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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-08-22 Finance Com Minutes DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE Tuesday, March 8, 2022 – 4:00 p.m. 5555 Perimeter Drive Council Chamber Meeting Minutes Ms. Alutto called the Finance Committee meeting of March 8, 2022 to order at 4:02 p.m. Committee members present: Ms. Alutto (Chair), Mr. Keeler Ms. Amorose Groomes arrived at 4:25 p.m. Staff members present: Mr. Stiffler, Ms. O’Callaghan Also present: Mary Lynn Readey, Chair, Matt Starr, Vice Chair, and Alison Srail, Developer Representative, Bridge Park NCA; Greg Daniels, City Special Counsel; Rob McCarthy, Bricker & Eckler. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Alutto moved to approved the minutes of the May 25, 2021 Finance Committee meeting. Mr. Keeler seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: Mr. Keeler, yes; Ms. Alutto, yes. Ms. Alutto moved to approved the minutes of the November 29, 2021 Finance Committee meeting. Mr. Keeler seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote: Mr. Keeler, yes; Ms. Alutto, yes. DISCUSSION ITEMS Bridge Park New Community Authority (NCA) Mr. Stiffler introduced the agenda item and all those in attendance to speak on this matter. He noted that this is the second annual meeting between the Bridge Park NCA and the Finance Committee. Ms. Readey provided a report as follows: The Statutory Purpose She introduced herself as Chair of the NCA and noted all City members have been on the board since its inception. She explained that the NCA is a unique statutory entity put in place to provide funding options for these kinds of projects. It was created by ordinance in 2015. Membership can be comprised of 7 to 13 members. It currently has 7 members and has throughout its existence. The powers of the NCA have been limited to issuing assessments in order to fund parking garages and smaller infrastructure improvements. Finance Committee Minutes March 8, 2022 Page 2 Membership and Staff Ms. Readey named the other members and shared that each of these individuals is a committed, long-standing Dublin resident. City membership is all volunteers. No one works full-time for the project. They are providing a City connection and oversight. She named the members on the developer side and noted that there are no full time employees on the board. They have an amalgamation of professional services. There is legal representation. There is a trustee (Huntington Bank), City Staff Members, Accounting, Audit and Tax Collection. She shared that they have since shifted the audit function to the State of Ohio auditing services. With such a nuanced entity, it is important to have as much oversight on what is being done as possible. The NCA meets several times per year but usually following an annual cadence with the goal to set the budget for the year, to provide any kind of charge resolutions or debt that has to be covered, and to approve necessary financing. 2021 Board Actions Ms. Ready shared the first of their 2021-01 budget resolutions. It is not atypical. She shared that many of the expenses are payments that are being made on prior bond issuances for the community infrastructure services. The second resolution from 2021 is the charge resolution. In 2021, under this resolution, they had to dip into the reserve to fund the shortfall that came before City Council. The F Block Debt Service Charge was a unique charge to 2021. 2020-2019 Audit Results Ms. Readey shared that this year they have a full audit from the State Auditor’s Office. She is pleased to report that they have had a clean audit. It is unusual to have an entity that has no employees or transfer of funds. It is a little unusual for the auditor’s office to be working with this, although there are at least a dozen across the state. She stated that they are pleased to receive a positive finding from the auditor’s office. Mr. Stiffler provided a City report. On March 11, the City will hold the Riverside Celebration to dedicate The Dublin Link and Riverside Crossing Park. Regarding that park, there is about $1.1 million outstanding in the budget. He listed the outstanding items to be completed:  Paths on western side under the bridge  Path from west plaza to North Street  East side – boulder staircase to river Those projects will be completed in a reasonable time frame. Mr. Stiffler stated that the 2022-2026 CIP budget appropriated additional funding for the Riverside Crossing Park Promenade. That project was scheduled for design in 2023 and 2024 for construction. He shared that conversations are ongoing regarding the vacancy on the board and noted that they expect to have this position filled prior to the next NCA meeting. Ms. Alutto stated that it might be preferable to have a resident of the area with a financial background on the NCA. Mr. Reynolds stated that it is not unusual to have residents, though it is not required. It is within the purview of Council to choose. It can be a citizen of Dublin or not. They have very wide discretion to get the right person with the right background. A finance background would be very helpful. Finance Committee Minutes March 8, 2022 Page 3 Ms. Alutto asked about the selection and appointment process. Ms. O’Callaghan stated that once they have completed their benchmarking, they will circle back with a schedule and options. They know their legal obligations. In response to a question from Ms. Alutto regarding the timeframe, Ms. O’Callaghan stated that she anticipates they will have something within a couple of weeks. She added that this hasn’t been top priority because the next meeting of the Board isn’t for several months. Ms. Alutto stated that she knows how long it can take to find someone with the right acumen to appoint. This is a mechanism that is not commonly used and they have to have a strong finance background. Ms. O’Callaghan stated that they very much agree. She needs to have a conversation with the City Manager regarding how he wants to proceed with the recommendation. Mr. Starr gave a Developer Report. He stated that there is always keen interest on what’s happening in and around neighborhoods. He stated that regarding residential occupancy, they are quite full. Units go quickly. In response to Ms. Alutto’s