2005.11.21 EDA Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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For Immediate Release Date: From: The Office of the City Administrator City of Hugo, Minnesota Contact: Mr. Mike Ericson City Administrator mericson@ci.hugo.mn.us 651.762.6312 Regarding: The City begins implementation of the downtown plan THE CITY OF HUGO, MINNESOTA BEGINS IMPLEMENTATION OF DOWNTOWN PLAN Hugo, Minnesota- In 1998 the City of Hugo, Minnesota, established a downtown plan and preliminary design guidelines to address redevelopment of the downtown commercial core. The original plan needed to be revisited to consider the impact of the future realigned County Rd 8 and Hwy 61 intersection. After a series of events to engage public input, the updated plan was finalized in July, 2004. The City Council and Economic Development Authority (EDA) are in unanimous support of moving forward with implementation of the plan. Mayor Fran Miron stated "it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars for this plan to just sit on the shelf and collect dust—now is the time for implementation of the downtown plan". EDA chair, Phil Klein, echoed the Mayor's statement and added that"implementation is a challenging phase of any downtown plan, but Council and EDA leadership have helped to put in place the proper mechanisms to gain public input into this process". As with any downtown redevelopment plan implementation, there are a number of costs involved including property acquisition, relocation, demolition and possible environmental remediation. To address the issue of these costs, the City will be utilizing tools available to it such as tax increment financing (TIF). A significant part of the public input process includes discussions centered on the mechanics of this tool and how it may be used for the benefit of property owners in the downtown core to facilitate redevelopment. EDA members agree that sometimes TIF can be controversial, but as EDA member Nick Skarich states "it is one of the only tools remaining today that can provide significant enough resources to address the specific issues of downtown redevelopment". The downtown plan implementation public input process will begin with a series of meetings with key property owners in the downtown area. The process will also include informational meetings of the public, Council, and EDA, and several planned neighborhood and downtown business/property owner meetings. Throughout this input gathering and implementation phase the public can stay informed by going to the City website and reading the newsletter, as each will contain regularly updated information on implementation of the plan. Currently the website contains an introductory question/answer page describing TIF and the implementation plan in greater detail.