At their meeting last week, the ACC Commission established a new partnership with the Classic Center to encourage development around the Akins Ford Arena.
They also asked the state legislature to add a commissioner to the Classic Center Authority’s board of directors, they authorized sidewalks along Vincent Drive and they approved a new apartment complex at 218 North Avenue. Finally, they delayed making a statement of support for racial justice in Athens.
Contents
New Akins Ford Arena district partnership
Changing the Classic Center’s board
Vincent Drive sidewalks
218 North Avenue
New Akins Ford Arena district partnership
The ACC Commission signed an intergovernmental agreement with the Classic Center Authority and the Athens Downtown Development Authority to create a partnership to encourage real estate development around the Akins Ford Arena. The new partnership will also act to ensure adequate parking facilities for the arena district.
The new arena district partnership will have a steering committee which will include the mayor and two representatives from each of the three agencies. This new group will hire a development expert who will serve as a “real estate head hunter” to promote development in the arena district, according to Mayor Kelly Girtz.
Girtz, who was one of the authors of the proposal, said that the new partnership would take some responsibility off the shoulders of the Classic Center Authority, which might have taken on more than it could easily manage with the arena project.
“Many of the critics of the process noted that there were probably not enough stakeholders around the table and that the Classic Center Authority may have been overburdened with responsibility to have to be a facility operator as well as effectively a commercial real estate developer,” Girtz said. “It just puts more heads around the table, ensures that the Classic Center can continue to do a great job operating the facility and then gets us that commercial real estate professional.”
The main purpose for the new partnership is to accelerate the pace of growth in the areas around the Akins Ford Arena so that the Classic Center can afford to pay back the large amount of debt they accrued during the arena’s construction.
“Much of the public doesn’t realize that that arena was only able to exist because we are effectively giving away acres and acres of public property to the Classic Center Authority to lease to private developers to pay back these bonds,” Commissioner Melissa Link said. “We need to make sure this project is a smashing success and those tax dollars come in, those TAD dollars come in, and that 70% goes to east Athens.”
Link is referencing a tax allocation district (TAD) that the commission established for east downtown that includes the new arena district and also part of the inner east Athens neighborhood, located directly across the North Oconee river. Tax allocation districts of this sort are designed to spur development by earmarking a certain portion of tax revenue generated by the district to be used only for development within the district. At the request of Commissioner Tiffany Taylor, this particular TAD allocates 70% of the revenue generated by downtown development to historically underserved areas east of the river.
Taylor spoke up to make sure that the salary for the development expert who will eventually be hired would not be paid out of the 70% allocated for inner east Athens. Girtz assured her that the salary would not come from inner east Athens’ share.
Commissioners voted 9-1 to approve the partnership agreement. Davenport was the only commissioner to oppose the motion, saying that it was an unnecessary and “off the cuff” response to some recent funding problems.
A proposal to change the Classic Center Authority’s board
Commissioner John Culpepper was among the commissioners who voted yes on the arena district partnership. Even so, he said he was not satisfied with the level of transparency the new steering committee would provide. On a separate agenda item, he made a motion to ask the state legislature to change the board of the Classic Center Authority by adding two ACC Commissioners.
“You look at the financial liability that the authority has, $108 million in bonds, and I think it would be helpful to have a couple commissioners on that authority so there is transparency on what’s going on with the payments,” Culpepper said.
Wright seconded Culpepper’s motion, saying that it would help keep commissioners more informed of what the Classic Center is doing.
Several supporters of the Classic Center Authority spoke in strong opposition to Culpepper’s idea, saying it was unnecessary, counterproductive and motivated by improper self-interest.
“The Classic Center Authority is not a political entity. It’s a team of professionals appointed by you,” said Tres Small, vice-chair of the Classic Center Authority Board. “The proposal to alter our structure is not about increased oversight. It is an attempt to inject self-interest and self-interest alone. If we allow political interests to override the very foundation of what has made the Classic Center successful, we risk losing the momentum that we have all worked so hard to build.”
Link disagreed, saying that it was “crucial” to have a commissioner on the Classic Center Authority’s board. But she asked that it just be one commissioner, plus an additional member of the public, a change which was fine with Culpepper.
Link’s amended motion passed 7-3, with Fisher, Myers and Davenport voting no.
The state legislature is the only entity that can change the structure of the Classic Center Authority. They are under no obligation to do so and have often ignored requests from the ACC Commission in the past.
Vincent Drive sidewalks
In one of the other items brought up during this meeting, Commissioner Stephanie Johnson attempted to delay approval of new sidewalks for Vincent Drive out of doubts about the integrity of the SPLOST funding process.
Construction costs around the country have increased dramatically in recent years, causing funding difficulties for many SPLOST projects, including the Vincent Drive sidewalks. The current price tag for the sidewalks is much higher than it was originally, an increase which Johnson was hesitant to approve. She called for the vote to be delayed by 60 days so she could better understand the reason for the extra expense.
“Approving an amount that’s almost double, 46% increase, is outrageous,” Johnson said. “I need to see the numbers…if that’s the cost, that’s the cost, but I can’t explain it the way it’s written…I do not trust the process. Money is missing. I cannot explain it.”
Johnson has previously sued the ACC government for allegedly taking SPLOST funds intended for an economically disadvantaged district and using them in another district. She later dropped her lawsuit after admitting under oath that she had no evidence to support this claim.
In disagreement, Commissioner Allison Wright proposed approving the project as is to avoid causing an unnecessary delay to an important public safety initiative.
“I understand the learning curve…the newer folks need more time, but we also spend a lot of time wondering why things aren’t done yet,” Wright said. “I think we can do both and move things forward…This is a public safety thing. It’s one of my priorities. We’re talking about SPLOST 2020, [it was approved] five years ago.”
Fisher spoke up in agreement with Wright, saying, “the last thing you want to see is a child get hit.”
Children often walk along Vincent Drive without a sidewalk to the Holland Youth Sports Complex.
Wright’s motion to approve the sidewalks passed unanimously.
The new sidewalks will cost almost $4 million and are on track to be completed by spring of 2027.
218 North Avenue
The commission approved a multifamily housing development at 218 North Avenue which will include eight apartment buildings with 228 bedrooms in total.
In the same vote, Link and Thornton asked ACC staff to come up with language to allow people to live in RVs legally in single family zones. Girtz said that he would organize a work session about potential planning code changes regarding RVs and also accessory dwelling units (also known as in-law suites).
Taylor was the only commissioner to vote against this proposal. She opposes it because she feels the new apartment buildings will be too expensive for most Athenians to afford.
“I want this to be on record that I will not be supporting any of the developments tonight that come before us that is not going to be for the working class citizens of Athens-Clarke County,” Taylor said.
New construction is typically not affordable for most people because of high construction and land costs. However, most economists believe that restricting the supply of housing, even if the rejected housing would have been unaffordable for many, tends to raise the price for everyone over time.
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