Downtown Development Authority Talks Tax Incentives And Façade Grant For Local Businesses
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
The May 13 monthly meeting of Trenton’s Downtown Development Authority began with the new board adopting its bylaws and the map of the designated downtown area (which is essentially the entire City of Trenton). All agreed that this designated area could be expanded in the future, if needed.
Drafting a plan for the rest of 2025 and a long-term plan was tabled until more members are on the board and present.
With Cheryl McGee and Careyee Bell unable to continue serving on the board, the remaining members chose three candidates to recommend to the city commission. The commission will then select two of the three. The candidates are Jon Wylie (owner of Corner Coffee), Jennifer Taylor (owner of T and T Golf Carts), and Melissa Faircloth (owner of Faircloth Realty and The Groovy Nomad).
Wylie and Faircloth were present at the meeting. Of the former, Ryan Faircloth said, “I really think Jon would be top notch, for sure.”
The board wasn’t sure if Taylor would like to serve on the DDA, although they think she’s qualified. Several had mentioned the possibility to her, but all thought that Monda Wooten had asked Taylor. Wooten explained that she had not but felt that Taylor would be fine with it.
Of Faircloth, Wooten wasn’t sure about both spouses serving on one board. She had originally recommended Faircloth, but she clarified, “I was just joking with her, because she’d be better on it than Ryan.” This got a laugh from the group, and Faircloth explained that she’s happy to serve if no one else can be found but doesn’t feel strongly that she needs to be on the board.
Sandy White (Alliance for Dade president and CEO) noted that there are several boards in the county that have spouses or relatives on them. Wesley Bethune (chairman) added, “Two people are not going to outweigh an entire board,” and Faircloth said, “[Ryan and I] definitely wouldn’t agree all the time.”
In the end, all agreed to submit the three names to the city commission, meaning Wooten will get an official vote via the city about who joins the DDA.
The board then discussed ideas that they’d like to work on in upcoming meetings. First, they talked about the façade grant (as discussed last month). They will ask each bank (Bank of Dade and Citizens Bank and Trust) for a grant (i.e. donation) to fund the façade grant.
In the prior iteration of the DDA, this project offered businesses a 0.5:1 match up to $1,500. If a business spent $3,000 on an approved project, the DDA gave them $1,500. The façade grant program will function nearly the same this time around.
Wooten said that each bank contributed $1,500 last time, and White suggested requesting double that due to inflation. Wooten wants to ask for $5,000 from each bank.
The DDA will promote the grant, letting businesses know to submit applications. From the applicants, the DDA will then select the projects that they feel are most needed, will best improve the look of the town, and are the best use of the funds. The business must satisfactorily complete the work before receiving funds from the DDA.
Bethune suggested also going to the city commission to ask for funds, even just $1,000 a year. Wooten said that the city is currently preparing next year’s budget, and she will get the other commissioners’ opinions.
At this time, the DDA has no funding or revenue source, but if these two goals come to pass, they will receive most of the initial funds from the banks (i.e. private money), and perhaps a small amount from the city (i.e. taxpayer funds).
Ryan Faircloth asked how the DDA could work with the county’s economic development department (i.e. Evan Stone) to bring in new businesses. Stone suggested that one DDA member be designated to work on new businesses. This member in particular would communicate with Stone to figure out the best tax incentives and benefits for the businesses.
Stone said, “We want to give them the best chance to be able to develop their business here with every tool we’ve got in the toolbox, whether it comes from the DDA, IDA, or Dade County’s economic development side.”
Bethune asked if Faircloth had heard from any interested business in particular. Faircloth said there isn’t one in particular, but from conversations, he’s learned that the first question businesses ask is about tax incentives.
The DDA is not yet able to offer tax incentives, but White explained that if the state gives us the rural zone designation after we apply for it this year, the DDA should be able to offer tax incentives as early as next year. She listed three types of tax incentives available through the rural zone designation: rehab, purchase of a property, and job tax credits.
Faircloth asked, “How do we approach someone who needs to rehab their property but does not want to rehab their property because they’re afraid their property taxes are going to go up.” White said that she has never run into that issue in any other community, but it’s a well-known issue here.
This led to an interesting discussion about specific examples and the potential tie-in to code violations.
The board then turned to sign ordinances, which was also an interesting discussion. The DDA would need to work with Ansel Smith (as the city’s code enforcer) to contact violators. (One example in the ordinances they mentioned is temporary signage: Banners and such can be up while relevant for an event, but long-standing signs must be permanent.)
Wooten said that Smith would be willing to work with the DDA, but, “People are stubborn around here.” She was hesitant to consider enforcing code violations, at least at first, preferring to begin with projects that would be received positively by the community and business owners. “Right out of the chute, we’d like to make friends. We don’t want them thinking, ‘There’s another police officer on us.’”
Bethune explained, “We’re not trying to bully them; we’re trying to better our community…We want to act in a professional manner towards things that are not being done properly within the city.”
Bethune said he plans to better familiarize himself with all of the city’s ordinances before the next meeting.
The Sentinel asked what the DDA would say to anyone who feels that yet another government entity, especially if funded in part by taxpayer dollars, is not in the best interest of citizens. Bethune answered, “The reason why I’m on this committee is to see the overall appeal of the city increase. By doing that, that will increase tax revenue.”
He cited the success of Hawkinsville’s DDA. “They started a DDA which increased their city revenue which increased their tax income. It also increased employment in their city. It increased their city’s population. It brought in new businesses.”
He continued, “By asking the city for a small budget to start, we have to justify that. Our justification is that our main goal is to increase the city’s tax revenue.”
By tax revenue, the DDA doesn’t mean increased property taxes or higher sales tax. They mean more people would be spending money in Trenton and therefore paying sales tax, and potentially more thriving businesses would be paying property taxes.
Faircloth and White cited the success of the historic courthouse restoration, which was funded by Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.
Bethune concluded, “As somebody that works directly with the public selling houses, that’s something that I talk about with my clients often: ‘We just love what they’re doing to the historic courthouse. We love the city of Trenton’s downtown area.’ Beautifying that is only going to increase our city revenue.”
