The Marion City Council on Oct. 9 approved an amendment to the Collins Road Extension Urban Renewal Area and later approved a development agreement with 530 Investments LLC that provides a limited tax-increment-finance (TIF) incentive to support continued public access at the city’s airport property after the runway moved to private ownership.

In a staff presentation, the finance director explained that adding projects to an urban renewal plan creates the maximum amount of TIF the city may provide but does not itself obligate the city to make payments; obligations arise only when the city enters a development agreement, internal loan or bond. The amendment adds four projects to the urban renewal plan, including repurposing 2019 urban renewal bonds for aquatic center planning, a 40,000-square-foot office and warehouse proposed by Esco Electric Company, tax relief tied to the airport property under 530 Investments LLC, and an existing administrative professional support program that will be extended.

On the development agreement with 530 Investments LLC, the council approved a TIF incentive with a maximum of $93,007.64 — described as $5,000 annually for 10 years for property-tax relief for the runway property — plus $21,882 for each of two years for the fixed-base operator to assist transition as the airport moved to private ownership. The finance director told the council the 2019 bonds were “urban renewal bonds and must be expended on an urban renewal tax-exempt city project within the Collins Road urban renewal area to maintain tax exemption,” and that the airport runway had originally been the bonded project but the city no longer owns that runway; repurposing the bonds for urban‑renewal eligible projects was discussed with the city attorney.

The public hearings on both the urban renewal amendment and the development agreement drew no public comments at the meeting. Both resolutions passed after motions and roll calls; meeting minutes show each resolution passed with one abstention.

Why it matters: the amendments reposition previously issued urban renewal authority and bond proceeds within the Collins Road area and authorize a targeted TIF incentive to assist a private operator while requiring that the airport property remain publicly accessible as part of the agreement.

Council discussion was limited in the record; staff reiterated that adding projects to the plan creates a maximum TIF capacity and that actual payments require subsequent execution of a development agreement or other obligation.

Approved actions include Resolution No. 32,580 approving the amendment to the Collins Road Extension Urban Renewal Area and Resolution No. 32,581 approving the development agreement with 530 Investments LLC and authorizing annual appropriation TIF payments and pledging certain TIF revenues to the agreement. Council noted the payments are subject to the limits set in the development agreement and to the city’s budget and appropriation processes.