by Frank Lee
operations@thenewsleaders.com
The St. Joseph City Council and the Economic Development Authority established an economic-development district at a March 22 meeting in order to create a proposed government center.
The EDA and the council met in special session Feb. 25 to discuss a proposed government center and financing; the EDA voted to authorize the issuance of public-project revenue bonds as an alternative financing source.
“When the city was looking at financing the government center we’re going to be building, we had looked at two different financing mechanisms,” said City Administrator Judy Weyrens of the estimated $4.8 million it would take to build a government center.
“Part of the process of issuing public-project revenue bonds requires you set up an economic development district, so the hearing the EDA had was to set up that district, so if we wanted to issue bonds to finance the government center, we would have the district to do it in.”
The district is a 16-acre parcel known as Colt’s Academy; placing the parcel in the district “allows for flexibility in financing other developments in the project to include the remodeling/addition of a community center or any other building that would be constructed on the site.”
“We included that whole parcel because there is a lot of open land – at least 10 acres that is open,” Weyrens said of the purchase in September, which was bought for more than $2 million.
“We don’t have any plans right now to do anything with the district …,” Weyrens added. “But we would have had to establish the economic development district if we were going to issue bonds for the government center, for building on that property.”
