Scale
It seems that The Dunes is not just the talk of Culver, but that has bled over into other areas of Marshall County. It came up in side conversations at the last One Marshall County meeting, which was interesting. Local Architect, Brent Martin, made the comment, “300 doors? That’s a small community.” That made me think. Most of the conversations in Culver revolve around that number being more than 25% of the current population of Culver. So Culver grows by about 20% with this addition. That number is 17% of the population of Argos. That number is 61% of the population of LaPaz. That number is less than 3% the population of Plymouth. It’s probably at least 6 times the population of Burr Oak! And yes, all these numbers assume that there is no more than one soul behind each of those 300 doors; an unlikely prospect.
But this is an unusual conversation. I don’t recall that kind of percentage being discussed when other developments have been planned. It’s more usual for there to be a discussion about jobs created, kids in school, etc. Few communities in our area would consider adding population a negative. I know the fact that The Paddocks and Sand Hill Farm Apartments was adding residents was never discussed as a percentage, though using the same fuzzy math, they added 6% to Culver’s population.
I’ve heard from multiple people how much this will change Culver. Many of these are people that moved here and undoubtedly created some change in the fabric of the town as well. When I look at the pie chart I included here, 20% doesn’t seem that large to me. Though most of us know the 80-20 rule, I doubt that this 20% will be that cohesive and organized.
But this is also why I’ve advocated for some additional urban planning input on this. I think the Town has done a reasonable good job in hiring appropriate legal representation. They have hired appropriate financial representation. Why not hire a consultant that will look at the land-use/infrastructure/social-fabric parts of this addition to the town? It would seem to be money well spent considering the amount of angst it is causing with current residents. It will never and has never been easy. Back in the dark ages when I was on the Culver Chamber of Commerce board, Eric Freeman, then Chamber President, and I joked that the unofficial motto for Culver was, “Change is bad, even if it’s Change for the Better.” That’s one thing that hasn’t changed…
4 Responses to Scale
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By Alfred Nyby October 17, 2023 - 9:00 pm
How will the Culver area TIFs affect school funding? I’m assuming The Paddocks and now the Dunes will add more students to our schools. Will the schools get any additional funding from the TIFs. Or, will the additional students have to absorbed without any increased funding?
By Kevin Berger October 18, 2023 - 7:57 am
Hi Al,
Thanks for reading! Here’s what I think I know from listening in on these things…
The TIF will capture some funds that would go to the school, but it’s not as significant as it was in the past. (Decades ago.) State Law still requires that redevelopment commissions include a representative from the local schools on the commission in a non-voting, advisory position. In this case, that position has been filled by Karen Shuman, Culver Community Schools Superintendent. In the case of the Culver Redevelopment Commission (CRC), one of the voting positions has been filled by Erika James, Culver Elementary School Principal. Those two voices give the school significant sway in the actions of the CRC. To mitigate the taxes that are still captured, the CRC gives some preference to requests brought forward by the school. As with other CRC funded projects, it has to be for capital projects. One prominent, recent example was the CRC’s contribution to the office renovations for added security.
Otherwise, the majority of school funding comes from the State on a student head count basis. At the time The Paddocks went in, the school was very supportive, as it started out adding 25 students to the school system at $6,500 per student. I have not heard a final number on The Dunes, but I’ve heard that inflation has pushed that $6,500 number up to as much as $8,000 per student. So far, I have heard no pushback on The Dunes from the school. How many families with kids that will attend Culver Community Schools is unknowable at this time, but my point is that each kid brings dollars that are not affected by the TIF.
The general discussion has been that any project that adds students to the school is a positive. To the best of my knowledge, Culver Community Schools is still operating at less than capacity. The continue rumblings about forced consolidation from the State puts the Culver Community School system at risk. I believe that the school will support anything that adds students enrollment.
Lastly, TIF districts capture new value. The tax money that went to the schools from the underlying farmland will continue to go to the schools. The TIF only captures the tax increases resulting from the development. That money isn’t coming in now, so will not affect current operations. The TIF also has a limited life (20-25 years), so in the long term, the school will start receiving that value when the TIF expires. That added value may or may not ever materialize without the TIF support for this project.
I don’t particularly have a dog in this fight, but as always, I’m an interested observer. Since I am perceived as a competitor, I keep my opinions to myself in public meetings unless specifically asked. Thus the blog is my place to get things off my chest… positive or negative!
Kevin
By Alfred Nyby October 18, 2023 - 9:08 am
Thanks for the quick reply. Were there any projections, or do you have a guess as to what percentage of the Dunes units will be full-time residents?
Alfred
By Kevin Berger October 18, 2023 - 9:27 am
Both the Developer and the Town are projecting that the majority will be full time residents. I have not seen an actual market study that supports that. I feel that is wishful thinking, but I do believe there is potential over time. The town cited faculty from both schools that can’t afford to live in Culver, retired faculty from Culver Academies that lose their Culver Academies’ rentals, CabinetWorks employees and empty nesters as some of the potential new full time residents. My sense is that these units will be too expensive for many of them when they come out new, particularly with the projected prices and the current interest rates. Long term, that could change.
Kevin