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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDA MIN 02-20-01COLUMBIA HEIGHTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (EDA) REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 20, 2001 CALL TO ORDER - The Regular Meeting of the Columbia Heights Economic Development Authority (EDA) was called to order by President Ruettimann at 6:37 p.m., Tuesday, February 20, 2001, in Conference Room 1, City Hall, 590 40th Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, Minnesota. ROLL CALL Commission Members Present: Commission Members Absent: Staff Present: Robert Ruettimann, Patricia Jindra, Marlaine Szurek, Gary Peterson, Julienne Wyckoff, Bruce Nawrocki, and Bobby Williams Walt Fehst, Executive Director Randy Schumacher, Community Development Assistant Anita Kottsick, Parkview Villa Housing Administrator Shirley Barnes, CEO, Crest View Corporation OATH OF OFFICE Walt Fehst, Executive Director, swore in Marlaine Szurek as Commissioner. CONSENT AGENDA (These items are considered to be routine by the EDA Board of Commissioners and will be enacted as part of the Consent Agenda by one motion). A. Adopt the consent agenda items as listed below. 1) Approval of Minutes- regular meeting of January 16, 2001 Move to adopt the minutes of the January 16, 2001 regular meeting as presented in writing. 2) Financial Report and Payment of Bills a. Financial Statement- January, 2001 b. Payment of Bills- January, 2001 Move to approve Resolution 2001-02, Resolution of the Columbia Heights Economic Development Authority (EDA) approving the financial statements for January, 2001 and approving payment of bills for January, 2001. MOTION by Peterson, seconded by Szurek, to adopt the consent agenda items as listed with the amendment to the election of officers motion to read "for a unanimous vote" instead of"for a white ballot vote". All ayes. MOTION CARRIED. REPORT OF TI-II*. MANAGEMENT COMPANY- Anita Kottsick, Parkview Villa Housing Administrator. Kottsick reported an accident in the parking garage where a resident ran into the garage door and wall. The residents insurance company replaced the garage door and a fire extinguisher cabinet that was damaged from the accident. New faucet and shut off valves were installed in apartments 306 and 511. During the installation of these fixtures, the water was shut down for about one and a half hours. All of the new telephone system issues have been resolved from last month. The buildings smoke detectors and fn-e extinguishers will be tested sometime near the end of February. The boiler was inspected and passed as of today. Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes February 20, 2001 Page 2 of 5 On Saturday, February 17, 2001, Parkview Villa experienced a security issue. Between the hours of one and five a.m. someone broke into a unit on the fourth floor. Nothing was taken from the unit and the Police Department responded very quickly. In closing, Kottsick stated that she would be attending the Public Housing Manager Course on February 6-21 partial days, and will be in the office at different hours during that period. She will also be using her pager so that she can be easily contacted if a situation arises. Shirley Barnes, CEO, Crest View Corporation, commented that there was also a break in at the Crest View office. She wanted it noted that the Police Department responded within 10 minutes of being called. *Barnes reported on a five hundred million dollar SOS package recently put out by local legislators that would help Senior Citizens in many ways. She recommended Commissioners look at this package. CITIZEN FORUM TO ADDRESS EDA ON MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA- None. RECOGNITION, PROCLAMATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, GUESTS- None. PUBLIC }]F~ARINGS- None. ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION A. Other Resolutions - None. B. Bid Considerations 1) Approve Contract for Lawn Treatment Services for Parkview Villa- Randy Schumacher Schumacher presented the two bids staff received for the lawn treatment at Parkview Villa North/South, and 4607 Tyler Street properties. Bids were received from TruGreen ChemLawn and Green Stuff. By using TruGreen ChemLawn again this year, we would save $24.00 and the one time start up fee. Therefore, staff recommended the Board except the low bid from TruGreen ChemLawn. Wyckoff asked what the chemical safety factor is from the companies bidding, and why isn't the City providing this service as long as we own the property. Ruettimann stated that his understanding is that all lawn chemicals are required to have water in them. Also he stated that if the City provided this service, the EDA would have to pay Public Works a higher amount than the private contractor is bidding. Peterson stated that they do not apply