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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStudy Session Packet 12-03-12STUDY SESSION AGENDA CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO 7500 W. 29th Ave. Wheat Ridge CO December 3, 2012 6:30p.m . Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to participate in all public meetings sponsored by the City of Whea t Rtdge. Call Heather Geyer, A dministrative Services Dlfector at 303-235-2 826 at least one week in advance of a meeting if you are interested in participatmg and need inclusion assistance. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS APPROVALOFAGENDA .L Cultural Commission year-end report -D iane Robb 2 . Staff Report( s) a) C ommunication Center Reg ionalization 3. Perrin 's Row TIF Request 4 . E lected Offi ci a ls' Report(s) ~ . " .. "' .. City of ?Wheat&_dge ...?'Po u c E DcrARl M[Nl TO: VIA: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: SUMMARY Memorandum Mayor DiTullio and City C~il Patrick Goff, City Manage\/} Daniel Brennan, Police Chief December 3, 2012 Staff Report: Po li ce Department Regionalization Efforts The Police Department has been engaged in regionalization efforts with surrounding communities that seek to improve effectiveness and efficiencies in the deli very of public safety services. Since 2010. the Chief Executive Officers (CEO's) of law enfo rcement agencies in Jefferson County have been meeting regularly to discuss opportunities to consolidate and/or regionali ze law enforcement services that result in improved Jaw enforcement services and/or re sult in cost sav ings for the citi zens in th e affected communities. TI1e Department is actively engaged in three on-going projects concerning potential consolidation or regionalization of services. As you know, the Department has a history of successful cooperative or regionalization efforts. Examples include the Rooney Valley Law Enforcement Firearms Training Facility, the Foothill's Anjmal Shel ter, the Forensic Crime Lab agreement with the Lakewood Police Department. and the recent regjonaJization efforts of the Lakewood and Wheat Ridge Police Departments' SWAT Teams. The Department is currently working on three other projects of interest: • Communications Center Regionalization • Forensic Crime Lab Regionalization • Records Management System Regionalization The purpose of this staff report is to provide an update to C ity Council on the Communications Center Regionalization process. Future staff reports will address the regionalization efforts concerning a regionalized forensic crime lab and records management system. Commun ication s Center Regionalization In March 20 I 0, City Cou nci l conduc ted a Strategic Budget Retreat with City staff to discuss the City's budget in response to the poor economic conditions that existed. Department directors were directed to provide recommendations on potential budget reductions and other strategies that would assist the City in reducing costs. The Department presented its budget. as well as strategies to address the current budget deficit. One of the strategies presented was to look at conso lidating or regionalizing the Department's Communication Center. This strategy was presented to City Council, based on several factors which included the costs of maintaining communication equipment for a Communication Center, redundancy of system costs, and staffing concerns. Staff Report: Police Department Regionalization EfTorts December 3, 2012 Page2 Maintaining the technology infrastructure and staffing for a Communications Center is expensive. For instance, each 911 center has computer aided dispatch (CAD) software, hardware, phone systems. recording systems for phone and radio, dispatch consoles, and staffing for the center. Each center requires the same infrastructure, as well as backup redundancy. Some of these costs are covered by Jefferson County Emergency CommunicaHons Authority (JCECA); however, the City pays for many of these costs. including the costs to maintain the systems. In 2009, the Department had an audit completed of the Communications Center by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO}. While the assessment report spoke highly of our personnel and equipment, the study recommended the Department increase staffing in the Communications Center by 4-5 positions, and called for more workspace in the Cen ter. Since previous requests for additional personnel were denied, and current economic conditions did not allow for the hiring of additional personnel. Council gave direction to the Department to explore the potential for consolidation or regionalization of the Department's Communication Center function. One oflhe major challenges in exploring consolidation or regionalization of911 communication centers is the cost of conducting a study that looks at the technology challenges, staffing, and the brick and mortar issues if a new building is required. In 20 I 0, r met with Jefferson County law enforcement CEO's to discuss their interest in doing a study in this area. Each of the agency heads expressed some interest in a study. The Golden Police Department was also exploring consolidating or regionalizing their agency's communication center. With