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County attorney Craig Buche, right, speaks to members of the Elkhart County Council about a tax phase-in request by Elkhart-based Steel Harbor LLC during the council’s meeting Saturday morning.
County attorney Craig Buche, right, speaks to members of the Elkhart County Council about a tax phase-in request by Elkhart-based Steel Harbor LLC during the council’s meeting Saturday morning.
GOSHEN — Elkhart County Council members finalized a tax phase-in request by Elkhart-based Steel Harbor LLC during their meeting Saturday morning.
At the meeting, council members approved a request by county attorney Craig Buche for passage of a confirmatory resolution finalizing the tax phase-in request. The council had already approved a declaratory resolution for the request during their June 11 meeting after having originally denied the request during their May 14 meeting.
According to Buche, the plan involves construction of a new manufacturing facility featuring a 55,000-square-foot building specializing in high-quality steel fabrication services for the architectural, furniture and automotive industries to be located at 22412 Innovation Drive, Elkhart.
As part of the tax phase-in deal, Steel Harbor LLC has committed to investing no less than $4 million in real estate improvements, $2.1 million in new manufacturing equipment and $50,000 in new IT equipment for the new office and facility at the Elkhart site.
“The facility is to be completed by Dec. 31, 2022, and the equipment by Dec. 31, 2025, with the company creating no less than 28 full-time positions with annual payroll of approximately $1.2 million by Dec. 31, 2024,” Buche added.
Average wages at the facility have been projected at about $20 per hour with benefits.
“The prorated payback if the company were to fail to meet those commitments are set forth from a schedule from 2023 through 2029, with a repayment of 85% decreasing to 15% over the life of the tax phase-in,” Buche added of the deal. “And if I recall this correctly, this would be for a three-year tax phase-in for the real estate and the equipment.”
In the end, Saturday’s request was narrowly approved in a vote of 4-3 in favor of passage.
Voting for approval of the request were council members Thomas Stump, At Large; Randall Yohn, District 2; Darryl Riegsecker, District 3; and Adam Bujalski, At Large.
Voting against approval were council members David Hess, District 4; Steven Clark, At Large; and Douglas Graham, District 1.
Also Saturday, the council’s members approved a request by Elkhart County Administrator Jeff Taylor for a $1.5 million additional appropriation from the county’s American Rescue Plan Fund needed in order to pay for new security cameras and related upgrades at the Elkhart County Correctional Complex, 26861 C.R. 26, Elkhart.
Saturday’s vote followed similar action by the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners during their July 5 meeting.
“The request before you is to pay for various video and technical upgrades within the jail,” Taylor said of the request. “Over the years, the video equipment becomes antiquated and needs to be replaced. We’re at that time now.
“We’ve had an independent consultant do an evaluation, and has determined there are a number of cameras that need replaced,” he added. “Many of the cameras in there are still analog, and there needs to be some cabling and a number of other related improvements as well.”
Taylor noted that the requested funding could be pulled from either the county’s General Fund or ARP Fund, and the council decided to go with the ARP Fund.
The requested additional appropriation from the ARP Fund was then approved unanimously.
John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.
John Kline is city and county government reporter for The Goshen News.
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