Meeting Agenda State College Borough Redevelopment Authority Room 241 / 12 p.m. Page 1 of 7 I. Call to Order II. Roll Call Sally Lenker, Chair Donald Hahn, Vice-Chair Rebecca Misangyi Colleen Ritter, Secretary James Shincovich III. Approval of Minutes June 28, 2017 IV. Chair Report V. Public Hour - Hearing of Citizens VI. Financial Issues A. July 2017 Expense Voucher Approvals A recommendation of the Borough s 2017 audit was for the Redevelopment Authority (RDA) to begin formally approving expenses. Beginning July 1 st, the RDA will be approving expenditures at regularly scheduled meetings. Action Needed: Review and approve July 2017 expenditures. VII. Community Development Program A. Neighborhood Sustainability Program Program Policies Staff will review two areas for potential policies for the NSP program: 1) Discuss establishing a set percentage of commission for Realtors when using a buyer s agent and purchasing a For-Sale-By-Owner property. 2) Discuss disposition of properties where current tenants are not students and the student home permit/license has been retired by the RDA. Should the RDA list such a property immediately, or wait until the expiration of the lease and attempt to sell the properties for occupancy by owner? B. Neighborhood Sustainability Program Review Recent Purchases Staff will review recent NSP purchases at 306 South Gill and 230-234 West Logan, and program sale for 706 North Allen.
Page 2 of 7 VIII. Economic Development Program A. State College Town Centre The RDA s contract with the National Development Council (NDC) for professional services is on a three-month renewal cycle. The current threemonth contract expires at the end of August. A three-month extension is necessary to cover the RFP response and evaluation period. Action Needed: Approve three-month extension for professional services contract. IX. Official Reports and Correspondence A. Borough Council B. Planning Commission C. Staff Reports X. Upcoming Meetings September 27, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. XI. Adjournment The Redevelopment Authority will convene to an Executive Session to discuss Real Estate matters.
Meeting Minutes State College Borough Redevelopment Authority June 28, 2017 The State College Borough Redevelopment Authority (RDA) met on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 in the State College Municipal Building, 243 South Allen Street in Room 241. Chairman Lenker called the meeting to order at 12:01 p.m. Members Present Sally Lenker, Chairman; Donald Hahn, Vice-Chairman; Colleen Ritter, Rebecca Misangyi, new member, and James Shincovich Others Present Ed LeClear, Planning Director; Jenna Wargo, Planner; Maureen Safko, Senior Planner; Denise L. Rhoads, Administrative Assistant; Milan Liu, Planning Intern; Dwight Miller, Borough Financial Director, William Long, Highland Holding Group, and other interested parties Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Mr. Shincovich and seconded by Ms. Ritter to approve the April 26, 2017 minutes as submitted. The vote was unanimously in favor. A motion was made by Ms. Ritter and seconded by Mr. Shincovich to approve the May 24, 2017 minutes as submitted. The vote was unanimously in favor. Chair Report Chairman Lenker had nothing to report. Public Hour No one was in the audience who wished to discuss items not on the agenda. Financial Issues Page 3 of 7 Review of Economic Development & Community Development Program budgets and YTD Financials Mr. LeClear stated, per the Boards request, staff prepared a breakdown of the revenues and expenses per the Economic Development and Community Development Programs. He noted staff concentrated on the two questions asked at the May 2017 meeting. He noted, to date, they had only been drawing on line of credit (LOC) when purchasing houses. Soft costs had been coming out of the RDA budget.
