By Andrew Knittle The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Even though the Norman City Council meeting Tuesday night was short on running time, it got long on drama when one councilman attacked another over remarks criticizing the University North Park TIF.

Councilman Doug Cubberley, who presided over the meeting in Mayor Cindy Rosenthal’s absence, attacked Councilman Tom Kovach after the latter made comments during the meeting criticizing the TIF.

Kovach has regularly been critical of the University North Park TIF and the progress being made there. So it wasn’t surprising that, after congratulating Councilwoman Carol Dillingham following her swearing in, Kovach launched yet another verbal assault on the TIF and the city’s handling of it.

“The whole premise of the TIF was that public money would be used for infrastructure so that the development would be accelerated and that high-end, spectacular development would come in short order,” he said. “Our cannibalization study that we had 18 months ago showed … high-end, spectacular development is necessary to keep local businesses from being harmed by the competition and by the subsidy (the TIF). And that is not happening.”

Kovach also expressed his concern with certain retailers moving into the TIF, including Dollar Tree and Discount Tire

“We welcome them to the city of Norman, but that development won’t be conducive to high-end retail going into the TIF district, which is what was promised to the public,” he said.

Kovach also said the TIF is draining the city of precious money in these tough economic times. He said in the past 12 months, more than $2 million in sales tax has “been diverted to the TIF” which received 60 percent of the sales tax generated there in the past year.

“I can tell you that clearly, in this tight budgetary climate, that is impacting city services,” Kovach said, referring to the sales tax money sent to the TIF under the 2006 agreement.

“When we’re looking at furloughing people … and that’s the amount (about $2 million) the furloughs will save … that’s an impact on city services,” Kovach said. “I would ask the council to look seriously at the TIF development, the promises that were made and our obligations to hold the developer to those promises.”

Shortly after Kovach had finished his four-minute speech deriding the TIF, it was Cubberley’s turn to have the floor.

“I’ve let this pass for a while now as Councilmember Kovach has been attempting to beat us up in regard to the TIF, and I can’t let this go,” Cubberley said at the close of Tuesday’s meeting.

Cubberley, who stared at Kovach during several minutes of his remarks, said there hasn’t been any “diversion of funds” connected to the TIF.

“Councilmember Kovach seems to want to say that there’s something wrong in what we’re doing,” he said. “In fact, those properties that are out there would not have been there without that TIF. That money generated would not have been coming into city coffers without that TIF.”

Cubberley said the only reason the TIF is an issue, “is politics. Pure and simple, politics.”

In fact, Cubberley said the project is moving along according to plan. Sort of.

“As several of the council members know who were around at the time (Kovach was elected in 2008, two years after the TIF agreement was made), we had the lower-end retail, or the normal retail, that was going to pay for the improvements that were going to hopefully bring in the high-end retail,” he said. “The stores that are going in there and the efforts being made were part of the first phase.”

Cubberley also said the TIF is responsible for luring in the Embassy Suites conference center, a big prize for the city and surrounding entities.

“That is one of the crown jewels of this community,” he said, adding that without the TIF the conference center likely wouldn’t be in Norman.

Cubberley also said he was disturbed by the remarks from Stanton Nelson, developer of University Town Center, who thought the city should do more in the way of incentives to lure high-end retailers to Norman.

“The incentive for him to do his job was the TIF,” he said. “So, if Mr. Nelson believes that he needs something more, I think he’s sadly mistaken to think he’s going to get something more from this council.”

Cubberley, who believes the city “has gone over and beyond” to make the TIF a success, said he agreed with Nelson that the economy was a factor in the slowed development of the UNP area, but didn’t think it was any time to panic or make drastic changes to expectations.

“All of us know who have been around that economies go down and economies rebound,” he said. “There will always be opportunities for retailers. We need to give it time.”

After Cubberley took a water break toward the end of his remarks, he said the city has up to $7 million in obligations related to the TIF and that “we have the TIF, that’s the reality.”

“We have it, we need to make the best of it and hold the developer’s feet to the fire,” Cubberley said.

Kovach stood up and confronted Cubberley moments after the latter’s remarks and the two spoke for a few minutes before parting ways.


Link to article:

http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x378274158/Drama-unfolds-during-Tuesday-council-meeting

NORMAN — Even though the Norman City Council meeting Tuesday night was short on running time, it got long on drama when one councilman attacked another over remarks criticizing the University North Park TIF

"Attacked" is kind of an emotive, over the top word. When I read that opeing sentence, I expected a physical attack, perhaps with some kung fu kicks or a stapler. It was a let down.

i tried to watch the video of the meeting on the city's website, but alas, no go for me...I don't know much of the Kovach fellow, but he seems to be a troublemaker...However, the UNP TIF thingee is a boondoggle, on that I will agree with him . Oh, and why was the Mayor absent? She just got re-elected and now she doesn't even show up. pshaw!

While Kovach is known for stirring up trouble on the issue, he does have some valid points. The University Park simply has not lived up to what was promised. The recession has had an impact i'm sure, but that's not enough to explain everything (can you imagine something "high-end" like a Nordstroms moving in next to a discount tire?).

As a commercially viable development concept the "lifestyle center" had likely already achieved the end of its life cycle about the time this development actually began if not before.

People not involved in development generally think of projects as unique except for the ignominious strip center and certain nearly unavoidable residential styles. But development is a lot like any other business in that to the developer the end result is a "product" to be sold, hopefully at a profit. Just like any other business when a certain kind or style of product is successful then others in that business produce their own. Development is heavily dependent upon credit and investment for money and that is much more easily secured for "successful products" than the unique or innovative or even slightly out of the ordinary.

This tendency then to build a similar product is further amplified because the various groups that make up development are rather small and closely knit. Just attend a couple of ICSC conventions sometime and it becomes quickly apparent how small the group of players actually is.

So the professional developer produces a "product," sells it, and then moves on to the next project. In order to attract investment there has to be a rather severe financial exit strategy for most projects and that usually does not extend past about 5 years.

In my own study of this industry I find myself more attracted to projects that are undertaken by owners whose goals are both financial and aesthetic and generally are very, very long term. I think there is no finer example than Utica Square which has been owned by Helmerich and Payne since 1964.

Of course one of the problems with long term goals is that it usually takes a long time. That, naturally, does not fare well as a concept in our rather puerile society.

University North Park has many great advantages. It seems to me that long term it can be nurtured into a really excellent project if there is great patience exercised, a commitment to certain high ideals and standards, and a flexibility in conceptual thinking.

Whether that becomes reality or not is just unknown now and for me at least unforeseeable.