City commission says no to historic district
Commission wants more time and information
By Russ Morgan (Contact)
Originally published 07:08 p.m., April 1, 2009
Updated 06:56 a.m., April 2, 2009
Downtown Emporia will not have a historic district. At least not anytime soon.
The Emporia City Commission voted not to recommend the creation of a historic downtown district at their regular action session on Wednesday.
Citing a lack of information on the effects on property owners and businesses and a desire to take time to learn more about state and federal tax credits, commissioners voted 3-2 to oppose the plan. Commissioners Kevin Nelson and Julie Johnson were the dissenting votes.
“Based on what we know, I have to be opposed to it,” Mayor Bob Agler said. “That doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be open minded to something in the future once we get really good solid data and everything, but that’s not going to happen within the time frame that we’re talking.”
Christy Davis of Davis Preservation in Topeka was in charge of planning for the district. She made a presentation at last week’s commission study session and requested a recommendation by April 15 to give her time to write up a nomination by the end of May.
The project started when Broadview Towers applied for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places to qualify for tax credits for renovation work. The building didn’t qualify because of extensive changes made to the building over the years.
Broadview Towers enlisted Davis’s help to come up with a plan to create a district that would run on Commercial Street from the railroad tracks to 12th Avenue and would encompass parts of other streets, including Merchant and Mechanic.
Though the plan was supported by Emporia Main Street, it was opposed by the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce. Emporia State University asked that the 12th Avenue border of the district be moved south so parts of the campus would not be affected by the designation.
None of the commissioners opposed the project itself, but all said they wished they had more time to study the implications of creating a historic district.
“Under the parameters that we’ve been given, with the April 15th deadline, if I had to make a decision between now and then I would oppose it because I don’t think we’ve had enough study time...” Commissioner Jeff Longbine said.
“I’m going to vote against the motion because I’m not prepared today to say that I am opposed to the concept of a historic district,” Johnson said. “I think that it might be a very worthwhile thing. ...”
“I feel the same way,” Nelson said. “I think it would be beneficial for a lot of downtown stores to be able to have the tax credits available to do some upper story development. It’s been on the radar for several years ... and I think we’re shooting ourselves in the foot, but at the same time I’m not happy that we’re having this basically crammed down our throat because of the time frame.”
Davis indicated that without a recommendation from the city, she had no plans to continue with the nomination process.
New seats
In other business, the commission approved a bid from Navrat’s to replace the upper seats in the William Lindsay White Arena.
The upper-level seats, installed in 1940, are the arena’s original seats. The city has been looking at replacing them as part of its program to enhance the arena’s appeal. Although the seats are functional and safe for their age, commissioners have been studying options for their replacement. The 2009 budget has $125,000 set aside for the project; the rest will come out of the general fund.
The $216,946 bid was the highest of the three bids the city received, but commissioners decided to factor in the local component in awarding the bid. The lowest bid was $214,275, from BA Designs in Topeka.
The project includes purchasing and installing the seats and will include cup holders on the backs. To save money, city crews will remove the old seats.
Agler is in favor of the project, but said that from a conservative standpoint, waiting might be prudent.
“Is it really critical to do this right now?” Agler asked.
“(The old seats) have been there since 1940,” said facilities manager Ed Rathke. “They are holding up, but they’re tired.”
“Part of my concern is with the economy the way it is,” Agler said, “... I think it’s a great project, I’m just concerned about the timing of it. ...”
Agler wondered whether it would be more responsible to wait a year to replace the seats.
“... Although on one hand quote cash is in the bank to take care of this, are we really looking downstream well enough and saying, “With the way things are going, what’s going to be the impact on taxes this next year?’” Agler said.
The balance of the commissioners disagreed with Agler, saying that economic development is the purpose of renovating the arena.
“Much like Mayor Agler, I’m concerned about the budget, and more importantly about the revenues that are going to supply that budget,” Longbine said. “But I also realize this is probably, if not the most, one of the most used facilities in the city. We have a tremendous amount of groups and organizations that are in and out. ...”
Commissioner Nelson mentioned the importance of keeping the building up to date to compete with other venues.
In the end, the commission voted 4-1 to approve the bid, with Agler the opposing vote.
Delivery of the new seats will take 10 to 11 weeks, and installation will take 15 to 18 days. The city hopes to have the new seats installed during the arena’s slower weeks of the summer.
Sirens
The commission tabled action on bids for new tornado sirens to gather more information and to look into the possibility of obtaining a grant from the Office of Emergency Management.
City Manager Matt Zimmerman said the office informed county emergency management director Rick Frevert that it would make a decision on the grant on May 1, and that if the commission went ahead and authorized the purchase of new sirens before then, it was likely Emporia would not qualify for the grants.
“And so if the board were to decide to authorize the purchase and to do so today, we probably would preclude funding,” Zimmerman said.
The commission will take up action on the bids after it learns of the grants in May.
In the meantime, Emporia Police Chief Gary Smith said that all sirens were working during their last test.
In other business, commissioners:
• Adopted their goals for 2009, after two special meetings were held in March to discuss their priorities for the coming year.
• Approved a resolution closing the parking lot at Seventh Avenue and Merchant Street for the Emporia Farmers Market.
• Approved a resolution adopting the solid waste management plan.
• Approved changes to Matt Zimmerman’s compensation package, including a $3,000 per year raise and increasing his vacation days from 10 to 12 per year.
• Authorized the mayor to sign proclamations declaring April 25th as Arbor Day in Emporia; naming April as Fair Housing Month in Emporia; naming April 12-18 as Telecommunications Week in Emporia; and naming April as Month of the Young Child.
slimbolen99 (anonymous) says...
So, the two members on the city commission who own car dealerships on the WEST side of town oppose a historic downtown on the central/east side of town. Hmmm....
