By Megan Crepeau and Danny YadronThe Daily Northwestern
The Evanston City Council held a special hearing during its regular meeting Monday night to gauge opinion on the “expansion and extension” of a special tax district for downtown businesses.
The tax district, known as Special Service Area No. 4, places an additional tax on non-residential buildings in downtown Evanston in exchange for upkeep of the area, such as clearing sidewalks of garbage and snow.
The area is administered by EvMark, a downtown marketing organization.
Created in 1987, EvMark runs marketing programs and public works projects to promote development in downtown Evanston. On Monday night, EvMark supporters attributed the recent development boom in the city’s business district to the group.
EvMark board member Howard Kain called the district “eerily quiet” before the city and EvMark intervened. Now, “the streets of downtown Evanston are clean, the flowers are tended, (and) the sidewalks are washed,” he said.
Chris Mailing, owner of Turin Bicycles, 1027 Davis St., agreed.
“EvMark is uniquely positioned,” he said. “If EvMark were not able to provide these benefits, it would be difficult.”
But some Evanston business owners contemplated whether the benefits of EvMark outweighed the costs.
“I don’t support renewing the district,” said Scott Stienman, co-owner of Studiomedia Recording Company, 1030 Davis St. “I prefer receiving the tax savings rather than receiving the benefits.”
Under the proposed ordinance, the city would extend the special district for more than 12 years.
“Twelve years is too long to commit to this without re-evaluating the whole downtown situation,” said Joyce Elias, another Studiomedia co-owner. “In my opinion (the issue) is totally out of control.”
However, EvMark members take pride in converting a once-barren downtown into a much busier area.
Evanston residents have 60 days to vote on extending the ordinance at Evanston’s Civic Center at 2100 Ridge Ave. If more than half of them reject the extension, the City Council will be legally constrained from going forward with the service area expansion.
Much of Monday’s meeting was devoted to a lengthy citizen comment period dominated by supporters of rehabilitating the Civic Center.
Last Tuesday, Evanston voters supported almost 6 to 1 a non-binding referendum asking if city government should remain in the existing Civic Center. About 51 percent voted “no” to a similar question placed on the ballot by the City Council that listed an estimated cost of $31 million for rehabilitating the 98-year-old building.
Members of the advocacy group Friends of the Civic Center, which has lobbied the City Council to keep the current building rather than sell it to developers, suggested holding meetings in the near future to discuss options for the Civic Center.
“We would like to establish a positive working relationship with city staff and council members,” said John Kennedy, the group’s founder. “The key point is, we all live here, we all have something to contribute and to look forward (to).”
The Friends of the Civic Center would fund, plan and run the proposed three or four sessions that could be held once a week, Kennedy said.
Reach Megan Crepeau at [email protected].
Reach Danny Yadron at [email protected].
