FARMINGTON -- Talks between members of the Farmington Redevelopment Agency Board and Park Sta-tion project developers came to a close last Wednesday night with the adoption of an RDA budget not to exceed $18.5 million. "This doesn't mean the developer, Haws Companies, will get $18.5 million," said Farmington city manager Max Forbush. "This is an amount we've settled on as an RDA to be presented to the Taxing Agency Committee for its approval." The TAC is a committee representing the various affected taxing entities in the area. RDA funds, or tax increment financing, cannot be used on the actual project itself, but only for, as Forbush described it, "solving impediments to development."

These impediments can consist of a variety of public improvements, such as roads, curb and gutter, sidewalks and some utilities. A full 20 percent of the funds raised must be donated to the state's affordable housing program.

The budget approved in-cludes a degree of flexibility as to individual expenditures. Ac-cording to Forbush there will be, approximately, $5 million for roads and $3 million on "betterments" to plans for the scheduled commuter rail station going in and out of the site, plus undetermined amounts for signage, landscaping and some utilities such as sanitary sewer and storm drains.

"This does not develop the actual site," Forbush again stressed.

Tax increment financing does not reduce the current amount of tax revenue impacted taxing entities receive. It does divert, for a set period, a portion of any increase in future revenues entities may receive.

But Farmington RDA Board members believe the move will pay off in the end.

"We fully expect the tax increment, as paid back with the new development," said Forbush, "will accrue to taxing entities greater revenues."



bmickelson@davisclipper.com