Council appoints Dornich to TIF

Joe Hornaday

Though setting Halloween’s trick or treat hours was the first item of new business on the agenda for the City Council, the issues that dominated the discussion were tax abatements, eminent domain and a new appointment to the Tax Incremental Finance (TIF) board.

Though the council had and the TIF had recently instated a new face on the TIF board, one vacant seat on the five member board needed filling. City Councilor Helen Gardner said that she was aware of a few candidates showing interest, and noted she was seeking someone familiar with the projects facing the TIF board.

“It should be a person who knows how government works,” she said.

Gardner voiced her support of Ken Dornich for the position, and Councilor Bill Wenning suggested Jean Johannigman. Councilor Jamie Cain gave his support to contender Rick Oliver, noting the Council was blessed to have three great candidates in the running.

Wenning explained that he though experience and dedication to civic duty were paramount for someone in the position. Councilor Herb Hunter felt the same way, noting that Johannigman attends many of the city meetings and knew what was going on around the city. Councilor Darrell Poling provided his opinion, saying that with two good anchors in Lowell Rethlake and Doug Fry on the TIF already, a fresh face was needed. He nominated Oliver, and said that the biggest obstacle facing the TIF was the Lincoln Street Project.

Wenning was concerned that other councilors were basing their choices on the singular issue of the Lincoln Street Project. He sought someone who was “well-rounded” and could make “good, logical decisions.”

A motion was put on the table to accept Oliver, but he did not receive enough support from the Council. Dornich did receive the three necessary votes, with Hunter and Wenning dissenting. Dornich will need to be sworn in by the TIF’s executive session on Wednesday, Oct. 8.

The next issue before the Council was an examination of tax abatements, which had been approved by the tax abatement committee. Rolling Harpring, Stradley LLC and M and S Precision Machine all received tax abatement approval without much discussion, but the Council ran into a problem when examining the SD 2006-2 LLC and Crawley Center LLC abatements. Specifically, the disagreement involved potential apartments on the lots behind the Wal-Mart.

Mayor Gary Herbert warned that significant abatements would mean no money into the TIF district, but Wenning disagreed.

“If we don’t give, we won’t have, period,” he said.

The Council did feel there was a need for the abatement, but noted that giving away too much could pose problems. All councilors favored the abatement in theory, but quarreled over how long it would be.

Hunter felt that just because the area fell under the jurisdiction of the TIF district, it should not affect the matter of abatements. Wenning claimed that a multi-million dollar investment deserved a full ten year abatement, and warned against sending the wrong kind of message to future businesses. Despite the objections, the ten year abatement passed by a vote of 3-2, with Gardner and Cain strongly dissenting.

Continuing the meeting, planning and zoning director Kathy Reynolds presented the Council with information regarding the recently rezoned property belonging to George and Janet Chadwell. The city’s Area Plan Commission (APC) had rezoned the lot from residential to business last month.

According to Reynolds, the Lincoln Street Reconstruction would affect the property, and noted that a new business lot did fall into the city’s comprehensive plan. The City Council agreed with the APC and unanimously approved the ordinance.

The next order of business involved a resolution to established a Greensburg 150th Anniversary Account. Herbert explained that there was very little money for the celebration, and organizers needed to operate through the city’s account. Without protest, the Council approved the motion unanimously.

Finally, the Council reviewed the TIF’s decision to condemn a portion of the Starbucks property on Lincoln Street to facilitate the reconstruction project. According to city attorney Matt Bailey, Starbucks is going to close, and wants out of the lease. However, the owners will not agree to transfer it to the city because they cannot voluntarily sell without violating the contract terms, Bailey said. The issue before the City Council was an authorization for the TIF to use eminent domain.

Poling, who sits on the TIF board and the City Council, explained that ultimately he hopes not to have to use eminent domain. Once the complaint is filed, the owners will have 30 days to respond and three appraisers will determine what the property is worth. The TIF board will pay that amount and then take ownership, Bailey explained.

The motion passed by a vote of 3-2, with Hunter and Wenning expressing their disapproval

The council also passed an ordinance for a new four-way stop at the intersection of Monfort Street and Third Street in its final reading, a re-issuance of the North Park lease and set the trick or treat hours from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31.

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