In Mureen Waterman’s Letter to the Editor of October 11 (What “Little Guys” are Protected by QAC Big Box Referendum?) the title question is embarrassingly simple: all of them. Here in Centreville, we’ve got a small menswear shop, a local pharmacy, an appliance dealership, a picture framing studio, an eyewear store, a hardware store, and a lumber company. Does Mr. Watermen really think that these businesses, all of which likely exist on the slimmest of profit margins already, would not be impacted in any way by the building of a Big Box store in Queen Anne’s County?
Mr. Waterman also regrettably uses the examples of Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Safeway as the national chains that would be most susceptible to the influence of a Big Box neighbor. What he forgets, or blissfully ignores, is that those very stores are the ones who already helped to wipe small local grocers, pharmacies, and general stores from the Kent Island landscape. The establishment of a Big Box store would help to finish the job in Queen Anne’s County, threatening the very existence of our local plant nurseries, bicycle shops, lumber yards, hardware stores and countless other small businesses across the county. The people who own these businesses keep their dollars local, send their kids to county schools, involve themselves in the local political process and do not deserve to have their risk rewarded with Mr. Waterman’s idea of “growth.”
To define the very future well-being of our community on opening the county to Big Box businesses and to imply that somehow, the presence of these stores would have insulated Queen Anne’s County from the recession is absurd. The recession has been national in scope, and has hit those counties with Big Box development even harder than it hit counties like ours, as Americans drastically changed their spending habits. What’s more, these very stores that Mr. Waterman hopes to attract to our county are largely responsible for the outsourcing of millions of American manufacturing jobs, jobs that pay, or paid, much better than anything that can be found under the bright lights of a Big Box store.
Let’s not confuse building Big Box stores with the economic growth Queen Anne’s County needs. I encourage all voters to vote NO on Question B, and keep Queen Anne’s County small business friendly for the future.
Steven Kline
Queen Anne’s County
DLaMotte says
Mr. Kline, well said. And you did not even touch on the absolute adserdity of acres of black top around a “hanger” worth of, primarily,
stuff from the far-east.
Karen Gay says
QAC desperately needs a big box store. I and my friends support it. Vote YES for big box stores in QAC ! !
Bob Schauber says
Please explain why we “desperately” need a big box store. I think we already have everything that we need as a community. Bigger is not always better. I could not agree more with Mr. Kline.
Keith Thompson says
Bob, because county or state borders doesn’t limit consumers from engaging in commerce. As long as residents have the option and preference of leaving the county to do its shopping, they are supporting the tax revenue base in the surrounding counties and not in the county where they live.
Keith Thompson says
Mr Kline writes… ”
Mr. Waterman also regrettably uses the examples of Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Safeway as the national chains that would be most susceptible to the influence of a Big Box neighbor. What he forgets, or blissfully ignores, is that those very stores are the ones who already helped to wipe small local grocers, pharmacies, and general stores from the Kent Island landscape.”
One thing to keep in mind…if national chains like Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Safeway have driven out the smaller grocers, pharmacies, and general stores from the Kent Island landscape; a large part of the reason is that increased regulation on business that is often aimed at protecting small business actually has the opposite effect in that large corporations are financially better able to absorb the increased cost of doing business.
Lainey Harrison says
Increased regulation? Cite an example please Keith.
gerry maynes says
Hi, Remember Safeway , Acme etc pay good union wages Meat Cutters who earn 22 dolars and asbove , Department managers in a similar position . Full timesrs 14 dollars per plus benefits and time and a half on Sundays. Walmart or Slave Mart offer none of the above.
Steve Payne says
And Acme is expanding plus I’ve heard that a sporting goods store is going in where the video store was. Plastic bag ban is a non issue. Chestertown’s problem is due to demographic’ and the economy in general.
Keith Thompson says
Look as close as the Chestertown plastic bag ban…one company that I seem to remember Mayor Bailey praising for their efforts in compliance was Walgreen’s. Who has the better financial resources or industry contacts to facilitate the change from plastic to paper or reusable bags? A large corporation like Walgreen’s or a independent locally owned pharmacy.
Consider a increase in municipal business taxes….who is better equipped to absorb the cost, a corporation with heavy financial pockets or a mom and pop store owner on a shoestring budget?
Consider zoning regulations…if a zoning law restricts a certain type of business, who has the better financial resources to afford attorneys to fight the regulations or to fund political candidates or ballot initiatives to change the regulations; a corporation or a potential single business owner or investor?
Consider regulations on signage…if you reduce the ability of a business to put up a sign to draw attention to their business, who is better equipped to afford media advertising to draw customers to their business; a corporation or a small business?
It’s simple….the harder you make it to do business in a community, the more you favor larger corporations who can simply write off the added difficulty as a business expense.
Lainey Harrison says
QAC has no ban on plastic. We already have the highest income taxes allowed by state law and no business property taxes. Zoning restrictions and “up against the wal” are the reason most “big boxes” have already distanced themselves from us, but I dont know of any zoning restrictions that interfere with small businesses in QAC. No, we dont have to buy our signs in bulk, we can buy one for our location. I think your increased regulation argument is off base.
Keith Thompson says
The comprehensive plan in QAC wants to push commercial development into the incorporated towns such as Centreville and Queenstown, but the problem is that the incorporated towns are not the high traffic volume areas where large scale commercial development wants to go. Essentially what you should have are smaller retail outlets in the towns that serve the residents of the towns or specialty outlets that can draw in that base, while larger scale retail outlets should be along the main traffic routes of Rt. 50 and Rt. 301 for easy access for county residents and residents from other counties. Give town residents less of a reason to leave the county and contribute to the revenue base of other localities, you give them more reason to shop locally. Allow larger retail to locate in the higher traffic volume areas, you make it easier for county residents or others to spend money in QAC and increase the retail revenue rate.
gerry maynes says
Hey The day of mom and pops seem to be behind us. Even independent Grocers are, unless you are a Niche marketert such as Stew Leonards in Conn, Or a Fine Faire in New York, chances are you are not goung to make it. People say they will support them , but p[ush comes to shove they are in a long line at Slave Mart.
Keith Thompson says
Keep in mind, every large corporation started as a small local business that managed to either find a unique market niche or has figured out a way to attract more customers. Like it or not, if people are patronizing large corporate retail outlets rather than small local ones, it’s because the large retail outlets offer what the smaller ones don’t.
Carla Massoni says
Keith – what is your vision for economic development, growth and protection of our environment?
Keith Thompson says
Carla, I think you have to realize that you can’t have it all…or at least implement government policy with the aim of having it all. There has to be a realization that any amount of growth comes with a degradation of the environment and that protection of the environment usually comes with some sort of an economic cost. Usually the healthiest communities are the ones that find a balance between these two conflicting goals.
The problem I see is that those who want to restrict the amount of growth are making economic sustainablity arguments rather than environmental or quality of life arguments and most of the economic arguments fly in the face of common sense. It’s especially true of Chestertown or certain parts of QAC in that it’s hard to make an argument that you’re protecting local business in an area that has a profound lack of local business. Does this mean that big box stores will automatically revive the economics of this area? No, but in the absence of an alternative, this is the only available option on the table.
Specifically speaking for Chestertown…the town leadership has to realize that a significant portion of the population is choosing to shop elsewhere. Instead of trying to create an atmosphere of keeping out what you don’t desire here, the town should re-focus on giving residents less of a reason to go elsewhere. It is more important to focus on what you don’t say “no” to than what you do say “yes” to.