They call themselves MADSET: the Milford Alliance to Defeat Sprawl at Exit Ten. Residents in this small community have organized to push off the map a proposal by Home Depot to build a 116,000 s.f. store (plus garden center) on 43 acres of land, right across the street from Luhr’s True Value home Center, a family owned store that has been around for three decades. When Home Depot came before the Milford Township Planning Commission in June, the company repeated its set speech about economic impacts: a payroll around $4 million annually, between 150 and 200 jobs, etc. “Home Depot will benefit the local economy,” Home Depot claimed. All of these figures are gross, not net. But residents aren’t buying this voodoo economics. According to an account in the Port Lewis Gazette, the chairman of the Milford township Planning Commission debunked Home Depot property tax claims. The public was told property taxes would be $100,000 from Home Depot. “But that’s not the whole story,” said Kevin Stroyan, Commission chair. “There would be minimal revenue to the township. That $100,000 would mean only $11,000 to $17,000 to Milford Township. That wouldn’t pay for all the services Home Depot might require, including maintenance of a traffic light. Sure, the traffic light would be installed by Home Depot, but then the township would have to maintain it. And a police department. That would cost 10 times what the tax revenue would be.” In addition to their bad math, Home Depot prompts residents to worry that the store will harm the nearby Sawkill Creek, which has been designated as an “exceptional value” creek by the state. The site, which includes a second big box store and four other outparcels, sits on top of the Milford water supply. Sensible location for a store that contains several hundred thousand pounds of hazardous materials inside, and has suffered two very serious in-store fires. Residents also say the store is way out of scale with the rest of the built environment in town — and will ruin the character of the community. Home Depot agrees that the town is lovely. “There’s no question Milford is a fantastic, bucholic town, but people didn’t move here to get away from Home Depot,” said company real estate spokesman John Simley. It’s not clear how Simley reached that conclusion. It was Simley who also came up with this gem in another community: “Our customers take their purchases and apply them to their homes, whether it’s paint, new shingles, a deck or a door. And the value of their properties increases as a result. So, where you find Home Depot, you find the condition of property in the community is constantly on the rise.” Does this suggest that the existing home improvement stores in the Milford area are any different? Home Depot Economics: it just doesn’t add up.
Maybe Home Depot held focus groups in Milford, and asked residents: “When you moved here, was it predominately to get away from Home Depot?” Jim Luhr, who owns the True Value store across from the proposed site, was definitely not invited to any focus group. He has been honest with local residents about the real impact of Home Depot on the local economy. Luhr said if Home Depot opens he expects to lose 30% of his business. “If Home Depot continues to grow, it is a borderline monopoly. That is never good for the consumer and in the long run, won’t be good for the town.” To help the MADSET campaign against Home Depot, contact: MADSET, Box 915, Milford, PA 18337, or call Bill Kiger at 570-296-6753.
