Proposed Tax Hike On Shoppers at Sappington Market in Limbo

Plans to establish a special sales tax district for the  are apparently stalled, city officials in Marlborough said recently.

The sale taxing mechanism is known legally as a CID or community improvement district.

Last October, the market’s owners approached the  about adding a CID.

The owners proposed a 1-percent sales tax add-on, limited to the market's parcel of land, which would raise an estimated $800,000 over a 20-year period. They said they were facing tough economic conditions. 

The money could be used for expansion of the store, warehouse and distribution facilities; upgraded fixtures, paint, flooring, signage and parking lot lights; and a roof replacement.

The 22,000-square-foot market is located at 8400 Watson Rd. in the General Grant Shopping Center and was established in 1994.

But Village Attorney Paul Rost said recently there has been no further action by the market or the village on the tax hike. 

“We haven’t heard anything from them,” Rost said. “We’re just trying to give them their time to get everything together."

Jeff Randol, the market’s business manager, was not yet reached for comment.

However, in an Oct. 29 letter to the board, Randol said the market was facing tough competition from other local grocery stores, and the economy had reduced both the number of shoppers and the average dollars being spent.

Farm to Family Naturally, a six-member cooperative of farmers, purchased the business in 2008. It sells locally grown produce, meats and other grocery items.

Rost described a lengthy regulatory process in order for the plan to move forward, including blight studies, redevelopment plans and actual costs, and the village would have to set up a CID commission to manage it.