If you are reading this then you are one of the interested/informed readers, 100 of which log onto the Holland Blog (on average) everyday. Have you done your part? Are you registered to vote? Have you signed the petition? Or... do you want pollution, noise, traffic, a breeding ground for crime and higher taxes? I know, everybody is so busy and is counting on others to do what’s right... Please take the time to talk to your neighbors and friends, tell them to read the information posted on this blog. Get them to care about what is happening in the community, or better put, get them to care what is happening TO the community. If any of the arguments outlined in the posts and comments of this Blog are incorrect, let everybody know by posting a rebuttal!
The Truck Stop issue is to important to be ignored. It will change the demographics of Holland forever!
The organizers of the petition asked the Holland Blog to ask you, the community, for your help. Please take the time to sign the petition at Hoyt’s, or printout and sign the petition and mail it directly to: Scott and Lori Bousquet, 9 Lakeridge Drive, Holland MA, 01521. Click here for page one, and, click here for page two. Printout page one, turn the paper and print page two on the backside of page one. Please help spread the word, every signature counts.
Today I will give the issue a different spin. . .
Our selectboard, in particular James Wettlaufer and Earl Johnson, persuaded a majority of the little group of voters that were present, that tax revenue would increase if 73.8 acres of land owned by Grossi and Bergeron were rezoned from special conservancy to commercial/business. This occurred during the special town meeting of July 28, 2005.
As everybody knows, the financial burden to educate the children of our community is significant. It is where most tax dollars get spent. For the current fiscal year, the total expense for education will be $3,608,750.00 out of the budget totaling $5,608,667.00, or 64.3% of the total budget. The percentage for FY2007 was 66.11%.
The ultimate goal is to bring the percentage paid for education down without compromising the quality of education.
Consider the following: According to the AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners), the state wide average is 0.7 pupils per household, which equals an average cost of $6381 (FY2007)per household towards education here in Holland, an amount that is far greater than the average amount in property taxes actually paid to the town per household.
Most towns face this dilemma. Most towns solve the dilemma by taxing business to increases the tax-base as businesses send no children off to school. Holland has practically no businesses, only 2% of taxes are paid by businesses, for numbers click here!
How does Holland do it, how is it possible that our average tax bill is $2731.00 for FY2009, and not $6381.00?
60% of homes in Holland are second/summer homes! All the children living in these homes on weekends/summers get educated at the cost of the taxpayers in the town where the spend the rest of the week!
Back to the truck stop. The simplistic statement that the Flying J. truck stop will better the situation is a falsehood. All businesses are not equal! The truck stop will make Holland less attractive to second/weekend home owners. Every home around the lake that is sold to a year-round resident will (on average) cost the taxpayer the $6381.00 mentioned above... We should not work towards decreasing the 60% share in summer/weekend homes, we should find ways to increase that number by attracting businesses conducive to tourism! Holland’s location close to I84 and I90 is not just ideal for a dirty noisy truck stop, it is also ideal for attractions like the Old Sturbridge Village and other attractions. A truck stop is only an attraction to the owner's of the land and James Wettlaufer.
According to the Massachusetts Dep. Of Elementary & Secondary Education, the highest percentage any community pays for education in our state is 75,88% (town of Hancock), the lowest is 28.21% (town of Wellfleet), the average is 48.6%. Holland is therefore still above the state average. Click here to download the spreadsheet with the statewide data from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue webpage (windows Excel is needed to read the file). Once you have the spreadsheet on your screen, click on the tap “School & NonSchool” on the bottom of the screen.
The fact that Wellfleet’s percentage of the expenditure for education is the lowest in the state (28.21%) does not mean that they spend less per pupil than other towns, to the contrary! Wellfleet spent $19,363 per pupil while Holland spent only half of that amount or $9,755, (state average is $11,858, all numbers for FY2007. Click here for data source town of Holland); click here for data source town of Wellfleet).
What is interesting is that Wellfleet and Holland have something in common. They both have about a 2,700 year-round population which swells during the summer; in Holland to about 7,500, and in Wellfleet to 17,000. The answer is that second/summer homes do not send children to school but are taxed the same as homes which do send children off to school! The bigger the “population swell” the better the budget situation. The difference between Holland and Wellfleet is that Wellfleet has businesses that cater to their population swell! Does Holland?
Wellfleet has motels, bed & breakfasts, along with cottages and houses for families to rent along the beach. There are seasonal events such as craft fairs and music festivals. There is miniature golf and a drive-in theater as well as a variety of restaurants and night life. You will not find a truck stop in Wellfleet! Holland has the perfect landscape and location for hiking, biking, canoeing and much more.
The select board’s claim that business increases tax revenue is true... what they fail to realize is the fact that it has to be the right kind of business to improve the overall tax situation!
The proposed Flying J. Inc. truck stop with it’s ridiculously low property tax infusion will jeopardize the situation Holland already enjoys with it’s 60% share in summer/weekend homes.
According to and Flying J’s own account, the predicted property tax contribution for a similar facility planned in Peoria NY was $11,292 per year (2002)! Click here, to see for yourself.
I myself pay more than half of that for my lakefront property...
How much does it cost to pave a few acres, set up a row of gas-pumps, and build an ugly building to maintain trailer trucks? As informed residents know, the cleaner more expensive businesses such as Hotels and Restaurants will be built on land located in the town of Union CT.
The reader may say: “you can’t compare Wellfleet with Holland, Wellfleet is an affluent community with million dollar homes and residents can afford to pay higher taxes.” Not true, here a few numbers which will surprise you:
The average single family tax bill for FY2009 is $3,105 in Wellfleet, in Holland it is $2,731 and the state average is $4,555.
To be complete, it needs to be mentioned that Wellfleet’s cherry sheet aid towards education is much smaller ($158,393, they do not need more) than the cherry sheet aid for Holland ($996,297).
Flying J. Inc. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcies back in December of 2008, opening the window to take action and prevent the unthinkable.
Just a month ago, Pilot truck stops and Flying J. Inc. announced a preliminary merger agreement. Last week, the bankruptcy court approved the merger and and Flying J. will soon have the funds to go ahead with its plan to proceed with the permitting process and build the truck stop. Once the permits are issued it will be too late to file the petition and the truck stop will be built!
There is more to come the Holland taxpayer will pay dearly for! Wettlaufer’s close friend, Anthony Grossi, one of the two developers who own the land where the truck stop is planned is also planning to build 41 single family homes in Holland.
Applying the 0.7 pupil per home factor from the AICP, Holland will educate 29 pupils (0.7 times 41) at a cost of $264,364 (29 times $9,116) that will be living in these homes. (According to the Massachusetts Dep. Of Elementary & Secondary Education, the cost per pupil increased over the last three years 9.12% to $ 9,116.00 per pupil.)
Member of the selectboard James Wettlaufer, a close friend of Anthony Grossi, is a strong advocate of a new Elementary School. Without this new Elementary School, the Planning Board of Holland can not approve Grossi's subdivision plan to build the 41 homes. The 41 homes will bring huge profits to Grossi (Wettlaufer?), and will substantially increase the tax burden for everybody living in our community. More on this subject in a future Holland Blog post.
August 20, 2009, Peter Frei
Other posts on this subject:
Petition against Truck Stop, take two.
Petition against proposed Truck Stop.
IT IS NEVER TO LATE!
Sturbridge Voters Not As Smart As Holland Voters?
A Truck Stop in our Community?