Luzerne County Council members offered mostly positive comments during tax-break presentation | Dallas Post

Luzerne County Council members offered mostly positive comments during last week’s presentation of a proposed tax break for a troublesome 16-acre tract on Wyoming Avenue in Exeter.

The request is under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program for blighted properties, which means the property owner continues paying real estate taxes on the land and receives a real estate tax discount on the new development portion for up to a decade.

Wyoming Avenue Development Group LLC is seeking these abatements on new construction: 90% the first three years; 80% in the fourth and fifth years; 70% in the sixth year; 60% in the seventh; 50% in the eighth; 40% in the ninth; and 30% in the final year.

Council would have to vote at a future meeting for a break to take effect.

Exeter Borough Council and the Wyoming Area School Board both approved breaks last month last month for the four parcels containing addresses of 1714, 1800 and 1946 Wyoming Ave.

Developer plea

Attorney Raymond A. Hassey, manager of Wyoming Avenue Development Group, told council he has lived in Exeter the last 30 years and served as a solicitor for the borough for 35 years and the Wyoming Area School District for 12 years.

Concerns about the Wyoming Avenue site have come up regularly for years in both jurisdictions because it is a “nuisance lot” that attracted criminals and a 40-person homeless camp, he said. Parents have complained because students from Birchwood Estates at the rear of the site must pass through that area heading to and from their bus stop, he said.

“So I made the decision on my part — whether it’s good, bad or proves to be fruitful or not we’ll find out — to make an offer and put it under contract,” Hassey told council. “Rather than hearing complaints about it, I thought maybe I’ll step up and try to do something with it.”

Hassey said the project clearly meets the legislative purpose of creating LERTAs to address local revitalization needs.

“As far as I’m concerned, the site screams for this type of cooperation between the private sector and government,” he said.

He emphasized the benefits of the incentive will be realized by tenants or purchasers he is trying to attract to the site.

The site is not in a high-traffic retail center and has obstacles that will add to development costs, including two mine shafts requiring mediation and deteriorated infrastructure from a prior mobile home park that had been set up for those displaced in the 1972 Susquehanna River flood, he said.

The storm sewer system fronts Wyoming Avenue, which means costly underground retention basins will be needed to attract businesses that want to be as close to the highway as possible, he said.

Preliminary development plans show construction of four structures at the site: a 20,487-square-foot grocery store; a 5,585-square-foot convenience store; and two retail stores measuring 10,640 square feet and 7,600 square feet — along with related parking areas and stormwater management infrastructure.

More than 75 permanent jobs are projected to be created.

Hassey said he does not believe the site can be developed without an incentive.

“That’s the reason I’m asking for collaboration with you, your assistance in helping our community overcome what’s been a thorn in its side for such a long time,” he said.

Council feedback

Council Vice Chairman Brian Thornton said this is “far different” than the usual LERTA requests that come before council because the others are typically large tracts near Interstates 80 or 81. The Exeter site is “off the beaten path,” which makes it less marketable to prospective businesses, he said.

Thornton said he is very familiar with the site and has observed it “change drastically” over the decades. Wooded areas provide cover for unwanted activity, which is why the Wyoming Area Regional Police Department submitted a letter of support for the LERTA, he said.

Council Chairman John Lombardo said he has been on the land as a first responder for fires and drug problems.

“I certainly can respect somebody wanting to develop it and make it into something better because it really truly is a blight on the land in that area,” Lombardo said.

Councilman Kevin Lescavage described the property as “one step below a junk yard” and said “every town deserves an opportunity for progress.”

“I just think all around it would be a great project,” he said. “I think this would be a great fit for the area.”

Councilman Harry Haas agreed this LERTA request is different than the others but said he is “categorically really not a fan of these programs.”

Haas brought up a past statement from Thornton that council members must represent the entire county.

“Every single town in our area needs a LERTA. They have some piece of land — some have multiple pieces of land — that really need to be developed,” Haas said. “My concern is we’re putting our thumb on the scale, and we’re helping out one town more than another, and ultimately even if we gave everybody a LERTA, who ultimately loses are the taxpayers of Luzerne County because that’s revenue that the county needs to fulfill services.”

Haas said school and municipal support for LERTAs is fitting, but he believes county officials “have to think more globally.”

Hassey said he respects Haas’ position but disagrees the county misses out because it will eventually collect revenue on development that probably would not be realized without the incentive.

Thornton said Scranton to the north routinely grants LERTAs, and developers and businesses seeking tax assistance can go there or to other neighboring areas offering incentives.

“We just have to keep that in mind that we’re not an island 500 miles away from everybody. It’s a very competitive area,” Thornton said.