Council Approves First Reading of DDA Ordinance

First reading of an ordinance amending the ordinances pertaining to the Downtown Development Authority was approved by the Sheridan City Council Tuesday night. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

The Downtown Development Authority was originally formed in 2014 by 25 percent of the people owning non-residential property within the downtown district in Sheridan. The group executed a petition to form a DDA and presented it to the Council, requesting that the City approve ordinances establishing the DDA. In late November of last year, the Council on a 4 to 3 vote, elected to appoint new board of directors for the DDA and to have new bylaws established.

The City Council, on a 4-2 vote Tuesday night, passed first reading of an ordinance that amends the current ordinances that are on the books for the DDA. City Attorney Brendon Kerns says that the ordinance cleans up a lot of issues with the original ordinances that were approved several years ago.

Councilors Clint Beaver and Jacob Martin voted against the ordinance, and Beaver, prior to the vote, explained the reason for his opposition to the ordinance.

The DDA ordinance must be approved two more times by the Council before it goes into effect.