Tag: TIF districts
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Wichita City Hall confusion leads to evaporation of confidence
Reporting in the Wichita Eagle by Brent Wistrom (City vows to better vet its partners, Sunday December 15, 2008) has revealed a city staff confused as to basic procedures for safeguarding citizens’ taxes, not to mention their trust.
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Wichita Public Hearing Action Not Evidence of Leadership
In an op-ed piece in Sunday’s Wichita Eagle, Interim Wichita City Manager Scott Moore makes the case that “the [Wichita city] council’s Dec. 2 vote demonstrated leadership and an ability to respond decisively to urgent community matters after appropriate public deliberations.”
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Dion Lefler: Problems With Wichita Developer Uncovered
On the KPTS television public affairs program Kansas Week yesterday, Wichita Eagle reporter Dion Lefler talks about problems he uncovered with a developer the City of Wichita wants to partner with. I chime in a little.
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Problems with Open Government in Wichita
On the KPTS television public affairs program Kansas Week yesterday, I spoke about some problems with a public hearing regarding a controversial matter in Wichita.
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Wichita TIF Developer’s Ownership Restructuring not Very Reassuring
Recent reporting by the Wichita Eagle uncovered troubling facts from the past of a developer the city is considering partnering with.
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No Diligence in Wichita City Hall
Rhonda Holman’s Wichita Eagle editorial today (Need vetting of City Hall partners) correctly states that city staff “missed the mark in vetting negotiator Grant Gaudreau.” Or is the proper title “principal developer,” as stated by Wichita’s director of urban development Allen Bell? (See Wichita’s Faulty Due Diligence for video.)
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Wichita’s Faulty Due Diligence
In the Wichita city council meeting on December 2, 2008, council member Jim Skelton questioned Allen Bell, Wichita’s director of urban development, about developers the city is considering working with on a TIF district. Specifically, Skelton asked if there was anything in the backgound of the developers that the council should be concerned about. Bell…
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Jeff Fluhr’s Decision
At the December 2, 2008 meeting of the Wichita City Council, Jeff Fluhr, the new president of the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation, spoke on behalf of the expansion of the Center City South Redevelopment District, commonly known as the downtown Wichita arena TIF district. Attending the meeting with him were several members of that organization’s…
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Letters to Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission Regarding Downtown Wichita TIF District
John Todd has prepared letters that we hope will influence local governments regarding the downtown Wichita TIF district. One, to the Wichita City Council, asks them to conduct a proper public hearing. A second letter to the Sedgwick County Commissioners asks them to not consider passing this TIF district until Wichita conducts a proper public…
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The Process Should Be Most Important
A confusing move last week by the Wichita City Council didn’t help build public trust, unfortunately. Without time for public consideration, city leaders added up to $10 million for parking structures to the proposed tax-increment financing plan for the 16-block area around the arena; the council unanimously approved the plan Tuesday.
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Wichita Taxes Cancel Development
Carrie Rengers’ Wichita Eagle column from yesterday (Warehouse plans near airport are called off) reports on two Wichita real estate developers who have canceled a project that would be a valuable addition to our city. The reason for canceling? Wichita’s property tax environment. In Wichita, we’re separating real estate development into two classes. There are…
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Many Wichita developers pay for infrastructure
I think this perception, wrong as it is, is common: that when we see developers building something, the City of Wichita magically builds the supporting infrastructure, and at no cost to the developers. But it isn’t quite so.