Date of Meeting: May 3, 1999
Subject: Review and Possibly Modify the Current Process of Determining the Proposed Bond Issue Projects to Appear on the Ballot.
Purpose of the Report: With the installation of the new city commission on April 26, 1999 and with the impending bond issue in the Fall, this report outlines the current process being used to determine the issues to be on the ballot and asks the new commission for direction on any adjustments needed in the process. User groups supporting the different projects will soon be making public presentations to service clubs and other organizations. If the City Commission wishes to adjust the number or scope of the projects or the public information process, this would be an opportune time to do so.
Background:
Current Process - The following is an outline of the process now being followed:
(Conducted by HOK, architects and space planners, from March to July of 1998.. The process involved over 100 citizens and service providers, in over 50 meetings, and 6 public presentations.)
(Prepared by HOK in July of 1998 based on square footage and general construction costs. Land acquisition, landscaping and parking lot costs estimated by city staff in February of 1999)
( Selection of the initial proposed sites for the recreation center, senior activity center, and multigraphis were proposed by staff and HOK in December of 1998 using existing plans calling for the development of the area between the Stillwater Public Library and the Stillwater Community Center. The Police/City Hall addition location was recommended by HOK. The Senior Center site was selected based on input from the seniors.)
( Overview presentations of all the projects have been presented to one service club, the Chamber's Infrastructure Committee, the League of Women Voters, and the Chamber Board of Directors in March and April.)
The projects proposed were initiated by user groups based on a needs assessment. Many Stillwater residents are not current users of some of the projects being proposed but they will be asked to help pay for the facilities. Special efforts are needed to draw the taxpayer into this process to determine the final ballot that hopefully will gain community-wide support. User groups are the most qualified to answer questions and consider alternatives proposed in public input sessions.
Survey forms have been developed for use during the presentations. This gives those attending the presentations an opportunity to respond to the proposals by completing and mailing in the form. The input can then be evaluated by the city commission. The commission may change the scope of the projects at any time during the public input process based on the survey results received and public input they each receive. Survey results received to date are attached to this report along with a summary of the results. Review of this input may be helpful in evaluating the process.
The following steps may be concurrent and may begin at any time:
Survey results reviewed
Decide what should be proposed on the ballot
Select and Meet with a Financial Advisor
Review Funding Options
Draft ballot
Call election
Once the ballot has been drafted, city staff is limited by state law in the use of city time and resources to promote the bond issue. City staff is limited to providing information only. Consequently, advertising and promotion must be done by citizens who support the projects.
Public Presentations
Service clubs are being contacted and requested to provide each group an opportunity to present. The groups are Police/City Hall, Sports, and Community Center/District. The following dates for presentations have been made:
Sunrise Exchange Club - PD presentation -April 27th
Noon Lions - PD presentation -June 3rd - P&R presentation - June 24
Evening Lions - P&R presentation - May 4th
Frontier Rotary - PD presentation - April 22
We have extended the opportunity to Elks #1859, Evening Kiwanis, Golden K Kiwanis, Morning Lions, Moose Lodge, Rotary Club, and Centennial Rotary. It is not anticipated that every service club will receive a presentation due to prior program commitments. Some service club program chairpersons have indicated they do not plan to schedule all the presenter groups.
Stillwater Neighborhood Alliance Public Forums
The Stillwater Neighborhood Alliance will be providing two public forums on Wednesday evening May 19 and on Saturday afternoon June 5, 1999. This forum is open to the general public. Nine representatives of the user groups will be seated for a panel discussion. The forum will begin with a five minute presentation from each of the nine representatives. Questions and answers will follow. Those attending will be provided an information packet and survey form at the beginning of the forum to take with them. The survey form can be mailed in after the meeting. People are free to come and go. The panel forum will be in the Stillwater Community Center "Library Room". Additional displays will be in the Community Center lobby with a user group representatives present to answer questions. This arrangement permits someone to attend the 45 minutes of presentations, stay as long as they wish to hear the question and answer session or leave. If someone does not have time to stay for the questions and answer session but wants a few questions answered quickly, they can ask those in the lobby with the displays.
Discussion:
In April, the user groups provided the City Commission a trial run of their presentations to the community service groups and organizations. This process brought more users into the effort and, as a result, some views differed from the original needs assessment. The soccer association wants six fields instead of three and prefer they be somewhere other than Babcock Park. There is also varying input on the number of basketball courts needed in the community with the addition of courts recently by the public schools and by a local church. On the whole, these are the only new issues that have arisen. It will be necessary for the Parks, Events, and Recreation staff to make a final justification and recommendation to the City Commission on the number of basketball courts, soccer fields, and location at the earliest possible date. Four sites for soccer/softball have been identified as ideal that are closer to Stillwater than the Lake McMurtry site. Efforts are underway to determine the asking price.
In December of 1998, the Stillwater Public Schools announced plans to add basketball courts and theater facilities. Since then, they have met with the architects and received cost estimates. School board members and staff have indicated a desire to have their bond issue prior to the city bond issue. The elected officials of the school board and city commission will need to coordinate the projects and election timing for the basketball and theater projects.
Based on resolution of the above on number of fields and courts and theater facilities and upon the survey results and public input received to date, the city commission may want to respond and provide additional input to the public on what their priorities are. The Commission could start meeting with Financial Advisors to discuss the funding options and determine the appropriate amount of bonds that may be issued under state law and good financial planning. These discussions may help determine what appears on the ballot. To the extent that any or all of these tasks can be completed and decisions made, the public input from future scheduled meetings could be even more helpful. The surveys would indicate if the public felt the city was on the right track in setting the final ballot issues to be voted on.
Recommendation:
Your direction is requested on possible modification of the process is requested. It is recommended we go forward with the concurrent action items listed in step six of the current process. This includes selection of an independent financial advisor.
At the May 3, 1999 meeting, it is anticipated you will receive the 1999-2000 year proposed budget. You already have the proposed and tentatively approved five year capital plan. This information provides you the additional opportunity to review all funding options for both the potential bond issue and the five year capital plan.
Prepared and Recommended by:
___________________________
Carl Weinaug
City Manager