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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-03-19 TranscriptionMarch 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 1 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting 5:00 PM Council: Nov, Kubby, Lehman. Norton, Thornberry, Vanderhoef. Absent: Baker. Library Board: Traw, Greenleaf, Hubbard, Singerman, Swaim, Martin, McMurray, Spencer (5:15 PM). Absent: Cox. Staff: Atkins, Helling, Woito, Karr, Brown, Schoon, Eckholt, Franklin, Craig, Nichols, Lubaroff, Dilkes, Black, Clark. Tapes: 97-50, Side 2; 97-53, all. Nov/This is a public meeting... however, this meeting agenda does not have public comment on it .... let us know what you think about it. Introductions .... Karin Franklin, city staff, who is going to play moderator-facilitator. Franklin/I want to outline what the function of today's meeting is .... Two primary questions that you are being asked to consider today: 1- the project concept. The architects will present the project concepts and its costs and the idea is you will have a discussion... questions... then come to a consensus or conclusion as to whether that project concept is acceptable to all of you and by accepting it, you are... saying that you will go for a bond referendum on it. 2- to address the bond referendum specifically as to the date when the election would be, the time of year, and we will get into the specifics of this when we will get into the discussion and secondly, about language and that relates to whether this is a single project or multiple projects listed on the ballot. We will also talk about that later. As a discussion item which do not need to reach a conclusion on today, primarily a council item .... that is revenue sources for operational costs. We will have some discussion of that today but there is not an expectation that there are going to be any conclusions to reach on this particular item today. This would be scheduled for a later conversation of the city council to make some decisions about those revenue sources for operating costs. Project Concert 97-50 S2 Franklin/First item, project concept. Kevin Monson and Chuck Engberg, our architects, will lead the presentation on the project concept. Kevin Monson/It has been quite a blitz .... feasibility study. I want to tell you the results, yes, it is possible. You can do what you want to do on this parcel. We can do it. We can provide a new library expansion of 80,000 square feet...space for a new This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 2 cultural center... space for a 500 seat auditorium. We also have room for parking .... potential of a large private development .... So the major primary goals of the project can be met ..... Conference Center.. discarded that portion some time ago ..... We feel this can be built... need for a bond issue... $19.8 million .... cultural center, library expansion and remodeling, the auditorium ..... can be built for approximately $19.8 million .... parking portion of that would be funded by parking revenue funds... add about another $2.6 to $2.7 million to overall construction costs .... Within those costs are the cost for the building, the renovations .... includes $1 million for furniture and equipment. It also includes fees, expenses... escalation factor .... looking at a construction period starting early 1999 .... broad overview of the project... We want to show you what we can do .... reviewing with you the concept that was selected in our previous meetings ....Chuck, would you like to lead us through that? , Charles Engberg/We have a series of boards here... result of first design meetings .... four... these boards represent what was the consensus plan called Scheme 1 .... Review what it contains. One the lower level of 64-1A... down about 12 feet... potential for new parking .... 100 cars .... drive in, go down this ramp (refers to diagram) .... you could take elevators up to the public space .... this is the only street we have to work with .... drop off for the library .... pedestrian access .... that is the lower level .... commercial development in yellow, blue is library and the red is the CenterSpace and auditorium .... At the front of the pedestrian mall we have two new faces... library to the north and CenterSpace and the auditorium to the south ....Our primary mission here is not to design a building, we still have a diagram ....it will tell you that we have a long way to go on all of these spaces. There is program redevelopment necessary on all phases of this .... That process for CenterSpace and the library will be an ongoing thing. CenterSpace will have doors coming in from the mall... covered gateway area .... light coming down into the center of it ....CenterSpace would start just past the asphalt which is now the sidewalk ....You also enter the auditorium at this space... public lobby ....The auditorium is a 500 seat theater .... Second floor of that space also has the TV component of CenterSpace .... Other components of CenterSpace will be a combination of instructional areas, demonstrations areas, gallery space, studio space .... Monson/ .... a master ticketing station .... for the whole community .... Bring it all together in one location .... Engberg/The only place left on this entire site area .... private development potential would be above this development .... lots of things it could be... private This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 3 development in the private sector.. We want to make sure we got the foundations in the base cost to support the structure