Packey Webb's Tax Rebate Approved

The Downers Grove Village Council Tuesday night unanimously approved a resolution that will authorize a sales tax rebate agreement with Packey Webb Ford, 2150 Ogden Ave. The village will exchange a considerable amount of sales tax revenue for the dealership’s long-term commitment and promise of property improvements, according to Economic Development Corporation (EDC) president Greg Bedalov.

Discussion of the resolution took place during its first reading at the Feb. 15 council meeting.

According to the resolution, Packey Webb will keep 50 percent of the sales tax on newly generated revenue, which is anything over $24 million per year. Bedalov said the EDC calculated expected sales tax revenue without expansion to be $24 million.

The expansion of the dealership, according to resolution language, is expected to generate an additional $5 million in taxable revenue each year.

“After the payment of the 50 percent sales tax rebate per the terms of the proposed agreement,” the resolution reads, “the village is expected to receive an additional $250,000 in sales tax revenue each year.”

Bedalov said the rebate dollars are designed to “offset the improvement costs, offset the requirements of physically locating the building, and, additionally, to help the village meet its master planning goals with respect to Ogden Avenue.”

The resolution stipulates the dealership must remodel its showroom interior, install pedestrian crosswalk improvements at the Ogden Avenue-Findley Road intersection, eliminate an existing curb cut on Ogden, install the site’s landscaping material and increase the site’s green space.

All improvements to the property must be completed by Dec. 31. Bedalov estimated the improvements are now 80 percent done.

Regarding the village’s relinquishing of sales tax revenue, commissioner William Waldack last week borrowed a saying he attributed to former commissioner and lone mayoral candidate Martin Tully.

“Fifty percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing,” said Waldack, who later commented on the importance of Ogden Avenue car sales. “It’s a concern that we not rely so much on dealerships. But when they’re here and they’re doing well, it’s fabulous.”

Mayor Ron Sandack, who attended the Feb. 15 meeting in person, (he attended electronically Tuesday), said the agreement with Packey Webb make “eminent sense” and helps the long-term stability of Ogden Avenue.

“In the free world, in the free market, it is competitive,” Sandack said. “These dealerships have options and opportunities to go elsewhere and they will move if they are either incentivized or not incentivized.”

He called the resolution a "win-win."

According to the resolution, sales tax rebates have been used before as Downers Grove has sought to attract and maintain its auto dealers since 2008. A similar agreement brought in Ziegler Automotive, 2311 Ogden Ave.

Bedalov said the criteria necessary for the EDC to recommend a sales tax rebate agreement include the addition of incremental revenue to the village, a commitment to the village on a long-term basis, the improvement of the property consistent with village planning, and a legitimate out-of-town opportunity to turn down.

In other council action:

• The Village Council voted unanimously to pass an ordinance that will allow Downers Grove bars and restaurants to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. on Friday nights. A six-month sunset clause was added since the ordinance’s first reading on Feb. 15 that will help track any issues with the ordinance. A related ordinance passed Tuesday extended the allowable on-site alcohol consumption area for a Class P-O-2 liquor license from 550 square feet to 750 square feet. Lemon Tree Grocer, 5101 Mochel St., is the only establishment with such a license and plans on expanding its dining area, which serves food, beer and wine.
• The Village Council unanimously passed a resolution that would authorize the approval of an intergovernmental agreement between the village and the County of DuPage that would enter Downers Grove into a “countywide interoperable emergency radio dispatch system” meant for the village’s first responders. According to the resolution, there is currently no one communication platform between area police and fire departments. The language said Motorola’s STARCOM 21 has been determined “the most viable option.”
• The Village Council unanimously passed an ordinance Sandack called a “no brainer” that would grant a one-year extension to Planned Development Ordinance No. 5044 and make way for construction of a two-story office building at 3300 Woodcreek Dr. in Esplanade at Locust Point.
• A first reading was heard for a one-year extension to the planned development and special use ordinances related to the construction of a BP-Amoco service station with a convenience store and car wash. The ordinances were originally put in place in March 2009 and then extended one year in March 2010. Waldack suggested that the extension not be the one-year maximum. The council is expected to vote on the extensions at the March 8 meeting.