Thursday, Jan. 26 2012 7:00PM
Downtown district starts CID process
1-cent sales tax would be implemented to fund improvements
By T.R. Hanrahan
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ReprintBy most measurable standards, downtown Lee’s Summit looks pretty good. And one civic leader is acting as point man to keep it that way.
Brad Culbertson is going the equivalent of door to door with downtown property owners to establish a Community Improvement District. The CID would, according to Culbertson and other supporters of the initiative, help preserve past downtown improvements and fund projects not yet realized.
“It became time to honor that commitment and get a CID established,” he said.
If approved, the CID would include a one-cent sales tax within the district. The revenue would fund initiatives in three main areas.
These are a “clean and green” beautification program, capital improvements and community development.
The CID is not a new idea. Culbertson said it was something discussed as early as 2002 when downtown improvements were under consideration. Once those improvements were realized, he said, property owners were ready to step up to keep them in place.
“We actually got started in 2008-2009 fairly aggressively pursuing the CID plan,” he said.
According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s Business and Community Services Division, CIDs finance public-use facilities and establish and manage policies and public services within the district. In order to create a CID, a petition signed by property owners within the district must be presented to the local governing body where the district is located. The downtown Lee’s Summit CID petition will be considered by the Lee’s Summit City Council.
“Once we have gathered the required signatures, the petition will be submitted,” said Sarah Shore, associate director of Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street.
And the proponents don’t just want to get the minimum signatures, either.
“We don’t want 51 percent,” Culbertson said. “We want to be where we were before – around 70-75 percent.
“We’re never going to hit 100 percent on this. But we want to go back to the city and show there is a clear majority.”
The petition must include signatures representing at least 50 percent of the assessed value of the real property and signatures representing more than 50 percent per capita of all owners of real property.
In addition to signatures, the petition must include a five-year plan outlining the district’s purposes, services, proposed improvements and their costs and the maximum rates of property taxes and special assessments. The CID’s funding mechanism must also be included in the petition.
While cautious not to get tied to a date, CID supporters expect the ball to be rolling by early spring.
“I would like to think in April or shortly thereafter,” Culbertson said. “I think the momentum is there. I think it is a realistic goal.”
While other communities have established similar CIDs and can be used as benchmarks, Culbertson and Shore note that priorities vary from community to community. And, perhaps, the lessons are not in what works, but in what doesn’t work.
“The other communities, they have their own concerns or needs or wants,” Shore said. “So ours isn’t going to be any different.”
