Planning staff reports TIF lighting funds, state school stormwater review and project updates

At the Jan. 6 meeting the planning department reported several administrative and project updates.

Planning staff said the city council approved an additional $6,000 from TIF funds to update downtown lighting design and that staff will issue an RFP for a bandstand in the Weirs TIF area. For the state school redevelopment, planning staff reported a completed third‑party stormwater review with no outstanding issues and a traffic review still under third‑party analysis; staff said the phase‑1 traffic study will follow the board’s review of overall impacts.

Staff also said they will post recent third‑party review comments and court documents for the Endicott Street project to the project webpage, reminded the board of an upcoming master plan steering committee meeting and noted the planning department is waiting for the mayor to appoint a member to the historic district commission. Members discussed whether the city should continue membership in the Lakes Region Planning Commission and asked staff to invite the commission’s director to present at a future meeting.

What’s next: Staff will post pending reports and court documents, pursue recruitment for historic district seats, and schedule presentations and TRC reviews as projects advance.