DELTA TWP, Mich. — In just a few days, the Delta Township Board of Trustees will vote on the Saginaw Highway Corridor Improvement Authority plan and tax increment financing district.
If passed, the corridor improvement authority will capture new property tax revenues created by Delta Crossingsand the 114 acresof land for sale along West Saginaw Highway and use them to pay for improvements in the corridor district.
According to township supervisor Ken Fletcher, if the improvement authority were to pass, it would run for twenty years and will capture about $36 million in new taxes.
The authority would cover the Saginaw Corridor from Waverly Road to Broadbent Road. Fletcher said the purpose of the plan is to improve the corridor and find ways to help it remain strong and vital.
The plan is to use some of the captured tax dollars to reimburse the developers of the Delta Crossings Project for the cost of public infrastructure going into the development. But township officials say they want to do other things, too.
“Well, some of the money that’s being raised by the growth in taxation on that property once it’s developed will be used to study the rest of the corridor," Fletcher said. "To look toward coming up with a redevelopment plan for the eastern end of it. Look at things we can do to help transition the Lansing Mall, possibly with some infrastructure money for there for that potential redevelopment at some point. Look at non-motorized transportation options, beautification efforts along Saginaw.”
Fletcher believes the Corridor Improvement Authority and TIF district should pass, but not everyone feels that way.
Delta Township trustee Beth Bowen said she's on the fence because this is a big undertaking and something Delta Township has not done before.
Her biggest concern with the plan is where the money will go and how it will benefit the township.
“I want to see the ROI. I want to see how many jobs; how much money is going to come into the township based on what we invest." Bowen said. "And until I can reasonably feel like that has been shown then I’m on the fence.”
The meeting for the vote is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 6.
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