Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Wow, it got really quiet without even having to b to bang the gavvel. I'm not sure I know how to handle that, but we'll go ahead and start. Uh, welcome to the city council meeting or excuse me, the city council study session, February 23rd, 2026, 6 p.m., city council chambers, 111 East Maple. So, we've got a council sponsored item, a resolution directing the interim city manager to establish a protocol for opting out of the process for AMI, our advanced meeting infrastructure. So, madame city manager, would you like to address this or shall I turn it over to either council member Stewart or Mccandas who would like to proceed? Um it is just a co-sponsored item between council members McCandless and Stewart and is directing us as staff to create an opt out clause um ordinance as part of our um AMI policy and future program. So I'm happy to defer to any comments they may have.

Thank you. [clears throat] Um we just wanted to be sure we were moving the process along. I know that we are in the um evaluating for an AMI project manager. That was a piece that we voted on last um last session. Um so we have some models out there that have good language and I know that you will take the opportunity to look at fee structure, what the responsibilities are of the homeowner access to the meter for meter readers because certainly dogs have been an issue uh for our meter readers. Um so I think it stands alone after that. I um I just think it's important uh because we do have some citizens of the community that just do not want these and some of the reasons you know I mean uh are probably legitimate and um I we do well it doesn't state in this resolution this just directs the city manager to come up with this policy um we do have a state statute for you know at profit for for profofit um electric utilities to uh give an opt out and that's something I'd kind of like to see looked at and maybe pull some of the stuff from there. Thank you.

Anyone else other further discussion? Anyone else? No further discussion on AMI. Very, very good. That opens up citizens request. We've got Ted Loose. Ted, you've got five minutes. So, come on up and please give your name and your address. And you've got five minutes. Hold on one second, Ted. We need to get the microphone turned on for you there. Thank you.

My name is Ted Loose. My address is 3605 South Liberty Independence Resident since 1980. Uh personally, I wish to thank Mr. Stewart and Miss McCandless for uh sponsoring this resolution. I think uh opt out is imperative. Uh I know AMI is coming. I know there's no way around that. I understand that and accept that. That being said, uh an opt out I think is very important for many um residents for health reasons and for just reasons that are important to them. And so I want to personally thank you for sponsoring this and I'm excited to see this move forward. So just wanted to say thank you.

Thank you. Mhm. Next up is Michael Talcott. Michael, please, you know the drill. Come on up. Give your name, address, and you've got five minutes.

Can you hear that?

Yes. Okay, please proceed. Uh Mike Tala at 1901 South Lake Drive. Um good evening council. I'd like to start by thanking you for putting the uh AMI resolution on the uh on the agenda. I know [clears throat] this was a big issue back in 2017 and 2018 when AMI first came up and we worked with council members on an analog opt out. At that time while I was uh on PUAB I tried to advocate once again for an analog opt out. I think preemptively offering an analog opt out will go a long way to avert a lot of the opposition to smart meters that we experienced in the past. to refresh the council's memory. And for those who were not on the council at that time, the concerns regarding AMI smart meters were security, hacking, privacy, fires, uh, and health impacts of 247 exposure to radio and electromagnetic emissions. I'm not going to go into all those issues in depth, but the concerns still exist. But I will take uh talk a bit about the health issues. We have shared with the council members about um who are bringing forward this study session item many of the studies that have shown that AMI smart meters may negatively impact health especially for children and those with chronic and autoimmune disorders. For example, people with autoimmune conditions such as my wife already have to battle environmental stressors and adding RF EMF emissions 24/7 create yet another stressor that person's body has to battle. I have shared with the council as well as the PUAB studies that show documented increases in cancer, cardiac disorders, sleep disorders, anxiety, and accelerated aging.

This is not an all-inclusive list. For people with these health concerns, an analog meter is imperative as the digital or RF meters with limited communication still emit the RF EMF emissions. IPL has raised some concerns about providing an analog optout, such as availability of analog meters, needing to retain meter readers, and cost. A quick Google search will show that analog meters are readily available as well as companies that test and refurbish them. Utility companies across the nation have either been sued or legislated into providing analog meters, so there will be availability. Also, IPL will be taking thousands of analog meters off of homes so the analogs in the best conditions could be stored for future use. If there is a customer that wants to keep their analog meter, there is no reason to remove it. As far as reading the analog meters, the customer can simply read their own analog meter and send their reading via a meter card or take a picture of their meter and email it in as some customers already do. This eliminates the need for meter readers, reduces the cost of an optout program, as well as reduces IPL cost. We hope uh a plan can be implemented that is not too difficult to qualify for and is not financially punitive for the customer. I have a 24-page list of utility companies uh from all across the nation outlining opt out fee schedules. Some have one-time fe uh or upfront uh one-time or upfront cost and no monthly fees. Others have a one-time fee to reinstall an analog meter. and the majority offer affordable monthly fees

for the opt out. There should be no upfront cost if the analog meter is already on the house. You have one minute, sir.

The state of Missouri already mandates for-profit companies to provide an analog opt out for their customers. Why wouldn't we want to provide our own IPL customers who have the same concerns an analog opt out? We've already seen the concerns from IPL customers the first time AMI was brought up. Let's be proactive. show IPL customers that their concerns have been heard and in the process reduce costs for IPL in the impleation of in implementation of an analog opt out. I have lots of data and studies and would be glad to work with anyone on the council to help. Again, thank you for putting forth the AMI opt out resolution.

Thank you very much. All right, madame interim city manager, next thing is wayfinding signage.

All right. Um, I would like to go ahead and call for Jennifer Gouki with PGAB. Um, this the wayfinding signage project has been in the works for quite some time. In fact, our last update, as we just spoke out, our the stakeholder update meeting this morning or this afternoon was actually last April. So, been in the works a long time, has had lots of community engagement and stakeholder feedback. Um, PJV has taken that information and incorporated it into their design, and they're here to show the latest and greatest. Um, say we were uh circling around what looks to be a more final design, but as was mentioned even um this afternoon, um still time and space for comments and options to um to be presented. So, with that, I will turn it over to Jennifer.

Thank you. Uh, good evening, Mayor Roland and members of the council. Uh, thank you for the opportunity for us to be here tonight. Um, as uh stated, my name is Jennifer Goki. I'm a practice leader with PJV Architects um in Kansas City, Missouri. And joining me is Kathleen Robert, an environmental graphic designer um with our destination practice in St. Louis. As some of you may recall, in 2023, oh wait, sorry. Uh, in 2023, PJV completed a tourism and museum master plan that examined the future of the National Frontier Trails Museum and outlined a broader vision for independence as a national tourism destination. Independence holds a remarkable place in our nation's history, yet it has not fully capitalized on that distinction. The goal of that study was to help the city fully realize its potential. Today, the Harry S. Truman Library, the Truman Home, and the Mormon Visitors Center remain the primary attractions for visitors. However, there are many additional sites and experiences that deserve a greater visibility. The question becomes, how do we encourage visitors not only to come but to stay longer, spend more within the community, perhaps stay overnight, and explore more of what independence has to offer. The first step is ensuring they are aware of the full range of experiences offered to them. One of the key recommendations emerging from the master plan again in 2023 was the creation of defined tourism hubs supported by cohesive branding, identity, streetscape enhancements, and clear wayfinding. This evening, we're pleased to present that wayfinding vision for you.

So, first off, um when we started this plan, we decided we needed to define goals and the overall um goal of the of wayfinding is to communicate. So, we wanted to communicate to tourists um different things that they could do within independence and create an awareness of destinations. And this really isn't just although we've been highlighting and talking about tourists, it's not just for tourists. It's also for our own community. Sometimes I think that we're so used to um where we live that we kind of forget about all of the opportunities that are right in front of us. And so it's just kind of nice to be reminded, especially when we have friends and family coming in town, that there are things to be um to do. and that um for example if if it's at the um railroad museum that they are updating exhibits and trying to um educate people as far as um you know independent role in transportation. Um, we also want to strengthen the brand of the city and I understand that that is also going under um some changes. So, we're trying to keep up with that, but we're working with other departments within um independence. And we also want to make sure that the wayfinding um enhances the overall community aesthetic and it's a welcoming experience. Um so the what we had done first was we

had um gone ahead and defined um different places points of interest and we did this based on um the independence MO website and it was all things that your website was leading people to do here within the city. And so we started to mark these on a map in um within the within the city area and those are represented by the black dots. And then from there marking the points of interest, we could start to define corridors and routes to these places. And we also started to define um what these places were. for example, um an athletic community around where your baseball fields are or um a nature um by George Owen as well as along Little Blue. And then of course the arts district and historic downtown. We also documented the cities or the signs that are existing within the city and this is just a sampling. So um down by the arena and so we wanted to know what messages people were getting when they came in through these corridors and where things were pointing and directing them to. Um and then there are different types of signage. So for example, there is um identity identification signs. So monument signs, things that label um that you've arrived at different places. Then there are directional signs,

