Council to host hearing on incentive plan for Beck

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Mt. Pleasant?s City Council is attempting to encourage Beck?s Superior Hybrid Seeds to create some good-paying local jobs.

During the council?s regular meeting Tuesday night, they set a public hearing on a proposed development agreement with Beck for Friday, Dec. 12 at noon.

Basically, the agreement is a trade-off ? if Beck?s hires workers at a reasonable starting salary, the city will give the firm property tax breaks.

Beck, headquartered in Indiana, purchased the former Pioneer Seed production plant located on North Grand Avenue last summer and is slated to be in operation soon.

?We?re trying to encourage Beck to hire more employees,? explained City Administrator Brent Schleisman. ?They have hired 10-11 former Pioneer employees and hopefully this (agreement) will entice them to expand its operation and hire more local workers.?

Under terms of the proposed agreement, Beck will receive between $1,000 and $1,500 for every employee it hires. The difference in the two amounts is dependent on what the employee is paid. The more salary, the larger the property tax abatement.

The agreement states that the city will make up to five consecutive annual payments of economic development grants to Beck, the cumulative total for all such payments not to exceed the lesser of $125,000 with a maximum of $25,000 per year.

Council members also passed the second reading of a proposed ordinance designating the entire city (and any annexed area in the future) as an urban revitalization area for multi-family (three families or more) housing.

State law recently changed allowing a city?s urban revitalization area (which allows for property tax abatement up to 10 years) to include multi-family housing and city leaders are hoping by adopting the ordinance, it will encourage construction of such housing in the city.

Evidently, it has some people talking, according to Schleisman. ?We have three or four developers looking at multi-family housing,? the city official said. The ordinance also would provide tax abatement on the costs of improvements to existing multi-family housing.

?Someone who builds a four-plex could save between $4,000-$5,000 a year (in property taxes) and that might be enough incentive for someone to build,? added Mayor Steve Brimhall.

Also passing its second reading with the third reading waived was an ordinance establishing no parking on Lincoln Street, which runs on the east side of the Mt. Pleasant Middle School, from Henry Street to the railroad tracks.

City officials said the ordinance is needed for safety reasons, noting that the area can become congested during the dropping off and picking up of students before and after school.

Police Chief Ron Archer said his staff will work with school personnel during the transition to no parking. Stopping in the street is defined as parking, Archer said. ?We will get with the middle school and send letters to parents,? he remarked. ?The first offense will be a warning and after that, we will issue tickets.?

Council members ratified a mayoral appointment and also approved the hiring of a new maintenance worker for the public works department.

Barb Grimmer was appointed by Brimhall to replace Alan Huisinga on the community development committee. The replacement was necessary because Huisinga now serves on the city council.

Ryan Ackles will join the public works department effective Dec. 1 at a beginning salary of $26,000 with an increase to $27,040 following a 60-day probationary period.

Rick Mullin, public works director, said 10 people were interviewed for the position and Ackles was the most qualified. Ackles had temporarily worked at the department before.

During the city officer reports, Archer said the police department will start enforcing the 24-hour city parking ordinance. The ordinance prohibits a vehicle from being parked in a city parking zone for longer than 24 hours without being moved.

?Now, with the snow, it is easier to tell if a vehicle has been moved,? Archer noted. ?We usually give them 36 hours before we issue a ticket.?

Mullin said 15 truck loads of leaves were hauled away from the city?s leaf collection site. He also noted that around 100 televisions and computers were brought to the public works department during the recent electronics disposal event.