Hillsboro to establish Community Improvement Corporation
The Highland County Press
Hillsboro City Council members considered an ordinance to establish a city Community Improvement Corporation and voted to allow the Highland County YMCA to move forward with plans to become a branch of the Cincinnati YMCA during their April 13 meeting.
Finance committee chairman Dick Donley hosted several meetings on the YMCA issue since late March.
“[YMCA board president Deb Jones] advised that the Y had been struggling for quite some time, and in the absence of a director, the board had been overseeing the day-to-day operations at the Y,” Donley said.
“Present membership income received was not enough to continue the operation as it is and to meet the debt operations. The loan debt is about $700,000, and after some discussion with the board, they decided to enter into a contract with the Cincinnati YMCA in February 2014.”
That contract is set to expire in June, Donley said.
After another meeting with “past and present board members,” along with Cincinnati YMCA administrators, Donley said it was discussed that “for the local Y to continue as a stand-alone YMCA, they probably wouldn’t be able to continue in that fashion without Cincinnati becoming involved.”
Donley said that the committee determined that having the city “entertain some fashion of refinancing, and managing the facility” was “not an option.”[[In-content Ad]]
Donley said the committee moved to continue forward with the Highland County YMCA’s partnership with the Cincinnati YMCA organization, which council accepted by a 7-0 vote. City law director Fred Beery will now be working with the YMCA on a contract and looking into “dropping reversionary interest.”
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Council members heard the first reading of an ordinance to create a city Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), a idea which was originally presented at the September 2014 council meeting.
According to the ordinance, the CIC would be established “for the purpose of advancing, encouraging and promoting the industrial, economic, commercial and civic development of the city of Hillsboro.”
Council president Lee Koogler pointed out that he serves “as the city’s liaison” to the Highland County CIC.
“I would probably propose another name so as not to confuse it with it the one that’s existed since 1968,” Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings said.
Hastings told council that he had selected “local attorney Greg Vanzant, financial CPA Christopher Lewis and insurance agency uptown owner Buck Wilkin” as a potential board of directors for the CIC, if approved.
“The sky’s the limit with the CIC as an economic development entity,” Hastings said. “It can be as simple as a pass-through when we’re selling a piece of property, i.e. the old bus barn property. They can be in the development end of it.
“We could turn over the Colony Theatre, for example, to the CIC, if the CIC has an interest in developing the Colony or doing whatever else the council wished to do. They can do things according to whatever our wishes would be.”
Hastings said that the proposed CIC would not encompass the city’s “total economic development effort,” but would be “one of the tools” they could use.
“It would operate way past this administration and be kind of a separate, hopefully reasonably nonpolitical entity that is really just for the promotion of economic development,” Hastings said.
One of the issues council will need to determine is funding for the entity, Hastings said, and suggested that the matter be placed in the finance committee.
“It can be funded through grants,” Hastings said. “It can be funded with city properties that the CIC can then turn around and develop, because they’re in the private marketplace.”
“Direct funding” is also an option, Hastings said.
“I think regardless of what the city does with this proposed CIC, the city needs to continue to be involved with the county CIC,” Koogler said. “There’ll be projects that are countywide or that may involve Hillsboro’s interests.”
“Us forming a city CIC in no way negates or dilutes our interest in this county CIC,” Hastings said. “The two CICs may do things together. Greenfield has its own CIC aside from the county CIC.
Safety and service director Todd Wilkin said the CIC could be used to “recoup” expenses in tearing down blighted properties.
“With the CIC, because they are a private entity, real estate can sell at market value within a CIC,” Wilkin said. “If the city were to condemn a home and then down that home, we would have costs involved in that.
“If the CIC owns that property, the CIC can sell that property for market value, so they can try to recoup any actual costs incurred to tear down the building.”
Hastings agreed, citing a potential example situation.
“Say there’s … a big chronic problem property for the city, and say it’s going up for sheriff’s sale for $11,000,” Hastings said. “It’s a big hassle to come to you and say ‘hey, can we buy this $11,000 property? It would be a lot easier than throwing cops and EMS and code after it all the time.’
“The CIC, if they have $11,000, could say ‘we’ll buy the thing’ if we said ‘hey, CIC, would you buy that subject property, please, on behalf of the city so we can get rid of it?’”
Koogler asked council for their thoughts on taking action on the ordinance.
“I say a first reading is good for now,” Justin Harsha said.
Bill Alexander seconded the motion.
Koogler asked for other council members’ thoughts.
“I was going to suspend the three-reading rule,” Ann Morris said.
“I was too,” Tracy Aranyos said.
“I don’t see any need to rush through it,” Rebecca Wilkin said.
Klein indicated she wanted to suspend the three-reading rule as well, but Koogler said that the ordinance would receive its first reading only.
“We’re informally 3-3 without a vote,” Koogler said. “The three-reading rule won’t be getting suspended. We would have to have five members to suspend the three-reading rule.”