the support of both law enforcement and some fire department CEO's. I approached the JCECA to ask the Authority to fund a communication center consolidation/regionalization study. After several meetings and presentations. the JCECA gave finaJ approvaJ in 2012 to authorize $100.000 to fund a study that would look into the consolidation/regionalization oflaw enforcement communications centers. At this time, the Golden Police Department and Wheat Ridge Police Department have been given di rection to explore the consolidationlrcgionalization of their communication centers. The communities of Arvada, Lakewood and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department have agreed to participate in this study as well. The City of Wheat Ridge agreed to serve as the purchasing agent for the request for proposal process. At this time. a committee representing staff from the aforementioned agencies has reviewed the submitted proposals and selected three vendors to conduct the consultant study. The timeline for the project is: • November 28, 2012 • December 2012 • December 2012 • January 2013 • March 31_ 2013 • March-Jw1e, 2013 Interview short list and select a consultant Contract negotiations JCECA Board approval of selected consultant £nitial meeting with consultant and interested agencies Completion of the study Review of the study and recommendations In summary. this study will provide the JCECA and participating agencies with a roadmap on the potential costs, savings and benefits of consolidating or regionalizing E-911 services. There are Staff Report: Police Department Regionalization Efforts December 3, 2012 Page3 currently ten Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in Jefferson County, so the concept th at a smaller number ofPSAP's could reduce costs is intriguing. The Police Department will be bringing recommendations to City Council mid-year 20 13. DB /ck \ • 4 ..... h Ci ty o f ·~w eat&_dge ~01-FJ C [ Of 1 H E Crrv M A NAGER TO: T HROUG H: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT : Is sue Memorandum Mayor and Ci ty Council r\J Patrick Goff, City ManageW Steve Art, Economic Development Manager December 3, 2012 Perrin's Row Tax Increment Financing Request :J+em3 . Should the C ity ofWheat Ridge and Renewal Wheat Ridge (R WR) enter into negotiations to provide Tax Increment Fil1anc ing (TTF) for the development of up to 28 townhomes at 5670 W . 38th Avenue (Perri n 's Row) with Crosswire Investments , LLC (Crosswire)? Proposed Project Crosswire contemplates up to 35,000 sq. ft. of new construction. The 28 units will vary in size from 1166 sq. ft. to 1479 sq. ft. with each unit having its own garage and visi tor parking. The uni ts are anticipated to sell in the low to mid $200,000 range. The fi rst units would be available fo r occupancy in the second quarter of2013 with the finaJ uni t occupied some time in 2016. These proposed townhomes, to be constructed by a merch ant builder, are modeled after the successful Central Park Row Homes in Stapleton. The architecture includes a contemporary blend of brick, stucco and s iding a long w ith prom inent architectural metal for decks and awnings. Th e townhomes wi ll be built to Energy Star standar ds . Background The site for the future Perri n 's Row development has been vacant for over 14 -years and was previously the location of a gas station. At some undeten nined time the gas station ceased operations and in 1990 the underground fuel tanks were removed . Contamin ation was found in the s oil which was remediated by ground pumping and open soil r emed iation and the sj te h as been determined to be clean of contamination. In 1999, an application was submitted for a 16 .25 foot variance to the 50 foot front yard setback requiremen t that would allow for the construction of a 6 , 700 s q . ft. retai l bui lding containing a la undromat and convenience s to re with gas sales and car wash. This variance request was denied by the Board of Adjustment in January J 999. Subs equent to the variance denial, the s ite plan was redesigned, and in No vember 2000 a pem1 it was appro ved to a ll ow construction of a convenience s tore with gas pumps, laundry bu il ding and a car wash, meeting the current C-I regu lations and commercial development standards. Construction Study Session-Perrin's Row Memo December 3, 2012 Page 2 did not commence within 60-days and therefore the permit expired. In 2002 an application was submitted and appr oval was granted for the co nstruction of 12 row homes and 8 condominium units. At that time the property was rezoned from C-1 and R-3 to Planned Mixed Use Development and preliminary and final development plans and a plat wer e approved. Due to market conditions, tllis project was not initiated and the permit expi red. The site was rezoned to Mixed-Use Neighborhood (MU-N) as part of the City-initiated rezoning of the 38th Avenue corridor, effective November 25,2012. The parcel is located within the 38Lh A venue Corridor Urban Renewal Plan (The Plan) area. The Plan has stated objectives which are to strengthen the identity of 38th Avenue as the City's "Main Street; to promote mixed-use development that includes a balanced mix of residential> r etail and service businesses; to improve pedestrian and vehi cular circu lation and safety; to minimize pedestrian and vehicular conflicts; encourage retention and enhancement of existi ng businesses while creating opportunities for new complimentary uses and; to encou ra ge new development and redevelopment that is compatib le in scale and design with the exiting character of the redevelopment area. The Plan authorizes RWR to participate in redevetopment activities including demolition, public improvements, land acquisition, redevelopment and rehabilitation and relocation. Completion of these activities may be financed in whole or part by RWR using TIF. Development Lncentive Package Request At the November 6. 