OSWEGO, NY – At its meeting Monday night, the Administrative Services Committee voted 2-2 on a request from the city attorney’s office to authorize the mayor to sign an agreement between the city and Ash Street Development.
The deal would have authorized the city to pave Sophie Drive in the Seventh Ward.
On June 27, Mayor Randy Bateman vetoed Resolution # 250-2008 which was passed by the Oswego Common Council on June 23.  ÂÂÂ
That resolution called for the paving of Sophie Drive, installing the base layer in 2008 and the top layer after the last of eight townhouses have been completed; and also calls for the developer to “reimburse the City of Oswego the difference between any or all of the taxes collected from 2008 – 2013, subtracted from the cost of any paving done at Sophie Drive.â€ÂÂ
Alderman Michael Joyce (R-Seventh Ward) who brought the matter to the council last month said it is a win-win situation and the city needs to be developer friendly in order to grow and survive.
The city would receive tax revenue from the development, he noted.
Opponents claim the city shouldn’t use taxpayers’ money to assist developers.
Monday night’s resolution spelled out responsibilities for both parties, according to Gay Williams, city attorney.
There was also a clause ensuring the city would get funds even if all the townhouses weren’t built and sold.
In light of the number of calls she has received from residents, “in every single ward,” who are opposed to the plan, Councilor Connie Cosemento said she would not support the resolution.
She was also concerned about the wear and tear on city equipment, what would happen if equipment was damaged or a city worker was injured.
“This city is, I believe, developer friendly. We help out a lot of developers in a lot of ways,” she said. “This is more of a financial service than developer friendly.”
This work would put the DPW behind in other city-related jobs, she added.
“I have three city streets I want done. One is terrible. If I have three, how many other councilors have streets they want done?” Councilor Bill Sharkey (R-Sixth Ward) said. “If (the DPW commissioner) is going to cut back on the amount of paving he is going to do, who’s going to get left out? Are we going to do city streets first or are we going to do private development first? I’ve had numerous phone calls, too. It’s just not a good idea to be putting project development ahead of our taxpayers. It’s not our money, it’s theirs. Take care of the taxpayers first.”
This project would increase the city’s tax base, thereby helping ease everyone’s tax burden, Joyce pointed out.
If the council heads down this road, it will need some sort of policy in place to explain everything, Cosemento cautioned.
“There will have to be some sort of list. Which developer gets to have a street done first? You’re going to have them all lined up,” she said. “We can satisfy them all; and, not with taxpayer money.”
Council President Dan Donovan agreed.
“I can’t support this, either,” he said.
There have been several developers who have helped the city create a large revenue base, Joyce said, continuing to push the councilors to be more developer friendly.
“We need (the townhouses), we need the taxpayers. We need the extra road,” he said. “We need all of this to succeed and move on.”
What’s to stop the next developer to say he wants to build a shopping center and wants the city to pave the parking lot, Sharkey asked.
“What about Bosco and Geers? (The store) just spent probably a hundred grand paving their parking lot. Can they come back to the city and say, ‘reimburse me because you’re going to make money off the taxes that we pay’?” Sharkey said. “What’s to say that they can’t (come to the city) and say, ‘you did it for one, now you’re going to do it for me’?”
“These (townhouses) are high-dollar homes. Does that make any difference to the taxpayer who is barely being able to make their house payments right now, that have paid their taxes for years and want their crappy street paved?” Sharkey continued. “They’re second because a developer wants to build high-end homes, and we don’t even know if he can sell them in today’s economy?”
Cosemento pointed out that the city did get stung in a similar situation where the developer “sold zero lots, zero.”
“By increasing the tax base, we take the burden off of our taxpayers,” Joyce said. “We need to add jobs; we need to add people to our community. This is key to our survival. Without jobs, without people we’re going nowhere.”
“What we’re going to do is we’re going stop all development in the city,†he continued.
While new, quality housing is needed, the city should maintain what it has now, Councilor Sue Sweet (R-Third Ward) said.
There needs to be a balance between maintaining existing city streets and promoting development, she said, adding she hasn’t received any calls regarding the issue.
“I think we’ve reached a pinnacle in this city where if we don’t see expansion of this city, it will be a sad day for us,†she said.
John Darling, president of Ash Street Development, told the councilors that, not including the land, he has $192,000 invested in Sophie Drive.
He pointed to the success of some of his other projects.
When he bought the land for Darling Drive, it was valued at $43,000 and now that houses have been built on the property, it’s assessed at approximately $1.5 million, he said. The land for a development he did in Minetto cost him $73,900; it’s currently valued at $4.4 million, he added.
“I understand where the city is coming from. They used to do everything. Now, they can’t afford to do anything,” he said. “But, that’s going to be the wrong choice.â€ÂÂ
“The taxpayers are going to yell loud and clear, and I mean screaming, if their tax money goes to someone else’s private business,” Cosemento warned.
The city shouldn’t be taking work away from the private sector, she said, adding there are probably a lot of paving companies looking for jobs right now.
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