SEPTEMBER, 2001 URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY MEETING MINUTES:

SEPTEMBER 12, 2001

1.    ROLL CALL: Chair Moore called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Chair Moore and Members Welch, Lehmann and Woodruff answered the roll. Members Church and Peterson were absent. A quorum was present.
2.    CITIZEN COMMENTS AND CONCERNS:
   
A.    Letter from Planning Commission Chair: The Agency considered the letter from Mr. Balen regarding the fence at the Waldport Motel property contained in the packet materials.
3.    AGENCY MEMBER COMMENTS AND CONCERNS: Member Lehmann agreed that the front part of the fence does not appear very welcoming, and moved to remove that portion of the fence. The motion failed for lack of a second. Chair Moore noted that he failed to see the purpose of the gate if it remained open. He felt that they should tell someone to close the fence when the property is not being used. Member Welch indicated that the basic reason was to prevent vehicular traffic from coming and going through the area. Member Lehmann noted that she had originally voted for the fence to prevent unauthorized people from using the area for sales. Further discussion ensued. Member Lehmann then moved to take down the front fence when the Economic Development Committee came up with an alternative solution to the problem. Member Welch seconded. The motion carried unanimously on a voice vote.
4.    MINUTES: The Agency considered the minutes from July 24, 2001. Member Welch moved to approve the minutes as presented, Member Lehmann seconded and the motion carried unanimously on a voice vote.
5.    FINANCIAL STATEMENT(S): The Agency considered the financial statements for July and August, 2001. There was no action necessary.
6.    PUBLIC HEARING: None.
7.    APPROVAL OF BILLS:
   
A.    City of Waldport (Norwood Diversion): The Agency considered the bill from the City of Waldport. Member Lehmann moved to approve the bill in the amount of $14,549.13. Member Woodruff seconded, and the motion carried unanimously on a voice vote.
8.    OLD BUSINESS: None.
9.    NEW BUSINESS:
   
A.    Waldport Motel Property: Mr. Dan Smith, P.O. Box 1591, Waldport, residing at King Silver RV Park, addressed the Agency. He gave a brief background history of himself, and indicated that he was interested in doing something with the property. He would like to put in a restaurant/motel/small shops with Oregon merchandise. He was waiting to find out what the asking price of the property was and the type of agreement they were interested in making. He explained that the restaurant would be located next to the medical building, with the motel on the tax lot behind the medical building, and shops on the south side with parking in the middle. Member Lehmann noted that there was a concern about ODOT not allowing the driveway, and wondered how the property would be accessed in that event. Mr. Smith responded that the highway configuration may change as well, and other factors would also need to be considered. Member Lehmann asked who he felt would be running the business, and he responded that either a well-known enterprise or a family-run business could be appropriate. He was looking at a minimum 16-unit motel, possibly more. However, this was still in speculative stage, and no feasibility studies had been done yet. He confirmed that he was looking at a purchase of the entire property. Chair Moore noted that part of the discussion would be either going out for an RFP or listing it with a local realtor. He urged Mr. Smith to maintain his interest and indicated that they were willing to listen to him.
   
Chair Moore noted that the Agency had talked about putting the property out for an RFP. Member Lehmann suggested that there was a person in Portland who acted as sort of a broker, matching property with investors and developers, and asked if the Agency was interested in having him come down to give a presentation. Chair Moore asked for more information, such as how he gets paid, before they made a commitment. Member Welch suggested that they contact him and ask him to send more information about his services. Discussion ensued regarding this issue. Member Lehmann noted that the push should be to explore the possibilities rather than shoving the property on the market to get rid of it as soon as possible. If they go with an RFP, they would have a number of proposals to consider. If they go with a broker, they give the broker the "wish list" and have him do the work of matching a buyer with the property. Chair Moore noted that he simply hoped that a developer would be willing to put up an attractive business. Fast food was not a possibility, given the restrictions that ODOT would put on it. Concerns were expressed about whether they should encourage another family-style restaurant, given the fact that one had just closed and another was up for sale. Another concern was about driving through the lot. Consensus of the Agency was to contact the broker and have him send the Agency some more information about his service. In the meantime, the Agency asked Mr. Smith to come up with a proposal as well. Chair Moore also suggested that Mr. Smith call Nancy Reynolds from ODOT, and he indicated that he had already left messages with her to contact him. Mr. Smith indicated that he could come up with some concept drawings within 30 days, given the possible restrictions that ODOT may apply. Consensus of the Agency was to hold off on the RFP process until the next meeting, and wait for the information from the property broker and the conceptual drawings from Mr. Smith.
   
