News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena Mayor Pro-Tempore Cindy Johnson addresses the Alpena County Economic Development Committee on Wednesday. Johnson urged the county to commit to a longer-term investment into the Alpena Downtown Development Authority district, which is pushing to expand its boundaries.

ALPENA — The fate of a proposed expansion of the Alpena Downtown Development Authority district may lie in the hands of Alpena County commissioners.

The county has committed to providing financial support for five years for the proposed expansion, which would extend the district’s boundaries farther down Chisholm Street and 2nd Avenue, but the DDA and Alpena want a longer commitment.

If the commissioners fail to extend the period of time the county would help financially support the proposed DDA expansion, the Alpena Municipal Council could balk at the proposed plan, too.

At Wednesday’s Alpena County Economic Development Committee meeting, representatives from the DDA and city urged commissioners to consider providing financial support for 30 years. The allocation for the development of the expansion area would be $5,000 a year for the first 10 years and peak during the last five years at $25,000 a year.

In total, the county would contribute a little over $300,000 over three decades, but the county could benefit from improvements to now-vacant buildings that could increase property values.

While addressing the committee, Alpena Mayor Pro-Tempore Cindy Johnson discussed how important the DDA has been in revitalizing downtown Alpena and how she anticipates it would do the same in parts of the business district that need some investment.

She said the council as a whole would like to see the county step up its commitment as the city and Alpena Community College have.

“This is something that won’t just benefit the city, but the entire region,” Johnson said. “There are businesses in the expansion area that want to capture dollars not currently available to them to improve the area. There needs to be a long-term commitment by everyone to make it a reality.”

The committee and County Administrator Mary Catherine Hannah will review the latest proposal from the DDA and it will be considered at an upcoming Board of Commissioners meeting.

Commissioners Travis Konarzewski and Bill Peterson expressed support for the boundary expansion, but Commissioner Burt Francisco teetered on the issue.

He said many of his constituents in District No. 6 are opposed to the county using tax money on something they believe the city will benefit the most from.

Francisco also stated that there is a certain amount of distrust with the city among residents in Alpena Township and Maple Ridge Township, who he represents, especially because of the ongoing water and sewer litigation between Alpena and Alpena Township.

He said voting in favor of the financial support for the DDA, could cost him votes when his term is up.

“Trying to sell this to the rural community is probably my biggest challenge and quite frankly, I’m just going to throw it out there, there is a concern about the trust with the city,” Francisco said. “Again, Alpena Township and the whole water litigation thing. It may not have a direct impact, but it is affecting the minds of the people within my area. I have to run for reelection too just as well, so I have to represent my constituents.”

Johnson took issue with the remark about the integrity of the city and defended it and the action it has taken over the years that benefited others outside the boundaries of Alpena.

“We are fiscally responsible, we help businesses capture any grant dollars they can, we are there for the city, but what we do in the city supports everyone,” she said. “When I hear about distrust with the city, that kind of upsets me because I work really hard not to have that happen. I think, from my perspective, all of the council is a responsible group of people.”

For decades the city has imposed a 1.98127 mill assessment on property owners in the DDA, which equates to about $100 for a property assessed at $100,000. Those who own property in the expanded DDA boundaries will likely have to pay the assessment.

The DDA also receives funding from tax increment financing (TIF) too. The funds from it, coupled with the assessment, help pay for DDA operations, beautification projects, for grants to business owners to help improve their facilities and events.

The TIF funding for the DDA is given to it from the local units of government after they receive property owner’s taxes. The TIF is only applied to any increase on the assessed value of property within the district. It is not a tax increase set by the DDA, but set by property values in municipalities like Alpena and Alpena County, who share a portion of the taxes with the DDA.

The DDA says the money allocated to it from the expansion area will be used to help spur development, especially targeted for vacant buildings and property.

Mahler said it will also open up doors for developers to apply and receive needed grant funding to help cover expenses for projects that they wouldn’t be eligible for outside a DDA district.

It could be a month or more before the council addresses votes on the issue.