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02-10-03 Council Meeting Minutes
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02-10-03 Council Meeting Minutes
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City Council - City Clerk
City Council - Document Type
Council Mtg Minutes
City Counci - Date
2/10/2003
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REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 10, 2003 <br />they believe the amendments to the ordinance make great sense because it doesn't just recognize a <br />business because they are going to spend some dollars on capital investment in our community but <br />it recognizes companies who share similar goals which the City has identified in this ordinance. It <br />sends a clear message to the community that the City can encourage businesses to come here but not <br />just any business, but businesses that will add to the quality and character of the community. Mr. <br />Eagan encouraged the Council to vote on the proposed amendments to the abatement ordinance. <br />Mr. Carl Bossung, 61450 Myrtle Trail, South Bend, Indiana, Partner, Crowe Chizek LLP, thanked <br />the Council and the administration for helping their company complete the project at 320 East <br />Jefferson Boulevard. They have moved in and are functioning. They are quite proud of the facility <br />and it is working out well. He noted that the expansion has allowed them to keep one hundred fifty <br />(150) support jobs for their firm. The team effort of the City and the Council worked well and tax <br />abatement was a part of that total package. He stated that in making project decisions, businesses <br />like to know the ground rules. The proposed ordinance gives an opportunity to look at the City's <br />priorities and what makes sense for the benefit of the City. It allows businesses to adjust the scope <br />of their project in order to achieve the right number of points under the ordinance in order to <br />maximize their benefit. Mr. Bossing indicated that he wholeheartedly supports the endorsement and <br />positive vote on this ordinance. <br />Mr. Jerry Thoma, President, Environmental Health Laboratories, 110 South Hill, South Bend, <br />Indiana, thanked the Council, the Mayor and the City for all of the assistance that was given to them <br />over the last several years during their efforts to expand their facilities. It was that spirit of <br />cooperation that they enjoyed with the City that made their expansion possible and helped bring <br />Underwriters Laboratories into the City of South Bend. In 1993, as a small privately owned <br />business, Environmental Health Laboratories came before the Council seeking a tax abatement for <br />the second expansion of their then fledgling business. As entrepreneurs they had a dream of <br />something much more substantial with the potential of providing much greater benefit to the health <br />and well being of the people in South Bend, in Indiana and in much of the US. Today <br />Environmental Health Laboratories impacts over 50 million US citizens as they document the safety <br />of public drinking water for public drinking water supplies. Today they operate as a wholly owned <br />subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories UL one of the world's largest conformity assessment <br />companies. UL has become over the last one hundred seven (107 ) years one of the most recognized <br />symbols of product safety and quality in the world. The tax abatement in 1993 did have an impact <br />in their ability to realize their dream. The potential for an abatement had a significant impact on <br />UL's decision to build a fifty thousand (50,000) square foot expansion which was completed last <br />October. The potential for an abatement a couple of years ago was crucial in UL's decision to build <br />in South Bend. Mr. Thoma stated that the current system is quite arbitrary and provides little to <br />help perspective businesses to understand the chances of obtaining an abatement. The new <br />ordinance creates a solid predictable and equitable rationale that will encourage more investment <br />by businesses of the quality of Underwriters Laboratories and Crowe Chizek and others to invest <br />in South Bend. Mr. Thoma stated that he supports this ordnance and he urged the Council to adopt <br />it. <br />Mr. Dave Lerman, CEO, Steel Warehouse & Lock Joint Tube, 3210 Miami Street, South Bend, <br />Indiana, stated that over the years they have been favored with tax abatements for many of the <br />projects they have had to try to stay competitive in their industries. He noted that he believes that <br />it is absolutely vital for the survival of the manufacturing community to have tax abatement. It ■ <br />
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