BY ANNA DILLANE
Owner of Boomerang Consignment and Gaia Gifts
Los Alamos Local Business Coalition member

I am writing to voice my opposition to the County’s proposed purchase of three properties across from the high school on Diamond Drive. There is a petition to this effect at Boomerang available to the public until the hearing on Dec. 3. 

Why am I opposed to the proposed County purchase? 

1. The property is priced SIGNIFICANTLY above appraised value.  Why would the county pay above appraised value on a shortened time frame (that the seller demanded)? What precedent does this establish for future property owners looking to make a fast buck?

2. While County staff seem to have some exciting ideas for how the properties could be used, there is NO ACTUAL PLAN. It is fiscally irresponsible to even contemplate spending $9.8 million on properties with no concrete plan as for how to use them.  Why is it necessary to buy all three properties? How does the cost-benefit analysis makes the deal viable? l Where will the money come from? Where will the money to develop the property come from? So many questions and zero answers! At the County Council meeting last week, it was said that they will decide all of that after they purchased the property. That is simply not the way business is done. That makes me so concerned about the management of our County.

3. If we spend $9.8 million to purchase properties, how much will the actual development cost? How then could the properties make that money back? Who could afford to rent in those buildings that were purchased for so exorbitant a price? 

4. Now that the demolition work is done, why not offer these properties individually to local business to purchase and build? Pet Pangaea is without a building. Marcel/ Fleur de Lys left Los Alamos because he could not find a building/ land to purchase. Many local small businesses would love a permanent home for their business. I have already talked to multiple business about partnering to purchase land/building. 

5. Historically and currently the County makes building, and /or upgrading buildings astonishingly difficult (if not impossible) for local business. Sirphey could currently have a well-established restaurant and meeting place available to the public had the county done its job. Subway was prevented from opening for nearly a year (some of that was not County involved). The quilt shop is still waiting for a permit to open their new location. They have been given arduous requirements over a simple sink issue. I could go on and on. The simple fact is that the County systems that are supposed to support local businesses are currently failing. It is unacceptable for the County to compete with us by purchasing this land, blame us for not being able to buy local properties, and not fix the broken system that prevents us from being able to do so. Clean your own house before you look elsewhere. 

Councilor Susie Haverman’s letter to the editor regarding the proposed purchase brought up some interesting points. I applaud her passion and agree with her on many points. She obviously cares a great deal about our town and I am grateful for her service on council. Yes, many properties have sat vacant. Yes, having no control over what a developer might use the property for is less than ideal. Yes, local business has failed to buy properties here in town already. Let’s look at why. 

As a small business, I have to get funding from a bank to purchase property. That property has to be priced at or below appraised value. When the Metzger’s property, Anderson pharmacy, and CB Fox were available for sale, the price point combined with their need for extensive remodeling/demolition/retrofitting all made them completely unviable properties for purchase. (See rationale for this assertion above)

What can the county do to help? 

1. Fix the Community Development Department. It is broken. 

2. Hire people to fill the vacant positions that are supposed to support local business that actually care about local business. Enable/require them to do their jobs. Have these people making over $80,000 a year go out to local businesses and talk to us. Find out what we need from you. 

3. Figure out how to use Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funds to help small business. Immediately.

4. Institute a first floor retail requirement on all commercial space. 

5. Do not purchase prime commercial real estate with the full intention of turning it into non-retail/restaurant space.

6. Use one of your existing properties (20th Street, DP Road) for both a Social Services Hub and the additional housing that is currently planned. 

7. Purchase only the Gracie Bara building and use it for the Social Services Hub. 

8. Repurpose some of the office space at the Taj Mahal of a County building you built for the Social Services Hub. 

Thank you for reading this. Boomerang is celebrating 10 years serving this amazing town. I feel so grateful to be here celebrating this milestone. I also care about this community deeply. I have watched business after business close and it breaks my heart. I know how viable this town is for local business. I see it everyday. I just want a fair and level playing field.