Wisconsin businessman Todd Nelson wants to invest more than $200 million building a resort, conference center and indoor waterpark in Fredericksburg. The Kalahari waterpark would generate roughly $6 million a year in direct local taxes to the city, plus even more indirectly when visitors patronize local stores and restaurants. But there’s a hitch: He wants big-time incentives. In addition to waiving some $3.5 million in up-front expenses, City Council has all but approved a deal that would rebate 47.5 percent — nearly $3 million a year — back to Nelson over the next 20 years.
The Kalahari controversy is one that raises interesting issues for all Virginians. How much in incentives is too much? To what extent is tourism a “quick fix” for fiscally challenged municipalities? And to what extent should local governments focus instead on spending controls, planning efficient land use patterns, and building an economic base around the knowledge economy?
I’ve addressed these issues in more detail in “The Second Battle for Fredericksburg,” in the current e-zine, than most readers will ever want to know. There are no easy answers. Sometimes you need the “quick fix” to tide you over while your long-term policies take effect. Unfortunately, I don’t see much evidence of long-term thinking in Fredericksburg. The deeper issue isn’t whether local government officials cut a good deal with Kalahari or not, it’s whether citiy leaders are tending to the more profound matter of figuring out what it takes to build a prosperous, livable and sustainable community.