Payette ponders urban renewal blueprint
Wednesday, May 3, 2006 11:20 AM PDT
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| Jessica Hilton | Argus Observer
The street has worn away on sections of South Sixth Street, but the area could see improvements through the new urban renewal district created by the city of Payette. The URD will focus on the Seneca Foods expansion, but will also include South Sixth Street up to the community pool. |
Julie Engel Argus Observer
Payette
Payette has identified a 5-acre parcel of land along South Sixth Street to improve through an urban renewal district.
The piece of land stretches from the Seneca Foods property along South Sixth Street to the community pool.
The urban renewal agency - which includes both City Council and community members - first identified a large area of the city to improve through the urban renewal district, but cut that area back to make the project more manageable.
An urban renewal district is an area identified by a city and the Urban Renewal Agency that could benefit from improvements.
The urban renewal agency is a separate entity from the city and can take out loans to help pay for the improvements. Any increase in taxes from rising property values go back to the urban renewal district to help pay off the loan.
The Payette City Council, members from Sage Community Services and the Urban Renewal Agency met at a special workshop session Monday night to work out any questions the council still had about the pending project.
Sage Community Services has been instructing the city on the specifics of an urban renewal district, and legal representative Ryan Armbruster said the main focus of the district is to help Seneca move forward with its expansion project.
Payette Mayor Doug Henderson said he thinks the plan will be a successful venture, and will help city officials understand how the process works so in the future they can identify other areas in town that could benefit from an urban renewal district.
The Urban Renewal Agency will need to borrow $500,000 to complete the improvement projects. Armbruster said the agency has a couple options - borrow money from a lender or borrow it from the city. Henderson said the city could budget for the loan in the next budget cycle, which would save the Urban Renewal Agency any unnecessary charges.
Payette City Councilman Jeff Williams said it would be advantageous to invest in the urban renewal district because the city would see a higher return.
Currently the city invests with the state treasury at about 3 percent, and the urban renewal district investment in a debt service would be around 5.5 percent.
“We do have quite a bit of funds, and it's a good use for it,” Williams said.
The next area that could be identified in a urban renewal district is the downtown area along Main Street. The urban renewal agency and city officials will review the Seneca project and determine if the urban renewal district is the best bet for downtown revitalization.
Armbruster said if the city did decide to go with a urban renewal district for Main Street, it would have to go through the same process it has with the 5-acre Sixth Street project currently on tap.
The City Council will hold a public hearing on the urban renewal district at 6 p.m. May 22, with a special City Council meeting to follow. Henderson said he welcomes all who have questions about the district to attend the session.
No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:
And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.
Disgusting. "