MILL CREEK – While other cities are struggling with budget deficits and service cuts, the city of Mill Creek continues to be a font of solid positive fiscal news.
After adopting a no new taxes budget for 2003 that preserves service levels and even grows the city’s reserves, the city council took action Tuesday Jan. 6 that not only assured that the land under the proposed community center was debt free, but added more dollars to the city coffers. The council also found the resources to add a break in fees for a limited number of senioir citizen property owners in the city.
In March 2001, the city purchased 6.71 acres in the Town Center development as a site for the center at a cost of $2.5 million. Knowing that the land was in excess of what would likely be needed, the purchase agreement included a clause that would allow the developer to buy back the excess land for the purchase price, $8.57 per square foot.
With the initial plans for the community center drawn up, the city found it had 187,000 square feet of excess. But the developer who had sold the property was not interested in repurchasing the land. That opened the door to the land being sold on the open market.
Two years of appreciating land values allowed the city to sell the land to Redfield Development at a price of $13.50 per square foot. The final sales price exceeds the 2001 purchase price by nearly $25,000.
More importantly, according to city manager Bob Stowe, were some other elements of the sales agreement that will benefit taxpayers and others who will eventually use the Town Center development.
“The developer will put earnest monies aside over the next ten months as their development plans move through the approval process,” said Stowe. “We are assured that the space will be developed.”
Also, Redfield has agreed to construct improvements along what will become Main Street both in front of their own project as well as the community center.
The city realized an earlier monetary gain on the property when it was able to sell 34,000 square feet of wetland as housing setbacks for $101,000.
The next step for the community center project will be a decision on a bond issue that will go before Mill Creek voters, likely sometime late this year.
The council adopted an ordinance that establishes a senior citizen low income Stormwater Utility Fee that can reduce the overall bill for those that qualify by 34%.
The requirements to qualify for the rate the applicant must be 62 or older and be a resident of Mill Creek. The income limits are $14,000 per year for a single people, $18,000 for a married couple. In addition, the applicant must own the home, limited to single family dwellings. Application must be made annually.
The city staff looked at the senior discount systems in place in the Alderwood and Silver Lake water districts in constructing the new ordinance. Those districts service the Mill Creek area and both use the same requirements as those adopted by the city. Within the city, the Silver Lake district estimates that nine of its customers take part in the program. Just three in the Alderwood District use the discount.
The city staff estimates that even if double those numbers were to participate in the program the cost to the city would be about $700.
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