Cloverdale council deals with EDA plan, employment

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale Town Council met for its monthly meeting Tuesday evening to not only continue discussion on the town's utility department employment issues, but to discuss the proposed new Economic Development Area.

With the town having terminated the employment of three of its employees over the past two months, Interim Town Manager Wayne Galloway came before the council to give a brief update on just how well things are going.

Wayne told council members that despite being down some employees, things are running fairly smoothly in large part thanks to Water Superintendent Richard Saucerman.

"Richard and I have done 105 work orders since Nov. 14," Wayne said. "We've been all over. We've been very busy."

Wayne also informed the council that with the help of utility worker Mark Couch, Saucerman and himself have already begun interviewing for the replacements of the two terminated employees who refused to take a drug test last month.

"We've been doing a lot of interviews," Wayne noted. "We've done at least four interviews for equipment operator and at least six for operators. I think we've got who we want. We're just waiting on the salary ordinance. It's a good bunch of guys."

With the council having advised Clerk-Treasurer Cheryl Galloway to look into town finances to see if it is possible to hire a town manager rather than a utility superintendent last month, Cheryl informed council members that there is indeed money to do so. However, before the hiring process begins the salary ordinance must be amended.

"It's just Wayne and Richard doing this (the town's utility work)," Cheryl said. "So, we had to hurry up and create a new salary ordinance because when Wayne does the interviews he doesn't know what to tell them we are going to pay and we are within our budget."

Cheryl gave council members the proposed changes in the salary ordinance. However, the council chose to table the issue until later in the month when it holds a special end of the year meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.

It was also noted that once the amended salary ordinance is approved, the town will then begin looking for a permanent town manager.

Wayne, who is also head of the Redevelopment Commission, also informed the council that the Cloverdale Economic Development Area (EDA) was unanimously approved by the commission last Thursday. With it having gained approval from the commission, it now must pass through the council.

The new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, which aims to produce move revenue to help with town improvements, will encompass nearly all major commercial areas besides the Fresh Start property and the Cloverdale Truck Stop. This new district does not apply to residential areas and for the most part has no effect on the taxpayers.

"The TIF area is an economic development tool that the state allows communities to implement and it's primarily to help pay for infrastructures," Putnam County Development Center Executive Director Bill Dory explained. "Cloverdale currently has a TIF area with C-Bar-C Arena. The funds from that TIF area were used to improve the road and extend water and sewer out to the site."

Dory went on to note that the way TIF works is the Redevelopment Commission, in cooperation with the Town Council, declares a geographic area a TIF district and the assessed value is then "frozen." Thus, that frozen assessed value in that particular area continues to be shared among the taxing units.

"For easy argument and demonstration, the C-bar-C Area, the site had an assessed value of let's say $10,000," Putnam County Development Center Executive Director Bill Dory explained. "After the arena was built the site and the improvements, the site was just farm ground before, it's worth $100,000. The increment is the $90,000 so, the base $10,000 in assessed value that was before the arena was built continues to be used as a tax base for the schools, the town, the library and the county. The Redevelopment Commission then captures the $90,000 assessed value as a result of the development and the revenue that generated off of that can be used to provide the infrastructure that helped that investment come about."

When that infrastructure is paid off the assessed value then can go back to the other taxing units in the future. However in the meantime, the town benefits from increased food and beverage tax revenue, employment, revenue and more economic activity.

"This tool would allow the town to help pay for improvements," Dory added. "We actually tried this a couple years ago and for some reason it didn't move forward. We've been working on this one since the summer."

The proposed new TIF district will incorporate the area around the I-70 interchange as well as some of the U.S. 231 corridor through town.

"Right now, there's no projects on the books," Dory said. "To have this tool in place when something were to happen would be very helpful. Right now, people continue to delay their investment decisions until the last minute and that puts pressure on local communities in terms of how they respond to supporting any kind of future development."

With the council having unanimously approved Resolution 2014-13, the EDA plan will now return to the Redevelopment Commission where it will undergo several more steps.

"There's three additional steps prior to the adoption of this," Dory said. "One is by statute we are required to notify taxing units and certain departments here in town. We also have to advertise for a public hearing at an upcoming session of the Redevelopment Commission. After that the Redevelopment Commission must pass a confirmed resolution and then the EDA will go into effect."

Dory also noted that although the commission could pass the EDA in December, he would like to meet with the new Cloverdale Superintendent Greg Linton as well as South Putnam Superintendent Bruce Bernhardt as a professional courtesy prior to final approval.