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5 <br /> Mr. Lynch said he would like to get a list of the major problems even before we <br />appoint a committee. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown suggested discussing the committee and the problems at the same time. <br /> <br />PUBLIC <br /> <br /> There were no matters by the public. <br /> <br />OTHER BUSINESS <br /> <br /> Mr. O’Connell said that staff would like to move forward with the idea for a <br />design competition for the City owned lots on Water Street. He said a proposal was <br />received for a partnership between the Charlottesville Community Design Center <br />(CCDC) and the Central Virginia AIA. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said this idea started with the City Market petition and the desire for <br />more thoughtful development, especially on City owned property. He said he likes the <br />idea of having a design competition to get lots of different ideas. He said there is <br />significant prize money in order to get developers to take advantage of the ideas. <br /> <br /> Ms. Hamilton said she thinks it is a really smart idea and it leverages attention and <br />design expertise. She said we should be very careful about who is on the jury locally and <br />about spending time to very carefully set the parameters for development, such as <br />sustainable design and how it integrates with the historic fabric and neighborhood. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he has a couple of concerns about the project. He said the City <br />has already gone through the exercise twice and there were multiple options of <br />development schemes. He said before we start on a new project we should review what <br />we have paid for twice. He said the City will have design review of any project. He said <br />we have options for the City Market. He said we would be doing a design competition <br />with no buyer and no developer. He said we would be spending $150,0000 hoping to <br />draw in developers. He said he thinks we are more likely to achieve our aim if we say we <br />want to sell the property and commit to help the developer do a participative process to <br />get a good result. <br /> <br /> Mr. Norris said he would like to get further clarification about what came before. <br />He said he likes the idea of a design competition, but his concern has to do with the cost, <br />especially the cash prize. He said doing research on the web he could not find a similar <br />situation with a prize over $10,000 except one. He said he was thinking more of a prize <br />of $5,000. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said Economic Development has the previous work. <br /> <br /> Mr. O’Connell said work was done as part of the corridor study and a study done <br />10 to 12 years ago. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Katie Swenson, Director of <br />CCDC said that the prize for the Habitat for Humanity competition was $25,000, split <br />into two parts. She said the idea for this project came from a group of concerned citizens <br />with a desire to achieve the highest and best goals. She said it would be a proactive <br />envisioning process with the goal of collectively envisioning the future for downtown <br />Charlottesville. <br /> <br /> Mr. Taliaferro asked what the rationale is for the amount of the cash prize, and <br />Ms. Swenson said there is not a contract at the end of the project, and the idea was to err <br />on the side of attracting the best possible talent. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he applauds the idea for a transparent process, but we could make <br />it clear that the parcel is on the table. He said he does not see doing a speculative <br />process. <br /> <br /> <br />