The bill was held in committee and effectively killed by a 10-8 vote, but the REAL story is WHO testified and WHY. Two non-elected people paid with citizen tax dollars urged legislators to prevent citizens from having the power to elect those who directly spend property tax money to subsidize developers downtown.

Lyn Darrington is a lobbyist paid by the city of Boise–but from whom does she get her orders? Phil Kushlan is director of the CCDC, Boise’s city appointed urban renewal agency–did he clear his testimony with the council?

The GUARDIAN sought to find out who authorized these hired guns to speak as representatives of Boise City. Councilor Vern Bisterfeldt categorically denied knowledge of any council meeting or discussion about the bill and didn’t even know it existed. Councilor Jim Tibbs also said he was unaware of any legislative proposal regarding urban renewal let alone any city position.

The GUARDIAN is very concerned that hired guns are purporting to speak on behalf of Boise City when the city council has not discussed the matter (any topic), arrived at a consensus on a position, or given direction on how they want to proceed–at a public meeting or otherwise.

The particulars on the proposed legislation are not important. We support public election of anyone allowed to directly collect taxes and spend them. Boise officials are consistent in denying citizens a vote on who spends their tax money and how it is spent. CCDC is an agency without significant oversight and direction from elected officials–like the city council.

It looks to us that at best it is a lack of communication, but we fear certain staff–or even council members have quietly taken it upon themselves to speak in the name of the “city of trees” when they may be a mere voice in the wilderness.

For the record, the Chamber of Commerce also testified against allowing citizens to vote for those who spend their tax dollars.

From the reports and quotes we have seen–especially the great reporting by Lora Volkert at the Idaho Business News web site–it is another story of government by the uninformed.

The proposal called for an ELECTED three member board with a countywide vote. The reason a county vote is appropriate is because the CCDC takes county taxes (as well as city and ACHD) and subsidizes the developers.

Let’s hope some common sense emerges on this issue. Boise City Councilors can–and SHOULD disband the current CCDC board and act themselves to run the urban renewal agency which is a city entity funded by tax dollars.

Rep. Dell Raybould of Rexburg had a great idea. VOTE OUT the mayors and councilors who appoint urban renewal boards if you don’t like the way they do business. Great idea Dell!

One thing it did was create a windfall profit for the CCDC, (Capitol City Development Corp.) Boise’s urban renewal agency.

Prior to passage of the new tax law, all the tax revenues on improvements within the CCDC district went to CCDC with the EXCEPTION of the taxes due the Boise School District…city, county, and highway district taxes are all diverted to the CCDC. That means all the new buildings and improvements downtown yield NOTHING to local governments.

Thanks to repeal of previous provisions in the law, Boise schools no longer collects any money whatsoever on downtown improvements. Under the old formula CCDC received revenues destined for Boise Schools. Under the new law they get revenues nearly 1% higher than in the past. That translates to about $211,000 in windfall profit for CCDC.

New construction–especially BoDo–combined with the school windfall have increased the expected tax revenues that go to CCDC and NOT to the city, county, schools or highway district. The value of IMPROVEMENTS and appreciation to downtown property is about $350million.

Last tax year they received about $4.5 million that other agencies made up by increasing the tax levy on property outside the downtown area. The current year property taxrevenue estimate for CCDC is nearly $6.25 million.

–Voters have turned them down twice. On the first go around they couldn’t even get 50% of the required 67% majority required by law.

–Round three was an exclusive deal with a private developer who didn’t even offer a plan because he “didn’t have time” to mess with it.

–Round four is a plan to not only build a convention center, but include an 11 story hotel on a block of publicly owned land downtown.

Their overzealous efforts included using public money to advertise in favor of their bond election and the Idaho Supreme Court declared that stunt illegal. Tens of thousands of dollars in public tax money was spent to defend the illegal ad campaign.

The latest deal is supposedly a flat out lease with no purchase option (we will believe that when we see the agreement). News reports say local developer Oppenheimer Corp. is planning a joint venture with John Q. Hammons Hotel Management to build the convention center and an Embassy Suites Hotel for $80 million on the G-BAD public land and lease it back to the G-BAD.

We wonder why the developers would want to lease it back to the G-BAD boys if it is a good business deal. Why bring in the G-BAD as a middleman if they have a profitable venture?

The GUARDIAN thinks a private venture with no lease back would make a lot more sense–even if G-BAD leased the land for $1 a year. They can’t sell the land without an auction to the highest bidder and they also have a buy back contract with the Simplot family-owned S-16 development company. The status of that deal is unknown at present.

