05-24-76 Council Meeting Minutes

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—REGULAR U \ • • COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING (CONTINUED) Ms. Peggy Donovan, 760 Portage Ave., asked how many people in attendance were against the ordinan e; there was a large'show of hands. Mr. Stanley Pietzak, the petitioner, indicated he had not tried to mislead anyone. He said that Hilton is not the developer of this property, Metro Developers are the developers of the property however, Hilton did make a feasibility study. He introduced Mike Lind, former captain of the Not Dame football team, and Steven Thompson. He indicated they were with him in the South Bend Hotel Limited, Inc. Mr. Michael Lind, R. R. 1, Hampshire, Illinois, indicated that he -was the beneficiary of the bank trust which holds title to the Linebacker Inn property. He indicated.that Hilton is the franchis and the South Bend Hotels Limited were the owners of the property. He read a telegram received from Mr. Sal Guarina, Midwest Regional Manager of the Hilton, which indicated the location was viable and the City needed a first class facility. He indicated Hilton would go ahead if they could complete the arrangements. He said there are many hotels that are not making it, however, many are outmoded and obsolete. He said theproblem the neighborhood has now are problems they ha not created. He said the building they were going to put up will be looked at with pride. Myna Reuter, 1204 N. Garland indicated her home was beautiful, and as you go on down toward Eddy you can see what has happened to that section due to commercialism. Ms. Kathy Cekanski, Council attorney, read a memo directed to the Council dated May 24, 1976. Re: Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Chapter 40 of the Municipal Code of South Bend, Indiana (Tri -piece Edison Road between Edison and State Road 23) 1. Background The Council at its caucus meeting of May 17 requested an information update on the above - propos ordinance. The following is a summary of the action taken. 2. Hilton Hotel Corporation The Hilton has its corporate headguarte3rslocated in Beverly Hills, California. After contacting this office the regional development office for Hilton was then contacted. Mr. Sal Guarina, Midwest Regional Manager, in Chicago, Illinois heads all Hilton developments in this area. He outlined the steps inolved in securing a franchise agreement with Hilton which ar as follows: (1) Filing of a formal written application with his office. (2) Filing a feasibility study with his office focusing on the proposed site as to locatio environment accessibility, etc. (a) Mr. Guarina then makes a formal written recommendation as to the feasibility of the proposed site. (b) Said recommendation is then sent to the Franchise Board made up of six persons and located in Beverly Hills, California. (c) Formal action is then taken by the Franchise Board. If the vote is affirmative the following procedure is then followed; however all is made subject to final Board approval. (3) Letter of Intent from the developers must then be filed with Mr. Guarina's office. (4) Written Fiscal Reports listing all equity and financial concerns must then be filed within 90 days with Mr. Guarina's office. Not until all of the above steps are completed will there be official and final approval taken on behalf of the Hilton Hotel Corporation 3. The Proposed Linebacker Hilton Hotel The Metro Inns Management Company located in Dallas, Texas are the developers cooperation with Mr. Stanley Pietzak and Mr. Michael Lind. Mr. Walter Haeman, President of Metro Inns Management Company, informed our office on Friday, May 21 that they are the largest hotel developer of Hilton. To date, they own or operate 24 properties. He also verified that his company has been retained by Mr. Lind, and that they are in the process of completing the feasibility study. Said study should be filed with Mr. Guarina sometime during the week of May 24th. 4. Present Status Our office contacted Mr. Guarina's office today at 2 p.m., and the following information was veri fied: (1) A formal written application from either Mr. Lind or the Metro Inns Management Company has not been filed with his office. (2) No formal action has been taken by any official or representatives of the Hilton Hotel Corporation. (3) A telegram directed to Mr. Lind and Mr. Pietzak was sent today by Mr. Guarina stating that the proposed site "looks viable ". However this telegram in NO way officially commits the Hilton Hotel Corporation in light of the fact that none of the formal steps of the franchise application procedure have been completed. 5. Action by the Common Council