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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-12-18 Community Investment SOuing.4 � �t,0 Jillk S ri . PF,ACE za / � X se l. 1865 j . OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK COMMUNITY INVESTMENT NOVEMBER 12, 2018 5:18 P.M. Committee Members Present: Gavin Ferlic, Regina Williams-Preston, Oliver Davis Committee Members Absent: Sharon L. McBride Other Council Present: Tim Scott,Jo M. Broden, John Voorde, Jake Teshka, Karen White Other Council Absent: None Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer Presenters: Phil Faccenda, Deborah Futa, James Mueller, Rose Meissner Agenda: Update: Library& Community Foundation- Deborah Futa, Rose Meissner, Phil Faccenda Committee Chair Gavin Ferlic called to order the Community Investment Committee meeting at 5:18 p.m. He introduced members of the Committee and proceeded to give the floor to the presenters. Update: Library & Community Foundation- Deborah Futa, Rose Meissner, Phil Faccenda Phil Faccenda, Barnes &Thornburg with offices located at 100 North Main Street, stated, Prior to the Redevelopment Commission meeting on Thursday,the Memorandum of Understanding has to be approved by the Redevelopment Commission,the Common Council,the Foundation Board and the Library. It was approved by the Redevelopment Commission on Thursday. Prior to that meeting, we had been talking with some of the Redevelopment Commission members. Councilmember Ferlic had mentioned to us that he had reached out to members of the Council just to get feedback after our presentation to the Council a few weeks ago. We thought it might be a good idea for us to come back in to see if there are any questions that you may have. We also didn't make much of a chance to talk about programs. So we thought we would give you a summary of the programs that are anticipated that are currently being conducted and will be expanded upon with the improvements to the library. Deborah Futa, Director of the St. Joseph County Public Library with offices located at 304 South Main Street, stated, I am here if you have questions about certain things, but I think I mentioned at the last meeting that we do about 1,200 Library-sponsored programs a year.We are also booking another 3,200 meetings a year. Those programs span the gamut of anything from very early childhood programs to adult aged programming. We do story time which go three (3) to five (5) INTEGRITY' SERVICE'ACCESSIBILITY JENNIFER M.COFFMAN BLANCA L.TIRADO JOSEPH R.MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Blvd.I South Bend,Indiana 46601 I p 574.235.9221 I f 574.235.9173 I www.southbendin.gov CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK years. It is an early literacy effort that really gets kids ready to read and get a formal education. We've known that for a very long time it is really important to have that dialogue with children and teach them how to do that. In the new spaces, though, we hope to do a lot more partnering. There are a lot of partnership efforts we have going on right now that I would be happy to talk about but we want to do more with our teens. One(1)of the things teens told us when we did focus groups was that there was no real teen space at the library. We are putting things in place to begin a series of adulting classes. And adulting is classified as how to not be thirty (30) years old and live in your parent's basement. We teach things like going to a job interview and other things that normal education doesn't necessarily teach. We teach things like managing finances. Libraries are also a safe space for teens. Because they look like adults, people don't consider them vulnerable but they are one (1) of the most vulnerable populations we really have. We have about forty-two (42)teen volunteers we use for all kinds of programs.They also help with a lot of the teen programs we do, too. She continued, We've talked about the idea of having gathering s ace in this library for people who are socially isolated,too. So we are talking about seniors.We take calls from seniors everyday who don't have anybody else to talk to. They are asking us questions and we answer them,but we know our regulars and we know who those people are and I suspect if they didn't call us,we would be wondering whether or not they were alright. Again, the gamut, but I would love to take any questions. There are a lot of partnerships. We partner with Notre Dame for income tax assistance. So for households under $35,000 a year, Notre Dame's business students work with vulnerable populations to file taxes. Committee Chair Ferlic opened the floor to questions from Committee and Council Members. Committeemember Oliver Davis stated,I had sent a note to some of our members regarding articles I have been receiving that talk about public libraries adding social workers and social programs regarding the homeless population. That is one(1) of the areas of interest that I would like to look at given the fact that the library is one(1) of the only places where people who are billionaires or who are homeless feel safe at the same place. What are your initial thoughts regarding that? Ms. Duta replied, I've been following those same articles. Right now, a lot of those homeless programs where there is a social worker in the library are