09/15/87 Board of Public Works Minutes

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73 REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 15. 1987 Mrs. DeClercq stated that it is her opinion that the City must be aggressively competitive and the idea of a shuttle service would not be amiable as people want to park where they are going. She stated that if the City is going to be competitive it has to match -up with other cities and it needs to move ahead with this proposal. She stated that taxpayers have an obligation as well as rights and have to pay for what the City is offering. She further stated that the City must use farsightedness for these types of decisions. Mr. Guentert indicated that he has noticed in the legal publications in the Tri-County News that there are a large number of parcels of property being offered for sale and further advised that the population of South Bend is decreasing. Mr. Hunt responded to Mr. Guentert and advised that approximately eighty per (80%) of the properties offered for sale, which is countywide, are probably vacant lots purchased by people speculating and taking a risk in purchasing them and then forfeiting them for taxes should they not prove profitable. Further, Mr. Hunt clarified for those present that in his presentation to the Common Council on September 14, 1987, he did not use the term "executives" as Mr. Guentert indicated as the type of individual that would utilize the proposed parking garage. Mr. Hunt further indicated that if the shuttle concept were utilized, downtown development would come to a halt as people do not want the inconvenience of parking six (6) or seven (7) blocks away from their destination and then having to wait for a shuttle bus to be dropped -off or picked -up. He stated that every developer he has come into contact with wants parking around them. Further, Mr. Hunt clarified that the cost of the proposed parking structure will not go on the general property tax levy. Funding sources include user fees, revenue from repayment of a Urban Development Action Grant for the One Michiana Square project, with those repayments beginning in August of 1988 and accelerating and from tax incremental financing revenues. As a point of interest, Mr. Leszczynski advised Mr. Guentert that TRANSPO does have several park and ride sites throughout the City which do not appear to be successful. ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NO. 25-1987 - SALE OF CITY -OWNED PROPERTY AT 1611 & 1613 S. FELLOWS STREET Upon a motion made by Mrs. DeClercq, seconded by Mr. Vance and carried, the following Resolution No. 25-1987 for the sale of City -owned property was adopted: RESOLUTION NO. 25-1987 WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works of the City of South Bend, Indiana, has compiled a current detailed inventory of all real property owned by the City of South Bend; and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works has reviewed said inventory of real property and it finds that certain of the parcels of real estate now owned by the City of South Bend are not necessary to the public use and are not set aside by State and City laws for public purposes; and WHEREAS, the Board of Public Works finds that each of the properties described below has an assessed valuation of less than $2,000.00, that the cost of maintaining that parcel equals or exceeds the estimated fair market value of the property, and that the highest and best use of the parcel is sale to an abutting landowner.