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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994.10.10 Council MinutesMINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING OCTOBER 10, 1994 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7 30 P M by Joyce DeFelice, Mayor ROLL CALL By City Manager Councilmembers present Joyce DeFelice, Michael Garrison, Edgar Hargrow, Charles Kilbury, and Carl Strode Councilmembers absent Chris Jensen, Dan Lathim Also present Gary Crutchfield, City Manager, Greg Rubstello, City Attorney, and Kurt Luhrs, Administrative Assistant PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance NEW BUSINESS Baseball Stadium Ground Lease Mr Crutchfield asked Council to recall that a tentative agreement between the City and County to locate the professional baseball stadium adjacent to the TRAC facility had been reached in May, with the final site to be determined by the County Commissioners That tentative agreement covered issues such as scheduling, use of the TRAC parking lot for baseball purposes, and the split of revenues generated by use of the parking lot The site issue was dealt with in late June or July, with the conclusion from the County Commissioners to locate the stadium immediately south of the exhibit hall A draft Ground Lease Agreement was prepared and forwarded to the County on July 11, 1994 A copy of the lease, which the City was developing with the Western Baseball League, was subsequently submitted to the County on August 11, 1994 The City has selected an architect and has gone through the preliminary design for the stadium It has been presumed that the location would be as determmed m July, adjacent to the TRAC facility The design of the stadium is progressing to the point where a firm decision as to location is essential in order for the architect to design all of the earth-work This requires site specific conditions before the designs can go out to bid The bid needs to go out by the end of October or the first of November in order to start construction of the stadium in January, 1995 There has been no response from the County regarding the lease provision as sent in July After a meeting on October 5, 1994, with the Commissioners, the City was provided with a draft lease counter- proposal This proposal did not reflect several of the fundamental elements of the agreement in principal outlined in Councilmember Jensen's letter of May 3, 1994 After another meeting on October 7, 1994, there was a potential resolution, unfortunately the time in getting there may not be possible because of time constraints for getting out to bid on the earth works The County's attorney contacted the City Manager and indicated that after recent discussions with the Commissioners he would prepare a new draft lease, however, it wouldn't arnve until October 11, 1994 Dunng all of this activity the City entered into discussion with the Tn- City Junior Soccer Association for the development of a soccer complex The City has acquired a 60 acres site adjacent to the TRAC facility to house the soccer complex There is sufficient room on that MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL OCTOBER 10, 1994 site to build a baseball stadium Given the fact that the City will have to develop parking for the soccer complex, locating the baseball stadium there would necessitate a much larger parking lot Relocating the baseball stadium is an option should Council conclude that it is not practical to finalize a workable agreement with the County, with regard to the TRAC site A final decision needs to be made tonight as to which option the City is going to pursue with regard to a specific location for the baseball stadium Without a final decision the architects cannot proceed with the earth-work design and each day that passes after October 11, 1994, is another day off the construction schedule for having a playable field in May, 1995 Mayor DeFelice pointed out the Council's objective was not just to build a stadium, but to build it in time for it to be used in May, 1995, and wanted to know what was the latest possible date for construction of the stadium'? Mr Crutchfield explained that the City has a commitment to the Western Baseball League to have a playable stadium by the middle of May, 1995 This is to enable them to have at least two weeks of practice before the season starts Mr Garrison felt that the only thing the City can do is to relocate and build the stadium on City property and save needless negotiation with the County m the future MOTION Mr Garrison moved that Council direct staff to make architectural and engmeenng changes needed to go out for bid, using the site for the stadium that the City owns east of the TRAC facility Mr Strode seconded the motion Mr Crutchfield explained that it might be helpful if Councilmember's Lathim and Jensen shared with Council their experience in this process Mr Jensen stated that it appears that the City is running out of time to successfully complete the lease agreement with the County, however, the attorney for the County has agreed to send a finalized agreement on October 11, 1994 If the agreement was acceptable, with no additional negotiations needed, a special meeting could be held on October 12, 1994, to finalize the lease documents Mr Jensen felt that even with the recent negotiations the City and County were a long way away from reaching an agreement and he was starting to favor placing the stadium on City property He felt that it might be better for the entire project, both for TRAC and the stadium, to avoid conflicts in the future Mr Lathim felt that, after negotiating with the County for approximately 25 to 30 hours over the past several months, that the City and the County were both trying to do what's best for the citizens of Franklin County He felt that the County would be better off if the stadium is not located on the TRAC site This will allow the County to generate revenues off that property and he would support moving the stadium to City property By moving the stadium there won't be any controversy with TRAC activities, while still being located at the same site Mr Lathim felt that Council should keep in mind that there will be a TRAC facility, soccer fields, sport fields, and a baseball stadium all within the same area that is going to be one of the finest recreation and trade centers in the Northwest By moving the stadium the City will be enhancing the entire project and he would support moving the stadium -2 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL OCTOBER 10, 1994 Mr Jensen stated that the reason Council sought to include the stadium in the TRAC facility was to avoid another parking area that could have been provided by TRAC With the realization of the soccer complex, Council is finding it necessary to put in additional parking anyway to accommodate that facility This would provide additional parking for the TRAC facility if there was a large event where there was an overflow Mr Crutchfield pointed out that if the stadium is moved, Homerun Road would not be needed These funds could be used on the parking lot for the stadium and soccer complex Mr Jensen felt that the City shouldn't be in any competition with the TRAC facility Council is still committed to that project and he didn't view this move as being one that would be in anyway competitive with TRAC Mr Kilbury stated that he was very reluctant to move the stadium without adjoining with the County, however, he felt that there was some possibility that the City was past the deadline to get started on this project If anything goes wrong, even now, with construction the City will be late in getting it done He felt that Council should proceed and come up with a stadium Mr Strode pointed out that he as been involved with the TRAC project as long as he has been on the Council and from the very beginmng the Commissioners have been wary of the prospect of providing a baseball stadium in conjunction with the TRAC facility This is due, mainly, to parking problems Since the first talks of a baseball stadium the County's main concern has been scheduling conflicts between the two facilities Mr Strode viewed the opportunity to move the baseball stadium, and put in additional parking, to be good for both parties It will be possible to schedule more events at the same time and he would agree with relocating the baseball stadium to City property Mr Hargrow was also in support of moving the baseball stadium and felt it would be in the best interest of both the City and the County Mr Crutchfield suggested that Council might want to continue to extend the financing of certain water and sewer improvements at the TRAC site Those funds could not be expended on the stadium and extend that offer to the County, with respect to the TRAC site work, to pay for the water and sewer improvements The City would recover those funds as development occurred Mayor DeFelice restated the motion The motion carried unanimously TRAC Financing Agreements Mr Crutchfield explained that the TRAC financing agreements committed the City to pay half of the debt service associated with the County's issuance of $2 4 million in Commissioner Bonds With the bid openings for the TRAC facility, and the site work, the total expense of the project exceeded the ongmal budget After fine tuning the list of improvements from the bid packages, it was concluded that if Rodeo Drive, the installation of utilities, and Homerun Road are completed it would take an additional half million dollars in Commissioner Bonds to be issued by the County The County, based on the assumption that the City would participate, issued those bonds and has committed to the additional debt Based on last weeks discussions, and the absence of an agreement on the location of the baseball stadium, staff informed the Commissioners that the City would not be committing to that debt There was discussion -3- MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL OCTOBER 10, 1994 about the impact of this and it was determined that the County can escrow those funds and pay those bonds off as they mature realizing only the interest difference Mr Lathim felt that by relocating the baseball stadium it will create another 8 acres for the County to use for revenues and they should make up for the loss Mr Lathim felt this would be a benefit to everyone concerned Mr Crutchfield felt that the County would want the City to commit to sharing the additional debt and install Homerun Road However, there isn't money to do both Mr Kilbury felt that the City should commit to the water and sewer funding, see if there is anything further that needs to be funded, and discuss this further at the next meeting Mr Crutchfield felt it wouldn't be unreasonable to spend some time to see what kind of list of improvements the City might be willing to commit to, above and beyond the initial $2 4 million However, Council needed to keep in mind the additional cost associated with the parking lot on the City's site for the stadium Mr Garrison agreed to have this item, with some approximate figures for the water and sewer improvements, on the next regular meeting agenda Mr Crutchfield stated that staff could put an agenda report in the next packet for review of the elements that could possibly be included Mr Strode agreed with Mr Garrison to put this item on the next agenda Mr Todd Ungerecht, Franklin County Deputy Prosecutor, stated that the bonds will be issued October 11, 1994, for financing TRAC minus $500,000 the City will not commit to The remaining $2 4 million must be signed by the City after tonight's meeting in order to commit and issue the bonds Mayor DeFelice noted the City has already approved and committed to this debt MOTION Mr Kilbury moved to defer until the next regular meeting on October 17, 1994, the TRAC Finance Agreement with the amount given to each section, including but not limited to, the water, sewer and electrical lines and whatever other requirements there maybe Mr Strode seconded the motion Mr Jensen, for clarification, asked if the motion included defernng the signing of documents for the $2 4 million that the City has already committed to? Mr Kilbury said that was not the intent of the motion That his motion concerned the additional $500,000 financing Mayor DeFelice restated Mr Kilbury's motion that Council would defer taking action on the TRAC Financing Agreement until the next regular meeting of October 17, 1994, specifically with regards to the financing of the sewer, water and electrical lines, and any other items as seconded by Mr Strode Mr Lathim hoped that by the next meeting the costs will be listed out so it would be known that this is in cooperation with the County for the benefit of everyone involved The motion earned unanimously -4- Felice, Mayor MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL OCTOBER 10, 1994 ADJOURNMENT No further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8 10 p m ATTEST Cathenne D Seaman Deputy City Clerk PASSED and APPROVED this 1 .--/ day of D cioloe,r , 1994