ANSONIA — The Ansonia Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a new tax agreement Wednesday (March 8) for the developer planning to build a $15 million sports complex downtown, much to the disdain of local Democrats, who said the deal hurts taxpayers.
The Aldermen held a public hearing on the deal that drew about 40 people to Ansonia City Hall. About a dozen people spoke, with the majority saying the deal favors the developer and costs the city too much in tax breaks.
“While tax breaks are sometimes used for development, this deal is weighted way too far in favor of the developer,” said John Feddern, chairman of Ansonia’s Democratic Town Committee. “It gives the farm away and doesn’t even tie tax breaks to performance standards like job creation.”
Lynn Schwarzenberg, who is the DTC’s secretary and Feddern’s wife, used her time at the podium to urge Democrats to run for office, saying the all-Republican board and mayoral administration doesn’t listen.
“We have no representation in our town,” she said. “We have no one here that represents anyone who votes for Democrats. We need a voice for the voiceless in this town.”
Aldermanic President Josh Shuart interrupted Schwarzenberg, accusing her of trying to rally candidates for office, and asked her to stick to the topic. The crowd shouted back at Shuart. Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini intervened, allowing Schwarzenberg to continue.
Brian Perkins, a former member of the DTC, said Ansonia residents can’t afford the deal.
“We live in an economically distressed municipality, so how does this deal, which doesn’t come close to balancing our investment, help this?” Perkins said. “This entire deal from the get-go has been bad for residents, it has been bad for every taxpayer and it is an insult to every homeowner and small business owner that doesn’t get the same special treatment.”
The new, “amended” agreement endorsed by the Aldermen allows the developer John Guedes, president and CEO of Primrose Companies, to pay no taxes to the city the first three years of the 17-year agreement. In years four, five and six, Guedes would pay $75,600 annually, and the taxes then incrementally increase in subsequent years to $79,380, $83,349, $87,516, $91,892, $96,486, $101,311, $106,376, $111,695, $117,280, $123,144 and finally $129,301 in the last year of the tax break.
The deal also includes a commitment by Guedes’ project manager to rebuild the Ansonia Animal Shelter. While many who spoke at the hearing were grateful to hear that, they questioned whether it was just a ploy to distract residents from a flawed deal.
“In reality the developer’s promise to rebuild the shelter is simply a trick designed to distract the public from the stench of this deal,” Feddern said. “In other words, pay no attention to this dumpster fire, there’s kitties and puppies to be rescued.”
Guedes purchased the property from the City of Ansonia for $510,000 and has approvals from the city to build a private, commercial recreation facility on the land. An outdoor field will serve as the home stadium for Ole Soccer.
The Aldermen had to scrap the original tax incentive agreement they approved last July because the city used the wrong assessment for the property. The city’s files incorrectly stated the property had a $2 million assessment when the assessment was actually $349,580. Click here for a previous Valley Indy story.
Marini said a bank caught the error while reviewing Guedes’ paperwork to get financing for his project.
Ansonia Tax Assessor David Graybosch II said that Olson Drive has been “improperly assessed” since 2017. The property was listed at 162 acres, when in reality it is only 10.49 acres, Graybosch wrote.
Feddern said compared with what some other businesses around town pay annually, he cited Big Y Plaza pays $512,000 in taxes and Stop & Shop Plaza pays $333,000, the deal Guedes is getting is truly sweet. He estimates Guedes should be paying at least $333,000 a year, based on the acreage of what commercial properties are taxed.
City officials defended the new deal, saying there’s not many developers willing to invest $15 million in the community.
Marini said the Olson Drive property isn’t fit for housing as it lies in a flood plain, and putting replacement housing there was cost prohibitive. The land was previously home to the federally-subsidized Riverside Apartments.
“The developer doesn’t need to do the deal here, this is a risky area and it’s a challenging property, and incentivizing the property is a way to overcome the challenge,” Marini said. “If there are no incentives, there is no $15-$18 million development. Building in the Valley, developing from scratch is a risk. The property, yes, does have contamination and it’s in a downtown area where you know there are no other $15 million developments going on.”
Marini also pointed out that the city has not collected taxes on the property since 1962 due to it being government controlled. The land fell under the jurisdiction of the federal department of Housing and Urban Development. Marini also said the complex will help attract visitors to other Ansonia businesses, boosting its economy.
Marini said the amended agreement isn’t much different from the original one, where the payments were based on the incorrect $2 million assessment of the property.
“We basically wind up with the same payments, and we sweetened the deal by mixing in the animal shelter upgrades,” Marini said, which are expected to be valued at more than $200,000. “The amended agreement is based on a schedule of fixed PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments, and the original was based on a fixed tax assessment increasing by increments. Essentially the payments are still the same.”
