Council approves amendment to TID 11 to add land for iState development and Draxler Drive improvements

Josh Miller, senior planner with Cedar Corporation, presented an amendment to Tax Incremental District (TID) No. 11 that adds land east of the existing district — including 10 acres annexed for an iState campus expansion — and includes Draxler Drive right-of-way to fund future street and utility improvements. Miller said the amendment corrects a parcel configuration so a district boundary does not split Lot 3; the amendment adds all of Lot 3 so the city can capture increment to finance public improvements. "The proposed amendment is the area to the east and also Draxler Drive as shown here," Miller said, adding the life of the TID is 20 years and there are about nine years remaining. The amendment adds project costs including a traffic impact analysis to evaluate extending Draxler Drive and whether the Wisconsin Department of Transportation would permit access onto the highway, infrastructure design and construction, administrative costs, and potential financing costs. Miller and consultants Ehlers provided conservative revenue estimates and a feasibility analysis projecting approximately $5 million of incremental revenue over the life of the TID based on anticipated new value of roughly $25 million. The council had a question from Alderman Tompkins about whether an estimated $2.2 million infrastructure construction figure for Draxler Drive would cover a full connection to Veterans Parkway; Miller answered that the estimate was for connecting it all to Veterans Parkway. A motion to adopt the resolution was made by Alderman O'Reilly and seconded by Alderman Moran; the council approved the resolution. Miller said the joint review board will consider the amendment next week; the board may either approve or reject the amendment but cannot change the project plan or boundary.