GREEN: After just over an hour of discussion with legal counsel behind closed doors Thursday afternoon, the Green Board of Education took no action on a tax incentive plan and called for a special meeting at 12:30 p.m. Monday to continue the conversation.
The board met in emergency session to consider a nine-page economic development request from the city asking the board to waive a 45-day notification notice and approve the proposed agreement.
Planning Director Wayne Wiethe said the legislation will receive the first reading at City Council’s June 28, meeting with an eye toward a final vote July 26.
The council could act to pass the legislation without school board approval, Wiethe said, but he noted that the two have worked together effectively in the past.
The proposal calls for 100 percent property tax abatement for 15 years on the value of new construction of a 100,000-square-foot commercial/industrial structure on 12 acres of a 20-acre vacant farmland parcel owned by Lawr Realty, a subdivision of DeHoff Realty of North Canton.
Dan DeHoff of DeHoff Realty, asset manager for Lawr, said after the meeting that Tom Seccombe, president of Seco Machine on Whipple Avenue Northwest in Jackson Township wishes to move and expand in Green but will not relocate without the incentive package.
The property being considered is on the southeast corner of Greensburg Road at Mayfair Road.
Construction would begin as early as August and be completed before the end of 2017.
Doing their homework
Eydie Snowberger, the school district’s chief financial officer, said after the meeting that the district doesn’t receive any property taxes now from the parcel because it is zoned agricultural and is vacant.
School Board President Bob Campbell said the board needs to do some homework before acting on the requested incentive.
“When you read [the letter and five-page proposal], you realize there is a need for a little more time to go through the information before making a decision,” he said.
In his letter, Wiethe said the tax savings would be about $66,600 a year from tax year 2018 to 2033.
He said that Lawr, the property owner and developer, is projecting building a $6.2 million structure for lease to Seco, a machining manufacturer that deals primarily with turning, milling and grinding.
Total new project investment could reach $21.7 million with the addition of machinery and equipment, furniture, fixtures and inventory, according to the proposal.
DeHoff said the firm would be headquartered in Green and include warehousing and shipping operations in addition to manufacturing.
Now operating with 65 full-time and four part-time employees, the firm would jump to 85-90 full-time workers in the first year of operation, the letter said.