CRA funding cuts spur debate over Edison Awards, stormwater grants and incentives

CRA staff presented a packet showing six categories of special-event funding and said Commissioners had indicated at a recent workshop that they would no longer fund some items. Michelle Hildenterry, speaking for CRA staff, summarized the workshop outcome and the list of event funding categories that will be reconsidered. "These are the items, that were discussed at the CRA meeting last week at the workshop that we, as a CRA, made a decision that we're no longer going to fund," Hildenterry said.

Council members pressed staff on which events should continue to receive support and asked that the Edison Awards remain a priority because of its capacity to draw visitors and economic activity. Staff noted the current matched funding structure (city, CRA and Horizon) and said the $613,500 figure cited for preliminary inclusion in the budget will be revisited at the budget meeting. CRA staff also proposed a targeted stormwater/flood-mitigation grant program with roughly $100,000 available for qualifying businesses in a downtown commercial corridor; council asked whether Dean Park commercial areas and certain warehouse properties should be added to the map and requested additional detail on eligibility. Finally, staff described a proposed city incentive policy to replace some TIF arrangements and flagged the need to have projects listed on the CIP to qualify for particular grants.