Re: Falmouth Citizens for Sound Choices Route One Ballot Question

[Hart...@aol.com]

Bob: 

 

Your article was well documented, meaningful and a wake up call to those who would be hurt by higher real estate taxes on their homes and business's.  Surely, if this passes, like sun rises in the East, residents and business owners will eventually be taxed to pay off this "pink elephant" monstrosity-- or as you say, we'll have to have a drastic cut of municipal services (including school budget (?))! 

 

Ron Hart

 

In a message dated 6/7/2013 7:14:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, lis...@ix.netcom.com writes:

http://www.pressherald.com/maine-voices-falmouth-route-1-improvement-plan-raises-fiscal-conceptual-issues_2013-06-07.html

Posted: June 07. 2013 1:30AM

Maine Voices: Falmouth Route 1 improvement plan raises fiscal, conceptual issues

Funding for the ambitious, costly project isn’t guaranteed, and neither is support for the ‘village’ idea.

2012 File Photo/Gabe SouzaBusinesses line Route 1 in Falmouth. On June 11, residents will be asked to vote on $14 million in improvements to Route 1 that are intended to create the feeling of a village center along the road.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

M. Roberts Hunt is a resident of Falmouth and a member of Falmouth Citizens for Sound Choices.

FALMOUTH — On June 11, Falmouth voters will be asked to approve more than $14 million of improvements to Route 1 from the intersection of Route 88 to the Maine Turnpike entrance road.

The plan calls for burying power and utility lines, creating 10-foot-wide sidewalks and medians with “golden hue” dormant grass, modifying existing curb cuts and enhancing pedestrian lighting and traffic controls.

These improvements, coupled with zoning changes designed to encourage denser development with buildings in close proximity to the street, are intended to eventually create a “village” center where one has never existed in the 199-year history of the town. The new “village” will mirror tunnel-like Route 1 in Freeport, with multistory, multi-use buildings hugging the street.

The transformation would be shocking. Although traditional villages evolve gradually over time, not by the wave of a magic wand, supporters claim that there is a craving, by some, for a place where folks can come together to shop, stroll, gossip and mingle “as members of the community” that makes the drive to create a “village” worthwhile.

According to supporters, the town will purchase a 16-year general obligation bond to pay for the improvements. They hope it will be paid off by revenue from the Route One Tax Incrementing Financing district.

TIF revenue comes from a portion of TIF property taxes set aside for improvements to or for the benefit of the district. For the TIF to have enough revenue to pay off the bond, its taxable property values must appreciate 1.25 percent year over year, according to the town’s director of long-range planning. If they don’t, the bond will have to be paid with funds from some other source or sources – increased residential property taxes and/or reduced or eliminated municipal services.

No one can guarantee there will be enough TIF revenue to pay off the bond. The town treasurer can only say he “anticipates” TIF revenues will be sufficient. On the other hand, no one can guarantee TIF revenue will be inadequate. Actually, no one really knows what will happen during the next 16 years.

Supporters say that historical TIF revenue results, since its creation in 2000, augur well for the future. However, anyone who has invested in equities or mutual funds knows that past results are no guarantee of future performance.

In April, the Town Council admitted there is a risk that the TIF might come up short. Voters need to understand there is a risk that the Tax Incrementing Financing district might not be able to pay off the bond. Then property taxes will go up and/or municipal services will be reduced or eliminated.

Even if TIF revenue is adequate to pay off the bond, voters need to ask themselves whether the proposed improvement will make Falmouth a better place to live in any meaningful way. Is a “village” center with multistory, multi-use buildings hugging the street, creating a claustrophobic tunnel feeling, better than the open spaces that exist today?

Will anyone, especially those with children, want to live on a busy street above a fishmonger, butcher shop, hairdresser, music studio, cobbler, etc.? Will dormant-grass “golden hue” medians enhance or impend traffic flow by creating choke points during busy times of day – causing motorists to use Foreside Road and Middle Road as escape routes and forever altering the rural nature of those two roads?

