Lewiston has adopted a fast-track approach to development.

Negotiations are held in secret, sweet tax breaks are generated, public debate is held to a minimum and big deals are done fast. The aim is new jobs, new businesses and a growing, diversified tax base.

The hoped-for ends certainly are worthy. But we are worried about the means.

When Wal-Mart began negotiations with the city to build a new warehouse and create 350 jobs, the company forced the City Council to keep every aspect of the discussion secret. The company went so far as to require elected representatives of the people to sign confidentiality statements that prevented the release of any information about the project. They threatened to kill the deal if city leaders didn’t keep quiet.

The deal was completed, during the holiday season, in less than a week after its details were made public. The city packaged together 130 acres, a $17 million tax-incentive package and a moved road to lure the retail giant here.

The public, distracted by the holidays, eager for new jobs and, perhaps, lower taxes in the future didn’t complain. We’re still waiting on Wal-Mart, which has been delayed by a slowing economy.

In May, the city announced its plans for lower Lisbon Street. If all goes accordingly, there will be three new office buildings, new sidewalks, buried utilities, a parking garage and 200 to 300 jobs within three years. On this deal, the city has given away all new property taxes for the next 20 years. The council discussed the deal a week before it voted, but it didn’t have the tax details until four days before the vote.

On this project, there’s a new twist: eminent domain. The city created two new gateway districts that allow it to take property from one person or business and give it to another, after just compensation. Of course, when the city refers to property as a blight and slum, it doesn’t take long for property values to plummet.

There’s something unseemly about closed-door deals, property seizures and sexy tax breaks negotiated in secret.

Much lip service is paid to grassroots participation and involving the public in decisions with long-lasting effects. We get the feeling that some people think they always know what’s best, and believe, after all, that they’re just acting with our best interests at heart.

Government is conducted for the good of the people. To govern fairly requires the involvement of the governed.

Nobody’s really complaining right now. Objections have been muted and even the property owner who will eventually lose his business seems resigned to the acceleration of progress. Hopefully, we won’t wake four or five years from now with a monster of our own making.


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