Letter to the editor – Nov. 3, 2011
Building owner clarifies letter
To the editor:
I think there needs to be a few clarifications concerning a letter by Diana McKee-Marcotte that ran in the Oct. 27 issue of the Courier.
At one point, Ms. McKee-Marcotte says, “Alan (Casavant) has a huge following from downtown people. Haven’t they got enough of our money? Now that they got this Reny’s building, will we be fixing that up too?”
When she writes, “will we be fixing that up too?” it sounds like she thinks there is some other building that “we” (Biddeford citizens, I guess) are fixing up. Is she referring to 265 Main Street, a building being restored by Caleb Johnson and me?
If she is, then her comment shows she doesn’t understand the project. Caleb and I have dedicated more than $1 million of our hard-earned money to that project. Maybe that’s not much money to Ms. McKee-Marcotte, but it is to us. In addition to that money, there are also federal and state historic tax credits. The credits act like gap financing – it wouldn’t make financial sense to do the project without them. No matter how you add up the numbers, easily the majority of the money will be from Caleb and me. We’ll have a mortgage that we’ll be paying on for a long time. This is no sure deal – the project is classified as “high risk” by all of the banks. As to Biddeford’s citizens, they will benefit from an increase in property taxes at the same time they will enjoy an improved downtown.
Then Ms. McKee-Marcotte also said that specifically I am in favor of buying local, yet she thinks painting at 265 Main St. “was being done by someone from Waterboro.”
As it happens, our painter is Huot-Goulet, Inc. from Saco. That’s not Biddeford, but still part of the Buy Local campaign. Do they employ someone from Waterboro? They might. But we are also dealing with Biddeford firms such as CFC, Inc. (concrete footings), Haley’s Metal Shop Inc., Deering Lumber, The Glass Guy, Carone Construction, The Wood Connection, MJ Electric, Advanced Heating, Dennis P. Gosselin Mason, and DPD Drake Inc. Do any of them employ people who do not live in Biddeford? I’m sure they do, just as almost every other business in Biddeford does. The city doesn’t employ only city residents. We’re supporting local businesses.
I’m hope Ms. McKee-Marcotte and readers of last week’s paper have a better understanding of the project at 265 Main St. Thank you for allowing me to make the clarifications.
David Flood
Biddeford
To the editor:
I think there needs to be a few clarifications concerning a letter by Diana McKee-Marcotte that ran in the Oct. 27 issue of the Courier.
At one point, Ms. McKee-Marcotte says, “Alan (Casavant) has a huge following from downtown people. Haven’t they got enough of our money? Now that they got this Reny’s building, will we be fixing that up too?”
When she writes, “will we be fixing that up too?” it sounds like she thinks there is some other building that “we” (Biddeford citizens, I guess) are fixing up. Is she referring to 265 Main Street, a building being restored by Caleb Johnson and me?
If she is, then her comment shows she doesn’t understand the project. Caleb and I have dedicated more than $1 million of our hard-earned money to that project. Maybe that’s not much money to Ms. McKee-Marcotte, but it is to us. In addition to that money, there are also federal and state historic tax credits. The credits act like gap financing – it wouldn’t make financial sense to do the project without them. No matter how you add up the numbers, easily the majority of the money will be from Caleb and me. We’ll have a mortgage that we’ll be paying on for a long time. This is no sure deal – the project is classified as “high risk” by all of the banks. As to Biddeford’s citizens, they will benefit from an increase in property taxes at the same time they will enjoy an improved downtown.
Then Ms. McKee-Marcotte also said that specifically I am in favor of buying local, yet she thinks painting at 265 Main St. “was being done by someone from Waterboro.”
As it happens, our painter is Huot-Goulet, Inc. from Saco. That’s not Biddeford, but still part of the Buy Local campaign. Do they employ someone from Waterboro? They might. But we are also dealing with Biddeford firms such as CFC, Inc. (concrete footings), Haley’s Metal Shop Inc., Deering Lumber, The Glass Guy, Carone Construction, The Wood Connection, MJ Electric, Advanced Heating, Dennis P. Gosselin Mason, and DPD Drake Inc. Do any of them employ people who do not live in Biddeford? I’m sure they do, just as almost every other business in Biddeford does. The city doesn’t employ only city residents. We’re supporting local businesses.
I’m hope Ms. McKee-Marcotte and readers of last week’s paper have a better understanding of the project at 265 Main St. Thank you for allowing me to make the clarifications.
David Flood
Biddeford
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