Post Falls urban renewal agency approves consultant review of developer reimbursement request

The Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency on March 19 approved Task Order 26-01 to authorize agency staff to engage the agency's consulting engineers to review a developer's request for reimbursement for public infrastructure constructed in Zone C of the Post Falls Technology District.

Director Johns told the commission that the task order would allow the consulting engineers to perform a detailed review on an hourly basis rather than as a lump-sum contract because the volume and scope of documentation made a fixed price difficult to estimate. "The action for consideration is the authorization of myself, Director Johns, to sign the task order directing the consulting engineers to proceed according to the specified terms," the director said during the discussion.

Commissioners pressed for clearer submittal standards for reimbursement requests so engineering review time could be reduced. One commissioner noted the agency has example documentation it provides to proponents but does not require, and suggested tighter requirements or phased submittals so review work arrives in smaller, more manageable chunks. Commissioners also referenced a recently adopted addition to agency policy (referred to in the meeting as policy 16) that allows the agency to recover administrative, engineering, or legal costs from the next available tax increment if review costs exceed budgeted amounts.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve Task Order 26-01 and another seconded. The commission then conducted a roll-call vote; all present commissioners voted in favor and the motion passed. The action authorizes staff to finalize and sign the task order and directs the consulting engineer to begin the review under the terms discussed.

What the action does and what it does not: the task order authorizes a technical review of reimbursable public-improvement costs submitted by the developer; it does not itself grant reimbursement. If engineering or legal review costs exceed the agency's budgeted amount, the agency indicated it would seek recovery from the proponent or from the district's future tax increment consistent with the agency's policy.

Next steps: staff will execute the task order and the consulting engineers will begin their review. Any substantive findings or formal reimbursement decisions will be returned to the commission for future consideration.