I’m not sure which applies to this letter to the editor in this morning’s Westerly Sun:
Love’s Travel Center would be positive for area
I grew up on a farm on West Street, Ashaway/North Stonington. I lived in that area for 30-plus years, so I was only a mile or two from Exit 1. I know and love the area. It is where I consider home.
I am a real estate agent, and I am involved in the sale of the property proposed for the Love’s Travel Center at Exit 1, and I support the project. I know what many people might think: “she is commission driven,” and although I will benefit financially from this sale, it is more than that. With the economy in the dire straits, homes are being boarded up, fore closed on, and short sales are happening everyday in our area, I do not understand why some in Hopkinton would want to reject the positive growth that the Love’s Travel Center will bring to the area? Love’s has of fered a lifeline to our community, with tax revenue, tourism traffic, jobs and potentially much, much more.
As a realtor, I very rarely show a home in Hopkinton without the first response from the buyer being “property are taxes too high.” Last week, I was fortunate to take a contract on a home on Cedar Knolls Drive by encouraging the buyer to consider Hopkinton because of the “growth on Exit 1.” I explained to my buyers, it is my understanding that growth around Exit 1 such as Love’s should help bring down the tax rate because they will pay taxes and not add one new student to the schools or need to add any additional town services. They will just create jobs and pay taxes, I consider this a win, win for every one!
I think Love’s is a positive for this area, and I think we should welcome them with open arms. We should thank Love’s for choosing us as their destination stop, and for providing a gateway to South County, Westerly and our wonderful beaches!
Sandra Bliven e-PRO certified agent Coldwell Banker Cahoone Westerly
So let me break this down into the applicable facts:
1. This is the real estate agent who will garner an enormous commission from the sale of these 18 acres. Let’s assume those 18 acres are worth $500,000, conservatively. If this agent has negotiated a 3% cut, she’ll get $15,000. 6% is a standard commission, amounting to $30,000. And the property is probably worth more than $500,000. SANDRA BLIVEN IS MAKING A KILLING IF THIS HAPPENS. She can deny her bias, but are you stupid enough to believe her?
2. We will get $50,000 in taxes. If the Town Council had any balls, they could cut that amount without breaking a sweat. They do not have any balls, I have already discussed that issue at length. That $50,000 in taxes amounts to a $0.01 per thousand decrease in your taxes? Your taxes are based on $17 million. $50,000 is a drop in the bucket. And if state aid dries up, your taxes will be based on $23 million.
3. Tourism? Is this woman a liar, a fool or a scroundrel? I have travelled the country. When I travel the country, I stop at a truckstop to get gas, food and get back on the highway. No one who stops at a truck stop stops there to see the sights, especially not in podunk Hopkinton. Oh, ah, look at the fantastic tree! Is it possible this woman is mentally retarded? Or maybe she just wants her $30,000 commission?
4. Jobs? Ok, 5 people to run the Arby’s and a cashier for the pumps. All of them getting paying minimum wage. Now that’s a real investment in job creation!
5. Even Vinnie Cordone, that hack of a former Town Councilor, the boob responsible for the idiotic “development” at Exit 1 that has generated no new jobs and little in new tax revenue OPPOSES the Truck Stop. And if he can finally come to his senses, is there anyone left to fool?
6. No new services? A truck stop just screams, “we need more cops”! When people stop in Hopkinton, traveling I95, you get all kinds of people. You get families, your get RV’s, you get the elderly couples and you get the drug runners, pimps and prostitutes. A truck stop in town is going to REQUIRE us to have more cops. And since each new cop costs $60,000 to $80,000 for salary and benefits, we end up paying more taxes to have a truck stop in town!
7. Sandra Bliven “loves” the area, she grew up here. But she doesn’t live here now, does she? She lives in Westerly. She doesn’t really care what it looks like or sounds like or smells like in Hopkinton. Come on, are you fooled by this load of crap? I certainly am not. She is interested in her commission.
In conclusion, don’t be fooled. A truck stop is an assinine idea. It is the next step on the slippery slope into turning Hopkinton into industrial Cranston or Warwick. Let’s put a stop to this now and show Sandra Bliven that her greed has no place in Hopkinton.
