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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-09-17 Community Investment �$OUTH O _ O U C W PEACE �� rT �a� M w � 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK COMMUNITY INVESTMENT OCTOBER 9, 2017 3:42 P.M. Committee Members Present: Gavin Ferlic, Regina Williams-Preston, Oliver Davis, Randy Kelly, Will Smith(citizen member), Paul Tipps (citizen member) Committee Members Absent: None Other Council Present: Tim Scott, Jo M. Broden, John Voorde, Dr. David Varner, Karen White Other Council Absent: None Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer Presenters: Regina Williams-Preston, James Mueller, Daniel Buckenmeyer, Rob Michalak, Vikram Shah, Jeff Smoke,. Jim Bognar Agenda: Substitute Bill No. 48-17-Tax Abatement Amendment Bill No. 17-60- Designating Personal Property Tax Abatement for Masterbilt Bill No. 17-62- Designating Real Property Tax Abatement for TriPac Bill No. 17-66- Designating Personal Property Tax Abatement for TriPac Bill No. 17-68- Setting Public Hearing for GLC SBDC II Tax Abatement Modification Bill No. 17-64-River West Development Area Expansion Committee Chair Gavin Ferlic called to order the Community Investment Committee meeting at 3:42 p.m. He introduced members of the Committee and proceeded to give the floor to the presenters. Substitute Bill No. 48-17-Tax Abatement Amendment Committeemember Regina Williams-Preston made a motion to accept the Substitute for Bill No. 48-17. Committeemember Randy Kelly seconded this motion which carried unanimously by a 455 County-City Building•227 W.Jefferson Boulevard•South Bend,Indiana 46601 Phone 574-235-9221 •Fax 574-235-9173•TDD 574-235-5567•www.SouthBend[N.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN ALKEYNA M.ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS voice vote of six (6) ayes. Committeemember Williams-Preston continued, This is the third time this bill has been brought to the Committee. I am excited because we have this one (1)right. This is a proposal to amend the ordinance to add the requirement that businesses receiving a tax abatement would agree to pay every employee at least as much as the City minimum wage. This is an opportunity to live our values and be responsive to what is going on in our community. There are a lot of people living below or at the poverty line. This will start January 1, 2018. We also added language to address tip workers. We have struggled around issues of enforcement and I want to thank everyone that will help in making a separate ordinance that will address that. Councilmember Dr. David Varner asked, Will this be retroactive for people with tax abatements already? Committeemember Williams-Preston replied,No. Committeemember Will Smith stated, I want to thank Committeemember Williams-Preston for calling me and reaching out. Did you get the parable I sent you? Committeemember Williams-Preston replied, Yes I did. I look forward to coffee. Committeemember Smith replied, I'm at peace. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, I am supportive of the amendments. James Mueller, Executive Director of Community Investment with offices on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I would like to clarify what version we are working off of. There was some new language proposed. He then went on to read the clarifications to the Committee. Committee Chair Ferlic then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. Dave Rassmunsen, 330 W. Colfax Avenue, stated, I'm glad the City is doing this. Holding the contractors and developers to the same standards the City holds itself to is a really good move. Committeemember Oliver Davis made a motion to send Substitute Bill No. 48-17 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Kelly seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of five (5) ayes and one (1)nay (Committeemember Smith). Bill No. 17-60- Designating Personal Property Tax Abatement for Masterbilt Daniel Buckenmeyer, Director of Business Development for Community Investment with offices on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, stated, There are some great things happening in South Bend. There are some investments in some long-time existing small businesses, bringing in new medium-sized businesses and also paving the road for some big businesses. Masterbilt has been in South Bend for over sixty(60) years. They are looking to incrementally expand their business. They are asking for a five (5) year personal property tax abatement. They will be making over$500,000 of investments in some new equipment and will make two (2) advanced manufacturing jobs that will both pay over eighteen dollars an hour($18/hr). The total tax abated over the five years will be about$16,000 and they will be paying about $25,000. 2 Rob Michalak, Vice President of Operations for Masterbilt located at 325 S. Walnut Street, stated, We are looking at investing in a couple new pieces of equipment over the next year. Committee Chair Ferlic opened the floor to questions from the Committee and Councilmembers. Committeemember Paul Tipps asked, Has Masterbilt been in compliance with their other abatements they have received? Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, Yes, sir. Committeemember Tipps followed up, Can you elaborate on your wage rate section of your abatement application? What is your lowest hourly rate your company pays? Mr. Michalak replied, We have some part-time employees making less, but our lowest full-time rate is twelve dollars an hour($12/hr). Committee Chair Ferlic then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. Mr. Rassmunsen asked, Would the petitioner be making this five (5) year investment without this abatement? Sue Kesim, 4022 Kennedy Drive, stated, So the tax-payer is giving up over $500,000 to create two (2)jobs. I am not sure why the tax-payer is giving up that much money for only two (2)jobs. Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, So the actual tax abated over the five (5) years is only $16,292. The taxes Masterbilt will be paying over that same period of time will be $24,906. That$500,000 is the investment they will be making. Mr. Michalak replied, We could run these investments without this abatement but it will help because we are a small business. Committeemember Smith made a motion to send Bill No. 17-60 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Davis seconded the motion which carried unanimously by a voice vote of six(6) ayes. Committeemember Kelly made a motion to hear Bill No. 17-62 and Bill No. 17-66 together for purposes of public hearing. Committeemember Davis seconded this.motion which carried unanimously by a voice vote of six (6) ayes. Bill No. 17-62- Designating Real Property Tax Abatement for TriPac Bill No. 17-66- Designating Personal Property Tax Abatement for TriPac Mr. Buckenmeyer stated, Tri-Pac, Inc. is a company that is currently located in Michigan and they want to relocate to South Bend to enable their company to grow. We are looking at two (2) tax abatements, both for real property and personal property. They are looking