Draft TIF Timetable

December 2nd, 2006

You can download a draft copy of the Proposed TIF Timetable dated 11/8/06 as a PDF here.

9 Responses to “Draft TIF Timetable”

  1. wrote on Dec 14, 2006 at 9:05 am   Alisa Jerz

    Is it true that there have been past plans to establish a TIF district in Riverside? What were the reasons it was not established back then?

  2. wrote on Dec 14, 2006 at 11:13 pm   G Tkalec

    Hi Alisa,

    Approximately six or seven years ago mention of the possibility of creating a TIF district was put forth by the EDC (Economic Development Commission). We were pushing more for the “Main Street” program which sounded more flexible. Unfortunately, the village did not have the funds to match for the participation of this program at the time. A TIF district was discussed and investigated by our committee but never reached the level or expenditure it has at present. A TIF district did not seem like the way to go at the time because of the unique situation we have in Riverside. I hope this helps in answering your question.

  3. wrote on Dec 19, 2006 at 5:09 pm   MikeTomecek

    G Tkalec,

    Can you expand on the what the unique situation is in Riverside that made a TIF not to be a good fit?

    mike t

  4. wrote on Jan 04, 2007 at 12:53 am   G Tkalec

    I apologize for the timeliness of my reply but I have been attending to some family matters.

    To answer your question I feel that the current unique situations that Riverside was and still is in are;
    1. The entire village is a National Historic Landmark and the more input we receive from outside sources such as developers takes away the village’s character bit by bit. I see it happening with the heights of the curbs on the streets being repaired. With the grant money we accept and then must comply to the grant’s specifications which may or may not match with our aesthetics. I do agree that the Village should be repaired and maintained on an ongoing basis, but it should be done with the utmost care and foresight to preserve our historical status and character. How many entire towns do you know of with our historical status? Its something to be really proud of in this day and age.
    2. Our village requires more maintenance per square foot than most surrounding towns.
    3. The percentage of residents that use the Riverside Public Library is one of the highest in Illinois.
    4. The population of children has risen dramatically in the past few years and will continue to grow in the upcoming years according to the Dist.96 School Superintendant.
    5. Riverside has 2 business districts, one in the center of town and the other on Harlem Avenue. Its a no-brainer to me as to which area would generate more revenue for the Village. One is tricky to get to or the other (Harlem Ave.)which literally has thousands of vehicles going past everyday. The stretch of Harlem in Riverside could generate far more revenue than could our central business district.

    I’m sure I’ve missed a few but that’s a good start. I hope this has been helpful in answering your question.

  5. wrote on Jan 04, 2007 at 10:03 am   MikeTomecek

    Yes, it has. EVERYBODY: THIS IS IT!

    IF TIF WAS NOT RIGHT BEFORE FOR THE REASONS GIVEN, IT IS *NOT RIGHT NOW*.

    WE ARE STILL A NAT’L HISTORIC LANDMARK. BUT WE ARE ERODING OUR CHARM BIT BY BIT, DEGREE by DEGREE.

    WE NEED A SCALPEL AND NOT A CIRCULAR SAW IN THE CBD!

    WE ARE DIFFERENT, UNIQUE. WE ARE NOT EVEN FLOOSMOOR!

    BLANK FLOORSMOOR!

    Mike T

  6. wrote on Jan 10, 2007 at 2:00 pm   JGage

    We are eroding our charm bit-by-bit? Well whats your scapel? What’s your solution MT? To tell the Village to sit on their hands and let developers do what they want?

    You know my mom heard the same thing from people like you 30+ years ago about mall and N.Riverside got it and her property taxes went up while N.Riverside went down.

    We all know your position, why don’t you list solutions and not complaints

  7. wrote on Jan 11, 2007 at 11:50 am   Catherine

    Where is the invitation to join the Budget Committee that I saw on the Village website yesterday? It said they wanted CCR members to join. Now it is not there. Anyway, you can email Pres Wiaduck to the left here.

    Catherine

  8. wrote on Jan 14, 2007 at 1:11 am   MikeTomecek

    JGage,

    The time for a consideration of a TIF and tools is not now. Just because the village is foisting this on us now does not mean that it is appropriate.

    Rather, we need to roll up our sleeves and work out an agreed-upon vision for riverside. THEN we should rigorously assess what tools are appropriate for us to achieve that vision. When assessing the tools, we want to make sure the tool does not put at risk the core assets of Riverside’s identity which would be fleshed out and detailed in the vision product.

    We should be clear on what we need and what we want the Village to ‘look and feel’ like. mini op and Lagrange, or quiet and mayberry? This has been called a comprehensive plan by some. The board has construed this as something that is done in Dupage or Kane county where they are building out their muni’s out of big swaths of cornfields, and therefore not necessary and appropriate for a landlocked Riverside.

    This is not the sense that I am thinking of ‘comprehensive plan’. As Trustee Smith said, almost rightly, we have a comprehensive plan, and it was authored by Olmsted. However, we DO have some non-olmsted space that CAN be assessed for redevelopment. this space is Harlem (mostly by Burlington), and the cbd. maybe Ogden too?

    So we should be looking at all of this non Olmsted space to see how it can best be redeveloped to satisfy our vision and requirements.

    The fact that our non Olmsted space is not so big and the fact that in this space we have a legacy to protect (vs mere cornfields), is all the more reason to generate the vision product FIRST before breaking dirt. Because the space IS relatively small and we cannot posit new roads and the like to support the new elements we cannot make too many, if any mistakes.

    Any mistake is really magnified in Riverside’s small and ‘charmimg’ space.

    It reminds me of packing my minivan for the two week summer vacation in which we go camping. If I load stuff whenever I get it, invariably it ends up wrong: stuff obstructing the rear view, stuff making everyone uncomfortable for the long trip etc.

    In the information systems development world, of which I am a member, the tif is a detail item that is akin to doing the coding and testing. We do not do any coding and testing before a requirements and high level design phases are done.

    The upcoming workshops could be a start for the generation of this vision product. But they could also be mere educational sessions on the current tif proposal. I am not sure.

    As far as tools available right now: Didn’t we spend over a hundred thousand dollars and countless village admin hours on the B2 ordinance? Maybe we should let that be our tool for redevelopment for now.

    miket

  9. wrote on Jan 17, 2007 at 9:45 am   Former Resident

    I lived in Riverside for 25 years and have also experienced the La Grange like growth/TIF’s and no one wants to go there! Riverside is a one of a kind, a “jewel”. There aren’t many communities like this around and if I still lived there, I would want to keep it that way. I come from generations that grew up there would hate to see it become a La Grange!