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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLaurel Urban Renewal Agency Minutes 05.11.2020 AGENDA CITY OF LAUREL LAUREL URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY MONDAY, MAY 11, 2020 11:00 AM REMOTE Public Input: Citizens may address the committee regarding any item of business that is not on the agenda. The duration for an individual speaking under Public Input is limited to three minutes. While all comments are welcome, the committee will not take action on any item not on the agenda. General Items 1. Roll Call Meeting called to ordedr at 11:01AM Daniel Klein Don Smarsh Mardie Spalinger Judy Goldsby Janice Lehman Michelle DeBoer Nick Altonaga (City of Laurel) Dianne Lehm (Big Sky EDA) Steve Simonson (Beartooth RC&D) 2. Approve Meeting Minutes: February 24, 2020 Members reviewed the Minutes from February 24, 2020 Daniel Motioned to approve the Minutes from February 24, 2020 Mardie Seconded Motion Carried. 3. Big Sky EDA and Beartooth RC&D Updates Dianne Lehm of Big Sky EDA was online for the meeting. She provided updates as to ongoing Big Sky activities. • Yellowstone County has a website https://yceconomicrecovery.org/that has all the business support information. Would be good to share with the business community. • Big Sky is assisting businesses with the open loan programs and technical support • LARC call last week was looking into the Funding sources at the Federal Level. Information is ready to send out to any interested groups • RFP is out for Rock31 Building Project • Board meeting on Thursday morning. Steve Simonson at Beartooth RC&D: • Serving on Yellowstone County recovery task force. • Hired a group to create an economic linkage study for 2019. – Will allow us to measure the stages of recovery with Business As Usual/former levels of economic activity. Steve noted to Nick and Dianne that he participated in a call with EDA the week prior and will be pushing out additional funding opportunities. Opportunities included funding for workforce training, community health, emergency services, meatpacking, and tourism. • Anticipate $100,000 coming to Yellowstone county for planning services. Pryor Mountain Wind Project • Still moving forward, about • Approximately 100 Mortensen workers down there recently. • Mortensen has volunteered time to improve the Civic Center in Bridger. • Workers are preparing the batch plant for pouring concrete. Mardie questions Steve as to a 25-mile road improvement project near the Pryor Mountain project. Approximately $6 million is being used to upgrade roads in the area. Are these related? New Business 4. Discussion: Utilizing TIF Funds for Business Support Nick presented the current issue with the movie theater. Members discussed the different loans available to assist the movie theater operations/ (PPP and EIDL). Many businesses have had to make modifications to make them safer. Members discussed if the TIF District grants could be used to reimburse costs for Protective equipment/building changes for safety. Steve – Emergency Injury Disaster Laon is open at the state level through SBA – 5,600 applications went in in the first day and a half. State plans to reallocate funding to the program. Nick will review the MCA for utilizing TIF funding and if there are any opportunities for this current situation. Applications for emergency upgrades could include a narrative of the issues faced and the types/sources of support already sought out. Dianne – would suggest people having troubles to contact Steve Simonson or Dianne or her other colleagues at Big Sky EDA. They have a lot of resources and are there to help. 5. Discussion: Economic Recovery Activities Nick notified the Board that he has been active with weekly calls with the Economy Recovery Task Force organized by Big Sky EDA and is now part of the subcommittee for Recovery Plan development. Wanted anyone who had thoughts on these aspects to contact him to then pass them on to the group. • Steve added that it was made explicit that the major goal was that we need to have a healthy community. 6. Discussion: Large Grant Program Update Nick notified the board that he had not received many Large Grant Applications thus far. Members discussed the situation and if the deadline could be extended to include more. Members also discussed if the Board could include the TIF District match for projects, maybe 2:1 instead of 1:1? There might need to be a few modifications to ensure that the funds can be helpful during this time. Don mentioned that businesses are being hit and putting off projects until they are more stable. Daniel asked if maybe LURA or the City could do some mobilizing to update our programs to better serve businesses (higher reimbursement, local contracting, etc.) 7. Discussion: Small Grant Program Update Nick was not able to review the Mountain Land Rehabilitation small grants application in depth prior to the meeting. The Grant will be put on the next agenda to ensure it is accurate and eligible. Old Business Other Items Members discussed the eligibility of handwashing stations or building washing/sanitizing. Big Sky assisted with the Billings Chamber and the “open and safe” campaign that is currently being rolled out. Would be great to get Laurel businesses involved. Michelle mentioned that Red Lodge has portable handwashing stations on their blocks downtown. Could be a good use of LURA funds to purchase similar stations for Laurel. 8. Budget Nick presented the budget. He can check with the Clerk and see what has been allocated for the EDII project out of the total TIF Budget. Announcements Daniel motioned to adjourn the meeting. Mardie Seconded Meeting Adjourned at 11:45AM 9. Next Meeting: TBD Tentative date set for May 18 2020 The City makes reasonable accommodations for any known disability that may interfere with a person’s ability to participate in this meeting. Persons needing accommodation must notify the City Clerk’s Offic e to make needed arrangements. To make your request known, please call 406 -628-7431, Ext. 2, or write to City Clerk, PO Box 10, Laurel, MT 59044, or present your request at City Hall, 115 West First Street, Laurel, Montana. DATES TO REMEMBER