A plan to fund infrastructure near Ridgefield’s junction with Interstate 5 will include support for the local fire district, including purchase of land for a new fire station.
Ahead of the Oct. 26 meeting, the Ridgefield City Council hosted a public briefing on plans for a tax increment financing (TIF) area. The city has been working on the plan for the area for about a year and is set to make a final vote this week.
The 942-acre area covers underdeveloped land in the city near Pioneer Street’s junction with I-5. If approved, property tax revenue for all development in its boundaries will be dedicated to infrastructure improvements to support growth.
Tax revenue subject to the TIF will fund nearly a dozen infrastructure projects. Two major ones are the widening of Pioneer Street to four lanes from 56th Place to Royle Road and the construction of a corridor connecting South 10th and 11th streets, including an overpass over I-5.
All of the projects are anticipated to cost about $98 million, with roughly $50 million expected from TIF area tax revenue. With the infrastructure projects supported by the TIF revenue, the city can expect $700 million in private development and nearly 2,400 full-time-equivalent jobs at full buildout, Nick Popenuk, an economic consultant for the city, said.
The TIF area affects most but not all taxing districts, as state and local school funding isn’t affected. Those that are will be collectively foregoing $41 million over the 25-year period of the area, Popenuk said.
One of the districts impacted the most dollar-wise is Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue. Though information from the city estimated an impact of about $17.4 million over the lifetime of the area, the district’s own estimates are more like $23 million.
The taxing district most impacted proportionally is the city itself at between 7% to 11%, Popenuk said. He noted that, unlike the city, which has sources of revenue outside of property taxes, fire districts in Washington are almost solely dependent on that tax to fund its budget.
In September, the city had a joint meeting with CCFR administration and its board of commissioners to discuss potential impacts. They discussed developing a voluntary mitigation plan, which gives the fire district some benefits in lieu of receiving the tax funding.
Popenuk said the plan’s full terms have not been agreed to yet, though the need for the plan was included in a proposal before the council later that night for a first reading.
Proposed aspects of the plan include up to $2 million to purchase land for a fire station for the district. Popenuk said that purchase would be one of the first projects undertaken to address future impacts created by the TIF area.
Another aspect was an agreement to resume CCFR’s property tax collection if the TIF area manages to hit its target revenue ahead of schedule, Popenuk said.
The proposed plan requires recurring meetings on a multi-year basis to review what impacts CCFR is seeing and discuss any additional mitigation, he said.
“A lot of work has gone on between city staff and fire district staff to come up with this proposal,” Popenuk said.
Though initially expressing significant concerns over the impacts of the TIF area, CCFR now supports the city’s plan.
CCFR Chief John Nohr appreciated the efforts by the city to work on mitigation efforts. He said the district still has concerns on how the state law for TIF areas is written and will look at potential legislative fixes, but is now willing to back approval.
“CCFR supports the current Ridgefield plan and looks forward to continuing working with the city as a partner in all of the ways that both of our jurisdictions serve the citizens of Ridgefield,” Nohr said.
CCFR Commissioner Larry Bartel said there are still discrepancies in what the city is projecting and what the fire district will experience. He said the tax rate for CCFR used by the city was too low, and realistically the district would miss out on more property tax revenue.
TIF areas are relatively new in Washington, receiving approval by the Washington State Legislature in 2021. Ridgefield Mayor Jennifer Lindsay noted the city and the fire district have an opportunity to work within the law in a way that won’t leave any district hurting.
“I think we can be a good example for the rest of the state on how to all work together to create betterment for our entire community,” Lindsay said.
