Edmonds joins public facilities bandwagon
Published 9:00 pm Sunday, June 24, 2001
By Janice Podsada
Herald Writer
EDMONDS — The newly formed Edmonds Public Facilities District will take a first step in determining whether the city can sustain a conference center, a performing arts center — or both.
The Edmonds City Council approved the appointment last week of five board members to the PFD board.
Board members, chosen by the Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce and the Edmonds Alliance for Economic Development, will make their first presentation to council members at Tuesday’s regular 7 p.m. council meeting.
The PFD will ask the council to approve an agreement establishing the city’s terms, conditions and support for the PFD, as well as the guidelines for developing a regional center.
The city council approved the formation of a PFD in April.
The PFD board’s first order of business is choosing a consulting firm to conduct a feasibility study.
"We hope to do that the first week of July," Clifton said.
The study should determine whether there is a demand for a regional center, said Stephen Clifton, the city’s community service director.
A performing arts center could house the city’s ballet company, symphony and local theater groups. If the study concludes that there is no demand for either type of center, it’s a "dead issue," Clifton said.
The study will focus on three locations: the downtown Edmonds area, the former Puget Sound Christian College campus, and a piece of commercially zoned property near 220th Street SW and Highway 99.
In addition, the study should indicate whether a private partner is required to help anchor a conference center.
The PFD expects to receive several bids this week for the study, estimated to cost between $80,000 and $100,000, Clifton said. It will be paid for by the PFD, which is expected to receive about $160,000 annually from state coffers.
Under the state’s 1999 PFD legislation, the PFD may collect .033 of the sales and use tax without voter approval. But it’s not a new tax, Clifton said.
"The tax is not an actual tax increase, but a shift in dollars — a credit against the state," Clifton said. "It’s money from the state they would otherwise not receive back."
In order to continue collecting the tax beyond 2003, the PFD must commence construction before that date. If there is a demand for a local conference or performing arts center, the next step would be to look at the center’s size and construction costs.
The Edmonds PFD is aware that their neighbors to the north, Lynnwood and Everett, have also formed PFDs and are looking at constructing a convention center or special events center, said Jan Connor, a newly appointed Edmonds PFD board member.
"A lot of cities are looking at conference centers — it will all be driven by demand."
The PFD hopes to deliver a draft of the study to the city council in early November.
You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.
