PRESENTATION
Vice Mayor Simmons handed the meeting over to City Manager Ken Tsuchiyama. Mr. Tsuchiyama said that the City is beginning a period of more public involvement in the downtown transformation and that the goal of tonight's presentation is to update the Commission with a 30,000 foot view of the transformation to ensure that everyone is on the same page in terms of the importance of this project. He praised Battle Creek Unlimited (BCU) for its efforts in working with the public to gather input. He said Steve Benoit from the National Center for Food Protection will give a presentation. The Family YMCA City collaboration has been progressing and Mr. Tsuchiyama expects a development agreement to be taken to the Commission soon. He began a PowerPoint presentation and noted that various people will be presenting different parts.
Mr. Tsuchiyama said that the downtown transformation plan was developed by BCU, but it is not just BCU's responsibility; it is a plan that involves the community. He said that this is not a traditional economic development project, but is a broader vision for downtown and the neighborhoods surrounding downtown. He listed what the plan is attempting to accomplish, including making Battle Creek the nation's food protection hub, creating and retaining food science jobs, growing local professionals and making the city attractive to young, educated, tech savvy professionals.
Mr. Tsuchiyama said that looking beyond the core of the downtown, efforts will include neighborhoods surrounding the area. He said that there are some concerns about moving the Math & Science Center and said that it is important to recognize that the Center affects students from every school district in the county. He said different parts of the transformation will have different approaches to public input. He said that the City already has a lot of experience with input on infrastructure and that public input will be important for this project. He also said that it will be important to get input on the relocation of the Math & Science Center. He said there are other parts of the project that are decisions made by the Kellogg Company and that the City respects that. He gave a hypothetical example of a possible new parking structure, which would rely on technical expertise to determine where it would be located and how it would be designed. He said this is an example of a project that receive some input, but will also have some technical expertise involved in decision making. He said that reaching community agreement on what needs to change in the community can be difficult.
Karl Dehn of Battle Creek Unlimited said that there have been over 45 meetings of various sizes with different focus groups related to the downtown transformation. Comm. Gray asked about the diversity of participants. Mr. Dehn said that diversity has mostly been reflected on attendance and makeup of Neighborhood Planning Councils. He said that the approach to advertising has been to promote diversity and that he is open to suggestions for improving participation from diverse audiences. Comm. Hersha said that residents would appreciate documentation of the impact of public input on the final decisions. Mr. Tsuchiyama said that BCU has every intent of providing that and he has seen documents including names and comments tracked. He said he was open to suggestions for how to handle suggestions that are not included in the final design. Comm. Hersha said he isn't suggesting the City respond to each individual suggestion, but that the City discuss in general the impact that public input made. Mr. Tsuchiyama said that it is too early to see what will and won't be incorporated, but that some of that will be obvious at the end.
Comm. Sullivan expressed concerns about the reliance on experts. She said there are examples of expert-designed projects that aren't working, such as Full Blast and the YMCA. She said there has to be some exchange so that just experts aren't involved. Mr. Tsuchiyama said he did not mean to exclude residents from the process, but that in some situations Commissioners may be asked to represent people in the place of a major public input process if that is the best way to do it. He said as elected officials it may be the role of elected officials to solicit input from residents. Comm. Sullivan asked how to include residents that have experience in the process. Mr. Tsuchiyama said that he would listen to anyone's input, but he is distinguishing a major public input process from listening to suggestions. He said that the City can not conduct a major public input process for every project.
Comm. Morris said that he has been following this project from day one and that he thinks BCU has done a phenomenal job in reaching out to different groups and gathering public opinion. He said that much information has been available on-line for anyone interested in following it. He said a good job has been done and that he appreciates the efforts tonight. Vice Mayor Simmons said he thinks that the City has gone above and beyond the typical efforts. He said he would like to see a synopsis at the end of the process that would include ideas that came from public input and what ideas have evolved along the way. Karl Dehn said that the flowers are going to go, referring to proposed metal flowers that were included in an original concept drawing. Mr. Dehn said that a process used today in four focus groups generated the most information BCU has received in a more organized format on infrastructure. He said a lot of the "streetscape" and downtown amenities will be affected by public input and that Commissioners will see that.
