Public Comment City Council 11.23.10--Larry Bean

City Council Meeting Report
November 23, 2010

I am here tonight as a representative of The Chelsea Connection Team to provide you with a progress report in our effort to save the buildings in the Longworth Complex. In the last month we have had two meetings to discuss our diversified approach to saving these historic buildings and have focused on the following efforts:

1) Members of our team have been contacting individual DDA members to set up
one-on-one meetings with them to discuss the Longworth Complex. We are arranging these meetings for several reasons. One, the agenda at DDA meetings is very full and public comment periods are short which makes it difficult for us to have fruitful discussions about our efforts during their meetings. Secondly, we want to use a more personal approach to get input from each DDA member about any specific concerns they may have about the proposal we submitted. Thirdly, we want to start to break down some of the walls that have been built up between our group and the DDA, as we have a mutual need and desire to work more effectively together.

2) We are attending every DDA meetings to keep updated on anything that is being proposed for the Longworth Complex, as well as the more recent discussions about the DDA hiring a consultant for reviewing the Longworth Complex as well as several other buildings downtown. We are looking forward to fully participating in any and all public visioning sessions that will be held for public input as was mentioned at the November DDA meeting.

3) We are making plans for a public event to be held early next year to celebrate the designation of Downtown Chelsea on the National Register of Historic Places. This will be a public event and we will keep the Council informed as plans are solidified.

4) One of our members is starting to gather information for holding tax credit workshops for the building owners of buildings downtown that are on the National Register of Historic Places to teach them about the benefits that they can tap into for tax credits and grants.

5) We are compiling a list of monies that are available to any interested parties through public and private grants to help with the repair and restoration of the Longworth Buildings (as well as other historic buildings downtown).

6) We have met with one potential buyer who has expressed interest in partnering with our group and working with the DDA to purchase the Longworth Complex.

This completes our report. If there are any questions, myself or other members of the team would be happy to answer them for you.