City of Moline City Council met Dec. 10.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
Members Present: Mike Ellis, Chair
Mike Wendt, Vice Chair, Alderman
Stephanie Acri, Mayor
Sam Moyer, Alderman
Kevin Schoonmaker, Alderman (teleconference)
David Parker, Alderman
Greg Derrick, Private (teleconference)
Andrew Greenlee, Private
Steve Nelson, WIU
Staff: J.D. Schulte, City of Moline, Acting Administrator
Jeff Anderson, City of Moline, City Planner
Ryan Berger, City of Moline, Land Development Manager
Geoff Manis, City of Moline, Moline Centre Main Street Manager
Derke Price, City of Moline, City Attorney
Alexandra Elias, Renew Moline, CEO/President
Wendy Bonilla, Renew Moline, Operations & Communications Manager
Guest: Mary Chappell, Habitat for Humanity QC
Call to Order – The meeting was called to order by Chairman Mike Ellis at 1:32 p.m.
Approval of November 12, 2019 PMT Minutes - A motion was made by Steve Nelson to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Alderman Wendt and unanimously approved by the PMT.
Information Items
- Public Art Master Plan – Alex Elias informed the PMT that stakeholder meetings for the Public Art Master Plan would be taking place January 21-23, 2020. Consultant Amanda Golden of Designing Local will lead this effort. Presentations will be made to City Council, the Historic Preservation Commission, Plan Commission, Public Art Master Plan Steering Committee, Moline Centre Merchants and the Renew Moline board of directors. Alex added that the Renew website will host a Public Art information page with maps and a survey tool. Jeff Anderson commented that this feature is pretty cool with the interactive map to see where art is currently and where it might be added in the future. Mayor Acri said that the CDC is working on an asphalt art grant and will be looking to partner with Renew. Alex mentioned that Wendy Bonilla has been in touch with the CDC staff and will support the effort on behalf of Renew.
-Evaluation of City-owned vacant properties – Draft Scope of Work: Renew and the City worked with PGAV Planners (one of the City’s on-call consultants) to draft a proposed scope of work to evaluate City-owned vacant properties. The scope can be modified as needed if the City decides to move forward. Jeff Anderson said the scope seems to focus on residential development but he recommends including office and retail and Alex mentioned that change would be made in the document. City-owned lots had been listed with a realtor but those contracts have expired according to Alderman Wendt.
-PMT – Alex Elias said that in the last 6-12 months the PMT committee has been talking about how it is structured. In September of 2018, the committee adopted a policy and term schedule. Alex reviewed the original MOU and 37 pages of amendments to draft an updated MOU for consideration by the PMT as a basis for modifying structure and/or purview. Alex recommended that the PMT better define “development projects”. Currently, it is any project requesting financial support from the City within the Edgewater, Moline Centre and Floreciente areas. Alex also stated that the 2006 document states the City has admin responsibility for the PMT but in the past 18 months, Renew has been doing it. Renew is happy to continue taking lead on the administration, but if the focus of the PMT expands beyond the stated borders, significant help from the City will be required.
Greg Derrick asked for confirmation as to whether the geographic limitations are spelled out specifically and what percentage of economic activity is currently being managed by Renew. Alex confirmed that the current boundaries of the PMT are “Bluffs to Borders”. Mayor Acri said the majority of what is happening in the TIF disricts is with Renew, maybe 75%. Derrick and Wendt are in favor of expansion. Ald. Wendt asked about admin responsibilities and Alex replied that she would not necessarily have all of the information, for example South Park Mall. Since the PMT is a public meeting, there are special considerations for record-keeping. Jeff Anderson said we may want to wait until an Economic Development Director is hired. Ald. Parker asked if expanding Renew’s area of focus is the right thing to do at this time in light of all that is going on downtown, i.e. the I-74 redevelopment. Mayor Acri agreed she wouldn’t want to take the focus off downtown but maybe the PMT could consider special projects on an ad hoc basis. Alex said she would like to get what goes to PMT and why working well before we expand. She would also like to work with Derke Price on the MOU to make it the best it can be. After the PMT is finalized, we can look a the DBMT process. Mike Ellis asked if this would need to go to the Renew Board. Alex replied it would if the scope expands. Ald. Parker wanted to go on the record as agreeing with Mayor Acri about that the PMT consider special projects. He is less worried about developers having to go through an extra layer than he is about getting high-quality projects in Moline. Acri added that the City is kicking-in taxpayer dollars so we need the oversight. Nelson said this is limited to those that want money from the City. Andrew Greenlee asked what the dollar amount has been for projects in the PMT process. Ald. Wendt replied any where from $600,000 to multi-millions. Alex Elias said if there is significant City money in a project it goes to PMT. Acri added that development agreements include recommendation by DBMT.
Community Reports
– Geoff Manis of Moline Centre Main Street said he’s working on plans for next year and booking bands for the Summer Concert Series. He has an RFP out for downtown landscaping and is partnering with Renew on the Art Master Plan input session for downtown merchants.
- Mary Chappell of Habitat for Humanity QC reported that they have submitted a grant request to Republic Services to assist with the Floreciente Streetscape project, to spruce up homes in the area, and the Project Now building.
Other Business
• Ald. Wendt asked about the status of the Floreciente Streetscape project. Jeff Anderson said Phase 1 is complete, more or less. Mayor Acri commented that Mercado on Fifth had received a transformation grant and another grant. Alex Elias said community members had pointed out a few large blank walls in the Mercado area and the proposed large iron arch for which public art projects might be funded. Anderson said a corporate gift was a possibility also and that the brochure is in the works. Steve Nelson asked about the status of the burned church in the area. Jeff Anderson said that Blaze Restoration is doing the work on it. The exterior is structurally sound, but the interior has some unsound areas. The building was not insured and the owner is looking for funding. Alderman Schoonmaker said that St. Mary’s Church had expressed an interest in purchasing the building for “green space”.
The meeting adjourned at 2:11 p.m. with a motion from Wendt, second by Greenlee, unanimous approval.
https://www.moline.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/6015
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