City cancels BV TIF grants for fiscal 2015

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Calling it “kind of critical,” Key West City Planner Don Craig has proposed canceling the Bahama Village resident grant application program for fiscal 2015.

The program, which uses a portion of tax dollars paid by Bahama Village residents to pay for improvements in the neighborhood – a program called TIF, for Tax Incremental Financing – is expected to generate approximately $600,000 in fiscal 2015. In the past, TIF dollars have been used to pay for small projects, including improvements to dilapidated homes in Bahama Village, and larger ones such as the just-completed renovation of the Nelson English and Willie Ward parks.

But the overall impact on the neighborhood has not been as substantial as hoped and city planners, as well as City Commissioner Clayton Lopez, who represents Bahama Village, had advocated for a change in the TIF program. Instead of funding small projects, the money would go towards large infrastructure improvement programs. For example, the city is in the middle of a bid process to hire a consultant to develop a long range vision plan for Bahama Village, as well as come up with suggestions for how to develop six acres of undeveloped land in the area.

“The money begins to build up faster so we create a larger war chest and we can attack a project that requires substantial capital improvements all at once and get that done,” Craig told members of the Bahama Village Redevelopment Advisory Committee (BVRAC) on June 26, adding that his staff did not have enough time to process the small grant applications plus manage the development of a capital projects work plan for Bahama Village.

BVRAC members agreed, voting unanimously to cancel the TIF application process in FY2015. City Commissioners, who have the final say on the matter, approved the BVRAC vote on Aug. 19.

“We’ve got a lot going on for a small agency,” said Aaron Castillo, BVRAC chairman. “We need to complete some of this stuff before we start accepting more applications. This [cancellation] will give us time to put those goals in perspective.”

Commissioner Lopez said last week that he hasn’t heard any negative reaction from his constituents on the cancellation of the grant program for one year. Typically, more grant requests are received than funds available. And, as he pointed out, residents can still submit grant applications for consideration in FY 2016.

But Lopez said there are several large capital improvement projects already on the books in Bahama Village that need funding immediately, including Geraldine Street, where state money is available for new sidewalks and curbing, storm water system improvements and landscaping, but additional local funds are needed for flood prevention measures.

Lopez also wants to use accumulated TIF money to help develop the three acres of vacant land in Bahama Village. The land is part of the Truman Waterfront parcel the U.S. Navy gave to the city and the three acres are within the Bahama Village redevelopment area and Bahama Village retains development authority for the rest.

“I want to be ready to move right in with plans for mixed use, mixed-income housing,” Lopez said of the parcel.

The consultant the city is in the process of hiring will not only develop a capital works plan for the neighborhood but create a “highest and best use” analysis for those vacant acres.

A sister subarea to Bahama Village, the Caroline Street Corridor, has a similar TIF program in place and has canceled its resident grant application process for the past several years in order to save enough money to install new sewer lines, storm water prevention measures and street upgrades. The Caroline Street Corridor TIF program is estimated to generate $700,000 in fiscal 2015.

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