City of Harvard Community & Economic Development Committee met Aug. 16.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
Chairman Dan Carncross called the meeting to order. City Administrator Leone called roll. Committee members present: Chairman Dan Carncross, Alderman Jay Schulz, Alderwoman Lori Lancaster and Alderwoman Rosa Luna. Also present were Mayor Michael Kelly, Alderwoman Haderlein, Alderman Charles Gorman, City Administrator Lou Leone and Community Development Director Donovan Day.
Public Comment
Chairman Carncross opened the floor to public comment for any item not on the agenda. There were none.
Preliminary Outline/Discussion Harvard Municipal Internet Project Connection
City Administrator Leone said one of the ways to improve internet availability in the City, especially through available grant dollars, is through a municipal internet which would be a city run utility. Lou related that the theory is to go with a revenue bond and not fund with additional taxes. Everstream has a trunk line that goes right in front of the City on Diggins St., so if we use City Hall as a focal point, the connection point is very minimal. Joe Calzone, Business Development Director, Everstream Solutions addressed the Committee. Their company is headquartered in Cleveland, OH and operates in the northern Midwest. Mr. Calzone gave a history of the company which has two areas of focus as a fiber optic broadband area provider: enterprise and wholesale. Mayor Kelly added that Everstream is a service provider of middle-mile network of service whose middle mile runs through Harvard. Their business model is aimed at commercial enterprises. The City could become that commercial enterprise and purchase dedicated dark fiber to our community. The process would be to build out from Everstream’s aggregation points out to each residence. The City is looking to partner with Everstream because they can provide the major connection. Mr. Calzone gave a presentation and overview of the concept proposal for the City of Harvard.
Discussion followed:
• Administrator Leone said if the City were to do this and keep it in house, another department would be created that specializes in this area. He has previous experience and knowledge about municipal internet.
• At Alderwoman Haderlein’s inquiry, Mayor Kelly related that the construction of the last mile would be outsourced to a different provider. Ideally, you would first build out the secure aggregation points which require power where all the data can come into. The City would partner with an entity, i.e. the hospital or library, to house all the equipment for a specific quadrant of the community and go from there to individual homes. Each of those residences would be approached that the City is putting this in place. Residents can then sign up and be part of the bond that gets issued to pay for the infrastructure. The cost per individual home is in the neighborhood of $5K to get the last mile to your home. If you opt in, the cost would be part of the bond which would be charged on the individual service bill that would be amortized over time to pay for the infrastructure. If you opt out and later decide to opt in, you would have to pay the fee up front. This would be done neighborhood by neighborhood.
• Mayor Kelly said the City needs this infrastructure to be competitive and attract high tech businesses, with the industrial park as an area of priority for an aggregation point.
• This can be expanded beyond corporate boundaries to include neighboring areas that might want to take advantage of the service or a hybrid system using a tower(s) that would provide internet broadband service that would be more competitive and reliable than satellite.
• Alderman Schulz brought up discussion of the hypothetical service fee of $45 that would be above and beyond the payback of the initial $5K to opt in. Mayor Kelly related that tiered levels could be created to make it more affordable. There may also be grant funds and additional federal programs available to help offset the cost.
Recommendation Feasibility Contract for Harvard Municipal Internet Project Connection The next step in the process is to proceed with a feasibility study. The City received another feasibility study today that is not in the packet. Staff has also asked Vantage Point Solutions to update their study. The cost is between $60,000 - 80,000. The City Council has already set aside funding in the budget using ARPA Funds to investigate a potential muninet program. After discussion, a motion was made by Alderman Schulz, seconded by Alderwoman Lancaster to move forward with a feasibility study. All ayes. Motion carried. Mayor Kelly said to be clear, the motion should be for the “City Council” to move forward with a feasibility study. Alderman Schulz and Alderwoman Lancaster amended their motion and second respectively. All ayes. Amended motion carried. The feasibility studies will be included in the packet for the City Council Meeting on August 22nd for consideration. Mayor Kelly related that the time frame is about a year per aggregation point. Alderwoman Haderlein asked that the City make sure that the service is equitable so individuals in our community that don’t have the financial means are able to get the service. Mayor Kelly related that the intent is to try to get it as low cost as possible to the end user.
Discussion on Impact Fees
The Committee discussed impact fees to the Harvard Fire Protection District, Library and School. Fees for the school are specifically designated and can only be used for the acquisition of land and cannot be used for operating expenses, salaries or equipment. Land was given to the schools when Motorola came in and the City doesn’t believe they need the full amount of the impact fees. The proposal readjusts and reduces the overall permit fees by at least $800, so the City can be a little more competitive and attract more building. City Administrator Leone previously asked Donovan to research other communities and found that most other communities have gotten rid of the impact fees. Donovan indicated that per current city ordinance, impact fees are based on a formula; bringing the fees down to $400 might get tricky; it might be all or nothing and should be discussed with the City Attorney. He also related that the UDO has provisions for any new developer that requires land donations/fee in lieu of land to accommodate the school outside of impact fees. Alderman Schulz asked staff to find out what the school’s reserves are for impact fees. Administrator Leone outlined the current and proposed impact fees as follows:
| CURRENT | PROPOSED | |
| Harvard Fire Protection District | $105 | $105 |
| Library Contribution | $175 | $175 |
| School Contribution | $1,695 | $400 |
| Parks Contribution | $405 (suggested amount) | $800 |
A motion was made by Alderman Schulz to table the proposal to get more information. Additional discussion ensued. Donovan clarified that the law changed where schools are only allowed to use impact fees for land acquisition and building only for the impact that the new subdivisions are creating. Alderman Carncross concurred to table the proposal to get all the details and how those funds can be used. City Administrator Leone will reach out to Attorney Clifton to make sure everything is covered legally and will find out what the school’s reserves are for impact fees. He will also reach out to the Fire District to determine their needs. Staff will verify that the contribution fees for the various taxing bodies can only be used for land acquisition. More info will be available at the next meeting.