whether they're vehicular or for pedestrians. And then we have um kiosks that are for pedestrians and that really can dive into um more detailed information. So once we started to identify those things then we started to place um sign types on the map and we've gone ahead and for every sign we've given it a number as well as there's a message schedule that accompanies um this document. And so every sign is recorded on the map and then the message is recorded and then we also show example locations with photographs as far as where we think the sign could go live within the city. So, as it was mentioned, we went through several rounds of conceptual development with um your core city team as far as what the overall aesthetic of these signs should be. And through um a process of just development and refinement, we came up with this concept that we're calling um heritage. and it really relies on the architecture and um just the historical richness of independence. So for example, you have a lot of red brick um on the on the buildings and as well as medallions, cast medallions. You have limestone that's um been carved and cast. you have

um a lot of um the the twodoor or you know even if we start to look at the um the railroad trusses as well as your history with um the the trails the Santa Fe the Oregon and the California trails starting in independence. We also want this to to to um already work with what you have, right? It's not this shouldn't be something that looks foreign. It should look like it it has been here. So, we want it to live with your historic signs um as well as tell your story. So we um we came up with a monument sign for the city and that is the series the the series of three signs. So um obviously independence is the largest and this would be an internally illuminated sign cabinet um with uh pushth through letters. The other cabinets are also internally illuminated. So honoring um Harry S. Truman and really we had talked about this this went through uh several iterations but um we kind of landed here and and part of our process we talked about the Truman letters and just that authenticity that Truman brings to independence. And so in this case, we decided to go ahead and use his signature. [snorts] Um, and then the smaller pylon that is a pattern, a quilt pattern, it's a graphic pattern that is actually called the

wagon wheel. And so while you might not know it as the wagon wheel, it does have um intention and significance to the city. And then we have um wayfinding signs along the highway. So the next the larger sign would be along 70. And then we have smaller signs. So that other vehicular sign, think of that along Nolan Road or um 291. We've talked about the idea of labeling the overpass or um overpasses so that when you're going down 70 you realize that you are in Independence. Here are how we envisioned those monument signs. Um so um this one the main picture is going eastbound on 70 and then the smaller picture could be an opportunity going westbound. But again with landscaping and illumination. And then as you start to get into um slower traffic speeds, then we would have um more um directional signage. And we're envisioning that medallion being cast and that having the um the date 1827. the idea that, you know, you have all of these rich and beautiful murals within your community and they all have historic reference and so why can't we capitalize on that? And so for the backs of our signs, going ahead and capturing

different pieces of those murals in order to um to tell your story. And then we have a smaller sign and you you know your community it gets rural very quickly and so the idea that not everything has to be huge. Um, so if we can just with a single destination, even if it's just pointing pe people back into some of your central zones, whether it's Englewood or historic downtown, things like that, to start to give them um get their bearings and and give them direction. And then also a pedestrian um wayfinding sign or pedestrian sign that they can we can go ahead and put a map on that um just so that they can have a little bit deeper dive of information again with the wagon wheel pattern. And then um we talked about the idea of different hubs having um signage as far as identifying that you that you recognize that you're going into a different um area. And so for example with the historic downtown going ahead and referencing the railroad as well as um you already have those existing column brick columns. So, it seems like the perfect setting to go ahead and use those again as well as a cast stone with your date. Um the city seal and then again that um structure would be illuminated as well as the letters independence and historic downtown. Um, and then when you're leaving the city, go ahead and capitalize on that backside again with one of your murals and all of

that the mural on the backside could change. And so, um, so you're not locked in. Then at night, this would have a different feel. We could go ahead and illuminate the truss and we could go ahead and, um, have light those historic downtown. We can go ahead and black by day, but maybe they're, you know, a blue or a gold at night. And then um so it glows, but everything is um controlled lighting so that you don't have a lot of noise pollution or um you know that it's it's all ambient. So again, um we've gone ahead and and done a rough schedule of this. Our next step would be to go ahead and start to refine some of those messages and locations and sign types, making sure that we've got the appropriate size um at that at those locations as well as the appropriate messaging. And we've, you know, another thing that's so important is nomenclature that we're always calling things the same things whether so if it's listed as one heading or title on your website that it's consistent with what it is that they'll see on the signs so that people can navigate the city. And again, um it's all about communication. So, helping tourists um navigate the city and create a awareness that there are a lot of things to do right here within your hometown. Um strengthen your brand and also be welcoming and aesthetically pleasing and that is it. So, thank you for your time.

Thank you very much. Anyone any questions? Please proceed. Thank you. We've been waiting a long time for this. Um, so we're we're glad to have it here. I I assume that after you refine this, we would get a cost proposal that would come with it so we can see kind of, you know, this is one type of wayfinding sign. And I would imagine your monument signs at the entrances to the cities are expensive because you're going to have to run electricity and

right. Um my one concern about those types of signs is there's nothing worse than going to a display where the lights don't work. Mhm. And so really thinking about the ease of maintaining them, switching out the light bulbs, making sure the electric uh box is not accessible to somebody who's looking for copper, you know. So really thinking from the design side about how this lasts for a long time because it's wonderful. It looks great for a year and then what? Right. No, we want longevity.

Okay. and say magic happened and we were like, "These are the best things ever." How long does it take to get them designed, put together, and installed? So, as you know, um there's a lot that goes into all of that. So, as I said, our next step would be going ahead and refining that messaging um and coming down to those locations. In the meantime, we would also be working with a fabricator to make sure that we have the appropriate materials. Um, I can see, you know, it it could be 18 months to a year or two years.

Okay. So, long past FIFA and long past our 200-y year anniversary. Well, I I would say the 200-year anniversary is probably a um a more obtainable goal than FIFA. Okay. I think that the other thing is is that if it's phased, so for example, if if there's a priority for say the monument signs identifying the city by FIFA, then I think then that's right. We can break it down into different kinds of goals. And we [clears throat] would have lots of questions from ODOT, right? They're going to have to sign off on every single aspect of the monument sides on the side of the road is and certainly the ones that are on the overpasses. So yes, that's a year process by itself.

Yes. Okay. Thank you.

Council, can I add one thing? So we did provide some preliminary pricing information to um the leadership team. Um, of course it depends on how many signs, you know, a lot of times you got economy and scale. Um, I did share today with um, the stakeholder group that because of FIFA, a lot of the sign companies are very busy. So, I wouldn't say that you can't get anything done, but it depends on what you want to do. You are very correct. the the MOD dot thing, I would not count on that happening in a quick manner. But if the street signs were more what you were wanting to see, there may be something that could be achieved, but it would just have to be a we're ready to go and we need to figure out if we can find someone that has availability in their schedule. But FIFA has put a lot of demands on sign companies because everyone's wanting to do something in time. Mr. Mayor, please proceed.

Thank you. Thank you for taking the time and and all the energy you put in with that. Looking at the preliminary um signage numbers, we're nowhere near ready to do primary gateway, secondary gateway. Um even probably primary vehicular for sure. But with that said, I think the conversation, this is a good time for a conversation on what can we do for FIFA, which is right around the corner, to put at minimum, I guess this may be more for you, um, Madam City Manager, is that something that we can look to start figuring that out to where how we can do those temporary signs at minimum to direct traffic to the square or to Englewood during that? We've actually already been looking at some temporary sign options, even if it was something that our sign shop did in house. Um, but we could start trying to factor in a more permanent version once we have nailed down the exact design we want to go with.

I think sooner than than later, how fast or what how quick do you need us to make a decision on the design that we want to go with and move with it? we can as long as we're sticking to colors that are generally the same palette um and things like that and generally the same design. Again, keeping in mind that they would be temporary signs um we could fabricate something in our own sign shop. Now, it wouldn't have the same overall look and feel um as these more permanent versions um but it at least would put something out on our streets that had that same um pallet and kind of moving toward that more permanent look.

I don't know the um pleasure of the council. I think we should probably moving on the temporary signage quicker than than not since FIFA is around the corner. It' probably be a good thing to um put on the next agenda for that the FIFA committee to discuss as well. Okay. For temporary signage along right away 24 highway at state highway. Do we still got to get their blessing for that? We would. Is there any way to maybe expedite a few of those possibilities? Yeah. start working on rightway permits and I I don't know about I7, but I'm assuming that probably be a larger conversation just because of the traffic volume.

We can see what we can do. Not that it's um what you want to do long term, but you could also look at renting a billboard. Um, you know, I know that's not we've talked about that. That's not maybe the long-term goal, but it's something that KOT would not could not keep you from doing because it's like anything that any other private organization would be able to do. So, just thinking a little outside of the box. Sure. Right. And looking for those opportunities where you can do multiples in a row, that idea of Burma. So, um, you know, with a multiple message. So, Mishid.

