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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/31/2000 - Regular Minutes - Wolf Pen Creek Oversight Committee WOLF PEN CREEK OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING NOON, JANUARY 31, 2000 COLLEGE STATION CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS Members Present: James Massey; Dennis Maloney; Kay Henryson; Sharon Colson; Marsha Sanford, Alternate; Sarah Birkhold; George Dresser, Alternate; Phillip Kelby, Alternate; Judith Warren, Alternate. Members Absent: Wayne Rife Staff Present: Steve Beachy, Pete Vanecek, Afsaneh Yazdani, David Wood - Parks & Recreation; Frank Simoneaux, Mark Smith, Bob Mosley - Public Works; Kelly Chapman - Public Relations; Kim Foutz - Economic Development; Charles Cryan, Fiscal Services; Pamela Springfield, Committee Secretary Visitors: Mike McClure, Kent Laza, McClure Engineering; Charles Ellison, Attorney at Law; Paul Clarke, Clarke &Wyndham, Inc.; Rachel Mach, TAMU Student; Johanna Henry, KBTX- TV Regular Meetina Call To Order: James Massey called the meeting to order with a quorum present, at 12:11 p.m. 1. Approval of Minutes of November 8, 1999: Sharon Colson made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Judy Warren seconded. The members voted and the minutes were unanimously approved. George Dresser and Sarah Birkhold were not present to vote. 2. Approval of Member Requests For Absences: James said that Wayne Rife was the only member absent due to business reasons, however the Planning and Zoning Board was represented. 3. Discussion and Possible Action Concerning The Permit Applications Pending With The US Army Corp Of Engineers (USACE): Mark Smith stated that the City had a signed permit from the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) for the project involving what was once part of the lake area. The USACE letter of approval and a map showing the project area, were passed out (attached) Mark described the project. Areas that are covered with debris and mud would be smoothed out, and grass planted. A wetland area will be retained, with the vegetation and ecosystem that goes along with that. Mark explained that the alignment of the creek was arrived at naturally by allowing the stream to seek its own path, and will remain as it is now. This project falls under a USACE nationwide permit for riparian restoration, which allows restoration of the area to its natural state before development occurred. A picture was passed around (attached)which showed a current photograph of the area, and a computer visualization showing what the area will look like after everything is done. Mark stated that The Arkitex Studio had done the computer visualization. Trees will be planted that do well in wetland areas, but not as densely forested as some of the upstream areas, so the turf could grow and be maintained. The width of the channel is narrow enough that it should not silt up - the velocity of the water will carry the silt on out. A lake will be retained around the amphitheater and separated off from the creek with a levee, to be maintained as a separate water feature. The lake is not a part of the wetlands or the riparian restoration area. During a flood event, water will still cover the lake, however the water will go down and back to a controlled level. Most of the earthwork to be done will involve moving silt from some of the dunes into the lower areas, with additional fill brought in to bring it up to grade. Wooden mats have been ordered to enable the heavy equipment to get onto the silt, so that it can be moved around. As soon as the mats arrive, work WPCOversiq/it Committee Jan,2000 Minutes Page 2 will begin. There will be a natural grade transition between the wetland area and the area that will be maintained. Elevation-wise it will be a gentle slope. There will be an observation gazebo/kiosk installed, with wetlands educational information available. Planting wildflowers in the grassland area was discussed. Steve Beachy said that could be looked into. James said that perhaps Brazos Beautiful could be involved in that process if there was interest further down the line. Steve stated that getting the turf in place and the site work done within the next four months was the most important thing. Planting trees and flowering shrubs would be an ongoing process as the project progressed. Mark said that the bridge that is there now will remain. Silt will be allowed to build back up over some of the sidewalks along the creek, since it has been a constant battle to keep the silt off of them. Alternate routes will be established for those trails. Some of the light poles will also be removed. Mark said that the USACE's jurisdiction included everything in the shaded area on the map he'd handed out. James stated that there were three major portions to this project. a. Riparian Restoration Project: This will be done in-house, and the permit has been received (discussed above). b. Bridge Crossing Protect/George Bush East Extension: This portion of the project is for the George Bush Drive East extension that runs next to Taco Bell. It will continue on, cross the creek, and come out on Holleman Drive next to The Arbors Apartments. The USACE nationwide permit for road crossings is required. The City has received verbal approval to begin the project, however nothing has been received in writing. Mark added that the final design needs be done, and the acquisition of one parcel of land completed, before that