01. Resolution 5052 - Resolution Finding that Blight Exists - BNSF TIF District (Tabled 9/6)kL
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Post Office Box 1. 997 - Kalispell, Montana o y t 997 - Telephone 407 W7700 Fax 0 7 -77
REPORT TO:
The Honorable Mayor Pamela B. Kennedy and City Council
FROM: Susan .foyer, Community Development Director
James H. Patrick, City Manager
S BJEC : BNSF TIF District
MEETING DATE* October 3, 2005
BACKGROUND: During 200 the former City Manager, Chris Kukulski, and the Community Development
staff, met with the City Council at a work shop on the potential development of a new
TIF District north of the railroad tracks to Meridian and roughly from Main Street to
Fifth Avenue west. Council instructed staff to identify the eligibility of this area to
qualify as a Tax Increment District but not to bring the request for action before them
until such time as potential development was identified.
Please note from the attached map of the proposed area that walgree 's is not included i
the proposed project area. The only new development that has or is taking place in the
proposed area is on the perimeter on prime property on either Main Street or Idaho.
Two major project proposals may be on the horizon and, thus, staff believes it is timely
for Council to take a look at'Implementing the creation of the BNSF TIFi tri t.
Recently West Coast Hospitalities announced their intention to renovate and expand the
existing hotel/mall site are well as expand retail and parking within the proposed district
Secondly, a proposal is being developed for an events center to be constructed within th..
area that initially has 4,500 seats vita. the potential seating capacity of p to ,000. The
developers envision that the sports complex can be shared witb the community during
non -sports activity hours.
Council asked for the following questions to be .investigated and the response given to
theca on October 3, 2005.
1. what is the c rrent taxable value of the proposed area?
Answer: $23,670,929 (real estate and personal property)
The major property owners within this proposed district are;
:bank west -- 9 7 21
Equity Supply - - $4,194,820
2d Avenue 'west Properties Building -- $1,097, 0
Big Sky Senior Housing -- $1,219,267
2. Wbat is the condition of the existing infrastructure and streets:
Answer: Public Works advises that for the "current"" development that exists within
the area the infrastructure, while aged, is in pretty good shape as well as the streets.
However, should major development occur within this area the first need to address
would be the infrastructure replacement because of age and size and street upgrades
would then follow. A more detailed report will be provided by pudic works within
a few clays.
What is the definition of blight and blighting conditions?
Answer: Taken .en from Montana Code on Tax Increment Financing Districts within
an Urban Area.
(2) "'Blighted area*' means an area that is conducive to ill health, transmission o
disease, infant mortality, juvenile delinquency, and crime; substantially impairs or
arrests the sound growth of the city or its environs; retards the provision on of housing
accommodations* or constitutes economic or social liability or is detrimental or
constitutes a. menace to the public health, safety, welfare, and morals in its present
condition and use by reason o:
(a) the substantial physical dilapidation, deterioration, defective construction,
material, and arrangement, or age obsolescence or buildings or
improvements, whether residential or nonresidential;
(b) inadequate provision for ventilation, light, proper sanitary facilities, or
open spaces as determined by competent appraisers on the basis of an
examination of the building standards of the municipality;
(c) inappropriate or mixed uses of land or buildings;
(d) higb density of population and overcrowding
(e) defective or inadequate street layout;
(f) faulty .lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness;
(g) excessive land coverage
(h) unsanitary or unsafe conditions;
(i) d teri.oaration of site
0 diversity of ownership
(k) tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the lard;
(1) defective or unusual conditions of title
(m) improper subdivision or obsolete platting
(n) the existence of conditions that endanger life or property by fire and other
causes; or
o any combination of the factors listed in this subsection .
. What are the feelings of the School District in regards to the creation of this district:
A meeting is being scheduled for the near future to discuss the creation of this TIF
district as well as all other 'CIF districts.
RECOMMENDATION-. Staff is recommending that City Council approve the `finding of blight" within this area,
This is only the first step in creating a district and council will .c several other
opportunities to evaluate the need to actually create a TIF District.
` SCAIL IMPACT: The City would be able to rare money to address the necessary off -site infrastructure that
would be a part of the needs for both projects. Additionally., with TIF funding, the City
can assist with the development tbrougb site clearance and demolition if Council so
desires. Please refer to the attached letter from the City Manager as to eligible assistance
activities.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by Council.
