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Cabela’s pulls out

Hooksett Editor — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:19:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

The Hooksett Town Council always knew it would only be a matter of time before the hightraffic Exit 11 parcel off Interstate 93 was developed, but now, it seems they may be waiting longer than they anticipated.

An oft-discussed Cabela’s sporting goods store, which has been tentatively slated for the site for over a year, is now an unlikely possibility, developers say. And in light of this setback, the Town Council is considering directing its Economic Development Advisory Committee to explore other options for developing the land.

Committee Chairman Bill Sirak told the Town Council a major retailer, which town officials later revealed as Bass Pro Shops, has expressed casual interest in the site. The committee recently met with representatives of the company, but no decisions have been made, he said.

“They came to us and we had a very nice conversation with them,” Sirak said. “We would be very amenable to looking at what they have in mind. I told Bass (Pro Shops) representatives that they could give Hooksett a great Christmas present.”

The news comes on the heels of the realization that Cabela’s will not likely open a store on the Exit 11 site, owned by Tom Palazzi, in the near future. The outdoor retailer never officially announced a store opening for the site and earlier this year backed out of plans to purchase the property.

Town Council Vice Chairman Paul Loiselle said the current state of the economy and the declining profit margins of the Nebraska-based sporting goods retailer have essentially shut down talks to bring the shopping center – which was originally slated to open early next year – to Hooksett.

“I think it’s basically a waitand- see kind of thing because of the economy and the way things are right now,” Loiselle said. A press release on the company’s Web site indicated 10 percent of the workforce at its Nebraska headquarters was cut in early October. Its current stock price as of closing on Thursday, Nov. 20, was $4.38 per share. Loiselle said he understood that the company is closely monitoring the performance of its Scarborough, Maine, store, which opened in May, before moving ahead with plans to develop in Hooksett.

Cabela’s spokeman John Castillo said the company’s decision to back out of plans to develop the Hooksett site were purely dictate by the economy.

“We have revised our store expansion plan this past year,” Castillo said. “Last year we opened eight stores. This year we’ve only opened two. Next year, we have plans to open two more. The rate of expansion has been reduced and this is in large part due to the general economic conditions that exist today as well as the challenging retail environment. It’s a tough market out there for everyone.”

Castillo said Cabela’s is slated to open new shops in East Rutherford, N.J., and Billings, Mt., next year. Projections estimated the company’s first New Hampshire store would have generated $11 million in revenue to the town over a 20-year period.

If Bass Pro Shops decides to develop the site, the retailer would draw a similar clientele as Cabela’s. Both companies are major nationwide purveyors of outdoors goods, specializing in hunting, fishing and boating equipment.

Sirak said the Economic Development Committee recently sent Bass Pro Shops representatives a letter, after the initial meeting, explaining the town’s willingness and desire to develop the parcel. An $18 million tax incremental financing district, which expires next spring, would provide the company an easy path to purchase the land.

“If we can get this site ready, as an economic zone, then when a retailer expresses interest, we’re ready,” Sirak said.

In the meantime, the council was expected to vote at its Nov. 26 meeting on whether it should hand the reigns over to Economic Development Committee to test the waters for other potential retailers.

“The intent here is the Economic Development Committee would do the homework and bring it back to the council, Loiselle said.

Town councilors agreed it would only be a matter of time before Exit 11 is developed. “I hold the personal opinion that it’s the most valuable piece of property on Interstate 93 right now,” said Town Councilor David Ross.

Cabela’s opens in Maine

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:15:00 GMT

BY GRETA CUYLER

Hooksett is watching closely as the first Cabela’s in Maine opened Thursday, May 15, a mirror image of what the same developers hope to build off Exit 11 in Hooksett as early as 2010.

A Hooksett Cabela’s is one step closer to reality now that the developer plans to buy the project’s land. Cabela’s had tentatively agreed to the purchase but then backed out.

