Generally
Applications for assistance from the Good Life District Economic Development Program by Applicants other than the City of Grand Island may occur by:
(1) Qualified Response to any City issued Request for Proposals seeking development proposals within the District, or
(2) Direct Application for Program Funds made by a Qualified Business,
Direct Application Process
Direct Applications shall be made on a form to be developed by the City of Grand Island and will include all contents, qualifications, and materials required herein.
Each submitted application shall be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee. These fees shall be codified in the City’s adopted Fee Schedule. Fees shall be based on the amount of Program Funds requested. Should an applicant amend their request after making the initial application fee, they shall remit any increased fee due and owing prior to their application being placed on the Council agenda. No refunds shall be made for reduced requests.
Amount of Program Funds Requested | Application Fee |
Under $500,000 | $2,500 |
$500,000 to $1,500,000 | $5,000 |
$1,500,000 to $3,000,000 | $7,500 |
$3,000,000 to $5,000,000 | $10,000 |
$5,000,000 to $10,000,000 | $20,000 |
Over $10,000,000 | $50,000 |
The City Administrator, or their designee, shall be tasked with developing and implementing the necessary documentation and schedule for initial application review. This process, and any required forms, will be made available and public on the City’s website when developed.
Application materials shall be held in confidence as permitted by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-4412(d) and shall not be considered public records until such time as a final application packet is prepared for Council consideration by the City Administrator. Once an applicant has authorized submission of their reviewed application to City Council, the contents of the application packet presented to Council shall no longer be held in confidence. In the event an applicant chooses to withdraw their application prior to submission to City Council, all application materials provided by the applicant will be disregarded and will remain confidential and shall not be a public record. Application materials provided by the applicant during preliminary review, but not forwarded to Council by the City Administrator, shall remain confidential and shall not be a public record.
The Application process will include at least the following steps, procedures, and requirements:
(1) A completed written application and required supporting materials shall be submitted to the City Administrator.
(2) The City Administrator, or their designee, shall review the application to ensure it is complete and includes all supporting materials.
(3) The application will undergo a preliminary, confidential, review by the Administrative Review Team which shall include the following officials or their designee(s): City Administrator, the Finance Director, the Community Development Director, the Public Works Director, the City Attorney, and any other department heads the City Administrator deems necessary.
a. During the preliminary review, each member of the Administrative Review Team may:
i. Request supplemental materials or information from the Applicant.
ii. Make investigatory findings as to eligibility of the applicant and/or project.
iii. Make written recommendations to be forwarded to Council to include suggestions as to schedule es, restrictions, conditions, compliance procedures or modifications necessary.
(4) Upon the conclusion of the preliminary review by the Administrative Review Team the City Administrator will meet in consultation with the application to provide the applicant with the opportunity to:
a. Review the Application Packet prepared by the City Administration for forwarding to City Council for their approval, and/or
b. Present the Applicant with suggested modifications or changes recommended by the Administrative Review Team and permit the Applicant the ability to modify their proposal for no additional application fee, and/or
c. To notify the Applicant that the Administrative Review Team intends to recommend denial of the application and to provide the Applicant the opportunity to withdraw their application, and/or
d. To provide an opportunity for the Applicant to Withdraw their application from consideration by Council for any reason, or no reason at all.
(5) Once Administrative review has been completed, the City Administrator shall cause a packet to be prepared for Council’s consideration which shall include all application materials submitted, recommendations by the Administrative Review Team, and any other materials members of the Administrative Review Team or Applicant deem necessary.
(6) The Applicant shall be entitled to notice that the Administrative Review Process has been completed, notice of the date and time of the City Council meeting at which their application will be considered, and notice that upon submission of their application to City Council all contents of their application shall become public record except for redactions necessary to shield confidential information such as dates of birth, social security numbers, banking/routing information, or items which include information that may jeopardize public safety like the location of critical infrastructure, security features of buildings, or other safety items which serve no public purpose by their release.
(7) City Council shall consider all applications submitted by City Administration during their regular meetings or a special meeting called for the purpose of application review.
