By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Two public hearings held prior to council meeting led the council to adopt the resolutions necessary to adopt a draft plan and budget for the community reinvestment area proposed for south Nephi. “This reinvestment project provides a mid-level hotel service that is not currently offered in the city,” said Mark Jones, mayor. “In the council meeting on September 19, the draft plan and budget for the community reinvestment area were presented for public input,” said Seth Atkinson, Nephi City Administrator. According to Chapter 1-5B of the Nephi City Code, the Community Reinvestment Agency is composed of the members of the Nephi City Council. “You will need to put on another hat,” said Atkinson. “You will act as the agency to pass two resolutions and then will reconvene as a council to pass an ordinance.” “Over the course of the project, the taxes are estimated to increase from a current level of $741 per year to over $60,000 per year,” said Atkinson. “This would be an over 8,000 percent increase.” The taxes would then be returned to the various taxing entities as the success of the business brought more taxes to the area than had been previously paid. It would be a question of giving up the small amount, said Jones, to gain much more in the end. Greg Rowley, council member, said that the city makes most of its money not from property tax but from sales tax and this would bring an increase in sales tax. “It is anticipated that complementary development would occur around this development also and 100 percent of the taxes from these developments would be returned to the participating taxing entities,” said Atkinson. “The city’s contributions to the CRA decrease in years 6 and 11 of the plan.” There would be an increase in the city’s taxes as participation rates decrease. Infrastructure, such as electricity, water and sewer connections would also be needed, said Don Ball, resident. A developer had looked at the area, Jones said. Nephi would be a good place to have a mid-tier hotel with a conference room that would draw conferences and workshops of 60 to 70 people. “Nephi is centrally located,” he said. “It is a pristine location.” The hotel developers knew what was needed to meet the necessary numbers to make the business successful, said Jones. By creating the reinvestment agency, the city would make it possible for the developers to obtain grants and the tax incentive. If those were not possible, then they would not build. The October 17 public hearings drew seven interested persons, three of whom asked questions and offered public feedback on these documents. Josh Steed asked if the city thought there was a need for a conference room, a mid-tier hotel and why the city was having to invest in the venture. “Is there a need?” he asked. “What will this do to the motels already in Nephi?” “We feel that there is a need for different levels of accommodations,” said Jones. “We just know what we have turned away.” For example, professionals who had visited Nephi for business would often travel to Provo and back because they liked a certain level of hotel and wanted that extra comfort. There were also people who were traveling who were happy for a clean bed and a shower. This project increases the variety of retail services offered in the city and also draws traffic from I-15 to engage in economic activity within the city, thus increasing the sales tax base. “This would be a jump start,” said Skip Worwood. The Spanish Fork area offered similar incentives when Costco wanted to locate there, said Jones. Now the area was a bustling business section. From the City’s General Plan, this project fulfills the following goals: Enhances the economic tax base and provides opportunities for retail goods and services. “One objective of this goal is to reduce the amount of retail sales leakage to other counties,” said Atkinson. It is important to improve and diversify the local economy in order to ensure a sustainable economic base and increased job creation, said Rowley. According to municipal population projections from the Utah Governors Office of Management and Budget, Nephi will jump from 5,389 in 2010 to 7,232 in 2020 and to 14,465 by 2060. “In the next step for the creation of the CRA,” said Atkinson, “interlocal agreements have been drafted and will be presented to the various agencies for their approval. If the entities approve these agreements, then the council will be the final entity to adopt the interlocal agreement.” At this point, the details for bond issuance would be worked out, a bond issued, and the developer would then compile all resources to begin construction on the project. Following the public hearings, the Community Reinvestment Agency, voted for Resolution 10-17-17-A approving the Draft Nephi South Main Street Community Reinvestment Project Area Plan as the official Project Area Plan. They also voted for Resolution 10-17-17-B approving the Draft Nephi South Main Street Community Reinvestment Project Area Budget as the official Project Area Budget. The city council also adopted an ordinance to approve the CRA plan. The ordinance adopting the Nephi South Main Street Community Reinvestment Project Area Plan, as approved by the Nephi City Community Reinvestment Agency, was voted as the official Community Reinvestment Project Area Plan by city ordinance.
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