As Promised, More on Newman

I make no claim to understand the details of tax policy, PILOTs, or economic development in a rural region. However, the PILOT negotiated for the Newman Hillside Commons up above Blodgett Drive still doesn't make sense to me.

I understand that industries choose sites for facilities wherever the environment is most conducive to profit, and tax breaks go a long way to create that environment. And I understand that the IDA is legally empowered to negotiate tax breaks. So far, so good.

Here are the things I don't understand:

• Why Newman needed a massive PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes, or a tax break) to site a very specialized facility next to the already-specialized facility (SUNY Oneonta) it was specifically designed to serve. Sure, without a big enough tax break, they could go to Delhi instead, but – please. Delhi is much smaller, and, really – they could do both. Would they really give up on SUNY Oneonta forever if the PILOT was smaller?
• Why was the PILOT so big? A PILOT is a gift, tribute provided to a large corporation which is going generate profits by building a facility in your town. The Newman project will be particularly profitable. Again, were they going to walk away from all that because the PILOT was too small?
• According to the Newman representative, the project will create six (6) permanent jobs. Are six jobs (three which may not be local) worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax breaks?
• Does anyone else get their back up when they hear the phrase, “Well, that's the way it's always done”?
• Why did the IDA give the City the authority to negotiate the whole deal? The answer provided by our Economic Development Department is that the IDA generally gives the negotiating authority to the municipality which is affected by the construction and the resulting facility. So far so good, except for one effect: taxes. As a result of the negotiation, done only by the City, the school district and the County lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes; their share of the PILOT was 68%. That's a pretty big effect. As a County Representative, I'm a little unhappy – OK, a lot unhappy – that I knew nothing about this until it was a done deal.
• Why did the IDA vote unanimously to approve the deal after a two-hour-plus public hearing during which they heard almost unanimous opposition to the PILOT and to the project itself? Why didn't they consider renegotiating the deal? What in the world was the public hearing for?
• Why wasn't there an economic impact statement? Hundreds of students will live in the project when it's done – where will they come from? Unless it's filled with the overflow from an growing student body (which noone was able to show was the case, least of all the SUNY Oneonta administration), it will come from the student rentals in the City. Given the lack of an effective plan to encourage transition of center city houses to single-family occupancy, it's hard to think of a way that this can't have a negative impact on the neighborhoods I represent.

When I first saw those yellow yard signs protesting the development, I rolled my eyes and said, “Oh, please.” I've come to understand the problems, however, and I haven't heard the solutions. I agree with Celeste Brown Thomas of Hudson Street, who, after showing how this project could – but doesn't – reverse the school district's continued staff cuts, said: “Negotiate a better deal.”

Too late.

Even More MOSA

As MOSA begins its long slide into oblivion, after Montgomery County's decision to remove itself from the Authority at the end of the agreement next year, the County Board continues to look at possibilities for a post-MOSA landscape in Otsego County. To sum up:

• The end of MOSA should result in the distribution of assets among the three counties.
• The Northern (Cooperstown) and Southern (Oneonta) transfer stations should revert to Otsego County ownership.
• Nothing in the law requires Otsego County to be in the solid waste business in any way.
• There are no landfills in Otsego County (or, really, even very close to Otsego County).

So the easiest and cheapest (for the County's budget) solution, post-MOSA, would be to sell the transfer stations to a private hauler and wash our hands of the whole situation. A reasonable scenario would be that the largest (by far) hauler in the area, Casella Waste Systems, Inc., would buy the transfer stations and use their economy-of-scale advantage to consolidate trash at the stations and make regular trips with large trucks to distant landfills. Casella owns 13 landfills in the northeast; the nearest one is just outside Ithaca.

Being a private corporation, whose one and only purpose is to maximize profits, Casella would be strongly motivated to put smaller haulers out of business, either by restricting access to the transfer stations, or by setting a fee structure for use of the stations which would be unsustainable for a smaller company.

Russ Smith, of Smith Disposal, came to the Solid Waste and Environmental Concerns (SWEC) Committee last week, and painted pretty much the same picture. Smith is one of the biggest haulers in Otsego County, but not close to being in the same league as Casella. Smith argued for a new contract with MOSA, because the result of an unrestricted market would be the demise of operations like his, and the loss of local jobs.

I'm going to be contacting some other local haulers this summer and asking them how they look at the post-MOSA picture. I'll let you know. Until then, I'll continue to attend the SWEC meetings, and enjoy the coffee and donuts they always seem to have – courtesy of the Casella Waste Systems representative, who attends every meeting.

Economic Development in Oneonta?

The Newman Hillside Commons project is in our district, so I've tried to keep track of events. The Commons will be a high-rent, privately owned dorm complex adjacent to the SUNY Oneonta campus, up near the top of Blodgett Road.

