WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS HEAR FROM BAKER KATZ ON SHOPPING CENTER PROJECT

  

Washington County Commissioners met with representatives of Baker Katz today (Monday) to discuss the retail development project planned on Highway 290 in Brenham.

Commissioners spoke to Kenneth Katz and Neal Wade of Baker Katz in workshop session, regarding a sales tax abatement for the project. Baker Katz has purchased around 50 acres of property on Highway 290 and Chappell Hill Street, and is planning to build a new shopping center there.  The commercial real estate firm entered into a sales tax reimbursement agreement with the City of Brenham in January.

This agreement specifies that Baker Katz will receive $6 million in sales tax reimbursement from its development, in the form of annual grant payments. The firm requested that the county participates in that same agreement.  The agreement is set to expire in 2033, or once the firm has hit the $6 million reimbursement cap.

Katz said if the county participates in the agreement, it would contribute roughly $2 million compared to the city’s $4 million, or “50 cents to every dollar”. He assured commissioners that the county would not be responsible for any infrastructure.

Kenneth Katz

When asked by commissioners what kind of retailers would be a part of the shopping center, Katz said that no agreements had been reached with any vendors, but they have been in contact with many “major” retailers. He said the center is planning to house “junior” anchors up to much larger retailers facing Highway 290, in addition to smaller retail stores and restaurants along the highway frontage.

Katz also noted that this development project was not dependent on the county signing up to help reimburse the firm. County Judge John Durrenberger added to that, saying the city has assured the county that it had a contingency plan, and would be moving forward with the project with or without the help of the county.

Commissioner Kirk Hanath reiterated how important it is for commissioners to decide on the best things for their constituents, as well as staying responsible towards taxpayers. He said many people in the county are wanting higher wages, and doubted that this new retail growth would provide that.

Commissioner Candice Bullock responded that this plan is trying to address the sales tax leakage and add to the county’s tax base. Hanath said, while shoppers do often leave the county to shop elsewhere, many of the new stores coming with this development will not be full-sized stores, so leakage will still occur.

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4 Comments

  1. As a taxpayer, I am bothered by some of what I read from Commissioner Hanath. Economic activity of this type always drives wages. Each retail store or restaurant has managers and assistant mangers (you might be shocked an what some servers make when you include tips), every one of them use electricians, plumbers, air conditioning professionals and other technical services. If you know anything about our labor market, you will know that lower educated females and minorities, despite recent gains, are still the labor segment that struggles to find employment and these types of establishments tend to hire in that market segment often which helps many families increase their overall income. There will always be retail leakage, interestingly enough it happens to large cities also. Many of our downtown businesses do very well serving people who come to Brenham to shop, eat out, stay, and spend their income. You cannot prevent leakage, but you can encourage growth to our tax base by offering a reasonable level of tax abatements.

  2. Thank you Candice, we finally have someone on Commissioners Court with some sense. It is a shame that some of them speak only to hear themselves talk.

  3. I dont think the city, let alone the county, should be granting tax abatements to developers. I get that this is done as an enticement for developers to set up stores in the area. Lets not let them pull any wool over our eyes though; this area is growing significantly, as are Houston and Austin’s suburbs. We sit on 290, the main thoroughfare between two big cities, and our city is growing significantly itself. We dont need to pay developers to come here in the form of tax abatements, they’re already slobbering over our real estate as it is, and will come, abatement or not. Save the money for what’s needed. County in particular. From what I’ve heard, they can’t retain Sheriff’s Office employees because the deputies are paid beans. Try putting some money there first.

    1. You are so Right!!!!!
      Citizen property taxes will bankrupt the working. The streets are worn out and getting worse. Government will invent a new tax just for street repair. Local government spending is out of control. I would like to see the city budget for the past ten years. Has it doubled or tripled? Have city salaries doubled or tripled? White collar positions have they doubled or tripled? City rules and regulations, doubled or tripled? When you cut corporate taxes, you only hurt the local citizen tax payers since they pay for it.