Security cameras are possible enhancements the Belhaven area could see paid for by funds generated from its Community Improvement District (CID), which is in the process of establishment.
Residents in Belhaven and Belhaven Heights, the neighborhoods that compose what’s known as Greater Belhaven, have been asked to respond to a survey in the Greater Belhaven Foundation’s newsletter and weigh in on how the funds the district will generate should be used.
“Based on the surveys we’ve gotten in, a lot of people want to focus on security more than anything else,” said Casey Creasey, executive director of the Greater Belhaven Foundation. “We’ve asked people in regard to security ‘Would you like us to focus on additional patrols or cameras or something we haven’t thought of?’”
The foundation has researched blue light security cameras, which cost about $5,000 each for purchase and installation, and also visited the real time command center on Riverside Drive, which receives footage from security cameras.
The district is expected to generate $200,000 annually, which could be used for landscaping, parks, infrastructure, security enhancement and as matching funds for grants for larger projects.
Creasey plans to schedule a community town hall this summer so residents can learn the results of the survey and give their thoughts about how funds should be used.
“We want to get everybody who wants to actively participate to come into the room,” she said. “We want the community to be involved.”
The establishment of the district moved a step ahead on May 6 after the foundation submitted a petition requesting the establishment of the district to the Jackson city clerk’s office. The owners of more than 60 percent of the taxable parcels in Greater Belhaven signed the petition, surpassing the 60 percent signature requirement.
The city clerk’s office can take as long as it needs to verify the signatures because the legislation that set guidelines about how CIDs are established did not set a time frame for the verification process.
Creasey expects the city clerk’s office will use land roll comparison software to verify the signatures.
After the city clerk’s office verifies the signatures on the petition, the foundation will turn in a first-year strategic plan, and the city will then have 90 days to set a date for a special election during which registered voters in Greater Belhaven may vote on the proposal to create the district.
Creasey would like to see the special election set for this year. Funds for improvements would most likely not be available until 2023.
Legislation requires that a community improvement district plan and funds be managed by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit like the Greater Belhaven Foundation.
The funds for the Great Belhaven community improvement district, a maximum of $6 per every $1,000 of assessed value of a parcel, will be collected with property taxes yearly by the city of Jackson and disbursed to the Greater Belhaven Foundation. A district’s proceeds must be maintained separately from the foundation’s other funds, with strict accounting, audit, and public disclosure guidelines.
The foundation began collecting signatures for the district in October 2019 and continued during the coronavirus pandemic.
CIDs are said to enhance urban and suburban areas by improving safety, reducing blight and increasing property values and job opportunities at local businesses.
The Greater Belhaven Foundation, established in 1999, works to improve and revitalize Belhaven and Belhaven Heights through long-range planning, economic restructuring, historic preservation, green space enhancement and improvement of Fortification Street, the major east-west corridor between the two neighborhoods.
Greater Belhaven is comprised of more than 1,700 single family and multifamily homes as well as numerous businesses.
