| OCR Text |
Show Short-Funded RDA Still Optimistic Of City Revitalization By GARY R. BLODGETT News Editor BOUNTIFUL -- The city's Redevelopment Rede-velopment Agency (RDA) board of directors is looking toward revitalizing Bountiful's downtown business area -but only when funds become available. IN FACT, The RDA board had to approve an agreement to borrow "up to $350,000" from the city to maintain and operate the redevelopment agency for the remainder of 1983. After approving the agreement, the six-member board -- which comprises the mayor and five city council members mem-bers - agreed to spend up to $5,000" for conceptual drawings for revitalizing revitaliz-ing the city's downtown area. THE AGREEMENT was necessary, according to new RDA director Randy Sant, because the agency ran out of increment funds (from which the agen-... agen-... cy is operated) on March 1 and won't., receive this year's increment from the county (taxes) until after Dec. 31, 1983. j Until then, the agency will borrow from the city on a month-to-month basis" until property is sold or the agency otherwise receives revenue sufficient to continue its operation," the director explained. THE AGREEMENT specifies that the money borrowed will be used to pay employees, pay employee benefits, be-nefits, purchase necessary office supplies sup-plies and equipment, for legal and auditing au-diting fees, pay utilities, for administrative adminis-trative services, and to pay land acquisition ac-quisition costs on on current contractual contrac-tual indebtedness. The agreement also calls for repayment repay-ment of the "loan" with interest on the unpaid balance at a rate equivalent to the rate Bountiful is and will receive on invested funds during the same period of time. THE LOAN shall be repaid annually on the first business day in January with repayment funds coming from funds received as increment tax from the county for the prior year. In any event, all principal and interest shall be paid within five years from date of the loan. Meanwhile, a group of local architects are preparing "conceptual renderings" of a proposed downtown revitalization plan. THE RDA director and board stressed stres-sed that the renderings will be pencil sketches that are subject to changes. They also emphasized that the architects are doing the plans - featuring featur-ing landscaping, land uses and locations loca-tions of new businesses - "at cost" and are not compensated financially for their efforts. Board Chairman Dean S. Stahle emphasized: "NOTHING HAS been set jn con- crete. These plans are being used only as a starting point for talking, nothing more. We are attempting to revitalize, not revolutionize the city." He suggested that a couple of anchor stores be built in the downtown area -"stores that would attract new business busi-ness and not take business from existing ex-isting merchants." CHAIRMAN STAHLE also emphasized empha-sized that several public meetings and private sessions with property owners and merchants will be held before the (RDA) board makes a decision for any development or revitalization proposal. prop-osal. Bountiful resident John O'Hara said he "has 22 years in industry with architects and would like to offer his ideas - for a nice commission." MR. SANT told the board he had Continued on page 3 Short-Funded RDA ;till Optimistic Of City Revitalization Continued from page 1 1 ;cived quite a bit of interest from 1 t-of-statc developers wanting to p;u -; ipate i" an' revitaliation or ep;ui- m of the city. .1 ,"Ve have had several developers ntact us about proposed redevelop-imt redevelop-imt projects," he said. "Now it's u ' iter of puttinj; together some tenta- e proposals." c - rHK BOARD chairman said it would be premature to discuss any considcra-"ons considcra-"ons at this time but noted the architects had prepared "perhaps a halt doen preliminary concepts for revitalizing re-vitalizing the downtown area." Presently, there are no plans for a mall or major development in the city However, options are being left open tor expansion of the proposed hotel-convention hotel-convention center complex on 500 South east of 1-15, possible expansion 500 South east of 500 West, expansion ot existing shopping centers, and other projects that might be proposed. |