Um, so I I do like what I'm seeing here. Um, it's like I say, um, like others said, it's been a while coming and so been anxious to see it. Um, I do think I agree with the idea of of some temporary signage uh, for FIFA. I I would hate to um put a lot of money into, you know, signage even through our sign shop um when it might need to get changed. And so, um I I but I think temporary signage makes sense. I guess I'm just wondering to the other question I would have, do we have any funds? I mean, this is a capital improvement project. Do we have any funds set aside for this or anything yet or I'm just kind of curious.

No, not yet. There are no no funding um sources today. I just wondered about that. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Well, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. All right, madame interim city manager, are you ready for rental ready update?

Um assistant acting assistant city manager and community development director Tom Scanell is ready to give a rental ready update. And this is just an overview of the program in general. Um, it's been in place since 2017. So, just kind of thought it'd be a good time to take a look at program, where it's been, um, any changes and kind of just the success and results of the program as it is. Perfect. Thank you.

Good evening, mayor and members of the council. Tom Scanel, uh, community and economic development director. Um, as uh interim city manager had mentioned, giving you an update on rental ready. Uh, if you think back to December of 2024, uh, the city council uh amended the rental ready uh inspection items and and several other changes. So, kind of want to go go over that um and uh talk about some of the successes. So going over the the background, cover the inspection items, go talk about the inspection process, and then everybody's favorite, talk about the numbers. Um, so the background, the rental ready program went into effect June 1 of 2017. So uh, almost nine years now. Uh, at that time it required, uh, rental units to have their units inspected every other year. At that time it it covered nine basic health and safety items. The landlords were required to have a a valid business license and list all of their units on those license. Purpose of the program, protect the health, safety, and and welfare, maintain attractive neighborhoods, ensure that interior standards are met in our rental units. December of 24, city council amended that uh increase the inspection items to 16, clarified uh several of those inspection items as well as made several other changes to the rental ready and landlord tenant uh regulations. So the inspection items cover the whole gamut from electrical, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, plumbing, heating and cooling, property maintenance as well as window fall protection.

So inspection basically uh every rental unit is supposed to have uh properly and maintained electrical systems. You can't have open wiring or splices. Panels should be covered. uh panels should not be overloaded or have alterations made to them. All the outlets and switches in the unit should have covers. This picture here shows you know properly covered electrical panel. Uh none of the breakers are are altered altered. U this panel here shows that the cover is missing. shows some crowding, some wires that uh are are split and some of the wires are burnt or exposed. This slide here shows uh some covers that are missing from outlets and from from switches. And this is the ground fault circuit interrupter. Basically, these are required near uh within six feet of any water source. Um, moving on to smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Um, all rental units are supposed to have smoke detectors. They're supposed to be in operable conditions and they're supposed to be in lo locations that are specified in uh in code. Carbon monoxide detectors are only installed in residential units with a fuel burning uh appliance. So, think of a gas furnace or if they have a an attached garage. So, smoke detectors supposed to be located in each bed bedroom as well as outside of each bed bedroom within 10 ft of the door. They're supposed to be on

each level of the home and they can be either hardwired or battery operated. If they're hardwired, they must have a battery backup and then they must work when you press the test button. Carbon monoxide detectors. Uh again, uh there's only one and it's only on the main main level. Uh battery backup if it's a plug-in or hardwired variety. Plumbing covers several uh different topics from sewers, the fixtures and water heaters. Basically, the sewer, sewers, the toilets, the sinks are supposed to be connected to a uh public system and it's supposed to be in good working order. Um hot and cold water supposed to be able to be provided throughout the unit. Uh and the hot water heater is supposed to be in good working condition. The vent that is attached to to that is supposed to be connected and operational. Heating and cooling. Uh each rental housing unit is supposed to have heat and supposed to be able to warm uh the unit. You're not supposed to use cooking appliances or space heaters to heat the uh unit. This is an item that was that was added back in 2024. If uh the unit contains a a cooling system, that that system must be maintained. It must be in good working order. Uh another condition or another item that was uh added that all mechanical appliances. So think of uh dishwashers, microwaves, refrigerators, those types of things must be properly

installed and maintained in good s uh safe working order. Then uh the uh inspection items cover several property maintenance uh functions such as unobstructed e egress. I have pictures on the next slide that shows that you must have the visible street numbers on the outside of the the unit. That's for public safety personnel to find the property that that uh they are called to. must have secure uh stairs and handrails. And if there are any holes in the drywall or plaster that expose any of the uh components of the house, meaning the electrical, mechanical or plumbing components, those uh must be covered. So again, unobstructed egress, you must have one form to the outside. And as you can see from these three pictures here, uh they don't have have that and we occasionally come across those visible street numbers. Uh the code specifies the uh size and font of the uh street numbers again so those are visible to the to the public safety personnel. Secure handrails and and stairs. You want to make sure the people uh using those have uh something that is safe, secure holes in the drywall and and plaster. As you can see from the two pictures here, they are exposing components of the uh house which is dangerous. you have uh electrical wires there or plumbing that is exposed

and at when they encount encounter those those must be addressed covered in some fashion. The last item is the window fall window fall protection. Again, this was a new item that was added back in December of 24. Basically, what it says that if you have a uh window that that opens and the lower side of that window is uh 36 inches or less from the uh floor inside the unit and on the outside of that u window, it the ground is 72 inches or more uh in in height. And the next slide will show the graphic that really helps this. So in situations like this where you have less than 36 in from the finished floor um and more than 72 in from the sill to the terrain or surface on the outside. The window should be limited to no more than 4 in of of opening. That is a code requirement and has been in the uh residential and building codes for a number of code cycles. Now, here's a u some some pictures of some of these devices for different types of windows. We have devices for for double hung and casement windows. The double hung it uh restricts it from from opening uh all the way. We have the casement which are the swing out type of windows that uh prevent the window from going beyond that four inches. Uh slider windows, little locks that can go in in the tracks to casement or swing

types where it's more of a device that prevent it from uh fully opening restricting that to that 4 inch opening. So those are the uh kind of a quick overview of the 16 inspection items. Uh the inspection process uh the land landlord hires the u qualified housing in inspector from the city's approved list. We have uh a total of uh six inspection companies on our on our list. Um the inspector then in inspects the unit against the uh 16 inspection items. If a unit fails an inspection, the landlord's required to resolve any of those deficiencies and have the unit reinspected. Uh all of the units get inspected except for multifamily which only get 50%. uh when the council uh made the change in 2024, they did allow for um up to four years in the case of a long-term tenant. uh some of the issues that the uh inspectors were were finding or even though the landlord did all the notification and kept in contact with a tenant in the unit, sometimes some some challenges or or issues arose. Um again once the in inspector uh performs all of the inspections the inspector uploads every inspection whether it's pass or or fail uh through the city's portal. And that brings us to the numbers. So keep in mind this uh all this went into effect May 1st of 2025. So since

May of 2025 through uh the first week of February, uh we have uh about an 87% um passing rate. Um so what this what this chart means is we have about we had 13% of the units that failed one or more of the inspection items. Uh the top five inspection items are GFCI, running water, so getting hot water to all the um faucets, sinks, those types of things. Some issue with the electrical, the window fall protection and smoke detectors. over uh since since May, we u city staff has hosted all of the inspection companies and had have done four training sessions with them um going through all these items addressing issues that they are encountering um and working to to resolve those those issues. So um looking at all 16 items hopefully this is visible but you can you can see the number of infailed inspections by category. So, as I mentioned, GFCI is uh number one with 111 failed units because of that. Um, hot water 108 of those units. Electrical, some type of electrical issues, 95 uh units, fall protection, 65 units, smoke detectors at 60. And then you can see all all of them go going down. But uh many of the uh inspection items that are that are new uh the inspection

companies are are finding some some issues with that. So uh that just goes to show that the uh changes that the uh council made is having a impact out in the community. Uh that concludes my presentation. Very good. Anyone else other questions? Please proceed. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm just curious for the ones that fail, they have to then go through a reinspection to be sure they've addressed the issue of concern. Correct. Correct. Correct. And how long does it take normally for us to get back there and reinspect because obviously they're waiting for a tenant to move in.

Uh so the um the inspection company, the third party inspection companies are are the one who who the landlord is dealing with. So, uh it's how quickly the landlord uh believes that they can uh get address the uh items that have failed and that how quickly uh that inspection company can get back out out there. And have we had any concerns? I mean, have landlords raised issues with us? I only ask because I never get complaints about this, so I'm assuming that it's working okay. Uh yeah and from the inspection u companies they have not okay

relayed any any issues that they have seen in the reinspection process. Thank you. Please proceed. Um Tom, you probably know what I'm going to ask about. Um so um the you know I know we're tying the um inspection process to the um utility signup process. Uh we're and I know we set that back to April I believe of this year. I just kind of wanted to see are we on target for that? Is that are we looking good there or how's that how's that feeling?

