City Council Minutes 2016 07 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes July 19, 2016 Page 9 of 15 Staff finds the proposal does not meet the requirements in Resolution No. 2, Series 2012 for the following reasons: 1. The applicant is only providing a 12% match where a 100% match is required. 2. Only the Priority 1 work items in the grant request show "extraordinary circumstances." APPLICANT PRESENTATION Erik Hartronft, 950 Spruce Street, Louisville Mill Site, LLC, stated the funds are needed to go beyond stabilization and fully restore the structure. He noted once work began it became clear the original $500,000 would not be enough to complete the work. He reviewed the work done so far. Issues that still need addressing include, a fire alarm system, replacing outdated electrical service, fire sprinklers, along with replacing lost historic features of the building. In its current state, the building is not leasable. The best way to save the structure is to fully restore and reuse it and the grant is critical to do that. Council member Loo stated previously the HPC has found the extraordinary circumstances, but now they are worried about the rule. Planning and Building Safety Director Zuccaro stated his understanding the original grant was not reviewed by the HPC, but it came directly to City Council. Council member Loo noted there was at least a letter of support from the HPC to complete the original grant. Jeff Meier, 470 County Road, voiced his support for the project but also noted his frustrations in the delays. He noted this is a centerpiece of this area of town. He would like to see the grant approved and tied to some timelines and to cleaning up the site. Michael Menaker, 1827 West Choke Cherry Drive, stated the original historic structure assessment for this noted there was no way to know what this would cost until work began. He expressed his support for granting the loan to get the site redeveloped and saved. He noted there is money in the Historic Preservation Fund available for this. It is not acceptable to leave it as is. He urged Council to direct staff to find a legislative fix to this issue. Linda Haley, 324 Tyler Avenue, is a member of the HPC, but spoke on her own behalf. She noted this is a historic building that people love, but added the HPF needs to stick to the rules and stay within the guidelines and regulations to be good stewards of the fund. She stated not having the match and knowing the fund will sunset in 2018 drove their decision. Cindy Thomas, 1245 Grant Avenue, also a member of the HPC, noted there are likely other legislative ways to move this forward. She noted the applicant is receiving rent from the adjacent property (Tilt Pinball) which should be considered.