question about costs of the units, Mr. Starr stated that costs are across the board – ranging from $1,000 to $4,100 per month with an average of probably $1,800 per month. There is just one unit remaining for sale, then they will be completely sold out of existing condo units. He referenced commercial space noting that they are also very full. There is very little inventory to lease. They are leasing a building under construction. He can’t tell how many people are actually in those buildings but would guess occupancy is at 50%. Everyone has a different mode of approaching in-person work. Retail/Restaurant space is also mostly full. There is about 4,000 square feet left in the building closest to the North Market. There are a lot of supply chain issues with getting these spaces built out. It is 180-210 days at best to design and build. Ms. Alutto asked if they were able to lock in pricing for today’s rates. Mr. Starr stated that typically a supplier will lock in prices for about seven days. Ms. Alutto stated that Dublin promised that the impact to schools from these units would be limited. She asked if he had any idea about those numbers. Mr. Starr stated that they have about 21 kids that live at Bridge Park; only 7 are new to the district and that has been consistent. Mr. Starr continued sharing updates on commercial space. He stated that the North Market is 100% leased. There is one pop-up that rotates. In total, there were $60 million in food and beverage sales at Bridge Park in 2021. He stated that that number is impressive because prior to this, those numbers were leaving the community. They expect it to be between $65-70 million in 2022. He shared two new openings – Weenie Wonder and Kona Craft Kitchen. Mr. Starr provided an update on Construction. The G Block (across from Springhill Suites) has 105,000 square feet of office and 15,000 square feet of retail/restaurant under construction. Construction completion is expected Summer 2023. They already have a company committed to take the entire top floor. It is a new business with new jobs coming to Dublin. There is a garage behind that with 350 spaces. The NCA is paying $17 million to build 350 spaces and paid $16 million to build original garages that had 850 spaces due to the escalation in construction costs. He stated that there is a great artist space on the Dale Drive side of this garage. There is also a condominium building called The Theodore that is under construction. These units are much smaller than what was built previously (600-1,600 sf). They have 41 reservations already. The Finance Committee Minutes March 8, 2022 Page 4 average price is $305,000. The Bailey (south of Springhill Suites) is still going through the Planning and Zoning process. It is a partnership with Friendship Village consisting of 87 units of senior living. They anticipate breaking ground this summer. Mr. Keeler stated that $305,000 is what he calls affordable housing. There is a need for senior housing and the interest in this project is proof positive that they want to live in the middle of all the action. Ms. Srail gave a recap of prior issuances and the corresponding uses and revenue sources. The City of Dublin issue kicked off development at Bridge Park. It was for B and C block garages as well as the original portion of the streetscapes. The total issuance was about $40 million. She stated that those were general obligation bonds from the City and were sized with minimum payments placed on B and C blocks. The west side had bonds issued around the same time for the public parking garage and the street that runs behind the condos for a total issue $13.4 million. It was self-contained with NCA fees for the condo building and minimum service payments from the commercial building. The A Block use was more complicated. She shared a map outlining the Bond Uses and Revenue Sources by area. This paid for the A Block garage, the events center, the streetscape for the A and H block. The revenues were more complex. They pulled from many blocks in Bridge Park. For D Block they were able to fund the parking garage and streets and $6 million on the North Market facility. Those revenues were self- contained with D Block. They had minimum service payments on commercial components there, NCA payments on condos, and issued the first sales tax. The most recent issuance is the F and G block combined. There is a parking garage with 350 spaces and the service drive between the Springhill and Bailey. Those bonds are paid from F and G block. One obligation they have is to close on private financing for the Bailey. They are targeting to do that in May but obligated to do so by June. Ms. Srail shared a summary of the permit and license bonds (P & L). All of the different components reviewed tonight feed into this master waterfall to pay for the bonds. This does not include revenues from G and F blocks. Mr. Starr shared potential new developments including and around Bridge Park. He stated that there are two remaining blocks of residential behind the North Market. There is one block for sale and one for lease but that will be dictated by market conditions. They are expected to add approximately 80 additional units. J Block is not currently part of the NCA and would have to be added. It includes a COTA Park and Ride. This is the site that could be a multi-purpose sports facility with uses to support that. The Y Block is the former Wendy’s site at the roundabout. The legislation received a first reading at Council last night (March 7) and could include a boutique hotel, restaurant, for sale residential and parking to support it. Ms. Srail stated that there is the potential for the remainder of bond proceeds from F and G ($1 million) to be allocated for a public parking component on H block. Ms. Alutto thanked the NCA for coming in so there is a relationship and so Council can be somewhat knowledgeable as to how this is working. Finance Committee Minutes March 8, 2022 Page 5 UPCOMING COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULING Mr. Stiffler sought confirmation of the previously discussed schedule. The Committee offered consensus on the schedule. There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 4:44 p.m. _Christina Alutto____________ Chair _Jayme Maxwell_____________ Deputy Clerk of Council