Published: January 05, 2009 09:10 am      

Council to consider TIF agreements

By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — The city council will be holding a second reading on the first two tax increment finance district projects, which were discussed at the last meeting of the council in 2008.

The two TIF agreements are for projects which had received inducement ordinances before the Downtown TIF was implemented. The inducement ordinance allows projects which have TIF qualifying components to start before the TIF is implemented and then apply for TIF funds after the TIF is put into place.

The two projects are for Triple L Holdings LLC and Campland LLC. Both projects went before the TIF Advisory Committee in November and the agreement before the council for consideration is a recommendation of the committee.

The Triple L Holdings project is the renovation of a South Ninth Street building, and now is home to State Beauty Supply. According to City Manager Ron Neibert, the project is completed and the recommendation is to reimburse the company 80 percent of the property taxes created in the TIF by the increase in equalized assessed valuation for 15 years and up to $93,000. Under the proposal, the TIF would pay the company $38,500 within 90 days of approval of the TIF agreement, from “funds of city borrowed from a financial institution for a term not to exceed 20 years and the balance of $54,500 from the tax allocation account.”

The borrowed funds would be paid back as money came in to the TIF.

The Campland project is at 224 S. 10th Street, which is expected to be a restaurant when completed. Under terms of the agreement which will be discussed tonight, Campland would receive 90 percent of the new property taxes created by the increase in EAV by the project for five years. During the following years, Campland would received 80 percent of the increased EAV, up to a limit of $150,000.

In addition to the TIF agreements, the council will:

Hear a request for authorization to seek bids for three police vehicles;

Hold a first reading on an ordinance to annex property at 817 Dewey Ave. by Randolph L. Steele;

Approve the appointments of Larry Kent to the City Housing Authority Board and Nick Lemay to the Historic Preservation Commission.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. tonight at the Rolland W. Lewis Community Building at Veterans Park.