45 new jobs likely after tax abatements OK'd (10/04/05)

The Portland City Council approved three tax abatement requests Monday night, which will help bring about 45 new jobs to the city.

The council approved two five-year abatement requests — one from FCC (Indiana) Inc., which will result in 30 additional positions, and another from Joyce-Dayton Corp.-Portland Division, resulting in one additional job.

A 10-year abatement request for Createc Corporation of Portland also was approved by the council. This will help create an additional 12 to 15 jobs.

Council members approved the abatement requests based on recommendations from the Portland Tax Abatement Advisory Committee, which reviewed them on Sept. 22.

FCC officials asked for the abatement on the purchase of $14 million in automotive clutch manufacturing and assembly equipment. Jay County Development Corporation executive director Robert Quadrozzi said the equipment will create 30 jobs with annual salaries totaling $750,000.

Joyce-Dayton sought an abatement on the purchase of a new horizontal machining center to be used for the plant’s general manufacturing operations.

Quadrozzi said the piece of equipment will cost $229,000. It will create one new job with an annual salary of $33,000.

Createc plans to add 30,000 square feet to its facility. This will make room for more equipment and 12 to 15 new jobs, general manager Penny Hethcote said Monday night. The employees will be paid about $11.50 per hour.

Council members reviewed the request by Joyce-Dayton at the Sept. 6 meeting and sent it to the advisory committee to review.

The other two tax abatement requests came in between the September council meeting and Monday’s meeting, Quadrozzi said. Portland Mayor Bruce Hosier gave the committee permission to go ahead and review the requests without first sending them to the city council, he said.

Quadrozzi said this morning Hosier has the authority to send abatement requests to the committee. Although the requests usually go to the council first, then to the committee, then back to the council for final approval, they are only required to be reviewed twice, he said.

A tax abatement allows companies to pay taxes in increasing increments over several years, phasing in the additional taxes due on the capital investment.

In other business Monday, the council approved a grant modification resolution for the $500,000 Community Focus Fund grant awarded to the city in June by the Indiana Office of Rural Affairs for the renovation of the Weiler Building.

The council voted after holding a public hearing on the grant modification.

The building, located at the southeast corner of Main and Meridian streets in Portland, is set to be the new home of the John Jay Center for Learning.

The resolution changes three parts of the grant, Kristi Sturtz, grant administrator for the project said.

First, it states that the large storefront windows, which originally were going to be repaired, will be replaced.

Martin Riley Mock architects project manager Ron Ross said large windows such as the ones currently in the building are rare and very expensive. Plus, they are difficult to transport and install. Instead, smaller, better-insulated windows will be used.

Replacing rather than repairing the windows will decrease the cost of the project by $13,624.

The money saved by replacing the windows will go toward paying Sturtz a $25,000 one-time fee for her grant administrative services. When the city applied for the grant, Jay County community developer Wayne Bailey planned to administer the grant. Funds were not set aside in the grant to pay Bailey. After he resigned and before new community developer Ami Davidson was hired, Sturtz was selected.

Setting funds aside to pay Sturtz was the second modification to the grant approved Monday night.

The resolution also includes the transfer of $7,000 from the environmental remediation line item to the architectural design line item, which will go to Martin Riley Mock. These funds pay for the firm to obtain bids for the environmental work.

When the city applied for the grant, JJCL officials planned to hire someone to do the environmental work without accepting bids, Sturtz said this morning. But the grant requires that bids being taken on that work, Sturtz said. The bidding process must be supervised by an architectural firm, she said.

The environmental work includes the removal of mold, asbestos and pigeon droppings, Sturtz said.

None of the audience members spoke before the council approved the resolution.

Also Monday, council members:

•Voted to close a portion of Main Street in Portland on Saturday, Nov. 19 for WinterFest.

The street will be closed between Meridian and Commerce streets.

•Set trick-or-treating hours in Portland for Monday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]