The Fayette city council on Tuesday, June 23, gave unanimous approval to establish a Community Improvement District (CID) in downtown Fayette. The mechanism in which the CID will be funded will now go before a small group of about a dozen registered voters who reside within the boundaries of the district.

The council had expected to accept a petition to establish the Historic Downtown Fayette Commercial Community Improvement District at a special meeting the week before, but a discrepancy on a map in the legal notice provided to this newspaper displayed a slight inaccuracy. However, it was later determined that since the legal description was accurate, and that the mistake on the map would not derail the project.

The CID board met for the better part of four hours Wednesday evening with city attorney Nathan Nicholaus, among others. Southwest ward city council alderman Grafton Cook is the board’s chairman. Central Methodist president Roger Drake is the vice-chairman. Filling out the volunteer board are secretary Cana Conrow, treasurer J. B. Waggoner, and CID executive director Michael Dimond.

Dimond is also executive director of Fayette Main Street, which spearheaded the CID project. While his unpaid position on the CID board has the same title, the two are entirely separate. 

The next step for the CID is approval of how the district will be funded by the registered voters who live within its boundary. The election on August 25 will be conducted by mail-in ballot. Voters will be asked to approve two funding sources for the district: a one percent sales tax to be assessed on goods purchased within the CID, and a 50 percent property tax abatement that would keep half of all property taxes levied on real estate inside the district for the CID. The property tax abatement would be in effect for 25 years.

Voters could potentially approve one, two, or neither of these funding sources. However for the CID to function, both would be needed. Once funded, it will be up to the board to approve how any money is used. Possible uses include grants to existing businesses, engineering studies, and improvements to infrastructure.