January 26, 2005 - 12:15 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 34 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners January 26 , 2005 The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Wednesday , January 26 , 2005 , at 12 15 pm in the First Citizens Health Conference Auditorium , Johnston Memorial Hospital Medical Mall , Highway 301 North , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members were present Present Cookie Pope , Chairman , Wade M Stewart , Vice - Chairman , W Ray Woodall , Jeffrey P Carver , DeVan Barbour and Tony Braswell Absent Allen L Mims , Jr Also Present Rick J Hester , County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board , J Mark Payne , County Attorney Chairman Cookie Pope called the meeting to order and the following business was transacted 1 Public Hearing - 12 15 pm - Economic Incentives for Sysco Corporation Chairman Pope opened the public hearing and invited anyone who wished to address the Board on the County’s proposed incentive package for Sysco Corporation to construct and operate a foodservice distribution center on a site located off US Highway 70 bypass in Selma Economic Development Director , Michael de Sherbinin , thanked everyone involved for their participation in bringing Sysco to Johnston County He noted the company , which plans to build a 395,000 sq ft facility and create up to 600 jobs in the next five years , will receive incentives from five primary sources In addition to the County’s incentive proposal , which is outlined below , the other four components of the overall incentive package are as follows lt; The State is granting a North Carolina Department of Commerce Job Development Investment Grant JDIG lt; The NC Department of Transportation will provide road improvement funding lt; The property owners have agreed to a gift of 44 of the value of the 80 acre tract to the County’s nonprofit corporation , which will allow the corporation to sell the land to Sysco at 56 of the list price lt; The Town of Selma proposes a 7 year Economic Development Grant 2006 - 2012 based on Sysco’s annual ad valorem tax payment , with the grants to represent a percentage of the tax payment ; percentage to begin at 100 in 2006 and being reduced by increments to 50 in year 2012 Estimated contribution would be 976,800 Selma is also providing additional funds for site preparation County’s Proposed Incentive Package The County proposes initial grants in the amount of 60,000 for site acquisition costs ; 150,000 for project construction cost , and in year 2009 2010 an expansion incentive grant of 250,000 In addition , the County , in a similar manner to the Town of Selma , proposes a seven year Economic Development grant beginning in calendar year 2006 and expiring in year 2012 , which will be based on a percentage of the value of the company’s tax payment each year The percentage will begin at 100 of the Company’s ad valorem tax value in years 2006 to 2008 , and then be reduced to 80 in year 2009 , with further reduction of 10 per year until 2012 , at which time the percentage will be 50 of the tax value The total estimated value of this County grant , based on an initial 35 million taxable investment , later expanded to 45 million investment in 2009 - 2010 , would be 1,731,600 over the 7 year period , assuming the current tax rate and values The funds from both the County and Town of Selma can reimburse Sysco on an annual basis for certain project components that include , but are not limited to the following lt; architectural and engineering design costs lt; project related legal fees lt; permit costs lt; site grading expenses lt; utility extension and upgrade expenses lt; capacity and or acreage feesPage35 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners lt; installation of building pad costs lt; costs for equipment and installation thereof lt; worker training expenses lt; sales tax lt; cost for pretreatment lt; costs incurred for environmental compliance matters Jack Carlson , vice president of Real Estate and Construction for Sysco Corporation , expressed his appreciation for Mike de Sherbinin , his staff and advisory board , the County Commissioners , Town Council , and others , whose hard work was instrumental in the decision by Sysco to locate in Johnston County He acknowledged the large investment being made and offered assurance that Sysco will be a good corporate citizen in the community Rick Childrey , president of the Smithfield - Selma Chamber of Commerce , welcomed Sysco to the area He stated that if the Chamber can be of assistance to the company in any way , they would be glad to do so Linwood Parker , chairman of the Economic Development Advisory Committee , thanked Sysco for choosing Johnston County He thanked the County and Selma for working together to make this a reality He also thanked the Allen Wellons and Rudolph Howell families , owners of the property , for their concessions , and noted this is truly a public private endeavor Allen Wellons noted that last year , several people in the community traveled together to see a Sysco facility in operation Everyone was very impressed and made a commitment to do everything possible to bring them to our area He offered his congratulations to everyone involved There being no further comments , the Chairman closed the public hearing Motion to Approve Incentive Package for Sysco Corporation Upon a motion by Commissioner W Ray Woodall , seconded by Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver and carried by unanimous vote , the Board approved the incentive package for Sysco Corporation as proposed There being no further business , Commissioner W Ray Woodall moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote ___________________________________ Cookie Pope , Chairman ____________________________ Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the BoardPage