RES 2013-01 Adopted RESOLUTION NO. 2013-01
PROVIDING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CERTAIN PROPOSED
AMENDMENTS TO THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE NORTH AUGUSTA
TAX INCREMENT FINANCING DISTRICT WITHIN THE NORTH AUGUSTA
RIVERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF NORTH
AUGUSTA, SOUTH CAROLINA, PROVIDING FOR THE HOLDING OF A PUBLIC
HEARING ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS AND GIVING NOTICE THEREOF
TO THE PUBLIC AND TO THE OTHER AFFECTED TAXING DISTRICTS, AND
MATTERS RELATING THERETO.
WHEREAS, Title 31, Chapter 6 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, as
amended (the tax increment financing law or "TIF Law"), authorizes the City of North
Augusta, South Carolina (the "City"), as an incorporated municipality of the State of South
Carolina (the "State"), and Aiken County, South Carolina (the "County"), to provide
incentives through the financing of municipally-owned improvements for redevelopment in
areas of the City which have been, are, or threaten to become, either blighted or conservation
areas, as defined by the TIF Law; and
WHEREAS, the City has previously investigated the process of establishing a Tax
Increment Financing District pursuant to the provisions of the TIF Law, and made
determinations that the real property in the designated area was either blighted or conservation
areas and in need of redevelopment under the TIF Law, and on December 16, 1996, the City
Council of the City of North Augusta (the "City Councir') did adopt a Redevelopment Plan
(the "Redevelopment Plan"), which set forth in great detail various redevelopment projects
(the "Redevelopment Projects") suitable for the 457-acre Riverfront Redevelopment District
including the Urban Core District of the City (the "TIF District"), by the terms of Ordinance
No. 96-10 dated December 16, 1996 (the "Ordinance"), and subsequently by Ordinance No.
2001-16 adopted by City Council on November 19, 2001, the City did issue a tax increment e
revenue bond on December 5, 2001 to help finance the Redevelopment Projects, and j
authorized the use of other revenues collected from the TIF District (the "TIF Revenues") to
pay for Redevelopment Projects on a pay-as-you-go basis; and
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WHEREAS, the City has enjoyed great success in utilizing TIF Revenues within the
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TIF District, and has demonstrated the great benefits to be derived by the City from the
implementation of the Redevelopment Plan, but realizes that areas within the TIF District
along the Savannah River have never been redeveloped and are still blighted or conservation
areas and that the City now has the opportunity to attract a significant amount of rivate
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investment in the area and to help create a new commercial area on the river to be known as
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the Hammond's Ferry Riverfront Center and now desires to take advantage of the
opportunities presented to continue developing the original Redevelopment Projects as
described in the Redevelopment Plan and to amend the Redevelopment Plan to expand the
scope of some of the original Redevelopment Projects, to add new Redevelopment Projects
within the boundaries of the existing TIF District, to extend the term of the Redevelopment
Plan, as supplemented and amended, and to increase the maximum term and maximum
amount of tax increment revenue bonds to be issued to fund the Redevelopment Plan as
amended and supplemented; and
WHEREAS, prior to amending the Redevelopment Plan and implementing the
proposed amendments, the City is required to, among other things, draft the amendments to
the Redevelopment Plan (the "Plan Amendments"), a copy of which are attached hereto as
Exhibit A, set a date for a public hearing on the Plan Amendments and publish a public notice
of the public hearing on the proposed Plan Amendments and hold the public hearing as
required by the TIF Law, after providing certain notices directly to any Taxing Districts (as
defined in the TIF Law) affected by the implementation of the proposed Plan Amendments at
least 45 days before the holding of such public hearing; and
WHEREAS, the implementation of many of these initial requirements shall be
administratively handled by the Mayor of the City (the "Mayor") or with the assistance of the
City Administrator, if so directed by the Mayor.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of North
Augusta, the governing body of the City, and it is hereby resolved by the same, as follows:
(1) The Mayor shall be authorized to do all things necessary to implement the
initial requirements for starting the process of amending the Redevelopment Plan governing
the TIF District, including, but not limited to:
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a. distributing the initial preliminary drafts of the proposed Plan Amendments
to the Redevelopment Plan,
b. setting the date, time and location for the public hearing or hearings
required by the TIF Law to receive public input on the proposed Plan
Amendments and new development,
c. causing to be drafted and transmitted the required notices to the affected
Taxing Districts of the date, time and location of the public hearing,
d. causing to be published in a timely manner in an appropriate form the
notices of the public hearing on behalf of City Council in newspapers of
general circulation in the City and the County,
e. causing the necessary proposed ordinance(s) to be drafted, and
f. taking such other steps as may be required by the TIF Law or which may
be deemed appropriate by him or the City Council for compliance with the
statutory process of amending the Redevelopment Plan and confirming the
continued existence of the TIF District as specified in the Plan
Amendments, and preparing for the lawful issuance of new obligations
under the TIF Law, if the Plan Amendments are ultimately approved.
