Conservatives Should Be Ecstatic; Vote Yes On Baseball In Spotsylvania

baseball_stadium600pxI grew up in the Fredericksburg area.  My family is from Fredericksburg.  Went to Spotsylvania County public schools and graduated from Courtland High School (home of the 1995 State Champions for baseball), and lived with in pedaling distance from where the proposed $43 million EDA project will be.

The math makes sense.  Bill Vakos — a local developer who is literally donating the land for the new stadium — knows that it will make sense, as the value of his properties around the stadium will double in five years.  You don’t make that sort of bet unless you know you’re going to win.

The property taxes, sales taxes, hotel taxes, meals taxes, and everything else that Spotsylvania will rake in over the next 25-35 years will take the ever-increasing burden of state and local government off the backs of property owners.  Not to mention, provide an anchor that has so desperately eluded planners in Central Park (Fredericksburg’s massive commercial development near Rt. 3) that will make Massaponax sustainable for the next 50 years.

For any outsider, this deal is a slam dunk — the right application of investment debt in an area set to explode with economic activity that will create jobs, introduce small businesses, provide the brick and glass walkable environment where visitors can walk, shop, work, play, and spend money.

This is what economic development authorities were designed to do.  It’s what EDA dream of, because it’s the sort of investment that builds communities and lowers residential property taxes.

The Free Lance-Star has been hot to trot on this, and has done a pretty balanced take on the deal itself.  The Hagerstown Suns — needing to find a new home by the Spring 2017 season — are on their own timetable where they are on the hunt for localities that would fall over themselves to welcome minor league baseball.

Talks on baseball have been going on in Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg for years now.  Fredericksburg foolishly turned down a golden opportunity in a scene rivaled only by the opening parts of “There Will Be Blood” with an embarrassing display of myopia.  Spotsylvania is met with a far superior arrangement, one that will cement a city center for Spotsylvania County and dramatically change the game for economic opportunity in the region.

Finally, Spotsylvania has a chance to shine and become the lead locality in the Fredericksburg region — and at a critical crossroads where I-95 meets Route 1 and Route 208.  It is the gateway for folks travelling to Lake Anna and Virginia’s state parks, an open door that shows Spotsylvania is serious about commercial development, and a sign that Spotsylvania has completed the transition from suburb to center.

$185.7 million to $379.7 million is the conservative estimate on the boost on real estate property values — Spotsylvania’s real estate property tax rate stands at $0.86.   That is a lift of $1.6 million a year — just in real estate property taxes alone.  Not to mention revenue for deputies and schools in meals taxes, sales taxes, new businesses, and other revenue.  Heck, maybe Spotsylvania could start eyeballing a repeal of the universally hated BPOL “War of 1812” Tax and start balancing out the tax code a bit?  These are all positives made possible by economic development, and erased by short-sighted policy that looks for the quick grab today, but not the long-term health of the taxpayer.

Now tell me that’s not fiscal conservatism in practice?

Of course, there’s always hesitancy about incurring new debt.  Naturally, folks should be cautious.  But fiscal conservatism isn’t just about keeping taxes low at all costs; it’s about economic prosperity and job creation as well.

Sometimes solutions are so brilliant that it’s hard to see the wisdom in it.  Yet if math trumps emotions, and cooler “blue heads” trump the heat of “red head” decision making, then the wise choice for Spotsylvania’s economy — and my hometown — is to make this happen and celebrate the results five years from now.

Conservatives that do the working, living, paying, and dying in Spotsylvania ought to be ecstatic about the opportunity to bring baseball to Spotsylvania — and if online polling is any indicator of enthusiasm, they are.

Play the long game, Spotsy — and show the vision to do what’s best for the long term.

Get ‘er done.

Сейчас уже никто не берёт классический кредит, приходя в отделение банка. Это уже в далёком прошлом. Одним из главных достижений прогресса является возможность получать кредиты онлайн, что очень удобно и практично, а также выгодно кредиторам, так как теперь они могут ссудить деньги даже тем, у кого рядом нет филиала их организации, но есть интернет. http://credit-n.ru/zaymyi.html - это один из сайтов, где заёмщики могут заполнить заявку на получение кредита или микрозайма онлайн. Посетите его и оцените удобство взаимодействия с банками и мфо через сеть.