Laserfiche WebLink
Courthouse Square -2- <br />impacting arterial streets, and/or 20 trips impacting local streets. According to the Department <br />of Public Works, a large mixed use facility such as Courthouse Square would trigger the need <br />for a TIA. The TIA study is contracted by the applicant to a qualified traffic engineer, with its <br />content subject to approval and acceptance by the Department of Public Works. The <br />recommendations of the TIA are tailored to the specific facility and its impacts on the City's <br />intersections and street system. The TIA recommendations may be required to be incorporated <br />into the project in order to reduce the project's impact. It is possible that a traffic demand <br />management plan would be required for the Courthouse Square project, if recommended in the <br />project's TIA. <br />3. Construction of subsurface public parking: You mentioned the possibility that over 60 <br />parking spaces could be built under the portion of the property to be set aside for private use, and <br />questioned whether the City might be interested in funding the construction and management of <br />these spaces. The Downtown Parking District raises revenue through the monthly rental of <br />parking spaces to employees working within the downtown area. Other spaces within the public <br />parking structures are maintained free of charge for convenient customer parking. It is possible <br />that City ownership or long term lease of Courthouse Square parking could be managed by the <br />District, although the financial and functional feasibility of this concept has not been determined. <br />If you wish to proceed with an analysis of this concept, you should address a letter to the Salem <br />City Council asking that the City investigate its feasibility. Should the Council wish to pursue <br />the concept further, they will refer it to the Downtown Development Board if the use of renewal <br />funds are contemplated, and to the Downtown Parking Board for their advise on the management <br />of the spaces as an asset of the District. <br />4. Determination of eligible urban renewal funding: The list of potential renewal projects <br />recently provided exceeds both the $1.4 million dollars previously thought necessary, and the $2 <br />million dollars of renewal money previously identified in the tax rr~anagement plan for <br />Courthouse Square sidewalk and frontage improvements. To move forward on this, we will need <br />specific project descriptions, preliminary drawings and cost estimates for each of the <br />improvements for which you will be seeking urban renewal funding. The City staff can then <br />deternune their eligibility under the confines of the adopted Urban Renewal Plan. Total <br />assistance presumably will not exceed the $2 million allocation, including any funding for <br />weatherization. <br />The process to secure renewal funding will be through a participation agreement between the <br />Salem Urban Renewal Agency and Marion County/ Salem Area Transit District. Such <br />agreement will incorporate the list of approved projects and provide for competitive bid <br />verification with procedures for proposed payment dispursal. <br />The Council also asked if the High Street restoration work was eligible for funding, or was a <br />condition of the original permit to the Transit District. This will be investigated once we receive <br />the final project list and your request to proceed with the determination of project eligibility. <br />