crab grass and dandelion killer. MOTION by Williams, seconded by Szurek, to award the contract to TruGreen ChemLawn to provide lawn treatment services based upon their low, qualified, responsible bid with funds to be appropriated from 203-46330-4000 in the amount of $256.88; 213-46340-4000 in the amount of $126.52; and 235- 46360-4000 in the amount of $170.40; and furthermore, to authorize the President and Executive Director to enter into an agreement for the same. All ayes. MOTION CARRIED. C. Other Business 1) Results of Parkview Villa Residents Satisfaction Survey- Randy Schumacher Staff received a good response from the Parkview Villa residents. Staff distributed 150 surveys, of which 82 were returned. Four major areas were addressed in the survey; Community Life, Emergencies, Administration, and Maintenance and Housekeeping. From these four areas the following results were received; Community Life - out of 81 responding, 79 Agreed or Agreed Strongly that they are very content with their surroundings, Emergencies -77 out of 79 Agreed or Agreed Strongly that they understand the emergency procedures and feel that it has been handled properly by staff, Administration- Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes February 20, 2001 Page 3 of 5 75 out of 79 Agreed or Agreed Strongly that staffhas been performing their duties to satisfy residents needs, and from the Maintenance and Housekeeping section- 80 out of 81 Agreed or Agreed Strongly that the building and grounds are being taken care of properly. We received some very good comments and staff will sit down with management to go over some of the key factors to improve on. Overall, the results of the survey were good, and staff would like to recommend that the EDA enter into an additional yearly contract with Crest View Management. Wyckoff asked if there was a problem with the heating system in the Tyler Street units. Kottsick explained a problem with one of the lower level units being very drafty. She will discuss the problem with maintenance and Schumacher to try to resolve this problem. *It was a unanimous decision of the Commissioners to review new negotiations of the current one-year option of the contract with Crest View Management for Parkview Villa. Ruettimann thanked staff for getting the survey together, distributing it, and compiling the results in a short amount of time. OTItER BUSINESS Ruettimann explained that the handicapped accessibility information sheet, included in the meeting packet, is to clarify the question of how many handicapped units are required at Parkview Villa. The HUD requirement is 5%. Nawrocki questioned why it would be six units when the actual figure would be 5.05%. Cher Bakken had asked this ofDebbie Kravik, HUD, who stated that any amount over the 5% would be rounded up to the next percent. Therefore, a total of six units need to be handicapped. Ruettimann suggested the EDA consider having the HRA take over, Parkview Villa North and South (after we have finalized all of the Section 8 transfer papers). He stated there are two reasons why this should be done; 1) It is something that is ongoing, and established in Columbia Heights, and 2) It would allow the EDA board to move ahead in developing and improving the City with broader visions. The HRA would consist of the City Council, plus one Parkview Villa North resident member, and the EDA would be comprised of the existing members. This will be discussed at a later date. Ruettimann also expressed concem that the Community Development Department has some very good people working in it and they are trying very hard to clean up old issues. He would like the City to not rush into hiring anyone else for that department until staff can get caught up and actually see what staf£mg requirements are necessary. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS A) Report of the Deputy Executive Director. 1) Update Status on Renewal of the Columbia Park Medical Group Parking Ramp Agreement. Schumacher and the Community Development staff have been working with the administrator from Columbia Park Medical Group in regards to renewing the Parking Agreement Contract that expired in July of 2000. There are some issues that still need to be taken into consideration before the contract is renewed: 1) the Columbia Park Medical Group is looking for the EDA to pay more than the 19% of the expenses they are currently paying; 2) the parking ramp is 15 years old, therefore, we should consider building Capitol Improvement Funds to cover expenses for future repairs. A maintenance engineer should do an evaluation of the structure; 3) who is actually using the parking ramp; Columbia Heights downtown workers, people going to the doctors office, or people from the Transit Hub, and 4) what Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes February 20, 2001 Page 4 of 5 account