Citizens gather to 'straighten facts'
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| Progress for Columbia member Gene Bergmann expresses his views on the facts and myths of tax increment financing during a meeting Wednesday night in the Columbia High School cafeteria. Terry Smith photo |
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So it should be no surprise Progress for Columbia is a little concerned about the public's perception of the Columbia Crossing project.
The group gathered Wednesday night in the Columbia High School cafeteria to state its case on what it believes is true and what it thinks are falsehoods.To illustrate the belief tax increment financing is a good thing, the group invited Collinsville City Manager Robert Knabel to give a presentation on how his city has benefited from it.
"Collinsville has three TIF districts which generate over $3,000,000 in revenue a year," Knabel said. "Without them, many projects wouldn't have existed."
Knabel illustrated how TIF can work in different ways: The city can either build the infrastructure and hope the development will come or shift funds from existing TIF districts into maintaining other projects, specifically downtown upkeep.
"I feel downtown is the heart of any city," Knabel said. "So a TIF can help you put money into this area that you wouldn't have if a TIF never existed."
PFC member Gene Bergmann then went on to illustrate his views on the facts and myths on TIF's.
"I have heard people say that TIF's are illegal, which couldn't be further from the truth," Bergmann said. "People also have invested so much energy into the belief that TIF is a four-letter word and I am here to say it doesn't have to be."
Bergmann also said to think of TIF as a home mortgage in that if an area is on a financial downturn, like the Columbia Crossing plot, they need something to pick them up.
"TIF is simply a financing mechanism," Bergmann said.
But the part of the meeting that garnered the most attention was presented by member Alan Pirtle, who gave an update on the city's ongoing lawsuit with developer GJ Grewe.
The St. Louis based development firm recently sued Columbia for what it cites as breach of contract and not dealing in good faith stemming from the Columbia City Council's stalling on Columbia Crossing.
"Last week, the judge set the date for a jury trial for Oct. 13, 2008," Pirtle said. "And from experience, I can tell you that federal courts don't mess around, so if they say that's when it will be, that's when it will be."
Pirtle said depositions will begin after the New Year, probably ending in the middle of June.
"This is going to start heating up pretty soon," Pirtle said.
He said he still believes Columbia can get out from under the contract, though, if certain things fall into the right place. These include the council passing Exhibit H, which is a restrictive land use agreement between Columbia and GJ Grewe, and the passing of the Programmatic Memorandum of Agreement, which has been shot down two different times.
"If these things pass, I think the lawsuit will disappear," Pirtle said. "Because there is no way they can say the city is not acting in good faith if they move forward with these documents."
