Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting

Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
Held at the Donald “red” loehr police and court center
300 PARK DRIVE
December 2, 2013 • 7:00 P.M.

Residents of Ballwin are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in the programs and services of the City of Ballwin regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, familial status, national origin or political affiliation. If one requires an accommodation, please call (636) 227-8580 V or (636) 527-9200 TDD or 1-800-735-2466 (Relay Missouri) no later than 5:00 p.m. on the third business day preceding the hearing. Offices are open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

AGENDA / briefs

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes

3. Capital Budget

4. Adjournment

Meeting Minutes

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
MINUTES OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
CITY OF BALLWIN – 300 PARK DR
December 2, 2013

The meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairman Michael Wind at 7:03 p.m. Members in attendance were:

PRESENT ABSENT
Chairman Michael Wind Commissioner John Schwent
Secretary Frank Karr Commissioner Mark Weaver
Commissioner Lynn Goetz Commissioner Chris Wright
Commissioner Mike Utt
Commissioner Lisa Zimmerman
Alderman Michael Boland
Mayor Tim Pogue

Assistant City Administrator/City Planner Thomas Aiken
City Engineer Gary Kramer
City Attorney Robert E. Jones

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Secretary Karr and seconded by Commissioner Utt to approve the minutes of the November 4, 2013 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission as submitted. The motion received unanimous approval from the Commission members present. Chairman Wind abstained.

Capital Improvement Plan Budget

Ms. Denise Keller, Finance Officer for the City of Ballwin, presented the 2014 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Budget for review per Section 89.380 of the Revised MO Statutes, which states that all improve-ments to land, infrastructure and public facilities are to be reviewed by this commission before being ap-proved by the Board of Aldermen.

Finance Office Keller stated that our CIP only includes true capital projects. These are defined as land and building acquisition, major land and building improvements with a cost of $250,000 or more, and systems reconstruction or replacement with a cost of $250,000 or more. Also included are all major street reconstruction projects that are partially offset by federal grants, such as the Kehrs Mill Rd project under-taken last year (2012).

Expenditures
Two significant projects are planned for 2014. The Pointe will undergo an HVAC system redesign and update under a guaranteed energy savings contract. The new system will capture the heat rejected from summer cooling and use it to meet the winter heating requirements of the facility using a geothermal well field. Out of pocket costs will be offset over the life of the system through savings on energy bills and utility company rebates. Total cost for this project is just under $4 million dollars. Half of the funding for this project will be accomplished through lease/purchase financing spread over a term of three years with the first semiannual payment of $345,000 to be made during 2014. The remaining half of the project costs are also to be paid in 2014 from a transfer of reserves from the operating fund.

The second significant project is the rehabilitation of the Holloway Road Culvert. Engineering costs of $70,000 are being expended in 2013 and construction fees of $756,000 are projected for 2014. 80% of the cost for this project will be offset by federal funding grants.

Contingency funding of $250,000 is included in the budget for roof replacement at the Government Center and architectural fees for redesign of this facility.

The final payment was made during 2013 to retire the certificate of participation debt which was issued to construct the Aquatic Center. Other than annual TIF municipal revenue funding which is used to-wards retirement of the TIF bonds, the City is debt free.

Revenues
The proposed 2014 Capital Improvement Plan includes $740,000 in revenue received from Ballwin’s ½ cent Capital Improvement Sales Tax and ½ cent Park Sales Tax. $489,600 is anticipated in federal grants for the Holloway Road culvert.

Revenues of $900,000 from the Capital Improvement Sales Tax is being moved to the Operating Budget to help offset the costs of capital street improvements and maintenance of capital items.

Revenues of $1,080,000 of the Park Sales Tax is being moved to the Operating Budget to assist with the costs of maintenance and upkeep of recreational facilities.

The anticipated fund balance for the Capital Improvements fund at the end of 2014 will be $31,763 compared with $236,163 projected for the end of 2013.

Chairman Wind noted that the reason the CIP is presented to the Planning & Zoning Commission is most-ly for infrastructure additions that would facilitate new development. There is not much of this in the City of Ballwin since it and the region are about 95% developed.