vertically .... On the north side of the mall, the library expands by approximately 3,000 square feet of new space along the front and a little bit along the side (refers to diagram)... project the meeting room portion and teleconferencing area .... Also pushing out a little bit of space here .... Your view from here... same... have a bridge over the top .... You will have windows ....transparent building ....We want to let it fit in... make a quiet statement ....Here we are, we are the cultural part of the community... glass at night... underside of bridge will be very well lit .... lit will project back down to the pavement... (refers to diagram)... whole area will be reserved for pick-up and drop-off on both sides... College Street ..... You will have public library above where there is now public library, utilizing the expansion space .... expanding it along to the south, over the top of CenterSpace .... These two entities kind of come together at that point... every part of the library space, programmatically will have some natural light coming into it ....This represents the upper part of the auditorium... about 35 feet tall ....Last diagram will have the commercial development ..... you will be looking down on the roof of the auditorium, roof of the library, across to the hotel. There is a potential .... tie directly into the parking garage at this point .... horizontal connection several floors up .... Look at the model .... What you saw before was red, yellow, and blue elements on the diagram .... Refine this by one more stage... still a diagram .... This is the development space .... the library would... be expanded to the south here... underneath the commercial development space and above the CenterSpace .... Programmatically it is a great fit .... this is a 16,000 square foot auditorium with a balcony above... TV studio portion would be up here .... The remainder of CenterSpace is on the lower level .... This is where the library projects to at this point (refers to model) .... Notice... this is a pedestrian and tree lined mall and there is some potential, at this point, for public entertainment venue .... Suggesting... six inch steps .... integrated into the pavement... so that the backdrop for any stage event... would be in fact the front door or the front of the auditorium building ..... That... is a summary of where things are and how they would work together. They are still separate funding situations unless they are combined into a single bond issue .... Kevin, why don't you take us through the costs. Monson/I want to go back to the bridge... linking of the two portions of the library .... We have only a two story library .... connecting bridge which spans the pedestrian mall, we envision to be a reading room .... glassy... very open... visible portion of the complex .... very interesting room in the sky... exciting space .... library becomes very much more of a visual impact on the plaza .... active with the lighting of this This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 4 area .... security drastically improved .... We are very excited about the potential of this room... sky lights... light coming through to the pedestrian level. It is really the bridge that makes this work. It is a very important aspect to make this concept work. We do have a cost estimate I am going to hand out ..... bottom line, second to the last page in the book. We have actually done a very detailed estimate .... our estimate is very long... printed the summary sheet, next to the last page. We have various elements .... (Reviews Summary Page 1, City of Iowa City Multi-Use Project)... caissons or the deep foundations.. provides support .... for future development of private development .... line item for the auditorium... $4.8 million ..... fairly complete... just talking raw construction costs now. CenterSpace, $2.2 million. The library additions and remodeling, $7.35 million and the plaza and site work redevelopment .... about $400,000. So we have a raw constructions costs of $15.8 million for the public spaces that would be funded by a bond issue... addition.. allowance of $960,000 for library casework and equipment .... update .... Staging and rigging equipment for the auditorium, $150,000. We will have to do some phasing... moving .... $45,000 for that. Special consultants .... $120,000. Architecture and engineering fees for the entire project $1.36 million .... Escalation factor ..... Projected construction start .... escalation factor... total bond issue estimate of $19.8 million .... In addition to that we have the opportunity to increase the library size over the program square footage of 80,000 square feet .... very logical expansion... add 2,000 additional square footage of library space... $250,000 ..... consider that to see what that does to your program .... might be a good buy at this time. Engberg/The program was developed in September of 1994. It has got to be revisited, updated ....electronics world has changed ....substantial impact .....how we use the library ....We think that $250,000 is probably something that you should anticipate ....We have used a 1994 program to generate this building size. Monson/The parking garage... budgeted $2.67 million for that. Total project costs .... $22.5 million .... library has talked about doing some private fund raising to reduce that bond issue even further .... Final line item for private development options .... we think it is prudent to think about a little extra money there to allow for options in the future ..... also might be increasing the foundations even further... diagrammatic sort of conceptual budget. It is not based on a building design ..... factored in escalation factors. