James Sheldon
Gallatin, New York
December 26, 2006
Mr. Don Alger, Chairman
Greenport Town Planning Board
Greenport Town Hall
600 Town Hall Drive
Hudson, NY 12434
Dear Chairman Alger and Members of the Board,
I am writing as a resident of the nearby Town of Gallatin and as a professional analyst and consultant in the field of municipal finance to urge the board to issue a “positive declaration” on the Widewaters retail proposal.
As I have pointed out in the enclosed column I wrote and the news coverage of a talk I delivered recently, there are many reasons why the proposed development may have significant “negative impacts” on the fiscal and economic well-being of the town and surrounding communities.
I summarize below a few conclusions, which are based on a preliminary analysis of the Greenport proposal and a more extensive knowledge of the financial impacts of large retail projects on similar communities in the northeast United States. There is much more information and analysis required to estimate the true financial impacts with a reasonable degree of certainty. Only a full and probing SEQRA review, launched by virtue of your decision to issue a “positive declaration,” can provide your board and the county’s residents with that certainty.
According to studies of similar developments, town property taxes, already among the very highest in the county, would likely increase by some $350,000 annually, or 20% above current levels, as a result of the Widewaters center requiring more town services and expenditures than the property would generate in town-related taxes after abatements.
Based on a rough estimate of the mall’s assessed value, Widewaters would receive more than $375,000 in annual property tax abatements for each of the next ten years, unless the Town Board intervenes to disallow the tax break under state law 485 b.
County sales taxes would not increase significantly as the Widewaters tenants are likely to cannibalize sales from existing businesses in the town and county. Even if there were an increase in county sales tax receipts, very little would accrue to the Town of Greenport (about eight cents for every $100 of incremental sales).
The finished mall would likely generate some $400,000 in additional tax revenues to the surrounding school district, representing about 2% of the local school tax levy, sufficient to educate only about 45 of the districts 2,200 students.
Given the income and population trends in the region, the finished mall’s potential sales of $150-200 million per year would likely come at the expense of existing local businesses.
With the county’s unemployment rate near 2%, most of the 800 jobs Widewaters claims the mall will create are likely to be filled by employees currently working in the area.
The development would bring additional, long-lasting harm to the county’s robust economy. According to one reputable study, $45 out of every of every $100 of sales made by local small businesses is recycled back into the local economy as profits, fees to vendors, etc. National and regional chain stores, the study indicates, reinvest only $15 of every $100 in sales in the local economy.
The job security and pay scales of large national retail tenants are substantially inferior to what many local businesses offer. In addition, a massive influx of national chains is likely to eclipse many of the entrepreneurial opportunities that currently exist for young people in the county.
Property values of nearby homes and storefronts will drop dramatically as the Widewaters mall would generate a three-fold increase in traffic and double the amount of selling space currently serving Fairview Avenue.
At your invitation, I would be happy to discuss with you my research and conclusions in greater detail.
Sincerely,
James Sheldon
Attached:
LittleTownViews column, available at http://www.littletownviews.com/2006/11/widewaters_whats_the_harm_in_a.html#more
Register Star article, available at http://www.mhcable.com/~vmartin/WW/press.html#FinancialAnalyst