The city is dedicated to expanding tax base
Published 9:21 am Wednesday, March 12, 2014
City View, by Chad Adams
A few weeks ago, the Albert Lea City Council and staff prioritized the goals and established an 18-month work plan for the city, which followed a council and staff retreat and goal-setting session conducted in January. One of the top-priority goals identified by the council and staff is to increase the tax base in the community.
We recognize that increasing the community’s tax base will take more than just an 18-month plan; however, there are a number of initiatives that we are implementing and discussing to create more tax base over the next several years. One of the key initiatives will be to continue collaborating with the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency and other community agencies and stakeholders on increasing tax base and creating jobs. In addition to those collaborations, there are a number of other opportunities that the city can help facilitate or implement directly.
The revitalization of the downtown is a good example of working with the community to increase tax base and create jobs. The city has invested a lot of resources and funding into the Broadway reconstruction and streetscape, along with the initial exterior and interior work to the Freeborn National Bank and Jacobson Apartments buildings to create an attractive and welcoming environment to prospective Broadway tenants, businesses and visitors to the community.
The Broadway reconstruction and streetscape alone is not the solution to revitalizing the downtown and increasing tax base but is a major positive investment in achieving our goals.
The city will continue to be involved in building tax base in the downtown through the Freeborn Bank and Jacobson Apartments, direct redevelopment or incentivized redevelopment for private developers in the downtown or in the new Diversified Central District surrounding the downtown.
The city is presently identifying other areas and corridors in the city that we should be planning for future redevelopment. These areas consist of both commercial and residential corridors. Possibilities for redevelopment may involve acquiring property and using tools, incentives or loans that are available for such redevelopment.
Some broader examples of increasing the community’s tax base are the restoration of Fountain Lake and Albert Lea Lake. The water quality improvements to both of these lakes are highly supported by the city and are viewed as opportunities to retain and attract residents, businesses and tourists to the community, all which will demand more services and create growth in the community. Another example is continued maintenance and improvements to the city’s infrastructure, which we have been creating a long-term financial management plan and capital improvement plan in the past few years.
There are also some specific examples that the city is working on directly or collaboratively with other community partners. One such example is the Freeborn National Bank and Jacobson Apartments buildings, which we hope to secure a development agreement for in the next few months. The city also continues to engage with the National Vitality Center and Blue Zones to revamp initiatives in the community in the next few years.
Also, the city is working with a couple of developers to construct market-rate rental units, which have been illustrated to be undersupplied, according to the last housing study in 2009. Several testimonials to the city have justified the need for such rental units that will allow more present commuters to work and live in the community.
Lastly, the recent Blandin Leadership Program graduates from Albert Lea have adopted a few projects to study and implement in coming months and years. One project is focused on the Blazing Star Landing as a destination site for the community that will either directly or indirectly create more tax base in the community. Another project is building an entrepreneur program that will encourage and assist entrepreneurs to start and sustain new businesses, tax base and jobs in the community. Albert Lea has a number of great success stories to learn from entrepreneurs who have built great businesses and industry in the community, and we plan to utilize that talent and knowledge to inspire new entrepreneurs.
Over the next several months, I look forward to sharing the other top-priority goals that resulted from the council and staff’s discussions, along with the progress being made on the goals. Some of those goals are presently being outlined at our regular council meetings where the members of our senior management team are summarizing 2013 achievements as well as goals for the next 18 months.
As always, we encourage you to contact the mayor, a City Council member or staff to share your ideas on increasing the tax base and improving our organization and community.
Chad Adams is the city manager for Albert Lea.