happening at larger libraries such as Denver, Los Angles and Chicago. A lot of those are partnership efforts. We've reached out to DTSB already because they have the social worker who is on the streets and we've let them know that their population is in the library. We would be happy to welcome them in to meet with those folks. Also, with the new space, we will be able to provide the kind of meeting rooms that people require for that privacy. My staff goes through three(3)hours of training to dealing with vulnerable populations and we also maintain the list of resources on our desk. So when someone comes in asking about meal service, beds for the night, mental health information and substance abuse, we have all of that. I will also tell you that our security staff knows a lot of them by name and they engage in conversation. So we know when someone needs a little more help because they know who is in the library. I'm not saying that in a bad way but they are reaching out to that population. Those are the things we are already doing but I would be more than happy to think about that partnership further. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION j EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend.Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 2 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committeemember Davis stated, We can talk more about that because I've been getting more information. I know Dr. Mueller and I talked about some programing the Administration had looked at. James Mueller, Executive Director for the Department of Community Investment with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, stated, The Library is a good partner with us on the Drucker Institute City of Life-Long Learning. This is an exciting project. Phase One(1)got some money from both Google and Wal-Mart to afford the pilot. They are ready to move into their next phase which they estimate will be about $5 million. They've gotten $2 million, $1 million each from Google and Wal-Mart and we are looking to move that forward. We think there is a role for this new space in that project. The Library is fully supportive. Financial commitments are always difficult because they are facing the same circuit breaker issues in 2020 that we are. I don't know what their exact estimated loss is but we are trying to figure out the exact details on the financial side of things. The Library is a full partner on that initiative and I think the Redevelopment Commission may look at some of the Pokagon Funds to help support that. That initiative is going to help people who have skills be recognized for the skills they have and really look to the future of how that will be done with an online platform. So that is one (1) of them. He continued, The other one (1) we are excited about is our partnership with our Office of Innovation on the CLICK Centers and that is something, I think, the Library is committed to continuing. We look to expand that. Those are kind of the two (2) big ones we have pushed for and I think the Library is with us on those. Ms. Duta stated,Also on the CLICK Sites, all of our branches are considered CLICK sites as well. We will think of the Main Branch Library to be one(1) of the CLICK Site Hubs because it will be larger than some of the other locations. All CLICK Sites are meant to be walkable within fifteen (15)minutes. My staff walks through with City staff to be sure they are ready to answer questions. We provide tech support and we will also do some programming as well. Committeemember Davis stated, Thank you. In terms of Downtown South Bend regarding the other situation we just talked about, you said you reached out to them. Was there any follow up with that yet? Ms. Duta replied, No, they haven't responded but we need to follow up again to take that a little further. It made so much sense. Committeemember Davis interrupted, It would be nice for some of us to be included. A lot of the things they do are good things but we don't necessarily always know so it would be nice to get more impact regarding that. I will follow up with you on that. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, I'm fine with all the programming. I think you will do a great job with that, however it works out. I did bring it up a few weeks ago when we met, but, do you or does the City have any metric regarding the foot traffic that come through? Any numbers? I think this is awesome. I know I've asked DCI on this and they haven't worked on it or anything but have you guys looked at that? That would be kind of nice to know. Ms. Duta replied, A lot of that will be driven by programming that we are doing or meetings that will be held so it is a little bit hard to predict. We would have our own marketing efforts, too. But EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 3 CITY OF SOUTH BEND ' OFFICE OF THE CLERK the fact that we are turning down people right now because we can't accommodate them, I think we will see an increase in traffic. I also think that with all the livability coming downtown, it will be a place that attracts people living in the downtown and will be an amenity. However, the Main Library is a destination for the whole City. Councilmember Scott stated, I would like to see you guys give a wag at it before we give our final vote in