A Jefferson County advisory board has decided to resurrect a subcommittee focused on creating a central economic development district near Boulder.
The area would be set up as a targeted economic development district, or TEDD.
The idea isn’t new, said Jefferson Local Development Corporation Project Coordinator Tom Harrington.
“We have been discussing a potential district in the Boulder area for a couple of years to enhance business development,” said Harrington of the Jefferson County Tax Increment Industrial District Advisory Board, which held its quarterly meeting on March 24.
A targeted economic development district, enabled by state statute, allows a local government to develop infrastructure in an area to attract and retain business and development. A locality can use tax increment financing to develop the district, according to state statute.
Tax increment financing is a way for a district to use property tax revenue to fund new development.
It works by separating taxable value into base and increment values so the base revenue continues to go to the locality, but as taxes increase over the years, that growth is used to pay for development within that district, according to the Montana Department of Revenue.
The advisory board discussed property near the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, located outside the Boulder city limits, and which is owned by the Department of Corrections.
Harrington said that the Department of Corrections land encompasses roughly 760 acres, and a portion could be carved out for the TEDD, while another area could be used for housing. Harrington suggested coming up with a plan to present to the Department of Corrections land board.
“Kicking the tire here is the best thing … the timing is good right now,” he said.
The Advisory Board decided to form a subcommittee to begin work on the project.
JLDC Economic Development Project Officer Eric Seidensticker said the area could be good for housing, business development and mixed-use.
“Let’s do it,” he said.
Jefferson County currently has two areas set up with a similar structure, a tax Increment financing industrial district, or TIFID — the Sunlight Business Park in Whitehall and the northern district near Montana City.
The Sunlight Business Park has about 50 acres set aside for businesses to locate and currently includes a wind developer, internet company, medical services, an agricultural product distributor and a mobile mechanic.
The northern TIFID was created as a public-private partnership with Tri-County Disposal.
Jefferson County has relied on its metal mines tax revenues to provide the funding necessary to build the enabling infrastructure.
The metal mines license tax, collected from mines located within a county and distributed by the Montana Department of Revenue, is allocated proportionately to those counties and its schools. Counties, in turn, can use the money to promote economic development.
Setting up a TEDD or a TIFID is a public process and includes public hearings.
