Construction continues on the 170,000 square foot addition to the former Really Cool Foods facility in the Indiana Gateway Industrial Park north of Cambridge City. The project will result in the largest plant for new owner, Sugar Creek Packing Co. of Washington Court House, Ohio. (DARRELL SMITH/News-Examiner)
RICHMOND — The Wayne County Redevelopment Commission reaffirmed its previous action to hold the money generated from the RCF Kitchens Allocation Area and send the money from the Taconic Farms Allocation Area to the Wayne County General Fund.
The commission had set that direction in January but the auditor’s office did not establish an account for the commission to hold the money.
The county set up three allocation areas within the Tax Increment Finance District at the Indiana Gateway Industrial Park at Indiana 1 and Interstate 70, which is owned by Wayne County. The county funded several improvements to the park after a federal Economic Development Administration grant funded the initial park construction.
Property tax revenues generated by the Dot Foods Allocation area is all pledged to the company to repay bonds on the property improvements, as part of the county’s incentive package to the company.
The Taconic Farm Allocation area generated a total of $55,158 in 2013, and $29,091 from the spring 2014 tax collection, which the commission designated to go to the county general fund to be used to pay for the improvements made to the park. The commissioners and county council have made that request, County Attorney Ron Cross said.
RCF Kitchens filed for bankruptcy in 2012. In the fall of that year, Sugar Creek Packing Co. of Washington Court House, Ohio purchased the property out of bankruptcy court with the pledge to double the size of the 70,000 square foot plant. Since that time, the company has increased its plans for the facility and is now adding a 170,000 square foot facility. A pretreatment plant is also included in the plans.
The increased facility size has resulted in the delay in opening the plant until 2015.
The Redevelopment Commission chose to hold the revenues generated by Sugar Creek pending future action by the commission and possible requests from Sugar Creek. The property generated $41,790 in 2013 and $26,620 in the spring of 2014.
Sugar Creek has continued the abatement put into place for RCF Kitchens, Cross said. The company has indicated it will not seek any new abatements on improvements to the real estate but it is not known if they will seek an abatement on new equipment for the plant.
He announced the state legislature has appointed a summer study committee to review the state’s TIF law in response to alleged abuses from larger locations. The county is suppose to send in information from the Gateway Park TIF to the Department of Local Government Finance. The only expense incurred by the commission is the annual $500 bond cost.
Cross said there have been complaints raised by the public about the lack of local contractors involved in the work at Sugar Creek.
“We went back (Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County) and found the invitation to bid went out to the local people that had the wherewithal to do the job, but it’s so big a lot of them could not bond it or chose not to tie up their bonding authority for that time,” he said. “The management of Sugar Creek did make the effort. There are a few local contractors on the job.”
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