The Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Review Committee met Monday to discuss a proposed TIF district that, if approved, would fund public improvements to accommodate traffic near Eastland Shopping Center, located on U.S. Highway 75, north of Adams Road.
Plans have been submitted to the City of Bartlesville for review by Chick-fil-A restaurant to construct a new facility at the center, and Hobby Lobby plans to relocate from its existing facility at the center to the former Atwoods building. City planners say improvements to U.S. Highway 75 will be necessary to accommodate growth at the shopping center.
If ultimately approved by the City Council, the TIF would be used to fund the improvements, which include additional turn lanes for both north- and south-bound traffic, and improvements to the traffic control signal near the west entrance to the shopping center.
The City of Bartlesville has established several TIF districts over the years to fund both retail and housing development. By law, a TIF district captures ad valorum tax revenues generated by the development, and can be used to capture sales tax increments as well. Once a baseline tax is established, revenues exceeding that amount are “captured” and used to repay loans used for the improvements. In this case, roughly $500,000 would be encumbered to finance improvements to the public infrastructure. Once repaid, tax revenues generated by the development (Eastland Shopping Center) would be paid to the taxing jurisdictions, which include the City of Bartlesville, Washington County, Washington County Health Department, Bartlesville Public School District and Tri County Tech. Representatives from each jurisdiction serve on the review committee, in addition to at-large members.
On Monday, the committee discussed the financing options and possible terms of the proposed TIF, tabling the item pending further discussion later this month.