Great Rivers, St. Peters still at odds over 370 TIF
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| Roy Sykes photo -- Construction crews install sewer lines Wednesday in preporation for future building in the Premier 370 Business Park. |
St. Peters officials contend that if the tax increment financing (TIF) district for the development is dissolved, then "$40 million would have to be paid" to the city "to make up this entire loss of revenue."
The city made that point during a private meeting March 25 attended by St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann; Don Musick, board president for Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, an environmental group opposed to development in flood plains; and Krey Distributing owner Steven Busch, acting as mediator. Great Rivers founder Adolphus Busch IV did not attend but participated by telephone."I was absolutely shocked and infuriated for them to somehow come up with that idea," Adolphus Busch, who owns land near the development site, said in an interview.
Mayor Len Pagano would not confirm or deny whether the city offered to drop the project if Great Rivers pays $40 million to the city.
But in a written statement issued by the city on April 23, Pagano said, "I have had several meetings during the past year since I became mayor with the hope of coming to an agreement to end this expensive litigation. At this most recent, confidential session, I referred to a number of talking points. At this time, because of the confidential and frank nature of this most recent meeting, I do not think it would be helpful to release 'talking points' which would not be a true and complete recollection of this lengthy discussion involving several individuals."
Meanwhile, the city still is waiting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to approve a letter of map revision (LOMR) revising the floodway boundaries along Highway 370 north of Interstate 70. The change is needed to make would-be tenants of the business park eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program, which FEMA administers.
Pagano said the city recently received a "letter of intent" from FEMA indicating the city should get the LOMR after a 90-day public comment period. A representative of FEMA did not return several phone calls before the Journal's deadline Friday.
In the meantime, Great Rivers is waiting to see if St. Peters will appeal a recent court ruling against the use of tax increment financing (TIF) in the development area. Pagano referred questions about the case to City Attorney Randy Weber. Asked whether the city would appeal, Weber said, "No comment."
State law allows cities to declare property blighted and establish a TIF district in which tax revenues generated by the new development can be diverted to pay off improvements to the property.
On March 4, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District in Kansas City, reversed a circuit court's ruling in the TIF lawsuit filed by Great Rivers against the city.
"Finding merit in Great Rivers Habitat Alliance's argument on appeal, we reverse the grant of summary judgment and remand to the trial court for further proceedings," according to the opinion written by appellate Judge Ronald R. Holliger.
Great Rivers' suit, filed in December 2004, challenged the city's decision to declare as blighted the farmland purchased for the 370 development. St. Charles County joined the suit as a plaintiff in September 2005.
"I asked Len if we would be having the meeting if they (the city) won this portion of the lawsuit," Busch said. "Now that you've lost it in a major way, you want $40 million and you inadvertently think it could come from us in some way. It defied logic."
Pagano said Great Rivers asked during the March 25 meeting to see open records pertaining to the development. "I did say that I had no problem with doing that and I told Steve Ehlmann he could go over to Randy Weber's office to view the documents," Pagano said.
Pagano said he later was advised by his attorney, Scott Williams, not to show Ehlmann the records because the city still is in litigation.
Ehlmann said he wanted to see the records because the city has disclosed little information about it.
"We are in this thing because it is going to impact us in the future," Ehlmann said. "We agreed in the conditional letter of map revision if Great Rivers dismissed (the lawsuit), the county would willingly get out. We are still trying to find a way."
Ehlmann said if the county opted out of the lawsuit, it "wouldn't solve anything."
The Board of Aldermen on April 24 voted 5-3 to opt out of the state's August sales tax holiday, citing the city's costs to defend against the TIF lawsuit. Pagano said the suit has cost the city more than $300,000.
"We are defending the city against what looks like an unending legal fight with Adolphus Busch and his Great Rivers Habitat Alliance," Pagano said.
Adolphus Busch said it "surprised us that they would try to lay the blame on us."
"It's a name recognition issue because of the Busch (family) name," Busch said. "It's pretty clear to see what is going on and they have the gall to say that it's our fault."