Mr. Tsuchiyama said that there was a lot of criticism when the downtown transformation was first announced. He said that BCU has done a good job of thinking outside the box and that some of the criticism was the result of the fact that they needed to present something for people to respond to. Vice Mayor Simmons said that each time he was presented with ideas it was presented as conceptual.
Steve Benoit said he was excited about the idea of working toward both a National Center for Food Protection and an International Food Protection Training Institute. He said he believes that it makes sense to build this from a downtown location. He overviewed the origin of the concepts, which began with a W.K.Kellogg Foundation-sponsored study of the feasibility of a national center for food protection and applied research. He said it is clear that there is an opportunity for private and public collaboration in the area of improving food safety and security. He said W.K. Kellogg Foundation has committed $35 million in support of an overall development plan that will involve investments in food science, technology and education. He said further support has been garnered by Association of Food & Drug officials, Battle Creek Unlimited and Western Michigan University (WMU). He said a lot of community work has been down by Joan Bowman, his colleague, whom he introduced.
Mr. Benoit said the vision for the National Center for Food Protection is a global food protection resource development and collaboration network. The strategy will be to deliver career-spanning food protection training to state, local, tribal and territorial food protection professionals that meets established US food safety standards. He said there is a state and local focus and there has been $1 million set aside at the federal level to support training. He said training has already begun using WMU's Kendall Center and McCamly Plaza Hotel. He explained the importance of an emerging technology accelerator, which looks for emerging technologies in other fields and how they might apply to food safety. He gave an example of pathogen detection as an important area for technological advancement that could assist with food protection. He said a lot of improvements have been coming out of the medical research area. Mr. Benoit said that the location of the center and institute will be 49 West Michigan Avenue on the third building. He said up to 25 people will work out of this location and an early February open house to the public is planned. He said that he is working on forming an advisory board for the ETA. He said that some of the critical pieces needed for Battle Creek to become the hub of this work are in place.
Comm. Hersha said that he is very excited about this project and thanked Mr. Benoit for the information. He asked whether any of the people coming to downtown to work will be living here. Mr. Benoit said that there will be at least 25 people not living here now who will need to. He said Joan Bowman has already moved here. He said the long term goal is training 2,000 to 3,000 people a year, but it is hard to know what spin off economic development results will be this early in the process. He said the ability to interact with Covance may provide some unique opportunities down the road for new businesses and new services.
Comm. Morris said that living where you work is important and that means Battle Creek, not Kalamazoo. He said anything that can be done to promote Battle Creek is what excites him. Mr. Benoit said that the transformation is thinking longer term, but also provides a longer term benefit. Comm. Gray asked about discussions with local universities. Mr. Benoit said the training is for people who are already working in the field and is all specific to the work being done. He said potential partnerships with universities are in curriculum design and evaluation. He said there are also a number of universities that can provide subject matter expertise.
Family Y Center Project
Mr. Tsuchiyama introduced Assistant City Manager Jim Ritsema, who presented on the topic of the Battle Creek Health and Wellness Service Consolidation and Efficiency Plan. Mr. Ritsema said that plans to consolidate the Family YMCA and Full Blast began before the downtown transformation idea, however they fit together very well. He said operating efficiencies that are hoped for should provide long-term sustainability for both organizations. He said that Full Blast currently requires a subsidy of about $200,000 a year. He said that the Family Y Center is an aging facility and requires substantial resources to rehabilitate. He reviewed a timeline for discussions that began in November 2006. He said desired outcomes include increased access to programs and services, improved health and well-being in the community, improved program quality and impact, as well as improved financial condition for each organization. He said the Y Center programs and services would be relocated to Full Blast. Parks & Recreation would take over programming of the multi-sports complex on Cherry Street.
He explained that next steps include a development agreement, which is scheduled to be brought to the City Commission at its first January meeting. He said a community committee has been formed to discuss the reuse of the Y Center. There would need to be a fund raising initiative to move the Y Center, and that lease negotiations and implementation would follow.
Questions
Comm. Morris asked if there was a way to include the idea of a quiet zone into the downtown transformation because some people complain about the noise of trains when they stay downtown. Mr. Tsuchiyama said that in the past to be designated as a quiet zone meant eliminating crossroads or modifying crossroads so that it is almost impossible to drive through barriers so that train operators do not feel it is necessary to sound alerts when they go through them. He said there would be six to eight crossroads that would need to be adjusted and that a feasibility study is needed. He said it is tough to say what it would cost, but it could be six or even seven figures.
