MANSFIELD — Mayor Tim Theaker will ask Mansfield City Council on Tuesday night to approve administrative and operational guidelines for the Downtown Improvement Advisory Board.
The work of the board, members of which were approved by council in May 2018, became an issue in April when several city lawmakers asked if they could attend the board’s meetings and were told “no” by Theaker.
Richland Source learned the next day that the board was to have created its own operating rules and submit to council for approval. No such guidelines had been submitted to council, but Theaker said they had been created by the board and he would submit at the next council meeting.
Council begins Tuesday with a public affairs committee meeting at 6 p.m. with council caucus and meeting at 7 p.m.
In his proposed legislation, Theaker said the board didn’t begin meeting until March 6 and developed the guidelines during that session and subsequent sessions on March 21 and April 3.
According the proposed legislation, the improvement board approved the guidelines on April 19, the same date it became an issue during a council meeting.
City Council created the board in conjunction with a license plate tax increase to generate funds for downtown improvements. The tax, which the city began collecting Jan. 1, is estimated to raise about $220,000 annually.
The board develops ideas for utilizing the money, but has no spending authority. It makes recommendations to council, which has the power to approve or reject the proposals.
The board consists of the mayor and six members appointed by the mayor, all of whom must be confirmed by council. Council did not create any positions for council members when it created the board.
The purpose of the board is to reinvent and revitalize Mansfield’s downtown and to seek creative avenues to strategically maximize grants and other revenue streams for downtown improvement projects. Moreover, the board is to encourage collaboration between the City of Mansfield and local residents.
There is nothing in the guidelines to indicate council members or members of the public will be invited to attend the Downtown Improvement Advisory Board meetings.
The rules indicate:
— “the Board will meet not more than every other month but on an “as needed basis” if necessary;
— “proposed projects will be discussed and evaluated by the Board;
— “Once Board consensus on a project or projects has been reached, each project will be assessed as to impact and cost;
— “Funding sources, such as the license plate fee, shall be regularly evaluated by the Board;
— “Other funding sources such as grants and other public and private funding shall be explored and evaluated for sole source funding and/or as supplemental sources for known funding;
— “Each calendar year, the Board will set aside as least 25 percent of the projected revenue from known sources, such as the license plate fee, for long term and higher cost projects. Typical projects include projects with a cost in excess of $200,000 and/or is able to be used to leverage with private or public funding;
— “Once a project or projects are recommended for implementation, such project(s) will be presented to City Council.”
In other action Tuesday, council is:
— expected to vote on a proposed $18 million city-wide water meter replacement program.
— being asked to approve demolition of dilapidated properties at 98 S. Foster St., 195 Glessner Ave., 271 W. Fourth St., 317 S. Diamond St., 328 Orange St., and 473 Sherman Place.
— being asked to authorize a $64,900 contract with Mock’s Construction, using HOME funds, for full rehab of a home at 419 Lida St.
