South Division-Grandville CIA - Special Meeting

South Division-Grandville CIA 1823 Division Avenue S Minutes Packet Grand Rapids, MI 49507 May 17, 2022 @ 9:00 AM Grand Rapids Fire Department PRESENT: Synia Jordan, Angelica Velazquez, Amy Brower, Fran Dalton, Mary Dengerink ABSENT: Leonard Van Drunen, Kurt Reppart, Marcel Price OTHERS: Verah Narh-Kamara, Ken Miguel-Cipriano I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 9:13 AM by Vice-chair Synia Jordan II. Public Comment on Agenda Items None. III. Minutes Approval Mary Dengerink noted the name of the newly formed committee is Design and Development Committee, not Development Committee as it was referred to in the minutes. 1. Approval of Minutes from April 28, 2022 Motion to approve minutes from April 28, 2022 with the suggested amendment. RESULT: ACCEPTED AS AMENDED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Frances Dalton, Member SECONDER: Angelica Velazquez, Secretary YEAS: Jordan, Velazquez, Brower, Dalton, Dengerink ABSENT: Leonard Van Drunen, Kurt Reppart, Marcel Price IV. Action Items 1. South Division- Grandville CIA Land Acquisition Proposal Ms. Jordan and Amy Brower presented this item to the board. For almost 2 years, there have been discussions about a potential project on the vacant 1350 Cesar E. Chavez property. According to Ms. Brower, these conversations began with the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association and were later brought to the then Design Committee. There Generated 5/31/2022 01:00 PM South Division-Grandville Corridor Improvement Authority Meeting Full Page 2 May 17, 2022 have been community discussions through sessions with community groups for over a year and there is a consensus on the need for a community development center that can host events and training and provide the much-needed green space. This Stople property will provide an opportunity for a bigger project. Potential plans for the project have been provided by Fishbeck and, As You Are (AYA), another member of the planning team has contributed funds to cover a contract with Fishbeck for initial architectural drawings. The Design and Development Committee believes the Stople property is actively for sale and could be a phase 1 of the 1350 Cesar Chavez project. It is located at 642 Stople and it is going for $50,000. If the project does not pick up as planned, the CIA could resell the land. The committee believes it is crucial to purchase and control this property to ensure that it is used to create opportunities for people in the corridor. Ms. Dengerink noted that she discussed the project with Commissioner Kurt Reppart, and he was very supportive of the idea. He even suggested the CIA could discuss potentially developing a real estate rollover fund for these activities in the future. Fran Dalton asked how the committee intends to create opportunities with this purchase. Ms. Jordan answered that there is not a clear strategy at this point, a lot of things will be figured out along the way but it is very important to get a hold of this property so the CIA can have direct control through ownership to create opportunities. She added that they are fostering relationships with community partners like West Michigan Contractors to identify opportunity areas with developers and this is one of the ways to achieve that while responding to the need to implement our TIF plan and provide opportunities for community members to learn a skill. Ms. Dalton thinks there is not a clear objective for the purchase of this land. There is not a plan that speaks to the outcomes of this purchase. She is very supportive of the project and the proposed opportunities for the community, but she has concerns about approving this item without a plan. There should be a written down plan that speaks to the outcomes of this project and any future project that involves land acquisition. The CIA needs to position itself in the land acquisition, by identifying its functioning role in land purchase. Ms. Dengerink acknowledged there is not a plan that speaks to the CIA s role, but she thinks this is a learning opportunity for the CIA to see what is possible. There is a vision that supports this project. Angelica Velasquez added that there needs to be more transparency in the CIA affairs and there is an imbalance between South Division and Grandville. She is supportive of this project but also would like to see some balance between the 2 districts. There is a need to identify areas in both districts and make equal investments. Verah Narh-Kamara noted that the city does not have any policies that speak to land/ property acquisition for the CIAs. However, the city requires some sort of plan from the CIA on how they intend to fund the purchase of this land as well as to support all the maintenance requirements. She added that the department will be open to helping them create a plan if they need help in doing so. Ms. Dengerink suggested the board comes up with a list of priorities for the plan. Some of the items mentioned include ensuring Generated 5/31/2022 01:00 PM South Division-Grandville Corridor Improvement Authority Meeting Full Page 3 May 17, 2022 development against displacement, maintenance management, Community support, etc. Ms. Kamara reminded the board to be mindful of the criteria because developers require some sort of incentive to develop in the corridor. The board discussed heavily and agreed to take some time to develop a plan that will identify priorities and outcomes for land/property acquisition for the SDG corridor. They identified some of the outcomes at this meeting and the Design and Development Committee will discuss further and present a plan to the board at the next meeting. Ms. Dengerink presented an option for the CIA to back the purchase with a 1% down payment. The board agreed they need an in-house process to get this project started, they voted to table this discussion for the meeting in June. Ms. Kamara will consult legal services and risk management to provide some feedback to the board. Motion to table the conversation to June meeting to develop internal SDG standards for Land Acquisition. RESULT: TABLED [UNANIMOUS] Next: 6/9/2022 9:00 AM MOVER: Frances Dalton, Member SECONDER: Angelica Velazquez, Secretary YEAS: Jordan, Velazquez, Brower, Dalton, Dengerink ABSENT: Leonard Van Drunen, Kurt Reppart, Marcel Price 2. South Division- Grandville Facade Improvement Program Project Ms. Jordan presented this item to the and added that the committee is in full support of the project. Ms. Dalton noted the quote for the entire project is quite huge and would like to know what the outcome will be if he does not raise the rest of the funds needed. Ms. Kamara and the other board members explained that these funds will not be reimbursed to Friends of Four Star Inc. until the project is completed. And that this approval could also help Friends of Four Star Inc. secure other grants for the project. Motion to approve the façade grant application for 1944 Division Ave. S. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Mary Dengerink, Member SECONDER: Angelica Velazquez, Secretary YEAS: Jordan, Velazquez, Brower, Dalton, Dengerink ABSENT: Leonard Van Drunen, Kurt Reppart, Marcel Price Generated 5/31/2022 01:00 PM South Division-Grandville Corridor Improvement Authority Meeting Full Page 4 May 17, 2022 V. Other Business None. VI. Public Comment None. VII. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:58 a.m. by Vice-chair, Synia Jordan. Generated 5/31/2022 01:00 PM