The Reporter newspaper, Camdenton Missouri

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Published July 22, 2015

Osage Beach finally approves Arrowhead Centre TIF

By Jeff Thompson
OSAGE BEACH - The initial Arrowhead Centre Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Plan was finally approved by the Board of Aldermen after amendments were added by the city’s TIF Commission.

(A TIF is a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) which is a mechanism for providing funds in economically depressed areas. TIF programs are designed to use the increased property tax revenues generated by an urban development (the tax increment) to pay for the public costs of that development. TIFs have become a major tool in many developments. Even if the developer has the money to build without using a TIF, the mechanism is in place for them to take advantage of.)

The approval took place at the board’s regular meeting last Thursday night at City Hall.
The $385 million project seeks approximately $55 million in reimbursable TIF funds.

Before the approval, the public had the chance to comment on the plan - which includes a Community Improvement District (CID) - with the public comment opportunity mandated by CID state statutes.

However, only one city resident - living on Dogwood Lane - spoke out about the proposed TIF plan’s relationship to Route KK and Nichols Road.

The resident focused on the TIF’s nebulous plans for both roads, including their intersection.

“I’ve been told that KK is the busiest (road) in the city,” he said, adding that its intersection with Nichols Road was “unclear.”

He warned city officials of acting too quickly.

“Let’s not lose sight of the traffic problem just for the potential for sales tax,” he said. “The benefit of the few does not outweigh the detriment of the many.”

The resident suggested either sending the proposal back to the city’s TIF Committee to “fix” the road issues or bringing in engineers from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) “that would take care of the road situation.”

City officials - including City Attorney Edward Rucker and City Planner Cary Patterson - explained that TIF plans do not set road boundaries, nor do they commit the city to any potential road designs.

Patterson said the city would be responsible for Nichols Road as a Planning and Zoning Commission issue with plats, traffic patterns and infrastructure while Route KK is “owned” by MoDOT and it would be responsible for any changes.

“The TIF plan is simply the banking side (of the proposal),” Patterson said.

The resident countered by claiming a TIF plan used for the Dierbergs development took into account traffic patterns from surrounding streets and Osage Beach Parkway.

Patterson added that the board would have final approval for any changes to Nichols Road and would work with MoDOT if changes were necessary for Route KK.

In addition to the Dogwood Lane resident, an attorney hired by the city for the TIF process as well as the Arrowhead Developments LLC attorney also spoke.

The Arrowhead Developments attorney promoted the proposal as “a really, truly unique project for the city” while the TIF attorney briefly explained the amendments to the original plan.

The city provided a court reporter to keep an official record of discussions made during the public comment portion of the meeting.

The board also gave first-reading approval to eight ordinances that correspond with the eight projects within the Arrowhead Centre proposal. The ordinances would only receive second-reading approval when each project is ready to start.

Gary Mitchell - Arrowhead Development LLC president - said the entire project with all of its eight phases could take up to 28 years to complete.

The issue of roadways - specifically Nichols Road - also came up earlier in the meeting during the citizen’s communications part of the agenda.

Two residents spoke out about a proposed center turn lane on Nichols Road that had allegedly been part of the planning process for the construction of the new Camdenton R-III Elementary School.

One resident estimated as many as 133 vehicles would be on Nichols Road twice a day when school starts and said a center turn lane is a necessity for traffic safety.

“Does the city have a plan for a center turn lane,” she asked.

Mayor Penny Lyons said she had been told by school district officials that a turn lane wasn’t necessary.

Another resident claimed that discussions from the Camdenton R-III School Board “indicate they’re not okay with this (lack of a turn lane).

Lyons attempted to be conciliatory.

“I haven’t heard any concerns (from the school),” she said, “but we’re open to discussion.”

Alderman Phyllis Marose was also concerned about the lack of a center turn lane near the new school. She suggested using flashing school zone signs along the road as well as a lower speed limit.

“It’s the least we could do to show we’re concerned,” Marose said. “School starts August 18.”