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 5 Engberg/There is a contingency of about 10% overall in this budget .... low for a conceptual estimate .... current library costs .... current theater costs .... technical costs... latest generation of electronics to the public library for communications, internally and externally are also in here ..... If you take the buildings from the Library Journal, the national construction cost estimates for public library nationwide .... construction costs are $142 per square foot, project costs are $242 a square foot. We are estimating .... our construction costs are going to be in the range of $100 per square foot and project costs $125. We think that this is incredibly efficient building ....It is more than a library, it is more than a theater, it more than an area for art ....value added here... combination of events ....make Iowa City sustain its place as the cultural heart of Johnson County Monson/The ideas have been tested. It is feasible .... We think it is an exciting concept that will enliven a DT... gateway to the pedestrian mall... visible cultural center. Franklin/Do you have any questions about the physical aspects of the project ..... about how this works? Kubby/ ....the only entrance through the current parking garage? Monson/We envision changing the type of access, taking out the gate system and using a master meter system very similar to Chauncey Swan .... open it up and use this portion of the ramp, the present ramp, as a circulation access to what is a flat floor parking structure .... Being able to leave that parking structure and go to various events... easy hub... One of the concerns... is the availability of parking for the library. I think this structure will very much open up that opportunity .... Also with the removal of the entrances to the parking along the street, we are actually clearing up more space on Linn Street for that quick in and out situation .....We will have a full block of curb access to the library ..... Traw/Kevin or Chuck, you might explain... hidden cost that we couldn't define .... had to do with how much down time is going to be involved in the relocation or the redevelopment of the library .... I think this plan significantly reduces. Engberg/It allows for phasing and we think that the first thing that you would have to build would be the under-structure that would support the upper structure ..... But you also must build the first floor before you build the second floor of the library... that space becomes surge space .... when portions of the library have to be vacated to remodel, there is a place to go here... CenterSpace is likely to follow the library .... We have almost 20,000 square feet of usable space on this level .... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 6 15,500 square feet on the top floor when it is finished .... There would be very little down time in terms of library service to this community under this plan .... Monson/Also on the second floor (refers to diagram) this would be built first ..... We can vacate the existing building, renovate both floors at once, save construction time and cost and interruption of service .... Engberg/That is also a conceptual logistical idea at this point .....remodel the existing library, when that is complete, we simply move back .... and CenterSpace is then developed. That is the concept of phasing. Lehman/Did I understand you to say that you would eliminate the entrance at the present ramp off of Linn Street? Monson/No, there is an entrance to the existing surface parking lot ..... Nov/When you are remodeling the second floor of the old library space, are you adding on the extra square feet? Engberg/We are adding on some extra square feet .... (Refers to diagram) ....Yes, that would be filled in. Monson/There is 7,200 square feet available at the second level that has never been built out. We would be building that out as part of this project. Vanderhoef/The space over the auditorium is not presently being used for any kind of development. Is there a specific reason why? Engberg/It has to do with the fact that this is a long span structure of about 65 feet... no columns... trusses. And to load those trusses with any additional building above it would be extremely expensive .... Monson/Whatever private development occurs here, they need to have light and air .... on both sides .... Don't want to build a structure here that would block that potential fresh air and light from that side .... (Refers to Diagram)... We didn't want to create big shadows in the pedestrian plaza. That is why the private development is along the eastern border of the site ....get a lot of air and light to this potential development .... Vanderhoef/Where is the television? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 7 Engberg/It is on the second floor ..... Norton/What about meeting rooms? .... Engberg/The meeting rooms would be on the first floor here (refers to diagram)... slightly enhanced .... teleconference center .... It can be used alternately as a meeting room the way it is set up. Vanderhoef/Where is this additional 2,000 square feet of possibility? Engberg/(Refers to diagram). It is in the same place but just on the second level. Norton/ Engberg/Technically... when the program is reassessed, we think we are probably going to need that .... area for increased stacks, sitting area, reading area .... adjacent to the adult non-fiction collection .... first floor, small children and second floor, adults .... All of the spaces that you would see on this upper level in this newer transparent idea would be adult users of the library. Monson/ Thornberry/Could you give me the linear feet dimensions of the potential commercial development7 Engberg/It is 60 feet wide by approximately 340 feet long. Thomberry/And the foundation would be good for how many floors? Engberg/Six to eight .....if the building is essentially the same height of the existing hotel .... Thornberry/For the consumer for the library, how do they return books from their car? Engberg/They drive up as they do now... walk in this place .... Kubby/You could also put drop boxes... along the curb .... Nov/We could even add a drop box at the lower level .... these can be added ..... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 8 Hubbard/If you had that performing area out in the mall, you could still walk through? Engberg/Yes ..... contour... eliminate that... (refers to diagram) .... Monson/ Hubbard/Where would be the principal entrances be for people who arrive on foot or riding a bicycle to both the library and the-? Engberg/For the library, what we are doing is we are saying there will be an entry at this point (refers to diagram) ..... also create another one at this point ..... CHANGE TAPE TO REEL 97-53 SIDE 1 Engberg/And you save a little internal space .... A corner entry. And to CenterSpace, you could pull off at this point .... (refers to diagram) ..... The theater itself has its main entry at this point ....There are kind of multiple ways to use it ....(refers to diagram) .... Franklin/Aren't the entries things that can be worked out as we get into the actual design? Engberg/Sure .... Hubbard/People who come to the library car, would park in the underground parking ..... come up the ground level and then walk outdoors to get into the library? Engberg/There is no basement in the library, so there is no way to go directly underground ..... You can even park over here (refers to diagram) .... there is also the potential to develop some cover along this walkway .... Thornberry/That blue elevator... Engberg/It goes all the way up to the libraries top floor .... We can't actually have an elevator coming up directly into the second floor of the library because we still need to maintain the security of a single entry point into the library ..... Franklin/Are there questions about the financial aspects of this? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 9 Vanderhoef/What are the possibilities of staging this structure? Is it possible to do the bridge and half of the CenterSpace ..... Engberg/The auditorium could be built later .... These cost estimates are based on everything being built at one time. If you do stage them... premium cost for setting it up... you have got the added escalation costs that Kevin mentioned earlier. Kubby/Is it physically possible to get the equipment into the mall that you need once the pedestrian mall is spanned? Monson/Yes, we have this access here that we have to maintain as well .... Engberg/If you try to built it later... logistics are tough ....If it is built at one time, it would be a lot less expensive overall for this community. Thornberry/Karin, on a $22.5 million bond issue, how would that affect property taxes for the normal run of the mill household? Engberg/$19.8 million is the bond issue number as shown here. Thornberry/What would $19.8- do to my property taxes? Franklin/Steve .... Thornberry/The $2.7- would come from parking revenues? Franklin/We would fund that through revenue bonds as opposed to it being part of the bond referendum. Thornberry/...$19.8 million, what is that going to do to my property taxes? Atkins/Let me do $20 million .... This is under current valuations... roll backs can change. A home that has an assessed value of $100,000, applying the current rollback, the cost to that would be $80 a year. That is the debt service on a $20 million bond issue. Kubby/For a ten year payoff. Atkins/Yes. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 10 Norton/ Atkins/When you receive your assessment at home, that is the value of the property according to the Assessor. But for taxable purposes, you have to apply the rollback .... Thornberry/What was the cost for $100,000 assessed valued home, for the water and waste water? Atkins/That is not property tax, that is water and sewer revenue, Dean .... Another number, under our current budget, a $100,000 home pays city taxes, 40/40/20 rule, of $752 ..... you have the approximate cost for city services. Thornberry/ Atkins/$300,000 home, approximately $240. Franklin/Are there any other questions about the cost aspects of this project? .... Kubby/The little bit of cost... footings... private development... is there a way to recoup that later as part of the cost for commercial development? Engberg/We haven't looked at that way... choices .... You would have to make some judgment calls on that .... The numbers we have shown here do include all of the structural requirements to be able to do the private development. You would have the option to say to the private developer, we are going to charge you for those footings costs that we have incurred already ....that could reduce the bond issue if you had that developer on line early .... Monson/ .... Many places have air rights negotiations when a developer wants to build something above something else. There is no land costs here per se, it would be air rights ..... different return .... Lehman/The market will determine what that can be rented for .... Norton/The footings you would be in ... support 6 to 8 stories above the library? Engberg/That is correct. Nov/Are you saying the same footings would support both? .... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 11 Monson/It would depend on the type of the facility .... Thornberry/On the referendum... on the cost, would that have a sunset clause? After ten years, does the property tax go away? Atkins/Yes. When you do a bond referendum, you are obligating property tax revenues to finance the cost of the project during its life .... Nov/And the ten years is not fixed .... Thornberry/I think we would have to let people know how long we were talking about. Atkins/The choice has to do with capital asset that you are going to purchase .....shorter term improves our credit rating. Greenleaf/Do you have any outstanding GO bonds that you will be retiring within the next ten years? Atkins/The current capital plan has debt in the amount of $5 million for this year, $10 million for next year and $5 million estimated for the following year and yes they do retire ...... It is a balancing act. Nov/Steve, do we have current bond issues that are about to be taken off?. ..... Atkins/I think we have a few that are due in year 2000 ..... Remember, we will continue to sell debt .... It is a very fluid number. If you issue a $20 million debt, $20 million is not going to be coming off for some time unless the council would dramatically change it CIP. Greenleaf/You don't have any $20 million project that we are now planning on? Atkins / No, we have a number of $4-, $5-, and $6 million debt issues. Franklin/ Atkins/I have loads of material for you .... Kubby/...Helpful to me... structure some of these estimated costs in an additional way...by use. Say this is CenterSpace cost, this is library cost, this is parking cost... some of This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 12 this other cost is both spaces ....Even if it is one referendum, people are going to want to know how. Atkins/I might add to that, you may also wish to take 10-12 years out... put together the bonds issues that you are planning to sell for other capital projects to give you a much bigger picture of the thing ..... understand that the market changes .... Norton/ Atkins/Our current indebtedness .... we have an assessed value of $2.1 billion today. Under the state law you can levy GO debt up to 5% of that value. In today's dollars, that is $108 million. We currently have outstanding debt of $34 million .... We have loads of room with respect to our debt costs. Kubby/The cost for the parking is twice what we usually say a parking structure parking space cost ..... Why is this so much more? Engberg/... below grade parking .... You don't have any economy of scale .... single level, lower level parking structure... most expensive... Also requires power ventilation .... We are very cognizant of the need to make it very accessible... amenities to make it a more friendly parking structure .... We have got some huge loads above it ..... We have tried to give kind of a balance there .... Key thing is we just have one level .... Kubby/Why not go down a couple of more levels? .... Engberg/They increase proportionally. Kubby/ Engbergt Everything that is at the ground level and down is the most expensive and every level that you go up beyond that, you take a huge amount of the cost per car out of the equation. If you go down, you just add more .... Norton/Does that wall of the auditorium against the Holiday Inn block anything for them? Engberg/No .... You are pretty far away from the rooms... The only windows that they have onto the mall is at the lower level .... This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 13 Kubby/We had talked about the private space... Holiday Inn.., It really is a separate entity .... Engbergt The parking level is the same as the lower level of the hotel. You could do that. Kubby/ Engberg/(Refers to diagram) .... Norton/Holiday Inn East. Engbergt ....parking .... Kubby/I just don't think it would be very attractive of Holiday Inn patrons to go to the desk .... go through a parking ramp to get to your room on the other side. Engberg/We are not suggesting that .... Franklin/..,decide, is this a good concept? Traw/I think I can speak for the Library Board... met with the architects... community.. staff has looked closely... at how well the library... meets the community's needs .... We enthusiastically endorse this concept ....We look forward to the next phase,. get it on the ballot. Kubby/This concept helps the city live out two major public services. One is library needs.. two is cultural needs and three is this whole.. DT Strategy Committee... high profile destination point DT ....to help keep people coming down and bringing new people. Nov/ Norton/I am very excited about the possibility ....combine these several interests .....I think you have done a great job .... Lehman/I like the concept .... I think it would really enhance the chances of passing the bond issue if we can have that commercial space leased or sold prior to putting it on the ballot. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 14 Franklin/One of the steps that I outlined in my memo was that depending upon the conclusion tonight, our next staff in terms of the staff effort would be to put together requests for proposals for that private development. Lehman/I think it is very important. Franklin/I am hearing a go. Nov/I am hearing a go also. Thornberry/I am not sure... to lend my support for it until I check with a lot of my constituency, I guess, because I have been hearing a lot of other suggestions... I promised I would not bring up .... Franklin/The next step in solidifying this is a resolution before the city council setting the bond referendum at which time this is the next topic that we have to talk about and that is a formalized step in which a vote will be taken and at that point, we are moving. The question then is the time of a bond referendum and whether it should be a special election, with the school board election in the fall or with the general election in the fall. I would like to have some discussion about that... some sense of the group when that ought to be .... Final decision will be made in this resolution. The resolution will include the date of the referendum as well as the language of the ballot. Traw/ ....We want to have it refined enough so when we go out in the public to get their commitment to it... that we know what we are talking about and can answer the questions. I would need some input from Chuck and Kevin also on that issue... How soon, how long would it take to get some detail .... ? Franklin/How is the best way to put this out for a referendum question and the level of detail that we should have or not have? It is a discussion that I have had with Kevin about the cost of doing architectural drawings that would actually get this defined to the point that we are looking at a building .... How far you all wish to go with that... Those type of drawings could not be done for a special election before the school board election .... Traw/... more that each project is well defined... to answer the questions.:... Norton/ This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 15 Franklin/I think it might be more programmatic. Nov/And we are going to need a reasonable estimate of operating costs at some point also .... Greenleaf/People are going to ask what are we going to get out of this .... how it is all put together structurally ....I have think they have done a good job of conceptualizing it. Nov/I agree with that. Kubby/I want to ask... This is something we need to go out together to the public together .... and is it easier with a final product... to show people? ..... I think we need to talk about that .... Lehman/I think the more detailed you get, the more opportunity to can get people to argue about it. I think we are selling a concept... an idea... that is what we got to sell. Norton/Could there be more detail... about the CenterSpace elements? Lehman/If we get too detailed, we are going to run into problems. Monson/We worked with many many municipalities ..... You got forward with what you know the community has for itself in terms of goals... give them a preliminary look at what it is likely to look like. We don't normally design a whole building and say hey, what do you think of this. We say let's go through the schematic design phase of a portion of it. Usually you don't go through an entire schematic design ....We don't have the internal workings kind of tied together .... Traw/To get to that point, how much time are we talking? Monson/Probably... three facilities... need a couple of months minimally .... Engberg/Four to five months feels better because of the different elements .... Monson/Consensus takes the longest. Engberg/One advantage you have in not going to the public with a final finished design is that you can actually generate public input .... solicit their input .... When we do This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 16 have the funds, bonds have been approved, then we go forward with the design ..... It helps the community have some ownership in the design process .... and final project .... You open yourself up to hearing those ideas .... Norton/What is the matter with September? ..... Kubby/I would have a hard time agreeing at this point to put something on the ballot with the school board elections until we have talked to the school district .... Engberg/Looking realistically at the fall .... Council/(All talking). Norton/As I understand the role of the Library Board, we don't lobby for the referendum but we do inform the public about the project .... Engberg/You have a very good document to start with .... I think the Library Board is perhaps a little farther ahead than CenterSpace ....We need to get everybody up to the same level... This is a consensus project .... Thornberry/Don't you have sort of an idea of what it is going to look like with your model? Monson/It is always dangerous to take a diagram... and built it. Thornberry/...the silo on the last drawing .... You got to have some kind of an idea... You got to give people more than just a concept ....To have a picture and something to look at .... Lehman/You have to concept .... get the referendum passed and then the building can be designed .... to whatever the public wants .... Thornberry/ Nov/ .... all we don't have here is what the outer shell is going to look like and allowing people to tell you that they like an outer shell .... good idea .... Martin/I think there is a happy medium here. It is possible to have specific aspects of the project highlighted in terms of architectural drawings... reading room .... Important This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 17 is to not shorten the time that we might invite public input .... needs to be done in an orderly fashion... We really do want to hear folks .... valuable ..... Vanderhoef/When you said four to five months, is that when you are going to give us the information and the things? ..... Engberg/I think fall is a good time to think about .... I