“I think all the planets and stars and suns are aligning,” said Gene Beaudoin, a partner with New England Expedition-Hooksett LLC and also the developer for the Scarborough store. Beaudoin said Cabela’s executives plan to revisit the Hooksett store idea at their July meeting. “It’s still up in the air, but lots of pieces of the puzzle are in place,” he said.

In Maine, the 125,000-squarefoot store is located just off Exit 42 on the Maine Turnpike, just a few miles south of Portland and located near the intersection of Route 195. It’s approximately 90 miles from Hooksett.

“When was the last time a retailer opened up with a crowd like this?” asked Cabela’s Vice President Michael Copeland as he looked out over the crowd gathered outside right before the doors opened at 5 p.m. “I’ve opened a lot of stores and this is the first time where people have camped out in the parking lot with cook stoves and coolers.”

The Gateway at Scarborough, anchored by Cabela’s, is a project developed by Beaudoin and his partner Barry Feldman. Phase one is the 40-acre retail development, which includes Cabela’s, Portland Pie Co. (pizza), Kitchen and Cork (kitchen store), The Kennel Shop (a pet superstore), Haven’s (Maine candy), Art Trends, Freaky Bean Coffee Co., plus Italian, Chinese and Japanese restaurants and Famous Dave’s Ribs.

Phase two, on 40 acres across the street, will include 225,000 square feet of office space. And the developer is eyeing a third phase, which would offer more office space.

Art Dillon, vice president of operations for Haven’s, said his company opened a Scarborough location next to Cabela’s because they want to capitalize on the at least 3 million visitors expected to shop at the Cabela’s store each year. The company is the only candy retailer in the development.

“If we could capture 1 percent of the visitors, it would be fantastic,” Dillon said. The company closed its location in Windham due to poor sales and transferred its employees to Scarborough.

In Hooksett, voters last year approved a deal to bring the first Cabela’s to New Hampshire, a move that would boost commercial development at Exit 11 on Route 93 and bring an estimated $11 million in revenue to the town over the next 20 years.

But then the Nebraska sporting goods retailer announced it was scaling back expansion projects until at least 2010. The company backed out of plans for an $18 million bond for the Hooksett project and later decided not to front the money to buy the Palazzi property -- the location of the future Cabela’s.

Beaudoin and Feldman stepped in, agreeing to finance the deal privately and agreeing to buy the Palazzi property through developer Miami & Pierce once the project’s permitting is complete with the town and the state.

Ed Eckman, who evaluates store locations for Cabela’s and has visited Hooksett several times on behalf of the retail giant, said the Hooksett project is still a possibility.

“We’re still interested in New Hampshire, obviously,” Eckman said. “But because of a recent slip in retail everywhere, we as a company have to take consideration and expand carefully.

If it comes to fruition, the Hooksett Cabela’s will be the same size as the Scarborough store, approximately 125,000 square feet.

It will anchor what is expected to become a commercial destination with restaurants and other retailers.

– Jenn McDowell contributed to this story.

Cabela’s delayed

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:36:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Cabela’s has announced they will only open two stores in 2008 and two stores in 2009, down from the original seven planned.

The Hooksett store’s opening, according to a spokesman for the hunting and fishing superstore corporation, has been put on hold due to plummeting store sales and rising costs, mostly due to the current economic downturn facing the nation.

The corporation’s 2007 fourth-quarter earnings report showed a 5.9 percent drop in store sales. For the whole year, store sales dropped 1.2 percent.

“We’re doing everything we can to control internal factors to increase sales and production,” Castillo said, adding the wounded economy is taking its toll on the retail market, and Cabela’s is feeling the effects.

Over the next couple of weeks, according to the project’s developer, the deal between Miami and Pierce, who is constructing the Wingate Hotel on the property, and land owner Tom Palazzi will need to be reworked to shave costs.

While it is highly unlikely, if the players cannot agree on a new financing deal, there is a remote possibility that Cabela’s would scrap the Hooksett store, according to the developer.

