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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Approving Partial Repayment to the Iowa Department of Transportation for a portion of the RISE Grant Awarded to the City of Ames to help fund Roadway and Utility Improvements RESOLUTION NO. 21-432 RESOLUTION APPROVING PARTIAL REPAYMENT TO THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR A PORTION OF THE RISE GRANT AWARDED TO THE CITY OF AMES TO HELP FUND ROADWAY AND UTILITY IMPROVEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ISU RESEARCH PARK FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS, the previous ISU President, Steven Leath, was able to secure a special $15,000,000 appropriation from the Iowa Legislature to fund the new Hub Building at the Iowa State University Research Park; and, WHEREAS, this new facility was intended to consolidate all of the various economic development related support offices that had traditionally been scattered throughout the campus into one location; and, WHEREAS, by locating this building at the souther end of the Research Park, City infrastructure was required to service this new building and the new infrastructure would also open up other lots in the Park for development; and, WHEREAS,the University had requested that the City build the infrastructure through a Tax Increment Financing strategy with an agreement that the properties in the Research Park would remain subject to paying property taxes; and, WHEREAS, in order to mitigate the amount of City money needed to accomplish the required infrastructure improvements, the City sought funding for a Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy(RISE) grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation(IDOT); and, WHEREAS, on April 8, 2014, the IDOT awarded a RISE grant to the City of Ames for up to $4,010,728 to help fund the roadway and other utility improvements associated with the ISU Research Park Phase III development; and, WHEREAS, this phase included the extension of University Boulevard south to Collaboration Place with the addition of three roundabouts; and, WHEREAS, the financial award was based on 80% State funding,with a 20% local match requirement from the City; and, WHEREAS,the RISE grant award was conditioned on the creation of the additional 365 j obs projected in Workiva's growth strategy, with a weighted average wage of $18.34/hr, and in accordance with the RISE program rules, if the job creation is not met,the maximum grant reverts to the 50% State funding, and the difference up to the 80% of the State award must be refunded by the recipient(City of Ames); and, WHEREAS, a standard RISE grant without a commitment to job creation is funded at 50% State and 50% local match with no requirement for repayment and in order to maximize non-City funding for this phase, a decision was made to pursue the 80% funding tied to job creation; and, WHEREAS,the final count of j obs created by Workiva during this reporting period was 13 8, which is 227 jobs shy of the 365 required; and, WHEREAS,Iowa DOT staff have been very helpful in identifying options to assist the City with the job creation and repayment requirements and the IDOT Commission recently adopted a new program, specifically for Research Parks,that provides 70% state funding without any job creation requirements; and, WHEREAS, in July 2021, the IDOT Commission agreed to apply the new 70% Research Park policy retroactively as the baseline for repayment rather than the 50%that was in place at the time of the agreement,and the IDOT agreed to allow partial credit for the 13 8 jobs that were created by Workiva; and, WHEREAS, the IDOT Commission will make its final decision regarding the repayment settlement at their August monthly meeting; and, WHEREAS,the total estimated amount to be repaid to the IDOT with credit for created jobs would be $278,223, and this repayment amount would be split equally between the City and Iowa State University; approximately$139,111.50 each. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, to approve the recommendation of the IDOT staff and repay the State approximately$278,223 plus an interest charge equal to the Prime Rate minus 3% over a five year period, with reimbursement from the ISU Research Park for 50% of the repayment is hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 3rd day of August, 2021. Diane R. Voss, City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor Introduced by: Betcher Seconded by: Corrieri Voting aye: Beatty-Hansen, Betcher, Corrieri, Gartin, Junck, Martin Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 3" day of August, 2021.