Kinnaird pushes Costco for county
A state senator says local leaders are dragging their heels on recruiting the warehouse club. BY MARK SCHULTZ, Staff Writer
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http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2010/08/29/59160/kinnaird-pushes-costco-for-county.htmlCHAPEL HILL - State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird doesn't think Costco should be such a hard sell.
But after trying to get Carrboro and more recently Chapel Hill to pursue a Costco store for southern Orange County, the senator and former Carrboro mayor is frustrated.
"Good heavens," she said Wednesday. "Where is the leadership?"
Kinnaird has been trying to get a Costco for Orange County for about four years. She has lobbied local elected leaders and real estate agents who work for the warehouse club.
She sees Costco as a way to keep sales tax dollars in Orange County, reduce homeowners' tax burden and provide jobs.
As The Chapel Hill News reported last Sunday, Orange County will depend on property taxes for 76 percent of its operating revenue this year. In Durham County, property taxes make up 58 percent of general fund revenue; in Alamance County, just 49 percent.
Local elected officials say it's not that they don't want a Costco, if the warehouse club would even come here.
It's more a matter of priorities - those of the company and the towns.
Local emphasis
In Carrboro, the most likely spot for a Costco is Carrboro Plaza. But the Washington-state based company said several years ago that the plaza on N.C. 54 is too far from a major interstate and does not have enough homes nearby make a store work.
Plus Carrboro in recent years has focused its economic development efforts on seeding and growing local businesses. Its revolving loan fund, which since 1986 has helped start Weaver Street Market, the Phydeaux pet supply store and other businesses, has become a model for governments looking to grow their economies.
Grassroots support
In Chapel Hill, Kinnaird spoke to Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, who she said was "not enthusiastic."
Big box stores are controversial. They can hurt local businesses and strain local roads.
When a Walmart was rumored to be coming to the Chatham County line, some residents organized opposition and local governments passed resolutions expressing concern about traffic and the impact on the environment.But Kinnaird, one of the most liberal members of the N.C. General Assembly according to the John Locke Foundation, said Costco is different.
"Costco paid $18 an hour some years ago, and I suspect pays more now," she wrote in a letter to the Carrboro mayor and Board of Aldermen. "Every employee, full and part time, is provided with health insurance. Costco has committed itself to be socially accountable to its workers, the environment and the area where it is located."
'Two minds'
Kleinschmidt put Kinnaird's idea out on Tweeter and Facebook for feedback. He didn't get many responses, and what he did get was mixed.
Just last week, for example, Orange County Commissioner Pam Hemminger, lamented how she made three trips to Target in Durham to outfit her son's college dorm room. Hemminger did buy a carpet at Lowe's in Chapel Hill but said local shopping doesn't offer the convenience most shoppers need.
Chapel Hill has two possible locations for a Costco, said Dwight Bassett, the town's economic development officer. One is on Eubanks Road near Interstate 40, where there are 30 developable acres on a 40-acre tract. The site was identified as suitable for mixed use development by a town task force, he said.
The other is at Ram's Plaza, where the town just began a small area plan to shape future redevelopment. The site has much development potential but a poor road network.
The other problem with that site, or getting any site approved under Chapel Hill's development process, say critics, is that it takes too long.
Most projects need at least two years to make it through the review process, plus another six months after Town Council approval to get a zoning compliance permit.
Add 12 to 18 months to construct a building, and you're looking at close to four years before a Costco could open its doors, Bassett said.
'Sales tax bleed'
Aaron Nelson, president and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, chooses his words carefully when asked whether his board of directors is or might be interested in helping to bring a Costco to Orange County.
Nelson and others have long complained about sales tax dollars "bleeding" out of the local economy as Orange County residents drive to New Hope Commons, The Streets at Southpoint and elsewhere to do their shopping.
County residents spend $1.5 billion a year on retail purchases and they spend $1 out of every $3 in another county, he said.
Hanging back
Last month Consumer Reports rated Costco No. 1 in reader satisfaction based on the responses of 30,666 readers who told the magazine about 56,922 shopping trips.
The club rated 85 percent, or very satisfied - ahead of Dillard's (82 percent), Target (79 percent), Walmart (73 percent) and all other major retailers.
Costco shoppers, who pay $50 a year to shop at the stores, gave the warehouse club high marks for quality merchandise, value, price and checkout lines, according to the magazine.
Kleinschmidt, the Chapel Hill mayor, said he does sense a change in attitudes that could make a Costco happen.
Kinnaird said the time to talk has run out.
"You don't just hang back," she said. "This is why I get so frustrated. ... Where is the empathy for people who don't have jobs? I represent people who live in trailer parks who can't pay their heating bill."
"They need to start with Costco right now."
