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County staff recommends backing Hartfords proposed TID No. 14, citing manufacturing and housing assumptions
Summary
County staff briefed the executive committee on Hartfords proposed Tax Incremental District No. 14, noting assumptions that include an 80,000-square-foot manufacturer named in the packet and roughly 500 housing units; the joint review board is scheduled to consider the TID the next day.
Washington County staff recommended support for the City of Hartfords proposed Tax Incremental District (TID) No. 14 at an executive committee meeting, while urging continued oversight of assumptions, particularly the residential component.
Mr. Arundel, the countys voting member on the joint review board, described the proposed TID as located in Hartfords industrial park near Innovation Way. He said the project plan assumes an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility (the packet names Wisconsin Stamping and Manufacturing) and that Winter Park Builders could construct about 500 dwelling units; the city also identified six additional development-ready sites that may improve the districts prospects. "The assumptions seem fair," Mr. Arundel said.
Arundel noted the county has a loan from its revolving loan fund (RLF) backing a portion of the manufacturing piece; that loan is managed by the Economic Development Washington County (EDWC) and is secured by the TID, giving the county a financial stake and prompting additional due diligence. He said the county generally supports TIF as an economic-development tool and prefers districts close as quickly as reasonably possible so tax bills for other property owners fall.
A supervisor who reviewed the packet told the committee the timeline and industrial letter of intent look favorable but urged vigilance about uncertainties, especially the residential assumptions and the potential for a municipality to later add territory under the half-mile rule. Mr. Arundel replied that he was not aware of current plans to add territory and that any future amendment to a project plan would come back to the joint review board for consideration.
Mr. Arundel said the joint review board in Hartford was scheduled to meet the following day to consider approving the TID using the project-plan assumptions included in the packet. Committee members had no objection to county staff proceeding with the joint review board process; no formal county action on the TID was recorded in the transcript.