(2) It is acknowledged by the City Council that this resolution (the "Resolution")
is only the first of many steps that must be taken in order to properly amend the
Redevelopment Plan, and it is expressly recognized that the authorization provided herein
does not in any way bind the City Council to amend the Redevelopment Plan and that further
authorization by formal adoption of an ordinance, after due notice to affected parties and the
holding of a duly advertised public hearing, shall be necessary for the City Council to
formally consider the adoption of any Plan Amendments to the Redevelopment Plan.
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RESOLV�y IN MEETING DULY ASSEMBLED at North Augusta, South
Carolina this day of January, 2013.
CITY OF NORTH AUGUSTA, SOUTH
CAROLINA
(SEAL)
By.
Lark . Jones, Mayor
Attest: QQ
By:
Donna B. Young, Auniciyal Clerk
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EXHIBIT A
PLAN AMENDMENTS DATED AS OF JANUARY 22, 2013 TO THE NORTH
AUGUSTA REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE RIVERFRONT
REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT INCLUDING THE URBAN CORE DISTRICT OF
THE CITY ORIGINALLY ADOPTED ON DECEMBER 16, 1996 BY ORDINANCE
NO. 96-10 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORTH AUGUSTA.
Each capitalized term used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning given to
such term in the Resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of North Augusta on
January , 2013.
1. Exhibit I to the Ordinance is amended to re-designate Sub-area 1.3, also known as the
Hammond's Ferry Riverfront Center, to be the site of the proposed new 225 room
hotel, a 225 unit apartment complex, 30,000 square feet of commercial space, 40,000
square feet of offices ace restaurants 75 townhomes a new conference center,
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public parking garage and related surface parking, infrastructure improvements, a new
municipal stadium and related facilities in the Hammond's Ferry Riverfront Center
area located generally south of Railroad Avenue and west of Georgia Avenue, north of
the Savannah River and east of the Hammond's Ferry subdivision.
2. Exhibit III to the Ordinance is amended to reflect the amount of the investment in the
new 225-room hotel to be approximately $60 Million for a resort-quality hotel with
meeting facilities and amenities suitable for this class of hotel, complemented by a
conference center to be built by the City at a cost of approximately $4 Million, plus a
public parking garage and surface parking containing up to 900 spaces for a cost of
j approximately $10.8 Million. As part of the hotel area development, 225 apartment
j units will be built at a cost of$28 Million as well as 75 townhome units at a cost of
$15 Million, plus restaurants, 30,000 square feet of commercial space, and 40,000
square feet of office space at a cost of$10.5 Million. The new municipal stadium will
also be built by the City in the Hammond's Ferry Riverfront Center area at an
approximate cost of$28 Million.
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3. Exhibit VIII to the Ordinance is amended to reflect:
a. new estimates for TIF Revenues to be collected if the term of the
Redevelopment Plan is extended for an additional thirty years from bond
issuance, or until December 6, 2046;
b. the cost of the Redevelopment Projects to be financed with tax increment
revenue bonds and TIF Revenues is estimated to be $43 million, which is the
amount that is expected to be deposited to the construction fund for the
Redevelopment Projects, but the total amount of indebtedness to be incurred
will include the cost of the Redevelopment Projects plus an amount necessary
to fund a debt service reserve, pay capitalized interest on the bonds during
construction of the Redevelopment Projects and pay costs of issuance of the
bonds; therefore, the total amount of indebtedness, in the form of tax increment
revenue bonds, that can be supported by this extended TIF Revenue stream
and/or other available revenues, as permitted by State law, is estimated to be,
but is not limited to, $50 Million;
C. the amended maximum maturity of the tax increment revenue bonds of any
particular series is 30 years from date of issuance of such series of bonds; and
d. as well as new estimates for:
i. accommodations tax revenues;
ii. capital projects sales tax revenues;
iii. street improvement funds; and
iv. other funding sources.
