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City Council Minutes <br />July 6, 2020 <br />Page 10 <br />Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to <br />direct staff to bring back a resolution on July 20, 2020, approving the <br />easement vacation. Motion carried 5-0. <br />8.2 Letter of Support: Community Housing Development Corporation <br />Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. <br />Councilmember Ovall expressed concerns with approving letters of support for an <br />applicant who then spends time and money on a non -binding project. <br />Councilmember Christianson expressed concerns with giving support when he <br />doesn't have enough information about the project. <br />Mayor Dietz stated he doesn't like the color of the building. He further stated he is <br />not in favor of utilizing Tax increment Financing (TIF) for residential projects. He <br />stated TIF is more appropriate for bringing business and jobs to the community. <br />Councilmember Christianson concurred further commenting he would also like to <br />see TIF used for blighted properties. <br />Councilmember Westgaard noted housing can be more challenging regarding TIF <br />and he agrees with the Mayor's comments, but he would like to know more about <br />how the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) felt about the request. <br />Councilmember Ovall stated it is interesting how applications are presented to the <br />HRA because it's not really a philosophical conversation of does/doesn't deserve <br />TIF, it's more about whether these applications meet the criteria of the <br />policy/program. He questioned what project you ever see that doesn't meet the <br />but/for test, which is a joke. He sated for the HRA it's about meeting policy and <br />state law and not a focus on whether to use TIF for various types of projects. He <br />stated the HRA has been more focused and engaged on redevelopment. <br />Councilmember Westgaard stated he would like more direction from HRA in the <br />future on their vision, intent, purpose. <br />Councilmember Ovall stated much of this is how the applications are presented by <br />staff with a focus on policy. <br />Councilmember Westgaard stated he would approve a letter of support for some <br />financing but can't support TIF without having more information from the <br />application and the HRA. <br />Councilmember Ovall further noted it's presented as little risk to the city whenever <br />its pay as you go. <br />NA 1 VR� <br />