Urban Renewal and Economic Development Committee — Charleston, WV
Date: 2019-06-13
Time: 17:30

CITY OF CHARLESTON
 West Virginia
 Council Member – 13th WARD

Brent Burton Urban Renewal and Economic Development, Chair
340 MacCorkle Ave SE Finance Committee
Charleston, WV 25314 Parking Committee
Telephone: 304.541‐0991
E‐mail: brent.burton@cityofcharleston.org




TO: Urban Renewal and Economic Development Committee
FROM: Brent Burton, Chair
RE: Committee Meeting

There will be a Committee meeting of Urban Renewal and Economic Development on June 13, 2019 at 5:30
PM, in the A/V Conference Room, City Hall, Room 308.

The agenda will be as follows:

New Business

 1. Approval of Previous Minutes 5‐9‐2019

 2. Ron Butlin ‐ Discussing CURA

 3. Tonya Cotton – City Collector’s Office – the process of setting up a new business and collection
 duties

 4. Administration Updates

Adjournment




 *Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk.com

BB/ns




 City Council | 501 Virginia Street, East | Post Office Box 2749 | Charleston, West Virginia 25330
 www.charlestonwv.gov | 304.348.8179 | 304.348.8038 fax

CITY OF CHARLESTON
 West Virginia
 Council Member – 13th WARD

Brent Burton Urban Renewal and Economic Development, Chair
340 MacCorkle Ave SE Finance Committee
Charleston, WV 25314 Parking Committee
Telephone: 304.541‐0991
E‐mail: brent.burton@cityofcharleston.org




TO: Urban Renewal and Economic Development Committee
FROM: Brent Burton, Chair
RE: Committee Meeting

There will be a Committee meeting of Urban Renewal and Economic Development on June 13, 2019 at 5:30
PM, in the A/V Conference Room, City Hall, Room 308.

The agenda will be as follows:

New Business

 1. Approval of Previous Minutes 5‐9‐2019

 2. Ron Butlin ‐ Discussing CURA

 3. Tonya Cotton – City Collector’s Office – the process of setting up a new business and collection
 duties

 4. Administration Updates

Adjournment




 *Meetings may be recorded and broadcast via internet https://charlestonwv.civicclerk.com

BB/ns




 City Council | 501 Virginia Street, East | Post Office Box 2749 | Charleston, West Virginia 25330
 www.charlestonwv.gov | 304.348.8179 | 304.348.8038 fax

 Page | 1 of
 MINUTES
 URBAN RENEWAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

 5:30 P. M., MAY 9, 2019

 A/V CONFERENCE ROOM

Brent Burton, Chairperson, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council Committee
on Urban Renewal and Economic Development to order at 5:30p.m., MAY 9, 2019, in
the Audio/Visual Room in City Hall.

Committee Members Present:
Brent Burton, Chair Others:
Tiffany Wesley-Plear, Vice Chair Keeley Steele
Naomi Bays Adam Knauff
Caitlin Cook (via phone) Jeff Mace
Jennifer Pharr Ric Cavender
 Vic Grigoraci
 Larry Malone


 1. Approval of Previous Minutes – Councilmember Bays moved to approve the
minutes of the previous meeting on 4-4-2019. Councilmember Pharr seconded. There
was no objection and the minutes were approved.

 2. Charleston Main Streets Presentation – Councilmember Burton introduced Ric
Cavender who is the Executive Director of Charleston Main Streets. Ric Cavender
distributed the group’s Annual Report to the Committee members. Highlights of the
presentation included:
 - They are part of a national network of about 1.300 certified programs. In West
 Virginia, Charleston is the only city with 2 certified communities.
 - Each district has an elected board of advisers of 16-18 people, who oversee the
 action plan that is put in place every year.
 - Their 4 Pillars of Development are: Business and Economic Development,
 Business Promotion and Enhancement, Public Space Improvements and
 Destination Events and Marketing.
 - Marketing endeavors are solely based around promoting business or projects
 that are happening within the districts. Last year, their social media reach was 1
 million people.
 - They host 5 main events every year: East End Yard Sale, Foam at the Dome,
 HallowEast, Ice Cream for the Arts and OktoberWest.
 - Micro Loan Program – to small businesses for gap funding.
 - Bridge Builders Program - $5/month membership fee that will fund ongoing urban
 revitalization.




 Page | 2 of
 3. Bigley Avenue Economic Development Foundation – Councilmember Knauff and
 CFO Jeff Mace addressed the committee to discuss the Foundation. Highlights of
 their presentation included:
 - Inaugural Project – a clean-up of the former 7-11 Convenience Store location on
 Bigley Ave. Volunteers cleaned up the property which is now for sale.
 - Opportunity Zones/Renewal Areas – their area of focus does not fall within these
 designated zones.
 - Full Color Magazine- During FestivAll, they will be painting the hidden stream
 path that goes from Garrison Avenue to Elk River, highlighting Charleston’s
 largest contained watershed and how our actions affect the water quality of our
 rivers.
 - Mural on Bigley Avenue
 - They would like the Committee’s help with obtaining revenue estimates for their
 business district. This information will help them bring in new businesses.
 - They invited the Committee to their meeting on May 23, 2019.

