City Council Minutes 2014 01 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 4 of 30 Debbie Fahey, 1118 W. Enclave Circle, Louisville, Co asked if the Boulder customers currently pay more for having an office in Boulder. Council member Lipton stated Comcast's Boulder office, with the CU student traffic and Boulder residents is a very difficult experience and there is almost an hour wait to speak to a customer service representative. He suggested sharing an office with east Boulder or Lafayette. Mayor Pro Tem Dalton stated the Negotiation Team will discuss store wait times with Comcast.. RESOLUTION No. 4, SERIES 2014— A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM WITHIN THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND TO ENCOURAGE LANDMARK DESIGNATIONS AND REHABILITATION OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES IN THE CITY OF LOUISVILLE Mayor Muckle requested a staff presentation. Planner II Robinson explained the voter approved one-eighth of one percent (1/8%) sales tax to create a Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) to provide financial incentives for the preservation of historic structures and existing/new buildings of character within Historic Old Town Louisville. Resolution No. 4, Series 2014 establishes a revolving loan program to encourage landmark designations and rehabilitation of historic properties. Under the proposed resolution, loans would be awarded in a process similar to that for grants. Applications would be reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission, which would make a recommendation to City Council for the final decision. The proposed resolution does not establish a maximum upper limit for loan awards, but sets guidelines for the determination of loan awards. These are: the current resources of the HPF, the necessity of the proposed work, and the availability of other funding sources. The proposed resolution sets a minimum amount of $500 to avoid excessive costs associated with initiating and servicing many small loans. The proposed resolution sets the interest rate to be paid by the property owner at the prevailing prime rate at the time of application. The prime rate is currently 3.25 percent. This is above the average rate of return earned on the balance of the HPF, which is approximately 0.5% annually, and below the market rate for a home-improvement loan, which is currently around 6% annually. The prime rate should always fall somewhere between the average rate of return earned by the HPF and the prevailing market rate. The loans would therefore be considered "low-interest" and satisfy the requirements of the ballot language without depleting the HPF. The loan duration and repayment schedule would also be negotiated on a case by case basis, based on the size of the loan, the available funding of the HPF, and the needs of