OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Industrial Development Board Meeting January 5, 2026: TIFF Amendments, Wildflower Resolution Approved

City Council & City BoardsMonday, January 5, 2026
BodyChattanooga, Tennessee
SessionCity Council & City Boards
DateMonday, January 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:01:46

Transcript — Verbatim
10:01

Good morning, everyone, and happy new year.

10:05

Thank you all for being here for our January Industrial Development Board meeting.

10:09

We'll go ahead and call the meeting to order.

10:11

Um, we have confirmation of the meeting being advertised, and we have a quorum present.

10:18

And so we'll start by um minute approvals for our December 1st meeting.

10:23

Is there um motion to approve the minutes?

10:29

All those in favor?

10:33

Thank you.

10:33

The meeting minutes are passed.

10:35

At this point, we'll recognize any um anybody wishing to address the board this morning.

10:40

Anyone here wanting to address the board at this time.

10:48

Okay, Miss Lou, we will have the quarterly finance report.

10:55

Good morning.

10:56

Happy New Year.

10:58

Um I'm Elon Leo with the City of Chattanooga Finance Department.

11:02

Uh the reports I'll present.

11:05

The longest one is the VW grant, and actually, there's no in no activity at all since the last report.

11:14

Uh the following three reports.

11:17

The first one is the economic and development program summary.

11:22

In that particular report, uh, the only changes, the make two major changes is the uh Southeast Tennessee Development District returns $358,000 from the bridge loan we gave out during the pandemic.

11:39

That one would need to receive, and also uh city appropriated 1.3 million dollars to the renewing Chattanooga fund.

11:50

So in total on hand available to spend by this board is $3.8 million.

11:58

Okay, the next report is the TIFF.

12:01

Uh the only major change in there is that we collected $8,000 for the uh Northgate Mall application.

12:11

Again, uh the available cash to spend for all the TIFF funds is about 153 156,000 dollars.

12:21

The last report is the wastewater program summary.

12:26

Of the two programs we have, uh we have about 1.3 million dollars spent in December that we have not received the full reimbursement, but we'll get that taken care of in this month.

12:40

Any questions I can consider.

12:45

Any questions for Ms.

12:47

Liu?

12:50

I don't have any.

12:51

Okay, thank you very much.

12:55

Next, we will have a quarterly project update for the number two Bio Wastewater Department and Jacobs Engineering Group Incorporated.

13:04

W20-027-101 MMBC MMEC class Power A Progressive Design Build.

13:17

Good morning, my name is Mark Heinzer.

13:19

I'm the administrator for the wastewater department.

13:21

Uh and uh yeah, we submitted a uh quarterly report for our Class A power project.

13:27

And again, that project is is funneling through the industrial development board.

13:31

It is a kind of a regional impact here with what we're doing capacity-wise with our wastewater treatment facility.

13:37

And uh progress is is going as expected.

13:40

We have our basis of design report that is due on January 30th.

13:45

So in a little bit less than a month, we'll have the basis of design report and kick off into uh the full 60, 30 to 60 percent design phases and the uh 60 percent design phase uh will be complete in August, which is where we'll get our uh cost estimate for the construction.

14:02

And then from there, since it's a design build project, uh construction can begin after that point.

14:07

So it is tracking pretty well on those dates.

14:09

Right now, we had hoped to get the basis of design report completed in uh December, but that uh that got pushed one month for us.

14:17

So but otherwise the project is moving along as expected.

14:24

Any questions?

14:26

Okay, thank you.

14:28

Thank you.

14:30

Our first resolution is for the Northgate Mall TIFF project.

14:35

A resolution of the Industrial Development Board of the City of Chattanooga approving and acknowledging an amendment to the economic impact plan for the Northgate Mall Infrastructure Project Project as recommended by the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

14:50

Good morning, board Sharita Allen, senior advisor for economic development and workforce development here at the city.

14:56

So this item is a follow-up to the very last item that this board approved.

15:00

It's related to the third-party review of the proposed Northgate Mall TIFF, actually approved Northgate Mall TIFF.

15:08

There was a recommendation in it from the third party reviewer that basically said the range for the TIFF was anywhere between 7.7 and 8.7.

15:18

The original application reflected a request for 9.2.

15:22

And so this board, as a result of reviewing that third-party review, recommended that that 9.2 amount be reduced to 8.7.

15:31

And so that was approved and moved forward to city council for approval and vote.

15:39

City Council amended the document and approved it.

15:42

And this is recon this item is recognizing for the IDB to recognize that City Council accepted the recommendation, amended the document, and approved it.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing████████████████████████████████32%
Economic Development██████████████████████████████30%
Public Engagement██████████████████████22%
Public Finance█████████9%
Procedural████4%
Procurement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Industrial Development Board Meeting - January 5, 2026

The Chattanooga Industrial Development Board met on January 5, 2026, at 15:52 UTC. The meeting was called to order with a quorum present. Minutes from the December 1, 2025 meeting were approved unanimously.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the December 1, 2025 meeting minutes (no discussion, unanimous vote).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public addressed the board.