B.    Sidewalks: Chair Moore noted that Mr. Gibbs had contacted him regarding Jerry Raveling's remodeling of his property at 1040 Mill Street, across from Old Town Printers. Mr. Gibbs owns the property to the north. In the Urban Renewal Plan, there were suggested sidewalks in Old Town, and they were wondering if there was any assistance from the Urban Renewal Agency in putting in those sidewalks. Member Woodruff asked how this would happen, if it would be piece by piece or done all at once. Chair Moore noted it would be nice to do it all at once, but that may not be possible. Member Lehmann suggested doing it by block, and provide some sort of incentive to get the work underway. Mr. Raveling noted that the sidewalk on this particular block was very bad, with raised areas and crumbling. He would like to see some sort of program which addressed the sidewalks that were already there, rather than where there were no sidewalks, as there was more of a safety concern. Chair Moore suggested that the City's Infrastructure Committee talk to Mr. McClintock about what the cost for a block of sidewalks would be. Mr. Raveling noted that they contacted Glen Mecum, and across Mr. Gibb's property was 55', at a cost of $1800. Mr. Raveling's would be 50' for $1500, so a ballpark figure was $7000 for the entire block. Discussion ensued, and it was the feeling of the Agency that Urban Renewal could probably cover half the cost, but it has to be the whole block. Member Lehmann noted that it would be incumbent on the interested property owners to get together to agree to do the project. Consensus of the Agency was that once the program was put together, it would be offered on a "first come, first serve" basis. The issue would be referred to staff to come up with some guidelines and to determine how much money could be put into the program.
   
C.    Other Issues:
   
Red Ditch Project: Discussion ensued regarding applying for a RIB grant for putting in a sidewalk along the Red Ditch parking project. Chair Moore moved to ask for RIB money for a sidewalk on Starr St. Member Welch seconded. The motion carried unanimously on a voice vote.
   
Oregon Downtown Development Association Workshop: Member Lehmann moved to pay for one member of the Economic Development Committee to attend a business recruitment workshop in McMinnville, not to exceed $500 total for mileage and registration. Member Welch seconded. The motion carried unanimously on a voice vote. The Economic Development Committee will pick the member who will attend.
   
The Committee had also talked about buying banners for a seasonal holiday event. Their suggestion was that Urban Renewal put in $1000 and go for matching money from a grant from Lincoln County Community Economic Development Fund. Member Lehmann moved to allocate $1000 for this purpose. Member Welch seconded. Member Lehmann noted that the theme would be something on the order of "Shop Waldport", and that the cost would not exceed $2500, since the poles and hanging mechanisms were already in place. Chair Moore suggested that the merchants come up with the matching monies for the grant, as he did not think that this was an appropriate use of Urban Renewal money. The motion carried, with Members Lehmann, Welch and Woodruff voting "Aye", Chair Moore voting "Nay".
   
Member Welch noted that they were moving in an area outside of the original Urban Renewal Plan and suggested that this might be a time to look at a new plan. He suggested that he and Member Woodruff take a preliminary stab at updating the plan. They would provide a rough draft to the Agency for review and revision and further discussion. There were no objections.
10.    ADJOURNMENT: At 8:13 p.m., there being no further business to come before the Agency, Member Welch moved to adjourn. Member Woodruff seconded and the motion carried unanimously on a voice vote.

Respectfully submitted,
Reda A. Quinlan
City Clerk

APPROVED by the Waldport Urban Renewal Agency this 11th day of October, 2001.
SIGNED by the Chair this 11th day of October, 2001.

Gene Moore, Chair

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