Business owners organize to oppose BID expansion
By darlene diebold
Staff Writer

KEYPORT — Although the leaders of the Keyport Business Alliance are excited about the prospect of expanding the borough’s Business Improvement District (BID) from the downtown to cover the entire town, owners of businesses outside the current district are not too happy.

The public hearing on the ordinance has been postponed, and a special meeting will now be held at 6:30 p.m. March 12 at the Keyport First Aid building on Atlantic Street.

Councilman John Merla said on Monday that it was the consensus of the mayor and council that the hearing should be rescheduled because they had "too much on [their] plate."

About 30 business owners met at the Town and Country Diner on Feb. 27 to discuss organize their opposition to the BID expansion. The owners are angered over the fact that they will be included in the district, and that there is no longer a minimum and a maximum amount that they will have to pay in taxes toward the district.

Former Democratic Councilman Wade Pedersen, who is a partner with his father and brother in Hans Pedersen and Sons Marina on West Front Street, said in an interview that the business owners who are opposed to the expansion are really angry about the removal of a minimum and maximum cap on BID property assessments.

"With the old ordinance, if you had a large property or multiple properties, there was a $1,000 cap on the amount of taxes that you would have to pay. On the other end, there was a $250 minimum. Now, there are some stores uptown who can pay $95 or $100, but other properties will have to pay around $10,000. That’s not fair," he said.

John Olsen, of Olsen’s Boatworks, said that many business owners were overwhelmingly opposed to being included when the BID was first organized, and that was when they were only going to have to pay an extra 5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Businesses currently in the district pay 25 cents per $100 of assessed value, the lowest in the state.

Landowner Earl Swift asked if the council has taken into consideration that taxes are going to go up considerably and that this may force smaller businesses out of town. He also said that the largest property owners are not downtown and money raised for the BID will only be spent downtown.

"I will not pay the tax. I will not pay one dime. I am taking a stand now," said Ivan Pedersen. He added that they will be dredging their marina soon and that they would not think of asking the borough for help.

Bob DeSilvestri, of Keyport Marine Basin, said that business also is not going to pay any additional taxes.

Rudy Farrara, of Rudy’s Shoe Repair, said that he believed the BID has done nothing for the downtown and that it is "wasting our money." "People like me don’t have the money to put out. The town is done. Nothing will bring it back," he said.

The Keyport Business Alliance, which oversees the BID, asked the Borough Council in January to expand the district and to remove the caps because the alliance has outgrown its budget. The alliance board unanimously recommended expanding the district to cover the entire town at its November meeting.