By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Undeveloped land at the Whitewater Technology and Business Park will again be repurposed for growing crops in 2016 as part of a plan backed recently by the city’s Community Development Authority.
Hoping to make some form of an investment on the property in its oversight, the CDA on Sept. 24 approved leasing out the property throughout the year to a local agriculturalist at a rate of $155 per acre.
With 102 tillable acres in the equation, the CDA stands to net $15,810 for making the property available for farming purposes. The CDA solicited bids for the lease arrangement and awarded a contract to the person providing the highest quote.
In other business Sept. 24, the CDA:
- Discussed, but did not take action, on the governing organization’s 2016 budget. Executive Director Patrick Cannon presented the CDA with a proposed operating budget of $189,316, up from the $177,456 budget in 2015.
In general, Cannon said there are few changes to the budget in year-over-year comparisons — at least on the expenditure side of the ledger.
“We have minimal expenses for daily operations,” Cannon said. “The vast majority of our costs are for personnel, as we are a service department.”
However, in terms of revenue, there are several potential changes on the horizon, including a quest to net dollars through a federal Urban Development Action Grant program to assist one aspect of CDA governance that has been underperforming.
The UDAG funding is partially tied to the city’s fourth tax incremental financing (TIF) district, which has been classified as “distressed.” The city has more than a half-dozen TIF districts operating at the moment.
TIF is a mechanism that allows municipalities to borrow money for infrastructure improvements. The increased property tax revenue from the improved land is then diverted from the tax rolls to pay off the loan.
A portion of the CDA’s budget is linked to the City of Whitewater’s municipal budget. For this reason, officials will continue combing through the document in upcoming months, in concert with what is taking place on a larger municipal scale.
- Discussed policies concerning loan paybacks from local businesses. In narrow circumstances, the CDA issues loans — including, but not limited to, modest start-up projects — and a repayment schedule is hashed out.
An undisclosed loan recipient is backlogged on repaying a loan. Case in point: The CDA received the recipient’s April payment in September. Jeff Knight, chair of the CDA, implored staffers to be more diligent in tracking payments.
“I think not making a call (to a delinquent payee) is not a solution,” Knight said. “Whether it’s a CDA function or a city function, this is not acceptable.”
- Awarded a $10,000 capital catalyst grant to Scanalytics, a growing company with Whitewater roots. The company, which is planning to soon return its headquarters to the city, is described as a sensor-based analytical platform provider.
The CDA also awarded Scanalytics a $95,000 royalty investment loan that can be pumped into the company’s operations plan.
- Approved a series of covenants and restrictions for the Whitewater Business Park.
