Candidates Have Differing Views on Development, Incentives

The candidates in November’s Galloway Township municipal elections have similar viewpoints where bringing development to the White Horse Pike is concerned, but have slightly different views on the issue of incentives.

Incumbent Councilman Tony Coppola and Republican candidate and running mate Brian Tyrrell are citing the need for long-range planning for development along Rt. 30, and not to offer incentives for businesses outside the township.

Incumbent Democratic Councilman Jim Gorman sees the need for incentives for “the right projects,” and said the previous council should’ve pursued development when the economy was good. He is running alongside challengers Jim McElwee and Kevin Krumaker in the Nov. 8 elections.

Six candidates are running for three open seats.

“There’s always talk about abatement programs or having the township attract development by dangling tax dollars in front of them, but we’re generally opposed to those types of inducements,” Coppola said. “Why should council attract new business to compete with existing township business and provide them with a competitive advantage? Our goal is to improve the overall business climate in the township by removing hurdles and allowing all businesses, existing and future, to compete on a level field.”

“With larger development, we’re not looking to compete with existing township stakeholders, but if we can put together a package that makes a project viable in Galloway instead of a neighboring community, we’d have an obligation to bring those jobs and that tax revenue to the township.”

Gorman supports offering incentives, for the “right project,” which he would consider to be along the lines of a Trader Joe’s.

“Home Depot says we don’t have the traffic, but if we can get one business in here, others will follow,” Gorman said. “We have two restaurants closed along Route 30, and if we can help push them along, we should consider an incentive. It’s something that should’ve been done previously, before I was elected.”

“Anything we can do to bring ratables into that area has to be done,” McElwee said. “ … I’m not sure what incentives there could be, but I’m not opposed to it depending, on what they are and how much they cost the township.”

“In this environment, businesses need incentives,” Krumaker said. “There are reasons development has gone to (other areas). But we can’t give it away haphazardly.”

Coppola also stated the area along Rt. 30 is not yet “shovel ready.”

“There are infrastructure and regulatory hurdles that stand in the way of getting projects done, beginning with the fact that all of Route 30 west of the Parkway is in the Pinelands, ” Coppola said.

“The Pinelands are always a major hurdle,” Krumaker said. “I believe they serve a purpose to protect sensitive areas, but we have to be able to overcome that.”

Coppola and Tyrrell used as an example the Nantucket at Galloway project that only recently broke ground.

“Those approvals took years to get, and then once all the approvals were in place, the economy threw up additional hurdles,” Coppola said.

“It’s easy to ignore those challenges in the heat of a campaign, when you will say whatever it takes to get elected, but Tony and Council have been laying the groundwork to eliminate those hurdles,” Tyrrell said. “There has been a steady and deliberate modernization of the infrastructure and the work is under way with the Pinelands to address environmental and regulatory issues comprehensively instead of requiring developers to make individual applications for each project. It doesn’t make a very good headline, but that groundwork is important.”

Gorman said he understands a bad economy doesn’t lend itself to development, but was critical of the fact that council didn’t pursue development when the economy was good.

“During the housing boom, they should’ve been expanding and going after ratables,” Gorman said. “We need to act hard, go out there and look for the people that will go after the projects they think are good for Galloway.”

“They’ve been talking about bringing in development since 2004,” Krumaker said. “In 2004, we were humming along. There was a good economy then, but there’s still nothing.”

The Republicans also pointed to Gorman’s previous comments that council has put the township in a position to benefit from a strengthening economy. Gorman has stated that while Galloway was among the first into the recession, it will be among the first to come out of it.

“We have made difficult decisions and the employees took a big hit,” Gorman said. “We’ve balanced the budget on the backs of the employees, and a lot of families have taken on a big burden.”

“As Jim has pointed out, the Republican-controlled Council has done a good job preparing for an improving economy. When businesses see the capital markets thawing and look for development opportunities, businesses know that we are ready to sit down with them and show them the opportunities that exist in Galloway. But we’re not going to give away the store.”