`the King' For A Day

1999 Field Hockey Honor Roll

By TONI COLEMAN Times Leader Staff Writer
 Wednesday, December 22, 1999 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE - Usually diplomatic Chamber of Business and Industry
officials on Tuesday scolded Mayor Tom McGroarty for holding up a project that
would modernize an outdated, mostly vacant building and deliver 350 new jobs
downtown. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The whole state of affairs is very distressing,'' said Stephen Barrouk,
president and chief executive officer of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of
Business and Industry after reading published reports about the city's refusal
to at least find temporary parking for the company. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The city has the opportunity to bring in a major corporation and it is
letting it slip through its fingers instead of turning over every stone to
solve the temporary parking issue, Barrouk said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An unidentified, financially stable public company wants to relocate its
corporate office to the Wilkes-Barre Center on Public Square, bringing with it
350 high-paying jobs, by Sept. 1, 2000. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Chamber officials said they first talked to the company 3 1/2 years ago and
sold the company on the idea of moving downtown. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As part of the deal, developer Alan J. Finlay, director of Humford
Equities, would gut and renovate the mostly vacant center, turning it into
modern office space, Barrouk said. The deal depends on Finlay's ability to
secure 350 parking spaces. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It's really important the city delivers on this,'' Barrouk said.
Otherwise, the company will start looking at alternative sites in the county
to meet the Sept. 2000 deadline. Barrouk does not know the drop-dead date for
the project, but said time is needed to renovate the building. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``They're not going to be hanging out there too much longer.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Barrouk said if the company backs out of downtown, the city shouldn't look
to the chamber for help in attracting other companies. As we start locating
companies throughout the Wyoming Valley, I don't want to hear about it.
Downtown is our first priority, but it's not our only priority.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Finlay has said the mayor is reneging on an earlier agreement to provide
parking for the new company at $20 per stall per month. McGroarty denies
making that promise. He wants Finlay to pay $60 per stall per month plus a
maintenance fee for a total of $276,000 a year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Chamber officials say the mayor is not considering that 350 jobs would
create much-needed traffic for downtown retailers and that the project would
bring life to a mostly vacant building. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McGroarty said Finlay already is realizing significant tax savings and the
city cannot afford to build the parking lot needed for the project. He said
Finlay wants the city to subsidize his business with $5 million. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``He's greedy,'' McGroarty said Tuesday of Finlay's request for parking. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McGroarty said he wants more information about the deal Finlay struck with
the company, such as how much rent he is charging. The mayor believes tax
breaks and concessions on parking from the city will translate into more money
for Finlay. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Robert Finlay, president of Humford Equities, who sits on the city's
Parking Authority, says he has explained his company's quandary to fellow
board members. Councilman Jim McCarthy, who also is on the Parking Authority,
said the board is trying to piece together enough spaces to help the company
meet the deadline. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Chamber officials say they were reluctant to speak against McGroarty, but
his stance raises serious concerns about the future of downtown development.
Why would other companies consider moving to the city when City Hall gives the
impression it's not a reliable partner, chamber officials asked. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``A failure to achieve a problem as fundamental as parking should be of
grave concern for everyone in this community,'' Barrouk said. ``Don't talk
about economic development if you are not prepared as a municipal body to deal
with parking.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Chamber officials say McGroarty's approach to downtown development has been
inconsistent. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Late last year, the mayor held up the Keystone Opportunity Zone project
until downtown office space was included in the tax-free zone. He produced a
letter from Al Boscov stating the survival of his downtown department store
was dependent on filling office space. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Now that a major company is willing to fill empty office space, McGroarty
is not willing to deal with a company that's ready to make a substantial
investment in the city, chamber officials said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``If we did not work on the KOZ proposals last year for downtown, the city
would not have a KOZ,'' Barrouk said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Besides, chamber officials say, McGroarty has been talking about creating
additional parking for several years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It's time to start demanding action and less lip service,'' Barrouk said,
adding the mayor has received federal funding for a parking garage. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We didn't receive a grant,'' McGroarty replied Tuesday. But on Oct. 26,
1998, the mayor held a press conference in which he, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter
and U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, announced a $1 million grant to
help cover the cost of a $4 million parking garage as part of the theater on
South Washington. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The man makes statements, he makes promises and they never, ever come to
fruition,'' said Vincent J. Matteo, chamber senior vice president and chief
operating officer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We don't benefit by sitting here being critical of the performance in
City Hall,'' said Frederick A. Lohman, Chamber vice president and chief
financial officer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When reached for comment on the chamber's public rebuke, McGroarty was
taken off guard. ``I spoke personally with Mr. Barrouk today and he didn't say
those things he told you there. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I'm not being shortsighted. I realize if a city borrows $5 million (to
construct a parking garage) it has to pay it back.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

W-b Chamber Rips Mcgroarty Officials Say The Mayor Isn't Doing Enough To Provide Parking For A Company Interested In Bringing 350 Jobs To Town.