2012 RWR meeting, Richard Oneslager with Crossw ire, presented to RWR the proposed Perrin's Row project and his justification for the TlF request. Mr. Oneslager provided the followi ng items as barriers to an adequate internal rate of return (fRR) to make the project feasible: I. Current City charter restri ctions do not allow for adequate densities to make the proj ect financially viable. 2. TI1e site suffers from its adjacency to aging residential and retail. 3. The downturn in the national development market as well as the local market conditions in Wheat Ridge. 4. The per square-foot value of p roperty in this part of the Denver metro area are $20 to $30 less than areas in West Highlands. 5. New Wheat Ridge development stand ards Crossw ire provided initial ca lcu la tions and preliminary pro forma to staff that indi cated if the s ite were to d evelop with 100% private fmancing, there would not be adequate return on the investment to move forward with th is project. C rosswi re's project assw11p tions indicate the project funding at approximately $1,154,000 and sales revenues of $1,225,000 for total project net revenue of just over $71,000. B ased on these unsubstantiated assumpti on s, Perrin 's R ow wou ld generate an unacceptable lRR of l. I%. Current projects today rel y on an IRR around 10% to be considered acceptable by the developm ent community. C rosswire has requested a TlF agreement with RWR that would rebate all or a portion of the property tax increment generated by the construction of the proposed 28 townhomes for a period of Study Session -Perrin's Row Memo December 3, 2012 Page 3 20 years. The TTF would provide reimbursement of up to $414,333 in public improvements identified by Crosswire. Presently, the property generates approximately $16,000 in annual property tax. However. the Jefierson County Assessor's Office is considering a reassessment of the va luation for tax years 201 0 and 2011 which would decrease the annual property tax to $6,500. After the development of Perrin's Row, the estimated appraised value of$175 per sq. ft. would yield an actual value of $6 , I 00,000 and generate an annual tax bill of $40 ,000 and an increment to RWR of approximately $33.500 annually ($40,000-$6,500 = $33,500). This project would be similar to the Wheat Ridge Cyclery project in 2009 which provided a TIF for the redevelopment of the Cyclery 1n the amount of $264,180 or ten years, whichever occurs frrst. That project also included a sales tax component that will not be included in thi s request. Process Approval R W R authorized staff to proceed wi lh an evaluation of the TIF request and to forward the request to City Council for initial discussion and direction. In order for Crosswire to receive TIF, City Council must review the request and provide authorization for RWR to enter into an agreement with Crosswire providing TIF for the project. Legal counsel has reviewed Lhe initial request application and determined the project's scope is small enough that it will not require an amendment to the 381h Avenue Urban Renewal Plan. If City Council were to consider approval of a TIF agreement with Crosswire, RWR would contract with a third party to review the project pro forma that would provide the Council and RWR with the financial implications aiding in the evaluation and recommendation for approval or denial of the TIF request Staff would enter into negotiations with Crosswire for TIF and provide a funding recommendation to Council and RWR for approval or denial. Council Considerations Consideration -Should the City Council provide authorization for staff to work with Crosswire for the future consideration of a TIF agreement for the development ofPerrin's Row? Staff recommends moving forward with an evaluation by a third party of the TlF request for the following reason s : 1. The project meets the objectives oftbe 381b Avenue Corridor Urban Renewal Plan, the 38lh A venue Subarea Plan, Envision Wheat Ridge by providing new residential options. 2. TI1e project could be a catalyst for the redevelopment of adjacent properties along the corridor similar to the redevelopment of properties adjacent to the Wheat Ridge Cyclery TlF project. 3. The project site has been vacant for 14 years. This project will aide in eliminating blight along the 38111 Avenue corridor. 4 . The project will bring new residents to thi s area ofthe City potentially increasing local commerce activity. 5. Significant barriers exist (density restrictions, market conditions, etc.) that impede this project from completing.