traditional financing alone because there ….

traditional financing alone because there is no way that building can bear the brunt by itself,” Gasek told the committee. He said there needs to be some other “players at the table” and that they have been working closely with WEDC on the grant application.

Gasek said the usual procedure is for a grant application to be submitted, which is reviewed by the WEDC, and the applicant is then invited back to submit a final application. He said they submitted an application and were invited right away to submit a final application, which Gasek said indicates the WEDC’s interest in the project and that it would likely receive funding.

Gasek said the reason for the resolution is that the grant has to come through the city to the developer rather than going directly to the developer and that the resolution was vitally important for the redevelopment project to move forward.

Alderman Mike Bub asked how much money would the city have to put into the project since it was matching funds. Gasek said the grant would cover 25 percent of the cost of the project and that they had almost all of the remaining costs covered by private funding. He said they were still trying to fill in some gap funding which he hoped the city would be able to help out with because “it was going to take multiple funding sources to get this across the finish line.”

Bub said he understood that and was just trying to get a handle on what the city’s potential liability would be. Both Harris and Gasek said they thought it could be up to $40,000.

The resolution now goes to the full council at its meeting on August 17 for final approval.

The committee also approved terminating a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with Néstle.

The city and Néstle negotiated a contract for private development of property located on the east side of the railroad tracks in Tax Increment District (TID) No. 12 so Néstle could develop it into parking space. The company agreed to a payment in lieu of taxes to the city based on an assessed value of $225,000 until the tax year 2025. After that, Néstle would pay the taxes based on the actual assessed value of the property.

Néstle is currently negotiating with a group to donate this land for use as a dog park. The group is in the process of obtaining 501(c)(3) status as a tax-exempt organization and Néstle is requesting the city terminate the developer’s agreement at the end of the year.

“If they give the land away, they don’t want to pay taxes anymore,” Harris said. He said Néstle would still pay the taxes for this year and next year the agreement would be dissolved. However, Harris said, this would only happen if the land goes to the dog park group. He said if for some reason Néstle and the dog park group fail to reach an agreement, the developer’s agreement with the city would continue until it expires in 2025.

Alderman Dave Brandner asked what would happen if the dog park closed some time in the future. Harris said the application for 501(c)(3) status requires a group to designate who would own the property. City attorney Courtney Graff said if it went to another 501(c)(3) organization, the property would continue to be tax-exempt. She said if the new owner was not a non-profit organization, then the property would go back on the tax roll.

The resolution also goes to the full council at its meeting on August 17 for final approval.