Public hearings to be held on TIF plan
Published 7:00 am Saturday, July 4, 2015
MORE BUSINESS: Laurence Leyens of Urban Development Toolbox proposed at the PRC Board of Supervisors meeting last month to bring Walmart Neighborhood Market and other businesses to Picayune by utilizing the TIF plan. Photo by Ashley Collins.
Officials from Pearl River County and the city of Picayune plan to hold public hearings regarding a proposed Tax Increment Financing plan to build infrastructure for a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Picayune.
The Picayune City Council will hold a public hearing at their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 7 at 5 p.m. in City Hall.
“It’ll be up to the council if they want to vote for it that night or table it,” Picayune City Manager Jim Luke said.
The Pearl River County Board of Supervisors will also hold a public hearing at their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 6 at 9 a.m. inside the court facilities in Poplarville.
“The law requires a public hearing to be held to discuss the TIF plan before it’s decided on,” Picayune City Clerk Amber Hinton said.
Both public hearings were scheduled after Laurence Leyens of Urban Development Toolbox, along with local developer Andy Cooper, presented their plan to the city and county to fund infrastructure for a Walmart Neighborhood Market using a TIF bond.
In a previous story, Leyens said there are many phases Cooper has planned concerning the development of land alongside Highland Community Hospital. One of the phases includes the establishment of a road and infrastructure to prepare the area so Walmart can build a Neighborhood Market. The infrastructure is said to cost an estimated $2 million but Cooper said he also plans to build residential and commercial areas around the Walmart Neighborhood Market. By using a TIF bond, it would cover a portion of Cooper’s expenses from the entire infrastructure, which could cost as much as $6.5 million, if the city and county approve.
The TIF bond would eventually reimburse Cooper for 50 to 60 percent of the infrastructure’s expenses. The money would come from the building’s value in the form of sales and ad valorem tax, according to a previous story.
Both hearings will be open to the public and will allow citizens to voice their opinions about the project, Laurence said in a previous story.
Once the public hearings are complete, the county and city will decide if they want to adopt, modify or decline the plan, according to previous Item coverage.
