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PITTSBURG —
Pittsburg City Commissioners approved two items Tuesday night that Garrison Hassenflu called the “final pieces to the puzzle” toward getting the Besse Hotel renovated into low-to-moderate income housing.
The first item was a forgivable loan in the amount of $200,000, followed by a 50-year parking lot lease that will allow Garrison to get started with construction.
Hassenflu, president of the Garrison Development Corp., told commissioners that, with quick closing on loan documents, the contractor could be ready to start within 7-10 days. Hassenflu conceded that it had been a long road to this point from when Garrison purchased the Besse in August 2006.
“It feels great, and it will feel even better when we’ve closed everything,” Hassenflu said. “We are a go, although probably not soon enough.”
The project has hit several snags since then, most noticeably tax credit pricing that left Garrison with a 30 percent housing gap. But the company persevered to get to this point, with Hassenflu thanking the city’s “great stewards” such as Mark Turnbull and Tad Dunham, along with Sherwin Williams, M&I Bank, and USDA Rural Development.
“We’re ready to get this done,” Hassenflu said.
Four commissioners attended the meeting. Bill Rushton was absent. In other news, Pittsburg City Commissioners:
• approved a staff recommendation to join the Southwest Missouri Development Alliance. That will include joining with the Joplin metro area and surrounding counties in helping to create the Joplin Regional Prosperity Initiative, a five-year, $3.5 million regional economic growth pact.
According to Dennis Fuhrhop, JRPI project director, the $3.5 million is split into four initiatives. The first is to support and grow existing businesses, using a five-year budget of $500,000 ($100,000 per year). The second initiative would use $900,000 to build a stronger work force. About $800,000 would be used to enhance innovation, entrepreneurship and small business support, while the remaining $1.3 million would be used to attract new businesses that enhance and diversify the economic base.
Those initiatives come with lofty goals, including the creation of nearly 6,600 new jobs that would generate close to $275 million in total annual payroll. Other goals include conducting four to six annual marketing events for new business attraction and targeting to increase the local high school graduation rate from 75 percent to 87 percent.
• approved awarding the bid for the Meadowbrook Mall Lift Station Replacement Project to the low bidder, Sprouls Construction, Inc., of Lamar, Mo., based on their bid of $310,678.
• approved Resolution No. 1096, approving the issuance by the city of Wichita, of certain Hospital Facilities Refunding Revenue Bonds in an aggregate principal amount of not to exceed $95 million for the purposes of refunding certain outstanding 1999 Hospital Facilities Improvement and Refunding Revenue Bonds. Some of the bonds had to do with financing Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center.
• approved the bid for the SE Pump Station Improvements Project, submitted by LaForge and Budd Construction Co., Inc., of Parsons, with a low base bid of $677,000, Alternate No. 1 (Sluice Gate Replacement) in the amount of $95,000 and Alternate No. 2 (Flow Monitor Installation) in the amount of $43,000 for a total project bid of $815,000. Staff is also recommending that the bid for Alternate No. 3 (Air Release Valves), in the amount of $55,000, be rejected.
• approved a five-year tax exemption to Progressive Products for a 20,000-square-foot addition to their manufacturing facility located in the Pittsburg Airport Business Park.
• approved increasing certain Building Permit, Planning-Inspection-Engineering, Nuisance Abatement and Airport fees and to leave fuel sales at the Atkinson Municipal Airport at the current amounts.
• approved recommendations by the Parks and Recreation Department to increase the fees for the usage of the Four Oaks RV Park and at Mt. Olive Cemetery.
• approved the removal of the traffic signal at Rose and Broadway streets.
• approved a request submitted by Habitat for Humanity of Crawford County for the city to waive the building permit, sewer tap and water tap fees for the next project at 1006 E. 14th St. for an estimated total of $952.
• approved a staff request to re-appoint Gary Falcetto and Laura Klusener to the Planning and Zoning Commission for second terms to expire December 31, 2012, and appointed Brian Sullivan to a new term also to expire December 31, 2012.
• approved a staff request to re-appoint Cliff Hix to the Airport Advisory Committee for a second term to expire December 31, 2012, and appointed Nathan Keizer and Ron Long to new terms also to expire December 31, 2012.
• approved the reappointment of Christy Watt to a second four-year term on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board effective January 1, 2010 and to expire on December 31, 2013.
• approved the reappointment of Tim Bailey to a second three-year term as a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals effective January 1, 2010 and to expire December 31, 2012.
