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REGULAR MEETING
<br />FEBRUARY 27, 2017
<br />Councilmember Dr. David Varner, Chair of the Utilities Committee, reported that they met this
<br />afternoon and send this bill forward with a favorable recommendation.
<br />Richard Nussbaum, 225 South Sunnyside Avenue, South Bend, IN, served as the presenter of
<br />this bill on behalf of the petitioner. Mr. Nussbaum stated that with him were two (2) individuals
<br />with statistics to present to the Council to demonstrate how successful UN Tek and UN Kote has
<br />been over the past thirty (3 0) years.
<br />John Kegley, President of the United Steelworkers Union, 10446 North 650 East, New Carlisle,
<br />IN, stated that he has watched the UN Tek and IIN Kote project from ground zero (0) to where it
<br />is today. Mr. Kegley stated that UN Tek and UN Kote has weathered the storms of the steel
<br />industry over the years, adding that it was the only plant that he is aware of that did not
<br />experience massive layoffs and shutdowns in 2009's industry lull. He stated that the steel
<br />industry has, since 2009, been trying to dig itself out of a hole. Mr. Kegley explained that they
<br />were successful in getting a lot of the competition and outside influences to reel back some of
<br />their imports for five (5) years, putting I N Tek and I N Kote in a position where they can dig
<br />themselves out of the hole and put them back on an even playing field. He explained that the
<br />good jobs and good benefits offered by UN Tek and IN Kote needed to be preserved, and to do
<br />so they needed the Council's help.
<br />Mr. Nussbaum stated, In addition to the employees benefiting from UN Tek and IN Kote, there
<br />are a number of South Bend businesses —two- hundred (200), in fact —that are vendors out there.
<br />One of the largest is here to say a few words this evening.
<br />Tony Maloney, Vice President of Koontz - Wagner Construction Services, 3801 Voorde Drive,
<br />South Bend, IN, recounted a brief history of Koontz - Wagner. Mr. Maloney stated, We pride
<br />ourselves on the long -term relationships that we have forged over the years, and one (1) of these
<br />relationships is one (1) with IN Tek and I/N Kote. We were one (1) of the major subcontractors
<br />for both facilities when they were built during the 1988 to 1990 time period. Since those early
<br />days of construction, Koontz - Wagner has performed ongoing maintenance and capital
<br />improvements to the UN Tek and UN Kote facilities, which have amounted to more than
<br />$25,000,000 in electrical business. We currently perform about $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 worth
<br />of preventive maintenance and capital improvement services annually, which employs as few as
<br />six (6) but as many as twenty -five (25) people, depending on the maintenance period when the
<br />work is being performed. The agreement reached between the Board of Public Works and IN
<br />Tek and UN Kote will help the company control their utility cost and keep them competitive in
<br />the markets that they serve. As with every linked economy, the success of one company helps the
<br />success of multiple companies. We are one of those downstream companies whose success is
<br />dependent on the health of the top of the pyramid. Therefore, I urge the Council to approve the
<br />agreement, as presented to you, between the South Bend Board of Public Works and I N Tek and
<br />UN Kote.
<br />Mr. Nussbaum stated, And now to get to the guts of the reason why we believe that this
<br />agreement is within the ordinance and that it should be approved.
<br />Patrick McMahon, 1805 Bater Avenue, South Bend, IN, stated that he was once a part of Project
<br />Future, started in 1982. Mr. McMahon stated, During the first number of years, we had an easy
<br />job of bringing businesses into the community, primarily because an awful lot of our activity was
<br />centered around the industrial parks. There were businesses that were looking to expand at that
<br />particular point in time in the Midwest. Local businesses who were looking at expanding needed
<br />to move away from confined spots and were looking at whether they should stay here or not. Mr.
<br />McMahon explained that when Inland Steel was looking for a place in the area to establish a
<br />plant, Project Future pitched to them the land where UN Tek and I N Kote now resides. They had
<br />UN Tek built, but before they could finish that they proposed building UN Kote as well. Mr.
<br />McMahon stated, But we had one big problem: as well as it was all planned, the sewer line that
<br />the City ran out there had a limited capacity. We knew it could handle UN Tek, and it could
<br />handle some other development in the park, but to double the size of I N Tek was a whole other
<br />deal. So, we were stymied.
<br />As Mr. McMahon explained it, the Area Plan Commission, after having a study done of the
<br />neighborhood, recommended building a trunk line that would run from the treatment plant on
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