The Fayette City Council’s plan to approve an ordinance that would officially accept a petition to establish a community improvement district (CID) in downtown Fayette was held up by a technicality Monday night.

The city held a public forum to hear any possible concerns from the public about the proposed CID. The gathering drew around 30 people and had to be moved from City Hall to a larger room at the Keller Building in order to accommodate the crowd.

The problem was presented to the city council members by Gwen Wilder, who singled out a technicality on the map the city used in it’s public notice, which was published by this newspaper. The legal description of the CID’s boundary, which had previously been approved by the city council, said that the boundary would travel down an “unnamed alley” between Walnut and Hackberry streets. The map that accompanied the legal description, however, showed the district’s boundary line taking a slightly different route which would have excluded three houses along with Grey Willows Arts, Antiques, & Gifts, a retail business on South Main St.

Due to the complication, the city council tabled its vote to potentially approve the CID petition which would place it on the ballot in August for voters who reside within the district.

The effort to establish a CID has been largely spearheaded by Fayette Main Street. Although the legal notice that appeared in this newspaper, and that was mailed out to businesses inside the proposed district, was provided by Lauber Municipal Law, LLC, the legal firm that represents the city. The error on the map is not expected to derail the formation of the CID.

While the public forum drew quite a crowd, few people spoke before the council. Scott Queen from Fayette Main Street, and Michael Bugalski, President of the Moberly Area Economic Development Corporation, both spoke in favor of the CID as a vital step toward improving economic development in Fayette.

One person who spoke against the proposal was Susan Keyton, who owns property in the district and who also serves as Howard County Treasurer. She detailed concerns that the CID will take money away from the Fayette School District.

The CID is part of a larger economic strategy that would also employ the use of Chapter 353 tax abatement, which would redirect taxes assessed on property within the district, to the CID. Currently those property taxes help fund the school district, along with the ambulance district, 911, and the fire department. More than half of the school district’s approximately $6.5 million revenue forecast is funded locally.

Gary Gose, former president of the Fayette school board, also detailed his concern for money possibly being taken out of the district’s funds. “This is money that will possibly be taken from the schools.” He suggested that the plan for economic development be somewhat reversed. “Pick the project, pick the plan, then determine the tax situation,” he said.