New tax break request coming before Luzerne County Council

While one tax break request is still pending, Luzerne County Council is set to hear a presentation on another proposed one Tuesday for a 16-acre tract on Wyoming Avenue in Exeter that police say has housed a homeless camp and attracted illegal activity.

Council had decided last month to remove Flint Development’s tax break request from the voting agenda after some council members raised concerns about the percentage of real estate taxes that would be forgiven and the need for county participation. It’s unclear when council will bring that matter to a vote.

Flint sought the break on two adjacent parcels in the Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazle Township under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program for blighted properties, which means the property owner pays real estate taxes on the land throughout the break and receives a discount on taxes for the new development.

The developer’s revised proposal would forgive the following percentages of taxes, starting with the first year and ending with the tenth: 90%, 87.5%, 85%, 82.5%, 80%, 75%, 70%, 65%, 60% and 55%.

In the latest LERTA request, which is up for discussion during Tuesday’s work session, Wyoming Avenue Development Group LLC is seeking these abatements on new construction: 90% the first three years; 80% in the fourth and fifth years; 70% in the sixth year; 60% in the seventh; 50% in the eighth; 40% in the ninth; and 30% in the final year.

Council would have to vote at a future meeting for a break to take effect.

According to information in the work session agenda:

Exeter Borough Council and the Wyoming Area School Board both approved breaks last month last month for the four parcels containing addresses of 1714, 1800 and 1946 Wyoming Ave.

The municipal/school abatements are 100% the first three years; 90% in the fourth and fifth years; 70% in the sixth year; 60% in the seventh; 50% in the eighth; 40% in the ninth; and 30% in the final year. The developer originally presented this package to the county but later lowered the percentages in the first five years.

Attorney Raymond A. Hassey is listed as the manager of Wyoming Avenue Development Group.

Proposed development plans show construction of four structures at the site: a 20,487-square-foot grocery store; a 5,585-square-foot convenience store; and two retail stores measuring 10,640 square feet and 7,600 square feet — along with related parking areas and stormwater management infrastructure.

Wyoming Avenue Development listed five reasons why the tax incentive is needed to benefit the community, starting with blight and this detailed description:

”Anyone driving past this site will immediately notice that the site is overgrown and is an eyesore to the community. You may also observe the unlikely sight of a stranded and abandoned red boat, which serves a monument to the relentless illegal dumping on the site. This ‘vacant’ site has been, and continues to be, the source of dozens of police calls over the years, ranging from stabbings, drug activity, squatters, trespassing and other violent crimes. Recently, a makeshift camp with approximately 40 homeless people was disbanded, because many of its occupants posed a risk to the children in the adjacent grade school, as well as a danger to neighbors and the police who until recently were outnumbered whenever they took a call on an incident there. This site has been a source of safety and security concerns for Exeter officials, law enforcement and residents for over a decade.”

A synopsis of the other reasons:

• The site is not in a high-traffic retail center.

• Obstacles such as mine shafts requiring mediation on the site, underground tank issues and higher investment for stormwater management and off-site roadway and signal alterations add to development costs.

• Taxing bodies will not lose revenue they currently receive on the land.

• More than 75 permanent jobs are projected to be created.

Exeter borough officials sent a letter requesting council approval, saying other potential developers under contract have pulled out multiple times due to the site development challenges.

”The result is that this property has sat vacant and will likely continue to remain undeveloped unless there are incentives to development,” the letter said.

Wyoming Area Regional Police Department Chief Michael Turner also wrote a letter of support, saying 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 retrieved drug paraphernalia and weapons being carried by people frequenting 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.