project can be put out to bid. The project is moving along quite well. The latest estimate puts completion in December, 2000. If the land acquisition goes faster, it could be completed sooner. c. Overall Conceptual Plan: The USACE has agreed to the concept, however, there are specific details that they want the City to address, as well as to get the final design. Mark stated that this is difficult, because the City is making a large commitment when it moves to final design, and if its not what the USACE wants, then the City will have to go back and start over. Mark said a lot of these details would need to be worked out before the process gets too far along. Once the conceptual plan is devised, that's what will have to be done, or the permit won't be any good. Mike McClure said the USACE wants to make the pilot channel a little bit wider so the tributary can meander within that lower area and set up various aquatic features. This would be addressed in the final design, and he didn't think that this would be a problem. Steve said the City would proceed with the concept, then from the concept into the design phase. There will not actually be a permit issued for the conceptual design, it will be a letter stating that the City is in compliance. The permit will have to be filed when the design is done, but the simple details can be addressed now. 4. Discussion and Possible Action Concerning Current Wolf Pen Creek Development Projects: a. Hotel/Conference Center— Project No. GG 9701, Kim Foutz: The developer, WPC, Ltd., did not meet the November 13, 1999 deadline to close on their financing. The City sent a letter of default providing for an additional sixty days, with a January 13, 2000 deadline, in which to cure that default. Notices indicate that they have secured financing, they just haven't gone through the closing process yet. The January deadline has also passed, but because of significant conversations with the developer and their financial institution, the City has determined to take no action through February, 2000. It is anticipated they should close by the end of February. WPC, Ltd., wants to update all the agreements associated with the project, since some conditions have changed. The construction timeline — the original completion date of August, 2000 - will have to be changed, and possibly the proposed use for the second phase of development. They are working on making those changes to forward to City Council. Kim said their wanting to update the agreements indicates that they are still committed to the project and moving forward. A WPCOvers,!q/it Committee Jan,2000 Minutes Page 3 contingency plan is being put together in case WPC, Ltd., doesn't close by the end of February. One of the keys to moving forward is preserving the tax increment zone for this particular project. It is possible that the project could be done at a different location, however financial support would have to be reevaluated when and if the time comes. Kim said that there have been no discussions with WPC, Ltd., regarding the use for the Phase II development. They intend to do the full value maintenance guarantee of $21 million through the hotel/conference center facility, since costs for the facility have escalated. An extended-stay facility has been considered for Phase II, but they could also ask for the removal of the second phase from the project agreement altogether. b. Traffic Signals at Dartmouth & Holleman — Project No. FT 9807, Mark Smith: Mark said the signals have been installed and are operational. The only thing left to do is remove the street- name signs on poles at the corners and replace them with new street-name signs which will be mounted on the mast arms of the signals. The new signs have been ordered and will be installed when they are received. c. Channel Improvements, Texas Avenue to Tributary B, Steve Beachy: Design of this project was pending notification of the permit, and is dependent upon what direction the committee takes once Agenda Item #5 is discussed. d. WPC Tributary B Site Improvements — Project No. PK 9902, Steve Beachy: Project is underway, and the sidewalks have been poured. The pre-fabricated bridge is ordered and expected in on Thursday, February 3, 2000. Once it arrives, it will be installed. This project is coming along well. e. Parking Improvements - Project No. PK 9903, Steve Beachy: Design of this project was pending notification of the permit, and is dependent upon what direction the committee takes once Agenda Item #5 is discussed. f. Trails and Bridges — Project WP 9905, Steve Beachy: Design of this project was pending notification of the permit, and is dependent upon what direction the committee takes once Agenda Item #5 is discussed. g. George Bush East Extension — Project No. ST 9916:(015russed in agenda item #3-b above) Frank Simoneaux stated that an offer letter had been sent to Richard Smith, the owner of the tract of land on George Bush and Harvey, offering him the appraised amount for the property. He has not accepted that offer, but has expressed and interest in selling the right-of-way rather than the entire tract. Frank stated that the City Council has already passed a Resolution of Needs, which is a prelude to condemnation. Mike McClure speculated that you could possibly get 20 parking spaces on that property. There had been discussion at previous meetings about the lack of parking, especially at that end of the park. James stated that the City Council has already approved the need and the interest in wanting to go ahead and acquire the property however possible. Sharon said she felt it was very important that the City be very careful about acquiring things outside what is really needed. James said that the Council feels the same way, but was advised that this property was necessary for the successful completion of the George Bush extension. Mark said sometimes the price for just what is needed, plus the cost of damages, is the same as or greater than, if the whole property is purchased. Parking was not the reason the City made the recommendation to Council, it was because it was the most feasible offer. h. Riparian Restoration — Project No. WP0001: (Discussed in agenda/tem 4'3 above.) 