Unfortunately, this smells like just another scheme to get around the voters. They are packing too much into too little space and potentially creating a terrible mess at the entrance/exit to the I-184 connector. The current Grove Hotel-Convention Center complex has already compromised our public sidewalk and intrudes daily into our public street, choking traffic with illegally parked cars, busses, vans, and delivery vehicles which cause traffic hazards. Capitol, Front, and 9th have lanes blocked daily.

Expect more of the same if this ill-conceived project is allowed to proceed without citizen approval.

They are also talking about using Capital City Development Corp. (Boise’s city urban renewal agency) public taxpayer funds to build a parking garage under the private developer’s structure. Not a wise move.

As a result, the Myrtle Garage is difficult for the upscale SUV crowd to navigate due to hairpin corners and substandard parking stalls. Instead of the 8 foot 6 inch width, the new garage features 7 foot 10 inch stalls. Putting doors within striking distance of other vehicles. A CCDC spokesman told the Daily Paper 90% of the cars entering the garage can make the tight turns. GUARDIAN math calculates that means 10% of the cars entering the garage are unable to make the turns or fit in the stalls.

While all you bikers and little foreign car people may smugly say, “people need to drive smaller cars,” those SUV folks are the ones who crowd the lines and bang up your fancy little rides with the doors and winches on their king cab rigs.

As promised, BoDo and the CCDC have helped the economy… Autobody paint shops and those dudes like “Dent Doctor” are going to have a steady business. Check out the scrape marks on the cement pillars made from turning too tight.

The special six parking space concession to Office Depot by Team Dave probably won’t do much to solve the ramp problem.

The other dirty little secret about the new garage is that about a third of the spaces built with public tax money are dedicated to(rented by) the Hampton Inn hotel. Pretty sweet deal to offer guests inside parking when the competition has to provide their own parking facilities out of pocket.

AND since all the taxes on improvements within BoDo go to the Urban Renewal District (CCDC), those of us who pay our property taxes provide free police, fire, and other services to the downtown crowd.

Former Councilor Paula Forney remained on the board of the powerful taxpayer funded Capital City Development Corp. for two years after she lost a runoff election to Councilor David Eberle who only recently was appointed to the board. She said she was appointed as a citizen–not as a councilor.

We posed the issue to city councilors and at the moment no one has an answer to the question of whether or not there should be two city councilors on the CCDC board. The agency has a board of unelected members who have authority to spend millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars without citizen-taxpayer scrutiny.

The mayor and council appoint all of the members to the board and two seats have always been held by incumbent (elected) councilors. Certainly, whenever there is a vacancy to be filled due to departure of a councilor, it is NEVER filled by a mere citizen.

Without regard to Mapp’s ability or devotion to duty, we feel he should leave ALL city positions–even the unpaid CCDC post once he leaves the council. After all, he was appointed BECAUSE he was a councilor, it is only right that he be replaced by a councilor. We feel CCDC NEEDS representation of elected officials who answer to the voters.

The weak explanation we have heard is that CCDC is “different” than the airport, parks, or public works commissions which all have councilors assigned as liaison duties. In researching the Idaho Code, the GUARDIAN has found the law provides for the city council to DISBAND the urban renewal agency board and have the council perform those duties with the simple passage of an ordinance.

We feel this would be more honest than hiding behind another level of bureaucracy and dividing the public ownership of our town between CCDC, Boise City, and Ada County Highway District.

The Statesman reported, “The project will also boost Boise property tax revenues, create hundreds of jobs and is expected to trigger new Downtown residential and commercial construction.” NOT!

In fact, the new downtown buildings and “improvements” yield NOTHING for police, fire, parks, libraries, and other city services. They just CONSUME services without paying for them.

Truth is, businesses outside downtown have to provide their own landscaping, parking, and lighting. These infrastructure improvements are paid by TAXPAYER funds throughout downtown.

A more accurate story would have been, “Spurred on by subsidized development and active night life, Boise’s downtown area has been the scene of 60% of the city’s homicides this year. Three of the five murders during 2005 have taken place on the streets of downtown Boise.”

Perhaps one of the reasons the cops are so strapped for officers and funds is the HIGHEST VALUE property in the state of Idaho pays practically NOTHING to the city that supports it. All but the school tax on the new buildings goes to the CCDC redevelopment agency to perpetuate and expand itself.
Even the COUNTY courthouse is owned by the CITY.

On the flip side of the coin, the Day family has remodeled and expanded Vista Village, the first Idaho shopping center, entirely with private funds.

In a September 19 posting the GUARDIAN called for dissolution of the CCDC board, noting that all members are appointed by the mayor and council and their funding also comes from city taxes. Yet, the mayor and council continue to hide behind the claim of, “That is CCDC, not city.”

Idaho law permits the council to abolish the board with a simple ordinance and take responsibility for the actions of the agency which is REALLY part of city government.

