The Downtown Development Authority (DDA)

The DDA was formed over twenty five years ago.  Except for the funds raised through the memorial brick project, the entire DDA budget comes through taxation. A one and one half (1.5) mill assessment on all commercial properties within the DDA boundaries is levied annually.  This assessment generates about $36,000 per year.  

The north and south boundaries run from Kent Street (just south of the Chapin pit area) to H Street, and include that area of Carpenter Avenue from H Street to Woodward Avenue.

The east and west boundaries encompass all of Carpenter Avenue and Stephenson Avenue from the Chapin pit to H Street and include Iron Mountain Street.

Focus Area

While the DDA district is quite extensive, well over 90% of its funds have been expended in a very small part of the district year after year.  It's largest single project has been the one-half block brick street on A Street just east of Stephenson Avenue between the City Hall building and the Downtown Plaza.  

In the city-owned parking lots in that general area, they have planted trees and shrubbery, as well as some trees on Hughitt, Ludington and A Streets.  Some decorative street lighting has also been installed in those areas.  That pretty well sums up the accomplishments of the DDA in the last twenty-five years.

 "What are we getting for our money?"

For years, many of the property owners who are in the DDA district, but are beyond the very narrowly focused area which has received all of the benefits, have been asking what are they are getting for their money.   The short answer is "nothing".

To make the situation even more inequitable, the DDA district was enlarged a few years ago so they could increase their taxing base.  The largest contributors to the DDA budget are the Mid-town Mall on the south end and Cable Constructors on the north end.  Cable Constructors was added as part of the enlarged district.  Neither gets anything worth mentioning for their tax dollars.

All of the businesses along Carpenter Avenue have been paying in for years and have received nothing.  The same applies for businesses north of Ludington to the Chapin Pit and those businesses south of B Street to H Street as well as all businesses on Cedar Avenue and River Avenue

A few years ago, the Mid-town Mall asked to be excluded from the district.   The DDA successfully lobbied the City Council to prohibit their exclusion. 

The Downtown Clique

The DDA has managed to establish and tax a wide geographical area and then spend all of their money within a few square blocks at the behest of the Downtown Clique. Over the years, the Downtown Clique has managed a number of other self-serving maneuvers. They are the only businesses in Iron Mountain who get free city-maintained parking.  The plowing and snow removal are paid for out of the city budget.  The parking lots have been paved and repaved many times over the years at great expense.  The city's Tax-Increment Finance Authority (TIFA) has spent many hundred of thousands of dollars in the area, even though it has received very little from the immediate area because only a couple of buildings have been built there in the last twenty years.

The total taxes received by the city from the Downtown Clique do not begin to cover the costs of the services provided.  Taxpayers throughout the city are subsidizing these costs.

The city should (1) sell the parking lots (2) rent the spaces or (3) establish some kind of special assessment on the property owners benefiting from then to recoup their ongoing costs.  The drain on the taxpayers cannot go on forever.

The free ride of the Downtown Clique must end.  The DDA must spend its budget equitably throughout its boundaries or simply go out of business.  The city will survive just fine without the DDA. 

The information for this article was furnished by a former property owner in the Clique District.  This person wishes to remain anonymous because of fear of attack by the Clique as this person still operates a business in a different location.