Discussion Items

  • Quarterly Finance Report (Elon Leo, Finance Department): Presented reports on the VW Grant (no activity), Economic Development Program Summary (returns of $358,000 from a bridge loan and $1.3 million city appropriation to Renewing Chattanooga Fund; total available $3.8 million), TIFF (collected $8,000 for Northgate Mall; available cash ~$156,000), and Wastewater Program ($1.3 million spent in December awaiting reimbursement).
  • Quarterly Project Update (Mark Heinzer, Wastewater Department): Update on Class A Progressive Design Build project for wastewater treatment capacity. Basis of Design Report due January 30, 2026; 60% design completion expected in August 2026. Project is on track despite a one-month delay.
  • Northgate Mall TIFF Amendment (Sharita Allen, Economic Development): Resolution to approve an amendment reducing the maximum TIFF from $9.2 million to $8.7 million, as recommended by a third-party review and approved by City Council. Board members discussed recent property sales nearby and a forthcoming City Council resolution urging public engagement on development. The resolution was approved unanimously.
  • North River Access Road TIFF Amendment (Sharita Allen): Resolution to amend the development agreement and TIFF documents to extend the development timeline and broaden permitted uses (excluding hospitality and retail) on remaining parcels. Two buildings have been completed; the change allows office, medical, and other non-industrial uses. Principal amounts remain unchanged. Approved unanimously.
  • Wildflower Development Special Assessment Financing (Hanukkah Henderson, Housing Finance): Resolution of intent to reimburse the developer for public infrastructure costs using potential special assessment bond financing, capped at $10 million. The resolution preserves federal tax options and does not commit the city or IDB. Extensive discussion on the new state law (REIDA), the special assessment mechanism, and public benefit (affordable housing). The board expressed concerns about transparency and the need for education. Motion to approve carried.
  • Other Business (Melanie): Raised concerns about public access to presentations (not posted, unclear on video) and transparency in procurement (software contract awarded without apparent RFP). Requested that presentations be posted online and that IDB processes be more open. Also requested an update on a potential IDB staff position. Staff committed to presenting on procurement processes and staffing research in February.

Key Outcomes

  • Three resolutions were approved: Northgate Mall TIFF amendment (unanimous), North River Access Road TIFF amendment (unanimous), and Wildflower Development intent to reimburse (passed with majority vote).
  • Board directed staff to improve public access to meeting presentations (post online) and to provide education on special assessment financing at a future meeting.
  • Staff will present a review of IDB staffing and procurement processes at the February 2026 meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, everyone, and happy new year. Thank you all for being here for our January Industrial Development Board meeting. We'll go ahead and call the meeting to order. Um, we have confirmation of the meeting being advertised, and we have a quorum present. And so we'll start by um minute approvals for our December 1st meeting. Is there um motion to approve the minutes? All those in favor? Thank you. The meeting minutes are passed. At this point, we'll recognize any um anybody wishing to address the board this morning. Anyone here wanting to address the board at this time. Okay, Miss Lou, we will have the quarterly finance report. Good morning. Happy New Year. Um I'm Elon Leo with the City of Chattanooga Finance Department. Uh the reports I'll present. The longest one is the VW grant, and actually, there's no in no activity at all since the last report. Uh the following three reports. The first one is the economic and development program summary. In that particular report, uh, the only changes, the make two major changes is the uh Southeast Tennessee Development District returns $358,000 from the bridge loan we gave out during the pandemic. That one would need to receive, and also uh city appropriated 1.3 million dollars to the renewing Chattanooga fund. So in total on hand available to spend by this board is $3.8 million. Okay, the next report is the TIFF. Uh the only major change in there is that we collected $8,000 for the uh Northgate Mall application. Again, uh the available cash to spend for all the TIFF funds is about 153 156,000 dollars. The last report is the wastewater program summary. Of the two programs we have, uh we have about 1.3 million dollars spent in December that we have not received the full reimbursement, but we'll get that taken care of in this month. Any questions I can consider. Any questions for Ms. Liu? I don't have any. Okay, thank you very much. Next, we will have a quarterly project update for the number two Bio Wastewater Department and Jacobs Engineering Group Incorporated. W20-027-101 MMBC MMEC class Power A Progressive Design Build. Good morning, my name is Mark Heinzer. I'm the administrator for the wastewater department. Uh and uh yeah, we submitted a uh quarterly report for our Class A power project. And again, that project is is funneling through the industrial development board. It is a kind of a regional impact here with what we're doing capacity-wise with our wastewater treatment facility. And uh progress is is going as expected. We have our basis of design report that is due on January 30th. So in a little bit less than a month, we'll have the basis of design report and kick off into uh the full 60, 30 to 60 percent design phases and the uh 60 percent design phase uh will be complete in August, which is where we'll get our uh cost estimate for the construction. And then from there, since it's a design build project, uh construction can begin after that point. So it is tracking pretty well on those dates. Right now, we had hoped to get the basis of design report completed in uh December, but that uh that got pushed one month for us. So but otherwise the project is moving along as expected. Any questions? Okay, thank you. Thank you. Our first resolution is for the Northgate Mall TIFF project.

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