Council meeting stretches into early morning

The council discussed a police review board, TIF and Roots ‘N Blues.

By Will Guldin

Published July 21, 2009

City Council weighed in on a variety of issues at their meeting Monday night that stretched into the early hours of Tuesday morning.

One of the first items on the council’s agenda — and one of the more controversial issues — was the police review board ordinance. This ordinance was originally introduced during a special council meeting in early June but was tabled due to several concerns raised about the ordinance during the course of that meeting. Since that time, several amendments had been added to the original plan, and the council passed the amended version of the ordinance unanimously.

The police review board, composed entirely of city residents, will hear complaints of misconduct by the Columbia Police Department from area citizens. During the council meeting, Mayor Darwin Hindman said the purpose of the board is to help restore the relationship between CPD and Columbia’s citizens.

“In many ways, the final benefit of this will be greater trust in the police department by members of the public, and in fact better interaction by the police department, on the police’s department’s side, with the public,” Hindman said.

Dan Viets, Mid-Missouri American Civil Liberties Union president, said the ACLU supported the new amendments to the ordinance, but he said the organization was disappointed that the commission did not have the power of subpoena.

During the pre-council meeting, City Counselor Fred Boeckmann, who helped amend the original ordinance, said he decided not to give the commission subpoena power, but he said it would be possible to do so in the future.

“Subpoenas were kind of a controversial issue,” Boeckmann said. “It is not in the ordinance now and I’m not proposing to put it in. How I address that in the memo is that if it becomes an issue, where there is a real problem with the commission getting people to appear, then they may request the council address the issue again.”

City spokeswoman Toni Messina said after approving the ordinance, the council must now fill the board’s eight positions before it can begin to meet. She offered no estimate as to when the first meeting would take place.

The city also approved Tax Increment Financing measures for the Tiger Hotel and for another property located at the corner of Tenth and Locust streets.

Mike Downing, executive director of Missouri CORE, an economic development organization for 12 counties in mid-Missouri, and a former TIF administer for the state, said TIFs are a tool used by cities to encourage redevelopment.

He said in TIF plans, cities usually subsidize a new development by giving its developers back a percentage of the local sales tax and the new, real property tax generated by the project. He said these subsidies are generally provided over a series of years. Because the amount is a percentage of generated taxes, he said the city is not penalized if the project does not bring in as much tax revenue as originally thought.

Downing said this money helps offset the costs of developing a property and can encourage redevelopment of an area that otherwise wouldn’t be restored. He also said TIF plans can encourage others to develop an area without needing any subsidies.

“If you have a major project that serves as a catalyst, it can cause other businesses and developers nearby to be more comfortable with the future of that area,” Downing said.

The council also approved plans for ticketed areas at the 2009 Roots ‘N Blues ‘N BBQ festival. Advance tickets for the event will cost $10 for a day pass and $15 for a weekend pass. During the weekend of the festival, tickets prices would be increased to $15 for a day pass and $25 for a weekend pass.

The ticketed areas would include the event’s two main concert stages.

During the council’s July 6 meeting, representatives of Thumper Entertainment, the group that organizes the event, reimbursed the city for services it provided during last year’s festival. This action helped clear the way for the council’s approval for ticketed areas this year.