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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRM 12-03-76SOUTH BEND REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING December 3, 1976 10:00 A.M. Presiding Officer: Mr. F. Jay Nimtz President 1. ROLL CALL 1200 County -City Building 217 West Jefferson Blvd. missioners Mr. F. Jay Nimtz, President sent Mr. Donald A. Wiggins, Vice President Mr. Robert J. Cira, Assistant Secretary Mr. Lloyd E. Robinson, Member al Counsel NeWs Media hers Present Co munity Development Staff Mr. Kevin J. Butler Mr. George T. Patton Ms. Jeanne Derbeck, South Bend Tribune Reporter Mr. Dan Caesar, WSBT -TV Reporter Mr. Terry O'Reilly, WNDU -TV Photographer Ms. Janet S. Allen, Interested Citizen Mr. John V. Linstaedt, Fair Tax Assn. None present. LP Staff Mr. Ms. Mr. Mr. Ms. Mr. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES C. Wayne Brownell Gertrude E. Barth Edwin R. Bauer Marc Brammer Sue Ragland James J. Rowan On motion by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Cira and carried, the MINUTES Mi utes of the Regular Meeting of November 19, 1976,were approved APPROVED as mailed. 3. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS On motion by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Cira and carried, the CLAIMS cl ims were approved as submitted, and were allowed to be paid - APPROVED to alling $11,302.32. COMMIS IONERS" REGULAR MEETING Page 2 Friday December 3, 1976 3. The authorized claims are: OJECT EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT, INDIANA R -57 stract Co. of St. Jos. County, Inc. $ 25.00 uth Bend Exterminating Company 30.00 bert E. Jackson 523.00 Total $ 578.00 PROJECT EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT, INDIANA R -66 I diana & Michigan Electric Company $ 7.23 Warner & Sons, Inc. 2,664.00 South Bend Exterminating Company 30.00 C rly's Sales & Service 115.95 Fl. Wayne National Bank, Executor of the Estate f J. Parks Hasler & Firemen's Fund Insurance Co. 4,000.00 Total $ 6,817.18 RgDEVELOPMENT REVOLVING FUND Payroll: October 30, 1976 to November 12, 1976 $ 3,269.21 K vin J. Butler I ternational Business International Business Postmaster South Bend Drafting Su 4. CgRRESPONDENCE a. 200.00 Machines Corp. 90.30 Machines Corp. 311.31 4.32 pply, Inc. 32.00 Total $ 3,907.14 Grand Total $ 11,302.32 Letter dated November 17, 197'6, from Lawson - Fisher Associates, PEDESTRIAN re Proposed Pedestrian Overpass or Underpass between Plaza OVER /UNDERP Park and the Century Center: This letter indicates the availa- DESIGN bility of the Lawson - Fisher firm to do design work as delineated in the St. Joseph River Corridor Study if an overpass project is chosen. b. Letter dated November 22, 1976, from HUD Area Office, re Plan PROJECT CLOSE Change Indiana Project R -57: This letter acknowledges the OUT IND R -57 cooperation of this department with the HUD office in completion thus far in the above project. c. Letter dated November 24, 1976, from HUD Area Office, re Relo- HUD APPROVAL cation claim of Indiana & Michigan Electric Company: This letter FOR I & M grants concurrence to make payment to Indiana & Michigan Electric ELEC. CO. Company in the amount of $319,934 for relocation claim, Indiana RELOC. CLAIM COMMISSIONERS' REGULAR MEETING Page 3 Friday December 3, 1976 4. 5. OL a, W4119 Project R -66. Mr. Brownell read this letter and Mr. Nimtz then explained (for the benefit of everyone) that this matter goes back a number of years and concerns the relocation of the I & M.lines in the downtown area. There is a case in the Indiana Supreme Court concerning Columbia City, Indiana, where it was held that the city and the Redevelopment Department are respon- sible for the expense of relocating these electric lines. It has been felt - going back to Mr. Helmen's day - that this should not be paid until HUD approved it. The approval has been a long time in coming but they have finally approved this payment and we will work out the cash flow problem and pay the claim after the first of the year. Mr. McGill, the attorney who represents the I & M has been so advised. Motion was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Cira and carried to.receive the above communications and place them on file. .D BUSINESS Hasler v. Columbia Storage Warehouse Company, Inc. et al Litigation, Cause No. F -6942, St. Joseph Superior Court, Project Ind. R -66, recommendation for settlement: C. Wayne Brownell read a letter from George T. Patton dated November 24, 1976 in which Mr. Patton briefly outlined the situation concerning this law- suit and recommended settlement in the amount of $4,000.00. Mr. Brownell indicated that he had talked to the Regional Office in Chicago about this matter