How many existing businesses have expressed an interest in renovating or expanding (except Walmart)? How much vacant land exists for new development, necessary to drive a 1.25 percent year-over-year increase in TIF taxable property values? Have any market studies been done to evaluate the reasonableness of the “village” concept?

Last, but not least, would you use your own money to pay for these “improvements”?

This project raises many serious questions without solid, common-sense answers.

Voters, beware!

— Special to the Press Herald

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[Dave Libby]

You NEED NOT look further than Rt. 100 for the BEST example of how screwed up a Town can make traffic flow.

Try and get into Irving for gas, now it will be even worse with the new Mercy.

The TERRIBLE planning for traffic prohibits certain turns cause I guess the motoring public is, in the eyes of Falmouth Planning Staff, stupid.\

Instead, drivers are making turns where it is "illegal" and traffic in front of Gorham Savings Bank is going to yield a FATAL accident to a pedestrain.

DO NOT BELIEVE "Councilor" Rodden when she says things will be better on Rt. !. She lives in a world viewed through ROSE COLORED glasses and KNOWS NOTHING about what a VILLAGE should be.

Oh yeah, cause Falmouth did not want BIG tractor trailers fueling up at Irving, they made the fuel island areas SO SMALL, I can't even get my small truck and ATV trailer in without taking up tons of room and screwing traffic up....

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to falmouth-citizens-for-sound-choices+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[JULIEM...@aol.com]

I just can not understand how ANYONE can think this is a good thing for Falmouth.  If this village plan is to mimic Freeport ask residents there if Main Street is a village.  It has no village feel to it.  If anyone wants a village in Falmouth just go to the shopping center.  Most of the shopping center is empty.  Why not put town hall, the library and any other town venue in there?  It would be most convenient for all of us.  The post office is in Shaw's.  Tear up part of the parking lot and build a grandstand there.  Someone could open an ice cream shop.  If anything Rt 1 needs more lanes not less!  It is possible to put all the elements one needs for a village feel in the shopping center.  I have no financial stake in the shopping center.  Seems to me it might go cheap as they have been without many tenants for years.  I love the feeling of a village, the area where I live on Rt. 88 certainly has more of a village feel than anything on Rt 1 ever will.  I compare this project to someone turning Forest Avenue in Portland into a village. 

Julie Otte

 

 

 

[tpa...@maine.rr.com]

In my conversations with Bob as well as in his article, I'm not sure he concluded that taxpayers were going to be hit with paying more in taxes for the improvement. What we have talked about at length and the subject I have been clear about from the outset is that a general obligation bond is just that. If the TIF district funds are inadequate, then the options to satisfy the obligation are to raise taxes, postpone other projects, cut services or do some of all of it.

Now, as you all may have seen during the Chamber of Commerce forum, the rate of assessed value in the TIF district has been exponentially greater than than the modest 1.25% per year growth used for the income projections. The authority on TIF district financing who served on the panel discussion also said that current value of the district would be adequate to service the debt. The only scenario that would trigger any resident obligation would be a loss in taxable value within the district. If we see investment that is already being talked about by commercial property owners or simply maintain the rate of assessed value we've experienced in the last 13 years, I suspect the amount of revenue raised will be sufficient to satisfy the debt in about half the term of the bond.

Ultimately, the decision for every resident is whether or not they want to see these dedicated revenues used for this plan or if there are better uses presuming the TIF remains in place. If there are better uses, we haven't yet heard any alternatives during the months of public meetings, surveys and informational sessions.

