| There are certain unexplained mysteries in the
universe. The creation of the earth, the miracle of birth, the meaning
of life, and for me, how Economic Development President, Pat Phillips,
can continue to get local officials to sign on to any far fetched, wild
plans he brings to them. This time it's called
"Project Tango." Phillips was able to get both Loudon City Council and
the Loudon County commission to sign on to a deal that goes like this.
On the debit side, A mysterious company, rumored to be
Amazon.com, will get to buy 100 acres of Loudon/Loudon County industrial
property at a $10,000.00 per acre discount, county/city loses
$1,000,000.00. County/city agrees to spend $1,000,000.00 to developed
the site for said mysterious company. County/city agree to give mystery
company 10 year, 50% tax break. Lost tax revenue for county/city,
$255,461.00 per year or $2,554,610.00 over the 10 year discount period.
On the credit side. Mysterious company will not give
name. Mysterious company estimates creating 325-1125 jobs. Mysterious
company will not commit to locate in Loudon County/Loudon even after
getting all the goodies.
I just don't get it. If Phillips had even one success,
maybe elected officials should listen to him. Not sure how Loudon City
voted but Commissioner Austin shaver was the only NO vote on commission.
You can bet the president has been set now, every business, current and
future will be expecting the same gravy deal from now on. Wouldn't doubt
Tate-Lyle and Kimberly Clark both will be asking for the same deal
shortly. Below are the particulars on the
project just in case you think I'm making this up.
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Project Tango
Legislative Summary Report
County of Loudon/City of Loudon
August 12, 2011
Project Description
Size: 1,000,000 sq. ft.
Type facility: distribution center
Property size: 100 acres at Centre 75 and/or Highlands
Business Park
Employment scenario # 1: 325 employees; scenario #2: 1,125
employees
Average hourly wage: $16.25 plus benefits
Investment: scenario # 1: $51,500,000; scenario # 2:
$87,500,000
Project Incentive Proposal
Sell of 100 acres at Centre 75 Business Park at $15,000/acre
10-year, 50% Payment in Lieu of Ad Valorem Tax
Site development and infrastructure allocation of $1,000,000
Project Revenue and Expenditures
Annual debt service on $1,000,000 based on a 6-year
amortization @ 3% interest rate:
$184,597.50 (total interest on debt
$107,585)
Annual Payment in Lieu of tax for scenario #1: $255,461
(county portion $162,154; city portion
$93,307)
Annual Payment in Lieu of Tax for scenario #2: $318,505
(county portion $202,172; city portion
$116,333)
Existing market labor conditions
Loudon County unemployment rate, June 2011: 8.7% (2,140
persons)
16-county East Tennessee region unemployment rate, June
2011: 11.7% (58,310 persons)
Loudon County Workforce Region unemployment rate, June 2011:
10.4% (44,430 persons)
State of Tennessee unemployment rate, June 2011: 9.8%
United States unemployment rate, June 2011: 9.2%
15%
of regions population lives in poverty
MSA
lost 19.7% of manufacturing employment from 2007 – 2010
95%
of Loudon County households spend more than 45% of income on
housing and
transportation
11,980 or 67.9% of residents travel outside of Loudon County
for employment (7,938 of these
residents travel to areas with the
Knoxville MSA for employment)
The project has mandated that in order to
be considered, all communities shall obtain the necessary
legislative approvals prior to September
1, 2011 for all incentives and land purchase. |
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