DDA Preps TIF Plan for August Vote, Considers Adding Deck Back In

Ahead of a planned August vote on Moving Downtown Forward – the new tax increment financing (TIF) plan proposed to replace TIF 97 – Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board members will discuss final plan details today, including whether to add back in a proposed third downtown parking deck. Moving Downtown Forward is one of several items on the meeting agenda, which also includes a recommendation to end a planned downtown retail incubator, increase funding for a new Hannah Park overlook, and approve a visioning contract for Rotary Square.

Moving Downtown Forward
After delaying action this spring, DDA board members are scheduled to vote on approving the new Moving Downtown Forward TIF plan at their August 16 meeting. That timing leaves just a “handful of additional opportunities” for board members to discuss and finalize details, including at today’s meeting, according to DDA Executive Director Harry Burkholder.

The DDA is looking to rename and extend the TIF 97 plan – which covers the core of downtown Traverse City and is set to expire at the end of 2027 – by another 30 years. TIF districts capture taxes on rising property values within their boundaries to fund public improvement projects, ranging from stormwater and sewer upgrades to bridge, sidewalk, and streetscaping improvements to public parks and placemaking projects. However, those projects must be named in the TIF plan in order to be funded.

One major outstanding issue with Moving Downtown Forward is whether to include a mixed-use development on State Street, which would include a third downtown public parking deck. Board members this spring opted to nix the deck from the plan – keeping the door open to developing housing or other uses on the site, but expressing concern that a lack of public enthusiasm for a deck could torpedo Moving Downtown Forward’s overall prospects. In a memo this month to fellow board members, however, DDA Chair Gabe Schneider and Vice Chair Scott Hardy questioned that narrative, saying that more parking has been supported throughout public engagement processes and is key to the success of numerous other downtown projects.

“Adding additional parking capacity on the West End of Traverse City is not a new concept,” Schneider and Hardy wrote. When the board voted to remove the deck from the plan this spring, “the public was rightfully confused and upset that a significant capital project was left out,” the duo said. “If the DDA is to be truly reflective of what we have heard from the community as to their needs and desires for additional parking, we should include a west end mixed-used development in the Moving Downtown Forward TIF plan.”

Projects ranging from the Lower Boardman River Unified Plan to infill projects in city parking lots to downtown developments all rely on a new deck, Schneider and Hardy said. Eliminating the deck “left businesses that had built or occupied space in the west end with no options – even though they were assured the deck was a foregone conclusion – for their residents or employees,” they wrote. “Before the DDA board approves the Moving Downtown Forward plan, we would ask that the board consider returning the west end mixed-use development to the plan.”

Not all DDA board members are as enthusiastic about revisiting the deck. “I still believe the deck has been the lightning rod for those opposed to TIF,” says Mayor Amy Shamroe. “We have seen TIF reduced down to being about a parking deck in a lot of public discussion previously. To me, TIF is about keeping downtown and the city strong and viable by investing in infrastructure projects, revitalizing and restoring the Boardman/Ottaway, and features the entire community benefits from, like the farmer's market and community police officer.”

Another major outstanding issue looms over the Moving Downtown Forward discussion. At least one and possibly two TIF-related proposals will appear on the November ballot, which would have significant impacts on TIF plan approval processes going forward. It’s unclear whether Moving Downtown Forward – which would head to city commissioners for consideration after the DDA – will be voted on prior to the November election. Burkholder noted that once the city commission receives the plan, “it will determine when to schedule and hold the public hearing and then consider a resolution to approve the TIF Plan and ordinance.” The plan will require approval from at least four commissioners to pass, according to City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht.

Also on the DDA agenda today...
> Board members will vote on a recommendation from the DDA’s finance committee to scuttle a planned new retail incubator on Cass Street. The recommendation comes amid concerns about funding and staffing the incubator and its long-term viability given the uncertain future of TIF 97. The DDA remains lease-committed to the space – owned by Tim Pulliam and Steve Morse of Keen Technical Solutions – until a new tenant can be secured. Burkholder said in a memo that a retail incubator meets the goals and mission of the DDA and could still be “worthy of further inquiry and pursuit should the certainty of a TIF 97 extension become clearer” in the future.

> Board members will vote to increase funding for improvements to the Hannah Park overlook, including new pavers, new stairs, foundational work, new screening, and bench seating and lighting. The existing overlook was damaged during recent bridge reconstruction, and the stairs down to the river are obsolete. Since they can’t be fixed up to ADA requirements and can’t be removed since they act as a stabilizer for the hill, the city plans to cover the stairs with soil and native plantings and build a new set of stairs near the Perry Hannah statue down to the river. The sole bid for project work came in nearly $50,000 over budget at $167,864 plus a $16,700 contingency, with the DDA and city Parks and Recreation planning to each contribute an additional $25,000 to cover the shortfall. Assuming the contract is approved by city commissioners, “city staff is confident we could complete the project this fall,” according to Burkholder.

> Finally, board members will vote to enter into a contract with Progressive AE for $141,656 to lead a public engagement process to create a vision for Rotary Square at the corner of State and Union streets. The consulting group will help facilitate public engagement, create a conceptual and schematic design, and provide cost estimates for implementation for the public square. The contract is being covered by funds from a $1 million Rotary Charities grant to the DDA for the park project.