02-23-09 Common Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 23, 2009 complete failure. That is the only reason that Blackthorn has any buildings today is because of businesses like Schaefer Gear Works, Tire Rack, the list goes on and on. He stated that the Council is missing the boat on this; projects like Portage Prairie and Blackthorn are not working. He stated that the Council should have researched all the vacant land in Blackthorn before ever approving Portage Prairie. The police and fire are stretched to capacity and cannot handle any more. Mr. Zmyslo stated that the City Administration is talking about cutting police and fire protection due to HB 1001. He stated that his folks live in the City and this past winter their street wasn’t even snow plowed. He stated that they live on Edison Avenue on the West Side of town off of Western Avenue. He stated that he went to pick up his mom to take her to her doctor’s appointment and could not turn down her street because the snow plow had not been down the street. He advised that he had a heck of a time trying to get his mom out to the street because the snow was so high and piled up and not plowed. He stated that when he did eventually see a plow truck, they were in tandem, following each other sometimes 4 or 5 trucks right in a row all day long going back and forth in Blackthorn. Once again neglecting the inner city by not taking care of what we already have. Mr. Zmyslo urged the Council to vote against this bill. Kathie Bieschke, 24440 Adams Road, South Bend, Indiana, spoke in opposition to this bill. She stated that this is an inappropriate use of funds. Using TIF dollars to support a project that is not going to benefit the taxpayers is a misuse of funds. Ms. Bieschke stated that this bill is like a bailout for Holladay Corp. She stated that she revisited Holladay’s development in Indianapolis recently and there has been no new development in that area. Ms. Bieschke stated that Portage Prairie has no new development in it and the construction of this road is not going to bring new business either. She urged the Council to reject this bill. Jerry Niezgodski, 2930 Bonds Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, stated that he supported the expansion of the Airport TIF area to include the Portage Prairie Development. He questioned the current tax revenues of this property; once the City buy’s it how much of those revenues are going to be lost as a result of that purchase. He stated that he has a problem with using TIF funds, when Major Move’s monies were ideally suited to be used for road construction. He questioned the reimbursement of Major Move’s monies with TIF monies for this road expansion. If seems like since the expansion of the Airport TIF Area, it’s the golden goose, the golden egg, and using it for every little thing that comes along. Mr. Niezgodski reiterated that this property recently sold for $280,000 and now the City is going to pay $350,000, does the Council really think that property value have gone up that much in the City? He urged the Council to table this bill and try to negotiate with the developer. Kelly Havens, 12032 Timberline Trace, Granger, Indiana, stated that this is another one of those kinds of project that needs to be looked at and ask is this really needed, and the timing of it is horrible. Not only because it is one of those projects that is visionary at best. She stated that there are 2 exits to the by-pass already out there. She stated that there has not been any new development in the Portage Prairie complex and given the economic stimulus of the country there won’t be any new development for some time. Ms. Havens stated that to stimulate the economy the money needs to be put back into the hands of the taxpayers and can be done by the cities lowering taxes. Ms. Havens stated that back in 1979 the City of South Bend did reduce property taxes by doing well on their investments and paid off projects. She stated that this could be done again if the City would quit spending money. She stated that given HB 1001 it could be done by “just reducing spending.” She stated just don’t do it, say no! Rebuttal, Mayor Luecke stated that Major Move’s dollars came to the City as a distribution of money from the lease of the Indiana Toll Road and comes with some restrictions from the State and how they are able to be used, generally for infrastructure and support of Economic Development activity. Clearly this meets that requirement the purchase of right-of-way for an important arterial to be fit into a transportation plan that makes sense for not only South Bend, but for the greater community. He stated that in South Bend, it was decided to put some of those funds into a trust fund, to be able to take 9