Commissioner Goetz asked about the variation in budgeted sales tax revenue through 2018. Ms. Keller explained that the capital budget is built starting with expenditures, then any federal grants the City ex-pects to receive as revenue are added to offset those expenditures. Park taxes (for parks and recreation expenses) or capital improvement taxes (for all other expenses) are added to the revenues. Some years the City has more expenditures planned than others, and the revenues not used in the CIP are transferred to the operating budget.

Commissioner Zimmerman asked if the land configuration plans for the Ferris Park redevelopment Phases II and III have been drawn. Mayor Pogue said it was all done as a master plan which was prepared and adopted in 2012. City Planner Aiken said conceptual plans are available on the Ballwin website.

Secretary Karr asked about the Henry Road improvements from Clayton to the Ballwin city limits. He asked if the City of Manchester will be completing the improvements all the way to Manchester Rd. City Engineer Kramer said that the City of Manchester has also applied for federal funds and has been ap-proved. The scope of work for Manchester’s project is different from the City of Ballwin’s, but it may be a joint project through the engineering and construction.

Commissioner Goetz asked about the line item “Transfers Out for Recreation Escrow.” Finance Office Keller explained that these funds are those paid by developers in lieu of providing recreational space in their developments. These funds are held in a designated escrow account until they are authorized for expenditure.

Commissioner Goetz asked about the Pointe Mechanical System expenditure. What is the expected life-time of the equipment? City Attorney Jones said the guaranteed cost/energy savings component of the contract is 15 years, but the equipment itself should last longer. Commissioner Goetz asked about the age of the current equipment. City Planner Aiken said the facility opened in 1996. Most of the equipment is original.

Commissioner Zimmerman asked about the amounts budgeted for the mechanical equipment past 2014. Is this expected to be used for maintenance? Finance Officer Keller said those are financing costs. The city will borrow half of the cost of the equipment and pay it off over three years. Alderman Boland asked why the City is borrowing money rather than using money in the savings account. Finance Officer Keller said the City has a policy that it maintains 25% of the operating budget in an unassigned fund reserve. If the City were to pay the full $4 million for the equipment, it would fall below the 25%.

Commissioner Goetz asked about the interest rate for the loan. Finance Officer Keller said that it will be sent out for bid, but preliminary quotes were obtained in order to prepare the budget. Those quotes ranged from 1.7-2%.

Mayor Pogue said that at the beginning of 2011, the City’s reserve balance was just over $10 million. That year, money was taken out of reserves to pre-pay the back four years of some of the City’s bonds. Those prepayments saved the City approximately $250,000 in interest payments. At the end of 2011, the reserve balance stood at $6.6 million; at the end of 2012, it was $7.7 million; and the balance for this year is projected to be just over $8 million. The reserve balance has steadily increased. Commissioner Goetz asked where the reserve funds are kept. Finance Officer Keller said it is conservatively invested in CDs, bonds, and treasury strips, with maturity dates spread out through 2018.

Alderman Boland made a motion to approve the 2014 Capital Improvement Plan Budget. Chairman Wind seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

Other Business

City Planner Aiken announced that there will be no meeting in January due to lack of agenda items.

Chairman Wind asked about progress on previous petitions. City Planner Aiken said he has not heard anything further about the shooting range or Jimmy John’s, but the three pending subdivisions are pro-gressing.

Chairman Wind noted that the former U-Gas is now Dirt Cheap, and asked if they will be changing their business. City Planner Aiken said it will remain the same.

Mayor Pogue noted that the Pizza Hut in Ellisville has relocated to Ballwin Plaza. City Planner Aiken said that the new store is carry-out only.

City Planner Aiken said there is a potential buyer for the Frank’s Nursery Building. The business is a grocery store, a cross between Costco and Aldi, with no membership fees. Mayor Pogue commended staff for their hard work in bringing this retailer to Ballwin.

Adjournment

A motion was made by Alderman Boland and seconded by Commissioner Zimmerman to adjourn the meeting. The motion received unanimous approval, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:28 p.m.

Michael Wind, Chairman
Planning & Zoning Commission