The fate of the Sashabaw Corridor Improvement Authority rests with a county ad-hoc committee, set to make a presentation to the county finance committee Thursday, Dec 6.
‘Even if this Ad Hoc committee recommends to the finance committee, they may vote it down and then it’s done and doesn’t move any farther. If the finance committee passes it and it goes to the full board, the full board could still turn it down. They (the township) are a long ways from getting it,? said Tom Middleton of Clarkston, Oakland County commissioner.
Independence Township Board of Trustees and Oakland County have been working on the business corridor improvement agreement for about a year and a half. Over that time, the ad hoc committee has changed criteria for the CIA at least three times, said Independence Township Trustee Dan Kelly.
‘We as a township have spent quite a bit of money going back and forth with this Ad Hoc committee,? Kelly said. ‘Finally it became clear in the last meeting (Nov. 6, 2007) that this Ad Hoc committee is just going to keep asking questions and ask for more and more information and we’re never going to get a final decision out of them.?
The township is finished trying to meet the changed requirements, he said.
‘We’ve gone around and around with this for a year and half. It’s pretty clear what we want to do with this CIA there are no real questions needed to be answered,? said Kelly. ‘I understand the county is not immune to economic trouble either, and there may be some legitimate reasons for them to be concerned about this CIA. I am not ignorant to all that, but just come out and tell us that then.?
Independence Township planner Dick Carlisle of Carlisle/Wortman Assoc, Inc. said nothing can be done until the county acts.
‘It’s unfortunate frankly. The township has worked diligently to try and put this together in a proper way and we’ve faced with sort of the shifting sands with how the other taxing jurisdictions, primarily the county has viewed this over time,? he said. ‘I think we’ve felt that we’ve been doing everything that we have been asked to do. And now the criterion is being changed again.?
Carlisle said Independence he is still keeping in close contact with some of the county staff, they have been working with.
‘We are still hopeful to come to an agreement,? said Carlisle.
The biggest issue is jobs, Middleton said.
‘There is a big hunk of their (the townships) Corridor Improvement to bury electric lines, does buried electric lines bring jobs? Does somebody say I am not going to build something there because of the overhead lines? I don’t think they do,? he said.
Middleton said the Mclaren project was one of the issues discussed early on when the CIA was approved by the board.
‘It was known that Mclaren was coming, whether there was a CIA or not. And that’s what they did, they came. For us (the county) to participate didn’t make any difference to Mclaren,? said Middleton.
The original CIA proposal included widening the Sashabaw Road bridge over I-75, widening the remaining portions of Sashabaw Road, installing sanitary relief sewer from Liberty Square to Maybee Road, constructing a new well with iron removal near Pine Knob and the DTE Energy Music Theater, and installing a new safety path from I-75 to Clarkston Road.
The CIA functions similarly to a Downtown Development Authority, allowing communities to capture tax revenues generated from increased value of properties within the district to be used for improvements in the area. Public Act 280 was signed into law by Governor Jennifer Granholm on Dec. 19, 2005.
Kelly said he was “not a great supporter of the initial CIA plan because I thought it was too broad. We were basically siphoning off a lot of money for a lot of projects up along Sashabaw, when it was originally introduced.?
After months of negotiation, the board was able to come up with a ‘modest? proposal that covered the basics, he said.
‘There was some landscaping, road improvements, some monies put up for some aesthetics, burying overhead lines,? he said. ‘We really whittled it down to a very moderate investment of monies to really is what is going to be long-term needed, primarily the road improvements.?
Middleton said the township’s proposal is not what he would consider a ‘modest? one.
‘I think it was a lot. In fact I spoke to the board one time and said if they got half of what’s in that original proposal they’d be lucky,? he said.
Middleton expressed the current economy has not helped the situation.
‘If it was back, ten years ago when tax revenue for this county was increasing by eight to ten percent, I think we could be a little more generous. My fear was if we do this, then every other community of the 61 communities would try to do CIA’s and it would really take a lot of money away. ‘If I vote for this and say it’s good for Independence Township, I’d be a hypocrite if Royal Oak or some other town like Ferndale asked for it, but I say ‘oh but it’s not good enough for you.??
Middleton said everything still has to be weighed against the ultimate question.
‘Does it bring new jobs, that wouldn’t come anyway? Many people forget that last part ‘that wouldn’t come anyway without the county’s participation with the CIA,?? said Middleton.
‘The Ad Hoc committee was put together to give a recommendation to the board of commissioners if this CIA should be granted and to what degree the board of commissioners or the County should participate in giving up some tax revenue,? said Tom Middleton, commissioner for Oakland County.
In Feb, 2006 Independence Township initiated for the and in March it was brought to board. On May 16, 2006 township trustees voted unanimously (Clerk Shelagh VanderVeen and Trustee Charles Dunn were absent) to create a Corridor Improvement Authority. The CIA, was approved in a split decision by the Independence Township Board at its Sept. 19, 2006 regular meeting.
According to Township Planner Dick Carlisle, the CIA is led by a committee composed of 5-9 members broken down as follows: a majority holding a business interest within the district, the township supervisor and one individual living near or within the district. The committee’s primary role is to recommend and oversee improvement projects.