While Hooksett was not officially included on the list of seven stores set to open in the next two years and is not currently shown on their Web site’s map marking the “coming soon” stores across the country, the plans originally said the store would likely open by the first quarter of 2009.

“We have never officially announced a store in Hooksett. When all the i’s are dotted and all the t’s are crossed, we will put out an official announcement,” said Cabela’s spokesman John Castillo, also acknowledging that real estate teams for the corporation have been in the planning stages with the town.

Gene Beaudoin of Feldco, the Connecticut-based development firm operating under the name New England Expedition – Hooksett LLC for the Cabela’s plans, said his company is doing everything it can to make Cabela’s a reality in Hooksett for 2010.

Beaudoin said his firm found out a few weeks ago that Cabela’s would be cutting costs, and therefore store openings, and wished to restructure their deal with Miami and Pierce on the Exit 11 property slated for the large retail center.

Feldco came into the dealings a little over a year ago when negotiations between Cabela’s and the town didn’t go as smoothly as hoped, Beaudoin said. It was Feldco that pushed forward the reduction of the general obligation bond from $18 million to $2 million, a change which passed overwhelmingly with Hooksett voters in a special election in September.

Beaudoin said he was baffled by Castillo’s statement that Cabela’s had not officially committed to coming to Hooksett, adding there was a deal in place before Feldco even came into the picture.

“The reality is they did indeed have a deal in Hooksett they were trying to move forward on,” Beaudoin said. “We were told that would be a 2009 store.”

In the meantime, he said, the permit process with the town and state has been put on hold until after a new financing deal is struck, which the development companies will be working on over the next few weeks before once again putting it in front of the Hooksett Town Council.

“I would say that we’re disappointed that the store is going to be delayed somewhat, but the delay is not terribly dramatic,” Beaudoin said.

He said there is no timeline on when the negotiations will be through, but added the deal could potentially be extinguished if there is no agreement on the financing plan.

“They hinted that if the deal was not reconfigured, it would be scrapped,” Beaudoin said of discussions with Cabela’s representatives. In addition to tweaking the financing, changes to the site are being explored to cut costs or gain revenue, Beaudoin said, including reducing the size of the site or lowering the planned spot of the building to create more sand that could be sold.

Castillo said the Cabela’s corporation is working to cut transportation and operating costs, increase productivity, create more targeted advertising campaigns and streamline their inventory management practices to save money.

Stores in Scarborough, Maine, and Rapid City, S.D., will still open in 2008. In 2009, Cabela’s will open in Billings, Mont., and East Rutherford, N.J., at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Nationwide, there are currently 26 Cabela’s stores of varying size already open. Hooksett’s would be the third one to come to New England, the others being the Scarborough store and another in East Hartford, Conn.

Hooksett - Year in review 2007

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:33:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Cabela’s
A sporting goods giant had to wait longer than expected to build in Hooksett, as negotiations continued through 2007 for Cabela’s.

Hooksett voters had passed an $18 million general obligation bond to bring Cabela’s, national hunting and sporting chain, into town off Exit 11 in 2006.

The bond was for a tax increment financing (TIF) district of 300 acres. In September, after the project’s developer New England Expedition – Hooksett LLC struck proposed a new TIF for the town, the bond was reduced to $2 million, backed by a letter of credit from hotel developer Miami and Pierce, which is also part of the TIF.

The remaining $16 million would come from private investors and be paid back from the development’s tax revenue capped at a certain amount. One million dollars was the figure used in projections for the 20-year bond and excess tax revenue would go straight to the town, amounts that increased yearly in projections.

About 1,400 voters turned out for the special election on Sept. 23, hundreds more than officials and the town’s moderator thought would show.

About 90 percent of the voters approved the bond reduction.

Prior to the special election, the Town Council gave the developer a $500,000 tax cut in road impact fees because of the a millions in road improvements included in the project plans which the state’s Department of Transportation cannot completely fund.

The Nebraska-based sporting giant is expected to bring tax revenue into the town, along with satellite businesses within the TIF.

