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MINUTES OF THE HOUSING COMMITTEE September 23, 2019 East Conference Room Present: Councilmembers Anderson, O'Malley & Rader Also Present: Councilmember George, Assistant Law Director Swallow, Building Commissioner Joe Meyers, Chris Parmelee (Building Department), Dave Swindell (President of WXZ Development), a couple members of the public, and Deputy Clerk Lascu taking minutes Call to Order: 6:00 p.m. AGENDA RESOLUTION 9093-19 -A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of council, or otherwise to take effect at the earliest period allowed by law, authorizing the Mayor or his designee to enter into an agreement with WXZ Residential Group/Lakewood, LLC for an economic development grant, issued in the form a single rebate, for a total amount not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00), in order to assist the grantee in preparing the site for residential development. (1st read and referred to Housing Committee 9/16/19) Director Sylvester deferred to Alex Harnocz to review the rebate deal structure with WXZ Development via a PowerPoint presentation. Mr. Harnocz stated that the rebate of$100,000 comes from the economic development fund and that the trigger for the release of the funds comes when the residential redevelopment standards are met. These standards come from the Bureau of Underground Storage Tanks. Achieving residential standards are a heavy lift for any entity operating on the site, as it has been a gas station since the 1920s. Physical improvements to the site are the only items eligible for the rebate, which may include the demolition of existing structures, grading of the site, removing storage tanks, etc. The rebate will be available for claim after a No Further Action (NFA) letter is issued. Attachment C in the rebate agreement gives a line item of approved physical improvements. The total projected value of the project is $2.4 million and WXZ is estimating it will cost $350,000 to environmentally clean the site. The site will provide $75,000 a year in property taxes once built, making the payback period for the $100,000 rebate about a year and a half. Mr. Swindell of WXZ indicated that the tank pull started last week and project completion is expected by next fall. Chairman Anderson inquired if the rebate was structured on a sliding scale, in the event the clean up costs less than the anticipated $350,000. Planning Department staff indicated that the deal structure was straightforward and is for the $100,000 figure. Members of the committee asked if any financial assistance was sought from the school board, county, or state since each entity will be benefitting from the tax revenue. It was indicated that no other grants or assistance were sought. Prompted by questions from committee members, it was also stated that WXZ will be serving as the general contractor for the site remediation work and sub-contracts out more specialized work, such as the tank removal. The approximate balance of the economic development fund is a little bit more than a million dollars and there is no opportunity cost