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Board outlines downtown projects, seeks cost estimates as urban-renewal sunset approaches
Summary
Agency staff listed candidate projects — parking-lot lighting at Kittown, rebuilding Bankus Park fountain (possible public art), kiosks, theme street signs, facade/interior improvements and potential land purchase for parking — and the board asked staff and the city attorney to confirm legal options and return with estimates, likely in May.
Agency staff used the meeting’s agency-remarks item to list candidate downtown projects and to flag the agency’s limited time to obligate or allocate funds before the urban renewal district sunsets.
“We do get a request for a parking lot lighting project at Kittown from Nature’s Coastal Holiday,” agency staff said, listing that request alongside other candidate projects: rebuilding the fountain at Bankus Park (with a possible public-art component), kiosk installations, themed street signs, facade and interior improvements for businesses, and potential land purchase to increase downtown parking. Staff described many of these as “low-hanging fruit” compared with larger civic projects such as a conference center or new city hall.
Board members pressed staff on timing and legal constraints. The city attorney (referred to as Lori) told the board, “whatever is not spent by the end of it gets redistributed to the other taxing districts,” and advised that whether the agency can be extended or restarted depends on the renewal plan language and agreement among taxing districts. Agency staff committed to review the renewal plan and to return with a definitive legal position.
Members discussed the size and strategic use of remaining funds. The transcript records a board-member figure of about $2.5–3 million available and an additional roughly $380,000 in a separate debt fund. Several directors suggested prioritizing a high-impact civic investment over multiple small expenditures; others supported pursuing shorter-term sidewalk, parking and façade projects where cost and donor support make them feasible quickly. The board requested estimated costs (a ROM) and noted staff will seek donor amounts and assessor data to quantify past assessed-value changes in the district.
Next steps: staff will prepare cost estimates and a staff report and convene a follow-up renewal meeting, likely in May, so the board can decide whether to obligate funds for projects or allow redistribution to taxing districts at sunset.
