Special Section: Wal-Mart

• How much money would the Wal-Mart mean for Tega Cay?

Once construction in Stonecrest is done, Tega Cay's financial model predicts that Stonecrest with a 203,000 square-foot Wal-Mart supercenter would generate more than $420,000 a year in property taxes. Without Wal-Mart, Stonecrest would generate more than $260,000 a year in taxes.

Show me the (tax) money
2005
With: Cost to the city: $92,487 Without: Cost to the city: $79,153
2006
With: Cost to the city: $164,477 Without: Cost to the city: $112,182
2007
With: Profit for the development. Cost to the city: $60,754 Without: Profit for the development. Cost to the city: $100,779
2008
With: $190,019 for the city erasing the net deficit and giving the city a net profit of $129,265. Without: $131,937 for the city, erasing the net deficit and giving the city a net profit of $31,158.
2009
With: Net profit $464,450. Stonecrest should then generate $423,435 each year thereafter. Without: Net profit $298,894. Stonecrest should then generate $298,894 each year thereafter.
— Figures provided by City of Tega Cay

• How much traffic would be created along Hwy. 160 West and Dam Road?

A traffic study recently completed by Kimley-Horn and Associates predicts that Stonecrest would generate more than 2,300 additional cars per day: 15,182 cars without Wal-Mart in Stonecrest, 17,505 with Wal-Mart.

• Would the Wal-Mart be open 24 hours, seven days a week?

Every Wal-Mart supercenter in the U.S. - there are more than 1,500 of them - stays open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Wal-Mart spokesman Glen Wilkins.

• What about crime because the proposed supercenter?

Crime will increase with any large commercial development. In other cities, most of the crime associated with Wal-Mart are nonviolent thefts.

• Would a Wal-Mart be built somewhere else, if not in Stonecrest?

Wal-Mart has no plans to build nearby Tega Cay if the deal in Stonecrest isn't approved, Wilkins said. And no other land parcel has the right zoning necessary for a big box retailer on Hwy. 160 West or Gold Hill Road, according to the York County Planning and Zoning Office. The Tuttle Co. has also said it has not talked to Wal-Mart about any other sites, either.

• What would the Wal-Mart do to the Fort Mill schools?

The current Stonecrest plan - not including Wal-Mart - gives the developer permission to build 207 apartments and two sections of townhomes. Assuming all of the apartments are rented, a Fort Mill School District formula projects 169 new students coming into the schools. With a Wal-Mart, the apartments are taken out of the Stonecrest plan.

• How can I make my voice heard?

Supporters: Tega Cay Citizens for Wal-Mart, Pat Hermsen, pat@pcr.net.

Opponents: Us Against the WAL, Roberta Whitaker, twhitaker@comporium.net.