Yeah, every indication that I have gotten back from uh tech services has been we are um on target to to hit that. Uh so uh to share with uh the council and and uh the public watching uh the city's going through and uh reworking City Works, which is the uh system that we use to to track uh business licenses and are working with uh a third-party uh group that is reworking that to fit all of our current processes. and we are on target according to tech tech services with meeting that that deadline.

Okay. Thank you. I I would just add that um [clears throat] so I kind of led for the council led the charge on this last time around and um I have not had any uh follow-up conversations from anyone any landlords or or anyone. So I I think um we are moving in the direction that we wanted to move and so I think that's great. Thank you very much. Anyone else please?

Thank you Mr. Mayor. Thank you Tom for the um study session material here. This is more of a a statement as anything else. This program I was very proud to be um one of the council members that voted for this program. And Tom, you you remember quite well the conversations that were had to try to get it right. We wanted to do something that brings safety and and quality of life to those who rent in independence and also to put a little bit more control and and um make those landlords who aren't doing right do better. And I remember this chamber that summer was full of of tenants and landlords. And when we voted to approve this, which I am glad we did, and it's nice to see this evolve into what it is now, Mayor Weir at the time had to do a few minute recess because of the hatefulness that was being yelled at this city council. The meanness that was being uh yelled at at this city council for putting this program together is unbelievable. all those threats and all the the anger that was there at this time never came to fruition, but here we are still doing a program that protects our citizens and brings that quality of life here. So, this is one of the most proud moments of a vote that I was able to do. I just want to put a little context on just the the outrageous behavior that was made that night.

Thanks, Tom. Y Thank you, mayor. Thank you. Anyone else? Please proceed. Thank you. I forgot this question. Um Tom, what do you do when you have a rental situation where you have shared amenities? So shared uh central air, shared furnace, shared water, hot water system.

So the units are still in inspected uh against the 16 items. Um and in those types of cases as they if there's a unit that is not getting the hot water or the um heating system is not working um that unit does not pass and so that unit cannot be uh rented out. Okay. So, while we aren't necessarily inspecting the boiler, we're inspecting the final product. And so, if the person renting doesn't receive what they're supposed to, we can tell them. Fantastic. That helps me. Thank you. Anyone else? Mr. Mayor, please proceed.

Thank you. So, we have also made some revisions on how tenants can complain. Can you talk about the ways that that tenants can reach out to the city if they've got issues with their landlord and also about our retaliation? Um, yeah. Thanks.

So, we revamped the city's website uh to put the landlord tenant complaint form out there. We've revised the landlord tenant complaint form. Uh, made it much easier and simpler to to use. Put it out uh in both English and in Spanish. Um it is also uh an item that uh citizens who have the in-depth now app can make the complaint uh that way as as well. Um and as part of the code changes back in 2024 uh city council did uh put in their protections for the tenants to uh prevent from a landlord from retaliating. uh against a tenant for making a valid complaint.

Anyone else? Other further questions? Seeing none, thank you for the presentation, Mr. Scel. Appreciate it very much. That takes us to the taxable industrial development revenue bonds for the Nebius project.

Okay. Um while David Martin with Gilmore and Bell is preparing to um go over this, we just wanted to take an opportunity to go over some of the finer details of the chapter 100 um related to the data center project. Um there are some maybe not a not as typical of items in there. Just want to take an opportunity to answer some questions related to those and then um many of those deviations from the norm are related to environmental regulation and things like that. So just um give a chance to go over the finer details of uh what regulatory bodies are looking in on this and um things about you know it came up last at the last meeting about escrow versus the way this one is structured. So David Martin is here to go over those details and answer any questions you have.

Thank you.

Good evening. Would it help if I start with just an overview of the general protections for the city that are built into these leases and then move into the specifics that are data center related? And a little bit of it will be rehashed from the last meeting, but it'll be uh more of a focus tonight, I'm sure. So, [clears throat] I've got some highlighted provisions from this is reading from specifically the real property lease for the Nebius transaction. There's also a separate personal property lease. These provisions are reflected in that document as well with some word changes to account for the difference in the nature of the property being described. But generally these provisions that I'm going to start with are in all of the leases that the city enters into for chapter 100 projects and are general protections and ways to enforce uh the city's code and other law with respect to a particular project. So the references that I'm making will be to the real property lease again and I want to start with section 2.2D. Uh the project will comply in all material respects with all presently applicable building and zoning health, environmental and safety orders and laws and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations including the city code. Uh then moving on to section 3.3B. The company shall comply in all material respects with all statutes, laws, ordinances, codes, orders, judgments, decrees, regulations, directions, and requirements of all federal, state, local, and other governments or governmental authorities now or hereafter applicable to the project or to any adjoining public ways as to the manner of use or the condition of the project or of adjoining public ways. These are two pretty broadly written provisions intentionally so so that any

sort of violation of law that relates to the condition or use of a project can also become an event of a fault under the lease which can then result and I'll get into a little bit of more of the specifics of how those mechanics work in a minute and ultimately the removal of the incentive that's granted through the lease. So in these transactions, the city in addition to the ability to sue for breach of contract, which is always available in contractual environments, has as its ultimate hammer in these situations, pulling back the incentive. So you're in a situation presumably if you're enforcing one of these provisions where the project already exists, the investment has already been made, and the city is saying if you don't stop doing X, we are going to remove that. put the project back on the tax roles and you will proceed from here forward without that incentive. So that's the importance and the effect of each of these provisions and ultimately the city's ability to enforce them.

Uh the next big ticket item is section 4. Can

I jump in there real quick so we can talk about specifics on that because I think that was the issue that of people are asking the other evening for us with regards to you know clawbacks or protections with regards to that. So, some of the the things that folks were asking about and u Mark Coulter and I have talked, you know, since then because one of the questions that that was brought up was, you know, there was tons of questions. Mark and I have worked on getting all the questions that everybody asked in the in the meeting and we've since given them to you. You've you know given back to me and said you're sending them to Nibius and you're going to have those questions. But, you know, for for example, um, let's say, and and I'm going to say you're going to operate in the best and holiest of of intentions, but let's say that we do have noise issues that consistently break u the city's code with regards to the the decibel less of the the project and they do remediation. They try to remediate that. They can't remediate it. uh they try to fix it. What can we do at the city at that point given the provisions you've just provided to us?

So under the lease that would and that's one of the special provisions that I'll mention when we get to that point. Okay.

That would create an event of default. So if there is a failure to comply with the city code provision specifically related to noise or light that is one of the items that is a specific covenant under the leases and would create an evented default. So then you have a situation where the city has to take action under the lease. That action starts with a notice to this company that says you're out of compliance with this lease provision and if you do not um resume compliance or attain compliance that we are going to take action under the lease and then whatever the remedy is that the city intends to take. Then the company has 60 days in order to remedy that non-compliance. after which the city has the option to sue to specifically require that those actions are taken uh terminate the lease and the abatement that goes along with it or sue for damages.

Thank you. And I probably jumped ahead and you're probably going to cover that. So please forgive the interruption. U we'll we'll move through it a little more quickly when we get there. No worries. Thank you. So please proceed. Can we just take one step back? Sure. For the average person who doesn't spend their life thinking about packages like this, can you just give the broad overview of chapter 100 that it's in state statute and what its function is? Sure.

Thank you. So, the purpose of chapter 100 is to allow a municipality, so a city or a county, to take ownership of what would otherwise be a private sector project and then to lease that project to a private sector company to operate it. It was originally intended for uh cities to actually take beneficial long-term ownership of these projects in which the city would actually pay for the project. itself and then lease it to a company. It has evolved to not really be used in that fashion over the years. And the focus now is just on the side effect of municipal ownership, which is removal from the tax roles. So under state constitution and laws, property owned by a city is not taxable for property tax purposes. So that being the case, these projects are all taken into municipal ownership and then leased back to a company with an agreement that the company will pay a portion of the taxes that would otherwise be due and that's what creates the tax abatement that we now uh are familiar with under the chapter 100 program.

