Correspondence/Goldberg to CouncilBrokerage
Development
Advisory
Prope rties,,l,c.
The Honorable Tammi Fisher, Mayor of Kalispell Montana January 16, 2012
and Members of the Kalispell, Montana City Council
201 First Avenue East
Kalispell, Montana 59901
RE: Transportation Impact Fees
Dear Mayor Fisher and Members of the City Council,
As you are all too aware the economy on world, national and certainly local bases has suffered massively
since the adoption of the Transportation Impact Fees in 2009. Economic expansion and the byproducts
of growth that pushed many policy decisions in Kalispell as well as other cities across the country, all
but ceased beginning in 2007. Economic recovery has been excruciating difficult and challenging for all.
The most unfortunate and yet the most visible effects are the loss of jobs and effect that job loss has
had on the American workforce and families.
Certainly, we all need to do whatever we can do from our private and public sectors positions to affect a
sustainable economic recovery.
From my business perspective as retail real estate developer, I can attest that retail merchants over the
past four years have been anything but in an expansion mode. The contrary has been in effect as
retailers have contracted with many actually closing and today there are even more concerns on the
horizon for more closing from venerable retailers such as Sears and Gap. However, with some very
modest gains in the economy consumer confidence is showing some positive statistics for the first time
in many years. Indeed, there has been signals that some, all be it very few retailer, are once again in
very slow but cautious expansion mode. Those few retailers that are expanding are looking for
opportunities that are without question Vocations that they will succeed. A critical element in the
decision process to open new stores is the cost of entry that includes the capital costs for construction
for brick and mortar but also the other non -brick and mortar cost such as impact fees. The effects of all
costs, up front capital costs along with ongoing cost of operations must be at unprecedented lows to
garner the attention of those few active retailers.
While we have done everything we can to attract merchants to Kalispell we have not succeed and one of
the consistent difficulties has been the Transportation Impact Fees. The fees are viewed by the
merchants as onerous and outside of the cost structures that they are looking for in today's market
place. Whenever we are involved is discussion with potential retailer we are measured against other
opportunities that the retailers are examining and any one time. Our cost structure by category are
Mt —allot
`4 I .18h. P1.,w Council
ol3hopping Censers
113
195 West 12th Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80204 •303/759-8000 • FAX 303/863-0275
measure against others in competing marketplaces. I can assure you we have examined ever
component of our structure and modified each one that we can control to meet the demands of the
retailers.
Kalispell can and will benefit from more retailing. Retailers bring jobs and this one fact is should be our
mutual aspiration. More and more diverse retailing in Kalispell will attract spending from outside such
as consumers from Canada. The more money spent in Kalispell will help all other business in the
community.
One of the basic arguments made in a few years ago when the City of Kalispell considered and ultimately
passed the Transportation Impact Fees was that "Growth must pay for Growth". Now, with the benefit
of some painful hindsight we all know too well that without growth we all suffer together.
I would implore the City to reexamine the Transportation Impact fees and undertake actions to set them
aside until economic conditions would once again reach levels of growth that such growth merits the
concerns that would truly give rise to the need for Transportation Impact Fees. For now, I would hope
that City Council would consider policies that encourage business and job expansion.
Sincerely,
ark A. Goldberg
President
Goldberg Properties, Inc