Kokomo — Tipton County officials are taking another step toward the possible sale of the vacant Getrag Transmission plant.
The Tipton County Economic Development Commission will conduct a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. April 20 to consider the issuance of $13 million in bonds to the trust appointed by a U.S. Court in Michigan to sell the property.
At 7 p.m. the Tipton County Council is being asked to approve a 10-year tax abatement for the site.
The Getrag Transmission plant at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Ind. 28 is in a Tax Increment Financing district.
The bonds will be repaid by taxes from the plant that are designated for use in the TIF District. Taxing units receive revenues from the site based on the assessed value of the property before any improvements are made. Taxes from the improvements are then used to pay for improvements to the site.
The trust in March asked Tipton County to provide up to $13 million to lower the price of the building for a possible sale to a solar panel manufacturing company.
The Tipton County Council last month approved abating 50 percent of the $660,000 owed in property taxes on the building in 2010 and, in return, the trust agreed not to appeal the assessed value.
“The subsequent actions that are being planned by various boards in the county are merely being done to build on a foundation for the furtherance of securing an occupant for the facility,” Commissioner Jane Harper said. “We are practicing prudence in being prepared when an opportunity presents itself to formally secure a tenant for the building.”
Harper said the bonds will not be released to Franklin Trust until the property is sold.
As TIF revenue comes in after the site is occupied, the money will be paid to Franklin Trust to pay off the bonds, according to Harper.
The incentives are directed toward a solar panel manufacturing company, whose name county and state officials have not released.
The company would bring about 850 jobs to the area if it bought the plant. The business has looked at two other sites.
The building, which is 85 percent complete, has sat empty since 2008 when Chrysler filed a lawsuit against Getrag over financing for the construction project. The 90,000-square-foot factory was expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.
• Ken de la Bastide is the Kokomo Tribune enterprise editor. He can be reached at 765-454-8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