A project to beautify the Village area and restore it to its traditional charm, using Cabela’s as a launching pad, is already in the works. Alden Beauchemin of Keyland Enterprises, a town planning company, has a huge hand in that along with other community groups.

Former police chief dies
On March 19, former Hooksett Police Chief James Oliver, whom the current Safety Center was subsequently named after, passed away from complications in his recovery from lung surgery.

Oliver, 69, retired from the department in 1999 after being diagnosed with lung cancer and heart problems.

During his 21-year tenure as chief, Oliver had a big hand in the Safety Center construction and greatly expanding the department.

The ‘Hooksett fired four’
Four town employees were fired in April for allegedly gossiping about the relationship of Town Administrator David Jodoin and another town employee.

The Hooksett Town Council voted in nonpublic session on April 11 to remove Sandy Piper, Joanne Drewniak, Michelle Bonsteel and Jessica Skorupski from their positions in the building and assessing departments.

Jodoin said he was not present at the nonpublic session in question.

All four appealed their dismissals, and the firing resulted in a months-long legal battle that is still going on today. It also drew press coverage from all over the world and incited outcry both for and against the firing.

B.J. Branch, attorney for the four women, argued in court that the women were not able to address the Town Council or Jodoin about the alleged comments prior to their firings.

In May, about 500 Hooksett voters signed a petition to reverse the firings and reinstate the four women in their old jobs.

Skorupski and Drewniak were notified in early May that the council denied their appeals.

The town did offer to reinstate Piper and Bonsteel, but both declined the offer because it still carried disciplinary action. The Town Council withdrew the offers, offering 27-year employee Piper early retirement, which she refused.

The first public statement from the Town Council in June acknowledged that keeping mum on the issue for so long worked against them in what was called “a media circus,” but stuck to their guns and reiterated their “no comment” policy on personnel matters.

The petition was officiated at the end of May, and the Town Council had 30 days by law to respond. Town Councilor George Longfellow reportedly conducted a phone poll of selectmen to determine what they would do about the petition, which may have constituted a Right to Know law violation. By July, the town had spent more than $22,000 in legal fees, according to invoices from Devine Millimet and Branch of North Hampton.

Bonsteel returned to work on Aug. 6 with a reprimand letter in her personnel file. Town Councilor Jason Hyde was the only dissenting vote in the decision, calling Bonsteel’s behavior “unprofessional, uncalled for and a dereliction of duty.”

Sylvestre found
The body of a Hooksett man was discovered in Lake Winnepesaukee nearly a year after he fell off the M/S Mount Washington.

A local fisherman found the body in one of his nets and immediately called Laconia authorities.

James Sylvestre, 45, was on a Halloween cruise with his wife, Karen Sylvestre, when he apparently fell overboard. An immediate search and subsequent ones could not locate any sign of Sylvestre, whom many of the other patrons on board said was drinking at the time.

Karen Sylvestre filed a lawsuit in Merrimack County Superior Court earlier this month against the Mount Washington cruise line, alleging the crew served him too much alcohol and also did not search zealously enough following Sylvestre’s disappearance.

Robie’s turns 100
The existing Robie’s Country Store building celebrated its 100th year standing with a time capsule.

The capsule sits on a rafter inside the store rather than underground to ensure that nobody forgets to open it in 2057.

Inside the capsule are the 2007 Town Report, several issues of The Hooksett Banner and The Union Leader, a flier announcing the time capsule event, photos of the store and visitors, and various other items.

SAU withdrawal
In 2007, voters gave the Hooksett Withdrawal Committee an extension on their studies on the impact the withdrawal would have on the other School Administrative Unit 15 towns, Auburn and Candia.

Prior to that vote, the state Department of Education told the committee their findings were not conclusive enough to warrant a withdrawal.

School Board member and committee Chairman Dana Argo said findings show that the switch would not require a significant increase in funding, but would free up the at times stretched staff at SAU 15 to focus their efforts on the two remaining towns.

