increased significantly in Milton. From 2009-2012, Conununity Development approved one subdivision. In 2013, they have approved five subdivisions and have three in the pipeline for a total of about 400 new homes. There are also seven or eight new subdivisions that are in the conversation stage. When you drive around Milton, you see construction going on everywhere. Our Conununity Development department has been issuing 25­ 40 building permits per month. In September, they issued 51 building permits. They get calls for 25-40 inspections per day. They have approximately 200 land disturbance permits per month. In the last twelve months, 146 new business licenses have been issued which is a 16% increase from the previous twelve months. Those new businesses include medical, cleaning, fitness, exercise, health, dry cleaning, education , photography, etc. Some are small home-based businesses but many are store front. When I first came to Milton, Jason Wright helped me put together a brochure outlining Milton and that has been well received. However, I showed it to a developer who I practically had to beg to meet with me, and he said the brochure is wonderful at showing him why he should live in Milton but doesn't say anything about why he should open a business in Milton. We have also started a web page that give links to key people and organizations, a "how to" guide for business owners, and an inventory of key properties so businesses can easily find available areas to put their business. I need to find out who the developers, brokers, and agents are in our area in order to put available areas on the website. We also Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, October 14,2013 at 6 :00 pm Page 7 of9 need to start taking an inventory of how many businesses we really have. How many are home-based businesses versus storefront, what type of businesses, how many jobs have been created , etc. One of the things we would like to do is create an economic opportunity zone. This is an opportunity under the Urban Redevelopment Law that would provide $3500 tax credit per job for five years. We have hired Joe Young , a consultant, who was involved in the writing of this legislation when it was first developed. He has previously worked on fourteen economic opportunity zone applications. Joe Young, Consultant I am a lawyer and have been in the Atlanta area for 25 years. I have been involved with economic opportunity zones since the inception of the Urban Redevelopment Law. I would like to tell you how this program works. An opportunity zone, these days, is an area of a city or county that is distinguished by being located within a certain group or adjacent to block groups that have specific poverty levels. Prior to January of this year , Milton was not eligible for this program . The eastern border of the city, borders about a 32% poverty district and there is another one of about 17%, both of which make all the adjacent areas eligible. So , the entire Deerfield area is eligible now. The second criteria is that the area in question has to be covered by an enterprise zone or be covered by a redevelopment plan. An opportunity zone is done on a tax parcel by tax parcel basis. Initially, we have to collect a lot of data regarding the circumstances in the opportunity zone. An opportunity zone is in place for ten years. Once granted , it does not require any further requests or qualifications from the state. The incentive is paid out over five years . It pays $3,500 per year , per employee for five years for every job of any description. It does not matter what type of job it is or how much the job pays . We are working on about 300 parcels now. It is very important that you maintain a close relationship with your legislative delegation. Those relationships are vital in obtaining an economic opportunity zone. These zones are approved at the complete discretion of your legislatives. I would like to have the application submitted by the end of November. The task ahead for you is to create a redevelopment plan for the area. Agenda Item #3 was read. 3. Discussion of Bell Memorial Reconstruction Design. (Jim Cregge, Parks & Recreation Director) Jim Cregge, Parks & Recreation Director Seven months ago at a City Council meeting, you approved the Foresite Group as the company to be our design team to redo Bell Memorial Park. This design team will now give a presentation on the status of their work. Erica Madsen, Civil Engineer, Project Manager Jim has been great to work with as well as Carter. We have received a lot of public input at our meetings. The RFP that the City of Milton issued included a wish list which consisted of two additional softballibaseball fields , as well as, two rectangular fields and we only had about 13-14 acres to put these. That was a tall order for this piece of property. It is a beautiful piece of property but , unfortunately , there are some areas that are not useable for field space. The property has a lot of topography so that was one of the main considerations we had to overcome. The property consists of a lot of hills and valleys . On April 27th we held a public input meeting in which a lot of citizens completed comment cards and gave us a lot of input. We