City requires negotiations to advance travel plaza plan

city comm 5 shot — City commissioners support negotiating a CID for the proposed Big Creek Travel Plaza. They rejected the requests for a TIF and IRBs.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

After nearly two hours of discussion in front of a full house in the audience, four Hays city commissioners last night agreed to look further at the proposed Big Creek Travel Plaza from NWK Investments, LLC, with some changes.

Commissioner James Meier was absent from Thursday’s work session.

James Millensifer, Vice President of Operations for Chance Management, which would manage the project, and Hays attorney Don Hoffman, presented a revised plan for Phase 1.

Although each commissioner indicated their support of the full-service truck stop that would be built just north of the west I-70 exit, ultimately they rejected two of the three requested economic development opportunities available from the city.

Click HERE for the entire NWK Investments proposal to the city.

Commissioners did not support the request to establish a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district. There were also mixed reactions on whether to endorse the new request to issue Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRB) as a way to avoid paying sales taxes on any construction materials.

The developer identified $10.5 million in TIF eligible costs, but only about $4 million are for public infrastructure–water, sewer, and street infrastructure. The rest of the TIF eligible costs are for land acquisition, site development and private streets/paving.

Commissioner Henry Schwaller also objected to the absence of information regarding an anticipated Return On Investment (ROI) for the developer, Mike Woofter of Colby. Millensifer responded that their attorney had advised against making that information public.

big creek 3 shot — Gina Riekhof, Gilmore & Bell, James Millensifer, Chance Management, and attorney Don Hoffman review the revised proposal in front of a packed house in city chambers.

Gina Riekhof, Gilmore & Bell, P.C., serves as special counsel representing the city in the proposed Big Creek Travel Plaza and related development project. She told commissioners the city would not be liable for any financial default by the developer.

Ultimately, the commission directed Riekhof and city staff to begin negotiations with NWK Investments for a possible utilization of the third economic development option, a Community Improvement District (CID).

At Schwaller’s insistence, the city also wants to confidentially acquire the developer’s financial statements for the project. Those numbers are required to be submitted within the city’s economic development policy.

“I have no interest in knowing what they’re spending or the revenue they anticipate. I just want to make sure that our contribution is going to make the project viable–for the city and the developer,” said Schwaller.

Millensifer told commissioners he would “go back and ask the folks we’ve been working with to go back and look at our application and give me some advice for some advice on the areas that you are referring to.”