HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council approved the ordinance for an additional sales tax added on to activities at the new Amber Hotel property as part of its meeting on Tuesday. The public hearing for the CID took less than five minutes and no members of the public showed up to speak on the issue.
"We have a CID fund," said city finance director Angela Richard. "We have five current CIDs. We have two hotels, we have the mall, which is divided into two and then we have another location by the mall that has a CID. This is not a new process for us. It's just an additional CID."
The City Council has entered into a development agreement with Amber Hotel LLC to design, develop, construct, operate, and maintain a hotel, conference center, and restaurant at 1715 N Waldron.
"The ordinance before you establishes the Community Improvement District at that location to collect an additional 2% sales tax by businesses located at that location," Richard said. "It is not for the entire city as a whole."
The CID is authorized to collect up to $18,000,000 to reimburse costs for the construction, redevelopment, renovation, and procurement of certain improvements within the district. The CID will remain in effect for 22 years or until $18,000,000 of CID sales tax is collected.
Once the project is complete, the City will notify the Kansas Department of Revenue to commence the start of CID sales tax collections. The City will receive the CID proceeds from the State and reimburse Amber Hotel for any eligible expenses.
The ordinance establishing the CID passed unanimously Tuesday.
CLICK HERE to download the Hutch Post mobile app.
CLICK HERE to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.