Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-10-2006PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW EDA 1 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW 2 RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA 3 4 Regular Meeting 5 July 10, 2006 6 Mounds View City Hall 7 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 8 6:20 P.M. 9 10 11 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER 12 13 2. ROLL CALL: Acting President Stigney, Commissioner Flaherty, and Commissioner 14 Thomas. Commissioner Gunn arrived at 6:25 p.m. 15 16 NOT PRESENT: President Marty 17 18 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 19 20 21 MOTION/SECOND: FLAHERTY/THOMAS. To Approve the July 10, 2006 Agenda as 22 presented. 23 24 Ayes – 3 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 25 26 4. PUBLIC INPUT 27 28 There was none. 29 30 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 31 32 A. EDA Minutes, June 26, 2006. 33 34 MOTION/SECOND: THOMAS/FLAHERTY. To Approve the June 26, 2006 Minutes as 35 presented. 36 37 Ayes – 3 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 38 39 6. CONSENT AGENDA 40 41 None. 42 43 7. EDA BUSINESS 44 45 Mounds View EDA July 10, 2006 Regular Meeting Page 2 A. Review the Mounds View Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Policy 46 47 Community Development Director Ericson explained that the issue was requested for additional 48 consideration. He said the EDA asked the Planning Commission about scenarios regarding 49 increment being generated through the life of the three TIF districts. He stated it was requested 50 that the City’s TIF policy be compared to the St. Anthony Village’s policy. 51 52 Director Ericson gave an update regarding Planning Commission’s discussion on the subject. He 53 stated there was no consensus from the Planning Commission about what should be done. He 54 said they were not able to present any recommendation about whether the TIF increment should 55 be supported as-is or changed. 56 57 Director Ericson stated the original three TIF districts run through 2015 and the increment will 58 no longer be available after that time. Hs stated the question is whether to maximize the 59 increment through the remaining years of the TIF districts, which is the status quo, or whether to 60 change the TIF districts. 61 62 Commissioner Gunn arrived at 6:25 p.m. 63 64 Director Ericson said the Planning Commission felt they were not in the position to make a 65 recommendation at this time. He said they agreed with the Economic Development Commission 66 that County Road 10 and City streets are the priority. He said they were not sure how much 67 money would be available and how much spending funds in one area would decrease funding for 68 another area. 69 70 Director Ericson stated that the Planning Commission also considered at scenarios that the EDA 71 discussed and there was an additional item of discussion: the impact on the median-value home 72 in Mounds View. 73 74 Director Ericson stated that the concern is that because the dollars were presented in a 2006 75 figure, without any inflation or estimation of property values over time, a recommendation based 76 on static figures will not be correct because it will not be the reality in 2015. He stated the 77 Planning Commission suggested spending some increment on the corridor, but are not making a 78 recommendation nor are they explicitly supporting the status quo. 79 80 Director Ericson stated that both the Mounds View’s and St. Anthony’s TIF policies are 81 presented. He stated they are both structured the same, but St. Anthony’s goes into more detail. 82 He stated the EDA could review the TIF policy and make amendments and changes. He stated at 83 this point it is being brought back for additional EDA discussion. 84 85 Director Ericson reminded the EDA of their previous vote supporting the status quo. 86 87 Mounds View EDA July 10, 2006 Regular Meeting Page 3 Commissioner Flaherty stated that he read the St. Anthony TIF policy, believes it is a good start, 88 and needs to be personalized for Mounds View. He stated in terms of the City’s need for TIF, 89 the City will have $14.3 million in the status quo and $34 million worth of improvements have 90 been identified. He stated that past surveys of the residents point that the needs are high on 91 residents’ lists of priorities also. He stated the money is also needed for streets. 92 93 Commissioner Flaherty stated he previously said that if the present increment is not maximized, 94 the Council will have to go back to the citizens for funds in the form of bonds or tax increases. 95 He stated he is in favor of giving money back to the citizens, but does not “want to take money 96 out of the left pocket and put it into the right.” 97 98 Commissioner Thomas asked what Staff is requesting from the EDA. She stated there are two 99 different issues, a TIF policy and a TIF plan. She stated the policy is in front of the EDA and 100 asked what Staff is requesting regarding the TIF plan. She stated the TIF policy is very similar to 101 St. Anthony. She asked what the EDA needs to accomplish and whether Staff wants the EDA to 102 present a plan. 103 104 Director Ericson replied that staff would like to know if the policy is fine as is. He stated there 105 was a desire to look at other plans and Staff and the EDA wanted to review them. He stated in 106 terms of the plan, Staff is looking at possible expenditures through the life of the districts. He 107 stated the EDA needs to formalize an agreement regarding how the funds should be spent. 