Argo pointed to a 2002 growth study which shows that Hooksett would need another school in five years. With growth leveling off in more recent years, he said the school district likely has a few more years until the need for that comes up.

The School Board is currently looking for a future school site, the one of interest being a parcel Manchester Sand and Gravel would donate.

If the state gives its approval to the report submitted recently, voters will likely see a related warrant article this March.

Young man beaten to death Police found a 20-year-old Hooksett man apparently beaten to death and unconscious in an alley in Manchester on June 14. He died the next day.

Ryan Carlson was on his way to the Manchester Central graduation in June when he was assaulted. The medical examiner indicated at the time that homicide had not been ruled out. The Massachusetts Medical Examiner Office in Boston conducted a neurological autopsy, but results were not made public.

Cawley bomb threats
Two bomb threats were reported at Cawley Middle School within a week of each other in September. The first threat, written on a bathroom wall, led to an evacuation of the school. The second threat seemed to be a copycat issue, and students were not evacuated.

Cabela’s goes for state road help

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:58:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Hooksett Town Council is allowing the land planning and engineering firm working on the Cabela’s development to apply for a $3 million grant from the state that would go to major road improvements at the project site.

This is the first step of many after a special vote on Tuesday, Oct. 23, when 89 percent of Hooksett residents voted in favor of Warrant Article 1, which reduced the size of the development’s TIF district by 200 acres and decreased the town’s general obligation bond to $2 million from the $18 million passed in March 2006.

New England Expedition– Hooksett LLC will pay back the $16 million difference in private loans through the taxes the development generates over the next 20 years. Payments will be made in $1 million installments per year, and any excess tax revenue goes back to the town. According to projections, the first year will generate $150,000 for the town.

“We are going to be moving very swiftly,” said Deborah Brewster of TF Moran at a Town Council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 7, adding that the grant application is just a small step in the process.

The total state aid highway project, which includes the addition of lanes and traffic signals at the intersections of Hackett Hill Road and Route 3-A, and Hackett Hill Road and Exit 11, will cost a total of $4.5 million.

The town’s portion, the remaining $1.5 million not covered by the DOT grant, is included in the $16 million the developer will fund privately.

The application asks that the $3 million be paid out over three years, $1 million each year in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Town Councilor Jason Hyde contended the grant application should not be submitted to the state until the town’s bond attorney reviewed the final draft.

Hyde said there should be more extensive plans for the application.

“Why should we be applying for state aid when we don’t have an agreement with anybody?” Hyde said.

Brewster said it is important to get the one-page document to the state quickly so that the application process can be hastened before Charles O’Leary, the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, retires in December.

Once the application is processed, the DOT will prepare a municipal-state aid highway agreement and submit it to the town for review.

“Our hope is that the commissioner would be there to assist with that draft agreement,” said Brewster, adding that O’Leary has been an integral part of the process thus far.

Town Councilor James Gorton said counsel would thoroughly review the draft from the DOT, adding that the initial application to the state needs to be sent out to get to that point.

Baby steps toward Cabela’s

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:34:00 GMT

BY NICHOLAS BROWN

The Hooksett Town Council took two cautious steps forward in its attempts to launch the 150- acre tax increment financing, or TIF, district to be anchored by sports retailer Cabela’s.

Councilors unanimously agreed to enter into talks with the state in order to have the Legislature approve the town’s adoption of about 3,200 feet of Hackett Hill Road near the Interstate 93 Exit 11 toll booths.

Doing so, according to both Cabela’s and DOT representatives, would make the town eligible for nearly $3.7 million in state aid over the next few years as it partners with Cabela’s for massive roadwork improvements to accommodate a Cabela’s retail store and a slew of other potential commercial and industrial developments.

After reviewing letters from the DOT and a Cabela’s representative, which outlined the plan for state aid, several councilors said they’re not yet comfortable OKing the road acceptance.

“To view this (DOT letter) as a commitment is erroneous,” said Town Councilor David Ross.

“This is not a commitment from the state.”

Councilor Jason Hyde said the state aid for the road plans amounts to a government subsidy for the private development.

