4 City of Liberty Hill, TX ' Liberty Hill Downtown Revitalization Committee Minutes Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at 5:30 PM City Council Chamber / Municipal Courthouse 2801 Ranch RD 1869, Liberty Hill, TX 78642 POwN - BIO 1. CALLTO ORDER The Downtown Revitalization Committee Meeting was called to order at 5:32 PM by Chair Kristan LeBaron Downtown Revitalization Committee Members Present: Kristan LeBaron, Chair Sheila Nardelli, Secretary Nathan Curley Sunday Taylor Downtown Revitalization Committee Members Absent: Daniel Scott City Staff Present: Mike Etienne, Deputy City Manager Katie Amsler, Director of Communications and Community Engagement. McKenzi Hicks - Planning Manager (Interim Director), Planning and Development Christian Kurtz - Executive Director, Liberty Hill Economic Development Corporation Elaine Simpson - City Secretary (recording secretary) PLEASE SILENCE YOUR CELL PHONES 1) CALL TO ORDER a) Establish quorum. A quorum was established. Members: Kristan LeBaron, Sheila Nardelli, Nathan Curley, Sunday Taylor. Members absent Daniel Scott. Liberty Hill DRC Meeting minutes February 25, 2025, Page 1 of 6 2) PUBLIC COMMENTS Regarding items not on this agenda/Public Comments: Those desiring to. speak on a topic not listed on the agenda, please complete a: speaker form and present it to the City Secretary before the meeting. Speakers will have three minutes each to speak, this time cannot be transferred or. shared. Committee members may not take action during this item and any responses will be limited to factual statements, recitation ofexisting policy, or request) for the topic to be placed on afuture agenda. Regarding topics listed as an agenda item/During specific agenda item: Committee Members request that speakers complete a speaker form, indicate which agenda item they are interested in speaking about, and: submit form to the City. Secretary before the agenda item is addressed. Speaker forms may be emailed to the City Secretary before the meeting at simpon@lberpMilazgo. No public comments 3) REGULAR SESSION a) Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding the January 28, 2025, Regular called meeting minutes. (S. Nardelli) Motion: Motion to approve the meeting minutes from January 28, 2025, as presented. Motioner 2nd Aye Nay Pass Abstain Sheila Nardelli X Kristin LeBaron X X Daniel Scott Nathan Curley X Sunday Taylor X X Totals 4 0 b) Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Downtown TIRZ boundary options. (M. Etienne/C. Sclar w/ P3 Works) Mr. Casey Sclar gave a presentation reviewing the details of a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) and proposed new boundary zone possibilities. The goal was to re-evaluate the TIRZ boundary to make it smaller and adjust the city's participation percentage. The TIRZ plan was summarized as a rate ofi incremental value that is applied to a certain designated area and the taxes that are paid on that area. A certain amount of those dollars is put into the TIRZ fund for downtown infrastructure. There are certain statutory rules that the plan must meet, including a percentage of no more than 30% of residential participation within the boundary zone. The current TIRZ was drafted in 2023 and proposed a 50% participation rate. It is a 30-year TIRZ and is re-evaluated annually. The original boundary line is currently larger than desired. New, revised boundary possibilities with smaller boundary lines were proposed. The three options presented were: 1. Immediate Downtown (residential percentage is about 58% of the zone and too high), 2. All Property South Liberty Hill DRC Meeting minutes February 25, 2025, Page 2 of 6 of the Railroad (residential percentage is over 40% and is too high), and 3. All Property South of 29 (within the statutory rate at 24%). The revenue projections were discussed for each of the proposed boundary zones at a 50% participation rate versus a 25% participation rate. Schools, churches, etc. are exempt and do not participate in the TIRZ funding. The final project plan, which is the plan on how the money is spent, has not yet been approved. Possible projects can include public improvements, water, wastewater, transportation improvements, sidewalks, etc. Projects can be added, taken away, and prioritized as desired. Nathan Curley asked about the number of properties within the zone that are C2 properties according to the Liberty Hill downtown map. There was discussion about creating a plan with more or less commercial properties within the zone. Mike Etienne stated that a TIRZ can have all Commercial properties in