The Greene County Board of Supervisors are working toward an end product of establishing an Urban Renewal Plan that can be used to capture tax increment financing (TIF) funds from the new wind turbines.
A step in that direction was taken earlier this week when the Supervisors approved a joint city and county agreement for the Greene County Beaver Creek Wind Farm Urban Renewal Area. Board Chair John Muir explains that part of the agreement is concerning communities where the turbines are located, such as Dana, but other areas, such as the career academy in Jefferson, they had to connect via hard surface roads.
“And in the TIF world, in order to use those funds at an offsite location from the windmills, you have to physically have a way that travels. We did that on county roads (and) I think on state Highway 30 for a ways. Well one of the county roads happen to go through (the City of) Paton. In order to have an understanding with them that we wouldn’t be TIFing that area going through there, that’s what the agreement is all about.”
The cities involved in the agreement include: Grand Junction, Paton, Dana and Jefferson.
Muir adds that the Urban Renewal Area includes where the targeted area for projects are listed, along with the area connecting where the taxable structures to where the projects are. The $5 million in TIF funds from the first 41 turbines have already been committed to the Greene County School District to build the career academy. Muir says other projects include county roads and infrastructure where the wind turbines are located.
A public hearing to consider approval of the Urban Renewal Area is scheduled for October 29th during the regular supervisors meeting. The full proposed plan can be found by clicking the link below.