Comm. Fulton asked where the money comes from to subsidize Full Blast each year. Mr. Ritsema said that the money comes from the General Fund. Comm. Fulton asked if Parks & Recreation provides all of the maintenance for Full Blast. Mr. Jeff Hovarter, Parks & Recreation Director, said yes. Comm Hersha asked about gym facilities at McCamly Hotel and whether it would be possible to offer facilities to guests. Mr. Tsuchiyama said yes this is possible and is one of the reasons for pursuing the plan.
Comm. Hersha asked about plans to relocate the intermodal station. Mr. Tsuchiyama said it is not planned to relocate the train station, but just the City's bus transfer station. He said that passenger studies showed a high number of bus rides travel to the Toeller Building, meaning a transfer station closer to that location may make more sense. He said another location that makes sense is to put it closer to the Transit Department's maintenance garage.
Comm. Sullivan asked what is the purpose of the Development Agreement in relation to the Family Y Center. Mr. Tsuchiyama said that the purpose is to provide a framework for continued conversation and to provide assurance to both sides that there is a commitment to moving forward.
Infrastructure Update
Mr. Karl Dehn discussed several project areas considered as the downtown transformation phase one and two. The first is the M66 gateway area that will be redesigned to address first impressions for drivers coming downtown from the south. Phase two will be Michigan Avenue from M66 to Carlyle. The gateway project will focus on screening on the east side of M66 to screen the view of Franklin Iron & Metal. A second screen will be located at the approach to the intersection of Hamblin, where traffic begins to slow. The screens would be 150 feet long and made of stainless steel six-inch square mesh. A youth art design has been made of metal pieces to create an art appeal. He said small LED lighting will provide a twinkle effect and backlighting will also be added. He said that the screens will be approximately nine feet above the guardrail. He said there will be some other changes to the Welcome to Battle Creek sign and plantings added to the Sojourner Truth monument area. At a January Commission meeting approval will be sought to approach the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for permission to use the right of way in this manner. BCU is working with MDOT to get funding and looking for an announcement on that in January or February. Construction could begin in summer of 2010.
Mr. Dehn said phase two includes streetscape changes on Michigan Avenue. He said that during this month and January input will be gathered and incorporated into final design ideas. On January 14 three concepts for downtown improvements will be shared with the public and feedback will be gathered. Designing for construction will happen after that. He said a bidding process for this will be a little later than the screening project, but it could be mid to late summer. He said Kellogg Company has expressed an interest in exploring the closing of a portion of Jackson Street immediately between its headquarters and the 69 W. Michigan building. He said that BCU is moving forward with a potential rental residential development in the area previously promoted as potential condominium sites. Mr. Dehn said there are discussions about improving the Jackson Street parking structure and other buildings on that block. He said multiple locations for event space are being explored and that site selection may occur in 2010 with construction in 2011, but that this timeline is pretty fluid.
Mr. Tsuchiyama added that when Kellogg Company decided not to build an office tower at the location of Festival Square, and to instead rent at 69 W. Michigan, he expected a request regarding the potential closure of Jackson Street to allow for a campus feel. He said City Engineering has found that traffic impacts would be minimal. He said that Hinman Company will continue to own 69 W. Michigan and Kellogg Company will continue to lease. He said he expects a request from Kellogg to take over maintenance of the area around the building along with the street closure. He said this would be beneficial to the City because it would not need to pay to take care of sidewalks and the area around the building. He said if a formal request is received, then a public hearing would be scheduled and that, if approved, the Commission would have a 90-day option to rescind if needed. He said he would not recommend rescinding, but that option is available. He said these things will be coming to the Commission fairly soon.
Mr. Tsuchiyama recapped of the evening's presentation.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Vice Mayor Simmons asked for public comment.
John Kenefick, 234 South Avenue, thanked everyone for the presentation and information. He said on October 18, he brought some matters to Mr. Dehn's attention and he had received responses. He said he has conflicting information about the sale price of Kellogg Cereal City USA and that it is not clear to him whether the property was donated.
George Bratcher 3515 South Minges said he has seen many communities do downtown transformations over and over again and make the same mistakes over and over. He said he thinks he has found the city that understands how to transform a downtown and that it should be driven by jobs. He said he believes the success is due to Battle Creek Unlimited and its understanding that jobs drive transformation, not flowers and boutiques. |