"PIRT #1 From News 2 Jun 25, 2013
http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=289075
"The city has been taking about half a cent out of every tax dollar that goes into the general fund. They have been putting that money into an economic development fund. It added up to about $605,000 for 2012-2013. It will add up to $1.2 million for 2013-2014.
However, all that economic development money is already allocated. WFMY News 2 has put in a request to the city to find out where that money's going."
If all the economic development money for 2014 is already spent, how is it that the City of Greensboro is currently considering more incentives?
And if current incentives being considered are projected into the future then how will we fill the need should an especially attractive incentive package be needed in 2014?
PIRT #2 As pointed out in my article,
Greensboro: Giving Incentives To Tax Deliquents
http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/02/greensboro-giving-incentives-to-tax.html
Elm Street Center Llc, which is currently being considered for $1.9 Million Dollars in Incentive Grants currently owes $78,856.58 in delinquent property taxes.
How can the city justify giving incentives to companies with a history of failing to pay their taxes?
PIRT #3 Kaplan and Kern are valuing Elm Street Center Llc at roughly $12 Million Dollars in its current form but as I pointed out in Downtown Wyndham Or Downtown Dump? http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/01/downtown-wyndham-or-downtown-dump.html the total appraised values are only about $5 Million Dollars. Has the City taken this $7 Million Dollar discrepancy into account? And if so, how?
In the 2010 Hotel Study commissioned by the City of Greensboro for the previous hotel project Randal Kaplan and Milton Kern http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/01/downtown-greensboro-hotel-study.html it was reported that 1. even in the busiest of times, Greensboro hotels are rarely over 70% occupied. and that 2. Greensboro hotel occupancy rates rarely average over 52.4%. The study said:
"The lower-priced, limited-service hotels are performing better than the full-service hotels..."
Please show me where this has since changed.
The study noted that in the past when new Hotels opened rates for all hotels in Greensboro went down as occupancy rates fell.
Please show me where this has changed or where there is sufficient demand to believe it will not be the case/
The study said:
"Members of Elm Street Center, LLC have local food & beverage experience by virtue of the Empire Room catering operation that will become part of the proposed hotel. The City should request income and expense data for this facility in order to assess the reasonableness of the developer’s food & beverage revenue and expense projections."
Has the City done so for the Wyndham Project and if so please provide me with the results.
The study also said:
"The developer’s projection of occupancy at the proposed hotel over thefirst five years is highly unlikely to be achieved given the recent occupancy levels achieved by the four hotels that will be primary competitors of the proposed hotel."
It is also my understanding that the study for the Wyndham assumed very inflated occupancy rates approaching 100%. Perhaps, considering the history of Mr Kern's and Mr Kaplan's lies, the City of Greensboro would like to explain why you are even considering incentives?
I will be posting these PIRTs to my blog Tuesday morning with or without your answers.
Thanks you -Billy Jones"
Burlington answers Public Information Requests same business day-- why can't Greensboro?
