Tax Increment Financing

Following are notes taken by David Briggs at a Hartford Development Corporation meeting.

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) as of 03/21/08

TIF refers to a concept in which the tax base of a district within a municipality is measured and “frozen” such that all subsequently increased taxes realized from the district may be pledged to finance public works such as infrastructure. In other words tax revenues from a district are reserved specifically to finance improvements made in that district.

Believing that TIF might be an important source of financial support for public improvements in downtown WRJ the HDC invited Fred Kenney, Executive Director of the Vermont Economic Progress Council to come to WRJ and speak to HDC members. Kenney was recommended by Joss Besse of the Downtown Program. Sp on March 21, 2008 Kenney spoke to several HDC members at the Hotel Coolidge. The following are notes taken by David Briggs at that meeting:

• Enabling legislation in VT provides for 10 TIF districts to be established in the state prior to June 2010
• The taxes created within the TIF district may be used for up to 20 years (taxes come largely from real estate but it was therefore implied that sales, rooms and meals taxes might also apply
• No district has been formed yet but a number of towns are working on this concept and Williston is reported to be very close. Other towns are Waterbury, Waitsfield, Milton, Colchester and Middlebury. (remember the limit is 10 districts prior to 2011)
• Hartford / WRJ is not a Designated Growth Center but if it were the criteria for TIF would be easier to meet. Fred Kenney is to call back to expand on this aspect as it pertains to incorporating the costs involved and how it accelerates processes
• Consultants and Bond Attorneys are generally required to cause a TIF District to form but those costs can be borne by the TIF resource
• Creating a TIF takes approx 2 years and then comes a Bond Sale and a “Freeze Date” which marks the point at which “incremental taxes” are deferred to retire the bonds.
• It may be desirable to define a Hartford TIF district to include Sykes Avenue and the sewage treatment plant. This is a potentially vital point because only one TIF can be formed in a given municipality.
• S291 in the 2008 legislative session addresses TIF approval process
• Fred Kenney would be interested in hearing what kind of projects are potentially targeted by the current Landworks study for downtown WRJ
• HDC could be talking to Bond Attorneys to foresee issues, fees, etc.
• Following an initial discussion with a Bond Attorney a TIF Plan can be assembled with the help of a consultant
• The Central Business District (aka downtown WRJ) currently represents about 2.79% of the Hartford tax base (making it a relatively small impact on Hartford taxpayers
• Project Criteria guidelines brought to us in print by Fred Kenney call for meeting three out of five possible conditions. It appears that WRJ can meet three of those five.

Picture Thoughts

Here's a photo sketch of the downtown with a green space compared to current conditions. It's meant to give a rough idea of what i might look like. Clearly, having no cars around is not reality, but the couple looks happy!

The second image is from the Bugbee Center, at the top of North Main. It's meant to show how removing some of the highway elements changes the feel of a place dramatically. While not really an issue in downtown, Maple Street suffers from these oversized sign structures.

Click on the images to enlarge.

"Post Office Square"

Michelle Ollie and Bayle Drubel have sketched on the center-of-town park idea with some additions:

• Change circulation to one-way around the post office building (as also suggested by a commenter).
• Add lights in the park along the railroad.
• Add a bike rack and bus station stop in place of the info kiosk.
• Consider a cobblestone-like pavement around the post office.
• Add a sculptural element in the park that perhaps moves in the wind.
• Consider naming the area. They suggest "Post Office Square". Other name ideas? "Coolidge Square?" "Central Park?" I like the idea of naming the places in downtown and using that identity to form recognizable areas.

Click on the drawing to enlarge. Comments?

Revised Schedule

White River Junction Revised Schedule 3.25.08 (Draft for Review and Discusssion):

This is a revised schedule for the revitalization review project showing milestones for the next couple months.

LW = Landworks
RSG = Resource Systems Group

Week of April 21

Pathways: Submit updated Utility Inventory Map with indication of utility locations, condition, and sizes. Gaps in information shall be noted.

