Redevelopment Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Welcome to the city of Charleston redevelopment commission meeting for December 3rd, 2025. Everyone will please rise. Begin with the pledge of allegiance. I alian to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you.

Roll call vote. Faith here. Bobby Brooks here. John Spencer here. Chuck Peton is absent tonight. Derek Holmes is here. We do have a quorum. You're provided a copy of the minutes from our November 4th regular meeting. I'll ask for a motion to approve minutes. I'll make that motion. I'll second it. Motion to second. Is there any further discussion on minutes? No further discussion. I ask for a vote to approve. All those in favor, please say I. I. I. Motion passes. You provide a a copy of the claims for the previous month. I ask for a motion to approve those claims.

I make a motion. Motion by Bobby. Second. Second by John. Any further discussion on claims? None. I'll ask for a vote to approve. All those in favor, please say I. I. I. Motion passes. Approve the claims. Does look like anyone signed up for public comments. Moved us on to the consultant report with the legally group. Jill. Thank you.

I'll highlight a few things um that were in my report. the side program. Uh you just uh approved in the claims the one that had been going on for a while which I think is 380 main cross street. Um and then Superior Vault it's still kind of been out there. So I had reached out to them to get clarification based on what um Chuck Beaten had said at one of the meetings. I finally got clarification, communication from them. So, they had turned in not only to replace the older fencing as they as was described in their original application, but also the landscaping as Chuck had mentioned in that meeting. So, they gave me the documentation that I needed and that uh total project cost is estimated a little under $25,000. So, that would make them eligible for up to the $10,000. Um, I don't know if we formally uh approved that at that meeting. I think there was discussion about it. I think everybody was in favor of moving forward with something, but I don't know if you formally approved that.

I make a motion we approve the facade application for superior vaults. Thank you, John. We have a motion by John. Is there a second? A second. Second by Bobby. Any further discussion on the facade? No further discussion. I ask for a vote to approve. All those in favor, please say I. I. I. Motion passes. Thank you.

Uh Madison Street, Green Alley. Uh the contractor had given us a date of the end of November to be finished. It's not finished yet. They gave a new uh a new schedule that they still hope to have it finished before Christmas, so weather permitting. So that seems to be moving along. Also the 501 market, you can see that was striped and we still need to do a final walk through and bunch list on that. That was running up against Thanksgiving. So the engineer and I decided we would push for that after light up. So we didn't know what would actually happen during light up too that might need to be fixed. So um we'll keep you posted on that.

I didn't look question on that. I didn't look carefully, but uh is that second access closed off for good? Yes. Yeah. And it just comes there now until you get Okay. And that's one of the things we'll talk through in the talk about in the walkthrough. I know their intent was to try to get the parking lot done and available for use for the light up. Sure. So, we'll go back and in that final punch list and make sure that they've done everything. Yeah. I wanted to play. I'm just curious about No, you weren't the only one that was curious about that entrance being closed off. And I think because of the design and the lay of it, uh they couldn't get as many spaces in there if they had that interest.

Yeah, makes sense.

The uh comprehensive plan is in the final stages. uh draft should be uh submitted to the steering committee and I think it was earlier this week and then the plan commission will review that for approval at the beginning of next year and then Short Street the commons short street uh parkland and the commons we're rolling on that they should have their final design completed by the end of this year and then break ground in the the middle of January next year with every hope to have that finished in June or at least usable uh for events in July.

Nice. Thanks, J. Thank you, Joe. Does anyone have any questions? Okay, your report. Moving on to new business. Uh we have a uh potential projects. U you explain those.

Sure. Um the city has been approached and Mayor Hodgees can chime in anytime she would like to on either of these but the sign as you recall when INDOT came through and did their work at the corner of Highway 62 and three and the sign was then removed. Uh and so shortly thereafter, the mayor received a number of calls and offers from local businesses to help uh reconstruct either donate materials towards reconstruction of the sign there at the corner, which I think everyone is in agreement with. We also um it might have been before some of of your time, probably not Derek and John's. Early on, we did a visioning plan for Highway 62 and three of how that could be improved and safety and and what that gateway could look like. And so, uh, Taylor Seer Williams Design Group did that vision plan. They also have come in and have donated some time to do more of a a very high level schematic of what a sign could look like based on some information that we gave them and what was in that vision plan. Uh so we would like to move forward at least explore that design as well as work with the companies that have offered to donate time and materials but don't want to do that without your blessing to do that. We're not asking for any money. We just don't want that to go on in a vacuum. We want you all to know about it. Get your thoughts whether you'd like for us to pursue that or not. And if so, then we can get to work on bringing you more information.

So, at this point, we're not necessarily relying on the previously designed concept. That's just the starting point. And then, so we'll get you'll bring us more information after there's been further discussion on the and once I actually get that high level design, I've seen it, but it needed to be tweaked a little bit. I don't have a copy. So, we haven't seen it yet. No. Okay. You haven't? No. And what what we did was gave uh them uh I mean it's a very I don't want to call it basic because it's not but it's not elaborate at the same time. Sure.