108 109 Director Ericson added that Staff is looking for direction about priorities for funding 110 expenditures. He stated the EDC has laid out their priorities and that Staff would like direction 111 about where to focus their efforts. 112 113 Acting President Stigney stated he appreciated Director Ericson’s summary of the Planning 114 Commission meeting. He stated he does not recall what the Planning Commission’s priorities 115 are and would like to be informed. He stated the Planning Commission is being asked by the 116 EDC for input to have more of a balance between economic and residents’ interests. 117 118 Acting President Stigney stated that regarding Scenario B, removing $2 million from the SYSCO 119 district, that taxpayers would save $32 per home per year in taxes. Acting President Stigney 120 stated he may agree with such a plan. He stated he would like to use TIF to bring in a 121 development, and once the development is done, the TIF should be given back to the taxpayers. 122 He stated he does not believe in an “all or nothing” situation. He stated that residents have paid 123 in enough and should get some back. 124 125 Acting President Stigney addressed the policy and stated he does not have a problem if the EDA 126 considers St. Anthony’s policy as a basis to begin. He stated he likes St. Anthony’s summary 127 about the purpose of TIF funds. He explained that nailing down a TIF policy going forward 128 should be a priority. He stated he would like to see a summary of St. Anthony’s policy 129 Mounds View EDA July 10, 2006 Regular Meeting Page 4 incorporated into Mound’s View TIF policy. He stated he does not have a problem with Staff 130 reviewing St. Anthony’s policy. 131 132 Commissioner Thomas stated the policies are very similar and that she would not like to spend a 133 lot of time on the policy instead of working on the actual TIF plan. She stated the policy does 134 not speak to pre-1990 projects and that she does not see a differentiation among the districts. 135 136 Acting President Stigney stated it does discuss pre-1990 developments and reiterated his support 137 of the summary in St. Anthony’s policy 138 139 Commissioner Gunn stated that she was confused by the Planning Commission meeting as well. 140 She said that she agrees with Commissioner Flaherty about the balance of the TIF funding. She 141 stated there is always somewhere that the taxes will be raised. She added that she believes St. 142 Anthony’s policy is fairly similar and that nothing caught her attention either way. 143 144 Director Ericson addressed the “all or nothing” and B scenarios. He stated Commissioner Gunn 145 raised a good point. He added that the three TIF districts are governed under different laws 146 regarding the collection of TIF. He stated any funds or increment collected go into a pool that 147 can be spent anywhere in the City for expenditures. He added that the City has not closed out the 148 district because of this reason. He stated until the districts are closed, the TIF money is collected. 149 150 Director Ericson stated Finance Director Beer analyzed the savings if the various scenarios were 151 adopted. He mentioned that the decertification of SYSCO District 3 could be done immediately. 152 He stated the tax dollars would then be turned back to the general levy, which would spread 153 across more properties where property owners would see a tax decrease. 154 155 Director Ericson stated that, all things being equal, property owners would notice a slight 156 decrease in their tax bill, but other taxes may be increased. He stated the Planning Commission 157 initially wanted to recommend “what was of impact to the property owner.” He stated the 158 Planning Commission believed that if the amount of money given back was negligible, then it 159 did not make sense to give up the TIF dollars. 160 161 Director Ericson stated the Planning Commission made it clear that County Road 10 is a priority. 162 163 Director Ericson explained that he went through St. Anthony’s and Mounds View’s policies and 164 that Saint Anthony has a stronger policy statement. He stated that perhaps the EDC should 165 review the policies and make a recommendation. He stated the EDA has the authority to make 166 changes to the policy. 167 168 Acting President Stigney stated the County and School District taxes are confusing. He stated 169 the EDA is discussing City taxes and $32 is not an amount to take lightly. He stated that the 170 money can go back into the taxpayers’ pockets and the City is only losing $2 million. He stated 171 Mounds View EDA July 10, 2006 Regular Meeting Page 5 there is not enough money for all of the projects regardless and the City needs to scrutinize 172 projects and determine priorities. 173 174 Acting President Stigney stated he has some problems with the applications for the TIF money. 175 He stated he would like the Planning Commission’s priority list for specific projects. 176 177 Commissioner Thomas stated she favors Scenario B because it is not just an issue. She stated it 178 is a move the City can make to put properties back on the tax rolls and to send the message that 179 Mounds View will give assistance but that will be over once the businesses are on their feet. She 180 stated it is a larger issue than the $32 refund. She added that the money belongs to the taxpayers 181 and it makes the City responsible. 