Board of Aldermen 09-22-2020 Page 39
Mayor Donchess
So there is a TIF District, Tax Increment Financing District that covers the Riverfront and many of the
adjacent parcels. And it generates a certain amount of income per year and that income is directed into
the Riverfront, the implementation of the Riverfront Master Plan which was adopted by the Board of
Aldermen several years ago. Avery extensive, | think a very good project that will add a lot to the City. |
think your question which | just saw up late in the day and so | didn’t have time to answer it in writing. But
the plan is ultimately when the major portions of the project are finally designed and they are in design now
is to bond for those improvements and pay for the bond out of the money generated from the TIF as your
question was suggested.
But in the initial stages here, both for the design work which is going on nowand we have hired a design
firm, they are designing many of the aspects of the Riverfront Master Plan that you can see therein the
Master Plan or in other drawings and the like that have been done since. But the initial stages, the design
work and this lighting project, we are just paying for out of the money that has come in, just paying cash
because we haven't yet, the bond has not been authorized and we haven't yet been able to determine
which until we get the design and an actual price estimate, a detailed price estimate, rather than simply in
order of magnitude, we don’t know what exactly which portions of the plan we could do; maybe all but
maybe not quite for the money, the bond that could be covered by the income generated within the TIF.
So here in the early years before we do the bond, this year we are proposing you adoptthe idea of paying
for the design out of current funds and then this proposal would pay for the remainder of the lighting
project. There is some money allocated towards it already. It would pay for the remainder of the lighting
project with this escrowed money. Again as | said, the current funds have been used for the design and for
part of the lighting project. Now| think this will add a lot to the river, you know, it will provide lighting along
the river walks north, particularly on the north side but some on the south between the Main Street Bridge
and the Cotton Transfer Bridge. It will also light the Cotton Transfer Bridge; | think you'll see a very
significant transformation with just the appearance and the walkability and the safety of the riverfronteven
though it’s really safe. But certainly being lighted will make that more obvious. So this will be a big step
forward for the downtown.
| think we have seen how people have taken to the riverfront idea. And we’ve seen that through just the
increase in activity on the water, but also as we talked about last night, the lighted kayak events which
have been held nowtwice without the City’s involvement at all, just spontaneous events down by
Nashuans which started a fewweeks ago. There was one and then probably it doubled or tripled in size on
this last Saturday night. So | think that provides an answer to just do you think we should do this project
now because it’s been designed, because we have partially allocated the money already. And if we don’t
do it now it would wait a year or two or could; wait at least a year. And it seems like given the value of the
project to the City it is worth proceeding in the short-term rather than waiting for a bond issue.
Alderwoman Lu
| have a follow-up.
President Wilshire
Alderman Lu?
Alderwoman Lu
Thank you. So this is part of the TIF District, thank you. My concern is | love what we are doing to the
Riverfront. Acouple of concerns| have are | don’t know what else could be done with these funds
because | don’t understand if we project a $5 million dollar problem with the retirement fund system in the
near future, then why we would not keep things unallocated. But! am confused about the TIF District will
