THANKS, Katie, for clarifying this. I am sorry if I mislead anyone with fragment dropping.
Starting with me, let's try to have better communication.
Merry Christmas
mike
Riverside Info » About Riverside
TIFs hidden costs
(122 posts)-
Posted Friday Dec 22, 2006 12:20 #
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I see no evidence that you misled anyone. You reported we were educated; now it appears it is the Board that is educated. You did not even start that discussion.
Why are the people on Pine Street catching such hell? What is going on there with buildings being taken off the list, others left on, some never being put on? Perhaps that can be explained to us as well.
Posted Friday Dec 22, 2006 12:44 # -
Why are any of our tax dollars funding studies for things that will never happen? I have just heard something about the police pension being short. Wouldn't all these studies monies be better spent funding the police? The parking garage concept, people being displaced, boutique hotel, it is all absolute hooey. What percentage of Riversiders would vote in favor of funding a parking garage, that they would want our neighbor displaced unwillingly? Of course Metra mostly funded the TOD, but we pitched in something. Is anyone from the Village actually responsible to read this stuff and advise the studies author what is actually and realistically palatable, feasible, reasonable, doable? Or is this all my fault for not attending more public meetings that I can't speak at?
Posted Thursday Jan 11, 2007 07:28 # -
Not to derail the topic, but pensions are underfunded all across Illinois and the United States, not just in Riverside. It's going to be a huge mess in the near future:
Posted Thursday Jan 11, 2007 11:09 # -
What Smith said the other night was they may not meet police PAYROLL, which is even worse! As to pensions, few in the private sector are offered those anymore, and the few that had them are having them taken away. (Of course, these men and women risk their lives and so deserve extra consideration.)
Posted Thursday Jan 11, 2007 11:21 # -
Ms. KimJ I can answer you as to why those studies are funded. The states and feds require them.
I worked on a development in 1998 which mandated several studies had to be done by the local government in order to both qualify for federal funding and to be allowed to build by Illinois and feds. Now the developer picked up the cost of some of studies, b/c we knew would get the development.
But here is the kicker, many of these studies have expiration dates on them like cheese. Not exactly, but basically the feds/state say to you local government or developer your study was done six years ago the time limit is a "recent" study i.e. no more than five years. Well yours is six years old, too bad, so sad, by law you have to do that $30,000 dollar study all over again before we give you money or we give that state license to build a gasoline storage tank or stadium, whatever etc etc.
The problem is you get a new board, move forward with some ideas, commission some of the "required" studies in order to see if you "qualify, fit description, feasible area"(pick your word) then something changes, usually public open from my experience, sit on the study for several years and then views change again. The government is looking to develop or build again but by that time your study has grown legal mold and expired. Mall developers hate these study requirements but a big player the EPA is the EPA.
From my previous post in another area, this assumes that a large developer has not moved in and is planning to litigate to move forward. Then public opinion is a little different issue but usually if a developer had moved in the community is farther along the building/development time line.
Posted Saturday Jan 13, 2007 17:35 # -
JGage,
So what you are telling us is that we had a LEGAL obligation to partially fund Metra's TOD? Why? If we as a village had no intention of building a parking structure why would we have to pay for a study about one?Posted Sunday Jan 14, 2007 13:09 # -
KimJ -- yes, sort of --i read the TOD study and it had a lot of other options - you're focusing on a single thing. For example lets say no parking garage was involved -- lets say the TIF was just going to "landscape" the downtown and fix up roads as an example there may be legal study requirements. (note: no one should read more into this example, its just an example) I don't know the details of TIF but before you, village, people could say yes lets do that the state and feds would say you have to do a study. Why do you have to do a study, i don't know, ask the feds or the state.
think of it this way for many things, actually ALL things the only studies really required by local governments are building plans. I use this somewhat loosely b/c big cities NY, Chicago, LA probably have some study requirements. But the reality is most studies are required by the state govt's and federal govt's in order for local governments to be allowed to do things.
So take all the negative things out of the TIF or TOD or whatever and it left you with 1 good thing you liked and you said "hey we, the village residents, will support the village doing this 1 thing, you(the village) probably would not be allowed to do it by the states/feds before a study was done. From my experience, most towns aren't that keen on being told by the state/feds you have to spend $$ on this report, let alone the developer who is then told by the town you want this development help pick up some of the $$.
Trust me, in the scheme of things if this leads, and for mom sake, to positive changes in the downtown area, and the Village got someone else to foot a large portion of bill for a study which i would place a $10 dollar bet that there was a 90% percent chance that you would had to have had the study anyways their doing good. From my experience governments have no problem cutting things out such as the parking lot.
Posted Monday Jan 15, 2007 10:03 # -
Moral: the less government, the better. Let the market sort this matter out.
Posted Monday Jan 15, 2007 17:44 # -
Mr. Spatny - your post was moved from here to a new thread:
http://www.riversideinfo.org/forum/topic.php?id=103&replies=1#post-1362
Thank you.
Posted Monday Jan 15, 2007 21:11 #
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