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City Council members review LERTA applications |
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Written by Publisher
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Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
 Dan Hepner, Chairman of the St. Marys Redevelopment Authority, addressed Council members during Monday night’s meeting.
By Becky Polaski
The St. Marys City Council held their first meeting of the month on Monday, Mar. 3 at 7 p.m. Mayor Sally Geyer was excused and Deputy Mayor Denny Nero ran the meeting.
Dan Hepner, Chairman of the St. Marys Redevelopment Authority, addressed Council members regarding a grant the Authority would like to apply for.
“We have identified a number of buildings in the downtown area that are in need of some TLC,” explained Hepner.
The Redevelopment Authority contributes a certain portion of funding to improve buildings if the building owners agree to do so as well.
Hepner stated that he recently received a DCED application regarding a Single Application for Assistance Program and explained that the Authority would like to apply for $10,000. This amount, combined with what the Authority already has, would be sufficient for the completion of their proposed projects.
Council members approved issuing a letter of support for the Redevelopment Authority regarding their attempt to apply for the Single Application for Assistance.
The bid for the Jackson Road Bridge was awarded and Resolution No. 08-6, establishing a St. Marys Parking Garage fund, was approved.
Council members also discussed three LERTA requests that had been received. Advanced Recycling Equipment, Contact Technologies, and the new Industrial Steel and Pipe Supply were the three businesses that filed applications.
LERTA applications are required to be filed before a business begins construction. Due to ongoing discussions with the school board regarding whether or not they would approve applications, the City had not been handing these applications to businesses. City Manager David Greene explained that while it is not the City’s responsibility to inform businesses about LERTA, the City had been taking the initiative to provide the information up until the discrepancy arose with the school board.
Even though all three businesses filed LERTA applications, Council members noted that construction had already been started on both the Advanced Recycling Equipment and Industrial Steel and Pipe Supply sites. Because of this, Council members voted to table the discussion regarding those two businesses until the next meeting so that the legalities of the situation could be looked into. Members of the Council voted to approve the LERTA application for Contact Technologies, which had not yet started construction.
Crystal Fire Department’s Long Range Plan for 2008 was also approved by Council members.
Additionally, the Elk Creek Park Master Plan was discussed. The plan now goes to the Recreation Board for review.
Council members also approved disbanding Recycling Take Force Committee since their goals have been met. The formation of a smaller committee was also approved. This committee will consist of Steve Skok, Tina Gradizzi, Rick Gabler, and Bob Bauer. A member of the public is also being sought to serve on the committee.
It was also announced that construction on the new Canadensis Building is scheduled to begin next week and parking for those with permit parking will be behind Career Link.
The next Council meeting will be held on Monday, Mar. 17 at 7 p.m.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 05 March 2008 )
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