and we have settled two previous law suits in this same fire loss. The Regional Office therefore suggested that if we would send them a letter along with our attorney's letter of recommendation, they would consider the matter and give us a ruling as to the eligibility of the payment under the project. They thought however that this cost would be eligible just as the other two were declared eligible. HASLER V. COLUMBIA STOR. WARE. LITIGATION CAUSE NO., F -6942 COMMISSION APPROVAL PENDING HUD CONCUR. AMOUNT OF $4,000.00 The Chair asked if the Commission should approve the settle- ment today and Mr. Brownell indicated that would be all right. Mr. Cara inquired as to whether the Columbia Warehouse was a wholesale outlet for Mr. Hasler's business. Mr. Patton said that it was and Mr. Cira then wanted to know if there was no insurance at all on the merchandise there. Mr. Patton stated that apparently they did not have any for the merchandise, that is what Fireman's Fund is involved in, they have money coming on this too. There are six or seven parties involved -with the proposed settlement being much more than this $4,000.00 of course. Mr. Nimtz said that seemed to be the case with a lot of these tenants, they had no insurance on the stuff they had in the building. COMMISS ONERS' REGULAR MEETING Page 4 Friday, December 3, 1976 Motion as made by Don Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Cira and carried, to approve settlem nt of this case in the amount of $4,000.00, pending HUD concur- rence. Mr. Nimtz stated that he thought Mr. Patton had done a good job on th's case. MRI Resolution No. 538, authorizes the execution of redevelopment RESOLUTION agreement for disposition of Parcel 2 -6B and the execution of NO. 538 Quit Claim Deed for transfer of title thereto, in connection APPROVED with land to be disposed of in the South Bend Central Down- R- 66 -2 -6B town Project, Indiana R -66 to Charles F. Sonneborn and Catherine E. Sonneborn, Individuals. C. Wayne Brownell stated that Mr. Butler had been given the disposition.documents for his review following such recommen- dation at the last Commission meeting. Mr. Butler then said that he had reviewed the documents and except for some formalized errors that must be corrected, there is nothing of significance to be changed and the resolution can be approved. Mr. Wiggins moved for approval of Resolution No. 538 with second by Mr. Cira, motion carried. Mr. Brownell reminded the Commission that HUD has asked us not to execute a Deed until they have concurred in the matter. 6. NEW BUSINESS. a. Change Order No. 1 to Demolition Contract No. 36, Warner & Sons Inc., Project Indiana R -66, Block 6, for a net increase of $670.00 to contract price, this being a final change order for a total adjusted contract price of $2,664.00... Commission approval requested. Mr. Brownell stated that Warner was hired to tear down the old filling station in Block 6, the old Standard Oil Station and among the things they ran into were three large fuel tanks under- ground. Removal of the tanks necessitated the three items on this change order (1) Excavate and haul off site, 170 CY Debris @ $1.50 CY, (2) Backfill Class "B" Borrow, 170 CY compacted in place @$2.00 CY and (3) Remove 3 fuel tanks extra at $25.00 each, this adds up to $670.00 and it is recommended by Mr. Bill Slabaugh, Project Engineer that Change Order be approved. Mr. Wiggins moved for approval with second by Mr. Cira. Mr. Robinson asked why this wasn't figured in the original contract. CHANGE ORDER #1 TO CONTR. #36- DEMOLITI CONTRACT WIT WARNER &,SON IND R -66 APPROVED COMMISS ONERS' REGULAR MEETING Page 5 Fridav, December 3, 1976 6.(a) Continued- Thy knew it was a gas station and they knew there had to be tanks CHANGE ORDER buried in the ground. #1 TO CONTR. #,36, DEMO. Mr Brownell said he understood these must have been extra tanks. (CONTINUED) FINAL CONTRA Mr Nimtz stated that when a gas station is closed there is an option PRICE OF of either taking out the tanks or filling them with sand..I don't $2,664.00 know how they would take those things out for $25.00 apiece. APPROVED BY COMMISSION Mr Wiggins stated that the contractor was paid $255. for digging out the tanks and the $25. charge for just for lifting each one out -which isn't a bad deal. Mr Brownell indicated that it was his understanding they could not le ve the tanks in the ground inasmuch as the site is scheduled to be developed and when excavation begins.... Mr Robinson stated that he thought someone was pretty short - sighted in this case and Mr. Wiggins said he agreed, that we should have known about the tanks and their removal should have been a part of this contract. Mr. Slabaugh was the engineer on the job and he was the one who authorized it and set up the contract. He was not present at the meeting to explain it but Mr. Brownell suggested that he (Bill) mi ht have intended to leave the tanks in and then found later that th v had to be removed. Following this discussion, motion was put to the vote and carried. b. Resolution No. 539 authorizes the execution of redevelopment RESOLUTION agreement for the disposition of land and the execution of Quit Claim NO. 539 - De d for the transfer of title thereto in connection with land to be PARCELS Nz di posed of in the LaSalle Park Project, Indiana R -57, Parcel N 2 of 22 -30 and 22 30 and 22 -31, in the amount of $602.00 to August Cogdell... 