By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Informational meetings on Cabela’s plans When: Tuesday, May 2, 7pm Where: Robie’s Country Store When: Wednesday, May 3, 7pm Where: Hooksett Memorial School

Questions abound regarding the proposed $18 million plan that would bring retail giant Cabela’s and numerous other commercial developments to Interstate 93’s Exit 11.

A savvy bunch of Hooksett voters easily used up the twohours slotted for the first in a series of informational workshops hosted by Nebraska-based Cabela’s.

Traffic impacts, the arduous processes of developing stateowned land, and the specifics of the $18 million bond repayment structure were all points of concern voiced by some of the 60 people in attendance at Hooksett Memorial School at the Thursday, April 20, meeting.

And with only days before Hooksett residents head to the polls, it’s unclear if voters will get all the answers they need to approve the massive investment in the proposed tax increment financing, or TIF, district.

Library trustee Mary Farwell, citing some large bond proposals in recent years, suggested Hooksett voters tend to initially reject such large-scale plans.

“This town seems to have the feeling that they want all the information before they vote ‘yes’ or ‘no,’” said Farwell.

But Cabela’s representative Ed Eckman, who led the recent session, repeatedly described a potential May 9 “yes” vote as a “vote of confidence.”

Stuart Arnett, who heads the state Department of Economic Development, said of the vote, “This is the first of several decisions that needs to be made.”

“This is not a zoning permit for Cabela’s to start building,” said Arnett.

The plan

Cabela’s representatives have been eyeing the Exit 11 location for about two years, and spurred the town to launch the $18 million proposal at this year’s Town Meeting.

Cabela’s hopes to build a 130,000-square-foot “destination retail” store on about 50 acres nestled between Interstate 93 and Route 3A, currently owned by the Palazzi Corp.

Eckman said a Wingate hotel and multiple restaurants would also join that site – which covers about one third of the designated TIF zone – and said Cabela’s retail stores throughout the country typically spur nearby commercial developments.

Of the $18 million, $4.5 million is designated solely for town infrastructure, including sewer pump upgrades, Lilac Bridge reparations, a possible west side fire station and upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.

“These are things the town believed they’d have to go to the taxpayer for, now or in the near future,” said Eckman.

The remaining $13.5 million would be dedicated to the Cabela’s site, and would cover roadway improvements, sewer and water line extensions, access to the Palazzi site and Cabela’s “museum elements.”

Developments

Eckman estimated that the developments on the proposed Cabela’s site alone would boost the assessed valuation of the property to about $35 million.

$75 million of assessed valuation within the TIF district – which spans about 150 acres in total – would be needed to cover payments on the proposed 20-year, tax-exempt bond, Eckman estimated.

Resident Tom Barrett asked where the other $40 million in assessed valuation would come from, especially as much of the land within the TIF district is state-owned, which could be hurdles for potential developers.

Eckman agreed that private development on the state-owned land – tracts of which sit north of the proposed Cabela’s site – is key to making the TIF district financially successful, and said it’s part of the “calculated risk” Cabela’s is taking.

Several residents specifically questioned the state-owned right of way – priced by the state at $2 million – that Cabela’s would need for access to its site off Hackett Hill Road. That $2 million is currently built into the TIF plan.

Arnett said the state Department of Transportation is one of only two entities responsible for the right of way, and its sale would be contingent upon approval from the turnpike authority, which has outstanding bonds on the property.

Arnett noted that the sale of any state-owned demands a number of processes, including public hearings and the approval of the legislature, but said the Cabela’s project has garnered enthusiasm from the Governor’s office.

“We think it’s a great asset for the state,” Arnett told Hooksett voters, “but we don’t want you to do something you’re not comfortable doing.”

Repaying the bond

Eckman said Cabela’s would hope to purchase the bond, thereby guaranteeing payments, and removing any financial liability to Hooksett taxpayers.

“In effect, we’re fronting the money, and we’re taking the risk,” said Eckman.

Eckman also said if the district doesn’t generate enough tax revenue to cover the bond in its early years, the company is offering to cover the expected shortfall. But, Eckman said, Cabela’s hopes also to take tax revenue in later years to recoup those expenses.

“We think that’s a fair compromise,” said Eckman.

Such a loan-type structure could mean excess tax revenue, expected in the later years of the bond, would return to Cabela’s instead of the town’s general fund.

But Hooksett State Rep. David Hess was skeptical of such a structure, which would have to be negotiated by the town council only after the vote.

“You’re taking back what you were giving the town in the early years,” Hess told Eckman.

Eckman also said Cabela’s typically likes to use excess tax revenue – that over and above bond payments – to pay off the bond early.

That model would differ from the repayment structure for Hooksett’s Exit 10 TIF district, in which revenue above bond payments has funneled directly into the town’s general fund.

Traffic

Eckman said a detailed traffic study won’t be completed before the May 9 vote, though Cabela’s and state Department of Transportation officials met recently to discuss the traffic impact that could be created if the entire TIF zone is built out.

Cabela’s also presented the DOT with a preliminary study late last year.

Residents near 3-A and Hackett Hill, an already problematic intersection, may have cause for concern as the Cabela’s store could draw additional traffic, and as Wal-Mart and Lowe’s are both expected to gain approval to build in the area.

But Eckman said Cabela’s hasn’t committed to a full traffic study, in part because the May 9 vote has “a very much unknown result.”

The vote

“If you get a ‘no’ vote, don’t assume that the people of Hooksett don’t want you,” Farwell told Eckman, and urged Cabela’s to run an exit poll at the voting booths.

Eckman said he liked the idea, and said a “no” vote wouldn’t necessarily signify the end of Cabela’s in Hooksett.

But Eckman also suggested a ‘yes’ vote on this year’s warrant Article 5 would give Hooksett residents a “an opportunity to have a known answer” regarding the fate of Exit 11, which planning experts see as an area ripe for development.

Cabela’s is hosting two more informational sessions before the vote, one at Robie’s Country Store on Tuesday, May 2, and another at Memorial School on Wednesday, May 3. Both are at 7 p.m.

Voting day is Tuesday, May 9, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Cawley Middle School.