I respect all the well reasoned debate around this issue and just hope the voters turn out and make an informed decision. Thanks for engaging in this discussion and don't hesitate to give me a shout if you have any questions. - Tony

---- Hart...@aol.com wrote:
> Bob:
>
> Your article was well documented, meaningful and a wake up call to those
> who would be hurt by higher real estate taxes on their homes and business's.
> Surely, if this passes, like sun rises in the East, residents and
> business owners will eventually be taxed to pay off this "pink elephant"
> monstrosity-- or as you say, we'll have to have a drastic cut of municipal services
> (including school budget (?))!
>
> Ron Hart
>
>
> In a message dated 6/7/2013 7:14:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> lis...@ix.netcom.com writes:
>
> http://www.pressherald.com/maine-voices-falmouth-route-1-improvement-plan-ra
> ises-fiscal-conceptual-issues_2013-06-07.html
>
>
>
> Posted: June 07. 2013 1:30AM
> Maine Voices: Falmouth Route 1 improvement plan raises fiscal, conceptual
> issues
> Funding for the ambitious, costly project isn’t guaranteed, and neither is
> support for the ‘village’ idea.
>
>

[LisaJPreney]

Are Route One improvements all necessary?
Has the Route One business community galvanized to advocate for this?
I haven't seen or heard it, and it's a small enough group that that would have been so easy.

Question One feels like it's coming from a small group of people, a few vocal Town Councilors and planners among them.

Why spend money on flowers in the middle of Route One? Why spend millions window dressing a street for the sake of only a few people's vision of a village utopia that doesn't jive with the reality of how people live or shop in Falmouth.

Lisa Preney

[tpa...@maine.rr.com]

I'd venture to say that only the storm water improvements are necessary in the proposed Route One improvement plan. That said, I believe we need to broaden our tax base which means supporting economic development in our business district.

During the last several months, we held meetings targeted at commercial property owners and businesses within the TIF District with about a dozen or so different people attending each session. Many expressed support for the proposed improvements and those who had concerns focused on the medians as they related to accessing specific properties. In response, the number of raised medians were reduced to the four pedestrian crossing along the mile-long stretch. Those crossings are the only ones that will have vegetation - probably nothing more than hearty, low maintenance grasses. I say probably because the final design will only begin if the voters approve the proposal. That next phase will also be open for public input.

The traffic plan at this juncture pretty much reflects the same road layout we have today but changes some curb cuts and, through the use of paving material installed flush with the pavement, will help channel vehicles for left-turning traffic. We also made no provision for expanding the width of the road for cyclists but instead added to the width of sidewalks to keep bikes out of traffic. Those who insist on riding their bikes in the road are permitted to do so by state law, but that's a different matter altogether.

In addition, new synchronized traffic signals are in the plan to smooth the flow of traffic along Rt One and minimize congestion. That has been one of my greatest concerns but I'm satisfied that the traffic engineers have addressed that point.

At the core of my thinking on this proposal have been these points:

- I first accept that leveraging tax dollars for economic development makes sense (tax increment financing)

- In the long haul, these improvements, when coupled with the revisions to the zoning ordinance, will encourage commercial development and, thereby, broaden the tax base. The direct benefit of that increase in development within the TIF district from a tax perspective will be realized, however, in 2030 when the TIF district expires. That said, I also believe that everyone in town will benefit from development outside the TIF district such as the redevelopment of the Falmouth Shopping Plaza. Now that the old Shaw's lease has expired, the property owners are motivated to get some revenue out of the space. If, as we're told, other property owners along Rt One begin expanding their businesses, it will make development prospects for the Plaza that much more attractive.

As for the "village" concept, I'm not sure the use of the term accurately describes whatnis being proposed. What I see is a mixed-use commercial district that broadens the tax base and encourages more shopping and service options for residents of the town and region. Overall, that's good for the economy in my view. I believe that the zoning changes will definitely change how people choose to shop. Whether that's good or not is a value judgment. What is certain is that Falmouth's business district will change over time given the opportunity to bring buildings toward the street and reduce parking requirements. These infrastructure improvements support the zoning changes.

So, this all comes back to the question: Is this proposal something people would like to see if we're to use the money dedicated for this area's economic development? If it's not, the town will just keep socking away the money until someone comes up with a better idea or a future town council eliminates the TIF altogether.

