R2018-51 Authorizing Redevelopment Agreement Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc.

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Item Coversheet Page 1 of 2 in City Manager DATE: 5/16/2018 MEMO: TO: Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe and Decatur City Council FROM: Tim Gleason,City Manager Billy Tyus,Assistant City Manager Matt Newell,Public Works Director Paul Caswell,City Engineer SUBJECT: Redevelopment Agreement between the City of Decatur and Love's Travel Stops&Country Stores,associated easements and Illinois Department of Transportation rider for highway permit. SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the attached agreement to facilitate the development of a Love's Travel Stop&Country Store and future area development.Staff also recommends approval of three easements authorizing future water and sewer connections in exchange for necessary access to adjacent property to rebuild a roadway and construct a sewer lift station and recommends approval of a Ryder with the Illinois Department of Transportation for a state highway construction permit. BACKGROUND: The City has for some time has been in discussions with Love's Travel Stop&Country Store about potentially locating a new full- service truck stop and associated restaurants in the City at the intersection of Illinois 121 and County Fair Drive.Staff believes that this development can spur additional growth in the area,generating additional sales,property and food and beverage tax revenues for local taxing bodies to fund critical services much of which would represent new revenues coming from outside the city and region. The company has options to purchase land in Decatur and is proposing to construct a new 18,000 square foot full service travel center to include restaurant space.Love's will also pay to construct$1.2 million in water and sewer infrastructure to serve the area. Over the years the city has entered into a number of redevelopment agreements to make development possible,with most of those agreements involving the sharing of sales taxes,property taxes or both.Both staff and the City council have been looking for ways to preserve or increase local sales tax revenues.In February 2016 the City Council implemented a local motor fuel tax to fund local roadwork with work to be done on streets in the worst condition first except in some situations when local MFT-funded roadwork could make a new development project feasible. That is the case here.While investigating the proposed site,Love's discovered that County Fair Road would have to be completely reconstructed on order for the development to happen.This agreement,if approved,would have the city perform the roadwork with funds to be paid back to the City if the travel stop is not completed by May 2019.The agreement would also obligate Love's to install signals at the intersection of Illinois 121 and County Fair Dr.if warranted by traffic generated by the site for a period of 10 years The estimated cost for the road work is$685,965 with the possibility of a 10%contingency that could bring the total cost to $754,561.The agreement also calls for a reimbursement of engineering costs totaling$26,000. The road would also serve adjacent parcels in the area that could be developed.There are additional items on this agenda necessary to the project including: • Ordinance Authorizing a Lift Station Easement and Access Agreement—This easement is necessary to allow construction of a sanitary sewer lift station to serve the area.The construction of the lift station will be funded by Love's with ongoing maintenance the responsibility of the City.This and one of the other easements on the agenda would also authorize future sewer connection tap for the property owners at no cost in exchange for allowing the land access.This has been common practice in exchange for an easement to extend a water or sewer main. • Resolution Authorizing a City Rider to the Highway Permit with the Illinois Department of Transportation for Loves Travel Center and Country Store,Inc.—This rider requires the City or developer to install traffic signals at the intersection of County Fair Drive and Illinois Route 121 if traffic generated by current or future development in the area warrants a signal.The redevelopment agreement would oblilzate Love's to install the traffic signal if it becomes necessary.The City https:Hdecatur.novusagenda.com/AgendaWeb/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=1525 5/21/2018