MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — Monday’s Mitchell City Council meeting is the end of an era. The group will say goodbye to three members before the new class is sworn in at the first meeting in July.

The city plans to give recognition to the retiring Susan Tjarks, along with John Doescher and Mike Bathke, who lost their races while running as incumbents. Before the bittersweet farewell, all three will debate a packed agenda with several high-profile issues on the docket.
Developer John Adamo is asking the council to create a TIF District for the property at 123 N. Main Street. He hopes to develop a 5-suite Airbnb on the upper levels. Ground floor would have retail space. The building is missing windows, and even though they have been boarded up, it still has a significant amount of weather damage, along with problems due to neglect and a lack of maintenance.

The TIF District sets up a mechanism where any additional property taxes generated to the city from the improvements are then funneled back to the developer until eligible costs are recouped. After that point, all property tax revenue then flows to the city’s general fund as normal. The TIF is different from a grant in that the developer inherits all the risk if they can’t finish the project or the concept bombs financially.

The TIF proposal passed out of the Planning Commission at last week’s meeting. The City Council will also consider two items that were not approved at that session. More information on those items is available here.