22 -31 - R -57 Co mission approval requested. ADOPTED Mr. Brownell explained that the Cogdells would like to buy this lad in R -57 and we need a resolution authorizing the sale to them at this time. Actually, until the audit is completed and the transactions are closed with HUD, this will not be done, we will simply have the authorization on file. Mr Wiggins stated that we would be very happy to sell land out there to anyone who is interested in buying. Mr Brownell stated that there is a matter of clearing one item on the title. The Chair inquired as to the method for determining the price on these lots. Mr. Brownell replied that the price is determined by "per foot appraisal, not parcel appraisal. Mo ion was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Cira and carried for th adoption of Resolution No. 539, authorizing the sale of land and COMMISSIONERS' REGULAR MEETING Page 6 Fridav, December 3, 1976 6.(b) Cbntinued- and execution of Quit Claim Deed for transfer of title thereto, Parcel N2 of 22 -30 and 22 -31, LaSalle Park Project Indiana R -57, to August Cogdell for the sum ;of $602.00. c. Commission approval requested for Lease between the City of South Bend Depart rent of Redevelopment and the South Bend Public Transportation Corporation, a municipal corporation, for the period of January 1, 1977 to and including June 30, 1977, for the premises described as Disposition Parcels 65 and 87 of the Central Downtown Renewal Project IN R- 66 ... said premises to be used as a central bus transfer location... rent for said premises to be the sum of On and no /100 Dollars ($1.00). Mr. C. Wayne Brownell explained that this is the lease with the bus company for the next six months and in this one we have put a pro- vision for terminating the lease on ninety days written notice and also provided for the making of soil borings and other tests during the term of the lease. . Nimtz stated that Mr. Brownell has been Working with Rick Hunt, the itroller of the bus company and we understand that the lease is reeable with them, is that right Mr. Brownell? . Brownell indicated that that is his understanding. Mr. Nimtz stated that he has had no communication from Mr. Lobdell or Mr. Ducomb on this but he presumes the lease will meet with their approval. He also indicated that it was his understanding that Mr. Hunt would like the lease approval at this Commission meeting so they may take it before their board on December 13th. Ms. Janet Allen inquired as to why we negotiate a six months lease, rather than a longer term. The Chair said we are hoping someone will come along who desires to develop this area and since they are agree- able to bringing the lease up every six months, we have no objection to it. Mr. Lindstaedt asked if there has been any indication by business or industry of their interest in acquiring this property at this time. He also asked if we should have to move the bus company out of there at some point in time, has there been any thought about where they would relocate. f bi Brownell stated that the answer to both questions was "yes ". question of where the bus company shall be moved has been studied well over six months. The Chair stated that we have had in- ries concerning this property, that is why we put the "soil borings" in this lease. COMMISS: Page 7 Fridav, ONERS' REGULAR MEETING December 3, 1976 6.(c) 4ntinued- Mo ion was made by Mr. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Cira and carried to approve the lease between the Department of Redevelopment and the South Bend Transportation Corporation for a period of six months beginning January 1, 1977 for a sum of $1.00. A iscussion followed in which Mr. Dan Caesar asked if we do have in uiries for that property. Mr. Nimtz replied in the affirmative an when Mr. Caesar asked what kind of inquiries, what kind of develop- er had made inquiry, Mr. Nimtz indicated that he could not divulge th t information. Mr Wiggins: I think that you need to be aware that the Committee of 20 (0 and George Wing of the Mayor's Committee has a program going called "City In a Box" - they have had various expressions of interest. At the moment this whole thing is rather fluid and we need to be in a po ition to respond should something concrete develop. The other thing th t I believe we are all aware of is that if we get too close to them we could scare the "birds" away...so we are trying to play it cool. Da Caesar: Are we talking about a local developer or an outside de eloper? Mr. Wiggins: Well, they have had some interest both ways and I think it would probably be a combination thing if anything really big came up - for example, in the superblock proposal we had local people in- volved in the development as far as building and financing goes but we were looking to outside firms to populate the project. Da Caesar: Could you reveal at this time whether this would be an office ty e structure or commercial retail space, or just what it might be? Mr. Wiggins: I believe they have had inquiries that cover the span of all of these but as we were talking last week, we are not going to gel: into the kind of large retail merchandising operation that we had hoped. I think that unquestionably there will be more retail merchandising involved in the downtown in the long term. Jez yoi in D. spc deN J. of nne Derbeck: When you say "inquiries" like from City in a Box, do mean just any downtown land or are they specifically interested a certain piece of land? Wiggins: I think you should also be aware that we have a se- nsibility and the city has a responsibility to promote orderly elopment of the area. Derbeck: But I mean have they inquired about that specific piece land or just any piece of land downtown? COMMISS Page 8 Fridav, ONERS' REGULAR MEETING December 3, 1976 6.(c) COntinued- C.JW. Brownell: Yes, about that specific piece. Mrs Butler: And about other specific pieces. 7. PROGRESS REPORTS Norte. 8. PUBLIC DISCUSSION Thd Chair asked for further comments from those assembled. Jariet Allen: I am very concerned about the hole on the old Wyman's corner, as you walk across tl pretty hollow so I tiptoe each time I cross it. it now there is nothing to indicate that a hole put a barricade over it and it opens up again. da gerous situation right now. that keeps developing ie sidewalk it sounds With the snow over is there. They have I think it is a very Mr. Brownell: Of course we don't own the land, we would have to contact thE owner. We called about that and something was done about it at onE time but now it has opened up again and I think any of these ex- ca ations shoul cbe checked out to make sure they are filled up. Mr Nimtz: Mr. Brownell, why don't you direct a letter to the attorney fo the various heirs there- Mr. Butler: I think the point Ms. Allen makes is a good one. The sidewalk and street of course are within our jurisdiction now and I think we ought to have the City Engineer take a loot at it to see if th re is any structural problem there. Mr. Wiggins: I would guess that perhaps what is happening is that some of the fill is being washed into the vault area underneath the sidewalk, and in the process of demolishing the building, they either did not seal off the vault area or they did not fill it up. I think it would be wise to protect the city and their interest in the sidewalk to ha e the City Engineer check into it and bring it to the attention of th responsible property owners - there is no question the public sh uld be protected here. Ms. Allen: There also are two big pipes that have lain there for months and I don't know why they are there. Ch ir: Unless there is some objection, the Chair directs Mr. Brownell to bring the condition of the sidewalk and the street to the atten- ti n of the City Engineer. COMMISSIONERS' REGULAR MEETING Page 9 Fridav, December 3, 1976 8. PUI PLIC DISCUSSION, Continued- Mr � Brownell: I will do so and with your permission, I will notify th National Bank Trust Department. Ms. Allen: You are probably also aware of the little green painted holes on the southwest corner of Washington Street, they have a barricade around them and green paint but with the snow you can't see the paint- or the holes. Mr. Brownell indicated the same treatment was applicable to this pr blem, if the holes can't be repaired, they can have a steel plate pu over them. 9. NEST COMMISSION MEETING Th next Regular Meeting of the Redevelopment Commission will be at NEXT COMMISSI( 10:00 A.M., Friday, December 17, 1976, in the Office of the MEETING 12 -17 De artment of Redevelopment. 1976 10. ADJOURNMENT Th re being no further discussion or business at hand, motion was ADJOURNMENT du y made for adjournment by Mr. Wiggins at 11:15 a.m., seconded by Mr. Donaldson and carried. President �� —S C. ay e B oA*11, Exec. Direc (SAL)