Mayor & Commission Meetings

LEGISLATIVE REVIEW COMMITTEE Thursday, February 6, 2025 City Hall Conference Room 301B Committee Members Present: Committee Members Absent: Commissioner Carol Myers, Chair Commissioner John Culpepper Commissioner Stephanie Johnson1 Commissioner Ovita Thornton2 Commissioner Allison Wright3 Staff: Brad Griffin, Acting Manager Ilka McConnell, Economic Development Sherrie Hines, Deputy Chief Attorney Daniel Young, Economic Development Courtney Davis, Senior Attorney Sarah George, Recorder Commissioner Myers called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. A. Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Myers made a motion to approve the December 5, 2024 minutes. Commissioner Wright seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. B. Public Input: There was none. Commission Identified Items of Interest: C. Develop a Process for Creating New Tax Allocation Districts or Amending Existing TADs Sarah George introduced the topic Daniel Young shared a presentation with the Committee. He provided a summary from prior meetings, including the definition of tax allocation districts (TADs) and how they work. He also explained that Athens-Clarke County currently has six TADs, and each TAD Advisory Committee is in the process of gathering public input to recommend to the Mayor and Commission, including the percentage to be allocated in the TAD to each of the four funding priorities and a list of community-identified priorities for the TAD. Commissioner Wright inquired about whether or not the youth development funding priority was only specifically for the Mall TAD. Daniel Young explained that it applies to all of the TADs. Ilka McConnell further shared that not all four funding priorities were required to be used in each TAD. Commissioner Thornton requested that the funding priorities be listed. Daniel Young shared that the four priorities were: - Affordable Housing; - CCSD/Youth Development; - Economic Development; and - Public Infrastructure. 1 Arrived at 1:08 p.m. 2 Arrived at 1:05 p.m. Left at 2:20 p.m. 3 Left at 2:25 p.m.  Commissioner Thornton inquired as to whether or not it was too late to be more specific about the definition of what qualifies as affordable housing. Ilka McConnell clarified that the Mall TAD development agreement specified 60% area median income (AMI). The redevelopment plans establish eligibility to be at 80% AMI. Ilka McConnell further explained that area that is used to calculate the AMI is established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She noted that Athens-Clarke County’s AMI is higher, as it includes Oconee County and Jackson County. Commissioner Thornton inquired as to whether having the AMI defined as per HUD guidelines was mandatory or if the Mayor and Commission (M&C) could establish their own. Commissioner Myers shared that she had discussed the scope of the charge with the Mayor, and he advised that, if there were other topics that the Committee would like to discuss pertaining to TADs, the Committee could bring those forward. Commissioner Johnson explained that she had attended the most recent Mall TAD Advisory Committee meeting, and a question had been asked by a member of the audience regarding how many affordable houses would be set aside. The response given to the audience member was 10%. When the audience member asked about the price point, it was said that anyone making $60,000 should be able to afford it. The banker that was at the meeting stated this was because Athens-Clarke County is combined with Oconee County. She shared that it seems disingenuous for someone to have to earn $60,000 to qualify for affordable housing. She expressed interest in learning more about when ACCGov has done this with other projects and the justification behind it. Commissioner Thornton inquired about whether the AMI thresholds could be changed or if ACCGov had to follow the requirements outlined by HUD for TADs. Commissioner Myers responded that she did not believe ACCGov did have to follow them for the TADs. Ilka McConnell explained that the activities/projects that can be funded with TAD funds is broader than the four priority areas that were set by the M&C, so some criteria has already been set and established by the M&C. Commissioner Johnson inquired as to whether or not the M&C could set the criteria for AMI to only take into account the area median income for Athens-Clarke County and not include Oconee County in that determination. Ilka McConnell explained that she believed they could; however, she urged consideration that, if the M&C were to set a number, to also think about how it would change over time and how to ensure there is a mechanism that could be used to update the threshold. She also shared that, if the M&C were to use a different calculation or threshold for calculating eligibility, a different term would likely need to be used rather than using “AMI”. Ilka McConnell also suggested that further discussions with the Housing & Community Development Department could be helpful. Commissioner Culpepper requested clarification on whether