First question to consider: Does the RDA want to allocate any of the Realty Transfer Tax Revenue to the Community Development Program? Mr. LeClear stated staff recommended allocation of the Realty Transfer Tax Revenue to the Community Development Program to cover both the Neighborhood Sustainability Program (NSP) and the line of credit (LOC) interest costs in a sufficient amount. RDA s comments included: Chairman Lenker asked when would this be drawn, now or at the end of the year. Mr. Miller stated it would be up to the Authority to decide. Mr. Shincovich asked if the part time person would run the NSP. Mr. LeClear stated yes, their focus would be on housing for the RDA. Mr. Shincovich asked what a sufficient amount would be. Mr. LeClear stated until numbers were run we would not know the answer to that question. Mr. Shincovich asked what the worst case would be. Mr. LeClear stated staff would not be able to hire the part time person and staff would have to try and do this on their own, meaning they would have to shift monies from elsewhere. Mr. Miller noted he broke down both programs by category. He also explained the 20 percent ($62,420.13) loss on sale amount for Homestead Investment Program (HIP04) home. He stated he had to estimate the average of any homes not purchased at the end of the year as a write down for accounting purposes. A motion was made by Ms. Ritter and seconded by Vice-Chairman Hahn to allocate the Realty Transfer Tax Revenue to the Community Development Program to cover both the Neighborhood Sustainability Program (NSP) and the line of credit (LOC) interest costs in a sufficient amount by July 1, 2017. Second question to consider: Does the RDA wish to draw on the Line-of-Credit (LOC) for carrying and operating costs of the Homestead Investment Program (HIP)/NSP or keep paying them from the Realty Transfer Tax Revenue? Mr. LeClear stated staff recommended to begin drawing on the LOC for all NSP program expenses except for paying staff costs and the interest on the LOC. A motion was made to draw on the Line-of-Credit (LOC) for carrying and operating costs and rehab costs of the HIP/NSP by Ms. Ritter and seconded by Ms. Misangyi by July 1, 2017. Economic Development Program State College Town Centre (SCTC) Request-for-Proposals Draft Review Page 4 of 7 Mr. LeClear stated along with staff, the NDC Group drafted a Request-for-Proposals (RFP s) for the State College Town Centre project. Mr. LeClear s overview included: Mr. LeClear stated staff will be issuing the RFP to two respondents.
Page 5 of 7 He noted the draft RFP had been sent to the Borough Solicitor and the Borough Manager for review. The Borough will be asking the respondents for two scenarios: 1) include all parcels they expect to include in their proposals whether those parcels are controlled by the Borough or not; and 2) include only those properties controlled by the Borough. Mr. LeClear briefly discussed the constraints of the project which included: 1) Discovery Space site, 2) Parking (the Borough will want to know how they would replace the 32 spaces that could be lost); 3) D Alley (need to maintain for access to Jeramar Plaza); and 4) Sidney Friedman Parklet (this would be used for an amenity to the site and could not be used for building activity supporting primary development). Mr. LeClear reiterated all of this was contingent on approval from Borough Council. Mr. LeClear stated staff used the language approved for both the Allen St. Civic Plan and the SCTC Proposal. He also noted staff would have to determine what the deal breakers would be. He asked for the Authority s input for the evaluation sheet criteria. He also discussed the RFP schedule: the approximate release date would be July 13, 2017, on-site Questions and Answers with teams would be on August 10, 2017 and a submission date would be September 15, 2017 with presentations from both teams at the next RDA meeting on September 27, 2017. There would be an executive session after the regular meeting. During the Borough compensation discussion, Mr. LeClear asked the Authority if they wanted to include graduate student in the proposed language. Mr. Shincovich suggested inserting no students into the language. Mr. LeClear cautioned him we could lose one respondent if we agreed to that. Vice-Chairman Hahn stated this topic would be an important factor in the scoring system. RDA s comments included: Mr. Shincovich asked if the proposal could be sold to a non-taxable business. Mr. LeClear stated it was a possibility. Mr. Shincovich asked if the developers were being given a right to purchase. Mr. LeClear stated staff was asking for recommendations from the respondents. Vice-Chairman Hahn asked if the other parking provisions for this plan were referenced in the RFP. Mr. LeClear stated they were. Ms. Misangyi suggested the Project Viability and the Compatibility criteria should have the same points (30). Mr. Shincovich asked if the scoring gave a go or no go to the project. Mr. LeClear stated no, it was just a way to compare between the two respondents. Vice-Chairman Hahn suggested the points system be 25, 25, 25, 25, and 5. Susan Venegoni, 323 West Fairmount Avenue, suggested, perhaps, the need for graduate housing would be reduced due to the number of inclusionary housing units coming in the future.
