The Name is BOND, G.O. BOND...

Unlike James Bond, City Council on Monday night approved General Obligation or "G.O." Bonds to pay for items related to the One University Place project.

There are two parts to the bond, one for the Public Improvement Project (realignment of Sunset/Melrose, turn lane into OUP, etc.) the other for the purchase of unit 103 in the South building to be used for City/Police offices as well as a multi-purpose room. This has been commonly referred to as the Community Center. The combined total of these two projects was estimated at $950,000. 

The largest portion of that is for the public improvements. By letting the bond, the city will pay for these improvements now, and then there will be a special tax assessment on OUP Property ONLY that will repay those costs. No current University Heights property owner will pay for any of the costs of the Public Improvement project. That project was estimated at $625,000.00

The smaller portion is for the community center space. That will be repaid by ALL city property owners via their property taxes. OUP property owners will also pay this assessment.

The city put their 10 year bond out for auction on Monday, Aug. 29th. When that happens banks and other entities bid to get the bond. The lower the bid, the LESS the city has to repay in interest. We were hopeful that we could get bids in the 2% to 2.25% interest range. There were 6  bids submitted. The winner, Banker's Bank of Madison, WI, bid 1.7%. That bid saved the city of University Heights $115,000.00 in projected interest payments. Due to how we structured our agreement with One University Place developers, the lower interest rate reduced the cost of the community center from $390,000.00 to $275,000.00. The lower rates saved U-Heights tax payers 29.5% on the cost of the community center. I remarked at the meeting that we are purchasing a community center for roughly the median house price in University Heights.

Full details of the financing can be found here: 
Aug. 29 Special Meeting Agenda & attachments

Council Webstream/ Construction Update 10

Two posts for the price of one!

Thanks to the folks at Iowa City Cable City Channel 4  U-Heights council meetings are broadcast Thursday evenings at 9:00 PM on Channel 4 AND are available as webcasts. Here is the link to July Council meeting:

Here is a link to the July Agenda and attachments

At our August meeting this week we also heard updates on the One University Place construction project:

OUP Construction Page Index

One University Place Construction Update 10

8/11/16

The One University Place South building is nearing completion. Landscaping for the South Building facing Melrose is underway and will be completed in next two weeks. Pavement for parking on the north side of the South Building for commercial businesses is being installed along with some of the internal roadways for the project. Initial occupancy by residents of the South Building is expected to begin in September. Commercial business announcements are expected in the next two months.

The Sunset/Melrose intersection traffic lights are being installed this week. The City will be working with MPOJC on the timing for the street lights which will take about a month.  The North Sunset road is expected to be open late August before school starts.

 A model unit on 3rd floor of the South building is open for prospective buyers to inspect, through Blank/McCune realtors. U-Heights resident, Clayton Hargrave will coordinate interior design and furnishing for the community space at no charge to the City. 

Excavation of the foundation on the North Building has begun. Footings will be installed in the next few weeks and the foundation for the two tier parking garage will begin after the footings are in place.

Attached is the August City Engineer’s report detailing the upcoming work schedule, and other OUP related items.

Independent Project manager Glen Siders sent council an amended report detailing site work.

 

Construction Update #10

 

  

Melrose Lane Reduction

PUBLIC NOTICE

Weather permitting, beginning Tuesday, August 9, construction crews will be working in Melrose Avenue near the intersection of Sunset Street.  There will be two operations occurring during the day.  Work to fix a water service leak will be underway in the middle of Melrose Avenue  to the west of the intersection.  This work will take place in the turn lane portion of the roadway, which will be barricaded, and two-way traffic is planned to be maintained around each side of the work.  This work is anticipated to be complete by Thursday, August 11.

Also on Tuesday, crews from CenturyLink will be accessing two manholes directly at the Melrose and Sunset intersection.  Flaggers will be used to direct traffic through the intersection while crews work within these manholes.  This work is anticipated to last for a couple hours on Tuesday, and will occur sometime between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM.

Drivers are asked to use caution around the work site, expect delays, allow extra travel time, and find alternative routes when possible.  As always, caution should be exercised when traveling through all construction areas.

Many Tardy Postings

I'm remiss in not posting information here! Below is a lot of pertinent info, with links.

Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County Benefit Concert at STELLA

Thursday, June 21 7- 9 PM in the parking lot.
Featuring HOME BREWED with U-Heights own Pete Damiano and Mike Kanellis.
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ONE UNIVERSITY PLACE Construction Update 9
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July City Council meeting AGENDA & ATTACHMENTS
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June 

Regular City Council meeting 

• AGENDA & ATTACHMENTS
• WEBSTREAM 

  Special City Council meeting

• AGENDA & ATTACHMENTS

May Council Meeting Webstream

Thanks to the folks at City Channel 4 in Iowa City U-Heights council meetings are broadcast Thursday evenings at 9:00 PM on Channel 4 AND are available as webcasts. Here is the link to

Here is a link to the May Agenda and attachments

Two Roads Diverged in a Wood...

Our city is at a crossroads right now regarding the development project One University Place. Which path we take will make a great deal of difference. 

One topic that was discussed at tonight's council meeting was the possibility of a special assessment being levied on One University Place to pay for the Public Improvements to Melrose/Sunset interesection and left turn lane on Melrose Ave.  

In a nutshell, here is what has brought us to this fork in the road. Following negotiations last year the final TIF agreement said the developer would pay for public improvements directly, while the Developer's Agreement said that they would be paid via a special assessment. Those two documents should have agreed with each other, but they did not. The long and short of all of this is, it was a major mistake on the developer's part not to have caught this. 

However, this is an opportunity for both the City and the developer to find a silver lining. By the City agreeing to a special assessment to be levied ONLY on property inside the development, we can reduce the amount that would need to be paid back for the construction because we can get a lower interest rate. In exchange for the City agreeing to this, the developer will reduce the cost of the community center by approximately $95K, which roughly translates to 90% of what they would save in interest if they were to pay back the City via a commercial loan. In addition, the City would be able to include the property tax from inside OUP for the Community Center costs, so that the repayment for a community center would be spread across all property owners, which is a fairer method in my opinion.

This path is one that this nuanced, is a good compromise, and has led to cooperation among residents who haven't always seen eye to eye on this project in the past. Below is a summary of that path from Finance Chair, Jim Lane, with analysis from Zoning Commission Chair Pat Bauer. And while it is 12 pages long, the high points on page one are very concise.

Special Assessment memo

The other path is follow that of Councilor Silvia Quezada who sent this email on Monday evening to some city residents:

New Financing Request by Maxwell/OUP Policy Issues Alert

Councilor Quezada has every right to express her own opinions in whatever forum she chooses. What I would like to point out here is that Silvia was not able to convince any fellow councilors to take her path in the summer of 2015 and vote against the TIF and Development Agreement. With a new council, including two brand new councilors, she has still been unable to convince any fellow councilors to follow her path. 

The bottom line here is that her path is one that will cost every resident higher property taxes, because not by being able to bond, the cost of the community center will be borne by only current residents, and OUP property will not be included.

I hope we will take the path that is cooperation and compromise, that will help our entire City become an even better place than it is already.

It will make all the difference...

May/June Events!

May and June are busy months in U-Heights, here are some upcoming events:

Graduation Weekend May 13-15 

• With UI commencement and end of term Melrose Ave. westbound will be be open this weekend

Bike to Work Week May 15-20

•  U-Heights Bike to Work Breakfast will be WED. MAY 18 6:30 to 8:30 AM at City Office
• Full BWW activities can be found here: Think Bicycles! BWW 2016

U-Heights Concert/ Dance Party  

• SAT. May 21, 1 to 3 PM 200 block of Koser Ave.

 

City-Wide GARAGE SALE June 4, 8 AM to Noon 

• How does this work?
  This is just like a conventional garage sale or yard sale. You can put your items for sale in your garage, porch, driveway, or in your yard. You run your sale independently. Having many University Heights garage sales all on one day will drive more traffic to your sale and give you an opportunity to check out your neighbors' sales at the same time.
• Do I need to pay anything?
  No. The City of University Heights will advertise the city-wide garage sale and put out large signs before the sale. All you have to do be ready on Saturday, June 4th at 8:00 a.m.

Farmer's Market June 7, 4 PM to 7 PM

• New location: University Club parking lot
  New times 4-7 PM