.espectfull . brnitted,
�usaVco-i4 erg Director
Community Development V
Date MemoPrepared: September 22, 2005
James -ric
City Manager
RESOLUTION No, 5052
A RESOLUTION FINDING THAT BLIGHTED AREAS EXIST IN THE CITY of
KALISPELL ANDAT REHABILITATION, REDEVELOPMENT, OR A
COMBINATION THEREOF of SUCH AREAS IS NECESSARY IN THE INTEREST
OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, MORALS OR WELFARE OF THE RESIDENTS
OF THE CITY of KA ISPELL.
WHEREAS, The State of Montana has provided for the redevelopment of those portions of its
cities which constitute a menace to public health and safety, constitute an
economic and social liability and substantially impair the sound growth of a
municipality; and
WHERF,,AS the procedure provided In Title 7, Chapter 15, part 42 and 43 of Montana Codes
Annotated authorizes munici-palities to exercise statutory urban renewal powers
for redevelopment and rehabilitation through urban renewal plans and projects,
after the municipality has made a Ending that a blighted area exists that
substantially impairs or arrest the sound growth of the city or its environs; retards
the provision of housing accommodations, constitutes in economic or social
liability; and
WHEREAS, the Community Development Department staff and building officials, employed
by the City of Kalispell, have evaluated and documented the social, fiscal and
physical aspects of the Kalispell Central Business District and adjacent areas to
the west and north of the Central Business District; and
WHEREAS, this study of land uses, ownership, building conditions and demographics was
conducted and reviewed by staff employed by the City of Kalispell on the basis o
an examination of the building standards adapted by the City of Kalispell; and
WHEREAS,, several indicators of deteriorated conditions and blight were found in the study
area; and
WHEREAS, more than fifty percent of the area meets the definition of inappropriate or
mixed uses of land or buildings and found to be in less than standard condition;
and
WHEREAS, there exists defective or inadequate street layout, particularly for streets adjacent
to Center Street and the BNSF railroad tracks where the configuration of the
streets causes traffic circulation problems and many streets in the study area are 1111
less than GOOD condition; and
WHEREAS, there are inadequate sidewalk and curb and gutters in the area; and
WHEREAS, many of the sewer and water lines in the study area deed to be replaced; and.
WHERIF,AS, demographic studies indicate there exists a significant amount of low -moderate
income persons residing in the area; and
WH SAS, the studies of land use, building conditions, ownership, parking and
transportation, indicate a relationship of factors contributing to the blighting
conditions which exist in the area; and
WHEREAS, the studies, reports and Endings referred to herein, are available for public review
at the offices of the City of Kalispell; and
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the City of Kalispell to exercise the powers conferred by the
Montana Urban Renewal Laver; and
WHEREAS, the Montana Urban Renewal Law states that no municipality may exercise any of
the powers conferred therein until after its local governing body shall have
adopted a Resolution of Necessity.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of THE CITY of
KALISPELL, MON A IA AS FOLLOWS.
SECTION I. That one or more blighted areas exist in the City of Kalispell.
SECTION 11. That the rehabilitation, redevelopment, or a combination thereof,
of such area or areas is necessary in the interest of the public
health, safety, morals, and welfare of the residents of the City of
Kalispell.
SECTION 111. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its
passage by the City Council.
PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND SIGNED BY THE MAYOR of
THE CITY of KALISPELL,"PHIS 3RD DAY OF OCTOBER, 2005.
Pamela B. Kennedy
Mayor
A TE S
Theresa White
City Clerk
City of Kalispell Public
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Post office Box 1997, , Kalispell, Montana -1 Telephone - , Fax - 1
TO: Susan Moverg Community Development Director
C: James H. Patrick, City Manager
FROM: James C. Haus , P.E., Director of Pub
SUBJECT: Public Infrastructure Assessment —
DATE: 26 September 2005
A. new Urban Renewal District has been proposed for 83 acres surrounding the Kalispell Center
Mall. the area includes large areas related to current t and past BNSF operations and the residential and
commercial areas close b,. There are approximately 28 blocks (with nearly 100 block faces) within the
proposed district. At the request of the Community Development Director, Public works has made a
preliminary assessment of the condition of public infrastructure with the proposed district.
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STREETS
Streets in the area are in generally good condition. They are well maintained and display very few
problems with cracking or any other common a bates of distress. Crack sealing is performed on a
regular basis and all streets are scheduled for other pavement maintenance, such as chip sealing and
overlays, in accordance with the City's pavement management system guidelines. Virtually all streets
have been chip sealed or overlaid in the past eight years. The railroad crossing at Fifth Ave. W.N. should
e reconstructed using RXR materials similar to others in the downtown area. This is a task that would be
done by the railroad, not the City.
