A 3,500-foot stretch of Hackett Hill Road could make or break the $18 million development deal that’s been led by retail giant Cabela’s, a company spokesman said.

But if all goes well with negotiations between the Nebraskabased outdoor sports outfitter and the town council, Cabela’s could be bringing forth official site plans in as little as two months, said company spokesman Ed Eckman.

Eckman told the Hooksett Town Council and about 60 residents gathered at the library on Wednesday, Feb. 21, that cost estimates for roadwork around Interstate 93’s Exit 11 exceed what’s outlined in the $18 million plan approved by Hooksett voters last year.

Specifically, dramatic road upgrades from Route 3A and Main Street to Hackett Hill Road and the Interstate 93 toll booths would cost more than $7 million in two phases. The $18 million bond, repayment of which Cabela’s and the town council have yet to negotiate, was originally scheduled to cover just $3,325,000 for such roadwork.

But Eckman said the shortfall could be more than covered if the town accepts about 3,500 feet of Hackett Hill road leading to the state-owned toll booths. Doing so, he said based on the company’s negotiations with several state departments, would make the town eligible to get about $3.6 million worth of state funding for the road project.

Eckman said Cabela’s and the state have also negotiated a $1 million access to the 55- acre site where Cabela’s plans to anchor a 150-acre tax increment financing, or TIF, district.

That’s actually less than what was originally estimated in the TIF. With the combination of state funding and some other potential savings in the $18 million bond, the town’s acceptance of the road could create a more than $2 million surplus for the roadwork, Eckman said.

He suggested using surplus money to establish an escrow account specifically to help the town maintain its new stretch of road.

Eckman also said Cabela’s would fund the roadwork up front through the bond proceeds, meaning the work could be done at once, rather than on the state’s schedule.

He also said the state would have to deliver the funding – which would be up to two thirds of the cost for roadwork – over four years.

Councilors, who said it was the first they’ve heard of the plan, questioned how secure the state funding was.

Councilor Jason Hyde noted that the Legislature would have to approve the funding in each of the four years, and asked Eckman what would happen if funding fell through.

“Then we have a problem because we would have a $2 million budget shortfall,” Eckman said.

But Eckman assured councilors that the financial risk would belong to Cabela’s, as the company intends to purchase the bond, and collateralize the bond proceeds to the satisfaction of the council and its attorneys.

“That’s a risk we have to accept,” said Eckman. “We’re the ones purchasing the bond. We’re the ones forwarding the money.”

Last May, voters gave the nod to the council to negotiate for an $18 million TIF bond.

Under the TIF structure promised to voters, property taxes generated within the identified TIF zone – which Eckman has said could fill up with commercial and industrial developments once the retailer plants its 125,000- to 135,000-square-foot store there – would go to pay off the $18 million bond designed to spark the development.

Revenue over and above annual payments on the 20-year bond would then go to the to town’s general fund. But Eckman, whose company always looks for tax breaks when planning new retail stores, said it could be years before tax revenue meets bond payments.

He’s said the company would cover any shortfall in the early years of the bond, but said the company would likely look to recoup those expenses in later years.

Some current town councilors have questioned when the town may actually begin to see the financial spoils from the TIF district.