Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kearney approves Gateway West Community Improvement District to spur development near I‑35 interchange
Summary
The Board of Aldermen unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 01-2025 creating the Gateway West Community Improvement District, a proposed 569.29-acre CID at the NW quadrant of I‑35 and 19th Street that may use district assessments and sales tax to finance infrastructure and encourage residential, retail and commercial development.
The Kearney Board of Aldermen on Jan. 6 unanimously approved Ordinance No. 01-2025 to establish the Gateway West Community Improvement District, a proposed political subdivision intended to support future residential, retail and commercial development at the northwest quadrant of the I‑35 and 19th Street interchange.
Carolyn Yatsook, the city’s economic development director, told the board the property owners within the proposed boundary filed a petition to create the district and that the proposed boundary covers approximately 569.29 acres of currently undeveloped land. "This Ordinance establishes the Gateway West Community Improvement District and approves a cooperative agreement between the Gateway West CID and the City of Kearney," Yatsook said, noting preliminary improvements and cost estimates are listed in Exhibit C of the proposal.
Under the Community Improvement District (CID) framework described to the board, the district would be a separate political subdivision governed by its own board of directors and would have authority to impose a district-wide special assessment and a district sales tax on retail sales made within the CID. The cooperative agreement approved alongside the ordinance spells out responsibilities between the city and the district, Yatsook said.
On procedural motions, Alderman Dan Holt moved to approve Bill No. 01-2025 on first reading, seconded by Alderwoman Kathy Barger; the ordinance was read a second time and Alderman David Lehman moved approval on second reading, seconded by Alderman Ashton King. The ordinance passed by roll call vote, 4–0 (Holt, Barger, King and Lehman), and was assigned Ordinance No. 01-2025.
Mayor Randy Pogue opened a statutorily required public hearing under Section 67.1431 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri before the vote; seeing no one come forward, he closed the hearing. No public comments were offered at the Jan. 6 hearing.
The ordinance and cooperative agreement are intended to enable infrastructure and development financing through district assessments and a sales tax, but the board did not specify an effective date for the ordinance at the meeting. Details on the scope of Exhibit C improvements and any proposed tax or assessment rates were referenced as "preliminary estimates" in the presentation and were not included in the board discussion. The city clerk’s office will retain the ordinance record as Ordinance No. 01-2025.
What’s next: The ordinance has been adopted by the board; implementation steps such as establishing the CID board of directors, any election or notice requirements, specific tax or assessment schedules and project timelines were not resolved at the meeting and were not specified during the presentation.
