A decision determining the sale price of the downtown area's historic post office could be made during the city board's first meeting of the month on Tuesday night.
The resolution, which is on Tuesday's agenda, is a result of the city's decision to enter into a lease agreement with Phat Tire Bike Shop to occupy the property in July 2017, but did not actually move in until Oct. 2017 due to construction delays; this arrangement will expire in Jan. 2020, according to a city staff report. After this time, however, the bike shop does have the option to renew the lease for a period of one year, or purchase the property outright so long as they provide an advance notice of 90 days, which would mean a deadline of Oct. 31, 2019.
More recently, the business expressed interest coming to an agreement on the sale price in the event that the shop did want to purchase the building, saying that their business has been better than originally expected, according to a city staff report. The property was appraised on Oct. 19 and the value of the appraisal was $260,000.
The city has a net investment of $302,856.33 and Phat Tire Bike Shop has a net investment of $25,271.70, amounting to a gross investment of $328,128.03; this equates to the city's investment accounting for 92.3 percent and the bike shop's accounting for 7.7 percent, according to a city staff report. Considering the appraisal is $260,000 and each party receives an amount that is proportional to their net investment, the city would receive $239,980 from the sale of the property.
This leaves a deficit of $62,876.33, but the staff report implies that this is not to be a concern, as the lease payments will amount to $22,500 in added revenue by October 2019 and that the city is receiving additional sales tax revenue from the shop. It was also stated that by selling the property, this increases the likelihood that the business will remain in the downtown area for the foreseeable future, continuing to generate tax revenue in the process.
While it is likely to be a brief meeting, there are two additional items on the board's agenda for consideration:
• The third reading of an ordinance that would create a new chapter in the city code that would be referred to as "landscaping code," as well as making some amendments to chapter 102 of the city's municipal code, a chapter that largely pertains to zoning regulations, according to a city staff report. Both of these efforts are intended to incentivize property developers to prioritize the preservation of and increase the amount of green space in the city. The ordinance also imposes more stringent guidelines for developers as it pertains to the minimum amount of green space they'll be required to have on a given development.
• A resolution that would establish a deed restriction on the 2.72 acres of land along Sager Creek located between Country Club Road and Lincoln Street for a stream mitigation project currently underway that will help to alleviate the potential of flooding for a group of homes located further downstream, between West Jefferson Street and West Twin Springs Street .
There will also be a budget workshop at 5:30 p.m. prior to the board's meeting at 6:30 p.m. Both the workshop and board meeting take place at City Hall and are open to the public.
General News on 11/04/2018