to make an additional $1 million investment on the real property. We are proposing a seven(7)year tax abatement and in that time the abated amount would be about$84,000 and the taxes paid would be about $314,000. They plan on bringing an additional sixty(60)new jobs to South Bend. They 3 are also planning to invest$1.5 million in new equipment. Over five (5) years about$17,000 will be abated and about $4,000 will be paid. Vikram Shah, President of Tri-Pac, Inc., stated, We have heard a lot of good things about South Bend. We are looking to relocate and we think South Bend is ideal. We work with many multi- national corporations. We think this is a great opportunity. We are looking at a total of around $5 million of investment in the next five (5) years and creating one hundred and sixty (160)to two hundred(200)new jobs. Committee Chair Ferlic opened the floor to questions from Committee and Councilmembers. Councilmember Dr. Varner asked, Can you explain why your cover-letter and application are showing the concept of a one hundred percent (100%) tax abatement differently? Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, When we give a one hundred percent(100%)tax abatement, that does not mean the person receiving the abatement is paying net zero. What that means is they don't have to pay the amount over and above the existing tax base. So any improvements on the land would not have to be taxed until the term is over. Councilmember Dr. Varner stated, It used to be different. We need to make it more clear. Committeemember Tipps asked, Is Tri-Pac, Inc. in compliance with all EPA and other regulations? Mr. Shah replied, We are in full compliance and have not received a single violation. We deal with a lot of multi-national companies and they are very strict. Committee Chair Ferlic then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. Marty Wolfson, 809 Park Avenue, asked, Why isn't this a tiered abatement? Mr. Mueller replied, This is a company moving here from out of state. This is new investment and new jobs we are receiving. These jobs will collect income taxes that are not included in this calculation of property taxes. The Department of Community Investment does its best to figure out the best deal for the taxpayer. We have no interest in giving a better deal than what is necessary to make the investment happen. In this case, we believe this is what is required to get the company to move here. There have also been some changes to state law. Committeemember Smith made a motion to send Bill No. 17-62 and Bill No. 17-66 to the full Council with favorable recommendations. Committeemember Kelly seconded this motion which carried unanimously by a voice vote of six (6) ayes. Bill No. 17-68- Setting Public Hearing for GLC SBDC II Tax Abatement Modification Mr. Buckenmeyer stated, For this particular property, this is not a new tax abatement. It is a standing tax abatement that has not been utilized or acted upon and we are proposing a modification of the abatement. Last year around November 2016,the Department of Community Investment(DCI)presented this initial tiered nine (9) year tax abatement. Back in February 4 2017, DCI presented to the Council some of the changes and updates to state law that allow more flexibility with the tax abatements. Given that this formula wasn't available when this abatement was initially approved, and given that nothing has been done with the property itself yet, we would like to modify this to help spur things along. This is a brand new building on the property. We are seeking to modify the existing abatement from a nine (9) year tiered abatement to a one hundred percent (100%) six(6)year abatement. Jeff Smoke, Great Lakes Capital located at 112 W. Jefferson Boulevard, stated, Mr. Buckenmeyer gave a great presentation and I am here to take any questions you may have. Committee Chair Ferlic opened the floor to questions from the Committee and Councilmembers. Committeemember Smith asked, Isn't this just approving a public hearing for the amendment of the abatement? Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, Yes, we are going through the whole process again having the public hearing and then voting on it at the next meeting. Committeemember Tipps asked, What is the difference in dollars that the City will be receiving or losing with this change? Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, This makes the abatement more favorable to the investor. This is a critical piece of commercial real estate that isn't present elsewhere. Committee Chair Ferlic then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. Mr. Wolfson stated, I am concerned with moving to one hundred percent (100%) abatements. How much money are we going to give away? Jorden Giger, 61455 Druid Lane, stated, I am not hearing the basis of why we should be granting all these abatements. We have literally begged Mr. Mueller to give $10,000 to a project for the community but then you give hundreds of thousands of tax-payer dollars away without blinking an eye. Ms. Kesim asked, How green is this new building? I want to make sure it is environmentally responsible. Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, The only reason we are going back is because the existing abatement hasn't been acted upon. This will not set a precedent. We can't go back otherwise. We also always encourage sustainable building. Committee Chair Ferlic moved the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motions. Committeemember Kelly made a motion to send Bill No. 17-68 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Smith seconded this motion which carried with four (4) ayes and two (2) nays (Committeemembers Williams-Preston and Tipps). Bill No. 17-64- River West Development Area Expansion 5 Mr. Mueller stated, This is to recommit to what Scott Ford had agreed to in writing to include the City Cemetery, The Center for History, Leeper Park, and the Studebaker Museum into the Riverwest TIF District. Jim Bognar, 807 W. Washington Street, stated, All but one (1) of these parcels are City-owned. The History Museum is a non-profit. I think the ball was just dropped because of turnover. This is for the future. This is something that everyone thought was done and it wasn't. Committee Chair Ferlic opened the floor to questions from Committee and Councilmembers. Councilmember Dr. Varner asked, Are we anticipating an ask, soon, for TIF money? Mr. Mueller replied, We don't have any anticipated asks right now. This is merely to ensure it is in the largest TIF District for the future. Committee Chair Ferlic then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. There were none. He then turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motions. Committeemember Kelly made a motion to send Bill No. 17-64 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Davis seconded this motion which carried unanimously by a voice vote of six (6) ayes. With no further business, Committee Chair Ferlic adjourned the Community Investment Committee meeting at 4:35 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Gavin Ferlic, Chairperson 6