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(Updated 03/21/2024)
Tuesday, February 13 at 4 PM, the Hayden City Council had a workshop on the proposed expansion of the Hayden Urban Renewal Agency (HURA). The expansion has not been approved yet, and it could come up for discussion soon.
First of all, big thank you to CdA Freedom Watch who was present to video tape the meeting. They were here to fill in the gap when this meeting wasn't video recorded by the City of Hayden. I believe in transparency; as long as the city has the ability to film, they should. Filming would allow the citizens to be able to view each meeting at their convenience. As a matter of fact, I’m a big proponent of all meetings in City Hall being recorded. The public business should be done in public.
This meeting was 45 minutes long and there's a lot to glean from it. I'd like to point out a few of the things I noticed or commented on if the HURA expansion is accepted:
(Minute 4:00) HURA's “honey pot” comes from property taxes and that would increase.
(Minute 18:40) HURA will not be required to have a written contract with the City of Hayden.
(Minute 22:00) HURA’s accountability is in question.
(Minute 35:00) HURA doesn’t necessarily fund every project 100%. Wouldn’t it be prudent to know how much it is ahead of time? Would eminent domain need to be used?
(Minute 37:00) Is HURA planning on funding a Police Station?
So, yes, HURA does have money, but without concrete plans and written agreements how can we hope to move forward? We have a map of potential projects, but that was explicitly excluded from this discussion (Minute 21:00).
I am doing my best to represent you, the taxpayers, and I hope that this information is helpful so that you understand the issues.
Please feel free to write to me and let me know your thoughts.
Sandy White
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