Geneva aldermen favor financial aid to get a Dunkin' Donuts
Geneva aldermen appear ready to give a Dunkin' Donuts franchisee financial aid to open at 206 E. State St., despite a protest from another doughnut-seller.
"We are working so hard to establish our business. We didn't ask for help," Sonita Chheng, owner of Fresh Donuts at 1188 E. State, told aldermen at a committee meeting this week.
"And now Dunkin' Donuts comes in and they need help? It's not good for a small business like us."
Despite her plea, aldermen voted 6-4 to advance $172,000 in incentives to a binding vote set for July 9.
The city would give State Street Coffee-Hari LLC $70,000 outright, to help buy the site. It would rebate half the local sales tax collected each year at the store, for up to 10 years or $102,000, whichever comes first, to help pay for remodeling.
The Hari Group owns several Dunkin' Donuts in the area, plus other franchise restaurants.
The site is in tax-increment financing District 3. The $70,000 would come from TIF funds. As of April 30, TIF 3 did not have any money in it. Money could start to flow in, however, as the city receives the first installment of 2017 property taxes, which were due May 1.
In the TIF district, the amounts of property taxes sent to governing bodies were frozen at the 2016 level. Any amounts above that are to be spent on projects that increase the value of property.
The city could borrow the $70,000 from TIF District 2, because the two districts touch. It was created in 2000 and has about $800,000 in it.
The city has given sales-tax rebates to attract other businesses, including an Aldi store, Geneva Commons and the Fresh Thyme grocery store.
Aldermen Dean Kilburg, Robert Swanson, Tara Burghart and Michael Clements voted against it.
Burghart said she struggles with giving incentives for a doughnut shop - "a Dunkin' Donuts. I can throw a penny and hit three of them," she said. She would prefer independent businesses, maybe a boutique hotel, she said.
Kilburg pointed out several other Dunkin' Donuts in the Tri-Cities opened without aid. Geneva's economy is strong enough that it doesn't need to give incentives to attract development, he said. "There are plenty of investors for smart, profitable business plans," Kilburg said.
But the city's economic development director, Cathleen Tymoszenko, disagreed.
"We meet with people all the time who have a kernel of an idea, and they just don't have the wherewithal to do it," she said.
"Without the bigger fish (national chains) investing in these sites, you won't see the investment in the TIF," Tymoszenko said.