Regular 5.
Regular City Council Meeting
- Meeting Date:
- 07/24/2017
- TITLE
- Alberta Bair Theater TIFD Allocation
- PRESENTED BY:
- Tina Volek
- Department:
- City Hall Administration
Presentation:
PROBLEM/ISSUE STATEMENT
The Downtown Billings Partnership Board of Directors has recommended that the City Council approve up to a $3.5 million allocation of Tax Increment Financing District (TIFD) funds to the Alberta Bair Theater (ABT) from the Expanded N. 27th Street Urban Renewal District as part of an $11 million campaign to repair and expand the theater at 2720 Third Avenue North. The theater is owned by the City, but operated by the Alberta Bair Theater Corporation under a 30-year lease last renewed by the City Council in October 2012. The corporation pays a $1 per year lease to the City and pays all assessments, but the building is exempt from property taxes because it is City-owned and the tenant is a non-profit, public benefit corporation.
TIFD funds would be used for installation of an elevator and construction of handicapped-accessible restrooms to conform with the Americans with Disabilities Act, for moving the sidewalk around the theater to parts of Third Avenue North and North Broadway that were vacated by the City in June 2016, for upgrading the facade, and for stabilizing the structure.
TIFD funds would be used for installation of an elevator and construction of handicapped-accessible restrooms to conform with the Americans with Disabilities Act, for moving the sidewalk around the theater to parts of Third Avenue North and North Broadway that were vacated by the City in June 2016, for upgrading the facade, and for stabilizing the structure.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYZED
City Council may:
- Approve the TIFD funding;
- Postpone action on the request; or
- Disapprove the allocation, forcing the ABT Corporation to seek $3.5 million in funding elsewhere.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
If the City does not issue new TIFD bonds, the Downtown Billings Partnership (DBP) staff estimates it should be able to fund the Alberta Bair Theater Corporation's request, and complete an addition $51 million in additional projects before the TIFD sunsets.
The Alberta Bair Theater Corporation had annual expenditures of $1.71 million in the 2015-16 season, and estimated it has an annual impact of $4.2 million on the Billings economy. It had 84 events and an annual attendance of 84,440 persons, an estimated 9,290 from outside Yellowstone County. The theater has 10 employees and 108 volunteers.
The Alberta Bair Theater Corporation originally requested a $5 million contribution, but the DBP executive committee recommended the lesser amount, in order to preserve TIFD revenues for other projects and to increase the proportion of private donations to the project.
As with all TIFD projects, funds would be payable only on a reimbursement basis, with the Alberta Bair Theater Corporation providing construction costs through loans or other donation sources.
The Alberta Bair Theater Corporation had annual expenditures of $1.71 million in the 2015-16 season, and estimated it has an annual impact of $4.2 million on the Billings economy. It had 84 events and an annual attendance of 84,440 persons, an estimated 9,290 from outside Yellowstone County. The theater has 10 employees and 108 volunteers.
The Alberta Bair Theater Corporation originally requested a $5 million contribution, but the DBP executive committee recommended the lesser amount, in order to preserve TIFD revenues for other projects and to increase the proportion of private donations to the project.
As with all TIFD projects, funds would be payable only on a reimbursement basis, with the Alberta Bair Theater Corporation providing construction costs through loans or other donation sources.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval of the DBP Board recommendation to authorize a $3.5 million reimbursement from TIFD funds to the Alberta Bair Theater Corporation for qualified improvements made as part of an $11 million renovation of the theater.