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Landing project gets new chance

A 3-2 vote allows New Port Richey to enter into negotiations with Main Street Landing developers to discuss financing the stalled condo-retail project.

By JODIE TILLMAN
Published July 19, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - Another hours-long meeting, another close vote.

Only this time, City Council members' 3-2 decision on Monday night revives a proposal to provide additional public financing to the now-stalled Main Street Landing project.

The vote directs city staff to enter into negotiations with Main Street Landing developers about their proposal to pay off roughly $6.7-million in infrastructure and bond financing costs with a portion of property taxes the project is expected to generate over the next 23 years.

The negotiated deal would still need the approval of council members. Even the developers say it may not necessarily be enough to get the project re-started immediately.

But the Monday night decision for the first time gives staff and city lawyers permission to get into nitty-gritty details of the complicated financing proposal.

Lead developer Ken McGurn of Gainesville and his partner, former city mayor and county commissioner Peter Altman, asked for the additional assistance after running out of money for the residential and retail complex, whose price tag soared from $17-million in 2004 to $33-million now. The project would include 55 condo units and 20,000 square feet of retail space.

Last month, the City Council, meeting as directors of the Community Redevelopment Agency, voted 3-2 against the proposal. In response, McGurn began shutting down construction, saying he would wait until construction costs stabilized.

Deputy Mayor Matthew McCaffery, who was part of that majority, swung the vote Monday night. Council members Tom Lackey and Marilynn de Chant opposed the move to go into negotiations.

Part of the developers' proposal included the formation of a special taxing district known as a "community development district" as a mechanism for collecting that property tax money. Developers had not filed their CDD application - until Altman handed it to City Manager Scott Miller minutes before the meeting began. (McGurn had a previously scheduled vacation to Europe and did not attend the Monday meeting.)

McCaffery said Monday he had been waiting all along for the application, the details of which he said would enable him to make an informed decision.

"I said from the beginning, 'File the application and I'll listen to you,' " he said. "If it was done properly the first time, we wouldn't be here."

But not so fast on that application. While Altman handed over the documents, he did not turn in a $15,000 filing fee to pay for administrative costs.

District Management Services, a Tampa-based CDD consulting company where Altman works as a regional manager, wrote the documents, with the request that the city bill them later for the actual expense of processing the application.

On Monday night, City Attorney Tom Morrison told the council members that he did not consider the application to be formally filed until it came with the filing fee. State law, he noted, says the fee "shall" be filed. "I'm not aware of any law that says 'shall' means 'may,' " he said.

District Management Services president Brian Lamb said Tuesday that other Florida cities had used their rule-making abilities to charge lower filing fees or to bill developers for the amount that it actually costs to review their applications.

But Mayor Dan Tipton, before calling for a vote Monday night, said he expected developers to pay the $15,000 fee.

Most of the roughly 200 people who showed up at the meeting Monday night spoke favorably of the project and asked officials to continue to work with the developers to find a way to make it happen. Among them were local bankers, dentists, lawyers, Realtors and business owners.

"Boy if you had a roster, that was a who's who in the city of New Port Richey," said resident Ray Rossi, who had bought retail space at Main Street Landing.

Jodie Tillman can be reached at (727) 869-6247 or jtillman@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 18, 2006, 22:49:27]