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Urbana trying to woo business to Fox River site

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By Matt Sanctis, Staff Writer Updated 8:15 PM Monday, November 2, 2009

URBANA — Urbana’s city council passed an ordinance Monday, Nov. 2, to provide tax incentives to a company that is considering hiring more than 100 new, full-time employees into the city.

The potential deal is still being negotiated and city and local economic development officials would not discuss the company.

But Patti Harvey, vice president of human resources for WICOR Americas, said they were considering offers to locate in the area but that their board would not make a decision until December.

According to information from the city, a company may be willing to develop a manufacturing and distribution business at 700 West Court Street “as a result of negotiation of the Corporate Municipal Income Tax Credit Benefits,” authorized in the ordinance.

The address is the former site of the Fox River-Neenah Paper Mill in Urbana.

WICOR is part of a multi-national company founded in Switzerland that manufactures electrical insulation for transformers and plastic components for the automotive, medical, water management and sensor industries.

The ordinance notes the company is considering hiring 110 new full-time employees within three years. The incentive agreement would be in effect for eight years beginning Jan. 1, 2011 and expiring Dec. 31, 2019.

Melanie Kendrick, development planner for the city, said it was important to pass the ordinance as emergency legislation so it could go into effect more quickly. However, she said because of ongoing negotiations, the city would not likely be able to provide more details about the potential company until early next year.

Council members said the city has been working on the project for a long time, and the ordinance would hopefully bring new business into Urbana.

“This is the kind of stuff that the citizens want us to do,” said council member Al Evans.

The ordinance also includes a job creation provision, requiring the company to create 110 jobs before Dec. 31, 2012. The employees must also have a minimum average wage of 150 percent the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. If the company ceases to operate the facility in that time, the company would reimburse the city for the credits it received.

According to information from the Ohio Department of Development, the state’s tax credit authority recently recommended that WICOR Americas would qualify for state incentives, including job creation tax credits and a 166 direct loan, among others. The loan is available for manufacturing and other facilities to assist with new building construction, building acquisition and acquisition of machinery and equipment.

Robert Grevey, a spokesman for the ODD, said WICOR had been recommended to receive the incentives but said the company has not yet made a decision on whether to accept them.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355 or msanctis@coxohio.com.

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