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COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE -Minutes 20100608 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE – CITY OF MUSKEGO (Approved as corrected) * 7/27/2010 MINUTES OF MEETING HELD TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2010 Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m. and led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Mayor Johnson, Aldermen Snead, Harenda, Borgman, Werner, Soltysiak, Schaumberg, Fiedler, Deputy Clerk Jill Blenski. Also present Community Development Director Jeff Muenkel. STATEMENT OF PUBLIC NOTICE The meeting had been noticed in accordance with the Open Meeting Law. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There were no issues with the agenda items listed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ald. Borgman moved to approve minutes of the May 11, 2010. Ald. Soltysiak seconded; motion carried. NEW BUSINESS 1. Bring Back the Lake discussion. Community Development Director Jeff Muenkel spoke about the survey results and petitions that his department received. Results and totals are posted on the Internet. At the Public Informational Meeting on May 4, 2010 there were a total of 82 comments: 14 “for” (17%), 57 “against” (70%) and 11 “undecided” (13%). Outside of the Public Information Meeting up to June 1, 2010 there were a total of 159 comments: 70 “for” (44%), 77 “against” (48.4%) and “without a direct opinion” (7.6%). Since June 1 they received an additional 10 comments – 8 “for”, 2 “against” and also had received a petition late this afternoon -15 or 16 pages “against” and before the June 1, 2010 date they received a petition with about 180 signatures “against” the project. The Aldermen gave the results of the responses they received:  Ald Borgman - 17 emails - 14 against, 3 for – therefore he doesn’t back the project.  Ald Fielder – his emails are split – hasn’t made any decision at this time.  Ald Snead – split – received many comments stating that this is not the right time due to economics.  Ald Harenda –his responses have been split - feels we need to look at things in more depth and discuss among the committee.  Ald Soltysiak – has had more positive then negative responses – more research needs to be done and make sure this is right for the community.  Ald Schaumberg – received 6 or 7 emails and they were split- concerns about the cost. Ald Fiedler spoke about “opportunity” and that this opportunity passed the City by years ago and that this might not be the best time to move forward with the project but the “only” time. Committee of the Whole meeting page 2 June 8, 2010 Ald Werner – has heard from many people – a lot of comments and questions regarding the size of project, do we need more condos, issues about parking and what’s the benefit for the City? He has met with landowners that are still willing to sell their land to the City. One of the big issues is about the lost of the Gardetto & Cherek homes. He feels that there is still an interest in going forward with the project– more of a passive park and maybe saving one or both of the homes. Possibly reduce the size and cost of the project by researching options and opportunities. Ald Snead wanted clarification on why the City is interested in investing in real estate instead of having the developer bring it forth. She also felt that with the recent budget cuts the City should not be taking money from another park area to fund the maintenance of this proposed park – all of the parks in the City need to be taken care of. Ald Werner said that the City did not intend to be a developer but to have control of the design of the park and to keep it tax neutral. Going forward the developers should buy the land themselves. The park area should be taken care of by the City. Mayor Johnson stated that even if this project does not go forward it is still his recommendation that certain parkland be sold off and the monies put to better use in the park system. He also stated that by contracting out grass cutting and planting prairie grass in unused areas the City has saved money. Agrees that we need a plan for the park system and cost projection. Ald Harenda said the amount of responses is so low that it’s hard to base a decision based on those numbers. The 2020 comp plan had included the Bring Back the Lake Project and feels we need to research this thoroughly. Ald Werner stated that the properties west of DJ’S tavern (Lindhorst & Lemke) are not part of any future discussions. By working with Director Muenkel he anticipates that in a few weeks, hopefully by the end of the month to bring forth a plan that would address the concerns on the scope of the project and the impact on the community. Ald Snead questioned how the project was initiated? Ald Werner stated that while serving on the Community Development Authority & Mayor’s Task Force there was much discussion on what could be done to promote commerce in the City-especially the downtown area. The 2020 comp plan identified the Bring Back the Lake concept and with the widening of Janesville Road, which is causing a lost of some retail space, he saw an opportunity. For three years he had worked on different areas along Janesville Road without success. He ended talking with Dan Hewitt the owner of DJ’S tavern that will be razed for the road widening project and Dan expressed an interest in staying in Muskego. Then he eventually had a discussion with Michael Dilworth (who owns the two properties east of DJ’S) regarding the opportunity to develop a space that would be good for the community. The project started to grow – the Lemke property was included due to an agreement regarding the lawsuit with the City and the Lemke property. Much later the Gardetto and Cherek properties became involved. The Park board was approached as to the interest for the park and then the plan commission was approached for their support. Now the goal is to take in to consideration all the comments from the community both “for” and “against” and to promote a reduced project at less cost with different amenities. Ald Fiedler asked that Director Muenkel give a brief background on the 2020 comp plan so that the council has an understanding of process. Director Muenkel stated that when the Parkland Mall site first came on the market and in meetings with the Community Development Authority, the original owner and Committee of the Whole meeting page 3 June 8, 2010 his developers they talked as early as 2002-2003 to see if it could be developed and to have the lake come in to play in hopes to change the atmosphere that would help to bring in new commerce. The initial draft was sent to each committee and board for comments. The idea to bring the lake in has been around since 2000 – the comp plan suggests investigating the opportunity if land becomes available. *(At the 7/27/2010 meeting Ald Soltysiak requested a correction to the following paragraph) Ald SoltysiakAld Harenda questioned what the core purpose is? Is it to be a community gathering space or a commercial area? Ald Werner stated the purpose is to create a gathering space for the community and commerce will develop around it. There then would be opportunities for commerce to develop down Pioneer Dr and Janesville Road. Council has made it clear that it be tax neutral Ald Harenda feels there is still ways to do this and keep it tax neutral. He would like to see better data, more detail and like to know if and where it has been done before and how it was funded. . Ald Snead doesn’t feel they have all the facts and enough supporting data to make a decision. Mayor said this is all part of the process, the surveys and input from the citizens. Ald Werner will work with Community Development Director Muenkel to bring a new concept forward and this issue may be put on the agenda for the next Committee of the Whole meeting. ADJOURNMENT Ald. Snead moved to adjourn at 7:33 p.m. Seconded by Ald. Fiedler, motion carried unanimously. Cindy Schweitzer Secretary