“That’s asking the rest of the state to pay for a project in Hooksett,” he said. “I’m not a socialist. I can’t accept this kind of behavior.”

The state funding would have to come in a maximum of $1 million annual increments, according to the DOT letter, signed by outgoing commissioner Carol Murray.

Cabela’s site acquisition manager, Ed Eckman, wrote that the company would look to use proceeds from the $18 million TIF bond approved by voters last year to cover the estimated $7 million cost of the roadwork around the Exit 11 area up front, before the state funding comes in. He also said Cabela’s would be responsible for any shortfalls if the state funding fell through.

“The town would be held harmless with no obligation to Cabela’s should the state for some reason default on its commitment,” Eckman wrote. “This gap would be Cabela’s risk and responsibility.”

Councilor Jim Gorton said he was still unsatisfied with Cabela’s promises for the roads plan.

“Until you have a signed document, all this is is a piece of paper,” he said of Eckman’s letter.

Legal help
The council also voted to begin talks with Marc Hughes, of New York’s First Albany Capital, who pitched his financial and consulting services to the council at a recent workshop.

Town Administrator David Jodoin said Hughes could assist the town in setting up a TIF financing program, forming the 20-year TIF bond and consulting through the town’s negotiations with Cabela’s.

“(Hughes) has the best capabilities, in my opinion, to move this project forward,” Jodoin said.

Hyde was in the minority that voted against waiving the council’s standard procedure to obtain three bids for contracted work.

“I wanted to put it out there so if anything bad happens we can all get the eggs chucked at us when we walk out the door,” he said.

No guarantees on Cabela’s

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:37:00 GMT

BY NICHOLAS BROWN

Forging an ironclad guarantee to fully keep Hooksett’s taxpayers off the hook for repayment of an $18 million bond designed to jump-start the Exit 11 business district may not make the most business sense, a bond expert told the Hooksett Town Council.

Marc Hughes, senior vice president of First Albany Capital, a New York-based firm that regularly advises municipalities in negotiating tax increment finance, or TIF, bonds was pitching his services to the council at its Wednesday, March 14, meeting.

When asked by Councilor David Ross about the possibility of a “bombproof” guarantee that Hooksett’s taxpayers won’t be stuck footing some of the bill for repaying the bond, Hughes replied, “That’s impossible, quite honestly.”

That is unless Cabela’s, the Nebraska-based retail giant that spurred talks about TIF financing for Exit 11, follows through with its intention to buy the bond and accepts a clause that prohibits the company from selling it, Hughes said.

But if the council and the publicly traded retailer move in that direction, Hughes warned, “I’m thinking you could end up with more problems at the end of the day.”

He said if the company went under, it could be tied up in bankruptcy court for years, potentially leaving an unfinished development behind.

Voters last year collectively instructed the council to move forward with negotiations for an $18 million bond, portions of which would go to infrastructure upgrades in and around the proposed Cabela’s site off Interstate 93, and $4 million of which would go to town infrastructure improvements.

New tax revenue generated from within the TIF district would go to pay off the bond, and revenue exceeding that annual debt service would go to the town.

The warrant article said the deal would require no new property taxation, and said Cabela’s intended to guarantee payments on the 20-year, general obligation bond.

Several councilors said they intend to not stray from the legally binding warrant article. “Cabela’s is paying this bill,” said Ross.

Hooksett resident Bill Sirak, who was at the council meeting to volunteer his expertise in forming some sort of town committee or nonprofit corporation designed to foster economic development in town, said he respected the councilors’ efforts in being “tremendously responsible fiduciaries.”

But Sirak said that, in doing so, councilors may not get the most out of the deal.

“I think we should look at this from an economic development point of view,” said Sirak.

“Our thinking shouldn’t strictly be related to Cabela’s.”

Sirak suggested the biggest “guarantee” to Hooksett’s taxpayers is the economic fertility of the real estate around Exit 11, which he said is ripe for development with or without the Nebraska company.

