06-18-2013, 03:00 PM
See attached documents!
Hey folks something really freaking big is coming down the pike that will likely have a lasting change on the entire culture, quality of life, public safety and the way our city is perceived by the rest of the world. This is a big deal. The City of St. Petersburg is proposing to designate most of Midtown as a community redevelopment area (CRA) and create two Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts within the CRA. What does this mean? Simply put a CRA is an area that the City and County can borrow against the increased value of all the property from the time the area was established until the time the money is borrowed. The TIF districts are where the borrowed money is allowed to be spent on tangible (construction, infrastructure, etc…) projects. Since property values in the proposed CRA are still at an all-time low this is the time to do it. The hopes are that the investments into the two TIF districts will create enough economic opportunity to turn around the socio-economic disparity that has plagued the south side during the entire history of Saint Petersburg.
Yeah that doesn’t sound like it will be enough, but it is a start in the right direction. We need to understand what is going on and pay attention. In concert with this effort the Pinellas County’s May 17, 2012, study entitled “The Economic Impact of Poverty” identified incredibly large sums of money being used to combat the effects of blight in South St Pete, we need to find ways to re-direct much of those funds to go after and end the causes of the blight so we won’t have to continually waste the enormous sums of money used to react to or treat the symptoms of the blight. As I said this is a really big deal, it is the first time in Saint Petersburg’s history that they are going to try to solve the problem. It has no hope of succeeding if the people (The Neighborhoods) don’t get involved, pay attention and ensure valuable resources don’t get squandered. The City is going to unveil this momentous project on June 19th at our next CONA meeting, bring your brain, your heart and your calculator. FAQs, Supporting Documents and more can be found on CONAForums.org, if you haven’t already done so, please sign up, get informed and be part of the solution.
Important dates – milestones:
Presentation to CONA June 19th CONA General Board Meeting Sunshine Center, 330 5th Street N
(Doors open at 6:30, please be seated by 6:55)
City Council Approves Findings of Necessity (Blight Study) June 20th
Hey folks something really freaking big is coming down the pike that will likely have a lasting change on the entire culture, quality of life, public safety and the way our city is perceived by the rest of the world. This is a big deal. The City of St. Petersburg is proposing to designate most of Midtown as a community redevelopment area (CRA) and create two Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts within the CRA. What does this mean? Simply put a CRA is an area that the City and County can borrow against the increased value of all the property from the time the area was established until the time the money is borrowed. The TIF districts are where the borrowed money is allowed to be spent on tangible (construction, infrastructure, etc…) projects. Since property values in the proposed CRA are still at an all-time low this is the time to do it. The hopes are that the investments into the two TIF districts will create enough economic opportunity to turn around the socio-economic disparity that has plagued the south side during the entire history of Saint Petersburg.
Yeah that doesn’t sound like it will be enough, but it is a start in the right direction. We need to understand what is going on and pay attention. In concert with this effort the Pinellas County’s May 17, 2012, study entitled “The Economic Impact of Poverty” identified incredibly large sums of money being used to combat the effects of blight in South St Pete, we need to find ways to re-direct much of those funds to go after and end the causes of the blight so we won’t have to continually waste the enormous sums of money used to react to or treat the symptoms of the blight. As I said this is a really big deal, it is the first time in Saint Petersburg’s history that they are going to try to solve the problem. It has no hope of succeeding if the people (The Neighborhoods) don’t get involved, pay attention and ensure valuable resources don’t get squandered. The City is going to unveil this momentous project on June 19th at our next CONA meeting, bring your brain, your heart and your calculator. FAQs, Supporting Documents and more can be found on CONAForums.org, if you haven’t already done so, please sign up, get informed and be part of the solution.
Important dates – milestones:
Presentation to CONA June 19th CONA General Board Meeting Sunshine Center, 330 5th Street N
(Doors open at 6:30, please be seated by 6:55)
City Council Approves Findings of Necessity (Blight Study) June 20th