Kevin Freibott, Planner II, 509.625.6184
Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 2:32 p.m.
The City of Spokane is seeking volunteers for a committee that helps to select public investments in three Spokane neighborhoods – West Central, Emerson-Garfield, and Riverside. The funding for the work comes from a special taxing district created by the City in this area in 2007.
A Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, which includes the Kendall Yards Development, was created by the City and County of Spokane to help pay for public improvements inside the Kendall Yards area and for projects in neighboring locations.
Volunteers are needed for a citizen committee—the Neighborhood Project Advisory Committee—which considers and recommends funding for the public projects in the neighborhoods. Recent work by this committee has included consideration of funds for improvements to the North Monroe area, Dutch Jake’s Park, and the pedestrian suspension bridge in Riverfront Park. The committee gives the citizens of Spokane a key voice in the development of public improvements in these neighborhoods.
The Committee currently has three open positions. The positions include a position for a resident of the Emerson-Garfield neighborhood, one for a resident from the Riverside neighborhood, and one for an at-large position that needs expertise or experience in economic development, finance, and/or real estate.
Tax-Increment Financing is an economic development tool established by the state. It allows for a portion of newly generated property taxes within a defined district to pay for public infrastructure, including traffic calming, sidewalks, parks, and more. In this case, 75 percent of the increased property taxes are used to pay for public improvements over 25 years.
Interested individuals are asked to fill out the City’s application for committees, boards and commissions. Please submit it to the Mayor’s Office, fifth floor of City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Boulevard, Spokane, WA, 99201 or to mayor@spokanecity.org no later than August 30, 2019.
For more information on the West Quadrant TIF district, as well as the Neighborhood Project Advisory Committee, please see the West Quadrant TIF webpage.
