Committee Questions Altamanu Costs, Discusses Facade Program Changes

Cost For Altamanu Services Raises Eyebrows, Questions

A city committee on Tuesday voted in favor of amending a contract with planners of the Downtown Streetscape Project, but it's subject to review.

Altamanu, Inc. would like an addition of $53,801 to their initial fees. This figure was the result of negotiating down the number Altamanu originally proposed, said Jerry Swanson, community development director.

The contract held by Altamanu since June 14, 2010 was increased because the project will cover a larger area of the city than originally planned. The project aims to revitalize downtown Batavia by making changes to existing structures and adding new ones.

Some committee members were not happy about the requested amount. They claimed that Altamanu knew the contract would increase because of the scope of work changes, and were  not direct about that cost to the city.

The original Altamanu contract was $68,830 and allowed for $1,000 in reimbursable expenses.

Alderman Alan Wolff said he has reservations for spending this much up front for the work that has to be done.

Swanson asked the committee if they wanted Altamanu to come to a future meeting to respond to their concerns. They decided instead to submit their questions to Swanson, who would then forward them to Altamanu.

The costs also went up because the Batavia City Council requested the addition of a citizen’s advisory committee. 

The added public involvement extended the meetings by a significant amount, Swanson said.

Possible Changes Coming To Facade Program

The guidelines of the Downtown Façade Improvement Program will be revised by city staff and brought back to the Committee for approval. 

The facade program encourages economic development and is also a financial incentive for private investments in the downtown area, according to a city memo. There were an increasing number of applications that were basically just for maintenance of structures, but in December 2010 the city council amended the program. 

The new guidelines eliminated building maintenance and signage from the program and increased the minimum project value from $500 to $1,000. The applications were originally due at the end of January 2011 and then extended until the end of March 2011, but no applications have been received.

It’s possible that the economy has had an effect on the submission of applications, said Joel Strassman, planning and zoning officer.

Committee members suggested that the time window for applying grant requests be extended and that the deadline be changed.