Thank you. Anyone else? Please proceed. Thank you. So, one of the big ticket items that is of concern anytime you are owning property and leasing it to another party that's going to operate on that property is environmental concerns. We have a very broad definition of environmental laws in the leases which covers essentially the main federal environmental laws and then anything that would be passed or that exists at any level federal down to local. And we have a provision in section 4.9 that requires the company to comply with those environmental laws. And in fact, if the company fails to comply, the city can step in, take whatever actions are necessary, and the company would be required to reimburse the city for any expenditures made in order to sort of quickly address any environmental concerns that existed on the property. There's also an indemnity that if the city is sued as landowner in connection with any release of hazardous substances or other non-compliance with environmental laws, the company is required to indemnify the city in that litigation and for any losses that might come from that litigation. Another item that is along the same lines is commercial liability insurance. So again, you have another entity that's operating on property that's owned by the city. The city needs to be protected up to the limits of liability set out by state law. And the insurance requirement puts on the company the burden of obtaining a policy that covers not only the bond trustee and the company, but also the city up to those limits. There is also in section 10.5 a general indemnity provision of both the bond trustee and the city that essentially says if the company causes any issues with respect to a condition

of the project a contract that's entered into by the company any negligent act uh by the company or any of its agents on the property or generally any claim relating to environmental laws that the company's required to again indemnify the city for those losses and also litigation costs and defending against those losses. So that brings us to events of default which we jumped into a little bit. So events of default are essentially failures to make payments such as payments in lie of tax and anything else that might be owed to the city in terms of a indemnity loss. It also has a few specific items that are events of default that are not otherwise mentioned in the leases. One of which is abandonment of the premises for 180 days. So if they walk away, the city has a way to wrap up the abatement and put it back on the tax roles. Um and another is a cross default between the two leases. So in this circumstance, we'll have one company that operates the land and another that operates the equipment under the same umbrella. their affiliates. Um, but we have a provision that cross defaults. It says if you default on one, that's a default on the other. So, we don't get in the argument of who caused what problem. So, then back to the mechanics briefly, the event of default, uh, the action taken by the city is to notify the company that an event of default does exist. Company then has 60 days to address that event default. And if they do not, then we have essentially termination of abatement, uh, suit for damages, suit for specific performance that the city might undertake in order to enforce the provisions of the lease. If you have any questions on anything we've covered so far, if not, I will move on to the specific data center provisions.

Please proceed. So your description of chapter 100 is that they are we we are in control of the land and they are leasing it from us. Is that a fair description? I don't think I would use the word control in that manner because the city holds very technical legal title to the property and under the leases gives all of the control at least prior to an evented default back to the company so that they can operate it in the pursuit of their business and generally the way they see fit with some limitations.

So two questions along those lines. I know that we're indemnified against issues with the land or issues with the operation of the building, but of course, you know, our job is to protect the city against things we haven't even dreamed up yet. Are there ways for people to come back through what is essentially a lease agreement to the city for damages or does all of that because of the application rest with the you mean third third parties suing the city? So

they they wouldn't need to go through the lease essentially. Uh the lawsuit would be brought against the city as the owner of the land. So, they would say, you know, I was injured uh on this property or by this property. You, the city, own this property, and so we're going to sue you and the operator of the property is pretty much always how it happens. Um, and that's what triggers the indemnity provision andor uh insurance if it covers that particular loss or damage. And the insurance is held by us or the insurance is I I know it's purchased by them. My question is, does it insure us as well as the company? It it does. So the policy is held in the name of the company, okay?

And the city is listed as an additional insured and a loss pay to the extent of its damages, which essentially means you have the benefit of that policy, but you didn't purchase it and you're not the named policy holder. Um, back to section 4.9 for environmental matters. I I appreciate that there's a provision in here that um any money is expended by the city or the trustee in efforts to comply with any applicable environmental law including reasonable cost of hiring consultants, sampling, testing, cleanup are all payable as additional payments from the company to the city. Correct.

Am I reading that correctly? Correct. it becomes an additional rent payment under the lease. Okay. So, they have both testing and cleanup responsibilities. We do not.

Right. So, if there's any non-compliance and honestly, the city is not likely to undertake those activities on its own, it's much more likely to insist that the company do it as a lease violation and to try to enforce that through one of the measures that I described. But in the outside chance that the company is just not complying [clears throat] um has abandoned the site, whatever it may be, and the city needs to step in to address an emergency situation, that's what that's trying to address. So then you do have the ability to sue the company for those monies that were expended. So, in the extremely unlikely event that we are testing down on land adjacent and we find something concerning, we have the option to compel them to do testing on their site. If you can if if there's enough of a nexus to where you can say they've breached the agreement. So you have to be able to somehow prove that it results uh from a release of substance on the site then yes.

Okay. Thank you.

Anyone else? Thank you. So I'll move on to the data center specific provisions which we set out in each lease in its own section to make it easier to reference and that's 10.9 uh I believe it's 10.9 in both leases but it definitely is in the real property lease and these provisions other than the deposit um for Little Blue Parkway are reflected in each of the leases. The deposit is only in the real property lease because we only needed it to be um for that to occur once and it was tied to the real property portion of the transaction. So the specific items are that cooling systems have to be a closed loop or similar technology that don't continually draw off of the city's water supply. Uh the project must at all times comply with sound uh pollution and lighting pollution sections of the city code. The company has to maintain compliance with its electrical services agreement with the city with respect to again just the real property lease. Uh deposited $2.5 million on or before the delivery date of that lease. uh the funds to be spent as determined by the city but with respect to improvements to Little Blue Parkway. Then uh during the term of the lease, this is the uh citizen feedback component. the company has to main maintain contact with and uh take suggestions from a citizen advisory board which is to consist of we have five to 10 members in the draft but as I understand it that's going to be expanded to 15 members five between five and 15 members

um essentially they have to attend meetings they being the company that are held by this board and they'll be held quarterly for the first five years and annually after that and receive the input that's being provided by these citizens. The actual implementation of that is within the discretion of the company, but they do have to listen to citizen complaints and the suggestions of the advisory board. And then the final item is decommissioning. And that basically says if they stop using the facility that within two years of that sessation of operations they will decommission the data center specific portions of the facility. So for real property that means not necessarily the buildings themselves but the cooling systems and other uh specific items that wouldn't be usable for a light industrial or office style use would be removed. For the equipment side, it means just removing the racks, uh, servers, etc. that are used as the equipment in the data center. So, that's a description of the leases as they currently stand and I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Very good. Anyone else? Please proceed. Thank you. Um so there's a section in there 8.1 alteration of product of project. Uh so you know obviously they will bring their design the city staff has to sign off on the particulars about the aspects uh inside the building. Should they design change that has to come back for re-review and if they do wholesale changes that has to come back for additional compliance checks with the city. Do I read that section correctly?

Yeah, you're you're reading that accurately. And also none of this overrides the city's normal um code provisions, uh presentations, planning and zoning, etc. All that is still in place. And so the control that you would normally have over any project in that respect is retained by the city. So we're seeing um some of data centers, not data centers per se, but large warehouses being repurposed for things like housing people and that was not their original intent. That would have to come back to the city for consideration. Correct. So a use of the project to that extent Yeah. would be outside the project description.

Okay, which would be something that you could inform uh the company if they were making those uses that that's that's outside the description of the project in the lease document and that's causing them to violate the lease by um not operating a project as described in the lease. Um can you talk about redemption of bonds?

Sure. So the bond side of this and the reason that I focus very little on the bond side of this in these presentations is that in the B we'll refer to this as a buy your own bond structure. So we do not have a third-party bond holder that is investing their money in this project. Um we have the company itself purchasing the bonds and the reason for that is it creates a few efficiencies in the bond documents. um allowing the company to offset the payments under the lease against the obligation to pay the bonds and receive payment on the bonds and so that payment is offset on paper. What we found out over the past 25 30 years is that banks don't really want to finance these projects through a bond transaction. They want to use their standard corporate loan documents and their standard deed to trust that their legal department is accustomed to. And so trying to shoehorn the lending into the bond documents just it wasn't working for the market. So we separated those two components and there's no real borrowing that's taking place through the bonds. So for that reason I mostly focus on the lease when I'm describing the economics of the transaction because that's where most of the real provisions uh that are actually implemented or contained. So the redemption of bonds to get back to your question um it's a draw down bond structure where the company is submitting throughout the course of the project its requisitions. They are being used to mark up the amount of the bond without a cash transfer and then the bond payments the debt service is in reverse of that. The company is taking payment on paper essentially without cash changing hands.

The redemption of bonds is a bit of a holdover from a time period in which you might want to take out bonds early. And it does still serve a function in terms of it helps mechanically collapse the transaction without just having a termination agreement that says we're ignoring the bond document provisions. So the um specific reason you need to have that is if you want to terminate the transaction early part of the purchase price for the company to buy out the city's interest is the remainder of the bond payments. So that provision allows early payment or redemption of the bonds at the time and it's unlikely this will happen but if the company decided five years prior to the end of the term we want to collapse this transaction early get our fee interest back in the project it would use that redemption provision as part of the mechanism to do so

and should they collapse their interest early they would then revert to their regular standard tax agreement that they would be paying right so in that circumstance chance there's no agreement that would govern it. It would just be taxable and so the county would levy taxes against its assessed valuation of the property just like any other non-incentivized project. Okay. And then I also read in there that should they have property that they purchase outside of this agreement that that would be subjected to the regular property tax because it would not sit under this agreement.