As I think I've said before but want to be clear - the council's Community Development Committee was charged with coming up with a plan. This is the one we chose to present at this time because the state is planning to repave the road and will not allow it to be ripped up for at least five years once they finish their work. We also did a load of outreach for input but, as is often the case, many people have only recently become engaged with Election Day around the corner or sat back to see things would unfold. I don't think there has been any lack of opportunity to be heard. I also don't think this process was like the library/community center which had a far different cost implication for taxpayers.

Given the fact that the TIF exists for economic development and infrastructure improvements, I told the committee I was willing to swing for the fences in the design proposal as I felt confident it was well thought out and made sense. Ultimately though, it's the voters decision. As they say, "I don't have a dog in this fight." My job as a councilor has been to help present a coherent community-based option for the voters to decide. I'll be curious to see what folks think.

Thanks for asking and for being engaged in this issue. I wish more would take the time to do so. - Tony

[Bob Hunt]

All that glitters may not be gold!!!

When experts/authorities make mistakes they don't have to live with them.
It's the poor taxpayer who suffers.

Which commercial property owners are talking about "investment", where, what
kind and when?

To paraphrase as soon to be ex-Councilor: The bottom line is, Falmouth needs
a "village center" like a dog needs an infestation of ticks and fleas!

> Funding for the ambitious, costly project isn�t guaranteed, and neither
> is
> support for the �village� idea.

>
>
> 2012 File Photo/Gabe SouzaBusinesses line Route 1 in Falmouth. On June
> 11,
> residents will be asked to vote on $14 million in improvements to Route 1
> that are intended to create the feeling of a village center along the
> road.
>
>
>
> ABOUT THE AUTHOR
> M. Roberts Hunt is a resident of Falmouth and a member of Falmouth
> Citizens for Sound Choices.
>

> FALMOUTH � On June 11, Falmouth voters will be asked to approve more than

> $14 million of improvements to Route 1 from the intersection of Route 88
> to
> the Maine Turnpike entrance road.
> The plan calls for burying power and utility lines, creating 10-foot-wide

> sidewalks and medians with �golden hue� dormant grass, modifying existing

> curb cuts and enhancing pedestrian lighting and traffic controls.
> These improvements, coupled with zoning changes designed to encourage
> denser development with buildings in close proximity to the street, are

> intended to eventually create a �village� center where one has never
> existed in
> the 199-year history of the town. The new �village� will mirror

> tunnel-like
> Route 1 in Freeport, with multistory, multi-use buildings hugging the
> street.
> The transformation would be shocking. Although traditional villages
> evolve
> gradually over time, not by the wave of a magic wand, supporters claim
> that there is a craving, by some, for a place where folks can come
> together to

> shop, stroll, gossip and mingle �as members of the community� that makes
> the drive to create a �village� worthwhile.

> According to supporters, the town will purchase a 16-year general
> obligation bond to pay for the improvements. They hope it will be paid
> off by
> revenue from the Route One Tax Incrementing Financing district.
> TIF revenue comes from a portion of TIF property taxes set aside for
> improvements to or for the benefit of the district. For the TIF to have
> enough
> revenue to pay off the bond, its taxable property values must appreciate

> 1.25 percent year over year, according to the town�s director of
> long-range
> planning. If they don�t, the bond will have to be paid with funds from
> some
> other source or sources � increased residential property taxes and/or

> reduced or eliminated municipal services.
> No one can guarantee there will be enough TIF revenue to pay off the
> bond.

> The town treasurer can only say he �anticipates� TIF revenues will be

> sufficient. On the other hand, no one can guarantee TIF revenue will be
> inadequate. Actually, no one really knows what will happen during the
> next 16
> years.
> Supporters say that historical TIF revenue results, since its creation in
> 2000, augur well for the future. However, anyone who has invested in
> equities or mutual funds knows that past results are no guarantee of
> future
> performance.
> In April, the Town Council admitted there is a risk that the TIF might
> come up short. Voters need to understand there is a risk that the Tax
> Incrementing Financing district might not be able to pay off the bond.
> Then
> property taxes will go up and/or municipal services will be reduced or
> eliminated.
> Even if TIF revenue is adequate to pay off the bond, voters need to ask
> themselves whether the proposed improvement will make Falmouth a better
> place

