WELCOME Albany Residents Land Acquisition Meeting Albany Town Hall

7:00 PM

Steve Knox - Chairman

Cort Hansen Terry Miller

Melissa Nadeau Rob Nadler Harry Richardson Jack Rose Brian Taylor Richard

VanDyne

Josephine Howland

Land Acquisition Taskforce

Mandate Determine if the Town should buy this land

and if so what opportunities will it provide to Albany residents”.

Determine the financial implications in terms of cost and revenue growth and how they may affect Albany tax payers.

Report those determinations to the voters.Which is why we are here to night

Appointed by the Board of Selectmen

The Land

Three parcels of prime real estate that total 300 acres, heavily wooded and with one and half miles of frontage on the Swift river and along the Kancamagus Highway.

The land is currently owned by The Kennett Corporation.

What land, what opportunity:

The Land

The Opportunity. The “Conservation Fund” a non profit environmental group, is purchasing

the land from the Kennett Corporation. Their purchase price, $836,000. We can buy this land for only; $450,000. Financial impact is just; $33,000 per year

What land, what opportunity:

Because The Conservation Fund partners with different organizations to;

Achieve conservation goals Connect communities to their environments Finance local conservations

efforts Train conservation leaders Advance national resource-based economic development – Grow

Revenue Mitigate the impact of urban development – Minimize costs Respond to climate change

Why would they do that?

To protect and conserve the land for future generations.

Uses may include; walking, biking, cross country skiing, snow-shoeing and other activities. However;

The Town may reserve 20+ acres for whatever purposes are deemed appropriate by the residents of the Town

And what do they expected of us?

What purposes?

Common areas for picnics, beaches and swimming activities.

Ball fields and kid's play grounds. And for any commercial

activities that the town deems appropriate

In the past 50 years; Albany’s population has grown by only 400%

The town budget has grown by almost 2,200% 5 times the population growth . The student population has grown by only 300% The school budget has grown by almost 14,000% 47 times the student population growth.

Reality check: Cost of services ( paid for by property taxes) increases exponentially to population growth. The only real opportunity to lower property taxes is to grow revenue.

This land and these opportunities could

be the key to our future

The land is mostly forested and if properly managed will be an ongoing source of revenue to the town and the community.

The land sits over an aquifer of virtually limitless high quality water which will become a very valuable commodity as the future demand for water increases. Conversely;

If this land is acquired by property developers property taxes will not necessarily offset the cost of services provided by the town.

The key to the future is Revenue !

The key to the future is Revenue ! Guaranteed revenue;

Timber ; Value today $343,000. which is; 75% of the purchase price or 52% of the total cost over 20

yrs

Timber is a renewable natural resource. Many trees are overgrown and should be

harvested. Immediate limited harvesting could defray loan

repayments for three to four years.

The key to the future is Revenue ! Potential Revenue;

Leased Water Rights; Unlimited supply of high quality water

that would sell in today's market for one half penny per gallon.

Conservative pumping of only 300,000 gallons per day would generate revenues of $450,000 per annum for the Town of Albany.

Eco Lodge; Recreational Vehicle Park; Indoor Public Swimming Pool; infrastructure development. town center. ground lease and property tax

revenues. minimum service costs

The key to the future is Revenue ! Other Potential Revenue Sources :

And if we don’t buy the land;

Property developers may. If 15 houses are built with an average assessed value of $200,000 property tax revenues would be roughly ; $33,000

However if 10 (1)children from those homes enter the Conway school system, the cost (2) to the town would be approximately $80,000

The cost to the town and therefore the tax payer $47,000

(1) National average is 2.4 (2) conservatively estimated at $8,000

children per household per child

The key to the future is Revenue !

So what will it cost us, as tax payers, if we do buy this land

mortgage Incremental property tax

The Town has a proposal from a local bank to lend $450,000 over 20 years at a current fixed interest rate of 4.21%

Cost to the Town would be $33,334 per annum

Incremental property tax would be 0.33 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value per household.

