By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The developer of a proposed Hilton Garden Inn and Convention Center on a currently-undeveloped site west of the Hays Walmart is asking for an incentive package from the city.
It would include a TIF (Tax Increment Financing district), CID (Community Improvement District), and retention of the onsite Transient Guest Tax (TGT), according to Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood.
“This is the start of a long series of items for the city commission to discuss,” Wood said. “You’ll see items probably for the next three or four months.”
“The development of a TIF is a very lengthy process, something that is dictated by state law. There’ll be a lot of items coming forward with that.”
A Tax Increment Financing district allows a developer to capture the increase in property taxes.
“It’s a clear brown field now. They come in and build. As the property taxes increase, they’ll be able to take that increment, that increase, and put it back towards financing purchases. Those would be infrastructure, the road, sewer, parking lots, the building structure, that sort of thing,” Wood explained.
The Transient Guest Tax retention would allow the developer to keep any guest tax collected at their facility. “It’s intended to go back into the overhead and maintenance upkeep of the convention facility. Those facilities typically don’t make a lot of money. In order to make the numbers work, they need that additional incentive.”
The TGT for Hays motels is five percent, which is “low compared to most other Kansas towns,” Wood said. The TFT is normally collected by the city and used in the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) for marketing and promotion of Hays.
The CID will come forward at a later date. It’s an additional sales tax on top of the current sales tax that will go back into paying for the infrastructure cost.
The Hilton Garden Inn will have 100 beds and contain a small restaurant and bar. It would employ the equivalent of about 35 full-time employees.
Ground could be broken as soon as April on the new $12 million to $14 million facility with the center opening in 12 to 14 months, developer Raju Sheth said.
City commissioners will review the incentive package request during their work session this evening. It starts at 6:30 p.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.
The complete Dec. 21 agenda may be seen here.