think what we need also is consensus from the CenterSpace administration, Library Board and its staff.... then we can give you some preliminary images .... That is normally done, we provide materials, camera ready art of floor plans and a couple views of the building ....It is not the final absolute look .... Monson/ .... feature the reading room... keep them a little loose .... Engberg/You all recognize there has to be the consensus of four different entities coming together to make this one thing work ....We have to put all of these elements together ..... Vanderhoef/All I was looking at a time line... probably a two month time line after you had done this up front work .... Franklin/It sounds like leaning towards November. Singerman/(Can't hear - everyone talking). Norton/So the materials are ready by September, proceed in November. Okay. Nov/I would like materials to be ready even before first of September if we can .... Franklin/We can work through that with Kevin and Chuck and see what is possible to put together and how soon and what that will cost. Okay, let's move onto the ballot language and what is referred to here is the whole concept on whether this goes out to the voters as a single project, a single figure or they go as a number of entities with separate figures for each. Kubby/A single project with many aspects. It should be one ballot issue. Council/(All talking-one ballot issue). This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 18 Franklin/Okay, that one is easy. (All talking). Revenue Sources For Orerating Costs 97-53 SI Franklin/Okay, you have gotten through the things that you needed to accomplish today. Now the next part of this is to allow you some time... A discussion of operating costs. I think everyone accepts and knows that there are going to be additional operating costs for the library. There are going to be operating costs for the cultural center and a performance auditorium. And there is going to be a public subsidy required of both of those entities... The cultural center and performance auditorium will also require a public subsidy ..... Council is going to have to get into this in great detail. Right now let's go with the figures of $150,000 for the library and about $200,000 for the auditorium/cultural center .... per year. The question then becomes how do we get the revenue to cover those additional operating costs. In the memo that I sent to you I outlines four ways, 1-reallocation of existing services .... 2-The other broad option is to create a new revenue stream .... a sales tax .... a cultural facilities levy .... you can tax up to $.27 on a $1,000 assessed valuation and it would go just for the cultural facilities .... Because the Code distinguishes between a library and a cultural facility .... I would presume... it could go for the cultural center performance auditorium but not for the library .... 3- Third revenue stream option was a business improvement district or a self supporting municipal improvement district ... the businesses within the downtown, with a defined improvement area, choose to tax themselves additionally for improvements within that district ..... go towards the operations of these facilities as well as other functions within this district .... whatever the board that governs the district determines .... Any thought on those options. Nov/I have one thought on savings on current costs. I would like this building to be ultra- energy efficient ..... Thornberry/What kind of user fees are projected? CHANGE TAPE TO REEL 97-53 SIDE 2 Franklin/All of those were figured in the feasibility study which was done years ago for the larger CenterSpace concept. There would be those kinds of revenues .... could be entry fees to various kinds of exhibits and so forth. Given certain fee structures... even with those... we would have this approximately $200,000 subsidy .... not enough to cover the whole cost of operation. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 19 Thornberry/Does Hancher break even? Franklin/Can't answer that. Lehman/Karin, I don't think we have enough information to really discover this .... Something that council has to look at. I don't know if this is the correct forum for discussing it. Kubby/In saying yes to this, we have said yes to the operating costs. Council/(All talking). Norton/1% sales tax... $660,000... add up this kind of expenses plus CBD maintenance and policing, it works out just about right. Kubby/1% generates about $4.4 million. Norton/15% of it only for this area ..... Franklin/Tentatively, what we thought about doing is scheduling a council discussion of the operating costs and the council having some further discussion on the date for the referendum at either the April 7 or April 21 council meeting in anticipation of getting a resolution on the council agenda in April or the first part of May .... Kubby/When we say November, are we talking about the city council election and not a special election? Franklin/Yes, that was my understanding. Kubby/ Norton/Larry .... interested in dealing with this issue of library costs... Nov/We all read his memo ..... Norton/ This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS051997 March 19, 1997 City Council/Library Board Joint Meeting page 20 Franklin/Sounds like there needs to be, on the council's part, some concerted discussion of the referendum with the operating costs. We need to talk about those things together... You have done your work ..... good job. Adjourned: This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City council meeting of March 19, 1997 WS031997