or not the Mall project was the first project using TAD funds. Ilka McConnell confirmed that it is the first project using TAD funds. Commissioner Culpepper shared that he believed it was too early to tell if TADs were working for its intended purpose and expressed concern regarding the requirements that were being placed on developers that might inhibit development due to the associated expense. Commissioner Thornton agreed that there is too little information to consider creating additional TADs. Daniel Young shared the requirements to create a TAD as outlined in state law. Ilka McConnell explained that the redevelopment plans for each of the TADs outlines how each area qualifies as a TAD. Daniel Young explained that there were two types of TADs: Area-specific TADs and Project-specific TADs. Commissioner Wright requested clarification on whether the percentage of the property tax digest that each TAD represents was monitored annually to ensure they did Legislative Review Committee Meeting Minutes Page 2 020625  not comprise over the required maximum 10% threshold. Ilka McConnell explained that the 10% threshold of the property tax digest is only required when a TAD is created or amended. Commissioner Myers requested clarification on whether it would be considered a project-specific TAD for a developer to bring forward a project that does not fall within one of the currently defined TAD areas to request funding. Daniel Young clarified that it would be considered a project-specific TAD. Commissioner Culpepper recommended to the Committee that the M&C not create any additional area TADs, as the existing TADs comprise 6.6% of the tax digest. He further explained that not creating additional area TADs would provide room for project-based TADs. Commissioner Thornton explained that staff provided examples of TADs that were working well in the Atlanta-area. She inquired as to whether staff had information on TADs that were not working well or had to be terminated. Daniel Young shared that he could likely compile a list from TADs nationwide. Ilka McConnell also explained that there are some TADs in Gwinnett County that were created that have not been used much. Commissioner Myers inquired whether Gwinnett County has a process for creating a new project-specific or area-specific TAD that ACCGov could use as a model for developing its own. Daniel Young explained that staff had researched TAD processes in Gwinnett County, Gainesville, Rome, and Atlanta. He noted that some of these jurisdictions provide specific guidelines for what a project-specific TAD application should include. Daniel Young provided an overview of the staff’s recommendation regarding the process for creating a new TAD. He explained that staff would seek approval from the Mayor and Commission (M&C) before initiating the preparation of any new redevelopment plan, as the process is both time-intensive and costly. Commissioner Johnson inquired whether any aspects of creating a redevelopment plan are typically handled by Economic Development as part of their existing work responsibilities. Ilka McConnell clarified that they are not. Commissioner Johnson expressed concern that the development of a redevelopment plan would be a significant undertaking, potentially diverting resources from the department’s current responsibilities. Daniel Young also presented key considerations for amending a TAD, noting that such an amendment would reset the increment. Commissioner Thornton inquired whether the funding in the TAD special revenue account would be depleted if the TAD were amended. Daniel Young clarified that any funding in the special revenue account would remain intact. Commissioner Wright made a motion to move the topic out of Committee with no action, specifically recommending no new TADs and no amendments to existing TADs. Commissioner Thornton seconded the motion. Commissioner Wright explained that the recommendation could state that the Committee is not recommending any new TADs or amendments to existing TADs, while still allowing room for prospective project-specific TADs. Commissioner Myers expressed concern that there is currently no established process for project-specific TADs. She suggested that the Committee could focus on developing a process for creating project-specific TADs, noting that the motion could reflect their decision not to recommend the creation of new TADs at this time. She explained that she would not support the motion, as she believed the process for project-specific TADs should be created. The motion passed 4-1 by roll call vote, with Commissioners Wright, Culpepper, Thornton, and Johnson voting in favor of the motion and Commissioner Myers voting against. Legislative Review Committee Meeting Minutes Page 3 020625  Schedule/Agenda Changes The next LRC meeting is scheduled for March 6, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. Commissioner Johnson made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Culpepper seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 2:27 p.m. Legislative Review Committee Meeting Minutes Page 4 020625