RAPID CITY - More than 100 people attended a public forum Monday night to hear the pros and cons of a land transfer to Cabela's before next week's special election.

Rapid City residents will decide on Sept. 18 whether the city can transfer 30 acres of land north of Interstate 90 near the Black Hills Visitor Information Center to the Rapid City Economic Development Foundation, which then would transfer the land to Cabela's.

Cabela's plans to build an 80,000-square-foot store less than a mile west of the information center as part of a larger Foursquare Properties retail center on 67 acres near Dyess Avenue and East Mall Drive.

The land transfer is part of three agreements the council approved as an incentive package to lure outdoor outfitter Cabela's to Rapid City.

Other parts of the Cabela's incentive package included $2 million in economic development funds and relocating the information center inside the new Cabela's.

Those agreements are not part of the special election, and relocating the information center appears to be off the table entirely since Cabela's officials told the city three weeks ago the company would deed back the building and about three acres of surrounding land to the city.

The city estimates the 30 acres to be worth about $3.7 million, based on the price other properties nearby have garnered in the past year.

Supporters argue that the incentives offered are in line with incentives Cabela's has received in other communities and say critics don't understand that the city will get all of its money back, including the value of the land, through a tax increment financing district.

Mayor Alan Hanks said it's important to note that Cabela's has never asked for nor applied for a TIF and they aren't getting one. He said the city created a TIF that will capture increased property taxes generated by Cabela's and other new businesses and get paid back for the $2 million and the value of the 30 acres of land, with interest.

Without the TIF, taxpayers would not recover that value.

Fred Weishaupl and Janet Smith, members of the "No Free Lunch" committee, advocated against the land deal and urged voters to vote no.

Weishaupl said the issue is not about Cabela's.

"What we're saying is we don't want the land to be transferred or made as a gift to Cabela's. It is about giving prime land to a multi-million dollar private corporation," he said.

In the beginning, Cabela's was going to build its store on the 30 acres. The company has since bought other land but still wants the 30 acres, he said, to recover the $8 million cost of buying that other property.

Weishaupl believes the city should declare the 30 acres surplus property and sell it to the highest bidder. Because of its location, he believes the land should fetch a premium price and would have more value than giving it away.

Smith said that because the 30-acre parcel isn't needed for the Foursquare development, it seems "foolish" to give away land that's not contiguous.

"I think it should be put to the public because we own it, we invested in the land, just as every other person out there who owns property waited patiently for the city to grow in that direction and is now realizing that investment," she said.

Speaking in support, Alderman Bill Okrepkie and Jim McKeon, president and chief executive of the Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce, touted the new jobs, new tax revenues and the fact that the city will be repaid for its investment.

The city believes hundreds of new jobs, $1.4 million in additional property tax revenue and $4 million per year in additional sales tax revenue will come from Cabela's and the 600,000 square feet of other development planned as part of the Foursquare Properties project.

"This isn't a free lunch. This is an investment in our community," Okrepkie said. "That's important to understand that it's an investment and a vision. The incentives we're giving to Cabela's, we're going to get them all back."

McKeon agreed that the issue is not Cabela's-it's about future growth and development.

"For more than 100 years, that land has lain basically dormant. Now we have an opportunity and essentially a bird in hand. Cabela's has shown an interest in being a catalyst to help develop that land," he said.

McKeon said if the city rejects the land transfer it could result in Cabela's relocating to some other community in the Black Hills.

Weishaupl doesn't believe Cabela's would pull up stakes, but if it does he thinks other retailers would step in.

"If they don't come, someone else will. You've got Dick's Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain or Bass Pro Shops. They know Cabela's does their homework. They know Rapid City is ripe for development such as that," Weishaupl said.

Cabela's officials have not said definitively at this point whether the company will pull out if voters reject the land transfer, though a company spokesman said last week the viability of the deal would need to be re-evaluated in those circumstances.

"That's the $50 million question: Will they come or won't they?" Okrepkie said. "Is this a gamble we want to take?"

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415, or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com.