To the Editor:
The Guilderland Chamber and I support Costco because it will be a huge boost to our local economy and will support smaller businesses such as our restaurants, breweries, wineries, and retail establishments. I have spoken with many of our chamber members who are thrilled that Costco is coming to our area, and look forward to the increase in their businesses.

Costco is well-known for its customer loyalty, and many customers regularly travel for hours to reach a Costco store (much like Albany residents would travel to Trader Joe’s in Hadley, Massachusetts before convincing the company to set up shop in Colonie). The nearest Costco is in West Springfield, Massachusetts, over 90 miles away.

Costco customers I have spoken to often make it a day trip, taking advantage of other shopping and dining opportunities. Guilderland is a vast and beautiful area with a wide variety of shopping, dining, and tourism resources for visitors to enjoy.

In these uncertain economic times, our community needs this revenue source. Property tax and sales tax are the only revenue sources to pay for our roads, schools, library, emergency services, and more, and increased sale- tax revenue will help keep commercial and residential property taxes in check.

Also, Costco’s building site did not need any variances from the town to build their store, and they made all the changes to their site plan that the town requested. We have a choice to continue to debate this project, holding up the benefits to our community, or we can move forward. The Guilderland Chamber and I support moving forward.

Sandra Dollard

Executive Director

Guilderland

Chamber of Commerce