6 days ago
After decisive special election loss, North Port commission axes impact fee discount plan
NORTH PORT – Reacting to the failed May 13 funding referendum, the North Port City Commission scuttled a proposed impact fee incentive plan to attract businesses Tuesday night. Instead, it will explore other alternatives for funding for a new police station, a waste transfer station, wastewater system improvements and covering funding shortfalls after a hurricane.
As a precursor to the larger debate, the commission pulled an item from the routine approval agenda – termination of an agreement to reimburse the developer of Central Parc for construction of the Tuscola Boulevard Bridge over the Cocoplum Waterway – and denied the request 5-0.
The item will likely be brought back again, since costs to build that bridge have more than doubled to $3.8 million since the agreement was originally struck. Charles Bailey, the developer's attorney, was forced to shoehorn his case into a three-minute public comment slot; the original intent was for the developer to be reimbursed through impact fees.
But that reimbursement was capped at $1.9 million.
Planner Peter Van Buskirk noted that since Tuscola Boulevard west of the Cocoplum is technically a private road, a bridge cannot be built until the city obtains it.
Next up, City Commissioner David Duval, the only commissioner to oppose a plan to offer impact fee discounts to attract targeted businesses on May 13 – on the same day city voters weighed in the referendum – suddenly found himself with plenty of company, as Mayor Phil Stokes, Vice Mayor Pete Emrich and Commissioner Demetrius Petrow all reversed course to also oppose the idea.
That left City Commissioner Barbara Langdon, a staunch advocate of attracting businesses that pay high wage jobs to grow the city's commercial tax base, on the down side of a 4-1 vote to eliminate that targeted impact fee program.
But even Langdon admitted that the incentive program was not ready, given current voter sentiment.
The city is seeking a way to fund emergency borrowing, construction of a new police station and solid waste transfer station and repairs to its sewer system, even as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is drafting a consent order that could carry with it $1,000 a day in fines.
'I'm just concerned about burdening our general fund with something that isn't critical,' Langdon said. 'We have way more critical things we have to deal with.'
Staff had asked for a consideration of the impact fee incentive ordinance, and Development Services Director Alaina Ray noted that a lot had changed since 2022, when city officials first contemplated using impact fee discounts to attract business.
'We were in a different time when the City Commission gave that direction,' Ray said. 'We were still coming out of the aftermath of the pandemic, we had dealt with Hurricane Ian and the economic issues that brought to us.
'It was a different time in our city and our growth.'
Pandemic induced migration and the accelerated development of Wellen Park has pushed North Port to a population of almost 95,000 – just under the 100,000 mark that many businesses use as a benchmark to justify locating to a municipality.
Emrich cited approaching the 100,000 mark and said businesses will follow the rooftops.
Stokes, who on May 13 said the city needed to attract businesses, completely changed tack.
'To incentivize a business to come to the second-fastest growing city in America, the most livable city in the state of Florida – a place most people and businesses want to be now … conceptually, this is just, in my estimation, a horrible idea.
'We don't print money, the taxpayers of the city of North Port are going to subsidize businesses that want to come to the city,' Stokes said. 'That sure doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me at this point, not when we are growing the way we are.'
The commission did agree to bring back an impact fee discount program to incentivize affordable housing construction, and possibly workforce housing.
But there's no unity on that front either. Both Duval and Petrow noted that affordable housing developers have been able to build in the city. Most recently McDowell Housing Partners started renting apartments at Ekos at Arbor Park, a 136-unit affordable apartment community for residents age 55 and older and are working on an all-ages Phase II that would add 66 more homes.
The board ultimately voted 3-2 to schedule a workshop on an affordable and workforce housing incentive program.
Emrich and Petrow voted against that – with both saying it was too soon to revisit the topic.
Langdon urged a charter amendment to allow for the city to borrow money in the aftermath of an emergency – such as Hurricane Ian – on each November election cycle until it passed.
Emrich agreed but suggested tacking on a $15 million cap.
Staff later noted that Ian cleanup was more than three times that.
But the majority of the board was not interested in going down that path in 2026.
Instead the city may explore a method used by school districts around the state to solve all three funding dilemmas – certificates of participation.
COP's for short are a lease-finance agreement with a separate financing entity that then sells shares to investors who essentially buy a portion of the agreed upon lease payment.
At the end of the lease payment, the city would own the building.
The city establishes the financing entity and a board of directors.
In many school districts, the school board members serve on that board, so city commissioners can do that, too.
Todd Miles, North Port's legislative analyst, explained that the bond transaction is similar to the traditional bond issuance but repayment hinges on an established schedule, not the city's credit rating.
'It's recognized that because those facilities are essential, they're going to appropriate the money,' he added.
The downside is the interest rate required to pay off the certificates is typically one-tenth to two-thents of a percent more than the interest rate on similar bonds.
Former City Commission candidate Josh Smith, who spoke several times during public comment, expressed disappointment at the prospect of the commission ignoring the will of the voters, who voted against all spending.
'This citizens-be-damned mantra we've been running for a while is getting old,' said Smith, who later added that he voted against all four financial matters on the May 13 ballot – even the waste transfer station, which he supported – as a protest.
City commissioners acknowledged that the negative vote was an expression that voters did not trust the current commission to spend their money wisely.
Applying for money from the state revolving loan fund – which can be interpreted as a transaction between two government entities and not a loan – and short term bank loans and lines of credit for emergencies, are other options, as is increasing the reserve fund balance to prepare for emergency needs.
The city can also continue on its current pay-as-you-go path and reprioritize capital improvement plan projects to free up money.
Another option, which will likely be discussed in June, is a public-private partnership proposal from a Tampa-based company, Florida Development Solutions, LLC, to build the jail and transfer station and fix the wastewater woes.
City spokesman Jason Bartolone said a proposal from Florida Development Solutions – established just last July 31 – was not yet available.
He also confirmed that the city has not received a formal consent order from FDEP but state officials have briefed officials on the draft order.
In all the commission authorized staff to explore the COPs process for all financial transactions, and public-private partnership, contracting with the state a revolving fund loan for the police station and the wastewater project.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: North Port City Commission searches for ways to pay for costly needs
