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Council continues public hearing on SPARC/TIF spending-plan amendment to Nov. 4
Summary
After public comment and council questions, the city continued action on a proposed amendment to the SPARC spending plan (use of certain TIF funds created during COVID-era legislation) to the Nov. 4 meeting and set a closing date for public input of Oct. 26; the amendment would extend deadlines and allow interest earnings to be included.
The Edina City Council on Oct. 22 held a public hearing on a staff proposal to amend the SPARC spending plan — the city’s program that repurposes previously collected tax-increment (TIF) monies to support job growth and construction — but voted to continue the matter to the Nov. 4 council meeting after public comment.
Economic development manager Bill Neuendorf outlined the amendment and its rationale. The 2021 state law allowed the City to use approximately $9.5 million in unobligated TIF funds to support pandemic recovery projects; the 2025 legislative changes extend the deadline for expenditure and permit the inclusion of interest earnings (approximately $775,000). Neuendorf said the spending plan restricts use to physical-construction investments intended to create jobs (temporary or permanent) and that funds cannot be used for ongoing operational expenses. He described previously approved SPARC commitments — for example, renovation and public improvements around the Edina Theatre, public-road work at Finch providing park access, a construction loan to the Edina Chamber’s innovation lab, and a pledged amount to a private redevelopment on France Avenue (the “Enclave”); some funds are pledged but not yet paid out.
Councilmembers and members of the public questioned the program’s continued existence and whether the funds should instead revert to the original TIF districts and ultimately back to the county and state. Public commenters urged ending the program and returning funds to taxpayers or the county; others pointed to past uses that supported public improvements in the city. Neuendorf explained that if the SPARC program were allowed to expire now, pledged but unpaid funds (including the pledge to the Enclave) likely would not be payable and some monies might ultimately revert to TIF district balances and be shared with county and state; staff estimated a rough upper-range of about $952,000 in funds that could be uncommitted but cautioned that statutory and administrative steps would determine timing and amounts if the program were terminated.
After public testimony, the council voted to close public input on Oct. 26 and continue decision-making on the amendment to the Nov. 4 council meeting. Councilmembers asked staff to provide further detail about pledged versus paid amounts, interest earnings, and how returned funds would be distributed if the program were allowed to lapse.
