Luzerne County Council will hear about another proposed tax relief request on Tuesday. This request is for a 16-acre property on Wyoming Avenue in Exeter, where there have been reports of a homeless camp and illegal activity.
Last month, council decided to remove Flint Development’s tax relief request from the voting agenda due to concerns about the percentage of real estate taxes being forgiven and the need for county participation. It’s unclear when council will vote on this matter.
Flint requested a tax break for two neighboring parcels in the Humboldt Industrial Park under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program for blighted properties. This means the property owner pays real estate taxes while receiving a discount on taxes for the new development.
The developer’s revised proposal would forgive the following percentages of taxes over ten years: 90%, 87.5%, 85%, 82.5%, 80%, 75%, 70%, 65%, 60%, and 55%.
The latest LERTA request, to be discussed during Tuesday’s work session, is from Wyoming Avenue Development Group LLC. They are seeking tax abatements on new construction at varying percentages over several years.
At a future meeting, council will need to vote for the tax relief to take effect.
According to the work session agenda:
Exeter Borough Council and the Wyoming Area School Board both approved tax breaks last month for four parcels on Wyoming Ave.
The municipal/school abatements are at varying percentages over nine years, with the developer originally presenting higher percentages for the first five years.
Attorney Raymond A. Hassey is listed as the manager of Wyoming Avenue Development Group.
The proposed development plans include the construction of a grocery store, a convenience store, and two retail stores, along with parking areas and stormwater management infrastructure.
Wyoming Avenue Development listed five reasons why the tax incentive is necessary to benefit the community, including addressing blight and providing this detailed description:
”The site is overgrown and an eyesore to the community, with reports of illegal dumping and various criminal activities. A makeshift homeless camp was recently disbanded due to safety concerns for nearby children and residents. This site has been a source of safety and security concerns for Exeter officials, law enforcement, and residents for over a decade.”
A summary of the other reasons:
• The location is not in a high-traffic retail center.
• Issues like mine shafts needing resolution on the site, underground tank problems, and higher spending for stormwater management and off-site roadway and signal changes increase development costs.
• Taxing authorities will not lose the revenue they currently get from the land.
• More than 75 permanent jobs are expected to be established.
Exeter borough officials sent a letter asking for council approval, stating that other potential developers who had agreements have withdrawn multiple times due to the site's development challenges.
”As a result, this property has remained empty and is likely to remain undeveloped unless there are incentives for development,” the letter said.
Wyoming Area Regional Police Department Chief Michael Turner also wrote a letter of support, mentioning that the site “has been a source of trouble for the borough of Exeter, and extraordinary police activity over the years.”
”Over the years, police have responded to drug activity, violence and have discovered drug equipment and weapons carried by people visiting the site. This has been the site of a very large homeless camp, which has harbored people with bench warrants and otherwise hiding from the law,” he wrote.
Tuesday’s work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for the remote attendance option posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.
