MONROE - The creation of Tax Increment District 10, intended to refund $3 million to Monroe Clinic for its expansion to add cancer treatment and renovate existing laundry facilities, took one step toward final approval Tuesday during a meeting of the Joint Review Board.
TID 10 would be structured as a Pay-As-You-Go note, atypical from the existing finance districts within the city because of its method. Rather than the city covering a portion of development costs for the developer which is then recovered through tax values of the property or fees if the building does not meet its expected value, this proposed TID would reward tax values for being met by repaying some of the development costs paid by Monroe Clinic.
Financial advisory company Ehlers & Associates has helped the city evaluate whether TID 10 would be feasible. Ehlers Municipal Advisor Maureen Schiel outlined the specifics of the project plan to members of the board at the westside fire station Tuesday.
The district would encompass roughly 15 acres of city land both to the east and west of 18th Avenue. To the east, a $9.4 million project by Monroe Clinic, and within a half-mile radius, another $925,000 in eligible projects are possible, and some industrial space along the 500 block of 18th Avenue could also be redeveloped, Schiel said.
Throughout the 20-year lifespan of TID 10, $4.8 million in taxable income would be recovered through the value of the clinic expansion.
While the board agreed to TID 10's creation, member Ron Olson expressed hesitancy regarding an amendment to its project plan. The amendment would allow funds to be shared between TID 10 and TID 7. No. 7 includes downtown Monroe.
City Administrator Phil Rath, who serves on the board as a representative of the city, said TID 7 may never regain its investment during its lifespan because its size limits development.
Olson, who sits on the Joint Review Board as a representative of Monroe school district, said sharing has happened in the past when TIDs had not met expectations.
"We have some concerns with it from the get-go, being augmented or shared over TID 7," Olson said. "Our concern is we have a nine-and-a-half million dollar project, and from day one we're committing dollars over to another part of the city. At some point, each district has to stand on its own and support its own projects."
Board members decided to table a vote on the amendment in favor of reviewing more information. Renea Ranguette, who serves as a representative of Blackhawk Technical College, found that the provided materials laid out a payment to TID 7 in its final year, 2033. Contributions from TID 10 to TID 7 would pay for 80 percent of utility costs within TID 7 before its closure.
Ranguette said she would prefer to see an outline in which TID 7 receives funds from TID 10 over years rather than just before it's meant to close to gauge whether tax revenue would meet value expectations. Olson agreed.
Rath pointed out that the projects in TID 10 take precedent over sharing funds with TID 7.
"It might very well be that in District 10 ... there is no money to go into TID 7," Rath said.
Within TID 10, Monroe Clinic's project would have most importance, followed by other projects within the district, and "sharing would be third," Rath added.
The Joint Review Board will meet in October to evaluate the new information and vote on the amendment.
TID 10 would be structured as a Pay-As-You-Go note, atypical from the existing finance districts within the city because of its method. Rather than the city covering a portion of development costs for the developer which is then recovered through tax values of the property or fees if the building does not meet its expected value, this proposed TID would reward tax values for being met by repaying some of the development costs paid by Monroe Clinic.
Financial advisory company Ehlers & Associates has helped the city evaluate whether TID 10 would be feasible. Ehlers Municipal Advisor Maureen Schiel outlined the specifics of the project plan to members of the board at the westside fire station Tuesday.
The district would encompass roughly 15 acres of city land both to the east and west of 18th Avenue. To the east, a $9.4 million project by Monroe Clinic, and within a half-mile radius, another $925,000 in eligible projects are possible, and some industrial space along the 500 block of 18th Avenue could also be redeveloped, Schiel said.
Throughout the 20-year lifespan of TID 10, $4.8 million in taxable income would be recovered through the value of the clinic expansion.
While the board agreed to TID 10's creation, member Ron Olson expressed hesitancy regarding an amendment to its project plan. The amendment would allow funds to be shared between TID 10 and TID 7. No. 7 includes downtown Monroe.
City Administrator Phil Rath, who serves on the board as a representative of the city, said TID 7 may never regain its investment during its lifespan because its size limits development.
Olson, who sits on the Joint Review Board as a representative of Monroe school district, said sharing has happened in the past when TIDs had not met expectations.
"We have some concerns with it from the get-go, being augmented or shared over TID 7," Olson said. "Our concern is we have a nine-and-a-half million dollar project, and from day one we're committing dollars over to another part of the city. At some point, each district has to stand on its own and support its own projects."
Board members decided to table a vote on the amendment in favor of reviewing more information. Renea Ranguette, who serves as a representative of Blackhawk Technical College, found that the provided materials laid out a payment to TID 7 in its final year, 2033. Contributions from TID 10 to TID 7 would pay for 80 percent of utility costs within TID 7 before its closure.
Ranguette said she would prefer to see an outline in which TID 7 receives funds from TID 10 over years rather than just before it's meant to close to gauge whether tax revenue would meet value expectations. Olson agreed.
Rath pointed out that the projects in TID 10 take precedent over sharing funds with TID 7.
"It might very well be that in District 10 ... there is no money to go into TID 7," Rath said.
Within TID 10, Monroe Clinic's project would have most importance, followed by other projects within the district, and "sharing would be third," Rath added.
The Joint Review Board will meet in October to evaluate the new information and vote on the amendment.