Ben Miller of Park & Elm: Should Glens Falls compete with private biz?

To the Editor:

I attended last week’s Common Council meeting with two key issues of concern.

The first was the hotly contested question of whether the city should purchase the former TD Bank property at 28 Maple Street. This was covered extensively in last week’s issue of The Chronicle.

The second issue was covered more extensively in an article the week prior: Whether or not the Common Council should approve a $3,558,223 loan to cover budget shortfalls in the City’s Market Square project on South Street.

I echo Mr. Frost’s sentiment, in his editorial last week — This issue scares me even more than the TD Bank purchase.

For those less familiar with the project, this is the City’s proposed BEAR Market, which is planned to occupy the ground floor of what has long been known as “the incubator building.”

Chaired by Mayor Collins, the City’s Local Development Corporation plans to operate a multi-faceted business that focuses on the sale of locally made food, beverages, and crafts; a space for live entertainment; a rentable commercial kitchen; and a “way-finding system” to help connect visitors to local producers throughout the region. This is just one small piece of the city’s larger DRI project, which totals close to $50,000,000 in investments across the city.

Concerns about this new loan stemmed from two main factors: Firstly, the Council’s earlier budget meeting revealed that the city has an estimated 2024 budget shortfall of $2.6M and accumulated a total of $13M in new debt over the year prior.

In his opposition to this new loan, Fourth Ward Councilman Ben Lapham revealed that the City’s total debt, including long term liabilities, is currently over $100M. This new loan adds $3.6M to that already scary picture.

Secondly, those in opposition felt that the city had yet to show a feasible business plan for operating this new venture, and questioned whether the city should be operating this type of business in the first place.

It is important to note that the DRI plan was first drafted roughly 8 years and three administrations ago. Perhaps it was time to revisit this part of the plan before taking on such a large loan?

Third Ward Councilwoman Diana Palmer called for a detailed business plan and projected operating budget, requesting to table the motion until those items were shared with the council.

On the other hand, support for the loan was based on the fact that the City was already 8 years into the DRI project and the “train has left the station.”

Supporters of the motion said the project must be finished at all costs, suggesting that $3.6 million is only a small percentage of the $50,000,000 project, most of it funded by the State.

Strongly supported by the Mayor, the resolution to take on this loan was ultimately approved by the Council. After a short but heated exchange, it passed 4 to 2, with Third Ward Councilwoman Diana Palmer and Fourth Ward Councilman Ben Lapham in opposition.

Personally, I empathize with arguments on both sides of this issue. It isn’t an easy one. As someone who completed a multimillion dollar capital project in the midst of pandemic era supply chain and labor issues, I understand that unexpected budget increases sometimes are required to finish a job “the right way.”

We certainly don’t want to take shortcuts on something that has already taken so much of the City’s time and investment. With that said, I think there is a bigger question — Now that the city has taken a loan of nearly $4 million to complete the project, how do they plan on operating it? How do they repay this loan without becoming a burden to the taxpayers?

Earlier this summer I was formally asked to join two committees that would help steer the development of the BEAR Market project. After reviewing their draft business plan and the scope of the project, I respectfully declined.

Instead, I shared my concerns in private with the City’s Economic Development Director, Jeff Flagg.

I was frankly shocked that the city intended to get into this line of work at all, and even more shocked that the city used several photos of Park & Elm as a model in their business plan, going so far as to identify my business as potential competition to their project.

I quote: “BEAR Market will sell locally-produced food products, both items that are pre-packaged and items potentially produced and packaged on-site in the commercial kitchen. The retail space will be ‘hyper-local’ and not offer products sourced from outside a certain radius of Glens Falls.”

This is even more ironic when you consider the fact that the equipment in the market at Park & Elm was partially funded by the same DRI project that now seeks to create its competitor.

Sour grapes aside, it isn’t fear of competition that drives my hesitance in supporting this project. It is the question of whether the City should be using taxpayer dollars to run such a business.

Going back to our Council meeting, it was the comments of Second Ward Councilman Bob Landry that stuck with me the most. In reference to the aforementioned Maple Street acquisition, Landry said: “The city government should not be involved in any business that the private sector could do, and in most instances do better.”

He referenced the City’s past business failures, the sale of the Civic Center, as well as the Shirt Factory over a decade prior. He went further to question a municipality’s mettle for running a business in general. He suggested that when a private citizen opens a business it is up to their own skills, hard work, and determination to make sure their investment pays off.

If the business falters, they must reach into their own pocket to keep the lights on. They have skin in the game. In the case of the City’s business ventures, it is the taxpayer left to foot the bill.

I turn the same question toward the BEAR Market project funded by this loan. When was the last time you heard the hospitality or arts industry touted as a solid business investment? I can tell you better than most, these two industries are a ton of hard work and anything from a sure bet. Is that the way you want the City investing your tax dollars?

All I can say is this — I am a resident of Glens Falls. I was born and raised in this community. I am strongly in favor of seeing South Street revitalized after so many years of neglect. Maybe the City needs to increase its budget to finish this job the right way, but the taxpayers need the DRI project to pay off with sustainable investments into this city.

Is a government run retail/food and beverage/live music venue with a fancy map the right way to do that?

— Ben Miller, Glens Falls
Operations Manager
Park Street Hospitality, LLC
Park & Elm | The Park Theater

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