A motion was made by Vice-Chairman Hahn and seconded by Ms. Misangyi to approve the RFP draft as amended by discussion. The vote was unanimously in favor. Community Development Program Neighborhood Sustainability Program Home Inspections Mr. LeClear stated, according to recent program results in the program s acquisition of student homes, there was a possibility of a critical challenge in meeting program goals. More specific, the RDA was losing contracts to buyers who bid a lower price, but waived the home inspection requirement. He noted staff was competing with investors on as is properties. Mr. LeClear stated staff was proposing to solicit for home inspectors during the initial walk through. Vice-Chairman Hahn stated it sounded like something the State College Community Land Trust (SCCLT) could utilize as well. RDA s comments included: Vice-Chairman Hahn asked what SCCLT s experience had been with home inspections. Ms. Ritter stated a finding had to be of significance otherwise they would take the property as is. Vice-Chairman Hahn stated he would be more comfortable with using a contractor for those homes that already had a rental permit and using a home inspector for those homes that do not have a rental permit. A motion was made by Ms. Misangyi and seconded by Vice-Chairman Hahn to include a home contractor at an hourly rate instead of a professional home inspector during a walk through and then we would waive the home inspection. Mr. LeClear discussed restrictions on student rental properties. He stated if staff was going to aggressively procure a student home and the leases were not up right away, they might have to hold these properties for a year. He asked if the Authority was comfortable with this. Vice-Chairman Hahn suggested letting the leases go through to the end and then take over as Borough landlords. Chairman Lenker asked if the drafted conditions could be sent in email form to Lyn Gotwalt, Executive Officer of the Centre County Association of Realtors (CCAR). Mr. LeClear stated staff could take of this. Adjournment With no further business to discuss, Chairman Lenker made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 1:30 p.m. The Redevelopment Authority adjourned to an Executive Session. Respectfully submitted by, Denise L. Rhoads, Administrative Assistant Page 6 of 7
Page 7 of 7 SCB RDA Voucher Report Check Date Range: 7/1/2017 to 7/31/2017 Page 1 of 1 VENDOR NAME ACCOUNT DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION ACCOUNT CHECK NO AMAZON CAPITAL SERVICES, INC AMOUNT PRINTING / COPIER SUPPLIES TONER B114-15-44-00-0000-000-65213 31520 16.68 WEST PENN POWER COMPANY ELECTRICITY 68 KWH - 465 E FOSTER - 5/27-6/27 B114-14-42-00-0000-000-73360 - HIP04 LISA BEEDE OTHER CONTRACTED SERVICES 2017 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO B114-14-42-00-0000-000-67326 - HIP04 LISA BEEDE OTHER CONTRACTED SERVICES 2017 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO B114-14-42-00-0000-000-67326 - NSP05 PETTY CASH CAP PURCHASES - BUILDINGS REIMB PETTY CASH B114-14-42-00-0000-000-93730 - NSP06 Check Number 31520 Total: 16.68 31654 14.89 Check Number 31654 Total: 14.89 31700 149.36 31700 149.37 Check Number 31700 Total: 298.73 31716 5,000.00 Check Number 31716 Total: 5,000.00 COLUMBIA GAS OF PENNSYLVANIA PHILADELPHIA INSURANCE COMPANIES NATURAL GAS 9 CCF - 706 N ALLEN - 6/20-7/12 B114-14-42-00-0000-000-73362 - NSP05 PROPERTY INSURANCE EQUIPMENT AND PROPERTY INSURANCE B114-14-42-00-0000-000-80351 - HIP04 31757 27.65 Check Number 31757 Total: 27.65 31800 192.47 Check Number 31800 Total: 192.47 WEST PENN POWER COMPANY ELECTRICITY 32 KWH - 706 N ALLEN - 6/20-7/13 B114-14-42-00-0000-000-73360 - NSP05 31821 10.04 Check Number 31821 Total: 10.04 5,560.46 Fund B114 Total: 5,560.46 Grand Total 5,560.46