The city of Kerrville is moving forward with a performance-based tax rebate agreement aimed at revitalizing River Hills Mall by bringing in national retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors — but not everyone is cheering on the plan.
City council members unanimously approved the economic development agreement at their most recent city council meeting, despite some fierce opposition from one local business owner who said the deal would give Academy an unfair head start in the local market.
The mall, which has long struggled with high vacancy rates and declining foot traffic, would receive up to $500,000 in sales tax rebates over four years if Academy talks are successful and the store performs well in the area. According to city officials, River Hills Mall's owners, Alpha Lake, Ltd., have committed to investing $4 million to renovate the space and attract Academy, among other new tenants.
More For You
Mayor Joe Herring defended the deal, calling it a step toward reducing the city's dependence on property taxes by boosting sales tax revenue.
"This has been under discussion for some time," Herring said during the council meeting. "Even someone who's not an expert in retail sales can tell you that the mall needs to be revitalized."
A 2018 study commissioned by the city of Kerrville found that the city loses an estimated $18.7 million annually in retail sales to neighboring cities.
City leaders hope that landing Academy will help close that gap and keep more consumer dollars at home.
Still, city business owners are bracing for the potential competition and how it may hurt them.
Harold Buell, owner of Fitness First Sports and Kerr Screen Graphics, offered pushback during public comment at the May 13 meeting.
"It would be like a coach coming up to me and saying, 'hey I got a kid that's 7 foot tall, and it takes him 10 yards to go full speed, so would you give him a 10-yard head start?' No, no, no, we're gonna line 'em all up, I'm gonna shoot the gun, and the best man's gonna win," he told the city council.
Buell argued the tax incentives will hurt, by his estimates, roughly 17 local businesses that already sell sporting goods, outdoor equipment and fitness gear in Kerrville.
"Those people live here. They put their money in the bank here. It doesn't leave every day at five o'clock," he said.
Buell told MySA he opened his first store in River Hills Mall in the late 1970s and favors revitalization, but not at the expense of business owners like himself.
"To come in and supplement, give 'em a tax advantage over 15-17 businesses that will be affected by it — it's just not right. They can pay their fair share just like the rest of us do," Buell said.
The store owner explained that his business may have to rethink its sports inventory investments now that the city has cleared a hurdle for the big box retailer to come to town.
"Competition is great; it's what made America great, but when the government comes in and tries to subsidize, they're gonna have to be careful," he said.
George Barody also spoke at the meeting, criticizing leaders for what he says is a growing trend of using taxpayer money to subsidize business and housing developments that then hurt the taxpayer.
"Instead of narrowing the gap between household expenses and revenue, you're actually widening it," he told leaders at the council meeting.