Approximately 34 blocks (block .faces) do not have sidewalks 1AW current City standards. Two
block lack curbing. Existing features are in good repair for thee- age with the typical presence of some
cracking due to age, root heaves, and damage from heavy vehicles at some time in the past. In general,
curbing and sidewalks reflect modest but typical levels of deferred maintenance that is in keeping with
other Kalispell neighborhoods of similar age and character.
In general, the streets in the area reflect development to the minimum street design standards
which were in place at the tines they were constructed. Streets do not consistently meet current City
standards, but adequately meet the requirements irements expected for their current use and level of development.
Significant redevelopment to a higher intensity with increased vehicle traffic loads sho uld include
reconstruction of affected streets to current standards.
ev00.doc
SEWER
The area 's reasonably well -served by a sanitary sewer system that is in generally good condition.
Figure 1 shows the existing sanitary sewer system. The sewer mains vary in size from -inch diameter to
2 -inch diameter. Their general condition reflects the fact that some are more than 50- 5 years old while
other are of more recent cons ruction. Newer sewers are PVC pipe and in excellent condition, but most
are older clay pipe sewers that reflect a deteriorated condition that is consistent with their age. Clay
sewers typically develop cracks over time that allows the entry of ground water and tree roots. Camera
inspection records confirm this. There is also some differential settlement in a few areas that has produced
low points which require regular cleaning of the affected mains. The City has a comprehensive
maintenance program for cleaning and root removal which keeps the sewers in generally good operating
condition. Many of the sewer mains act as transport conduits for wastewater from the west -north
neighborhood of Kalispell between US 93 and Meridian Road. As such, the mains are larger than they
would normally be if designed to serve only the area of the proposed district. Moles are in good repair
and spaced at intervals consistent with good design so that maintenance is possible with few problems,
The singular outstanding problem with sewers in older areas is the infiltration of ground water
and storm. water inflow which 'increases the burden on the City's wastewater treatment plant. The sewers
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in this area frequently cons bate higher than normal quantities of inflow and infiltration &1 the
WWTP. This is fairly common throughout the older parts of Kalispell where old construction has
deteriorated and old building practices provided direct connections of roof drains to the building sewer.
Current City requirements prevent this, and current regulations require that remodels of old buildings
include the separation of storm water drains from the sanitary sewer system. Significant redevelopment
within the proposed urban renewal district would greatly enhance the City's efforts to address this chronic
problem. This would have a. direct benefit to the ratepayers by reducing future WWTP expansion costs.
The following excerpt from the 2002 Kalispell Facility Plan outlines the importance of adequately
addressing this component of WWTP flogs.
4.1.4.2 Peak Infiltration/Inflow Summary and Recommendations
Peak VI was estimated to be approximately 4 mgd through evaluation of Dow data from the
month of March 19971, when the highest treatment plant flows were recorded. Lift station flows were
analyzed to quantify the amount of flow attributable to the various drainage basins in the collection
system* 'ea ]A varied from negligible amounts in areas where modern construction materials have been
used, to 793 gdacre in the Greenacres drainage basin, to 1,800 gpd/acre in the core of the City. Table -
summarizes recommended factors for modeling peak IA into the Kalispell wastewater collection system.
ern0 . o
Table . Inflow Flog Factors
Wastewater Collection stems It(gpd/acre)
Cold construction with connections to surface drama(City Core)
l ,boo
Lo r arec' s subject to flooding LGreen._..acres)
New eon struction not soh * e t to flooding
o
Pew is a significant contribution of flow to thee,,;:,:::::...:.
eat lit during storrrx everts periods o Ml w is a iificant
wastewater treater l .�
n melt, The downtown and Greeracres areas the main AWr fflow o the wastewater
contributors of peak IA. In the Greenacres drainage basin steps :::"-tre-aftentplant during storm evtv
should be taken to ensure that existing residences with basements andperiods of ,snow
do not have sump pumps directly connected to the sewer system,
New homes in this area should be Inspected to ensure that
basements have sumps connected to the storm drainage collection system. Storm inlets directly connected
to the wastewater collection system should he removed. These are known to exist at the intersection of I t
Avenue East and 'd Street East and the intersection of 4hAvenue West and VhStreet West.
Interviews with City staff revealed that a good portion o
roof drainage �r the core downtown area is connected to the
wastewater collection system. The City should be opportunistic
where possible it removing these connections when improvement
projects are implemented in this area. Inspection of new
construction ..and.... educ ' at '
ion.'''