> to live in any meaningful way. Is a �village� center with multistory,

> multi-use buildings hugging the street, creating a claustrophobic tunnel
> feeling, better than the open spaces that exist today?
> Will anyone, especially those with children, want to live on a busy
> street
> above a fishmonger, butcher shop, hairdresser, music studio, cobbler,

> etc.? Will dormant-grass �golden hue� medians enhance or impend traffic
> flow
> by creating choke points during busy times of day � causing motorists to

> use
> Foreside Road and Middle Road as escape routes and forever altering the
> rural nature of those two roads?
> How many existing businesses have expressed an interest in renovating or
> expanding (except Walmart)? How much vacant land exists for new
> development,
> necessary to drive a 1.25 percent year-over-year increase in TIF taxable
> property values? Have any market studies been done to evaluate the

> reasonableness of the �village� concept?
> Last, but not least, would you use your own money to pay for these �
> improvements�?

> This project raises many serious questions without solid, common-sense
> answers.
> Voters, beware!

> � Special to the Press Herald

[Bryan Dench]

That's right, and in addition it is not simply a question whether the TIF revenues might cover the debt service, it's a question why on earth should they be used for this fatuous project in the first place?

On Sat, Jun 8, 2013 at 9:26 AM, Bob Hunt <mhu...@maine.rr.com> wrote:

All that glitters may not be gold!!!

When experts/authorities make mistakes they don't have to live with them. It's the poor taxpayer who suffers.

Which commercial property owners are talking about "investment", where, what kind and when?

To paraphrase as soon to be ex-Councilor: The bottom line is, Falmouth needs a "village center" like a dog needs an infestation of ticks and fleas!

----- Original Message ----- From: <tpa...@maine.rr.com>

To: <falmouth-citizens-for-sound-cho...@googlegroups.com>

Cc: <Hart...@aol.com>
Sent: Friday, June 07, 2013 5:26 PM
Subject: Re: Falmouth Citizens for Sound Choices Route One Ballot Question


In my conversations with Bob as well as in his article, I'm not sure he concluded that taxpayers were going to be hit with paying more in taxes for the improvement. What we have talked about at length and the subject I have been clear about from the outset is that a general obligation bond is just that. If the TIF district funds are inadequate, then the options to satisfy the obligation are to raise taxes, postpone other projects, cut services or do some of all of it.

Now, as you all may have seen during the Chamber of Commerce forum, the rate of assessed value in the TIF district has been exponentially greater than than the modest 1.25% per year growth used for the income projections. The authority on TIF district financing who served on the panel discussion also said that current value of the district would be adequate to service the debt. The only scenario that would trigger any resident obligation would be a loss in taxable value within the district. If we see investment that is already being talked about by commercial property owners or simply maintain the rate of assessed value we've experienced in the last 13 years, I suspect the amount of revenue raised will be sufficient to satisfy the debt in about half the term of the bond.

Ultimately, the decision for every resident is whether or not they want to see these dedicated revenues used for this plan or if there are better uses presuming the TIF remains in place. If there are better uses, we haven't yet heard any alternatives during the months of public meetings, surveys and informational sessions.

I respect all the well reasoned debate around this issue and just hope the voters turn out and make an informed decision. Thanks for engaging in this discussion and don't hesitate to give me a shout if you have any questions. - Tony

---- Hart...@aol.com wrote:

Bob:

Your article was well documented, meaningful and a wake up call to those
who would be hurt by higher real estate taxes on their homes and business's.
 Surely, if this passes, like sun rises in the East, residents  and
business owners will eventually be taxed to pay off this "pink  elephant"
monstrosity-- or as you say, we'll have to have a drastic cut of municipal services
(including school budget (?))!

Ron Hart


In a message dated 6/7/2013 7:14:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
lis...@ix.netcom.com writes:

http://www.pressherald.com/maine-voices-falmouth-route-1-improvement-plan-ra
ises-fiscal-conceptual-issues_2013-06-07.html



Posted:  June 07. 2013 1:30AM
Maine  Voices: Falmouth Route 1 improvement plan raises fiscal, conceptual
issues

Funding  for the ambitious, costly project isn’t guaranteed, and neither is
support for  the ‘village’ idea.

