Finance Committee Page 5
August 17, 2016
understanding of the budget is that it’s going to cost approximately $27,000 and we have $25,000 set aside
through the Downtown Improvement Committee fund and we will be looking to take an additional $2,000 under
the escrows which will be forthcoming in the next week or so. | wanted to be somewhat ambitious to keep this
moving along because this is a project that has been hanging out there for a while and | felt it imperative to
keep the ball moving and because there are so many moving parts | wanted to present this in front of you and
hopefully get this approved this evening with the understanding that execution of the contract wouldn’t occur
until after the escrows are hopefully approved.
Mayor Donchess
The escrows have been proposed and referred to the Budget Review Committee for review on next Monday,
August 22",
Alderman Cookson
| hesitate bringing this up because it’s not directly related to the proposal but my question would be more
around yes, | support the Performing Arts Feasibility Study but what | would be more interested in
understanding is | Know that our downtown Master Plan needs to be updated and | am wondering how the two
would actually complement one another or not just complement one another but | think we need to understand
what is going on downtown in conjunction with adding a new Performing Arts Center in the same general area.
| know that Director Marchant has mentioned maybe on more than one occasion, the idea of updating that. Do
we have any plans on setting funds aside so we can actually conduct that downtown Master Plan update as
well?
Mayor Donchess
There was $50,000 included in the budget that just passed for the beginning of Master Planning work and |
think what we were going to propose to you is that the first phases of that begin downtown as part of an overall
City Master Plan and that we will be coming forward with that as a recommendation in the relatively near
future. | agree that we want to look at this as part of an overall concept plan for downtown, that’s the whole
point here and make sure that this is a part of what we plan for the entire downtown and that this is part of our
overall downtown revitalization effort.
Alderman Siegel
| have no problem with the study but | have a question about the economic split. There’s $2,000 of other
money coming from outside of the scope of the Downtown Improvement Committee. Was there just not
enough money in that fund?
Director Cummings
My understanding is that there was an original appropriation recommended by the Downtown Improvement
Committee which was $25,000. This quote came in after that because this is the second phase and it came in
higher and wanting to get as complete of a project as possible, we were able to, through excess salary money
in the Economic Development Department because of the transition that predated me, we were able to transfer
the $2,000.
Mayor Donchess
That is the source of the escrow that has been proposed.
MOTION CARRIED
