Financial Planning Committee votes to look into funding downtown Albany development

ALBANY — The joint Albany City Commission/Albany Utility Board Long-Term Financial Planning Committee approved in principle Thursday a Downtown Development Authority proposal that would allow for a loan from the city’s so-called Deal-Closing Fund to be used to stimulate downtown development.

In a meeting that featured heated verbal exchanges between LTFPC Chairman/Albany City Commissioner Tommie Postell and committee member/Albany Utility Board member Chad Warbington, the committee voted 4-1 to “explore the opportunity of loaning money from the Deal-Closing Fund” to spur downtown development.

The proposal was presented to the Long-Term Financial Planning Committee by Downtown Development Authority (formerly ADICA) Chairwoman Thelma Johnson.

“I’d like to know if they’re looking to burn the entire $18 million …” Warbington started, indicating the amount city Finance Director Derrick Brown said was in the Deal-Closing Fund, but Postell cut him off mid-sentence.

“I said we’re not going to talk about money at this meeting, can’t you hear?” the committee chairman said, his voice rising.

Warbington continued calmly, “I’m sorry, Mr. Postell, but can we be more professional than that? What I want to know is how much money …”

Again Postell cut him off.

“Can’t you understand plain English?” he said. “I told you we’re not going to talk about money in this meeting.”

LTFPC member/City Commissioner B.J. Fletcher placed a hand on Postell’s arm while fellow board member/Commissioner Bob Langstaff tried to soothe the tension.

“I think what we need to understand is that we’re not going to talk about an amount of money at this time,” Langstaff said. “What we’re looking at is the concept of using money from the fund to stimulate downtown growth. That’s something I could go along with if our new city manager (Sharon Subadan, who was selected by the City Commission Tuesday night) reviews it and thinks it’s a project that can work for us.”

Fletcher said after the meeting she agrees with the proposal in principle, but she said two concerns must be addressed before she’d vote to approve any such loan.

“First of all, the new city manager and the City Commission must sign off on it,” Fletcher said, “and there’s no way I would ever agree to ADICA controlling the funding.”

While Postell insisted that money not be discussed during Thursday’s meeting, Johnson’s proposal came with a projected price tag of $3.375 million. She asked that the city purchase properties on the 100 blocks of Front Street and Pine Avenue, the Albany Heights and Water, Gas & Light buildings on Pine Avenue, the Exchange Building at the corner of Washington Street and Broad Avenue and the former SOWEGA Council on Aging building on Pine.

Her proposal also mentioned using part of the funding to defray the costs of building the new Home2 Suites hotel downtown and acquiring property at the corner of Front Street and Broad Avenue to incentivize private investment.

“If construction of a hotel and a microbrewery downtown moves forward, as discussed, the value of land downtown is going to increase,” Johnson told the committee. “If the city purchases the property, it can be sold at its current value to investors rather than at an inflated price.”

Langstaff asked City Attorney Nathan Davis to clarify concern that the Deal-Closing Fund, which has built up over the past seven years using one-third of credits returned to the city’s Utility Board by the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, would be used improperly. Langstaff pointed out that the development proposal would be used as a loan, not as grants such as the $200,000 awarded to Thrush Aircraft to help with that Albany-based company’s expansion.

“This certainly is a different use of those funds,” Davis said. “I think the whole idea everyone involved has maintained is protecting the corpus of those funds.”

Fletcher told Warbington he did not have to worry about depleting the Deal-Closing Fund.

“Our dream is still to snag a big industry that will bring jobs to this community,” she said. “We’re not going to allow the fund to be drained.”

Warbington took another shot at Postell before asking for more time to “absorb what we’re being asked to vote on after seeing it for five minutes.”

“It’s a shame this body is not more professional than it is,” the businessman said.

Postell responded, “I appreciate your comments, but this is not a decision that’s being made by the Water, Gas & Light Commission. This is a decision that will be made by this board, and if it gets three votes, it will be passed on to the Albany City Commission to make a final decision.”

Langstaff offered a motion to move forward with “exploring the opportunity” to make the loan, and Postell, Fletcher, Langstaff and Utility Board member Bob Hutchinson voted to approve the motion. Warbington voted against.