Cuyahoga Falls City Council holds regular meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Council committee meetings are held on the first and third Mondays in order to allow councilmembers to publicly discuss pending legislation that will be voted on at regular meetings. The public is free to comment on pending legislation during the allowed time set aside as part of committee meetings.
Finance & Appropriations discussed three pieces of legislation Tuesday night:
B-91: An ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of notes in the maximum principal amount of $1,255,000, in anticipation of the issuance of bonds, for the purpose of paying the costs of acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving, equipping and installing 3,400 lineal feet of sanitary sewer lines, 3,550 feet of water main lines and 8,000 lineal feet of electrical conduit wiring, related storm sewer lines and retention, erosion control and landscaping along Princeton Place Boulevard, Nottingham Trail, Bainbridge Trail and Kensington Court. Bryan Hoffman said these would be for one-year terms and the dedicated revenue source to repay the bonds would come from the project via the TIF that was established to pay for the infrastructure to bring our utilities to homes in the development. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council as a whole September 11.
B-92: An ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of notes in the maximum principal amount of $700,000, in anticipation of the issuance of bonds, for the purpose of paying the costs of the construction, reconstruction, widening, improving, grading, draining, and resurfacing of Wyoga Lake Road between Steels Corners Road and Seasons Road, together with all related and necessary appurtenances thereto. Hoffman explained that these one-year bonds will also use the TIF established for the new housing/commercial development on Wyoga Lake Road as their source of income and the funds will be used for improvements near the entrance to the development. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council as a whole September 11.
B-93: An ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of notes in the maximum principal amount of $145,000, in anticipation of the issuance of bonds, for the purpose of paying the costs of the design and engineering, construction, reconstruction, widening, improving, grading, draining and resurfacing of, and installation of traffic controls along, and the intersections of, State Road, Seasons Road and Wyoga Lake Road, and a traffic study of those roads and related areas, including but not limited to the extension, opening, improving, curbing or changing of the lines and traffic patterns of roads, highways, streets, intersections, bridges (both roadway and pedestrian), sidewalks, bikeways, medians and viaducts, providing signage, lighting systems, signalization, and installation of stormwater and flood remediation facilities, together with all related and necessary appurtenances thereto. These one-year bonds will also use the TIF established for the re-alignment of the intersection of State, Seasons, and Wyoga Lake roads. Hoffman referred to the project as the “Triangle.” The ordinance was amended to change the amount from $145,000 to $300,000. This legislation will cover the engineering cost of this project.
These projects would use the TIF funds both generated by both the development on Wyoga Lake Road and the Pine Ledges development on State Road. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote before council as a whole September 11.
The city uses TIF (Tax increment Financing) to help recover costs of placing new infrastructure in newly developed areas and to make changes to roadways and traffic patterns that come as a result of new development or redevelopment. These areas are defined and regulated by the state. The State of Ohio defines a TIF as “allowing the increase in assessed value of an improvement to real property to be exempt from real property taxation.” The property owner(s) instead makes Payments In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOTs) in an amount equal to only the increase in property taxes generated by the improvement.
To learn more, visit the states website https://development.ohio.gov/business/state-incentives/tax-increment-financing.