April 1, 2009 at 8:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
I would hope for Aglers sake that people don't stop buying cars because of the tough economical times. Bob you aren't sending a very good message.
April 1, 2009 at 9:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
I think it is amusing that " to save money ,city crews will remove the old seats" do these city crews work for free? I'm sure they make a fair salary ,how are we saving money by doing the work our selves? Don't get me wrong I am glad about the project but the old idea just because we have people on the city payroll doesn't mean they aren,t costing anything.And Bob these are tough times but we can't roll the streets up and wait for the dark cloud to go over. The best thing we can do is continue to support our local economy.
April 2, 2009 at 4:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
native_emporia (anonymous) says...
What I find sad it that no matter what decision the commissioners make, someone on here is going to criticize them.
From what I read in this article it does not look like Bob Agler opposed the historic district, but wanted more information before making a decision. I would venture to say that if the commission had more time to gather information this would have passed, as long as they felt it would not do harm to existing businesses. Side note to the first two comments, it is Bob's son that owns the car lot.
You can twist things however you would like in order to create an argument, which happens often on these blogs. As far as saving money by using city employees to remove the seats, IT DOES! If they contracted it out, the city would still be paying its employees their full time wages along with paying the contractor.
I would like to say thank you to our commissioners for all their hard work. I may not always agree with the choices made, but I respect your position and appreciate the time you put in for our city.
April 2, 2009 at 9:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Deepthoughts (anonymous) says...
Did everyone see why this "historic district" was even brought up?
Because Broadview Towers wanted tax credits for renovation work. Sounds like someone wanting to save money versus actually caring about a 'historic district' for the good of Emporia.
My understanding of a 'historic district' is that it comes with a load of requirements. For instance if a business owner wanted to redo the front of their building or replace a roof, they would actually have to get permission to do so. And I believe the 'historic district' proposed was a rather large area like from 12th to 6th or further and include 2 streets or more. Seems like a rather large 'historic district' if you ask me. All this just to get Broadview some tax relief?!
I also heard that at the meeting, Christy Davis tried to tippy toe around the whole issue of COST and how much she would be paid for her services. Which, I believe, broken down by hour was quite the hourly wage. Broadview must stand to get a windfall from the tax relief if passed because they even offered to pay for Davis' services. Seems a little too good to be true. IMO.
April 2, 2009 at 10:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
Hey native
I realize who owns the car company I do business there I would just think that going around saying the sky is falling is the wrong message. I think we have terrific commisioners maybe with the exception of one but none the less they put themselves out in front and I have great respect for anyone who has the courage to do that.If you can't understand what the saving money part is about I won't be able to teach you here.If we paid Acme Co. 2000 dollars to remove the seats or we pay 2000 dollars to our city employees how did we save money. Oh I know you think their just sitting around doing nothing. For the record I think Bob Agler is a great asset to our community but I don't have to agree with him all of the time. Take it easy Native I'll be nice next time.
April 2, 2009 at 2:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kansasdman (anonymous) says...
Actually you can't compare the paying 2k to have the work done to 2k in city employee’s wages, it is not the same. The benefit is already having the wages in the budget and not having to realize additional impact to the budget. I think is makes good sense. It is our elected officials utilizing resources more efficiently. Which, I think, is what we all want, or at least we should. Maybe it is a give and take, could keep a fellow Emporian in a job versus laying the employee off. I think the positives out weight the negatives if you look at the whole picture.
April 2, 2009 at 3:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
I see the picture if it cost 2000 it cost 2000 where did we save? Great keeping the fellow Emporian employed but how do we know we saved maybe Acme bid it for 2000 and we do it and it cost 2500. does anyone keep track?There are many times people do things on thier own and later realize they could have had it done for less than they did it themselves. I would perfer we utilize our city forces as efficiently as possible I'm not convinced it was already in the budget but that doesn't mean its free.
April 2, 2009 at 4:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kansasdman (anonymous) says...
No, it is not free. Just doesn't cost an additional 2k. That would be on top of the budgeted wages the city is already paying. It makes sense to me, maybe I am wrong...
April 2, 2009 at 6:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Harlu (anonymous) says...
Deepthoughts,
First: Yes, the Broadview developer brought the district up, but the concept of a historic distinct has actually been kicked around for years. No one had the money to fund it so it never went anywhere. When the Broadview developer offered to pay for the nomination people jumped at the chance.
Second, the "hoops" people have to jump through are the "hoops" most in the downtown jump through right now. You file for a permit and it goes from the city to the state for comment. In about three to seven days the state sends the permit back to the city. 98% off all permits have a positive comment from the state. That's one heck of a hoop. A lot of people are in the "hoop" right now and have never even known it.
Third, most cities want to get as many buildings into a historic district as possible so they can fund as many projects as possible. The city commission had the right to change district boundaries any way they wanted, and after the first study session the northern most two blocks of Commercial were removed. Most building owners surveyed wanted the district (70%) because it would help them maintain their buildings if they chose to use credits.
Finally, in the two city meetings and the open public meeting Mrs. Davis openly stated who she worked for, that she did have a financial consideration involved and how much she would be paid by the developer if she had the chance to write the district proposal. She never hid anything. As it is, in her attempt to help Emporia take advantage of tax funding sources she's out over 10 grand of her own money that she had invested in time and paperwork so she could get the district off the ground quickly. Like a corporate attorney, her skill set is highly specialized and sought after. We are lucky that we had the opportunity to have an outside developer donate her services.
It is a shame the City Commission and the Chamber did not read the information given or were to selfish and short sighted to approve the district. It was a FREE project and a win win for all. It chould have benefited downtown businesses, property owners, developers and the city as a whole.
April 2, 2009 at 6:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )