THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008

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Mayor Casts Deciding Vote Against TIF Purchase

A proposal by the city to purchase a piece of property in the "5 Corners" Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district for a total of $1,050,000 was rejected by City Council Monday night when Mayor Tony Arredia cast the tie-breaking vote.

Following a closed executive session where the proposed purchase was discussed at length, aldermen voted 4 to 4. Arredia's vote resulted in the proposal not passing. At issue was the proposal for the city to buy for the first time property within the controversial 70-acre TIF. Stock Gears owner Bruce Billmeyer has been negotiating with the city for months about the sale of his property so he could move to larger quarters. The city is interested in developing the acreage and in so doing has agreed to possibly assemble some of the land for a developer. However, some of the property and business owners in the area have objected to the city's purchase of the property fearing that eventually they will be targeted.

Originally, the city was considering paying $1,050,000 for the property and invoking the threat of using eminent domain to acquire the property. However, that approach was recently changed. At Monday night's meeting, the plan presented was to pay $800,000 for the land and allocate $250,000 for relocation costs. Some aldermen voiced concern saying that plan is simply another way of paying out $1,050,000. Also, questions were raised about the justification of paying $250,000 to move the company's equipment and other relocation expenses.