weeks to come. That number would be neat to know. Committeemember Davis interjected, Regarding that, we had talked about the size of that group room. What is the new size going to be in terms of capacity? Ms. Duta replied, We will have a variety of rooms. We will have a large meeting room that will seat upwards of three hundred (300) but it can then also be divided. There are a number of conference rooms as well. Committeemember Davis interrupted, What can it currently sit? Ms. Duta replied, The current one (1) is about two hundred sixty (260). One (1) of the problems with the current one (1), though, is we can't do afterhours meetings. So if anybody is meeting in the lower level of the library and we have to get them out afterwards, we have two (2) very small elevators or we try to get them up the back stairs and it is just a mess. We want to be able to open up the spaces either early in the morning or later in the evening and have events. Committeemember Davis interrupted,So where it will be located will not be contingent on whether the library is open or not? Ms. Duta replied,Right,we can open it on its own. We could open the auditorium and event spaces on their own. There will be a tech center that fronts Wayne Street and we hope to be able to open that on its own. We were doing classes for the homeless population at 8:00 a.m. and we would have to take them in the back door. This way, we will have street access. Committeemember Davis stated, That makes a lot of sense, thank you. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, In terms of what we will be looking at going forward, I shared my comments with our two (2) Redevelopment Commission reps. One (1) of the pieces I noticed in the current bill versus conversations that were had either independently or before Council was the change in the dollars that are put in this. I guess I want to make sure, in our consideration as Council because I think that matters a lot because we are representative of the entire City, and I know the Redevelopment lane and I know our lane, but I think we need to look at this in a manner, I guess if I look at the history and I know the partners that are being asked to put forth dollars on this, I guess I want to make sure, going forward, that we have a very robust discussion and, quite frankly analysis, that the dollars are sufficient to not only accomplish the current vision but also to be able to expand to accommodate future visions, right? And I guess what I'm trying to say is I think this is, at least for me, you only have so many opportunities where you have a crack at something that is this public and this democratic. This has so much potential, I think, for our community and I consider it, for me sitting in this seat, as a fifty(50)year decision, right? So if I'm going to be looking at the funding dollars, I really want to make sure of that. And I know the history on this was $10 million to $6 million to $8 million to $4 million, it has been all over the map. I guess I want to bring to you as peers, and having kind of spoken and have heard EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 4 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK things from all different angles here and there are certainly more discussions to continue, but I do think that,to be very clear,the dollars are at$4.8 million,which is lower. I don't want to undercut what can be done, not only now with the current vision but with expansion in terms of future visions and programming. So I guess I want to make sure we get this right and I want to make sure there is due diligence to that actual number. So,why the revision?And why not the higher amount? I don't know how much discussion has happened with regard to that because I didn't have an opportunity to go to the Redevelopment Commission and also didn't have an opportunity to follow up on the conversations had there. I do think you want to get this. I think we want to get this right as a community because,to me,it has so much potential. Not just the building itself but what goes on in it and what benefits would accrue. Not just to the programming that is specific there but, I think Councilmember Scott what you touched on,something that is significant development within that corridor of the City. It really does, in some ways, knit together a gap, if you would, between, for me, you know Michigan Street, we essentially have a block and a half there that could use a lot more infusion beyond that, and then you've got the Renaissance District to the south where I think it is prime and ripe. So I mean I guess I want to make sure we are evaluating and in that process we are giving due diligence to the amount that was asked of us. Having been in fundraising, when we are talking about these large amounts and these building projects and seeking partnerships,you always have to find common ground in things that are mutually beneficial. I want to make sure that conversation happens and I guess, as I shared with our Redevelopment representatives by way of a letter, I want to make sure that we are, first (1st) of all, cognizant that the dollars have been revised down and that, if there is an opportunity within the agreement to actually not lower that bond amount and have a reserve there,if there are programming discussions that have to be fleshed out or solidified, I guess I don't want to leave those off the table and have the lesser amount be reflected in that. And again, it is based on conversations and presentations, you know, both with staff and the partners and kind of doing my usual jig and that is getting the most information I can.This is big and I don't want to be off$2 million because$2 million,to me, doesn't really matter over a fifty(50) year period. Committeemember Davis interjected,And that goes back to my concern about the size of the room. What was the speaker we had here? I mean, you know, I see more things like that coming. With that coming, I'm concerned. Since we have this moment now, if it can be larger,how much larger can it be within reason for us to be able to deal with that and what kind of changes would that be? I know a lot of those changes, like we've just talked about,have happened at the largest libraries, in L.A. and all those other kind of things but we have our own kind of things. What would be a reasonable part to put in for us here in a mid-sized City? And at this present time, with that knowledge of what Councilmember Broden just talked about, how can we not be on the skinny side of it in a sense but still look at something meatier? Those are my thoughts. Do you see what I'm saying with that? Because the difference between two hundred and sixty (260) and three hundred (300), I've been in there when we've packed a lot of folks in there. It is now going to be more and more community based,offset with that knowledge it is not going to tie to that 9:00 p.m. timeframe, I see more people using it.Because where else can people go? I mean you have schools, you have other things, you have Notre Dame, but right now, the City of South Bend, that is the heart of the matter of where everyone is going to be. I don't want 1,000 and all that but I don't think three hundred (300), personally, is big enough. I mean I could see five hundred (500) but I don't know what the price of that is. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 5 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Ms. Duta replied,We have revised the project downwards since the commitment as well so we are looking at doing some value engineering on the Community Center. We were hoping for a $38 million project and it is not going to be that but we are comfortable we can get where we need to be. Rose Meissner, President of the St. Joseph County Community Foundation with offices located at 205 West Jefferson Boulevard, stated, When we reached out to Deb to talk about a vision for the Main Branch of the downtown, we retained an outstanding architect. We had to name a number. We can't hire an architect and not give them some sort of ballpark. So we started out with a $40 million number. We wanted to build a kind of building that would be preserved across generations and, as Councilmember Broden said, it is a once in a fifty (50) year type of project. So we were hoping$10 from the City, $10 million from private philanthropy and$20 million from the County. That number did get skinnier now and so I just want to make it clear that I wish it was a bigger number but if it went up again, it is really restoring what we were trying to accomplish in the first (1St) place. It doesn't create the opportunity there. If we get bigger and bigger, we will really struggle to pull off what has already been defined. But,it is a big expansion. Councilmember Davis was talking about the auditorium. I would like to see film series, lecture series and there is a lot that could go into a beautiful space like that. I think it is something the City of South Bend would be incredibly proud of. Committee Chair Ferlic then opened the floor to members of the public. Sue Kesim, 4022 Kennedy Drive, stated, I love the library. It is my favorite community asset. I looked at the State website before I got here. The City of South Bend currently has $290,495,504 of outstanding debt. $31 million is in interest. I would like to point out that the debt service and debt bubble are where we have interest and principle payments. We don't get past that debt bubble until about 2024. So it is going to be really hard to pay for anything before 2024 if you look at the debt service load that South Bend is facing. So I want you to keep that in mind for the date because if you bring that on, we may not be able to meet our debt service bubble before 2024. According to the State, per capita everybody in South Bend owes $2,871.42 on debt. What is recommended would be eight hundred dollars ($800) less than that, $1,400 maximum per person. South Bend is already at$2,871 per person in debt. We are double what is recommended, per person, in terms of our debt load,already. I love the library. If money were no object, absolutely. But last meeting you guys gave away$8 million in tax abatements.You know,the Ethanol Plant is in an enterprise zone, they didn't need it. Dairy Queen is known in the industry as a cash cow. Dairy Queen pulls in money hand over fist, so, you've got to stop giving away money that we need for better things. That is my opinion but I wanted to make you aware of why we are in this crunch. It is because you've given too many abatements. Since the Mayor has been in office, he has given over $100 million in abatements. I don't think we need to give all of those. In terms of debt,we've racked up $290 million.That is$2,800 per person and that is double of what the State recommends. So either sharpen your pencils on cutting City budgets or stop doing abatements. Get your financial priorities straight. Deb knows I love the library. Every time I walk into the library I go,thank you,this is the best use of tax dollars. I love the library. But very carefully look at our debt service bubble because we don't clear anything until 2024. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 6 a- CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committeemember Davis asked, Dr. Mueller, do you have the statistics? In our talk, there was something about some of the debt rolling off by the time this would come. Dr. Mueller handed out graphs (which are available in the City Clerk's Office). He stated, Currently, in 2018, we have about $14 million of annual debt service and lease obligations outstanding. In 2019 it goes to under $11 million. It stays there roughly in 2020 and that is when our revenue will decrease due to the circuit breaker so our debt service coverage will decrease slightly,but by the time payments are contemplated for this bond,we are already$4 million under, per year, than we were in 2018. This is based on interest rates and the term of the bond. So right now we are conservatively using a fifteen (15) year term and an interest rate one hundred (100) basis points above today's levels. We don't know what the interest rate will be in three (3) years. Committeemember Davis asked, When you thought about doing this based on what Councilmember Broden said, how does this play in with that issue? Dr. Mueller replied,There are$4 million in net proceeds and$4.8 to deal with credit enhancement debt reserve and issuance costs. Those were a little over$100,000 and then the other is to enhance our credit when we go to the market. It would be exactly$4.8 million but what we promised in the MOU was $4 million net proceeds. Committeemember Davis interjected, My thing is, let's clarify, the $4.8 million is right here. But my thing is there was a discussion on$6 million and$10 million. Let's say we went with something else. How high can we go and how low can we go? What are our options? Committee Chair Ferlic replied, It affects future projects as well. Committeemember Davis interjected, I understand. But you see, I'm saying I recognize people are saying some things are coming off and everything else. Clearly, the issue is it is almost the same thing we had with the park. What is our leeway? Then after future issues,then the next question is what are our priorities? Do we want to push this off because this is such a great thing we want to use and we know we are going to take a loss there because of this? It is all that. Councilmember Scott stated, To be clear, this is a County Library. Dr. Mueller stated, So for reference, if you think of what we can do, each Western Avenue Phase is about $2 million. Think about major projects. The idea with this one (1) is because the Library and the Community Foundation are non-taxing entities, it was a little bit of a discomfort for the Redevelopment Commission. They came with a $10 million ask. That was very large. In talking to members and others, in full transparency, we settled around more of a $6 million contribution. That was with an eye toward commitments on programming. We have confidence we will get the programming but it is not in the current agreement. So our thought was that we will reduce the capital spending to $4 million. Of course we want this to be a success so we can come down the line and supplement as needed. We are already talking about a potential contribution to the City of Life Long Learning Initiative with Redevelopment funds. So, this is a substantial amount. This was part of the thought process of where we were. There are neighborhood plans and other pieces. Committeemember Davis interjected, I know, I'm at peace. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend.Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 7 SCITY OFSOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Councilmember Karen White stated,We had received information that the River West TIF District was somewhat strained. As I look at what you've given us during the 2018 and 2019, you start to see a decline. What bonds are actually coming off? Dr. Mueller replied, I don't know the principal amount of those bonds but there is a 2005 Main/Colfax Garage lease that is ending in 2025. There is a Studebaker/Oliver loan that is ending in 2020. There are 2010 COIT Lease Rental Reference bonds ending in 2020. Airport 2011 Bank Bonds end in 2024. Downtown 2011 bank bonds are ending in 2024. There are a host of special taxing district reference bonds ending in 2021. Committeemember Davis requested to get a copy of that piece of paper. Dr. Mueller confirmed he would circulate that information. With no further business, Committee Chair Ferlic adjourned the Community Investment Committee meeting at 5:55 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, 7- Gavin Gavin Ferlic, Committee Chair EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY ! INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 (574.235.9173 1TD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 8