BY ANDREA HOLECEK, Times of Northwest Indiana
holecek@nwitimes.com
HAMMOND | The fate of Cabela's multimillion dollar project in Hammond could be determined Wednesday by the State Board of Finance, but Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said it already could be a dead deal.
"I think it's a formality and ultimately the state will find a good reason not to approve us," McDermott said.
"I've done everything I can to make it happen; now it's up to the state of Indiana and that's what scares me."
Nebraska-based Cabela's has requested the board approve the use of sales tax increment financing for its proposed store on the site of the former Woodmar Country Club and will make a presentation on the development Wednesday. McDermott also will plead for the incentive, he said Monday.
"I think the state is very reluctant," he said. "I'm trying to be optimistic they'll see the light and approve the project, but indications are they're not very respective."
Cabela's spokesman James Powell said Monday that a negative response from the board "doesn't necessarily kill the project, but causes us to revisit it and decide where we'll go from there."
Because of the huge infrastructure costs of the development, the financing is "fairly important," he said.
"So, a negative response will be a cause of concern," Powell said.
Gov. Mitch Daniels publicly has remained cool to Cabela's request for the STIF incentive, saying last week the original request "was just not in order."
Daniels also has said it has been the Board of Finance's policy not to give STIF incentives for retail businesses. However, Daniels also has stated there are "rare exceptions" to that policy.
McDermott believes Cabela's should be an exception because it lures many of its customers from Chicago, its suburbs and other places outside the state with its large selection of specialty merchandise and its museumlike dioramas, outdoor displays and aquariums. Plus, its popularity is a draw for more business development, he said.
As governor, Daniels wields a great deal of influence on the Board of Finance, which is composed of the director of the state budget agency, whom he appoints, and the state auditor and the state treasurer, both elected with Daniels on the GOP ticket.
"I think they've been given marching orders," McDermott said.
"This has been a uphill battle from the get-go with the state of Indiana. ... I'm a Democratic mayor, and they're all Republicans. I hope that's not the reason, but it seems to come into it."
The state's Economic Development Corp. should be excited about this project, McDermott said.
"Instead, we've had excuse after excuse why it is bad," he said. "We didn't think it was a gimmee, but we'd didn't think we'd be fighting the state. It was easier to get Woodmar to sell than for the state to get behind it."
Cabela's also has been negotiating for a site in Hoffman Estates, where it also is seeking an incentive package.
McDermott said the governor and the Board of Finance and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. will have to answer to the people of Hammond, Lake County and Indiana if Cabela's leaves for more welcoming places.
"Are we going to be better off as a state, as a region, or as a city when Cabela's opens in Hoffman Estates?" he said. "The people from here will be going there to spend their money. Is that what the state wants?"