NorCo Council Approves Tax Break For UMBT Developer Lou Pektor

Northampton County Council voted last night to approve a tax break known as a LERTA for industrial property owned by developer Lou Pektor. It did so even though Executive Lamont McClure and developer Lou Pektor both agreed to re-write the LERTA ordinance to ensure that the tax break would only apply to manufacturing sites. It adopted the tax break despite a promise by McClure that he'd veto the LERTA as drafted. Voting in favor of the LERTA were Council members Tom Giovanni, John Goffredo, John Brown, Ron Heckman, Lori Vargo-Heffner and Kerry Myers. Voting No were Council members Tara Zrinski, John Cusick and Kevin Lott. 

This vote followed a lengthy hearing in which over 20 people spoke, some of them twice, either to support or oppose the tax break.  

A LERTA is a tax abatement program created by state law that permits a gradual increase in tax payments on improvements to deteriorated properties in economically depressed areas over a period of 10 years. 

Those opposed to the LERTA included elected officials from Plainfield, Lower Mount Bethel and even one Upper Mount Bethel Township Supervisor. Those who supported the LERTA included three Upper Mount Bethel Tp Supervisors, Bangor Area School Director Mike Goffredo, two volunteer fire chiefs and several local businesses.

Mike Goffedo spoke about the need to draw more business into the slate belt. "We lost our blouse mills, we lost our textile industries. We are a shell of what we once were."  

Martin Pinter, who chairs UMBT's Board of Supervisors, told Council that people are leaving the Township because household incomes are about 20% lower than the rest of the Greater Lehigh Valley. People who've remained have an average work commute of 40 minutes to jobs in New Jersey.

Rich Valone (sp?), who manages a manufacturing site near the LERTA employing 200 people, noted a need for increased local services. Ambulance response times are as long as 30-minutes, and one employee passed away en route to the hospital. Firefighters said that the development would give them an extra $130,000 every year for life-saving equipment.  

Those opposed to the LERTA expressed concern that, despite Pektor's desire to build manufacturing businesses, he'd end up with warehouses. "I think you're gonna' get warehouses one way or the other," warned Plainfield Tp Supervisor Don Moore.  UMBT resident Charles Cole warned that, of 17 buildings planned for Riverpointe, eight are over 500,000 sq ft.  

Environmental activist and former UMBT Supervisor Judith Henckel agreed that, though the land may be zoned industrial, most of it is farmland or woodlands set aside specifically by former owner Met Ed as a buffer from its electric generation facility by the Delaware River.  She implored Council to deny the LERTA and redraft it in a way that preserves the "rural character" of the community, a thought echoed by others. 

Some, like Kyle Dutt,  questioned how the LERTA could apply. How can farmland be "deteriorated", he asked. He also denied that UMBT is economically distressed, and said there are wineries and eateries.  

At one point, former UMBT Supervisor Anthony DeFranco took Council member Tara Zrinski to task over recent statements she made on Business Matters,  She stated that the zoning had changed from agricultural to industrial through a change to the zoning ordinance crafted by the developer. "You're full of baloney,." he said to her. "Either you are not informed or you are lying." His accusation was echoed by Pinter. "The libel and fear mongering must stop," he said, noting that the land has been zoned industrial since 1971.

In fairness to Zrinski, the land in question is zoned industrial, but has been used as farmland and woodland. Also, it is common for a developer's attorney to be involved in the drafting of a proposed text amendments to a zoning ordinances. "We are not liars," she said in defense of herself. "We are not charlatans."

After nearly everyone had spoken, Executive McClure exercised courtesy of the floor himself. He stated he was convinced that developer Lou Pektor wants to build only manufacturing facilities. He suggested tabling the ordinance so it could be re-crafted to limit the tax break to manufacturers. "We don't need to incentivize warehouse development," he said.  Lou Pektor then rose himself.  Surprisingly, he said he he "applauds" McClure's suggestions. 

You'd think at this point that a member of Council would make a quick motionto table and everyone could go home happy, right? 

Wrong. 

Instead, Zrinski and Lott both spoke against the LERTA, although Lott said he'd eventually move to table the ordinance. 

The two sponsors of the LERTA, both of whom live in the slate belt, spoke in support of extending this tax break.

Council member John Goffredo stated that the two main industries that provided economic revenue and jobs in the slate belt are gone. "I would like to see people that I grew up with stay in the area," he lamented  He observed that most of those who oppose this tax break are all retirement age, implying they need no jobs. But he indicated he'd support an attempt by McClure and developer to redo the LERTA. "If that's a possibility I think that's great."

Council member Tom Giovanni was a bit more succinct, as is his style. "I've seen people struggling with their taxes. My father-in-law is one of them."  He wanted the LERTA as is. 

Lott then made his motion to table. It was shot down in a 5-4 vote. Voting to table were Lott, Zrinski, Goffredo and Council member John Cusick. Voting No were Council members John Brown, Ron Heckman, Lori Vargo-Heffner, Tom Giovanni and Kerry Myers. 

Then John Brown made a motion to adopt the ordinance as is, seconded by Tom Giovanni. This prevented John Cusick from introducing an amendment to limit the LERTA to a rusting power plant at the site. 

Heckman stated that he's leery of getting involved in discussions of what constitutes a warehouse or manufacturing site. "I want to give it a thumb up or a thumb down, and people can do what they do. ... I think we're getting way too deep in zoning issues." 

Lott then made a second motion to table.  This time, only three Council members - Zrinski, Lott and Cusick - were willing to give McClure and Pektor the opportunity to rework the tax break so it only applied to warehouses. 

This failure paved the way to the adoption of the LERTA by the same 6-3 vote. 

Surprisingly, three Democratic Council members - Lori Vargo-Heffner, Ron Heckman and Kerry Myers - voted to extend a tax break for warehouse development when they had an opportunity to redraft it so that the tax break would be limited to manufacturing sites. This would have left opponents and proponents satisfied. They chose instead to continue the division in that area.