“There’s always going to be some element of risk,” Sirak said of the bond negotiations.

Councilor Jason Hyde asked Hughes when the town could actually see tax revenue – to potentially offset property taxes – from the TIF district, which Cabela’s has projected could be jammed with developments like hotels, restaurants and commercial distribution centers.

Hughes said that’s one of the first questions he gets when working with municipalities on TIF bonds.

“There are things we can do to structure it to get money back into the town coffers quicker,” he said.

But that’s not without some sacrifice in the later years of the bond, he said.

“I think you need to sit down and have a policy discussion,” he told the council. “There is a happy medium between the ultimate protections and growing that revenue.”

Councilor Michael DiBitetto said the council should more actively investigate getting professional help as it enters such negotiations.

“To try and craft an $18 million bond in this chamber with our admitted neophyte view of it would be ludicrous,” he said. “We’d be here five years.”

Cabela’s wants Hooksett to accept state road

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:33:00 GMT

BY NICHOLAS BROWN

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.

Cabela’s sends Hooksett $50,000 for legal fees

Hooksett Editor — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 19:42:00 GMT

BY NICHOLAS BROWN

HOOKSETT – Retail giant Cabela’s is wiring $50,000 for legal fees into the Hooksett town coffers, though some town councilors said they’re uneasy spending the cash without promises from the corporation that Hooksett taxpayers won’t be stuck repaying an $18 million loan.

Councilors had different opinions about an October discussion in which Town Councilor Jason Hyde said he wanted a letter from Cabela’s corporate officials detailing its proposed plan to collateralize an $18 million bond Hooksett voters approved last May.

On Wednesday, Feb. 14, Hyde reiterated that he doesn’t want to move forward with negotiations without promises from the sporting goods outfitter that it would collateralize the bond through treasury notes or a letter of credit. Hyde said he also wants to reach a deal with the company whereby it’s responsible for any fees, like legal fees, associated with the bond negotiations, even if the Cabela’s project doesn’t move forward.

Councilors agreed they didn’t want to be liable for such legal fees, but some said a letter from Cabela’s detailing its proposed guarantee is premature since town lawyers haven’t yet begun negotiations with the company.

“We can’t ask them for something unless we know what we want,” said Councilor Mike Jolin.

He said without some professional analysis of a potential bond deal, he’s not ready to sign off on any deal specifying what type of collateral the company may offer.

“I’m not going to make that decision,” Jolin said. “I’m not going to lay my name on that for $18 million.”

Voters allowed the council to enter into negotiations for the $18 million bond, with a promise written on the ballot that the bond won’t require new taxation. Of the total, $13.5 million has been earmarked for infrastructure in and around a site near Interstate 93’s Exit 11, where Cabela’s plans to build a 100,000- plus-square-foot retail store. The money is tentatively slated for roadway improvements, sewer and water line extensions, access to the Cabela’s site through state-owned land and Cabela’s “museum elements.”

The remaining $4.5 million is earmarked for town infrastructure improvements like the final phase of upgrading the wastewater treatment plant, Lilac Bridge reparations for a sewer line and a possible fire station on the west side of the Merrimack River.

The Cabela’s store would anchor a 150-acre tax increment financing, or TIF, zone. Tax revenue generated from the new developments within the TIF zone would go to pay off the $18 million bond, and revenue exceeding the annual bond payments would go to the town’s general fund.

Early drawings of the TIF zone show it loaded with potential commercial developments including hotels, distribution centers, retail stores and restaurants. Cabela’s representatives have estimated that the zone wouldn’t yield enough revenue early in the life of the 20-year bond to make annual bond payments, but company spokesmen have also said Cabela’s would buy the bond, and cover such shortcomings.

Cabela’s representative Ed Eckman told voters last year that the company would look to recoup such expenses in later years, when more revenue would likely be streaming in. Representatives from Cabela’s, a Nebraska-based, publicly traded corporation, planned to meet with the council at a special meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at the Hooksett Public Library.