The Logan County Local Development Act Review Committee will be forming to see if a tax increment financing (TIF) district is needed in the southern portion of the district where an elementary school will be built.
District 2 County Commissioner Mike Pearson is seeking to pave two miles of road on Charter Oak Road in his district. The project would extend east from I-35 to Douglas Blvd.
Pearson made the motion to form the committee and District 3 Commissioner Monty Piearcy made a second. Both voted yes, while District 1 Commissioner Marven Goodman voted against the resolution.
To view the complete conversation you can view the video below this article beginning at the 46:50 mark.
Pearson says due to funding and the size of the project, if a TIF is not established it would take years to develop and would likely go undeveloped.
A TIF is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure and other community-improvement projects.
In a public discussion last week in the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting, Pearson noted a new elementary school will soon be built east of the Charter Oak and Douglas intersection and the Woodcrest Volunteer Fire Department is expected to build a new station near their current building near the same intersection.
The suggested improved road would benefit schools buses and emergency personnel.
Along with the school and fire station, Pearson says 80 acres has started to be developed with new homes south of Charter Oak between Douglas Blvd. and Midwest Blvd. With a price tag near $245,000 per home, Pearson says 100 houses are expected in the first year.
“I believe this developer may get a little bit out of it, but who is really going to benefit from this road is going to be the population, the school and the fire department. Traffic counts are getting higher and will get higher,” Pearson said.
The cost of the proposed project is unknown as the committee will need to look at several scenarios.
Pearson says to bring the road up to the standards of Douglas Blvd and Sooner Road, it would take an estimated $800,000.
“There are several things the County can do to bring that back down to about $350,000 a mile or less,” Pearson said.
“If the state and/or federal funding is used, at least $1.5 million/mile with the County holding 20 percent of the cost taking another five years or more to fund. For us doing this, we could get it paved next year.”
Following the presentation, Goodman responded by saying, “We are talking about doing a tax increment for property taxes in a housing addition that is already going to be developed that will bring in new seats to the school system while bleeding off the property taxes to support that. That seems to be a little bit outside the scope of the TIF.”
“If it’s that good of an idea then I would propose you would look at floating a bond issue with a (county) vote of the people to pay for that,” Goodman suggested to Pearson.
Committee members
A representative from each entity, within the proposed district who collects property taxes, will be on the review committee. Those entities, include Guthrie EMS, Logan County Health Department, Vo-Tech, Guthrie Public Schools and Logan County (sitting commissioner). In addition, three at-large members will be selected to be on the committee.
Depending on what the review committee determines for the BOCC’s final approval, it appears Commissioner Piearcy may have the final say with Pearson advocating the plan and Goodman strongly against TIF districts.
Piearcy says he believes there are both good and bad TIF’s, but stated he would not support any TIF over five years.
Prior to the TIF conversation, Goodman invited Byron Schlomach, author of Tax Increment Finance and Suggestions for Reform. Part of the presentation, included Schlomach stating businesses within a TIF gain an advantage over businesses outside the TIF. Sold as no-cost economic development, there is no evidence TIF’s increase overall economic activity in a state. The presentation went on to say TIF money is often spent on private investment and favors large corporations.
To view the complete conversation with Scholmach, you can view the video below this article beginning at the 15:25 mark.
Pearson is a great public servant. Creative financing without raising taxes. Constantly looking forward to progress.
Progress would be better access first then development. You’re two miles off of the beaten path on Charter Oak until they build the school. I applaud advance planning, but we need to figure out how to get either an exit or better access and utility service to the area to spur development along with the idea of the TIF district. It won’t do any good with no reliable water, sewage, electric service, and other necessities of life.