City Approves Town Center Financing Amid Fireworks On The Dais

University Place leaders formalized an agreement Monday that will redirect $500,000 annually in state sales tax dollars back to the city for public improvements at its Town Center project.

But approving the agreement didn’t come without some political theater on the dais.

The City Council formally accepted the plan to redirect sales tax revenue generated in University Place every year back to the city for street, sidewalks and other public improvements at Town Center.

The measure – for which state lawmakers approved two years ago to help revitalize the community – required officials to create a separate governing body to issue the bond.

From a practical standpoint, it was the same group of people. But from a legal standpoint, the City Council adjourned its meeting Monday and met as a different group – the U.P. Town Center Project Authority Board. The latter formally authorized the issuance of $7.5 million in construction bonds to pay for the improvements.

The reason officials issued the bonds as a separate board is to help assure University Place wouldn’t be legally liable should the state be unable to make its bond payments, according to City Attorney Steve Victor.

The lone dissenter on the City Council – Javier Figueroa — made clear  his concerns over the financing tool, which the state has allowed for only a few cities.

Figueroa voted against every measure related to the financing, known as the Local Revitalization Tool. He said he still had plenty of questions regarding the financing and inferred that council members didn't have enough time to answer all of the uncertainties regarding the tool.

Figueroa also raised broader concerns over the Town Center project, including why the city was marketing the Town Center lots as “pad-ready” for developers if it needs more money and why officials are investing more money into a struggling project.

“How much more is there to be done that’s required on our behalf?” he asked his colleagues.

Figueroa’s comments drew a swift response from other City Council members, including Caroline Belleci. She asked why Figueroa – the group’s representative on the UP Finance Committee — wouldn’t know about the financing and would raise concerns in the “11th hour.” The measure had been discussed during two previous public meetings.

At one point, her comments prompted Figueroa to remind the City Council of its policy not to verbally attack members on the dais or “put words in their mouth.”

Eric Choiniere said he thought the only reason that Figueroa would make such an argument over a relatively simple measure is for “personal reasons, personal motives.”

To Figueroa’s broader concerns, City Council members said the project continues to be viable, and state lawmakers wouldn’t have allowed the city to recoup tax dollars if it thought otherwise.

And Councilman Gerald Gehring reminded those at the meeting that whether or not University Place approved the financing, it would still pay the same amount of sales tax dollars collected within its borders to the state.

This way, UP residents know it’s coming back to the city, he said.