.' ar .... th �- methods the City should
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employ to reduce inflow to the system.
The calculated unit flow factors and wet weather flow
factors are summarized in Table -. These factors were used to
calculate wastewater flows for existing and future development.
Tar '. Summary of Wastewater Flaw Assignment
Parameters
staff revealed tkat
` roof dra rra the
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wntown area is connected to
the wastewater collection system The.:.:.,.
City sh o uld be opportunisticpossible in
removing
Residential sa.nitary flow facto' d ca ita
Commercial sari tow factor der to e
Wet -weather Irtration dire
Greeaeres
15
Ci Core
265
Areas of Low IM
100
'ark V acre
Greeracres
800
City Core
1,800
Areas of Cony 1&1
300
Current City regulations require separation of storm water inflows from the sanitary sewer when
buildings are remodeled, The City should continue to pursue the goal of eliminating all I&I wherever
possible. However, the existing sanitary surer system generally provides adequate service to the area for
the existing level of development and lard use.
ca030.doc
WATER
The area is reasonably well -served by a water system that is in generally good condition. Figure
shows the existing water system. The rains vary in size and condition reflecting the fact that some are
more than 75 years old while other are of more recent construction. Approximately 15 blocks 30 block
faces) have no access to a City water main of any size, .For e ampal e, Montana Street, from Main Street to
Fifth ,avenue west has no water main in the roadway. However, in these area and others where no water
main is installed, service to properties is typically provided from mains located in crossing streets.
Approximately 12 blocks block faces) are served by -inch diameter mains. This size was common in
years past, but no longer meets the minimum size required by City and State regulations. Nonetheless,
service provided by these mains appears adequate for the current level of development and land use. The
remaining areas are served by mains }inch diameter or larger. The older water mains are east iron which
is subject to corrosion. Most problems have been of a localized nature due to the somewhat unpredictable
soil chemistry in the Kalispell area. Most mains are jin soils that are not excessively corrosive. However,
there are pockets of highly corrosive sells which can attack metal pipelines and cause leaks, In addition,
old east iron pipes were sealed at theiroints with materials that are now obsolete, including lead. This is
not a condition that significantly affects water quality but, due to the inevitable movement of the soil,
these older types of mechanical Joints tend to leak at greater rates than is currently acceptable for the
industry.
n general, water rains in the area were developed to the standards in place at the time of their
construction. There is adequate looping for service maintenance in outages and their generally good
condition adequately serves the area and meets the current needs of existing development. However,
significant redevelopment to a higher standard and intensity should include replacement of under -sized
mains and possibly new mains to raise the quality of domestic and fire suppression service to a higher
level than is attainable by the existing system.
STORM DRAINAGE
The area is well served by an existing storm drainage system built over an extended period of
time. Figure 3 shows the existing storm drainage system. Many drainage pipes are old but are in very
good condition. Drain inlets are generally adequate. The known deficiencies are approximately ten inlets
(tops only) on Idaho Street which, depending on the final execution of a district boundary, may or may
not be within the confines of the district. However, since Idaho Street is also US Highway 2 it may be
possible to defer City investment to improve these inlets until a. State maintenance or improvement
project can include them within its scope of work,
memoO432005.doc
In general, current storm drainage policy requires storm flows to be retained on -site. This limits
the amount of runoff that reaches a storm drain. Any significant redevelopment of the area must comply
witb these requirements so additional storm inflows to the existing system can be kept to a minimum. The
current stem drainage system in the area performs adequately for the current level of development and
lard use.
CONCLUSION
Public infrastructure consisting of streets, sidewalks and gutters, water system, sanitary sewer
system and storm drainage systems within the proposed 'Urban Renewal District are in generally good
condition. These systems are capable of supporting the needs of the existing level of development and
land uses with only modest improvement and upgrades for deferred maintenance. Significant
redevelopment of the area which increases traffic loads, increases water flow requirements particularly
for fire suppression), or raises sewage flows into the sewers should include a detailed reevaluation of the
capacities of impacted systems. This should address current and future flows generated within the district,
and also should consider loss of capacity for conveyance of out -of -district flows which are using critical
pipelines that traverse the district. Storm drainage systems may need some additional investment to
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accommodate raised levels of devel.cnent,1'drrdt 'City 'a''fid State regulations that require on -site.
management of storm waters will ensure this is kept to a manageable level.
SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM
WATER SYSTEM
STORM DRAIN SYSTEM