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Amentler, Hazleton Area field hockey open with statement win

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<p>Luzerne County Council members closed out one inherited tax break Tuesday but were asked to consider another.</p><p>Abolished was a Tax Incremental Financing, or TIF, program that diverted property tax revenue from new development along Highland Park Boulevard and at the Arena Hub Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township to fund infrastructure improvements.</p><p>County officials assert the county should receive most, if not all, of the $2 million remaining in the TIF pot because the infrastructure promised under the original 1998 agreement has been completed.</p><p>The Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce submitted the new tax-break request seeking a 10-year Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) extension for its 47-acre tract off McAlpine Street in Duryea.</p><p>County council members plan to vote on the request at their next meeting Sept. 22 because KOZ extension applications must be submitted to the state by Oct. 1, said chamber Executive Vice President Rosemary Dessoye.</p><p>Several council members said they were reluctant or unwilling to support another KOZ because many property owners have questioned the fairness and benefits of granting temporary forgiveness to a select few.</p><p>Supporters say the temporary tax revenue loss is a necessary trade-off to attract jobs and development while competing with other areas that offer such breaks.</p><p>Dessoye said the county will only forego the tax revenue if the land is developed and occupied. If not, the chamber will continue paying taxes on the land only as it has in the past, she said. The chamber is still seeking prospective tenants.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Best for area&#8217;</strong></p><p>Councilman Rick Morelli said he may support the proposal. Council members want to &#8220;look good to taxpayers&#8221; but must consider &#8220;what&#8217;s best for the area,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;In this area we have to be competitive in order to get people here. We have a great area, but we have our challenges,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Councilman Rick Williams said council members must balance the benefits of new development and the cost to property owners who aren&#8217;t receiving breaks.</p><p>The chamber has owned the property since the late 1960s and invested $2.7 million in its own funds and government grants and loans in recent years to build the Boylan Drive access road and a railroad crossing and bring public utilities to the site to make it more attractive, Dessoye said.</p><p>The KOZ extended through 2025 also would cover the adjacent 51-acre former Avoca Yards railroad property owned by the county Redevelopment Authority, she said. Both sites have been unused since coal mining ceased in that area more than 60 years ago, she said.</p><p>The chamber is banking on the site&#8217;s rail access and proximity to major highways and does not believe the site will be marketable if the tax break goes away, she said, noting the extension has been approved by both the Duryea Borough Council and Pittston Area School Board.</p><p><strong>Prospective buyer</strong></p><p>Dessoye said a prospective buyer recently toured the site for a possible 300,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on 10 acres, with the option to double the structure&#8217;s size. If the unnamed party proceeds, construction could begin by the end of 2016, she said.</p><p>Williams was the lone vote against closing out the TIF, saying he believed the matter should be tabled until Wilkes-Barre officials present their plans.</p><p>City officials continue to maintain the money must remain in the bank to fund the future extension of Coal Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, so it can link to Union Street. The remaining 280 feet to finish the connection would come with hurdles because it would cross a railroad bed and cut through the parking lot for the county&#8217;s human services building on Pennsylvania Avenue.</p><p>Councilman Stephen A. Urban said the city &#8220;benefited greatly&#8221; because the TIF funded the Coal Street widening in the city even though the city did not join the county, Wilkes-Barre Township and the Wilkes-Barre Area School District in sacrificing tax revenue to fund the infrastructure. He also questioned the sense of spending public money so motorists don&#8217;t have to drive around the block.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s high time this TIF is terminated,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Urban </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_urban-Steve.jpg</photo0><caption0>Urban </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_morelli.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Morelli </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_morelli.jpg</photo1><caption1>Morelli </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County ends one tax break, considers another