Hooper council hears consultants on CRAs, PIDs and performance-based incentives

Hooper — At a Jan. 22 work session, consultants Cody Dieter of EMG Consulting and Rob Sant of Urban & Main Consulting outlined options for a draft economic development policy, describing how Community Reinvestment Areas (CRAs) and Public Infrastructure Districts (PIDs) could be used to pay for infrastructure and attract commercial anchors.

Dieter told the council he has worked in the municipal industry for two decades and framed the session as a working meeting to pull policy principles into a written document. Sant described CRAs as a tax-increment tool that captures growth above a base value to fund a project area and said, “you would create the Hooper Community Reinvestment Agency,” as the legal entity to manage such areas.

Why it matters: Council members said Hooper needs a larger commercial tax base but stressed limits tied to existing sewer and the city’s character. Members repeatedly said they do not favor large apartment complexes and want incentives focused where infrastructure already exists — notably along 5500 South and the SR‑177 corridor.

What the consultants proposed

Rob Sant explained…