OCR Text |
Show Woods Cross City offers to 'buy out ' Bountiful in joint RDA agreement the property taxes that will ultimately ultimate-ly come from it," said Linnell. "It strikes me as more self-serving self-serving than anything." Councilman Coun-cilman Harold Shafter said," It does show Woods Cross' willingness to work with us. ' ' Shafter was the only council member to comment on the letter in the council meeting. The city council will consider the proposal in council meeting Sept, By G.BRETT HART WOODS CROSS-Woods Cross City Administrator Bret Wahlen has a partial solution to the Bountiful Redevelopment Agency debt dilemma that has baffled city coun- cil and staff aliketurn the Gateway property, debt and all, over to Woods Cross. According to a letter sent from j Wahlen to Bountiful City Manager ; Tom Hardy and Mayor Robert Lin nell, Woods Cross will be happy to take the Gateway project off Bountiful Boun-tiful 's hands. The joint Bountiful-Woods Cross Gateway Project is responsible for $830,000 of the RDA's $2 million debt. The 1983 project, which converted con-verted Utah Department of Transportation property into a $7.3 million development project, was the first joint redevelopment project between two cities in Utah according accor-ding to Wahlen. In his letter, Wahlen proposes that Bountiful de-annex its portion of the Gateway project into Woods Cross City and Woods Cross RDA "consider assuming all the debt owed to the Gateway Project that both redevelopment agencies are liable for." Wahlen wrote that de-annexing the Gateway property would be beneficial in that it would relieve Bountiful of its $830,000 debt, ensure en-sure the continued success of the Gateway Project, benefit Woods Cross with additional commercial property and "straighten up confusing confus-ing city boundary lines." The Gateway debt is currently paid by tax increment. In other words, a portion of the Gateway property taxes paid by the properties proper-ties developers, which are assessed on the more valuable, developed property, is paid back to the developers. de-velopers. The developers use the money to pay off debts incurred in developing the property. Tax increment is used as an incentive in-centive to attract developers to risk development on RDA properties. Under the current tax increment system, Bountiful's portion of the Gateway debt will be paid by 1999. Linnell commented on Wahlen's letter in city council meeting Sept. 13, saying that he would assume Bountiful would have no interest in de-annexing prime commercial property. "In an effort to try and minimize the tax impact on our citizens and get economic development in commercial areas with the increased increas-ed tax base, it seems counterproductive counter-productive to me to de-annex prime commercial property and forgo all the sales tax revenues... along with |