Soon after getting elected to the Eagle City Council in November, Mark Butler went to the Eagle Urban Renewal Agency with six questions:
When were you formed? Its answer: October 2006.
How much money have you collected? $331,087.
How much money have you spent? $151,958.
How many projects have you done? None.
How much money have you paid to lawyers and consultants? $98,281.
How much money do you have in the bank now? About $177,000.
Unhappy with those answers, Butler asked his fellow council members Tuesday to consider taking on the duties of the urban renewal agency board themselves.
That was at Butler’s first City Council meeting.
When it comes to collecting and spending taxpayer dollars, Butler said, he does not like the lack of transparency and the lack of a plan. Urban renewal agencies are funded by property taxes collected within the district.
“I think we should look at the council taking over,” Butler said.
Council President Norm Semanko supported Butler’s motion, saying the issue warrants discussion.
“There has seemingly been no movement in five years,” he said. “There is no list of projects. ... The only renewal I have seen is to the bank accounts of attorneys and consultants.”
The council agreed to set a public hearing and asked staff to draft an ordinance to restructure the agency with council members, and possibly some citizens, in charge. The hearing is tentatively set for Jan. 31.
GOING FURTHER?
Idaho municipalities have come to rely on urban renewal districts to improve blighted areas or boost growth. In Boise, for instance, the urban renewal agency has planted trees, built parking garages and lured private developers for projects like the BoDo commercial complex.
The districts collect property taxes on improvements within their boundaries and use the revenue to provide incentives to lure and finance new projects. Idaho has 71 urban renewal districts in 25 counties, according to the Idaho Tax Commission.
In Eagle, Semanko said he wants to take the discussion even further and get public input on dissolving the urban renewal agency altogether.
“Is it a good idea to have an urban agency?” he asked. “If yes, do we have the right structure to do it?”
Councilman John Grasser agreed to bring the urban renewal question before the public. “If we are going to consider this, now is the time to do it,” he said.
The district doesn’t have debt, leases or other obligations, Grasser said. “It would be legally clean to dissolve it now.”
CAUGHT BY SURPRISE
Two former Eagle Urban Renewal Agency board members, Bob Bruce and Jason Pierce, told the council they understand its frustration and reminded the council the agency is still relatively new.
Both said restructuring the board may be reasonable, but getting rid of the agency is not reasonable, because it’s one of the few tools cities have for economic development.
Board member Jason Haas was surprised to hear about the council discussion and “somewhat disappointed” the council didn’t talk to the all-volunteer board before putting urban renewal on the council agenda, he said.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” he said. “I think their intentions are good and they want to do the right thing, but I don’t think they have done their due diligence.”
Haas said the agency incurred most of its legal fees when the Meridian School District sued the agency over the way property tax money shifts when an urban renewal agency is created. The two parties later negotiated a settlement.
The agency is young and the economy too slow for there to be any major projects under way, he said.
“We are finally getting a little bit of money, but we don’t want to spend money just to spend money,” Haas said. “We want impact and return for money, we don’t want to put something in that would just be torn out.”
SLASHING FEES
On Tuesday, the new Eagle City Council — new members Butler and Mary Defayette and returning members Grasser and Semanko — also agreed to fast-track consideration of lowering land-use and development application fees. They would reduce some fees by a third to a half, such as dropping the appeal fee from $400 to $250 and the conditional-use permit fee from $1,100 to $800.
A public hearing is tentatively set for Jan. 24.
Semanko, who proposed the fee cuts, also wants the city to consider some type of deferral program where business owners pay their city fees after the business is opened. In September, Boise announced it would defer city impact fees and building fees until a certificate of occupancy is issued.
“The idea is to help the private sector, to spur economic activity,” Semanko said.
Defayette agreed, saying a deferral might be a good incentive for a new business. “Open your doors, get some cash flow, then pay your fees,” she said.
Cynthia Sewell: 377-6428
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