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University City Economic Development Retail Sales Tax Board Meeting Minutes of March 16, 2011 The University City Economic Development Retail Sales Tax Board met on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 5:10 p.m. in the City Hall EOC Room (basement), 6801 Delmar Boulevard. In attendance were Board members Rosalind Williams, Stacy Clay, Barbara Sydnor and Tim Tucker. Also in attendance were Mayor Shelley Welsch, Joe Edwards (Loop Special Business District “LSBD”), Director of Community Development Andrea Riganti, Deputy Director of Community Development Raymond Lai, and City Engineer Sinan Alpaslan. Approval of the minutes of the February 23, 2011 meeting was postponed until the next regular business meeting. Ms. Riganti reviewed the potential uses of the economic development retail sales tax, as per Section 2.41.050 of the Municipal Code. She then provided an overview of prior years revenue, expenditures, and reserve funds. Budget requests to date were reviewed and included: $49,015 from U City in Bloom (ProGator watering vehicle, trees, garden maintenance); $100,000 for Department of Community Development operations (Manager of Economic Development and Deputy Director of Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development); and $332,000 from the Loop Special Business District (bike racks, LED lights, brochures, security cameras, booth). Ms. Riganti discussed Olive Boulevard projects, and indicated that $200,000 in FY12 funds could be set aside for purposes to be defined at a later date once a Manager of Economic Development for the City is hired. The Olive Boulevard projects could include land banking, marketing plan implementation and others. Mayor Welsch reminded the Board members about the Olive Boulevard/I-170 study currently being undertaken by the cities of Olivette and University City. Projects or plans could come from this effort, and could qualify for economic development retail sales tax funds. She also encouraged the Board to set aside funds for Olive Boulevard land banking. Mr. Edwards answered questions relating to the proposed LSBD budget. He indicated that the security camera system would be owned by the City of University City; include mobile and visible cameras; and could possibly be purchased for less than the original proposal of $275,000 or around $125,000. He stressed the need for the cameras in the Loop, citing the recent increase in crime. The timing of the security camera installation is also critical: the Loop is particularly impacted by crime during the summer months so there is a pressing need to install the system as soon as possible. The system will have an immediate benefit for business owners, the City and the community, so perhaps sales tax reserves could be used to expedite project funding. Mr. Alpaslan presented the Department of Public Works request for funds. The Department is seeking funds to resurface or reconstruct the City-owned parking lot (#4) in the Loop. The cost to reconstruct using pervious pavers is $1,207,196 and the cost to resurface using asphalt is $391,047. He indicated that the project could be performed in several phases. The total budget requests exceed $1,000,000. The projected revenue for FY12 is $540,000 and the estimated reserves are $680,000. The Board discussed various scenarios. Mayor Welsch indicated that City Council would be reviewing the amount of funding the City provides to the non- profit U City in Bloom. She believes that amount will or has exceeded $70,000, which may be of