City Council seeks applicants for 2 new economic development boards
The Hoover City Council is looking for 12 people to fill positions on two newly created city boards related to economic development — the Hoover Commercial Development Authority and Hoover Downtown Redevelopment Authority.
The two entities, which were created by the council in August, have similar goals but some differences, said Greg Knighton, the city’s economic developer.
A downtown redevelopment authority can extend credit to make loans to any person, corporation, partnership or other entity to cover the costs of industrial, commercial, office, parking or residential projects in a 3-mile radius within a city’s central business district, Knighton said.
A commercial development authority can spend money to acquire, own and/or lease property in order to induce new commercial enterprises and can make improvements on property for the same purpose, he said.
A commercial development authority has a more defined list of types of projects that it can undertake. Those include manufacturing, research and development and shopping center projects, Knighton said.
While a downtown redevelopment authority can only be established to cover a three-mile radius from the center of a business district, a commercial development authority can work on projects throughout the entire city, he said.
The Hoover City Council can establish the boundaries of a downtown redevelopment authority district, Knighton said. If a pin were put at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Patton Chapel Road, that district would include the Lorna Road area, U.S. 31 corridor, Bluff Park and the Riverchase Galleria, he said.
A downtown redevelopment authority is tax-exempt, including properties within the authority’s borders, Knighton said.
The new Hoover Commercial Development Authority is designed to have five people serving on its board, while the Hoover Downtown Redevelopment Authority is designed to have seven board members.
The council is seeking people from certain sectors of business to serve on each board.
For the Commercial Development Authority, the council is looking for people to represent the finance/banking sector, legal sector, infrastructure/engineering sector and commercial development, real estate and retail sector.
For the Downtown Redevelopment Authority, the council is looking for people to represent the finance/banking sector, legal sector, infrastructure/engineering sector, commercial development, real estate and retail sector, and sport, entertainment and marketing sector.
Applicants must designate on which board they wish to serve and which sector they represent.
Letters of interest and resumes must be hand-delivered or emailed by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 11, and should be delivered to the Hoover city clerk’s office at Hoover City Hall at 100 Municipal Lane or emailed to cityclerk@hooveralabama.gov.
Hoover Councilman Derrick Murphy said he hopes the council can make appointments to the two boards at the council's Jan. 18 meeting.