I have a lot of concerns about this project. I began thinking that I didn't know enough about the underlying systems to weigh in, but as I've learned – or not learned, in some cases – I'm increasingly unhappy about it.

First and foremost on the minds of District residents, I'm sure, is the question of our single-family houses which have been converted to student rentals. Most of us live within a block or so of one or more of these houses. I have one next to me and one across the street; they have always been good neighbors, probably because the owners invest time and money in the facilities and make it clear what kind of neighbors their renters need to be. Others haven't had good experiences, but worst than that, of course, is the effect of a vacant house on a neighborhood.

There are some important data missing in this particular conversation: is there, or is there not, a shortage of student housing either on or off campus in Oneonta? Neither side has presented any compelling evidence. There are, apparently, empty dorm rooms on campus; there are clearly empty rental houses in town. So where will the hundreds of Hillside Commons tenants come from? City landlords say they'll come from their rental houses, which will then join the ranks of the vacant. Proponents of the project point to SUNY Oneonta's growth over the last few years, and seem to leave it to that (even though SUNY Oneonta has no plans to expand). At the end of the day, the question of where the tenants will come from remains unanswered.

We've all seen projects like this: big money comes to small town, meets a market need, completely disrupts the current market, and sends the revenue out of town. We might call it the Wal-Mart effect. Not only is there no concern for, or acknowledgment of, the impact on existing businesses, services and quality of life, there is an entire language developed to divert the conversation from those disturbing topics which could delay the project if they had to be answered.

So the question remains unanswered. A related question, raised during the public hearing regarding Hillside Commons, also remains unanswered: Why wasn't there an economic impact study? Given that it will create few permanent jobs (six, according to the Newman representative, and perhaps only three of them local), why should we jump right into this without knowing if it will do more harm than good?

The answer that Mayor Miller and all but one of the Common Council will give us is that it will substantially increase tax revenues for the city, school district and county. More on this issue, which is also more complex than it seems, in a future post; this one has gone on too long already.

Election Season Already

It's been a while since the last post, I know. Some things are brewing, others are history. MOSA and economic development are the hot topics at the moment, and there is much to come on both fronts. I hope to have more to say about both soon.

Right now, a lot of effort is being directed at the November election. Campaigns are being planned, parties are maneuvering for position, candidates are hitting the bricks. All 14 County Representatives are up for election, as they are every two years. As far as I know, I will have no Republican opponent; someone may choose to run on a third party line.

I've been out on the bricks myself, collecting signatures on the petition which will allow me to run on the Democratic ticket. As in the past, I have enjoyed chatting with those of you whose doors I have knocked on, and I really appreciate your interest in the process of democratic governing, and in the issues facing Otsego County specifically.

I needed 34 signatures on my petition for inclusion on the Democratic ticket; I got over 50, partly because it's always nice to have more than you need in case you make a mistake, and partly because I enjoyed getting out and meeting you again. I'll be out collecting signatures again this month, as I have been endorsed by Sustainable Otsego, and will be running on their ticket as well as the Democratic ticket.

Sustainable Otsego (SO) isn't a political party; it's a grassroots organization dedicated to sustainable practices in all areas of life. It's been a leader in the anti-fracking movement in this region. In 2011, SO became certified to endorse candidates for office, and currently it is endorsing five County Representative candidates, including myself.

I certainly agree with most of what SO stands for; I believe that sustainability is the right choice not only for the environment, but for many other facets of our lives: economics, food, healthcare, transportation, energy policy, etc. In addition, a sustainable approach may be absolutely necessary in the longer term, as climate change and diminishing hydrocarbon reserves force us into difficult choices.

Speaking of the long term, one of the things I especially appreciate about SO is that they – actually, we – have developed a platform for Otsego County candidates to run on. This puts them out ahead of the Republicans, who have no platform, and the Democrats, who are working on one. Here it is:

A TEN POINT PLAN FOR OTSEGO COUNTY   

• Support Home Rule to protect our communities and the rural lifestyle of Otsego County.
• Promote farm-to-market agriculture.
• Preserve Otsego County's pure water, our most important asset, for residents, businesses, and agriculture.
• Find low-interest credit for local businesses and homeowners.
• Aim at net zero-energy practices and renewables to save money and reduce greenhouse gases.
• Explore joining scores of other NYS communities who have municipalized their electric grids to lower costs for homeowners and businesses. 
• Bring a state-of-the-art broadband internet system to everyone in Otsego County. 
• Establish a county-wide sustainable comprehensive plan. 
• Ensure that local tax policies do not increase income inequality. 
• Support a sustainable Town of Oneonta Southside Municipal Water Project to increase business and tax revenues.

You can read a lot more about SO and sustainability in general at their website: sustainableotsego.org