Fiscal Note
No fiscal impact at this time. It should be noted that the proposed $300,000 is unbudgeted for the 2015 fiscal year and will require a future appropriation if a proposal is selected by the Common Council.
Title
Authorizing the Mayor to issue a Request for Proposals ("RFP") for a full-service affordable grocery store located south of the Verona Road and Beltline Highway interchange with up to $300,000 of financing assistance from the City of Madison in the form of a low-interest and/or forgivable loan.
Body
WHEREAS, in October 2014, Mayor Soglin directed staff to begin exploring options to secure a full-service food retailer located adjacent to the Allied Drive neighborhood; and,
WHEREAS, in November 2014, the Common Council adopted a resolution that officially created an Allied Neighborhood Staff Team that would work to improve conditions in the neighborhood within three priority areas: access to full-service affordable grocery, additional community services and/or centers, and economic development planning; and,
WHEREAS, the Common Council requested staff to deliver a report by December 15, 2014, that outlined aggressive options to secure an affordable full-service grocery to the Allied Drive/Verona Road Commercial district; and,
WHEREAS, the Common Council unanimously accepted the staff report on January 20, 2015, where one of the recommendations called for $300,000 of support from the City of Madison in the form of a low-interest and/or forgivable loan in order to attract and secure an affordable full-service grocery to the commercial area adjacent to the neighborhood; and,
WHEREAS, based on a recent staff report, there are over 250 individuals that do not have access to a vehicle and many relied on the Walgreens as a point of food purchasing; and,
WHEREAS, the alderperson of the district and City staff have met extensively with neighborhood residents to better understand the impact of long-existing challenges relating to food access; and,
WHEREAS, many attempts to improve accessibility to food over the past several years have not been catered to the needs of the neighborhood and have fallen short in establishing a long-term solution; and,
WHEREAS, the City seeks to attract a well-established, experienced grocer, that intends a long-term investment in the area and shows an ability to respond to both the multi-cultural needs and low-to-moderate income of neighborhood residents, while demonstrating the feasibility of a project;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor is authorized to issue a Request for Proposals ("RFP") for a full-service affordable grocery store located south of the Verona Road and Beltline Highway interchange with up to $300,000 of financing assistance from the City of Madison in the form of a low-interest and/or forgivable loan; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the amount of City contribution to the selected proposal is subject to future Common Council approval, based on the amount requested and a staff evaluation; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that City staff are authorized to conduct an initial evaluation of the proposals that are submitted and will provide the results and methods of evaluation to the Madison Food Policy Council, Economic Development Committee, Board of Estimates and Common Council for review and approval of a proposal; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Mayor and City Clerk are authorized to execute, deliver, accept and record any and all documents and take such other actions as shall be necessary or desirable to accomplish the purpose of this resolution in a form approved by the City Attorney.