Right? So that's how um the limitation on dollar amount works. So the $150.6 billion that's our bond capacity. They will eat that up as they uh expend funds on the project. And as I mentioned, it won't happen through cash transfers, but the trustee will note with those requisitions how much bond capacity is left. when they hit the end of that bond capacity, they are not allowed to make any more purchases that are subject to this particular abatement program. And so those items that you're talking about are to allow them to continue to invest, but to note that those investments are going to be taxable.

Okay. Um, can you talk about a subleasase and what would happen with the company if they decide to change their financing or bring on another company? So they they are allowed to subleasase to tenants that use the facility. Um I think Mark can clarify. I don't know if they're planning to subleasase this facility or operate operate it all themselves. Okay. So we do have we we've seen some of these where the intent is to sort of uh condo it out to different users, but in this circumstance it sounds like they're going to use the entire thing themselves and sell the capacity versus the space. Um but there is a there is an ability to subleasase um without the city's consent or review. You can subleasase but the named company will still be responsible for everything payments indemnity all the requirements. If they come back and ask for consent they can assign under certain circumstances to another entity and then be released. Um and I'm sorry what was the other component of the question? The next question is is more like they can sell this without permission of the city, but when they if they choose to transfer the function of this document, that would have to require the city to be involved,

right? So, and you kind of hit the nail on the head there. They can always collapse the transaction and go on the tax roles and then they can do whatever they want with the property subject to laws, code enforcement, etc. So there's always that opportunity. U but if they want to carry the abatement with that transfer, then they're subject to those restrictions on transfer and that this agreement lives beyond the life of the 20-year bonds. So the provisions in there continue to exist even after the bond is paid off or do we then negotiate a new agreement with them?

Certain components of it do. Okay. So, uh, items that need to items that you don't want to use termination as sort of an escape clause from, they survive. So, decommissioning, for instance, survives.

The indemnity provisions survive and the environmental provisions. So, you don't want to be in a situation where you say there's been this issue, you need to indemnify us, and the company says, well, we just terminate the lease and then it's no longer our problem. Those are the types of provisions that survive. Under normal termination, aside from those provisions, you're just outside of an agreement at that point. So, you're not providing anything specifically. The abatement's over. And you're also not um you don't have the ability to impose restrictions and other requirements on the property in the same manner as you did while you were in the abatement period. And my last two questions, do we know if the state of Missouri is relieving them of the tax responsibility that would go to the state? Has that been one of the agreements made?

So there in order to break out that question, there's four components in chapter 100 that are possible. Uh you have personal property abatement, real property abatement, sales tax exemption on construction materials and then sales tax exemption on personal property. The personal property limitation under chapter 100 is fairly restrictive and is really for industrial and some other specified projects. There is a data center uh statute that specifically applies to the sales tax exemption on personal property for data centers. That part is outside my scope. Has the company submitted an application? Are they proceeding under the the data center act for

okay till further on? So that's a separate application with the state that does not relate to the local incentives that are given that is described in the chapter 100 documents. Um and my last question back to the average person who doesn't read this stuff all the time. Can you explain what pilot in le of taxes is and how that benefits the uh taxing jurisdictions and their consent process?

Sure. So the the payment in le of tax is literally a payment instead of tax. So as I mentioned earlier by virtue of municipal ownership taxes cannot be levied upon the project. And so that starts on day one of the lease delivery. The first thing that's recorded is a deed to the city and the second thing that's recorded is a memorandum of the lease. So in that environment with nothing more there is zero tax liability and the taxing jurisdictions would get no money. So then by agreement that payment in lie of tax comes back and says okay well we're not going to give you 100% abatement we're going to give you x% which in this case is 90% for the personal property and uh in the mid 90s for the for the real property component. that payment in le of tax is distributed in the same manner as a normal tax would. So it comes into the city instead of the county, but the city has the obligation under chapter 100 to then distribute that money to the taxing jurisdictions in proportion to their then current tax levy the same as if it came into the county as a tax. As part of that, um there is a notice provision under chapter 100 that goes out by mail. We send them out by UPS overnight delivery. these days. Um, and that includes the plan and it says to the taxing jurisdictions, it notices the first meeting at which the public hearing occurred last week and says if you wish, you can send in written comments to council or you can show up and give oral comments to council with respect to this plan. After that point and the plan is approved, the taxing jurisdictions don't have the ability except in certain circumst uh stances for emergency services district which don't apply uh within independence don't have the ability to come back and sort

of renegotiate. Um they have a one-time notice and comment proceeding and that's statutoily required under chapter 100. So that means that independent school district and forage sage school district and MCC and the mental health fund and all of those had the opportunity to object to the way that this is structured and that process has already been through and I know that um the school district actually endorsed this project as um in the best interest of the school district. They did that last week, but we don't have any record of anybody from those jurisdictions bringing concerns or objections to this process.

So, I'll look to staff on any written communication. Okay. It's looking like nothing was received. And then, yeah, anything else would have been verbal at the last city council meeting. And just from a mechanical standpoint, does this meter in over time or it's a once a year payment to the school district for each of the 20 years? I'm just curious how they get their funds. It's an annual payment. Okay.

Um it's due at the same time as actually a little earlier. It's due December 1, whereas taxes are due by December 31st, and it's distributed, you know, as soon thereafter as possible by the city. So it the idea is it's supposed to mimic the timing of a tax payment and it is annual. It's not just a lump sum at the beginning. And so say this chapter 100 goes into effect now. It would not be until there are improvements on the site and that the machinery would be in that the taxes would be applied and then it would come through the next taxing period.

That's that's correct. So, we assume 2028, I believe, for the first uh personal property pilot, and the 2026 taxes are going to be the same as they were in 2025 because there weren't any improvements added um that could increase the tax liability. So, 2027 will be the first year that there's an increase on the real property side. Okay. Thank you. Anyone else? Please proceed. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And if I can if I can have you run the meeting just for a second and I'll take a break and you'll be in charge for just a moment if I may too. Oh, good timing. I'll I'll be right here. If Perfect. Thank you.

You bet. Uh, Mr. Martin, so you were at the obviously you were at the U public hearing that we had. There were some discussions about Google, the 75% abatement that they were receiving for 25 years and then um then of course Nibius is asking for 90% for 20 years. What's the difference in those two plans um between the abatements for the 75 and 25 years and what we have here?

So staff and I ran some quick calculations on that and it it turned out to be about three and a half% less abatement under this plan. Um so we used the numbers we didn't compare the Google numbers to these numbers. We use the percentages and ran percentages on this plan as if it was the Google project. And that longer term, even though it's at a lesser percentage, produce more abatement on the Google uh format. There's about three and a half% more abatement. So they would get more cash in hand then is they would have to pay less, right? But yeah, same same effect.

Okay. Well, that's uh Well, that makes a big difference. Then what was the percentage spread that you said? Three and a half%. Yeah. So this is I I guess if you want to look at it this way, this plan for this project is three and a half% cheaper for the city and the taxing jurisdictions to implement than if we switched over to the Google model. Right. Okay. Well, thank you for that. That was intriguing to me as we were talking through that um throughout the week. Does anybody else have any questions? Councilman Fierce.

So, just to be clear on that, you're saying that that the the plan that we have here is better for the city than what that other plan would have been. Yeah. It's because of the five years where they're receiving abatement under the Google plan versus a shorter time period under this plan is what makes a difference.

Okay. Um, my other question, Council Member McCandless asked most of my questions, but that's good. Um, and so, um, uh, my other question though is, you know, you were here for the public hearing, you heard all the comments and and and things. Um, I guess my question is is from your perspective, you you know these documents better than anybody else. I mean, we've read them, but but you know them better because you you've created them essentially. And so I guess my question is is um from a risk standpoint of risk that the city is taking, what it it feels to me like most of the risk has been taken out of the the project um from the city's perspective, but I guess I want to confirm that and verify what elements of risk that you see that that the city might really be uh still retaining.

So, you're never going to get to a zerorisk situation when you own property that someone else is operating, right? But these documents have been adjusted and improved over the years to where we feel we're as close as we can get to that. Um, one of the reasons for some of the broad language and the indemnity provisions, the compliance with law provisions and the environmental provisions is to address exactly your concern that we're using broad language because we want to you can't you're never going to foresee everything, but you want to be able to apply those provisions to anything that comes up to the extent possible.

