Trending
COLUMBIANA -- The city is moving forward with Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) requests for three commercial projects.
At the latest city council meeting in January, council approved offering 10-year, 75 percent property tax abatement CRA agreements for the Tractor Supply/Dollar Tree project and the Whispering Pines Memory Care Center.
City council members approved the offers below what was originally requested in order to move forward with the projects without school district approval on the CRAs.
District approval is required for any commercial CRA agreement above the 10-year, 75 percent threshold.
Councilman Dan Dattilio said the Tractor Supply/Dollar Tree CRA was originally proposed at 100 percent property tax abatement for five years and 50 percent the next 5 years.
Council also approved offering a 10-year, 50 percent abatement for Blue Ribbon Chiropractic, which was what was originally proposed, Dattilio said.
Another CRA request for a proposed development on Eureka Road through APL Properties is still on the table while the city works with the school district.
City Manager Lance Willard will present the offers to each business before final authorization is made on the agreements.
In other matters, council is still considering water and sewer rate increases.
Before the Jan. 16 council meeting council was presented with the results of a rate study conducted by the Greater Lakes Community Action Partnership, formerly known as RCAP.
The GLCAP did not recommend specific rate increases but provided an update on the current state of finances and trends occurring in the water department, Willard explained after the meeting.
"The GLCAP study provided a tool that we can use to see what we need to do to get the water department's finances back on track so this enterprise fund can become self-sufficient," he said.
He added that three members of council are going to work with the finance team to see what will work best and make recommendations for the water and sewer departments.
During the meeting council also approved appointing Richard Fryda to the board of zoning appeals for the term that ends Nov. 25, 2025.
Fryda was one of three candidates, with the other two being Linda Linebaugh and Dick McBane. However, McBane withdrew his name before the voting.
Fryda earned the majority vote, with four affirmative votes.