Bulk Development Agreements
Donovan updated the Committee on two developer agreements, one with Tomasz Zawierta, the owner of Greenway Storage for the duplexes he wants to build. The other is Michelle and Jim Platt, Foxtail Properties who already have an agreement with the City to reduce their permit fees to $4,200 per home; they are requesting to extend that agreement with a further reduction in fees. A further reduction is not feasible because of the impact fee situation and connection fees for water/sewer. Foxtail Properties has agreed to build 10 homes in a year with $4,200 permit fees. They are aware that the permit fees for next round of homes after this will be closer to $6,300. A meeting was held with Tomasz who is building 42 duplex units to negotiate an agreement for a reduction in fees for a duplex from $17,500 to $12,000. Both agreements will be on the August 22nd City Council agenda.
Recommendation to Include Multi-Family Homes in the Enterprise Zone
City Administrator Leone brought up discussion of adding multi-family residential homes (criteria 7 units or above) to the Enterprise Zone which will allow the City to develop some land that is already in the Enterprise Zone. Because this is a residential development, the time frame to get property back on the tax rolls would be greatly reduced compared to business. There will a cost as yet unknown and the process will take up to one year. Each municipality in the Enterprise Zone determines which benefits they would like to provide. This is something that would parlay with the Workforce Development Housing the City is trying to get built. City Administrator Leone would like to bring this before the Enterprise Zone Meeting on Friday to start the process pending final approval by the City Council. Alderman Schulz made a motion, seconded by Alderman Carncross to advance the proposal for City Council consideration, seconded by Alderman Carncross. All ayes. Motion carried.
Naturally McHenry County Membership
Mayor Kelly related that the City was previously a member of Naturally McHenry County through the Harvard EDC. The membership lapsed when the HEDC went away. Donovan related that he, City Administrator Leone and Mayor Kelly previously met with Naturally McHenry County to discuss joining their organization. In addition to promoting Harvard events, membership provides access to their version of Placer.ai which is a traffic analytics platform that provides traffic flow/demographic data that will allow the City to assist business owners with their marketing. Annual membership fee is $10,000 plus $5,000 for our own access to the software. The cost will come out of Economic Development Funds. A motion was made by Alderman Schulz, seconded by Alderman Carncross to recommend to the City Council to allocate the funds for the membership and software access. All ayes. Motion carried.
Inducement Resolution to Induce Redevelopment of Property at 2001 N. Division St. Community Director Day related that it was his understanding that the City previously started discussing creating a TIF District on the property. An inducement resolution will allow the tenant to begin tracking costs so that in the event the City creates a TIF District for that property, they can get reimbursed for qualified costs going back to the adoption date of the resolution. The tenant is ramping up to invest a lot of money into the building, more than they already have with the fire suppression system ($1 million) and the other side of the building ($2.5 million); none of those costs are reimbursable as they have already been expended. This would only be for costs moving forward if a TIF gets created. Mayor Kelly reviewed the previous TIF process that was started with CAI. The City Council had approved a feasibility study which came back showing a TIF was feasible. The next step was on CAI to provide a redevelopment plan. This was not forthcoming because at the time, they didn’t know what the plan would be. The City had a meeting with the tenant and the next step for a TIF would be for the them to provide a redevelopment plan which is difficult as they don’t know who end users are going to be to maximize the use of the building. A motion was made by Alderman Carncross, seconded by Alderwoman Lancaster to recommend to the City Council to proceed with the Inducement Resolution. All ayes. Motion carried.
New Business
City Administrator Leone updated the Committee on the following:
• Lou met with a sign company about changing out the City monuments on east/west Route 173, Highway 14 north, with modifications/stripping as needed to the monument on Highway 14 south with a more consistent theme. This would include the Welcome to Downtown Harvard sign. Alderwoman Haderlein commented that the face of the sign on Highway 14 south was repainted last year. The vendor is aware this will be a plan with a phased in approach, with maybe one sign per year. Signs will say Welcome in both English and Spanish to represent our demographics. Estimates will include possible LED lighting behind the logo so the color can be changed out. If this moves forward, the old signs can be repurposed and displayed at the City offices as a way of preserving our history, particularly the sign on Route 173 east which is about 40 years old. The new signs may also present an opportunity for business sponsorship.
• Lou reached out to the graphics arts team at MCC to develop and come back with some potential new ideas for a City logo/slogan. If ultimately approved by the Committee and City Council, any changes would be a phased in approach, as money and opportunity allows. He will bring art, concept design and estimates to the Committee for review and recommendation when they are received from MCC.
• The City is coordinating with TLC, the learning channel, who will be filming background in Harvard on September 1st for an episode of 90 Day Fiancé which has a contestant from Harvard.
• The Library is having a library card push in September.
• The Strategic Visioning Workshop will be upcoming this fall both for staff and the City Council.
Alderman Schulz noted that he forwarded pictures to the Mayor and City Administrator depicting a community area that he saw during a trip to Munising, MI. There was an alley area was entitled “Art in the Alley” with art on both walls that he saw during a trip to Munising, MI. He requested that the pictures be forwarded to the Committee for future discussion of an overall plan to beautify the downtown.
A motion was made by Alderman Schulz, seconded by Alderman Lancaster to adjourn the meeting. All ayes. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 8:48 pm.
https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/community_development_committee/meeting/14810/minutescommunityeconomicdevelopment2023-08-16.pdf
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