By KEVIN HOLSAPPLE
Los Alamos Local Business Coalition

1. It is great to see attention given to this longstanding gap in the County economic development program. Thank you for undertaking this. Although the first cut is quite generic and simplistic, it is a welcome starting point for discussion.

2. The gap analysis appears to be a canned or purchased analysis. What is the source? It is not attributed in the document unless I missed seeing it. Is there the ability for further drill-downs on the available data to supplement understanding?

3. Were any local business groups consulted or engaged to help with a foundational understanding of the local issues? Engaging groups such as the Local Business Coalition and the Chamber in the development of this program is likely to improve the quality and acceptance of the approach to retail LEDA.

4. A key missing goal in the list of goals is “local business retention.” This is the most important goal of such a program in our situation. This is a key goal of various of our existing economic plans. The NCS showed a high community priority for supporting local businesses, and it only makes sense to make this the #1 priority of a retail LEDA program.

5. Locally owned businesses should be the target and focus of retail LEDA. If there is a market-driven argument for chain stores to locate here, they need no subsidy such as LEDA. Although they generate gross receipts tax, they don’t do much else that we need. They do create some jobs (typically low-paid), but in our tight labor market those are hard to fill and often cannibalize from local businesses and make their retention more difficult. The bulk of the sales and earnings dollars depart the community to go to suppliers and owners in faraway places. If any subsidy were to be entertained for chain businesses, consider revenue bonds or other tools where incremental tax proceeds from the businesses are the source of any subsidy. These kinds of businesses also can induce sprawl and create problems – it is critical to avoid enabling sprawl and to focus any chain retail development in the town centers where it can be designed to also generate traffic for complementary local businesses.

6. The limitations suggested ($100K) seem arbitrary and unneeded. Each project proposal can be evaluated on its merits (cost, applicant contribution, benefit to the community, risk) together with an understanding of the available County funding for LEDA projects. A higher $ application that is good for the community should not be rejected just because it exceeds an arbitrarily set amount.

7. Applicant contributions need not be in matching $. An applicant should contribute at least as much to the project as the County, but there should be flexibility to provide for creativity in the form of the contribution.

8. A business-friendly approach to “security” is needed. The adequacy of the proposed security should be decided by the Council based on the perceived risk of the project, the security offered by the applicant, the demonstrated commitment and business capability of the applicant, and the anticipated benefits of the project. There is nothing in our ordinance or the State law that mandates that the security needs to eliminate any possibility of risk for the County. After all, LEDA creates a public-private partnership, and both partners should contribute to the project, work together for a successful project, take risks together, and reap the benefits together.

9. Applications need to be addressed expeditiously, and concerns should be based on objective standards. We need to get out of the mode of making it up as we go along with no particular reliable schedule. Eligibility and a schedule should be established by mutual agreement with the applicant within two weeks of receipt of an application and can be adjusted by mutual agreement as needed.

10. The County Council should be the final arbiter of decisions about applications. While staff and committee work will be very helpful, the applicant should always be able to receive a review and determination by the Council.

Los Alamos County has an opportunity to be a leader in New Mexico in establishing a model approach to business-friendly retail LEDA and move forward on the important goal of local business support and retention. Please engage with business groups and quickly establish a nuanced approach to retail LEDA that matches our situation in Los Alamos County. 

By the way, getting a project established with Cities Work, as has been recommended to the Council by the Los Alamos Local Business Coalition, would be an excellent complement to this initiative. Hopefully, the slow response to the recommendation doesn’t result in the opportunity slipping away. The time is now to take advantage of this opportunity!