4. Exhibit IX to the Ordinance is amended to reflect the revised project costs and funding }
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sources for only those existing Redevelopment Projects which are to be modified and j
the proposed new projects.
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5. Exhibit XI to the Ordinance is a revised parcel list to reflect the current ownership of
the parcels that have been in the TIF District since the adoption of the original
Redevelopment Plan, but the date for the initial equalized assessed value has not
changed by reason of these amendments and is still December 16, 1996, the effective
date of the Ordinance and Redevelopment Plan.
6. Impact on Taxing Districts. The impact on the County will be positive in the long
run, due to the attraction of new development that otherwise would not occur in the
County, the creation of new jobs, an increased tax base, and additional revenue from
local option sales tax revenues over time. The City will agree to a modification in the
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participation in the use of TIF Revenues resulting from the imposition by the School
District of Aiken County (the "School District") of taxes in the Hammond's Ferry
j Riverfront Center-portion of the TIF District, so as to authorize the retention by the
School District of all TIF Revenues resulting from the imposition of its tax levy on the
proposed development, comprised of an estimated 75 townhome units to be built with
approximately $15 Million in private investment, but allowing the TIF Revenues from
the new 225 room hotel, restaurants, 30,000 square feet of commercial space, 40,000
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square feet of office space, and approximately 225 apartment units in the new
development along the riverfront north of Georgia Avenue to be distributed to the City
for use in financing and funding the Redevelopment Projects, as supplemented and
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' amended. The School District would continue to receive all other TIF Revenues
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derived from the imposition of School District taxes and received from new
development in the TIF District since its inception, and, in addition, the City would
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r forego its claim, based on the Consent Order in prior litigation, to receive the School
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District's share of TIF Revenues on certain commercial properties totaling five (5)
acres previously designated in the downtown area by the City. The impact on the
` School District will be positive. It is believed that the Plan Amendments will not
j result in any new per-pupil funding costs to the School District that are not covered by
the TIF Revenues the School District will receive from the 75 townhomes to be built,
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and the relinquishment of the School District's incremental taxes on the improvements
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in the five acres of commercial development previously agreed upon.
7. The maximum principal amount of tax increment revenue bonds to be issued,
excluding refunded bonds, is estimated to be, but is not limited to, $50 Million, which
will include amounts necessary to finance the costs of the Redevelopment Projects,
estimated to be $43 million, and amounts necessary to fund a debt service reserve,
capitalized interest on the bonds during construction of the Redevelopment Projects
and costs of issuance of the bonds.
8. The maximum maturity of the tax increment revenue bonds of any series, including
any bonds issued to refund such tax increment revenue bonds, will not exceed thirty
years from the date of issuance of such series.
9. The term of the Redevelopment Plan will be extended to the earlier of December 16,
2046 or the date the tax increment revenue bonds issued in connection herewith,
including any bonds issued to refund such tax increment revenue bonds, are paid in
full.
10. TIF Revenues not needed for payment of annual bond debt service may be pledged
for, and used for, payment of other Project Costs, as defined in the TIF Law or
included in the Redevelopment Plan, as supplemented and amended, and this term
specifically includes, but is not limited to, the costs of long-term maintenance of any
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ublicall d project in the TIF District.
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11. Funding sources for these Project Costs will include proceeds of bonds repaid by a
pledge of TIF Revenues, TIF Revenues not otherwise pledged for payment of long
term debt, designated capital project sales tax revenues, state and local
accommodations and hospitality fee revenues as available, fees from naming rights of
the stadium, parking fees, user fees for the use of the conference center by various
groups, rental or license fees from the Greenjackets, or other team, of the Minor
League Baseball organization, facilities fees imposed on tickets sold for events held in
the stadium, special fees imposed on persons selling concessions or other items at the
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stadium, grant funds, taxes or license fees distributed to the City by the federal or state
government, or from other sources of revenue available to the City.
12. The initial equalized assessed value of the TIF District on December 16, 1996 was
$1,013,038, but after revision to reflect the result of assessment appeals, the initial
equalized assessed value of the TIF District as of February 4, 1997 was found to be
$996,178 based on the certificate of such value issued by Cyrus Spradley, County
Auditor, dated December 5, 2001. While parcel ownership may have changed since
the initial certification date, the initial equalized assessed value has not changed
because no properties have been added to or deleted from the TIF District.
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