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
Pittsburg City Commissioners approved two items Tuesday night that Garrison Hassenflu called the “final pieces to the puzzle” toward getting the Besse Hotel renovated into low-to-moderate income housing.
The first item was a forgivable loan in the amount of $200,000, followed by a 50-year parking lot lease that will allow Garrison to get started with construction.
Hassenflu, president of the Garrison Development Corp., told commissioners that, with quick closing on loan documents, the contractor could be ready to start within 7-10 days. Hassenflu conceded that it had been a long road to this point from when Garrison purchased the Besse in August 2006.
“It feels great, and it will feel even better when we’ve closed everything,” Hassenflu said. “We are a go, although probably not soon enough.”
The project has hit several snags since then, most noticeably tax credit pricing that left Garrison with a 30 percent housing gap. But the company persevered to get to this point, with Hassenflu thanking the city’s “great stewards” such as Mark Turnbull and Tad Dunham, along with Sherwin Williams, M&I Bank, and USDA Rural Development.
“We’re ready to get this done,” Hassenflu said.
Four commissioners attended the meeting. Bill Rushton was absent. In other news, Pittsburg City Commissioners:
• approved a staff recommendation to join the Southwest Missouri Development Alliance. That will include joining with the Joplin metro area and surrounding counties in helping to create the Joplin Regional Prosperity Initiative, a five-year, $3.5 million regional economic growth pact.
According to Dennis Fuhrhop, JRPI project director, the $3.5 million is split into four initiatives. The first is to support and grow existing businesses, using a five-year budget of $500,000 ($100,000 per year). The second initiative would use $900,000 to build a stronger work force. About $800,000 would be used to enhance innovation, entrepreneurship and small business support, while the remaining $1.3 million would be used to attract new businesses that enhance and diversify the economic base.
Those initiatives come with lofty goals, including the creation of nearly 6,600 new jobs that would generate close to $275 million in total annual payroll. Other goals include conducting four to six annual marketing events for new business attraction and targeting to increase the local high school graduation rate from 75 percent to 87 percent.
• approved awarding the bid for the Meadowbrook Mall Lift Station Replacement Project to the low bidder, Sprouls Construction, Inc., of Lamar, Mo., based on their bid of $310,678.
• approved Resolution No. 1096, approving the issuance by the city of Wichita, of certain Hospital Facilities Refunding Revenue Bonds in an aggregate principal amount of not to exceed $95 million for the purposes of refunding certain outstanding 1999 Hospital Facilities Improvement and Refunding Revenue Bonds. Some of the bonds had to do with financing Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center.
• approved the bid for the SE Pump Station Improvements Project, submitted by LaForge and Budd Construction Co., Inc., of Parsons, with a low base bid of $677,000, Alternate No. 1 (Sluice Gate Replacement) in the amount of $95,000 and Alternate No. 2 (Flow Monitor Installation) in the amount of $43,000 for a total project bid of $815,000. Staff is also recommending that the bid for Alternate No. 3 (Air Release Valves), in the amount of $55,000, be rejected.
• approved a five-year tax exemption to Progressive Products for a 20,000-square-foot addition to their manufacturing facility located in the Pittsburg Airport Business Park.
• approved increasing certain Building Permit, Planning-Inspection-Engineering, Nuisance Abatement and Airport fees and to leave fuel sales at the Atkinson Municipal Airport at the current amounts.
• approved recommendations by the Parks and Recreation Department to increase the fees for the usage of the Four Oaks RV Park and at Mt. Olive Cemetery.
• approved the removal of the traffic signal at Rose and Broadway streets.
• approved a request submitted by Habitat for Humanity of Crawford County for the city to waive the building permit, sewer tap and water tap fees for the next project at 1006 E. 14th St. for an estimated total of $952.
• approved a staff request to re-appoint Gary Falcetto and Laura Klusener to the Planning and Zoning Commission for second terms to expire December 31, 2012, and appointed Brian Sullivan to a new term also to expire December 31, 2012.
• approved a staff request to re-appoint Cliff Hix to the Airport Advisory Committee for a second term to expire December 31, 2012, and appointed Nathan Keizer and Ron Long to new terms also to expire December 31, 2012.
• approved the reappointment of Christy Watt to a second four-year term on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board effective January 1, 2010 and to expire on December 31, 2013.
• approved the reappointment of Tim Bailey to a second three-year term as a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals effective January 1, 2010 and to expire December 31, 2012.
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