182 183 Commissioner Thomas stated that TIF funds are easy for the City to spend and the City needs to 184 make a symbolic measure to remind the community and Council about whose money it is. She 185 stated the City should not be asking for the money. She added that she likes projects that are 186 visible, not ones the citizens do not see because the City does not ask specifically for the funds. 187 188 Commissioner Flaherty stated there are better ways to make symbolic moves. He stated he likes 189 Mounds View’s body of work, but likes the way Saint Anthony’s policy flows. He stated Saint 190 Anthony’s policy is concise, precise, and strong. He stated that Mounds View has a policy, but it 191 could be formatted better. 192 193 Economic Development Coordinator Backman stated he was at the Planning Commission 194 meeting on July 5th. He said there was some suggestion that the five scenarios did not have the 195 validity if there was not the factor of inflation. He stated he does believe the scenarios are fair 196 because the same assumptions were made throughout. 197 198 Coordinator Backman stated if there is a desire for Staff to analyze how the policy is written, the 199 EDC would be willing to compare the policies and would even be willing to review those of 200 other cities. He stated the language could be refined. 201 202 Acting President Stigney stated he would like the summary from Saint Anthony’s policy 203 incorporated and suggested it be run by the EDC. 204 205 Ken Glidden, 5240 Edgewood Drive, stated he has been at several of the TIF discussions. He 206 stated the discussions are confusing because the issues of the policy and plan are not kept 207 separate. He said he does not want to deal much with existing districts. 208 209 Mr. Glidden stated he agrees that if there was clear-cut criteria established with the districts, 210 there would not be the discussions about when and what to do. He stated that he does not believe 211 the TIF policies are precise or clear enough. 212 213 Mounds View EDA July 10, 2006 Regular Meeting Page 6 Mr. Glidden stated he would like to see what goals are established with various TIF districts and 214 steps to take when it is completed so there is no confusion. He stated he has not seen the Saint 215 Anthony or Mounds View TIF policies. He said he came here asking the EDA to ensure that 216 there are things in Mounds View’s TIF policy addressing specific objectives, criteria of TIF 217 districts, and benefits to City. 218 219 Mr. Glidden stated he scanned through a document that addresses those issues and that there are 220 serious discussions about criterion establishing a TIF district. He stated that the Mounds View 221 TIF policy should address those issues and ensure that they are clear-cut and communicable to 222 residents. He stated all the discussions he’s been involved in point that the policy is too vague. 223 He said the City adopts those districts for special reasons for economic development. 224 225 Mr. Glidden posed the question about what percent of the tax base will be developed or re-226 developed over the next five to ten years. He stated that such a discussion might bring up some 227 TIF ideas that would help the EDA establish the specific criteria for TIF funding. 228 229 Commissioner Thomas stated Mr. Glidden pointed out one of her concerns: that the objectives of 230 TIF districts are too broad. She said she likes the limitations Mounds View has on TIF funding 231 and spending. She said Saint Anthony’s is much broader and she likes Mounds View’s 232 limitations. She stated she would like to maintain Mounds View’s limitations and asked the 233 EDC to review it. 234 235 Acting President Stigney stated he believes Mounds View’s policy is too broad and Saint 236 Anthony’s summary does a good job nailing it down. He responded to Mr. Glidden that some 237 problems come in with pre-1990 TIF districts. He stated that once the TIF money is paid on any 238 new projects, the TIF will be automatically closed out even if the district is kept open. He 239 clarified that pre-1990, all TIF districts were kept open to maximize the funding until the end of 240 the district. 241 242 Commissioner Flaherty stated that Mounds View is following their policy by implementing such 243 a review and pointed out Item 2 in the TIF policy. He stated the question is not whether Mounds 244 View is following its policy, but whether the policy needs to be tightened up. He stated Mounds 245 View is following its established policies. 246 247 Commissioner Thomas brought up that the EDA did not provide Director Ericson with specific 248 direction. Director Ericson asked if the EDA is interested in exploring option 2 (B). Acting 249 President Stigney stated he has always preferred Option B, and stated Staff should explore option 250 B closer. 251 252 Commissioner Thomas suggested the policy be run by the EDC for reformatting. Acting 253 President Stigney added that the priorities of the Planning Commission and the summary 254 language from Saint Anthony’s policy should also be considered. 255 Mounds View EDA July 10, 2006 Regular Meeting Page 7 256 8. REPORTS 257 258 A. Update Regarding the Acquisition of 2390 County Road 10 (Verbal Report) 259 260 Director Ericson suggested the item be put on Council agenda under reports. 261 262 9. NEXT EDA MEETING: Monday, July 24, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. 263 264 10. ADJOURNMENT 265 266 Acting President Stigney adjourned the meeting at 7:01 p.m. 267 268 269 Respectfully submitted, 270 271 272 Recorded and transcribed by: 273 Lauren McKay 274 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 275 276