(8) After consideration of a properly presented application Council shall pass a resolution reflecting required findings and a determination that an application be approved as submitted, approved subject to restrictions or modifications, rejected with instructions for resubmission directly to Council, or rejected outright.
(9) In addition to their approval, Council shall designate in their resolution whether they are:
a. Authorizing the Mayor to sign any agreements, contracts, or other legal documents submitted by the Applicant, and/or
b. Authorizing the City Administrator and City Attorney to negotiate terms of any agreements, contracts, or other legal documents consistent with the Application for the Mayor’s signature without further action by Council, and/or
c. Will require the applicant to present all proposed agreements, contracts, or other legal documents consistent with the Application for Council review and future approval.
Applicant Qualifications
An Applicant for Program Funds other than the City of Grand Island must be a qualified applicant. To be a qualified applicant the person, entity, or group of persons and entities must:
(1) Be a Qualified Business.
(2) Have, or be able to obtain, minimal insurance coverage which names the City of Grand Island as an additional insured.
(3) Be able to obtain a performance bond in an amount sufficient to guarantee performance of all deliverables for which any Program Funds are requested.
(4) Be committed to legal compliance and must be able to certify that they will conduct all operations consistent with all required local, state, and federal laws.
(5) May not have been debarred, disqualified, or otherwise restricted from participation in any public project within ten (10) years preceding the application.
(6) For payment of eligible costs which are improvements to or related to real property, provide: (1) proof of ownership in property for which program funds would be expended; and/or (2) an exclusive interest in property that can be enforced and encumbered by restriction for a period of not less than 30 years; and/or (3) evidence that any improvements proposed on public property are designed in accordance with relevant industry standards; and/or (4) authorization from all involved property owners for submission of an application and consent for negotiated encumbrance of the property for a period of not less than 30 years.
Application Contents
The City Administrator shall develop an application form or guidance documents to include these documents or their equivalents. In the event an applicant is unable to provide any of the requested materials, the City Administrator may reject the application without submission to Council as an incomplete application. Applications should include:
(1) Supporting documentation to demonstrate the application is made by a qualified applicant.
(2) A Project proposal which shall include, at a minimum:
a. A concise written summary of the project.
b. The total cost of the proposed project and a summary of the financial structure proposed.
c. A developer capital stack for the project prepared by an attorney or financing professional which includes documentation of commitments for financing of the project.
d. A summary of the request for Program Funds including the amount of funding, a proposed disbursement schedule, and whether the request is for payment of project expenses or reimbursement after project completion.
(3) For each request for Program Funds, applicant shall provide written support highlighting how use of the proposed Program Funds exemplifies the Program purposes and goals and outlining why this request should receive funding priority.
(4) For each request for Program Funds, the applicant shall include a developer gap analysis detailing the necessity for the City to provide incentives for the project from Program Funds. This gap analysis should highlight what benefit or return on investment use of Program Funds would provide to the Program that would not exist but for the use of Program Funds, any “but for” analysis which supports that the project benefits would not occur or would be substantially delayed but for use of the Fund.
(5) A draft site plan to include visual site plans, studies, surveys, or other documents.
(6) An estimate of the number of new permanent jobs created within the project.
(7) An estimate of the number of temporary, seasonal, or construction related jobs created within the project.
(8) A list of all occupied structures to be built; to include the type of structure, approximate square footage, and proposed use.
(9) Developer governance documents for each involved developer or sub-developer. If applicable, corporate structure charts showing equity ownership for the project, developer, or landowners.
(10) Projected annual sales estimated for development within the project to include the following details: annual estimated taxable sales, annual estimated non-taxable sales, percentage of taxable sales estimated to be made to out-of-state residents.
(11) Projected annual out-of-state visitors to project.
(12) Supporting documentation for any estimates used in support of sales, visitor, or jobs projections.
(13) Documentation of land acquisition or executed contracts supporting acquisition for such land.
(14) Any purchase agreements, sale agreements, leases, memorandums of understanding, or other commitment documents from businesses described in the site plan or who intend to occupy any buildings included in the list of occupied structures.
(15) Pro forma documents for any hospitality, leisure, recreational, or athletic-related business described in the site plan or who intend to occupy any buildings included in the list of occupied structures.
