02/21/1995 ECONOMIC DEV AND INDUSTRIAL COMMITTEE Minutes

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y to Town Meeting. Economic Opportunity has to meet a threshold: ( 1 ) loss of 2 , 000 jobs, ( 2 ) decadent, ( 3 ) open blight, impediments to development ( foreclosures, wetlands, poor soil etc. would be considered obstables for development) • Ms. McCabe thought the Industrial Park which is bank owned would fall into this category. They must be certified projects : ( 1) requires application completed by the Business , ( 2 ) approved by municipality, ( 3 ) approved by Economic Assistance Coordinating Council/EACC ( the Cape is well represented) , ( 4) requires negotiated agreement between the Business and the municipality (very important to determine who the negotiator will be) , ( 5 ) must create new jobs (construction excluded) . The benefits as a result are: ( 1 ) 5% investment tax credit, ( 2 ) 10% abandoned building tax deduction, ( 3 ) local real estate tax incentives. One creative way would be to have a real estate trust own the building and the agreement is between the developer and the Business; the Business will get the benefit of tax incentives. There are real estate incentives for special tax assessment: ( 1 ) local real estate taxes , ( 2 ) locally approved, ( 3 ) applies to current and anticipated increase in assessed value of property, ( 4) five year programs with maximums as follows : Year 1 0%, Year 2 up to 25%, Year 3 up to 50% , Year 4 up to 75%, Year 5 up to 100%. (Year 6 is 100%) . This incentive is good for vacant land having little value during construction. The exact combination would be negotiated in the agreement. Tax Increment Financing must be in EOA zones and range from 5 to 20 years. Revenue anticipated from the new value of the real estate may be exempted, used to pay a betterment fee in lieu of real estate taxes, or colected as real estate taxes . Ted asked if we should be going for the EOA designation in advance through town meeting, and Ms. McCabe stated it helps in marketing Mashpee with this hurdle behind you. She recommended start by getting one area EOA designated at Town Meeting. Mr. Whitenour stated that some specific criteria would be developed for tax increment financing. Ms. McCabe noted that the Cape is 1 of 32 ETAs, and Barnstable recently applied for an EOA through their Town Council. Ms. McCabe also recommended involving the Assessors , Planning Board, and Finance Committee. Mr. Whritenour suggested EDC make a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen re: an education process leading to an Article at Town Meeting (May 2 ) . Ted made a motion to plan an education meeting for appropriate town officials for the purpose of initiating a Town Meeting Article. Sharon stated that EDC should adopt the intent to designate an EOA or EOAs; the motion was seconded by Steve and voted in favor unanimously. A letter to the Selectmen was drafted stating EDC' s recommendation for an educational forum to be conducted by MOBD on one evening (March 14, 15 , or 21 ) , with participation from Assessors , Finance Committee, Town Planner, Planning Board, and Water Commissioners. The letter will be drafted and reviewed by Bob Whritenour before Monday' s Board of Selectmen meeting.