LW: Adjust Scope, budget and longer term time frame as per review and agreement with Town of Hartford.

Month of May

LW: Distribute two draft design and development scenarios (one modest and short-term oriented, the other more ambitious and long-term oriented) for review and comment. Designs to reflect community input and to incorporate public spaces.

RSG: Estimate parking demand and potential parking solutions based on design and development scenarios and RPC build-out analysis.

Week of June 5

LW: Present revised design and development scenarios at HDC meeting based on HDC comments (materials to be received from RSG + Pathways 1 week in advance)

Present preliminary Sign and Wayfinding Plan, to be refined with branding/marketing elements as developed subsequently

Identify streetscape improvements and short and long term scenarios (to include andy refinements/additions to street furniture elements)

RSG: Present proposed parking, vehicular circulation, bicycle circulation, and pedestrian infrastructure upgrades in support of revised design and development scenarios.

Pathways: Present recommended utility infrastructure upgrades in support of revised design and development scenarios

End of June/July

LW Team: Prepare a Capital Improvement Program with costs after the Town / board approves a design and development plan. Develop initial marketing and branding concepts Final Sign and Wyafinding Plan

Lane Widths

I did a bit of reading about lane widths this afternoon. Downtown White River Junction has, for the most part, very wide lanes (in excess of 12-feet, the width of an interstate lane). According to much of what I read, this encourages faster and more reckless driving because the perception from a driver's point of view is that there is plenty of margin for error. Some studies show that narrowing lanes statistically reduces accidents because people pay more attention and curiously, in some cases, narrowing has increased traffic because people feel safer when traffic is calmer.

As a result of these insights, some municipalities have narrowed their streets and avenues. In Montgomery, Maryland, a city more populous than the entire state of Vermont, for instance, 25mph streets, like those in downtown White River, have 10-foot lanes, with 8-foot parking along one or both sides. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) recognize that in some situations lanes as narrow as 9-feet may be acceptable.

I'm not sure what the Hartford town ordinance specifies, if anything, but it seems like a good idea for us to review our lane widths downtown to see if they can be adjusted to promote better traffic flow, provide quality on-street parking, and reduce downtown driving speeds. I do know the minimum parking space is 9-feet by 20-feet, which is an enormous space that most cars swim within. Many parking facilities have compact-car parking which allows for additional cars without additional paving.

In the case of my prior post, looking at North Main Street, if lanes were narrowed to 10-feet, public on-street parking could be created without making any changes to sidewalks, curbing or lighting. By scaling downtown street conditions to reflect our desires (as opposed to the current conditions which seem to encourage undesirable behavior) we may be able to find inexpensive solutions to some of the traffic and parking problems much discussed.

North Main Street Parking

As a business owner of North Main Street, I am in favor of creating additional on-street public parking on North Main Street in front of businesses that have little to no on-site parking. This would help reduce the amount of "public" parking that is taking place in private lots, sometimes to the chagrin of the private lot owners (me included). Based on quick measurements of North Main Street, it seems quite possible to create about 17 parallel parking spaces without much, if any, adjustment to utilities.

In addition to providing parking in front of the businesses, it would also narrow the street (which is wider than it needs to be) and this might be one step that helps calm traffic entering town.

It would also make sense, as David Saladino of RSG suggests, to reduce the size of the intersection at Main and Currier/Bridge by extending the sidewalk in front of the furniture store eliminating the right turn lane. This would slow cars which tend to whip around that corner and provide sidewalk for pedestrians who cross there.

Comments?

Central Park Idea

Here's a concept for the center of downtown, and idea that combines a number of thoughts about the center of town: 1) increase green space by creating a larger central park area; 2) change traffic flow to two-way, which loses a few parking spaces but not that many; 3) adjust curbs to allow new traffic flow and create parallel parking spaces.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Comments? You can post them here.