Friday, July 25, 1997
Council rejects Leddy deal
By ANTHONY WILSON / Abilene Reporter-News
A 4-3 vote of the Abilene City Council sent to boot hill Thursday
a proposed renovation that would have anchored a "western
trade cluster."
The council rejected a $263,000 assistance package for bootmaker
James Leddy to buy and renovate the Boyd Building at North 1st
and Hickory.
The sticking point for opponents was a $200,000 grant for rehabilitation
of the site. The amount would have been forgiven if he had kept
his business in the building 10 years.
"The perception is we continue to give funding to folks
who don't need it," Councilwoman Carol Martinez said. "He
could probably do this on his own."
Councilman Rob Beckham added, "If we can't offer this
to anyone who wants it, it's not fair."
City administrators argued Leddy's was a special case.
Because he couldn't recoup the cost of renovating the Boyd
Building, incentives were necessary to sway Leddy to move his
business downtown, they said. If he had, he would have become
the chief attraction in a western trade cluster - a marketplace
for indigenous products that highlight Abilene's cowboy image.
Downtown boosters have for five years worked on the cluster
idea in the belief it would boost tourism, though the concept
never materialized until Leddy approached the city after selling
his current site. With the involvement of a nationally renowned
bootmaker in an historical building, city leaders were confident
they could lure other craftsmen into the Baggage Express building
across North 1st.
"There's real value in having Mr. Leddy downtown, and
we believe he's worth the investment," Downtown Manager Elizabeth
Grindstaff said. "We felt this was a golden opportunity."
With Leddy facing a Sept. 15 deadline to move out of his building
at 926 Ambler, Grindstaff said too little time remains to restructure
the deal. And, she added, the western trade cluster, which would
have included saddlemakers and bit and spur makers, may be dead,
too.
"It wouldn't surprise me if the (Tax Increment Financing
District) board wants to pursue other avenues," she said.
After the vote, Leddy expressed relief the haggling was done
and reported he'll move his shop to North 16th and Treadaway.
Although the city had asked him this week to consider leasing
the building, he said such a deal would have relieved City Hall
only of paying insurance and taxes. While he expected some criticism,
in the end he decided to stick with the package approved by the
TIF board.
"I might be hard-headed," Leddy said, "but that's
the deal I wanted. I know I had a lot of support for going downtown.
Whatever comes around, it'll turn out for the best."
City officials privately admitted the timing of the Boyd Building
proposal could have been better. It came on the heels of council
approval of the oft-controversial T&P Freight Warehouse, a
project that was criticized for pouring public dollars into a
private venture.
The Boyd Building fanned those same flames even though its
renovation would have relied solely on federal dollars.
"Nobody ever came to me and said, 'Here's $200,000. Go
make your business better,' " Bonnie Boyd told the council.
"I don't understand why the city is so eager to give money
to promote someone's personal development. It's bogus to me that
you can even consider that."
But supporters noted the city has a two-year window of opportunity
to make use of approximately $6 million in federal funds earmarked
for downtown renovation.
"These things are not happening without some incentive,"
Councilman Ray Ferguson said. "I'd almost rather err on the
generous side to make use of the funds rather than having to send
them back."
Other criticism included the city's lack of control over the
site and an "inappropriate" use of unspent Community
Development Block Grant funds the council had allocated for downtown
renovations in years past.
Ferguson, Councilwoman Kay Alexander and Mayor Gary McCaleb
voted to approve the project. Beckham, Martinez, Don Drennan and
Paul Vasquez opposed it.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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