Riverdale RDA presents West Bench budget amendment proposal; board took no action

Riverdale Redevelopment Agency Board members heard a presentation and opened a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the West Bench redevelopment project-area budget that would change participation from 100% to 80%, extend the tax-increment collection period from 17 years to 22 years, and raise the project cap from $9,000,000 to about $51,000,000 (future value). No final vote was taken at the meeting.

Mister Cooper, Redevelopment Agency staff, gave the presentation and said the project area was created in 2005 and "This project area was established in 02/2005. It's about 74 acres, has a base year of 2011." He described a new development proposal centered on an America First Credit Union campus and said the proposed budget amendment is intended to cover significant trunk-line infrastructure — roads, widened bridge approaches and water and sewer mains — needed to support the larger mixed-use plan.

The proposal, as presented, would keep the existing project-area boundary and base valuation but change the financing terms: move from 100% to 80% participation for all taxing entities, extend the increment collection window from 17 to 22 years, and increase the cap from $9 million to roughly $51 million (future value). Cooper said the agency and a taxing-entity committee have adopted a $19,000,000 base valuation (he noted the county has a different base number and discussions continue on that point).

Cooper told the board the change is intended to unlock private investment tied to the America First campus, saying the amendment "would facilitate almost a billion dollars worth of investment from America First and others in that area." He also said the city would still receive some portion of new-growth tax revenue under the 80/20 split: Riverdale City’s projected total receipts over the 22-year period were presented as about $1,800,000 (compared with roughly $490,000 received to date under the current arrangement), and current annual collections for the small project-area slice were stated as about $66,000 today and projected to grow to about $547,000 at the end of the 22 years.

Cooper explained that the tax-increment collection period was triggered this year and that the RDA cannot finalize the amendment until the taxing-entity committee (TEC) votes; he said the agency is "still waiting for some formal appointments from some of the tech members, and that, would allow the tech to vote." The presentation said the TEC is an older governance structure for project areas that includes representatives such as two members from Weber School District, two Riverdale City representatives, two Weber County representatives and a Central Weber Sewer District representative; Cooper noted the TEC votes as a body, which requires getting all participating entities aligned.

Agency counsel Adam Long and Kim Cho, identified as a representative of America First Credit Union, were present to answer questions. Cooper and staff said some project details remain under negotiation with Weber County and UDOT; Cooper identified proposed roadway work including a new alignment and widening of 1500 West and a bridge-widening element that UDOT has planned for replacement but without widening in its current scope.

The board opened and then closed a public hearing after no members of the public spoke. Members were told the next procedural steps are a vote by the TEC (after outstanding appointments are made), followed by a return to the RDA board for final action on any amendment. Cooper also noted a separate, subsequent step to create a community reinvestment area (CRA) north of the existing RDA boundary would follow if the board pursues the amendment; that step would use current statutory rules and individual interlocal agreements rather than the TEC structure.

Votes at a glance: the meeting record shows (1) a consent motion to set a public hearing for June 3 to receive comments on adopting the final Riverdale RDA budget for fiscal year 2026 and amending the FY2025 RDA budget — the motion passed unanimously; (2) motions to open and close the public hearing on the West Bench amendment — both carried; and (3) no substantive action or final vote on the West Bench amendment itself.

Board members and staff said they will return with follow-up materials, including the presentation slides Cooper used and the results of the TEC process; no final budget amendment or ordinance was adopted at this meeting.