also conducted stakeholder meetings which included residents who lived in the immediate area, as well as , youth association members, trail advocates , and accessibility Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, October 14 , 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 8 of9 advocates. The stakeholder group consisted of about fifteen members. At a council meeting on June 6th , we provided the public a concept layout based upon all of the feedback we had received up to that point. After many revisions from April until the end of June , we developed a plan that had a lot of fields on the property . After reviewing the plan, it became very obvious that it was too high an impact for this piece of land. So, we took another look at the plan, which was solely driven by the needs of the city and the public, and developed the budget guidance. This is the plan that you have in front of you tonight. As I previously mentioned , there is a lot of topography on this piece of property. The cost of flattening the land is expensive and you do not gain very much for the high cost. Therefore, that area is perfect for walking trails but not for field space. So, we have added an additional baseball/softball field and two rectangular fields. Now, there will be four dedicated baseball/softball fields which will give you more opportunity for programming than what you currently have. These fields will accommodate more age groups. A fifth field is overlaid on top of a second rectangular field. So, the rectangular field in the most northwestern comer that borders Hopewell , is intended to be a synthetic turf field. So, even if it rains during the day, practice and games can still occur that afternoon. The secondary field might also be a synthetic turf field depending upon what the city determines as its final budget. In either case, it has an overlay of a softball field on it so depending upon what season you are in, it can be used as a rectangular lacrosse , soccer , football field or as a baseball/softball field. In addition, we wanted to make sure we provided adequate parking for all of the fields. As a general rule, we like to provide 60 parking spaces per baseball/softball field and about 200 spaces per rectangular field. We recognized that would be a peak parking usage so there is a rectangular area proposed for parking in addition to the parking area that is already provided . We propose that 314 of the new parking area be paved. It was also part of our job to analyze the impact that the park would have on the Thompson/Hopewell intersection. We found that the park would not have an adverse effect on the surrounding roads in their current condition . We also wanted to take into consideration the surrounding neighborhoods by keeping at least a 50 foot buffer between the residential areas and the fields. There is a two-story building that will have a concession stand on the bottom and a place for officials to gather at the top. There will be a building for storage equipment and a playground area. There will also be a pedestrian trail that surrounds the property. We are proposing a couple of picnic shelters in the top area of the park that is surrounded by trees. Currently , there are houses in that area but those will be taken down. Councilmember Kunz: How long is the walking trail? Erica Madsen About one mile. CounciJmember Kunz What type of fencing will be used when the rectangular field is converted to a baseball field? Erica Madsen Temporary fencing will be used. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, October 14,2013 at 6:00 pm Page 9 of9 Councilmember Lusk Do you have a conceptual estimate on this? Erica Madsen We wanted to give you a "cafeteria" plan; a base plan then different options for you to choose from. Our base plan includes the fields, the buildings and the parking which would be approximately $7.5 million. Councilmember Lusk It looks like you have included a significant amount of retaining walls. Is that the minimum amount of walls you can build and still be within regulation? Erica Madsen Yes, we conducted a significant amount of research regarding the retaining walls based on the topography of the property. Jim Cregge, Parks and Recreation Director The sizing of the fields allows us to mix and match all the way from T -Ball up to age 12 to the largest field for players over 12 years of age. Therefore, we haven't increased the number of fields but we have increased the utility of them. Currently, at Bell Memorial, one of the fields is 135 feet. It can only be used by 4, 5, and 6 year olds. So, that program concludes at 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon and remains empty because no one else can use it. The same occurrence happens with field #4 which is 165 feet. So, by putting movable bases and a movable mound, we can make the fields more usable. Chris Lagerbloom, City Manager As you know, we are anticipating some additional revenue that we hope to put in our budget that could be used for funding capital projects. We would like to fund this project with those funds. After no further discussion, the Work Session adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Date Approved: November 4,2013. JOeLOCkW ~