The body — made up of eight city residents and business owners, and City Manager Nate Heffron — heard information from representatives of Beckett and Raeder, a planning, engineering and environmental services firm out of Ann Arbor.

Beckett and Raeder representative John Iacoangeli first updated authority members about the steps necessary to reactivate it’s tax increment financing, or TIF, district, where the DDA would receive its money.

“The DDA was never terminated, it was never discontinued, it was just inactive,” Iacoangeli said.

The financing works by freezing the taxable value of a property at what it was when the DDA was formed and the district established, then collecting or “capturing” any property value increases beyond that amount each year.

The corner of Jackson and Tobin Streets in Negaunee are pictured. Under a proposed streetscape plan, Jackson Street would terminate at the corner of Silver Street, just beyond Negaunee City Hall. It would instead be used as a pedestrian walkway and green space. The plan is expected to be presented to the Negaunee City Council in April. (Journal photo by Lisa Bowers)

The money should be spent, Iacoangeli said, for projects that “correct, maintain and prevent deterioration of the downtown districts.”

“The purpose is to implement projects and programs,” Iacoangeli said.

The current district, which Heffron said is limited to portions of Iron Street and other downtown roadways, would yield very little income for the authority. That’s why the city is working with several developers, current business owners and entities to potentially expand the boundary of the TIF district — a development that could mean a dramatic increase in revenue over the coming years.

In order to begin collecting any TIF revenue in 2020, Iacoangeli said the DDA would be required to have a downtown plan — which specifically predicts what the authority would spend money on — approved by the council by May.

The final version of the streetscape plan presented to DDA members will become a portion of the downtown plan, Heffron said.

Proposed changes in the downtown streetscape include converting the portion of Jackson Street between Silver Street and Tobin Street near the Negaunee Senior Center into a pedestrian walkway and green space, and expanding the Veteran’s Memorial Park; closing Marquette Street and developing a pedestrian plaza and walkways; creating a “discovery park” with mature trees at the intersection of Iron and Silver streets; and bump-outs at intersections, which will allow pedestrians to be more visible to drivers prior to entering the crosswalk.

Heffron said in a phone interview this morning that the streetscape plan, which he hopes will be revealed to the Negaunee City Council in April, would need to be implemented gradually.

“This is all part of our Moving Forward campaign,” Heffron said. “These are changes that are needed for the next generation. We are forging the next 100 years in Negaunee.”

Heffron plans to add some elements of the downtown plan to the city’s 2020 budget, but first, the final draft of the document faces DDA approval in February, followed by planning commission and city council approval.

The public is encouraged to provide input on the plans.

“We welcome people’s input,” Heffron said. “There are notifications of DDA and planning commission meetings on the city’s website, and I intend to put them on the Facebook page as well.”