School district, developers reach impasse

Negotiations have reached a standstill between the Prestwick Plantation developers and Cape Girardeau school district officials, and Cord Dombrowski, one of the developers who is seeking tax-increment financing, is having serious doubts that the group's 900-acre, planned residential and golf community will ever occur as hoped.

In a letter signed by schools superintendent Mark Bowles and recently distributed to the developers and others involved in the TIF process, the school district will not support a TIF of more than $11.9 million. The letter asked that $8 million of the TIF go back to the school district to pay for a new school that might be needed if the development attracts enough children to the district. The letter also asked that $2.5 million go to the city for Bloomfield Road, leaving only $970,000 to go to the developers for infrastructure inside the subdivision.

Since late summer, Dombrowski said Prestwick has been seeking professional, out-of-town developers to assist with the project as a backup in case the city denies the TIF.

If Prestwick does not get TIF -- and Dombrowski says that is becoming more and more likely -- the group will either slowly build the project a foot at a time as it can afford, or the out-of-town developers will do the project and bring in their own nationally contracted builders to do the labor.

The Prestwick group has estimated that $400 million of construction will take place, which would result in a $2 billion economic stimulus for the area, if local contractors do the work.

But the city's first-ever TIF consideration has not gone smoothly. Dombrowski said he was surprised and discouraged with the figures in Bowles' letter, considering he thought he was close to striking a deal in discussions with Rob Huff, the school's chief financial officer.

Bowles said the letter was the result of numerous conversations with school attorney Joe Russell.

The $970,000 figure is just 4 percent of what the Prestwick group asked for in its original proposal. That proposal called for $24 million for the development's infrastructure, $4 million for the school district and $2 million to the city.

In the letter, Bowles outlined a list of infrastructure the school district could support. He said he expected Dombrowski to counter-offer the $8 million figure for the school. Bowles said the specific items listed would benefit the entire community.

Bowles said some consideration was given to the developers' needs, but that the fiscal responsibility of the school was the No. 1 issue.

"The community voted to pay for schools, not development," Bowles said. "My final take was that we were going to be good stewards of the public schools."

The school board has two representatives on the TIF Commission, but has no official say in the ultimate approval of TIF. However, the city council has asked for a written recommendation from the school district and it would be politically difficult for the council to approve a TIF without the district's support.

That's why Dombrowski is not optimistic.

The last paragraph of Bowles' letter states, "I believe the very limited TIF outlined in this letter would serve the interests of the city, the district and the developer, if the city approves it. Anything more extensive would, in my opinion, be highly detrimental to the district and could not be approved or agreed to by the district."

Before the issue goes to the council, it will first be considered by the commission.

Potential economic tool

Tax-increment financing is an economic tool used to attract development. It uses the extra tax revenue generated by a particular district to help fund projects in that area. The Prestwick's proposal is a rare case in that the project is almost completely residential and would be paid for almost exclusively from property taxes. Since the school district is funded primarily with property taxes, it would shoulder most of the TIF.

The most recent holdup is just the latest in a series for the Prestwick group dating back to the March formation of the TIF commission. A schedule presented early in the process said that, under ideal circumstances, the council could have ruled on the project by Sept. 16.

Now approaching mid-November, the developers are not close to reaching a compromise with the taxing entity which would be most effected.

The developers are also still upset by a report by an independent consultant hired by the city -- Chauncy Buchheit of the SEMO Regional Planning Commission. Refusing to discuss details, Dombrowski said the report was "biased based on outside sources" and prompted him to cancel a recent TIF Commission meeting.

The Prestwick group has asked to meet with city officials discuss the report and the group's dealings with the school district. Dombrowski said he hopes to meet with city manager Michael Miller, the city attorney, and the city's TIF attorney on Friday.

Dombrowski said Prestwick has done everything the city has asked it to do. The group has put together its own figures and proposals, it has sought independent consultation and has tried to reach a compromise with the school district.

"But there's such a variance in all three sets of numbers, I'm not sure where everybody stands," Dombrowski said. "Where I stand, is if the TIF doesn't meet the needs of the developer, it doesn't help anybody. Right now, there is not a set of numbers that everybody agrees on."

Miller said he and the lawyers, after meeting with Dombrowski, may try to hold a joint meeting with the developers and the school district and serve as mediators. After that, they'll go back to the commission.

Al Spradling, TIF Commission chairman, said there's a chance the commission may have to decide what's best for all parties, though he's hoping some agreement can be reached.

"Right now, it's in the hands of the taxing authorities and the developer," he said. "There's just nothing for us to do at this point. Our job is to review and act upon a proposal and make recommendations on the proposal. Right now, nobody is happy with anybody, from what I gather."

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

WHAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT COULD SUPPORT

In a letter to Cord Dombrowski, a developer with the Prestwick Plantation group, Cape Girardeau schools superintendent Mark Bowles outlined a list of infrastructure the school district could support:

12-inch water line along County Road 206 $139,195

12-inch water line along Bloomfield Road $199,800

Fittings for 12-inch lines $40,000

12-inch trunk sewer along course of Ranney Creek $161,200

10-inch trunk sewer along course of Ranney Creek $92,400

10-inch connection force main $242,000

Sanitary sewer lift station $100,000

Bloomfield Road expansion from Stonebridge to 74 (half of estimated cost) $2,391,111

City equipment $580,000

Land for school (donated)

School construction (total cost) $8,000,000

Total $11,945,706