Exclusive negotiating agreement extended in wake of COVID
The Robert Green Company and the town of Windsor have agreed to extend the length of the Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) for the civic center project for one year to allow both parties more time to consider the viability of the project in a COVID-19 world. In the June 3 meeting of the town council, the council members voted four-to-one in favor of the extension.
From the very beginning of the meeting, the speakers and the councilmembers worked to point out that this was merely a vote on the extension, not any decision on the project itself.
“Just to be clear, we’re not signing anything, we’re just giving an extension,” said Mayor Dominic Foppoli.
“The only thing agendized is the extension of time and not anything design related, so we can’t take action on anything tonight except the extension of time,” said councilmember Debora Fudge.
“So, with that said, we’ll be specifically taking comments on the extension of time,” said Foppoli. “There will be plenty of time in the future to cover specifics. This is not an approved project at this point.”
Despite the admonition, the majority of negative comments were about the project itself, rather than the extension. Public comment ran slightly against the project, with five commenters against and four in favor.
When it came time for Robert Green to speak, he was clear about the changed landscape the world is now facing, but assured listeners that he was still committed to the project.
“I have not lost enthusiasm or vigor for making this project go,” he said. “We’ve spent a lot of time already, and we know a lot of passionate people with support and concern for the project, so we want to make sure we can deliver something really special.
“This stage of the ENA is all about accurate underwriting,” he continued. “We intended to take the alternative you selected and accurately portray what it will cost, and the revenues and benefits generated, and our ability to underwrite and provide it. We believe the project will perform, but we don’t believe it’s responsible to do that based on everything the world is going through today. I can’t tell you where hotel financing or construction costs are right now, things will change and we have to keep eye on it, so we chose the year date to be conservative. I don’t want it to take that long, and we will come back when we believe can give an accurate assessment of the financial feasibility of this project.”
Ultimately the consensus was that the year should be granted, and they decided to connect it to a letter from the Windsor Unified School District, which was received on May 21, and affirms their interest in working with the town on the project. Therefore, the ENA now expires on May 21, 2021.
The only dissenting vote came from Sam Salmon, who spoke more about the project itself than the extension in his reasoning for voting against it, stating that “people like Windsor the way it is.”
The other councilmembers all affirmed that this is not the approval of anything but the extension of the ENA, and voted in favor.
Other items voted on at the June 3 meeting
There was a report and discussion about the future of wastewater recycling in the town.
The Windsor Landscaping and Lighting Special Assessment District (LLAD-1) provides assessment funding for the operation and maintenance of streetlights and landscape maintenance in parks and various developments within the Town. The council voted unanimously to keep assessment levels the same from 2019-20 to 2020-21. Revenue will be $876,383, reserves are $4,443. The needed budget will be $2,307,205 meaning there will need to be a contribution from the general fund of $1,426,378 to cover costs.
The 1982 Act Benefit Assessment District provides funding for the operation and maintenance of storm drain and flood control facilities in various development within the town. The council voted to approve adjustments in eight of the 10 districts.
The council also voted to approve a contract with Adaptation International for the Climate Adaptation Plan for an amount not to exceed $265,590. In May 2019 Windsor was awarded a Climate Adaptation Transportation Planning Grant from Caltrans to develop the Windsor Resiliency for Emergencies and Disasters Initiative (READI) plan for transportation infrastructure and community response to weather-related emergencies. The proposed READI plan builds upon previous planning efforts and the goals identified in Windsor’s 2040 General Plan and Local Hazard Mitigation Plan as well as the California and Sonoma County Climate Action plans.
Finally, the council approved its allocations to local nonprofits. Because of the financial downturn, the council dropped its allocation funds to $55,000, and after a brief discussion, they selected the following groups for funding based on their assistance with the criteria of direct human services of housing and shelter, food distribution and human support for residents of Windsor.
