Its Time

It's time for the City of Nampa to share with the public all expenses to date for consultants and land it has spent in following the "proccess" it began two years ago. I estimate over $1 million in consultants, including legal fees, and $ 4 million in land acquisitions. It's time for the City of Nampa to explain how after $5 million in expenses, not one brick has been laid and how it is still no closer to laying a brick. The only think laid to date is one big, expensive egg!

It's time for the City of Nampa to explain how the current attempt to get bond approval for $15.5 million is only for the purpose of acquiring land for the library and police station not to build anything. As reported in the Statesman on 2/12/08, the $15.5 million bond would occur in 2008, a bond for $21.25 million would occur in March 2009 for the construction of the police station and a bond for $31 million would occur in 2013. Keep in mind that the construction estimate for the library was $45 million, I am not sure how the $14 million gap is covered. With the current appeal on the recent judges ruling, there is no timeline for letting the $15.5 million bond let alone the others. Of course time is not relevant to the City given that the City promised to have an RFP in March of 2007 for these magical developers that are going to flock to downtown Nampa with over $300 million of their own cash.

It's time for the City to explain how they have spent $5 million from the general fund by only showing the public a pretty picture as to what they want to build. I knew we were going to be in trouble the minute the City decided to take on the role of developer. Although you have to give them credit for being able to spend this kind of money by just showing a picture. That is the big disconnect between the City and the real world. The real world would have to go beyond the pretty pictures and actually share specific market data and economic feasibility models with detailed analysis and of course, spend it's own money. Not the City of Nampa, $5 million dollars based upon the grand marketing skeem of a couple colorful pictures.

Before the city spends one more penney on this crazy, unrealistic plan of theres, and jeopordizes the financial stability of the City, it is time to share everything. It is time to share its projections for how much tax increment they think will be coming in to fund this work. Keep in mind that real estate has devalued from 30 - 60% from the 2006 tax year in which the accessed values were set.

It's time the City reevaluates its plan and the location of the library. The only reason the City picked the proposed library site was because SPPRE said it was the perfect space if you put the Park on the block where ther Artic Circle is and hope that some developer will lease or pay really high dollars for the block of land currently occupied by the police station. I am sorry to dissapoint, but no-one will be paying anything for that block, nor will the city have enough money to buy the land for the park. Given this, isn't it time the City reevaluate's this location? Its time the City remembers that it sold the public on the promise that the library would be the catylist for downtown revitalization. How does this location do that? You might as well place it in Karcher Mall. It would be less expensive and add the same value to downtown.

It's time that the people of Nampa demand that the City come clean and share all the details of this process and the money it has spent. It is time for the City to understand that there will be no white knight developer to lift them out of the whole they have dug us into. It is time for the City to work openly with the public and downtown property owners to discuss options.

Where are the Reporters

Where in the country can you go where the supposidly "free" press doesn't ask questions or investigate municiple spending? Short answer, Nampa! Neither the Idaho Press Tribune, the Idaho Statesmen or the Idaho Business Review have reported on, or investigated the merits of the City of Nampa's proposed plan for renovating downtown Nampa. The proposed legacy projects are going to require over $100 million in City tax dollars to pay for a Library, Police Station, Park and a City Hall. Yes, that's right, City Hall. The City Hall isn't part of the identified Urban Renewal Projects, but neither is the park, but who's counting! The City has publically stated that their consultant says that if the City spends over $100 million in downtown, then private investors will spend over $360 million. The City has already purchase property for this plan from general fund reserve funds because the consultant says its the best thing to do while they wait to see if a judge will allow for them to bond for $15.5 million. Again, the $15.5 million doesn't build a brick, it just buys land and pays for more consulting fees. The City last reported that they thought they might have enough tax increment from the urban renewal in 2011 to build the police station and 2013 for the library. Well, I hope they have redone their TIF calculations because as the real estate market continues to drag prices down, eventually the price reductions are going to show up in the form of less assessed values and less taxes.

Again, where are the reporters. There are plenty of questions, and the City isn't answering. Seriously, how much have the spent to date just on consulting fees? How many more finance directors does the mayor have to drive away until he gets one that can make up the numbers he wants. Where is that great group of consultants the City has already paid? Come on reporters, get with it. This is going to be a big story, you should get in on it first!

Money for Land, not Buildingsw

The City of Nampa is going through an up hill battle to receive funding from the Urban Renewal Agency to spend $15.5 million. From reading the IPT and other city news releases, one would think that the $15.5 million would be actually building the library and new police station. NOT! The $15.5 million is to just purchase land. What is being lost in the public discussion is what happens once the City spends $15.5 million for land, but then doesn't get enough money from future taxes to actually construct the buildings? In addition, when the city held its final meeting to approve spending $5million from its emergency reserve to buy land and announced the locations of the library, citizens present expressed concerns that the location would provide no parking for downtown and would have zero benefit to the downtown, which was the major reason for doing the library to begin with. Mayor Dale stated that the City was also in discussions to buy land in downtown to build a new garage. What Mayor Dale didn't say was that the city has no money to build a parking structure.

The city is spending our money because a consultant presented a plan, that the city can't share, that said $450 million would be spent to renovate our downtown. Now the City doesn't look like it will have approval or money to build its project. People of Nampa, wake up! This is the most rediculous process any city has ever undergone.

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.