(16) Proposals for contracts, agreements, deed restrictions, or other encumbrances which provide assurances to the City that the project will be executed to completion or will be sufficiently encumbered so as to leave the City with a demonstrable return on investment should the project fail to be completed.
(17) A summary of any annexations, rezoning actions, or blight studies which are or may be necessary for the project, including a proposed schedule for all preliminary actions which must occur prior to distribution of Program Funds.
(18) Identification of any professionals, consultants, or third parties which may be needed to assist the City or Applicant in the development of the proposed project for whom the applicant is requesting payment or reimbursement of expenses from the Program Fund.
(19) Either: (1) An affidavit confirming that no tax increment financing is, or will be requested, as part of the Project so long as Program Funds are expended or (2) A summary of what tax increment financing is, or may be, requested as part of the project, and a draft of any proposed Redevelopment Plan pursuant to the Nebraska Community Development Law, if tax increment financing is requested for any part of the Project, and a cost-benefit study which includes and incorporates any requested Program Funds.
a. Note that any application for Project Funds is not, and will not be, considered as an applicant for tax increment financing but is merely required as an aid to the City in evaluating the range and scope of incentives requested.
(20) Applicant will include clear and concise statements detailing how their project fits the Program Goals listed below, if applicable:
a. How does the proposed project promote the goals and purposes contained in the Good Life District Transformational Projects Act and Chapter 38, Article II of Grand Island City Code?
b. What makes this project unique and transformational as opposed to normal or routine economic development and growth?
c. How does the project expand the tax base within the Program Area?
d. Does the project demonstrate an ability to generate additional Local Sources of Revenue in an amount equal to, or greater than, the requested initial grant of Program Funds?
e. What impacts will the project have on the provision of public services to include police, fire, schools, and public works?
f. How will this project draw visitors from outside the State of Nebraska?
g. Does this project fill an identified gap in available resources in the City of Grand Island? If so, how?
(21) Per Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-4412(e):
a. The Applicant will provide adequate documentation to demonstrate the existence of sufficient infrastructure to serve the program area; or how such infrastructure will be created, funded, and maintained by and through the proposed Project.
b. The Applicant will provide required data showing that sufficient capital investment in buildings and facilities exist to generate enough Local Sources of Revenue to Sustain the Program.
c. The Applicant will provide sufficient assurances that substantially all of the eligible costs will be used for the benefit of the Program Area.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Good Life District Applicant is an Applicant for funding from the Program, the Good Life District Applicant shall not be required to submit any additional information about the business structure, business entity, or historical business information of the entity which is the Good Life District Applicant than what was included in the original application to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development for establishing the Good Life District.
City Applications
City Administration may present proposals for the City’s use of the Program Fund directly to City Council who may grant approval of any presented proposal so long as the use of funds is for eligible costs. Such uses may occur within the Program Area which serve the goals and purposes of the Program, provides infrastructure in support of growth within the Program Area or is otherwise related to the Program Area, or other permitted eligible costs.
City Administration may make application to City Council for the ability to use or pledge Program Funds in conjunction with the issuance of any bonds authorized under this Program.
No fee shall be charged for requests made by the City, processed in response to a City-issued request for development proposal, or in furtherance of the issuance or processing of authorized bonds made by the City.
Limitations on Eligible Costs
The City specifically authorizes all defined types of eligible costs contained in 38-14 City; however Council reserves the right to limit, on a per-application basis, the amounts or types of eligible costs as are determined to be in the best interest of the City and the Program, including per-project maximums or maximum portions of project expenses eligible for funding by the Program.
Further Considerations
City Council shall specifically consider, when reviewing applications:
(1) Whether there is sufficient existing infrastructure to serve the Program Area with the addition of this Project; or whether this Project creates the required infrastructure.
(2) Whether any proposed or necessary infrastructure is adequately constructed and funded by and through the proposed Project.
(3) Whether the proposed Project includes sufficient capital investment in buildings and facilities to generate enough Local Sources of Revenue to sustain the Program.
(4) Whether the proposed Project provides sufficient guarantee that substantially all of the eligible costs will be used for the benefit of the Program Area.
(Added by Ord. No. 9983, effective 09-03-2024)