Special tax deals to help develop the Sandusky Bay Pathway

SANDUSKY — Two new districts, with imaginary sets of boundaries, create real opportunities to improve these areas and Sandusky as a whole, officials contend.During a recent public meeting, city commissioners established a pair of territories under what's called tax increment financing agreements. It's a public financing method to pay for redevelopment, infrastructure and other community improvement projects.In short, 90 percent of new tax dollars produced in the two zones — around both Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center on Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) and downtown Sandusky with an emphasis on Battery Park — goes directly into a special account to help these areas.The remaining 10 percent goes toward Sandusky Schools. Generally, the school district receives somewhere close to 70 percent of taxes from all real estate projects.Matt Lasko, the city's chief development officer, further explained this initiative.• The gist: "This is taking two areas of the city and specifically identifying the legal parcels that would receive a 100 percent tax abatement, but they will still pay 100 percent of the increased and assessed value for their project. It will just be made to the city, in the form of a service payment, as opposed to a normal real estate tax payments."• The reason: "Instead of money going to various sources, such as Sandusky Schools or Erie County, we want this money to spur investments in these specific areas. Ideally, it will create resources to invest in infrastructure to make projects possible. These folks will continue to pay taxes but in a special account, and it will go toward infrastructure-related projects. The schools understand these developments must take place, which will lead to overall growth."• The main beneficiaries: "The Sports Force (agreement) will go toward three things: infrastructure necessary to build the indoor arena, the construction of The Landing and the construction of the Sandusky Bay Pathway. The downtown (agreement) will go toward the Feick Building, the existing City Hall redevelopment, the Cooke Building and Battery Park."• The other beneficiaries: "Basically, when those projects go forward, they will also pay into a special account, and those resources are dedicated to two things: necessary infrastructure for those projects and the Sandusky Bay Pathway. The pathway will link the two tax (agreement) projects."• The financial breakdown: "Conservative estimates show the (agreements) producing over $10 million over 30 years. Additionally, this is not creating any additional expense to those included parcels that they would otherwise not have had to pay. We are just changing where those funds are sent to and can be expensed on."• The taxes: "No one's existing taxes will go down, including the schools. It is just new tax dollars made possible by these new investments that will be directed to the special account."• The main goal: "In this case, the public will benefit dramatically because these funds make possible the construction of the Sandusky Bay Pathway, which was prioritized directly by the public during the bicentennial vision process."A primer on the pathwayToday, the incomplete 2-mile-long waterfront network primarily stretches along Sandusky Bay.Planners, however, want to fulfill blueprints first conceived more than a decade ago, extending it to 13 miles in total.The pathway would ideally span from Sandusky's west end, connect it through downtown and link up with a proposed $24 million initiative, called The Landing, a planned 27-acre active waterfront park space behind Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center. It would, among other areas, create public access behind Sports Force and around Sandusky Bay's back bay.Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.Two new special tax districts aim to generate enough funding to further develop the Sandusky Bay Pathway, a $24 million initiative to provide a recreational path spanning 13 miles along Sandusky's waterfront. This would include an area by Lions Park.Two new special tax districts aim to generate enough funding to further develop the Sandusky Bay Pathway, a $24 million initiative to provide a recreational path spanning 13 miles along Sandusky's waterfront. This would include an area by East Sandusky Bay MetroPark on Cleveland Road (U.S. 6).