HUMBOLDT — Council has decided not to act on a petition asking for a tax incentive for a downtown grocery store, saying that there’s no business making a proposal for such a development.
“We can’t decide to make a decision on something that’s not really being proposed,” said Rob Muench, Humboldt’s mayor during the June 10 meeting.
The petition asked council to support a grocery store on the corner of Main Street and Sixth Avenue in Humboldt by offering tax incentives. There were 214 signatures, but only 98 had included an identifying civic address to prove they lived in the city.
“There's concern out there,” Muench said. “I think if you get 200 and some people signing, I think it's something that council needs to look at.”
Coun. Michael Behiel told council he wasn’t opposed to doing something, but there’d have to be a proposal on the table.
There is a tax abatement policy for building in the downtown core that’s based on making improvements to existing properties. If somebody did want to set up a grocery store and had to renovate, those improvements could be made exempt from taxes for up to five years.