Home Value Tax per Annum

$50,000 $16.50 $75,000 $24.75 $100,000 $33.00 $150,000 $49.50

$200,000 $66.00

$1.27 a week, . less than one cup of coffee a week per household $250,000 $82.50 $300,000 $99.00 $350,000 $115.50 $400,000 $132.00

The Town acquires an asset appraised at almost $900,000 at the fire sale price of $450,000. Fact!

The land has standing timber, a renewable resource, valued today at $343,000. Fact!

Sale proceeds would be used to write down the loan principle or go toward servicing the debt. Fact!

Summation.

The property provides a beautiful recreational environment for Albany residents. Fact!

The town will have 20 plus acres set aside for exclusive use and future development. Fact!

Summation

Potential revenue opportunities include but may not be limited to;

Sale of water rights, potentially; $450,000

annually. Property taxes and lease payments

from commercial developments with very

low services costs.

Commercial development would build infrastructure for an Albany focal

point.

Summation

Private residential development could cost Albany significantly more than the revenue generated from property taxes . Fact!

The average increase in property taxes from purchasing this land will be less than $6 per month per household, excluding any potential revenue offsets . Fact!

Summation

Two quotes by Mark Twain express very clearly the conclusion reached by the

Task Force.“Buy land, they are not making it any

more”and

“I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had passed me by”

For just $33,000 a year we acquire a potentially

unlimited revenue opportunity ,

Recommendation

The Selectmen and the Task Force urge you to support this land

acquisition.

It could well lead the way to significantly reducing future

property taxes.

Vote for this Land

It could be the KEY to our future

Recommendation

Special Town Meeting Tuesday December 30th at 7:00PM

to vote on the acquisition.

Task Force ongoing;

develop recommendations on GOVERNANCE. continue to pursue marketing “Water Rights”.

explore possible relationships with “ forestry

consultants” and logging companies.

research legal and financial implications of separate

“for profit” legal entity to manage the land

Next steps

QUESTIONS ?

Conway School District: Tuition costs;

Blended rate Blended rate

2005-2006 (actual) Per student

$9,048

2006-2007 (actual) Per student

$9,964

2007-2008 (budget)

Per student $10,696

2008-2009 (proposed)

Per student $9,973

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 % CHANGE

POPULATION GROWTH 146 259 383 536 654 718 400%

TOWN BUDGET $31,125 $25,702 $83,585 $251,756 $419,042 $703,849 2261%

PER CAPITA $213 $99 $218 $470 $640 $980 360%

STUDENT POPULATION 29 53 73 87 118 112 300%

SCHOOL BUDGET $10,311 $37,762 $157,763 $492,993 $1,224,434 $1,392,474 13,505%

PER CAPITA $356 $712 $2,161 $5,667 $10,377 $12,433 3400%

TOTAL BUDGET/PER CAP $283 $2,918 930%

ALBANY POPULATION AND BUDGET TREND ANNALYSIS

ALBANY POPULATION AND BUDGET TREND ANNALYSIS-Adjusted for Inflation; 1960-2008 602.41%

1960 2008 % Change

POPULATION GROWTH 146 718 400%

TOWN BUDGET $31,125 $479,438 1,540%

STUDENT POPULATION 29 112 300%

SCHOOL BUDGET $10,311 $1,318,235 12,785%

TOTAL BUDGET/PER CAP

Town 18 18-24 25-44 65+ Median Age Albany 26.5% 6.1% 36.7% 8.0% 37

Bartlett 21.9 5.3 29.5 13.2 42 Conway 22.5 7.1 29.0 5.4 40 Eaton 23.5 4.0 21.6 2.0 45 Freedom 16.8 3.1 24.0 24.0 49 Jackson 18.0 2.2 28.7 21.8 46 Madison 24.8 5.4 31.1 12.0 40 Tamworth 23.7 6.3 28.4 15.7 41

Population demographics by ageCarroll County 2000 Census