Downtown Development Authority Meeting Minutes
July 25, 2017

Sugar Hill Downtown Development Authority

Regular Called Meeting Minutes July 25th, 2017 | 6:30 PM

City of Sugar Hill City Hall – Community Room

Members Present:          Allen Jorgensen, Marc Orcutt, Nancy Wren, Nic Greene, Nigel Gray, Taylor Anderson

Staff Present:                    Kaipo Awana, Paul Radford, Scott Andrews, Troy Besseche, Brandon Hembree, Tim Schick

Guests Present:               Kevin M^cOmber of Clark Patterson Lee (CPL), Steve Watson, JackWolfe, J. Gregory Wilson (Thompson Ehle Company), Matt Mitchell (Wakefield Beasley) Tim Christian (Von Chris Group), John McDonald (JWM Ventures), Bill Whittaker (NOVA), Tucker Stallings (Hotel Equities), Michael Travis (JMWilkerson Construction), Kevin McSherry (Genoa Construction).

1. CALL TO ORDER: 6:30 PM

1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Motion to approve (Brandon), 2^nd (Nick) Motion carried via vote

III.           APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Correction – (Nick Green was not at present previous meeting).  Motion to accept minutes of regular meeting dated 6/27/2017 with correction (Marc), 2^nd (Brandon), carried by vote

III.                 PUBLIC COMMENTS:

1. ACTION ITEMS AND UPDATES:
2. Old Business
   • Iconic Project (fka. Icon/Seven): John McDonald and his team gave an update on the status of the project: The Civil Engineer gave a report on the progress of the design to date which included a few challenges with the sizing and tying in of the sewer lines, the sizing and tying in of the water lines, drainage and retention, among others. It was stated that we are at the schematic design stage and expect to have design completed in approximately 46 It was also said that the parking deck is expected to begin first, and eventually be used for construction parking to mitigate parking challenges in the city. The rest of the project is expected to begin some 7 months later.
     1. The Chairman of the DDA expressed concerns regarding the ability for the team to move the project forward and to secure financing since the land has been tied-up for the past 16 months, and the design team has not been paid up for the work they have done to date. JWM was asked to speak to their ability to move the project forward. – John stated that this project was ideally suited for the type of financing they are trying to secure and that the conference center offers a big advantage. He stated that this type of federal financing, while takes longer than the alternative it is expected to be routine. The team fielded a few other questions by the DDA.
   • 7:30 PM E-Center Project (fka. EpiCenter):
     1. Kevin McOmber, of CPL, gave an update on the project: The large crane is now on site, pre-construction meeting on roof installation is scheduled for later this week. The site experienced lots of rain last month however on 4 rain days taken. New CCO of approximately $5M worth of work. There was update on Value Engineering items – Signage was overpriced but numbers are now back in line. Numbers for other interior items are also coming down. Revision Set #10 was released last week. Pedestrian bridge has not yet been added to the published numbers but is expected to be approx. $600K.
        1. There was a question from Nancy about the status of communication line installation and a statement that she’s been having frequent outages to communication. Marc explained that the Suite spot also had two significant outages to communication as well due to abnormally high noise levels on the lines. ATT was said to be slow to respond to questions from the E-Center team.
        2. Action item – Approval to procuring the legal consultant (David Sergio) for procuring the leasing documents – recommendation of fees of $225/hr not to exceed $2500. Moved (Brandon), 2^nd (Marc), Nancy declined. Motion carried 4 – 1.

• Nexus at Sugar Hill Project (fka Sugar Hill Town Center) Update:
  1. City Manager Paul Radford gave an update – New renderings have been provided. The Sugar Hill sign will be placed on this building in lieu of the E-Center. McCauley has scaled back some of the retail spaces and increased the amount of flex spaces. There were some concerns about too many retail spaces being release at one time when considering E-Center retail spaces as well. They’ve taken the vehicle entrance off W. Broad Street. The new design complements the E-Center a bit more now without overpowering it. There are a few pedestrian crossings on broad street. The buildings name is being changed to “Broadstone at Sugar Hill”. Town Homes will be a separate transaction. There will be a gateway sign on the end of the block (at intersection of Church St. and Level Creek). Several internal courtyards are included as well as a water feature.
• 8:05 PM – Holbrook Project (fka Solomon) Update:
  1. City Manager Paul Radford gave an update: The market study showed that the project is indeed feasible. They hope to have renderings of the Holbrook next week.
• Dogwood Forrest Project Update:
  1. We have a signed purchase and sale agreement. We also have some design documents. A third floor has been added. The design team sent an owners questionnaire. There is a slight change in the design of the building’s front elevation.
• RaceTrac Project Update: There is considerable progress on this building including sheathing installation as well as some roofing, and brick towards the back. There are a few ongoing issues with parking and exceeding the limits of their easement area. A lot of paving work is being conducted on the site.
• Gateway sign needs a piece of light dilution fixture to installed before we switch it on. Complete cost of the fixture is approximately $80K. The City is looking at a vertical design of the sign at the other two locations and a horizontal design at the intersection of PIB and Hwy 20.
• Suite Spot:
  1. Marc’s report included: Remodel is done. We’ve received some positive feedback. Attendance is at all-time low. There are five open dedicated spaces upstairs and one large office opening up (no windows). We are currently working on an AC issue.
  2. Scott’s update of the Mural. Funding went live and we’ve received several sponsors including Brandon ($1K), and PPI ($ 3K), thermometer is now mounted. DDA is gracious to match up to $10K. Scott suggested
  3. Two tenants missed the 11-day probation. Scott is working on notifying these tenants.

1. New Business
   • Motion to approve $1000 sponsor for Color Run 5k for Lanier High School to be taken from marketing budget, moved (Brandon) 2^nd by (Nic Greene) carried by unanimous vote.
   • Splash Park: the park is receiving great reviews.
   • Sugar Hill Greenway: the design of the facility is underway. – We intend to accept bids for sidewalk which we expect is going to be funded by SPLOST.
   • Concerts: 3^rd consecutive sellout (KC and Sunshine band). Josh Turner, Ben Foldsup next, Atlanta Rhythm Section coming up later this year.
   • DDA Cleanup rescheduled on 8/13 from 12-2PM.
   • Scott – Name (ACE) have a presence in Norcross. Scott expressing interest in bringing them to Sugar Hill. More next meeting.
   • Nic – Next Business Alliance meeting is 8/10/2017 – They are moving the meetings back to the Suite Spot; Business Alliance Golf Tournament is scheduled for 8/25/2017.
   • Budget Report: We need to do a budget amendment for travel expenses (hotel). There was a motion amend the budget to move funds, not to exceed $1200, from Consultants to Travel and Training for upcoming trips (Marc, Allen and Taylor). Motion moved by Brandon, second by Marc; Carried by unanimous vote.
   • Marc moved a motion to enter executive session, which was 2^nd (Nic). Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

1. EXECUTIVE SESSION: The DDA entered executive session during this meeting.

A motion was made to accept the Purchase and Sale Agreement with Solomon Development Services for parcels 7-306-098, 7-306-080, 7-306-273, 7-306-123, 7-306-082, 7-306-277, 7-306-081, and 7-306-079A. The motion was made by Marc Orcutt, seconded by Nic Greene. Motion carried unanimously.

1. ADJOURNMENT: Motion to adjourn was entertained by Marc and 2^nd by Allen. Adjournment carried by majority vote