At French Lake outside of the resort is it the resort or the the the entry into actual French Lake itself there's a nice stone stone sign welcome French Lake. Um then if you're familiar and this is that sign is more elaborate than what we would propose. Uh as you're coming up north on 65 and going past Bowling Green exit. One of them there's a fairly elaborate sign says Bowling Green there on this hill side of the interstate. Uh but they all have kind of a stone theme to them and I think it'll be a timeless classic and that you can also have it as pavement in front of it. So if people run up on the curb, they don't destroy the sign

as well. So you're still thinking in the same location? Generally? Yes. Okay. It would be generally in the same location. We may need to um back it up a little bit into the adjacent property, but we'll work with them on that. Yeah, there's plenty of Yeah, we can give further ement if we need to. Right. Okay. So, we should just we should take a road trip to Bing Green and to Princ. If you you decided to I think I can send you pictures. Charlie's going to take us. It might take you a while to get there. If I go, I'll send pictures back. I'll FaceTime,

but once we get that schematic nailed down or at least a high level, we'll we'll send it to you. Um and then the same thing about the gazebo. uh someone reached out to the mayor's office just kind of out of the blue and said, "Hey, we do this kind of work. We would like to do something with the gazebo on the square." And we had as one of the phases and the vision plan for the square, the short street in the commons. One of the phases was working on the gazebo and the area around it. Um and we didn't have enough money to work on that. We did kind of vet that through that visioning process, though. Yeah,

there was a little bit of push back uh related to the gazebo just like there is with probably the sign in being taken down. Um but we would like to kind of move forward with that too and just talk through what they're thinking. Uh I believe what was in the vision plan but also what they have discussed is kind of making that where it's level to the ground instead of having steps up because it's not accessible and to make the existing gazebo accessible even if the foundation was secure questionable. Yes, it's it's old. I mean, it's it's an older structure and it needs some some refurbishment,

but the ramp would have to be very complicated and it would take up a lot of space to make that at its existing height. But with the commons project coming on next year, also could use the gazebo for something different. Right now, it is used kind of as a as a stage. Yeah. But make that to where it's accessible and short up and use it. And the the thought is still try to incorporate it into the Christmas festivities or Okay. But not as the brains. Yeah. Not the same way. Yeah. We kind of talked about that. We could open it. It could be he's the brains anyway. Yeah.

He helped with where we needed the brains for in the comments. So yeah, that would all be stored back there. So we could you could use the gazebo in a different way. Nice. Yeah. Nice. I think that's Do you need a motion to I don't think we need a motion. I just want just want you all to be aware of it and let me know if you have any objections to us just moving forward and bringing more information back. I think it's a good great opportunity. There's some options. Yeah, I think it's a great one. Mayor, is there anything you'd like to add to any of that? Okay, we'll we'll get to work on that and and bring more information back to you. Nice. Thank you. Thank you. The only other had was this meeting schedule.

Yeah, that is not on the agenda. Um but I think the sooner we can get that information out along with the other uh boards and uh that the city has then send it all out at one time. So I I did make two changes on our normal uh first Tuesday which would be election day which I know the city doesn't have an election there's county election and state you know two-year two-year election so I move the May and November to the next day to Wednesday if you all want to change the time seven time

I think The deputy mayor might have grouted that. Yeah. This looks this is good. I'm okay with the the only conflict I have is February 3rd. Okay. Um you can still have it. Um I'll be out of town. It's up to the commission. We can move it. We can move it to next week. We can move it if you'd like. We'd be leaders. We would be leaders. Oh, depending on who you elected as your vice choice right now is Bobby. Then then they could We would be leaders. I'm sorry. But you said you'll be back on the 5th. Yeah, I'll be available. Okay.

I don't know what the um do you mayor what meetings would be that next week that we might for which run into the week of February 9th. Um likely the plan commission and BZA on Monday, February 9th. Nothing on February 10th. 10th. Nothing on the 11th. Okay. With the 10th or 11th of the 5th, 10th or 11th is okay. Sorry, I thought you were going to be gone until the 5th. That's why I didn't

No, I'll be I'll be back in the middle. Okay. It's up to Thursday, right? any of those. Well, actually, it's open on February 5th. I'd prefer not the Tuesday, which I think is the 10th. I prefer not that, but it's okay. I'm not willing. I mean, I'm willing to compromise, but if we could avoid that, be okay, too. Thursday the 5th is open. Be fine with me. On the 5th. Okay. Well, uh, then I'll change the February meeting to February 5th.

Okay. And mayor, I'll get an updated one of these to you. um by tomorrow morning. Okay. Other than that, I I don't know really that you need a motion to approve it, but I'll make a motion we approve the revised calendar for the 2026 calendar year for the redevelopment commission meetings. I'll second. Any further discussion? After a vote to approve, all in favor, please say I. I. Make a motion journ. All in favor, please say I. I. Thank you.

Yeah, Chuck, you're gone, buddy. I took it over.