Members of the MSTA attended a community meeting on Sunday afternoon, and one of our neighbors made an interesting comment: “While there are 50 good reasons why Middlebury residents don’t want this project in our town, it should be enough to say we don’t want this.”
A different resident asked if we’ve heard of anyone in favor of the project, and what potential benefit to Middlebury is being offered? Out of the hundreds of people we’ve met at meetings, public hearings, the transfer station, knocking on doors, or via email and phone calls, the only potential benefit we’ve heard mentioned is “tax dollars,” and only a handful of people have mentioned being in favor of the project for that reason. There is no rival group advocating FOR a distribution center in Middlebury, unless you count the fact that our town officials let the project in the front door to begin with.
Of course, the actual amount of tax dollars that Middlebury might receive out of this project is a murky projection, clouded by potential tax abatements (from the town or the state) and the simultaneous negative effect on residential property values within a mile of the distribution facility. Two Avalon Farms homes are already for sale, with one of those homes on Christian Rd, directly across from the project. We also heard anecdotally that a potential sale fell through at Brookside for the same reason.
Google the phrase “Amazon disputes property tax” and you’ll see that in Fargo, ND and Polk County, IA, Amazon is challenging the property tax assessment value of its distribution facilities, claiming less expensive HVAC was installed, or the building quality is “average” vs. “above average,” or that the 240,000 sq ft mezzanine level used for storage is personal property, and should be removed from the real estate tax role. Amazon’s challenge in both cases is asking for millions to come off the assessed value: $119.4M to $96.8M in Fargo, ND and $70M less on the Bondurant, IA property.
Incidentally, Bondurant, IA has a population of 7,365 according to the 2020 census, and the distribution facility built there on 167 acres has a gross area of more than 2.69 million square feet.
What’s the point? It’s legal for businesses to try to reduce their tax burdens as much as possible, and if Amazon is aggressively targeting assessment values on its facilities, you know other businesses are as well. We still don’t know who the tenant might be for the Timex distribution facility, but we do know that the reason companies rent these kinds of spaces is to reduce their property taxes. It’s all part of a very real, legal game that is played on a national scale. In Bondurant, Amazon received a standard six year tax abatement program from the town (80% off new construction property taxes in the first year and a 10% decrease each year after to 30% at year 6). It’s not two years into a generous tax break and it’s already arguing that the building is worth $70M less than currently assessed.
Why would anything different happen in Middlebury? The developer will build new construction and then sell the debt and tax incentives to the next owner. The tenant will sign a lease and then try to wiggle out of as much property tax as possible by arguing the building isn’t worth as much as it actually is. All the while, Middlebury residents are still left with all the negative consequences and none of the “benefits” we were promised.
Here’s the real question: how much is Middlebury’s quality of life worth? We heard someone say that even if the project would result in our collective tax bills going to zero, he still wouldn’t want to live near a distribution facility. People come from all over to play at Quassy Amusement Park and to enjoy the lake and the Greenway. Do we want their first view of Middlebury from Exit 16 to be a giant, pollution-generating trucking facility? Why do we want to increase the asthma rate at LMES and for the 55-and-older population living at Benson Woods?
We believe you can’t put a price tag on the quality of life we have in Middlebury, and trading what we currently have for a perceived future savings on a tax bill (not proven and not likely) is not a fair deal. We’re a semi-rural, small town, and we want to stay that way. There is nothing the developer can promise that will change this fact. Middlebury isn’t a heavy industry locale, yet that’s exactly what the developer is asking us to become, and what town officials want you to swallow every time you hear “tax dollars” as justification for approving this project. We shouldn’t have to list all the reasons why this project is not right for Middlebury: it’s enough to say, “WE DON’T WANT THIS.”