Right. Okay. I just wanted to hear that come from your mouth. So, good. Thank you. Anyone else? Please proceed. Mr. Martin, you may or may not be the right person to ask us of. There were two questions that were raised that I know that we got legal opinions on. One was whether this project is in compliance with federal law from distance from Lake City since that's a federal facility. So, I'm not the right person for that question. Um, Mark, do you have a

answer you can provide on that? Mark, can you come up to the microphone, please? Thank you. Thank you, council member, because I was about to do the same thing. So, thank you. Then, Mark, please state your name and the company you work for.

[clears throat]

try to walk on while I pull up the exact language. My name is Mark Coulter. I'm with Rouse Fritz White Goss. I am legal counsel for local legal counsel for Nebius. And apologies, I am pulling I'm looking for the exact language. In short, uh the federal requirements that would require uh uh overview of the site, uh we are outside the onem boundary that triggers that. And the second one, as soon as Nebius purchased the property, um at the time Nebius purchased it, it was no longer agricultural. the top soil had already been scraped off as part of the pre-agreement with uh the previous land owner uh North Point. So once we acquired the property, it was no longer a agricultural and was not triggered uh did not trigger the statute and I I apologize. I do not have it off the uh off the top of my head. I don't have that statute memorized. So in other words, we're in compliance with the state law on restrictions of farmland and we're in compliance with the federal law on I don't remember it's like FICO or something like that.

Uh CIF UA something like that. Um Independence was ne uh the city of Independence was never not in compliance. That would have been on us. Uh, and that was part of the due diligence prior to purchasing the property. Okay, fantastic. Thank you. Apologies. And if I find the exact information buried in my phone, I will pass it along. Don't go too far. I will.

Anyone else? Other questions? Um, Mr. Martin, you might have asked this. I'm not sure if you're the right person for this, but there's a phrase that's been brought up a number of times called but for. And if you can define that and what it is and then you know basically would this project help and without this abatement and what are the what are the factors we have to hit to make sure that we're in compliance with that concept. So if we're talking about um economic development policy, do we have a but for requirement for chapter 100 projects?

This what? Well, okay. So the reason I'm asking that question is understand the but for concept does not exist in all of the statutes that allow for abatement or uh tax reallocation. It is a tiff concept. It is a chapter 353 concept. It is not in chapter 100. So, we do not have to meet that standard um in connection with this project.

Okay. Madam city manager, I'm not sure if this would be the the p if you'd be the person to ask for this or it'd be a question for Charlie, but the question I've been asked by someone is would this project occur if the abatement were not granted at this time? and you know and who's the best person to address this question and I can state it again. Uh the question is if the city were not to give the abatement what is our assurance that how [clears throat] shall I put it another way if I can use other projects we've used uh for example at 23rd and 291 we gave the authority for industrial development bonds there for a company and they showed us a prooma proform that stated that they needed this amount of abatement and these in these kind of incentives and for for them to make this project worked to get the type of return they need to be an ongoing concern. I [clears throat] think their numbers were 10% or 12% or things like that. Are there any projections like that for this project to give us that kind of assurance that we're at the sweet spot with regards to, you know, protecting the city's interest in how much we gave it an abatement or how much we're going to give it an abatement or how much we're considering to give for an abatement. So that's that's ultimately the the economic question and and how do we answer that question? How do we ask it?

So that that question makes sense. There's two sort of general um ways to think of a buttfor test. Um there's the tiff version which is basically what you're describing which is at what uh rate of return does it become economically viable for this project to occur. And then there's the concept which is a little more loosely applied in a lot of economic development policies outside tiff which is essentially would this project locate in your community without this incentive. So beans that were not within the tiff requirement I have not seen any calculations of the first sort of statutory but for analysis. Uh Mark may be able to speak to the second component. Yeah, because I think that's an important question is people are asking, you know, would it go somewhere else? What would a another city give for it? Did they try to go to another city? Did they fly the process there? Uh, you were probably prepared. I hope you're prepared for this question or

I am and uh uh it was in the list and we did I did receive approvals on all the answers today. So, they are in your inbox. Okay.

Uh but I wanted to say I wanted to read it specifically. Can Nebius explain why a project this capital rich requires decades of tax abatements and whether they would proceed without them? Uh and our answer is projects projects of this size are often highly collateralized meaning the capital deployed is leveraged against anticipated future earnings. As such they are not capital rich regardless of the capital expenditures made and taxes cannot be financed. The current tax code does not contemplate such a large concentration of high value property and there are no other entities which would be taxed at such a rate. If abatements are not received, it is unlikely the project would proceed at the same level of investment if at all. And that's kind of a standard response to questions like this

because I mean I realize other you know in other data centers some of them have gone to you know they've only got a they've gone for a 99% abatement and only paid 1% of the real property tax or property tax process at that point. This one's at 90%. Some people have said Google's at 75. Um I don't know if that's true or not. I haven't seen that verified. You may have seen it. I don't know. Um, but that's the question I wanted to, you know, ask from you and from Nebas is would this project go forward or could it go forward without, you know, this kind of an agreement uh to land here and impact this, you know, our city?

Yeah, our our plans are to move forward with the abatement. Uh, if it's not, I think we'd have to go back and take a hard look at at what the long-term plans will be. Right. So, what you're I'm going to I'm going to put it in plain English here and and correct me if I'm wrong. What you're saying is if we say no to the abatements, it probably puts you in a position where this isn't financially feasible for you to do this project here at this time. Correct.

Okay. And so and that's why we're having this discussion is is trying to make it so that it's financially feasible for you to make this work given and and obviously there's a lot of things that go into making this calculation for you to make this work. You've got to get the contracts. You've got to get people who will use your storage. You've got to you get people who use your your cloud and your process and your systems and all of those kinds of things that occur in order to make this work. So there's obviously speculation on your behalf to get this done, but you've got to have all those things fall into place to make this work. So obviously you're taking on a tremendous amount of risk as we are too. But but that's the that's the ultimate question I've been asked is you know would this qu project happen if you said no to the abatements and mice process is I said probably not but I said I can't guarantee that until I asked the company if in fact that is the case.

Absolutely. And one of the things to go back to the state data center law because it impacts us greatly. Most data centers in or AI factories in Missouri are built under some of the regular uh energy companies primarily Evergy or Amaran. Uh in those the state data center uh tax exemption program allows for the uh elimination of the sales tax that's collected on that energy. That is not the case in Independence uh because Independence does not have those sales taxes. They have the you all have the pilot in place and we are paying full rate on the pilot. We are not seeking any exemption there. So in this situation while the personal property and the real property is abated at a 90% level uh we are foregoing other uh uh significant uh tax uh tax abatements that we would get anywhere else outside of a municipally offered uh power um power service provider.

Right. And I think you know folks have asked me why did you pick independence compared to any place else the floor is yours.

Oh I have that answer as well. I can off the cuff this one. Um the fact is there was a perfect situation with North Point's Eastgate Commerce Park. uh there was a municipal uh power provider who is looking to expand and looking for a long-term partner and that was sort of the partnerships that Nebus was looking at. I was not involved in the selection. The selection was made and then they hired the local guy. Uh so I came in and reviewed everything. Um and they were very excited about just the structure. It was a identified as a long-term industrial facility already. Uh the power situation again was negotiated prior to me being on board and so I can't speak to that definitively but as we have progressed uh with the project the power situation is very unique and very advantageous to both parties and when it was explained to me as a win-win situation um it made a lot of sense to me.

Right. as I understand it, and I'm going to put it in my words, and you correct me if I'm wrong, is you came to a location that had industrial park ready to go. You came to a location that had power ready to go because what's happening with a lot of facilities like this is you're now running up against grid grid restrictions,

correct? And we had the opportunity for and and and you know thankfully with North Point's help the opportunity to work with a third party provider for the power that made it work. We had the industrial park, we had water, but we were going to go for a closed loop system and using a fraction of what you would use otherwise. So it was really all the benefits that we had as a city to bring us to this point that made this possible if I'm hearing you correctly. 100% correct. Yeah. And so that really speaks to we just had the assets and the resources that were available when you saw an opportunity to be here and that's one of the reasons you picked us rather than going to a number of other places.

Correct. Um bringing your own power is kind of the wave of the of the future and we are but we're doing it in cooperation and partnership with IP with IPL. Right. And then with the North Point project being what it is, in my opinion, it was a perfect very elegant solution. We don't have the money to bond the power plant. Uh and that's going to be what in excess of $2 billion to build that.