 4. Discussion – Councilmember Burton stated that the next meeting is tentatively
 set for June 13 at 5:30 pm. Councilmember Steele reminded the Committee of
 Narcan Training on May 13, 2019.




Councilmember Bays motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Wesley-Plear
seconded.

Meeting adjourned.




 Page | 3 of

MINUTES
 URBAN RENEWAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

 5:30 P. M., JUNE 13, 2019

 A/V CONFERENCE ROOM

Naomi Bays, Committee Member, called the meeting of the Charleston City Council
Committee on Urban Renewal and Economic Development to order at 5:30p.m., JUNE
13, 2019, in the Audio/Visual Room in City Hall.

Committee Members Present:
Naomi Bays
Ben Adams
Caitlin Cook
Jennifer Pharr
Bobby Reishman (left 6:29)



 1. Approval of Previous Minutes – Councilmember Pharr moved to approve the
minutes of the previous meeting on 5-9-2019. Councilmember Cook seconded. There
was no objection and the minutes were approved.


 2. Ron Butlin, CURA – Councilmember Bays introduced Ron Butlin, Executive
Director of Charleston Urban Renewal Authority (CURA), who addressed the
Committee. Highlights of the presentation included:
  3 Renewal Districts – East End, Downtown and West Side
  CURA’s goal is the elimination of blight. Their current focus is a more holistic
 approach compared to the past.
  2 rehabilitation programs/loans: to promote stability in the West Side, currently
 available to homes in a small, select area. Their hope is that the program will be
 successful, attracting investors that will allow the program to expand.
  Landlord to First Watch, Black Sheep and Subway. Their goal is to liquidate
 some of their other assets.
  In the past, their focus has been primarily commercial, however the past few
 years have seen a slight shift toward residential as well.

Councilmember Pharr asked Butlin to explain the makeup of the ownership of the mall.
Butlin replied that the main building and retail spaces (except for the anchor stores)
were developed by a Forest City entity. In the mid-1990s, it was refinanced which
bifurcated the ownership of the mall and the parking garage. CURA owns the land
under the parking garages, which is owned separately from the mall. From a previous
agreement, they receive a small percentage of revenue from the mall’s tenants. The
owners of the parking garage also owns the former Macy’s building. The mall is
currently owned by a bank, which is a trustee for several other banks.

Councilmember Adams asked what other sources of revenue they receive. Butlin
answered that they have issued a few small loans to aid in the purchases of historic
buildings. The bulk of CURA funding comes from the mall parking buildings.

Councilmembers Bays confirmed with Butlin that the new West Side Plan is an
amendment as opposed to a new document. Councilmember Pharr confirmed that the
plan will come to the Committee before final approval from Council. Councilmember
Pharr asked how many people have taken advantage of the home ownership/rehab
program. Butlin answered that they have received about 10 applications for rehab and
around 11 for home ownership.

Councilmember Adams asked if there were grants available to CURA. Butlin answered
that there were hopefully grants available for project-specific activities, but not for
general funding.

Councilmember Pharr asked if they have encountered in issues in regard to rehab loan
applications. Butlin answered yes, specifically, there are issues of how much money is
required to get a home to a livable status and at what amount is it not worth doing so.
Butlin explained that a Housing Inspector will visit the home for an inspection. If the
homeowner meets the requirements, CURA will put the work our for bid, the contractors
do the work and CURA processes the payment. Councilmember Bays asked how many
houses were considered un-livable but had people living in them. Butlin said he didn’t
know a specific number, but he would guess that it is a lot. They are working on a
holistic approach with other agencies to try to address this issue.


 3. Tonya Cotton, City Collector’s Office – The Department Head for the City
Collector’s Office, Tonya Cotton, addressed the Committee with an overview of her
department and its responsibilities. Highlights of the presentation were:
  The office’s primary function is to collect all the funds that go through the City.
  They process payments for and/or monitor: parking tickets, building permits, City
 Service fees, sign permits, building and planning violations, Business and
 Occupational taxes, business licenses, solicitation permits, street closures,
 hotel/motel occupancy taxes, utility taxes and amusement taxes.
  They have a staff of 15 – 7 ½ auditors, 3 cashiers and 4 front of the house staff.
  In 2018, they collected $63,278,268; $44 million of that was B&O taxes.
  Half of the hotel/motel tax revenue is given to the CVB.
  Cotton discussed the steps of getting a business license with the Committee.

Councilmember Bays suggested having a more official welcome packet when a new
business license is issued. Cotton and the Committee discussed their Revenue
Tracking System, which meets the Collector’s Office’s needs, but they will most likely
not be able to get technical support/repairs for much longer. They share the fire, refuse
and sewer billing system with the Sanitary Board, which does not fit the needs of the
Collector’s Office.




Councilmember Adams motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Pharr
seconded.

Meeting adjourned.