Published: June 25, 2008 12:07 am      

WAL-MART: Pleading their case

What is the economic impact of having a Wal-Mart or not?

That’s what one member of a group in favor of bringing the retail giant here asked members of the North Tonawanda Common Council Tuesday.

For all the boisterous public input Wal-Mart plans have generated in the past, Tuesday’s workshop was notably subdued, except for applause by some of the 12 attendees there in support of the group.

A police officer stood in the corner, assigned to the council chambers on a night the topic of a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter was to be discussed.

North Tonawanda resident Tammy Godyn, founder of the pro-Wal-Mart citizen’s group Lumber City Liaisons, thanked members of the North Tonawanda Common Council and others involved in the proposal’s environmental impact study for their “meticulous work,” in bringing that months-long phase of planning to a conclusion early this month.

“If after all of this the Wal-Mart project is not approved — what else is there?” she said.

Godyn read from seven pages she prepared using various sources, including the Town of Gates Police Department in Rochester, in support of the project.

She referred more than once to a similar presentation made two weeks ago from a group opposed to the plans, by individuals representing North Tonawanda First, saying members of that group attempted to “intimidate” council members.

She said the plans don’t infringe on any previous open space, as the proposed building location at Erie Avenue and Wurlitzer Drive is already zoned for industrial use.

“Wal-Mart is definitely not our savior and they don’t claim to be,” Godyn said. “But they will be a catalyst for our city.”

One figure in particular caught the council’s attention, when Godyn cited a report claiming the store saves nearby households roughly $2,500 per year.

At least four out of five council members congratulated Godyn on the presentation, with Alderman Dennis Pasiak, Common Council President Brett Sommer and Mayor Larry Soos openly endorsing the plans.

“One of the reasons that I do support Wal-Mart is because I am a big proponent of choice,” Pasiak said.

Second-Ward Alderman Kevin Brick asked for more information to refute ongoing worries that traffic impact could become overwhelming in the Wurlitzer Park and Martinsville neighborhoods.

“I noticed in the report there was nothing about traffic and infrastructure,” he said.

Members of NT First had been allowed to address the council June 10 in turn for a total of about 30 minutes in a call for further review.

At that time, opponents presented a 12-section, spiral-bound “economic impact study” to bolster claims that Wal-Mart is a crime magnet and practices surreptitious business tactics which undermine expectations of municipalities in which they are built. The group claimed construction of a store here would hurt nearby property values in two of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods (Wurlitzer Park and Martinsville) to an extent greater than the added tax revenue — estimated at about $444,000 per year — would be of benefit to the city. They cited Amherst Police data indicating police responded 216 times during a nine month period in 2007 to 2055 Niagara Falls Blvd., the site of a Wal-Mart center.

The police statement obtained by Godyn also addresses the question of whether or not the building of a Wal-Mart might result in an increase in crime, or the need to increase a given city’s police force.

“The Gates Police Department made 59 arrests at this location during the calendar year 2002. The vast majority of these arrests were simply arrests made by Wal-Mart security for shoplifting and were turned over to the Gates Police Department,” according to the statement.

Godyn said the group represents about 4,000 families. As founder of the group, she said she had to install a phone system with a separate extension a year ago to handle calls with regard to the group’s business.

Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.