City commissioners remained divided Wednesday on whether to offer incentives for commercial development in Emporia.
The commission had planned to talk about two specific tools for helping businesses, called transportation development districts (TDDs) and tax-increment financing (TIF). TDDs help pay for a business’s infrastructure, such as sewer and roads, which is paid back through a special sales tax on the business. In a TIF, either the developer or city bonds pay for the initial cost of a commercial project, which is repaid by the additional property taxes collected when the property’s value goes up.
Commissioner Julie Johnson, however, made it clear that she was reluctant to open the door to any commercial incentives, even indirect ones. Historically, she said, the city does not offer incentives to retail.
“I’ve read the draft proposal, I went to meetings we’ve had, I’ve read some materials on my own about TIFs and TDDs,” Johnson said. “I have to say, I’m not enthusiastic about the idea of using them. Maybe they’ll be a great benefit to the community, I don’t know. But I have my doubts.”
The policy against retail has been an unwritten one for several years. Mayor Jim Kessler said that it may have been sensible when it was created, but that times have changed. These days, he said, most developers seem to need infrastructure incentives to get a project under way.
“In their philosophy, the development is in the best interest of the city,” Kessler said.
Commissioner Bobbie Agler said he had been somewhat negative about incentives until he saw the studies of how much traffic Emporia is losing out of town. The old emphasis of recruiting industries in hopes of drawing retail doesn’t work anymore, he said.
“It still gripes me to pursue incentives,” Agler said. “Philosophically, I have trouble agreeing that government has any place in private enterprise. But I’m obviously in an extreme minority. If you’re going to buy a ticket to the ballgame, you have to be prepared to do it.”
But Agler agreed with Commissioner Ray Toso that TIFs weren’t the way to do it, especially after Toso noted the range of things a developer could try to justify as “infrastructure.”
“TIF money? No way,” Agler said. “TDD is a different animal.”
Commissioner Tom Myers was absent from the discussion, as he had not yet gotten back from a meeting in Washington, D.C.
KB Thomas Jr., whose family is developing a tract near the turnpike for commercial business, said the city might be making a mistake by trying to form a policy before there’s an offer on the table.
“Until you see what it is they want, I think we need to leave the door open,” Thomas said.
Agler disagreed. Waiting that long, he said, would leave the developer in the driver’s seat.
Toso had his own reservations about incentives. TIFs, he said, were originally supposed to be for blighted areas. Somehow, he said, developers had come to regard them as indispensable.
And even incentives don’t guarantee success, Toso said. He recalled a recent drive through Ohio where he passed by three relatively new Lowe’s stores — all closed and out of business.
“Just because you have this (incentive) and score a Lowe’s doesn’t mean they’ll stay here,” he said.
Commissioners will reopen the discussion at a future study session.
Kahola cash
The commission also talked about what to do with the money from the sale of Lake Kahola. So far, about 85 percent of the lots have been sold to the residents, leaving the city with about $1.5 million in a segregated fund.
At a future meeting, commissioners will decide whether it should stay in a special city fund or be placed with the Emporia Community Foundation for investment. The intent is to use the money to help Emporia’s existing parks with improvements and special projects.