Yes. Well, more than um we have anywhere uh available. And also had the city done that work and made it a capital improvement project then it would have been transferred into our rate structure which would have been borne by the rateayers. The solution that has has been determined it is in place keeps that from happening. Keeps the rateayer from being impacted,

right? Because we've got an enduser who's basically going to pay for the power they're going to use without it having going onto the the residents that we have. So, it's really by by having that third-party project, they're able to finance it, Nibius is paying for that project. And even if if Nibius and that pro the power company doesn't, you know, doesn't perform, we're not going to be held responsible, as I understand it, and I see that Joe's not here. I wanted to to get his perspective on that, but in the discussions we've had, we don't have those responsibilities. That's been my biggest concerns with all of this is what's the impact for us from our bonding capacity is and I know Mr. Martin you and I have talked about that you know where's our limits for bonding capacity. This is not going to impact that because that's not going to be our we're not going to be the ones holding those bonds and it's going to be other companies through third parties that is going to be doing this. It's not going to be anywhere near close to what we've done with other projects. And so that's how this city is protected because we're not we're not taking we're not doing any guarantees. We're not taking on any of the risk. I mean there there are some risks just because we're we're authorizing the industrial development of bonds. But those are that's how I understand it if I'm if I'm saying it correctly and I know Mr. Martin you're here. I just want to make sure I'm not misstating anything for the general public to see how this is all put together.

No, it sounds accurate. The city's not backing this. the they are privately held bonds and um because the city is not backing anything it in no way impacts our credit rating credit rating or our bonding capacity. Okay. Very very good. Uh let me go through and see if I've got anything else. Um and Mr. Martin, this might be a question for you. The the question ultimately was if the if the property stayed empty, how much tax would we get then? How much revenue would the property tax get? And you don't have to be precise. You could, you know,

I have that number. I mean, if nobody developed it, it stayed just where it was at. It currently generates uh $2,239 annually or it did in 2025. Okay. And so we are giving up quite a bit as abatement. But with regards to that, what we're getting what we're going to receive once it's utilized and put into per into a productive performance is going to be a lot more than the $2,000 that we've got there. So the pilot number on average is anticipated to be about 32.5 million. 32.5 million is the anticipated pilot and annual pilot.

Annually it'll be so with personal property uh due to the way the state depreciates it, it will sort of come and go in waves as investments are made. Uh that's the average annual pilot and that's and and what that what you're saying there is that's just the pilots. That's not the property tax. Is that correct? Correct. So essentially you're you're wiping uh tax off a property that creates about $2,200 a year and replacing that with if it attains full buildout um a pilot of $32 million a year.

Okay. So, that's been one of the questions that people have asked is, you know, what does this perform if it if it doesn't um I think we've covered all of them I've had here. I'm just looking at my list, so please bear with me. [clears throat] And I guess the majority of ones I wanted to cover. Anybody else? Please proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, we did while you were away, we did talk about the the Google 75% in 25 years. So, um, Mr. Martin, can you just reiterate what we were talking about for the minute? Sure. Thank you. And I apologize for making us go back. No, it's okay.

Yeah, not not a problem. Mr. Perkins asked that question specifically and both [clears throat] city staff and myself uh extrapolated a little bit of math off the current plan and in comparison. So again, what we're talking about is a 90%ish uh abatement once you combine real and personal property for 20 years under what independence is considering versus a 25y year at 75% for the Google plan. If you took the Google format and ran the numbers for this project, it would actually be 3.5% approximately more abatement for the company uh than under this plan. So this plan is actually cheaper for the city and the taxing jurisdictions than the Google plan would be.

So it's really an advantage to the city is what you're saying under the current plan that we have compared what the Google plan was,

right? because even though it's a greater percentage, it ends sooner. And the ultimate goal of these projects is to eventually attain full taxability for the taxing jurisdictions. Very good. Anyone else have the further questions? Okay. Uh, no further questions. I just want to say thank you all for being here. Mark, thank you for getting the questions. Uh, madam city manager, and this may be a question for you and our communications guru, Rebecca, uh, how will we get that information out of all the questions that we've received from because what we did is we went through all the questions that people had and we got them from the DAS, you know, put it into a a document, sent it to Mark. He's worked on it. I know you've worked on it. I know Charlie's worked on it. So, how do we disseminate that to folks that um

we can add to the FAQ page on the city's website. Okay.

Um NSL obviously has a website. I'm not sure what will be added on to that one forformational purposes. Um again, I'd like to reiterate these are not only live streamed but recorded. So these meetings can for all these answers can also be um watched by residents at any time. Their convenience for all the answers, but again we can um update the city's website. and I'll make sure I know Rachel Gonzalez is kind of heading that group and so I'll make sure I'll send this to Rachel Gonzalez personally to make sure she got it, she received it and she can disseminate it the way that she would like so that everybody gets a chance to hear the the responses. But I just want to say thank you to your staff and thank you Mark for your help in making sure that we hear the concerns the citizens have and and answer their questions so that they get the information they need uh to feel comfortable as we move forward. So very good. Uh, anybody else?

Mr. Mayor, please proceed. Can I ask uh the city manager two questions? So, two questions that I've gotten this week are there's dirt being moved on the on the Eastgate site. Can you talk about what that is and who that is? Sure. So, the Eastgate development has a lot of flood plane mitigation work to do and so for quite some time um into last year even there's been land moving. Um they've filed for a land disturbance permit with both Missouri Department of Natural Resources and with the city. That's the bulk of what you're seeing is work that's regulated under that permit. Um but most of that work is um just site prep and flood plane mitigation.

Anyone else other

sorry the second question is there's been some question about where our aquifer is where where we draw our our water from. Can you talk about that? Sure. Um the city produces water at the Courtney Ben water treatment plant located just there off 291 um almost to the city limit and we are pulling from an alivial aquafer under the Missouri River. So basically our aquafer our aquafer is there around Courtney Ben and extends almost all the way to the north almost as far as the 291 and 210 highway intersection and then off to the west as well. None of it is drawn anywhere near um groundwater or aquafer around the little blue.

Anyone else? I've got bit of a update and think and I may need your help uh madam interim city manager to help me make sure I get this correct but the city council has been working uh for months in search of a replacement city manager and we're down to four candidates and this Sunday March 1st will be the opportunity for citizens to have the opportunity to meet them and meet and greet at the city market from 6:00 to 7:30 and they are also going to give be given the opportunity to make a brief presentation each of them if I'm correct and do you know the time they'll be presenting so people will be there for that

so there were actually um just questions with the recruiter today about where we had landed on whether or not to have them do a formal presentation um just for everyone's awareness um the council knows this but um for the public's awareness the all all four candidates will be doing tours that day they're arriving on Sunday there'll be touring prior to um that community meet and greet and then the meet and greet is from 6:00 to 7:30. So with a busy schedule and then interviews immediately following all day on Monday. Um there was some question about whether we wanted to land on having them do a formal presentation. Um certainly we can. Um but initially this was designed more like um the openhouse meet and greets that we had with um the police chief and and fire chief candidates.

Okay, Mr. Mayor, please proceed. Uh we will be releasing short bios on the four candidates so people at least get a sense of where they come from and what their background is. Uh those things should be public. I'm looking at Rebecca. It's up on um the okay press release is up on the website and social media posts um inviting everyone to the meet and greet are going out tonight. They posted about an hour ago. Okay. Very very

and then uh they're in they'll all be all four of them will be in town on March 1st. On March 2nd we and a whole host of other folks are going to be interviewing them uh in various stages. uh on that Monday. So, we're going to be getting I think it's okay to say pretty close uh to making a choice and making a decision at that point. So, I want to commend my colleagues for the amount of work that they've put into getting us to this point. It's not been an easy task and they've worked really hard to get us here. uh and uh but it it we are there now and it's looking like we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and so we'll get there unless I'm missing anything.

No, I I really also have to say I'm so pleased with the quality of the four candidates that we are going to be considering. Um City of Independence should be proud that such a good um cadre of people put their names in for consideration. So this is a great place to be starting from. Y very much. Anyone else other comments before we wrap up? Please,

just one more thing this evening. Um one of the updates we also got completely unrelated to the city manager search, but we received this afternoon an update that we will um the utility billing uh infrastructure will be relocated by a third party and that relocation date has been moved up from um the original date that we'd been given. it's been moved up so that we will um have to close on Friday, March 6th. So, utility billing will be closed on Friday, March 6th. Um we will take payment through close of business that um March 5th and then reopen at the municipal commons then on Monday, March 9th. So, again, that information is already on the website. Um it's being sent out on every channel we can. Um just wanted to let everyone know as soon as possible. So on Friday the 6th, they will be closed.

They will be closed. They will then be moving everything and doing the conversion to the Commons, getting everything up and running there, and then turn on the switch and be ready to go Monday morning at the Commons to accept utility bills. Correct. Okay. Just want to make sure we've got it we're clear on that. So because sometimes I'm a fogged window. Very good. Anybody else? That covers Did I cover all of the important announcements? Got it all. All right. Very good. We will call this meeting ajourned. Thank you all very much.