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Grants Pass eyes urban renewal projects Comment By Madeline Shannon Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Madeline Shannon Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Jul. 12, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Madeline Shannon Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Jul. 12, 2016 at 12:01 AM --> IF YOU GO What: Open house on a proposed Grants Pass urban renewal plan When: 4-6 p.m. Wednesday Where: City Council Chambers, 101 N.W. A St., Grants P... » Read more X IF YOU GO What: Open house on a proposed Grants Pass urban renewal plan When: 4-6 p.m. Wednesday Where: City Council Chambers, 101 N.W. A St., Grants Pass » Social News A sweeping urban renewal project billed as increasing commercial and industrial property values in Grants Pass while creating jobs and removing blight will be the subject of an open house Wednesday. Projected to spend $105 million over 30 years, some of the proposed projects on the City Council's ambitious list include construction of a new water treatment plant, expansion of the wastewater plant and improvements to infrastructure on Northwest Vine Street and the Spalding Industrial Park — maybe even a convention center. Rather than a narrowly targeted area, the plan would cover 1,364 acres that include the commercial corridor and a slew of rundown properties along Redwood Highway and Redwood Avenue. "We're hoping this project makes Grants Pass more marketable, makes us look nicer and makes the city a better place to live," Assistant City Manager David Reeves said. Perhaps most importantly, said Reeves, "Your taxes are not going up." The open house will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday in the City Council Chambers, 101 N.W. A St., Grants Pass, followed by a public hearing by the Urban Area Planning Commission. The City Council will then hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 20. Grants Pass had an urban renewal agency that expired in 2008 after 20 years and was instrumental in Asante's buildout of Three Rivers Medical Center as well as commercial development along the Grants Pass Parkway. Using tax increment financing, the previous iteration also paid for roads, sidewalks, water and sewer lines and upgrades to Baker and Tussing parks. It generated an estimated $20 million that funded 66 projects, including about $13 million worth of infrastructure. This time around, the city's water treatment plant and wastewater plant top the wish list. The water treatment plant, on Southeast M Street, recently was found to have seismic issues, making it susceptible to destruction in the event of an earthquake. The city's experts say a new one is needed. The price tag: $56 million. That's not counting $20 million to expand the wastewater plant. However, because the proposed urban renewal area would cover 18 percent of the city, it can finance 18 percent of the cost. That works out to almost $11 million for the water treatment plant and about $3.6 million for the wastewater plant. Other projects on the list include a splash park and other improvements to Riverside Park and improvements to the Town Center Plaza in the heart of the city's downtown historic district. The current list of potential projects up for urban renewal isn't set in stone. "If one of these projects is offensive to citizens, the Urban Renewal Agency can still adopt the plan, but pull out that project," Reeves said. "The City Council actually compiled their ideas for the list. Some of the other lower-priority projects that didn't make the list were excluded because there just aren't enough resources to do everything." The way tax increment financing works to pay for urban renewal projects does not increase taxes. Under tax increment financing, government entities such as schools and municipalities that receive property tax revenue continue to get that money at the same level as when the district was formed. As property values increase in the district, tax revenue that is above that level goes to the agency to pay for infrastructure projects. Once the district expires, usually in 20 years, all property taxes return to the affected governments. Critics of tax increment financing bemoan the lost revenue to entities within the agency during the term of the project period. Supporters counter that, in the long run, property tax revenue goes up because of increased development and more jobs. "If it weren't for (urban renewal), all that area on the Parkway where Walmart and the big boxes are may not have developed," Reeves said. "What is that, a fifth of our town now?" The taxing districts that money will be collected from include the city of Grants Pass, Josephine County, the 4-H Extension, Grants Pass School District, Three Rivers School District, Rogue Community College and the Southern Oregon Education Service District. Although the urban renewal plan is structured to benefit the taxing districts who will pay for the plan, not everyone is on board with the current timeline. "Thirty years is a long time, and I would be more comfortable with a 20-year timeline," City Council President Dan DeYoung said. "One of the concerns I have is tying up that money in the urban renewal plan." Fortunately, if over the course of the 30 years the urban renewal plan is in effect the City Council decides to spend that money on another issue, the Urban Renewal Agency can be disbanded and the plan terminated. "The purpose of the renewal project is to decide who benefits from it," DeYoung said. "We're going to keep an eye on it and make sure it's good for the citizens." Reach reporter Madeline Shannon at 541-474-3813 or [email protected]. By Madeline Shannon Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Madeline Shannon Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Jul. 12, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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