Hertz comments on writers' remarks

Editor,

I would like to make a comment on some of the letters that appeared in the June 22 Leader. Bruce Bowman wrote that one of the grocery outlets complained about having to compete on a price level. As one of the owners of Super 1, I have not complained about competing on price with Wal-Mart.

I am against this size of development. It does not fit within our Growth Policy. I have said many times that if Wal-Mart or any other company wants to build a 50,000 square foot grocery store on properly zoned land I would not oppose it. Wal-Mart wants to build a facility that would maximize its profits, which I do not have a problem with. However, I do not support a building size that is against our Growth Policy and Development Code.

Ten story condominiums on the shores of Flathead Lake would also allow developers to maximize their profits; however, I would also oppose these as they would not be in accordance with our Growth Policy or Development Code.

I support properly planned growth that will enhance the area and create jobs. I have lived here all my life and I have seen too many of my family and friends move away due to lack of jobs. A Wal-Mart supercenter will not create growth in our economy.

A recent study of Wal-Mart has shown that in counties in the USA that have a Wal-Mart they have a much higher level of poverty than counties that do not have a Wal-Mart. So much for helping the poor.

Tom Ryan's comment about Carolyn Beecher questioning the ability of the Polson police department is not accurate. She was only suggesting that the city council consider the impact a large retailer has on the increased pressure on our police department. I am aware of that increased pressure because Super 1 calls the Polson Police many times to deal with shoplifters and they do an excellent job.

This will increase with another large retailer and the city needs to consider the impact that will have on their police staff. That is why the State of Montana passed a law in the last legislative session which clarifies impact fees so that city can charge developers fees to pay for increased pressure on city services. Impact fees are necessary because the additional property taxes generated from large developments generally do not pay for the additional services placed on City governments.

The Impact study that was done for the Wal-Mart supercenter failed to address emergency services along with clarifying how water pressure problems and sewer lift station problems would be resolved. Any good comments to the development of our Growth Policy should be considered by our city council no matter where that individual may live.

Those individuals who commented that we need this development to support our growth do not understand the size of this facility and its impact on local retail stores. The proposed supercenter is three times the size of the existing Wal-Mart and is expected to have average sales that will exceed the combined sales of Safeway, Super 1, Ace Hardware and the existing Wal-Mart. Do you think we have enough population to support two more large grocery stores, another hardware store and the existing Wal-Mart along with our existing retailers?

We would need at a minimum 15,000 more people to support that type of retail growth. The Super-center would only shift sales from one store to another along with reducing overall employment and sending local money out of state. That is why counties with Wal-Marts have a higher poverty rate.

People will still drive to Missoula or Kalispell because Wal-Mart brings no major additional goods to the Valley. People will still drive to shop at Costco, Best Buy, Target, mall outlets and others just to name a few as Wal-Mart does not provide the goods that these and other merchants sell.

If Wal-Mart is successful, we end up with many empty retailer buildings, or if their new supercenter fails to meet sales expectations, we end up with an empty 156,000 square foot building.

Carol Richardson stated that Wal-Mart is no longer carrying some merchandise because it was meant for another store, such as a supercenter. Wal-Mart's own CEO recently said they need to change their product mix to match the need of local communities. Once again, what Wal-Mart says and what they do are two different stories. It might be that they are trying to fuel the fire for support of their supercenter.

Virgil Hess' comment that the planning board's vote against the zone change only represents the minority. What the planning board did was to follow the law and the Master Plan in regard to the zone change. You do not change zoning based on popularity but in accordance with the law and master plan. This protects the public's property values from being harmed by others.

Ed and Bunny Monaco asked why do citizens have to subsidize small businesses. Study after study has shown that it is large retail developments that are receiving taxpayer subsidies and small businesses pay for themselves. That is another reason why large developers are paying impact fees.

Locally owned businesses have always supported and subsidized all activities and events in our community. They rarely decline to offer some type of help when we are asked to contribute. Just take a look at the support signs on our baseball, softball, soccer and football fields along with our gymnasium and many of the other local events.

Without small businesses our youth and local activities will receive less support. In regard to their claim about Super 1 paying lower wages and benefits this is not accurate. Our wages, as do most major grocery stores, exceed Wal-Mart's wages and benefit packages.

June Belston commented that the Super 1 ads from Columbia Falls do not always include the Polson Super 1. She is correct. Super 1s are independently owned and sometimes one owner may decide to change his local ad. When that happens our name does not appear in that store's ad. When the ads are the same, all names appear at the bottom of the ad.

I would hope this corrects some of the statements made by others. If you ever have a question in regard to my statements or information you hear about the supercenter, please call me at 883-1500.

Greg Hertz

Polson