In 2004, on instruction from the City of Bossier City, the U.L. Coleman Company contracted with the Louisiana State University Shreveport Center for Business and Economic Research, for an Economic Impact Study relative to the Walker Place Development. Of special note is that the study focused only on the original 24.8 acres of the Walker Place Development. The economic impact of just the 24,8 acres over a ten year period was estimated at $500,000,000. The last paragraph of page ii states:
If the Bossier City Council had not derailed the Walker Place Development over a lone curb cut in August, 2006, Bossier City would have already received badly needed revenue for its woefully cash-strapped budget."The cumulative revenues expected to be received by Bossier City during the
five-year construction of the multi-purpose development are expected to be
$261,289,136. This amount could be reduced by $131,250 depending on actual sales taxable construction materials.It is important to note that approximately $259 Million of the expected revenues come from water and sewage which must be netted against the cost to provide water and sewage. The expected cumulative revenue before water and sewage is $2.411 Million from land acquisition, property taxes, and sales tax during the construction phase."
The full text of the Economic Impact study is HERE.
I think you are selectively reading the study. $259 million is in water and sewer which must be netted against the price to treat sewer, make water, transmission, and repairs.
ReplyDeleteMake the number far less.
Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention. We are further analyzing the numbers in the study, and will address the point you make. With absolute certainty though, had the Bossier City Council not derailed this project over a curb cut, the revenue the project would have already brought in would have been of tremendous value to a city with extreme budget woes. Thank you again for your input.
ReplyDeleteThe analisis is easy. Water and Sewer are a breakeven due to the nature of an enterprise fund. 261M - 259M = 2 M. 2M divided by 5 = $400,000 / year. A far cry from 261M divided by 5 = 5.2M / year.
ReplyDeletePoint well made, and accepted. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading these comments I did some research for myself. Jeff Sadow made mention in his August 2006 opinion that Mr. Coleman wanted 7.6 million in public assistance. If the economic benefit is only $400,000/year - it would take over 18 years to recoup the public money. Sounds like the city needs to watch this guy.
ReplyDeleteIf you have minutes of city body meetings which reflect an infrastructure concession request by the Coleman people, please email it to us, or send us the link. One question still remains though. If the City's main issue w/Coleman was not wanting to pay infrastructure concessions, why didn't the City simply express that such concessions were unacceptable? Why did the City choose instead, to use a lone curb cut (ordinance of 8/1/06) to stop the development? Thanks!
ReplyDelete