Nampa Urban Renewal Process

In 2006 the City of Nampa announced that they now had a process (the “Process”) in place to re-develop and re-energize downtown Nampa. The Process was apparently so compelling that it prevented the City from even listening to an alternative plan that local land and business owners wanted to present. A plan that did not require the City to purchase any land, kept the Library in the center of Historic Downtown, and would potentially save Nampa tax payers millions of dollars. Even though the City already owns cumulatively 4 blocks in historic downtown, the Process requires the City to purchase an additional 4 blocks. To avoid the costly and risky process of the City playing developer, the City was asked early on to do a public RFP. This concept conflicted with the Process so the City continued with their singular conviction that the Process must be adhered to.
Now that the Process has been in process for over two years it is appropriate to re-access the Process! Essentially, the City has spent over $1,000,000 for just consultants. Yes that is correct, $1,000,000 that has not gone towards buying dirt or building a brick! Over $1,000,000 paid to out of state consultants! The $1,000,000 does not include architectural and engineering costs for the library and police station, nor does it include the legal fees that the City has racked up with lawsuits from Vallivue and the two current challenges being made for the urban renewal judicial review. The only thing that the City has shown the public from the $1,000,000 expense is an illustration of what the proposed new projects may look like. Part of the $1,000,000 was $50,000 that the City paid for an outdated Market Demand Study completed in 2006. You remember the one that the City says that over $300 million in private investment will magically appear if the City builds a library. In addition, the City spent another $50,000 for the illustration. The good news with this is that the City actually showed it to the public. The bad news is that we could have done this locally for $3,000. The largest component of the $1,000,000 has been paid to SPPRE, the Texas consultant that developed the Process! We don’t have the exact amount, but to date, SPPRE has been paid over $500,000. In addition to the Process, SPPRE has provided consulting for land acquisition, even though they are not developers or real estate professionals, and they completed a detailed financial analysis of the proposed development. Again, the City has refused to let the public see this analysis. Again, public money spent on items not shared with the public. The other major component of the $1,000,000 expenses went to another out of state consultant for a traffic study. This cost was $350,000 and also has not been shared with the public. Rumor has it that after a detailed study of downtown, they concluded that a state highway runs through the middle of our downtown!
To date, after two long years, the Process has cost well over $1,000,000, the City has been in one lawsuit and is being challenged with two other complaints about the constitutionality of the funding for the Process. After two years, the City still has not been able to purchase the land they identified. This occurs when you try to buy land from someone who knows that you need their land, and especially, if you’re the City that needs the land! What will be the final cost, inclusive of legal fees, real estate fees, relocation costs and everything else that the City will have to pay for in the effort to purchase this land?
In summary, the Process has already cost the City over $1,000,000, they are having difficulty acquiring the land they identified as being the absolute best for the citizens of Nampa, and is already over a year behind on its original timeline. The Process has so empowered our local government that the mere sharing of a pretty picture, without any supportive public data, is enough to spend over $100 million of tax payers dollars. The City is still working off of a market demand study that is currently worthless and a financial summary that was prepared at the peak of our economic boom. In addition, the City has been paying for some of these costs from the general fund, not urban renewal dollars. The City is so confident in the Process that they recently authorized buying land with money from the Cities emergency reserve. Apparently, the accounting in the City is such that we are also now on our 4th Director of Finance since the Process begun. How much confidence should we have in its numbers? If this was the US government, it would still be a waste, but one we have come to expect, but for local government to be on this track is shameful and appalling.
The City should release the Market Demand Study, the SPPRE financial analysis, the traffic study and also revised Tax Increments projections to the public. Lastly, the Process should be amended to include other options and allow for more public feedback and participation. Currently, the only individuals pleased with the process are those in which the City has already purchased their property.