5. Discussion and Possible Action Concerning Master Plan Implementation Priorities: James stated that since the proposals for the three areas are in various stages of approval, what needs to be done next is to balance what's wanted in terms of finances. The money is projected out from the income from the TIF. Charles Cryan stated that currently there is $1.3 million in Drainage funds available, just under $700,000 available in the TIF, plus a couple of other sources where funds are WPC Oversight Committee Jan,2000 Minutes Page 4 available. There has been over $3 million projected out over the life of the project, with a substantial portion of that coming in on an annual basis from the TIF. James stated that there is about $2 million that the city could start to act on. The money for the Tributary B project is coming out of Park Land Dedication Funds, and the George Bush Drive extension is coming out of separate funds. Steve stated that the contract for design had been to develop a conceptual master plan, and that's been completed. The next contract, the George Bush Drive extension, is essentially complete. Steve said staff would next like to enter into another contract for the design of the channel improvements from Texas Avenue to Dartmouth, seek City Council approval to do that, and hopefully have entered into a contract sometime in March, so that the design process could begin. Bob Mosley said as part of the design contract, McClure Engineering would address parking, trails and bridges. Since the City does not own all the land from Texas Avenue to the Dartmouth/Holleman intersection, they will be involved in land acquisitions as far as the channel improvements are concerned. If the total design is there, even though there is a lack of funding for the entire project, pieces of the project could be broken off, such as parking, sidewalks, and the Millenium Park, and bid out as separate projects. Mike McClure reminded everyone that the project would be at the mercy of the USACE for their final approval, but he felt the design of the channel could be done in 6®7 months. He feels that there are some things in the design process that the USACE could help with. Projects that could stand alone would be identified in this process. Once permission to proceed with the contract is received, the earliest that it could be presented to City Council would be March. With the design completed six to eight months after that. A&M's drainage projects will not change the design of the channel. If their projects change anything, it will be how high the water rises during peak flood events. The improvements on campus will have positive effects on the City's design. Judith made a motion to direct staff to bring the proposal to City Council for the design portion of the channel improvements from Texas Avenue to Dartmouth. Marsha Sanford seconded. All members were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. Steve told the members that probably this time next year staff would be seeking approval to go forward with the design of the downstream portion of the channel, from Dartmouth to Rudder Freeway (Highway 6 Bypass). George asked for timelines for some of the engineering work discussed, forward. Steve said some of that has been done, and he would have it available for the next meeting. 6. Discussion and Possible Action Concerning a Design Charette for Future Wolf Pen Creek Projects: This design charette would be for the areas that are out of the USACE control, and would give ideas for direction. Kay said she'd have to talk to the University again, as well as the local AIA Chapter. Both had helped with the Northgate design charette. The participants of the charette would need to be given the limits of what the committee wants them to look at. Issues that the committee hasn't already discussed, such as the gateways into the area, as well as the tracts from Dartmouth to the Bypass area, and how they connect into the project, could also be discussed. Steve said the purpose of the charette will not be to develop a master plan because that has already been done. It would concern the elements that go into the design process such as parking, gateways, gazebos, etc. James asked if it was possible to get this done as a summer project. Kay said possibly, but she didn't know for sure. James, Kay and Steve said they'd get together and go talk to someone at A&M, and come back with a possible time for the charette at the next meeting. 7. Discussion And Possible Consideration of Future Meeting Dates: Everyone agreed that the first Monday of the month was good, however since the January meeting was held so late in the month, the next meeting would be the first Monday in March —the 6th. 8. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 1:37 p.m.