The company behind a planned $57.6 million housing development in the town of Big Flats in Chemung County is seeking a 30-year tax abatement from the county Industrial Development Agency (IDA). Some residents and town officials have concerns.
WSKG’s Elmira-Corning reporter Natalie Abruzzo spoke to News Director Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo about the situation.
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Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo: Hi Natalie!
Natalie Abruzzo: Hi, Phoebe. And yes, we're back again to unpack some of these layers of transparency and communication, or lack thereof, at the Chemung County Industrial Development Agency.
PTV: First, just tell me a bit about the development that’s being proposed.
NA: According to the application, the development is housing. It’s a large apartment complex called The Hammocks Planned Unit Development, at least that's what is says on the documents that are available online.
The project is expected to be built in two phases. The full development is slated for 300-multi-unit, multi-family, market-rate rentals.
Phase one is 192 apartments in eight buildings. Phase two is proposed as more rental units in over 20 buildings, plus a clubhouse, a pool, and a dog park. The plan is a $57.6 million project.
PTV: So, what are some of the concerns you're hearing?
NA: The new build residential complex is proposed by Riedman Edger LLC, which is a conglomerate of two companies formed for this project between Riedman Companies and Edger Enterprises, two large businesses in the real estate and construction industries. And they're seeking a 30-year PILOT, or tax abatement.
Typically, if there's a tax break negotiated with the IDA, it's a 20-year PILOT program.
PTV: So, why is 30 years a concern for some people?
NA: For one, the fire district will be affected significantly, because it's going to have to take on servicing the 300 new residences, without the taxes from those added properties to cover their resources.
Lee Giammichele, the town supervisor, says it's a slippery slope to extend tax incentives to private businesses that aren't bringing in jobs.
“We're at the mercy of the IDA, and the projects that come in. I'm hoping that this process here will let the IDA understand that the town of Big Flats is not open to PILOTs all the time. I really would like to see PILOTs only be given if it's producing jobs. That's what I would like to see. I don't really want to see it for apartment complexes.
I don't think that's right. I think we need to bring people in, bring jobs in. That's how the IDA should be doing it.”
The application for the housing project states they're estimating 40 full-time construction jobs for 36 months. Then, once the construction is completed, an estimated four jobs— that's 1,2,3,4—for management, maintenance, and leasing office positions. But that's, again, once construction has ended.
PTV: So, do we know when construction will begin on this project?
NA: That's a good question, Phoebe. It's really unclear when the construction phase is intended to begin, but it should be noted that the proposed project is documented as far back as January 2025, and these documents are available on the town's website.
There are three documents for the Hammocks housing project on the IDA's website: the public hearing notice, the minutes from the public hearing, and the application for the project. They were added after the board's meeting and vote on June 11.
This process and access to documents is similar to what happened with the Amazon warehouse and distribution proposal in the same town earlier this year, where none of these project documents were available from the IDA,
PTV: And you attended this public hearing on the project last week. The meeting itself sounds like it was a little unusual. Can you talk me through that?
NA: The meeting was scheduled for 10 a.m. on a weekday morning, and most people are going about their daily lives at this time—you know, jobs, kids, school, errands—so not really attending, you know, public meetings.
Now I will say that looking through previous public hearings for the IDA, it's not necessarily an unusual time for the agency, but Big Flats town residents were very vocal about the time of day and insisted it was not convenient for many of their neighbors to participate.
Residents also said they're thinking about the tax burden on their homes for 30 years, while a private home builder won't be responsible for any contributions to the tax rolls during that time.
Reading from a statement, resident Theresa Goldthwaite said “public support is provided without a clear and rational public benefit.”
PTV: Was there anything else that seemed out of the ordinary at this meeting?
NA: Well, there were no members of the Chemung County IDA board present for the public hearing. Joe Roman is the executive director of the IDA, and he was there, but he's not a voting member of the board.
And a staff member of the Southern Tier Economic Growth organization, which is deeply intertwined with the IDA, ran the public hearing and took meeting minutes, but she's not on the staff or board of the IDA.
It's unclear if that is typical for a public hearing for the Chemung County IDA, but residents were frustrated that no board members were present, especially the chair of the board, Mark Margeson, who coincidentally is currently running for the county executive position against incumbent Chris Moss. And that was mentioned by some residents as they voiced their frustrations.
It is also important to mention here that Joe Roman, the executive director of the IDA, is also the president of the Southern Tier Economic Growth organization.
PTV: What is the Southern Tier Economic Growth organization, and why is it connected to the IDA?
NA: What I understand is that it's a public-private partnership.
The IDA is a public government economic agency that works to secure new business development opportunities for Chemung County, and that's through tax incentives, such as PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) programs. These companies, in turn, bring in jobs to the area with them.
The Southern Tier Economic Growth organization is a private nonprofit that provides economic development services for the county.
PTV: So with this public hearing for the housing project in Big Flats, there was a vote scheduled the next day on this tax break, right?
NA: Correct. The public hearing was being held the day before the IDA board was set to vote on adopting a resolution for the proposed 30-year PILOT for this project.
Residents didn't know about this vote until someone asked when the public hearing minutes would be presented to the IDA board. And needless to say, residents were not happy with the timeframe.
PTV: And then you actually went to this board meeting, the vote the next day. How'd that go?
NA: Similar to the public hearing, residents and town officials attended, and again voiced their concerns.
You know, Phoebe, there were no resolutions actually presented to the public prior to the meeting, nor at the meeting, so the public didn't know what exactly the board would be voting on.
We all learned together the board had not seen meeting minutes from the public hearing the day before, and the IDA executive director asked to go into executive session. So everybody had to leave and wait for them to finish the executive session, because that is not something that is open to the general public.
PTV: Right.
NA: Then the public learned afterwards, once they reconvened the public meeting portion, that the concerns from the public hearing were discussed in executive session.
So some public business was being conducted out of public view, which could be an Open Meetings Law violation.
A public body may enter into executive session for topics of litigation, personnel matters, or the proposed sale or lease of real property, which is what this is, but only when publicity would substantially affect the value of said sale or lease of that property, right?
Now, given the public hearing and comments were already held and reported on, it's unclear why this was discussed out of the view of the public in executive session.
PTV: And so, all but one board member actually voted yes to this resolution on the PILOT tax break, right?
NA: Correct. The board passed the 30-year PILOT with one caveat: a one-time upfront impact fee of $300,000 to go directly to the town. The town can take the $300,000 and invest it and use the money as needed in the future. Now, this impact fee was a concession from the developers and the IDA, but it's not clear how the town plans to use the $300,000.
PTV: Well, I know you'll keep following this story. Thank you so much, Natalie.
NA: Thank you, Phoebe.