the zone but can only have up to 30% residential properties. An option for a boundary zone with more commercial properties within the zone is to be investigated further. There was no formal motion: c) Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding the following downtown projects: Streetscape, Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) power poles relocation in Downtown area, wayfinding signage project, and sewer/water lines projects related to Downtown area. (K. Amsler/M. Etienne) The original water line project route had to be re-routed due to too much disruption in roads and traffic. It was supposed to occur at the same time as the waste line, but the projects had to be separated. Wastewater is projected to get started around Aug/Sep time frame and is expected to take a few months to complete. It will phase into the infrastructure of the San Gabriel Interceptor Project. Phase 1 and Phase 2 were able to be combined into 1 phase. This was paid for by a developer, as well as the ARPA funds. Having these lines already in place will make it easier once the water is ready. No expected disruptions to electricity or water in the downtown area are expected during the construction. Katie discussed the downtown streetscape progress with the street signs and PEC poles. The signs and poles have been delivered and are ready to be put up. There was no formal motion: Liberty Hill DRC Meeting minutes February 25, 2025, Page 3 of 6 d) Update on status of application for the AARP grant for Downtown seating. (K. Amsler) The AARP grant application is due March 5, 2025, and has already been submitted. We will find out if we are accepted in mid-May 2025. The grant is to cover the cost of benches and signage for the downtown streetscape. The benches and signage have already been ordered and totaled just over $18,000. Ifthe grant is rejected, the plan is to cover the cost ofthese items using local business sponsorships, which would include a business advertisement on the new benches. There was no formal motion: e) Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding holding a community workshop to educate the public about the Downtown Master Plan. (K. Amsler/K. LeBaron) Plans were discussed about when and where to hold a community workshop, including location, date, and time of day. The following event details were suggested and accepted by general consensus: Where: Forrest Coffee House When: April 12th 3:00 - 5:00pm Possible live music, possible food from other businesses TBD There was no formal motion: f) Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Downtown Revitalization Committee's acceptance into the Texas Historical Commission's First Street Initiative program. (K. LeBaron) Kristan LeBaron discussed the DRC acceptance into the Texas Historical Commission First Street Initiative. She attended the past quarterly meeting and was given an assignment to analyze the community involvement that occurred when the downtown master plan was being developed. She is very enthusiastic about the project. There was no formal motion: Liberty Hill DRC Meeting minutes February 25, 2025, Page 4 of 6 g) Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Top 40 Texas Downtown Bucket List. (M. Etienne/K. Amsler) The Top 40 Texas Downtown Bucket List was explained, and we discussed ideas of possible places/thingslevents that define Liberty Hill. The Whimsy and Wonder Festival was determined to be the best item to submit for approval to the list. No other suggestions were made. There was no formal motion: 4) REPORTS 5) FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Issues, topics, and items for consideration at a future meeting may be identified and scheduled for a future agenda. No deliberations on the items may occur. a) Downtown Revitalization Committee's involvement in this year's Whimsy & Wonder festival. b) Downtown Revitalization Committee's Small Business Loan Program for downtown businesses. c) Review of Public Art Program updated documents. d) Electing a Vice Chair Next meeting Tuesday March 25, 2025 6) ADJOURNMENT With no other items on the agenda, and no objections from the committee members, Chair LeBaron adjourned the Downtown Revitalization Committee at 6:51 PM. Liberty Hill DRC Meeting minutes February 25, 2025, Page 5 of 6 PASSED AND APPROVED.BY THE Downtown Revitalization Committee of the City of Liberty Hill, Texas on 25day ofMa2025on vote of ayes, Chays, and abstentions. ute Bbune Chair Kristan LeBaron Attest: V 14 empon City Séeretary or Commitlesecretary Liberty Hill DRC Meeting minutes February 25, 2025, Page 6 of 6