The Poplarville Board of Aldermen approved a Tax Increment Financing Plan to construct the College Square Retail Center on Highway 11 after holding a public hearing Tuesday evening.
The Board approved the plan after receiving no opposition from the public. The project is said to invest over $7 million in the community and create 175 full and part-time jobs.
Before construction can begin however, the TIF plan still has to be approved by the county.
Under the plan, the city pledged up to 50 percent of the rebated sales tax generated from the project and up to 100 percent of the ad valorem taxes, Urban Development Toolbox representative Laurence Leyens said.
Taxes to be paid to the school district generated by the development cannot be used to pay back the bond, he said.
The city’s estimated reimbursement for infrastructure construction is about $1.3 million, although Leyens said that could be overestimated.
Once the TIF district is established, the city will create a development agreement with the developer, Jimmy Pickering, specifying the confines of the development, Leyens said.
“The risk today is really on the developer,” he said. “Mr. Pickering has to build all of the infrastructure to your specifications, then he comes back and asks for reimbursement.”
In other matters: the Board set a public hearing for Sept. 5 to approve the budget for 2018.
Before it receives final approval, the Board will hold another budget workshop on Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. to review the changes that have been made already.
In other matters, the Board approved a resolution that a lot at 510 W. Michigan Street is no longer needed or used by the city. The Board then approved donation of the lot to the Poplarville School District to be used as a private drop off point for students.
Mayor Rossie Creel recused himself during discussion and voting of that matter.
The Board also voted to declare five lots on Martin Luther King and Barber Streets as no longer needed by the public. It then approved sale of those lots to Marie Bowden for the average assessed value of $5,200.
Additional coverage of Tuesday’s meeting will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Item.