number the funds are being budgeted to for 2001. Ruettimann has asked Police Chief, Tom Johnson to monitor the parking ramp as to how many cars are parked there each day without a parking permit, and how many spaces are used during the night hours for downtown restaurants and businesses. Johnson will report this information back to Schumacher. Nawrocki questioned if the City is still issuing permits to park in the ramp. Bakken stated that there are five parking lots on Central Avenue that the Community Development office staff issues permits for and the Columbia Park Medical Group parking ramp is one of them. The permits do not expire. Schumacher stated that Transit Hub users are not to use any of these parking lots to park in. Peterson stated that P.S. Vedi was the architect for the parking ramp and staffcould contact him in regards to the structure and any maintenance that it may need in the next few years. The League of Minnesota Cities and Jen Koope were also suggested as contact people on the parking ramp. Schumacher will ask Mel Collova, the Building Inspector and Kevin Hansen, the Public Works Director for their evaluation of the ramp also. 2) Update Status of Parkview Villa Security System Fehst has been working with the representative from Trans-Alarm, Inc. on the Security System and finalizing the following issues of concern: 250 security cards, at no cost, put into writing on the contract, the possibility of issuing one card to each resident and allowing up 3 extra cards per family at a charge of $25.00 (to be returned when they return the card) for emergencies, and residents still need to buzz people in to the building from their apartment, rather than having to come down to let them in. Schumacher and Kottsick have discussed items to be clarified, like allowing time for the residents to understand the system before it is actually installed, education of the residents on how the card is actually mn through the system, a backup emergency system, and certain doors with key locks would need to be changed over. Kottsick offered a draft copy of a Policy and Procedure that could be used to help clarify the rules of using this system. The biggest concern Kottsick had was that the seniors need to be educated about the system before it is installed. Staff will continue to work on these issues before the system is installed. 3) Status Report on Remodeling of Units 105 and 106 at Parkview Villa Schumacher stated bids have been received to convert two units to handicap accessible. He recommended not accepting these bids as two of the bids were for labor only and one is for materials and labor. Schumacher suggested re-bidding the work. Kottsick stated that unit 106 is currently vacant. The resident in unit #105 is willing to move into unit 106 temporarily, while her unit is being remodeled. Kottsick asked for clarification if she should rent the other apartment scheduled for renovation. Ruettimann stated that she should hold off until both units have been remodeled. After much discussion, it was determined that staff is to obtain a copy of the requirements for handicap accessible units and submit that with the request for bids. MOTION by Peterson, seconded by Williams, to reject the current bids because they contain improper specifications. All ayes. MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Peterson, seconded by Williams, to authorize the President and Acting Deputy Executive Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes February 20, 2001 Page 5 of 5 Director to proceed with obtaining bids to remodel units 105 and 106 up to the ADA Code and not to exceed $8,000 per unit with uniform specifications on the bids. All ayes. MOTION CARRIED. B) Report of the Executive Director- None. c) Committee/Other Reports Resident Council Meeting - Jindra attended the meeting on February 12, 2001, and reported that there were 80 people in attendance. The residents were very concerned with the security system; the use of the cards, how many they would get, and how to use them. Jindra stated that Kottsick did a very good job of addressing the residents concerns and relieving their fears. Other Reports Nawrocki recently attended a meeting in Shoreview for their City Council and Economic Development Authority. The Chair Bill Farrow, talked about an Economic Development Association of Minnesota where he obtained some information that he passed out to the board members, for informational purposes. MEETINGS The next EDA meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 20, 2001 in Community Room B at Parkview Villa. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Wyckoff, seconded by Jindra, to adjourn the meeting at 8:09 p.m. All ayes. MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl Bakken Recording Secretary H:\EDAminutes2001\2-20-2001 *Amended sentence per EDA Board recommendation.