I’m not opposed to the development of the Huse school, that being said I feel the company was well vetted by the city of Bath. We do need projects for a tax base. I look at the New Hampton Inn, the new Doctors Offices on Centre Street and new building Marriott Inn Motel. Were any of them built using Taxpayers money? The company wants the city taxpayers to underwrite 50 percent of the taxes for 10 years, at a time that we taxpayers see a jump in taxes by 3 percent and a county tax also maybe 3 percent. The water rate payers are looking at a possible 40 percent increase in water rates per quarter. This may not be the time to refund 50 percent taxes on a new development.
The use of the Huse School as a Historic Site is a stretch. Built in 1942 as a needed school for the war effort served the city well. Being classified as a historic site for doing what it was built for is a stretch.
I do hope that the developer will push forward with the project, but the city has collected zero taxes since 1942 and does not need to reimburse 50 percent of taxable private property to a developer.
David S. Kaler,
Bath
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