Incumbent councilor Jerome Mapp is a long time member of the CCDC board and he is seeking re-election against Jim Tibbs. He is a pro-growth planner by trade. It would be interesting to hear his take on BoDo at a candidate forum.

It its never ending quest for more and bigger, we find it absurd the city planners and councilors would approve a megaplex theater, hotel and shops between the two busiest streets in town. We are destined to experience gridlock or intolerable traffic congestion prompting folks to “avoid downtown” like some many of us “avoid Eagle Road.”

To paraphrase former New York Yanke catcher/manager Yogi Berra, “It is getting so crowded no one comes here anymore.”

In typical mainstream media style, the newest link in the Knight-Ridder chain offered a near perfect blend of cheers and jeers. Bottom line in Hem’s piece seems to offer up a passing grade of “C” with no major stumbles, but no major accomplishments. A KBOI 670 radio poll result was far less complimentary.

Bieter can expect even more ink and media hype when he performs his “State of The City speech” in the annual BREAKFAST BENEFIT CONCERT that raises close to $30,000 for the Chamber of Commerce…would he do the same gig for another special interest group like “Too Dense Makes No Sense”?

Here is the GUARDIAN’S take on 21 months of Bieter and the New Council:

–Bieter and the council inherited a fiscal and moral mess which saw many of the previous crew do jail time or resign in shame. It takes time to clean up

–While Bieter endorses a citizen vote on new branch libraries, he pushed hard to go around the voters on a $27 million parking garage at the airport. A supreme court opinion is expected any day on that one.

–CCDC, the urban renewal agency, continues to grow at the expense of the residential home owners. All of the highly touted downtown developments yield NO REVENUES to the city of Boise, yet the city budget increases based on the value of those improvements. The rest of the residents pay for the $4 million in lost revenues. Bieter and council have done nothing to cure the disparity. They actually are proud of a “vibrant downtown.”

–Bieter gets credit for getting the Harris Ranch development back on track. The cost was a bridge at taxpayer expense.

–The mayor seeks control of proposed Hammer Flats development above Lucky Peak Dam, while claiming to fight “urban sprawl.”

–With few exceptions the mayor and council have adopted a policy to increase population density while the citizens seek more open space.

–Mayor and Council continue to defend the practice of annexing residents outside the city against their will. So far, only Councilman Bisterfeldt opposes the practice.

–Mayor and Council called for an audit of questionable spending practices at the city-owned Twenty Mile South Farm only after repeated pleas from the GUARDIAN. They repeatedly claimed it was a personality or personnel issue.

–Toss in the 10 commandments folks, the homeless shelter issue, North Enders against the Salvation Army shelter, the Bench Depot neighbors against the condo development, and Bieter has a tough two years ahead of him if he seeks re-election. None of the issues alone are critical, but he doesn’t have many items to offset the disgruntled masses.

We started out with the intent of writing a review saying, “what may be good to one feller ain’t good for another feller”…sort of depends on your point of view.

After reading this entry, the GUARDIAN wonders if Mayor Bieter might qualify for disaster relief funds from FEMA. Come on Dave, show us something!

Well, he IS a little wacko and proud of it.

JP is a hotdog vendor, properly licensed, inspected, and legal with Boise City. He made news three years ago by getting convicted of trespassing in front of the courthouse which two judges declared as “private property” of the CCDC, our taxpayer funded urban renewal agency. (CCDC is Capital City Development Corp.) He has appealed the trespass conviction all the way to the Idaho Supreme Court.

When the downtown criterion bicycle race was held last month, JP showed up at the entrance to The Grove with his hotdog stand and claimed a spot on an “Identified Vendor Location” at Main and 8th. He soon came into conflict with the event sponsor, Wells Fargo, the CCDC and the Boise Police.

The bottom line was another citation for “FAILURE TO VEND IN APPROVED LOCATION.” JP claims the location was approved by the city. Both the city and CCDC say it is owned by the CCDC and is somehow private. JP has a map which he claims shows the location to be owned by the Ada County Highway District and within the jurisdiction of Boise City–not CCDC. We think there will be some sort of amended complaint charging him again with trespassing.

The actions of JP are not the issues at hand. There are two issues in this mystery: “Is CCDC private or public? And who owns the spot he was claiming?” How the courts decide or interpret the CCDC will determine whether or not he is convicted of what he sees as civil disobedience challenging the authority of the CCDC.

In our attempts at determining the facts of the case, the GUARDIAN was met with a bunch of officials who simply didn’t KNOW who owns what or the authority of any of the agencies.

Meanwhile JP is awaiting a hearing November 23 in Ada County Magistrate Court.