Woodside improvement district plan advances in Westwood

The city of Westwood on Thursday took the first step to establish a 22-year, 0.9 percent Capital Improvement District sales tax on the Woodside Health and Tennis Club, part of the Woodside Village development.

City council members voted 3-1 to accept the petition to create the district, also called a CID, which would cover sales within the club as well as a parking garage in the second phase of Woodside Village being built south of 47^th Place.

The tax would be added to an existing 1.1 percent capital improvement district tax approved for the development several years ago.

Council members in October agreed to create the new district as part of the expanded development deal they struck with the developers of Woodside Village. That agreement increased the amount of public financing for the project from $22 million to $28 million.

A public hearing and formal vote to approve the new district will likely be in May.

By law, the landowner is required to request a CID. Given that the city still owns both pieces of land covered by the CID, the councilmembers technically voted to accept a CID petition from themselves.

“It’s an unusual situation,” said City Administrative Officer Fred Sherman.

Chase Simmons, an attorney with Polsinelli PC representing the developers, said the money generated by the new CID will go to offset development costs for the second phase, which is expected to include 244 residential and commercial units and 16,300 square feet of mixed-use retail and office space.

The first phase included apartments and retail space.

Councilwoman Margaret Bowen, who has opposed providing financial incentives for the Woodside Village project, voted against the petition.

In other business:

▪ The council voted unanimously to join 12 other city governments in Johnson County and the county itself to purchase and operate a unified law enforcement records management computer system. The new system will replace the Westwood police department’s outdated system and help offset the acquisition and maintenance costs.

Police Chief Greg O’Halloran said the city’s share of the cost would equal $868 this year and $4,352 a year until 2022.

▪ Council members tabled a request to pay Shockey Consulting Services $17,981 for work it performed on creating the city’s new Master Plan. The addition would increase the total payment to Shockey to almost $70,000, compared with an original budget of $55,000 and a $5,000 contribution from the Westwood Foundation. Several councilmembers asked for more time to evaluate the additional costs.

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Woodside improvement district plan advances in Westwood."