City Council approves TIF proposal
By Jeremy Peppas \ Staff Writer \ jpeppas@nlrtimes.com
Thursday, January 8, 2009 2:04 PM CST
The North Little Rock City Council met in a special meeting on New Year’s Eve.
The topic was the proposed development downtown and an expanded Tax Increment Finance district.
The vote went as expected and the measure was approved 5-2 with Aldermen Cary Gaines and Debi Ross casting no votes. Neil Bryant was absent in his final meeting as an alderman. Mayor Patrick Hays voted yes twice on the emergency clause to get the necessary two-thirds vote.
Public discussion lasted for about 35 minutes and the meeting was not televised on local cable.
The expanded TIF connects three existing TIFs in downtown, and includes the Enclave Apartments and Argenta Place. Millage from the TIF would go to pay for a municipal parking deck that would be connected to a proposed 12-story hotel and convention center that would be built on the corner of Maple and Broadway streets. The hotel would have 130 rooms and 25,000 square feet of meeting space.
The hotel is estimated to cost $27 million and developer John Gaudin, who was among those who spoke at the meeting, is heading the project up.
The city-owned deck would have 300 spaces and attorneys for the Wyndham Riverfront and its owner, Frank Fletcher, had questioned if that was enough.
Alderman Murry Witcher said at the meeting that the area was zoned C-6 and that meant, “no required number of parking spaces.”
When asked by the council if the TIF that was proposed was illegal, city attorney Jason Carter said that, “I just don’t have that opinion.”
Carter added that after extensive research and working with outside counsel on what had been proposed, connected three existing TIFs and connecting them through city streets, was legal.
The North Little Rock School District has been vocal in its opposition to the proposal and school board members spoke at the meeting and then after.
“I just don’t think that it is right,” said Trent Cox. “It was the school district that put forth the millage and I don’t think that the city can come in and then get the millage.”
The expanded TIF would divert a portion of the 59.4 mills that is currently levied on property in North Little Rock and push a portion to pay for the parking deck.
Ken Kirspel, the superintendent of schools for North Little Rock, said Tuesday that the school was still exploring it legal options.
“We really hadn’t had much communication since that night,” Kirspel said. “The board meeting is next week and I’m sure we’ll have some discussion then, but I haven’t talked to the board president since to see what is going to happen.”
