Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Thursday, Aug. 07, 2008

Loss of big stores would hurt city tax coffers

Imagine that, Wal-Mart was denied their expansion and now Costco is looking outside of Bellingham to get the expansion they need. Look beyond the word "need" here and get the answer to the basic question of how much tax revenue they bring? How many jobs? Where is the replacement of those lost taxes? No wonder Ferndale will take them.

It doesn't matter if you shop there or not. I look at the waste of land and materials to create those giants and would hate to see that cycle repeated and another instance of the Black Box Syndrome if they choose to leave.

The last question is who could fill the space to make up for the jobs and taxes lost and the unsightly empty parking lots that are sure to fill up with weeds and RV's? Maybe we could raise taxes to tear them down and create a park? I bet we could find a good deal on playground equipment in Ferndale. Good thinking!