2012  File Photo/Gabe SouzaBusinesses line Route 1 in Falmouth. On June 11,
 residents will be asked to vote on $14 million in improvements to Route 1
that  are intended to create the feeling of a village center along the road.



ABOUT  THE AUTHOR
M.  Roberts Hunt is a resident of Falmouth and a member of Falmouth
Citizens for  Sound Choices.

FALMOUTH  — On June 11, Falmouth voters will be asked to approve more than

$14 million  of improvements to Route 1 from the intersection of Route 88 to
the Maine  Turnpike entrance road.
The  plan calls for burying power and utility lines, creating 10-foot-wide

sidewalks and medians with “golden hue” dormant grass, modifying existing

curb  cuts and enhancing pedestrian lighting and traffic controls.
These  improvements, coupled with zoning changes designed to encourage
denser  development with buildings in close proximity to the street, are

intended to  eventually create a “village” center where one has never existed in
the  199-year history of the town. The new “village” will mirror tunnel-like

Route  1 in Freeport, with multistory, multi-use buildings hugging the
street.
The  transformation would be shocking. Although traditional villages evolve
 gradually over time, not by the wave of a magic wand, supporters claim
that  there is a craving, by some, for a place where folks can come together to

 shop, stroll, gossip and mingle “as members of the community” that makes
the  drive to create a “village” worthwhile.

According  to supporters, the town will purchase a 16-year general
obligation bond to pay  for the improvements. They hope it will be paid off by
revenue from the Route  One Tax Incrementing Financing district.
TIF  revenue comes from a portion of TIF property taxes set aside for
improvements  to or for the benefit of the district. For the TIF to have enough
revenue to  pay off the bond, its taxable property values must appreciate

1.25 percent  year over year, according to the town’s director of long-range
planning. If  they don’t, the bond will have to be paid with funds from some
other source or  sources – increased residential property taxes and/or

reduced or eliminated  municipal services.
No  one can guarantee there will be enough TIF revenue to pay off the bond.

The  town treasurer can only say he “anticipates” TIF revenues will be

sufficient.  On the other hand, no one can guarantee TIF revenue will be
inadequate.  Actually, no one really knows what will happen during the next 16
years.
Supporters  say that historical TIF revenue results, since its creation in
2000, augur  well for the future. However, anyone who has invested in
equities or mutual  funds knows that past results are no guarantee of future
performance.
In  April, the Town Council admitted there is a risk that the TIF might
come up  short. Voters need to understand there is a risk that the Tax
Incrementing  Financing district might not be able to pay off the bond. Then
property taxes  will go up and/or municipal services will be reduced or eliminated.
Even  if TIF revenue is adequate to pay off the bond, voters need to ask
themselves  whether the proposed improvement will make Falmouth a better place

to live in  any meaningful way. Is a “village” center with multistory,

multi-use buildings  hugging the street, creating a claustrophobic tunnel
feeling, better than the  open spaces that exist today?
Will  anyone, especially those with children, want to live on a busy street
above a  fishmonger, butcher shop, hairdresser, music studio, cobbler,

etc.? Will  dormant-grass “golden hue” medians enhance or impend traffic flow
by creating  choke points during busy times of day – causing motorists to use

Foreside Road  and Middle Road as escape routes and forever altering the
rural nature of  those two roads?
How  many existing businesses have expressed an interest in renovating or
expanding  (except Walmart)? How much vacant land exists for new development,
necessary  to drive a 1.25 percent year-over-year increase in TIF taxable
property  values? Have any market studies been done to evaluate the

reasonableness of  the “village” concept?
Last,  but not least, would you use your own money to pay for these  “
improvements”?

This  project raises many serious questions without solid, common-sense
answers.
Voters,  beware!

—  Special to the Press Herald

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