Ryan Friend

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Daily Kent Stater

AGAIN THE PLACE AND THE GROUP ARE NOT OFTEN THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR YOUR AUDIENCE.

TRY:

KENT MOVED ONE STEP CLOSER TO GETTING A CONFERENCE CENTER AND HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN WHEN CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS….

Kent City Council met Wednesday to discuss the Land Development Agreement between Kent State University, the Pizzuti Companies, city consultants and negotiation team regarding the building of the downtown economic development project. All members of council were present at the session.

WE DON’T CARE THAT THEY WERE THERE….

Dan Smith, Kent’s economic development director, WORDY… TRY:

SAID THAT THE CITY AND PIZZUTI OFFICIALS HAVE A VERBAL AGREEMENT FOR THE PROJECT. THE WRITTEN AGREEMENT IS NEXT.

said as of now there is a verbal agreement between all the partners involved with the project. There hasn’t been a written agreement made yet.

SO IS THIS THE WRITTEN AGREEMENT?

City Manager Dave Ruller said, “It’s another milestone to our ultimate goal.”

With the construction already beginning downtown, and the project requiring the ratification of the agreement within two weeks, council has agreed to use their emergency clause to ratify the LDA as of their next meeting. RATIFY THE PACT AT THEIR NEXT MEETING. SIGN THE PACT TERMS AT THEIR NEXT MEETING NOVEMBER….

Part of the agreement includes using tax incremental financing to help fund the project. According to Smith, the project (DON’T NEED “AS A WHOLE” JUST “THE PROJECT ILL GENERATE $705,000 WITH ABOUT $215,000 OF THAT GOING TO KENT CITY SCHOOLS AND THE REST – ABOUT $419,000 TO THE CITY.

as a whole will generate $705,000. With the math already computed by the project’s committee using the tax incremental system, the city’s school system will receive $215,000 and Kent will receive $419,000.

“There’s some change left over- Both the school and the city have agreed with the tax incremental financing,” Smith said. “I am very happy. We went to the school board meeting and they came to one of ours. Everyone was very hand-in-hand.”

SMITH SAID KENT CITY SCHOOLS OFFICIALS WENT ‘HAND-IN-HAND’ WITH THE CITY ON THE AGREEMENT.

Heidi Shaffer, 5th Ward representative, asked should state budget cuts be made, would the project get pulled out.

Smith told Heidi that the Multimodal Transportation Center was already paid for.