Explanation
BACKGROUND: Columbus City Council (Council), by Ordinance 1372-2002, passed September 23, 2002, authorized the City of Columbus (City) to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement (the Agreement) with Columbus PaperBox (Enterprise) for a tax abatement of seventy-five percent (75%) for a period of ten (10) years in consideration of a $3,000,000 investment in real property improvements, an investment of up to $1,400,000 in personal property in the form of machinery and equipment and furniture and fixtures, and the relocation and retention of 30 full-time permanent jobs related to the construction of an approximately 50,000 square foot facility at 595 Van Buren Drive, parcel number 010-263052, in the West Edge Business Park, Columbus, Ohio and within the City of Columbus Enterprise Zone (Zone #023). The Agreement was made and entered into to be effective October 30, 2002 (EZA #023-02-05).
The Agreement was subsequently authorized by Council to be amended for the first time to eliminate part-time job language in the Agreement by Ordinance 1652-2007, passed November 12, 2007; and that this Agreement was subsequently authorized by Council to be amended for the second time to remove any and all language pertaining to personal property investment and tax abatements related to this personal property investment from the Agreement by Ordinance 0614-2009, passed May 11, 2009.
As per a Retention and Expansion visit conducted by City staff in April 2011, Enterprise indicated that the business was being dissolved due to poor economic conditions. According to Columbus PaperBox President Mr. William B. Reiber in a letter dated July 7, 2011, that effective April 15, 2011, Columbus PaperBox sold the folding carton portion of the operation. Unwanted machinery was to be liquidated and the building was to be sold and vacated. As such, the entity known as Columbus PaperBox and the project as described in the Agreement no longer exist and the Department of Development recommends that the Agreement be dissolved.
This legislation is presented as an emergency measure in order for this dissolution to be legislated prior to the end of 2011 so that this dissolution of the Agreement can be reported to the necessary local and state agencies prior to the end of calendar year 2011.
FISCAL IMPACT: No funding is required for this legislation.
Title
To dissolve the Enterprise Zone Agreement with Columbus PaperBox; to direct the Director of the Department of Development to notify as necessary the local and state tax authorities; and to declare an emergency.
Body
WHEREAS, the Columbus City Council (Council) approved the Enterprise Zone Agreement with Columbus PaperBox (the "EZA") on September 23, 2002 by Ordinance 1372-2002 and entered into effective October 30, 2002; and
WHEREAS, the EZA granted Columbus PaperBox a 75%/10-Year abatement on real property improvements and personal property investment; and
WHEREAS, the EZA committed Columbus PaperBox to an investment of $3,000,000 in real property improvements, up to $1,400,000 in personal property investment and the retention and relocation of 30 permanent full-time jobs related to the construction of an approximately 50,000 square foot facility at West Edge Business Park, Harmon Avenue, in Columbus, Ohio and within the City of Columbus Enterprise Zone; and
WHEREAS, the EZA was subsequently authorized by Council to be amended for the first time by Ordinance 1652-2007, passed November 12, 2007, on recommendation of the 2007 Tax Incentive Review Council to eliminate the part-time jobs in the EZA; and
WHEREAS, the EZA was subsequently authorized by Council to be amended for the second time by Ordinance 0614-2009, passed May 11, 2009, to eliminate any and all language from the EZA that pertained to personal property investment; and
WHEREAS, Columbus PaperBox indicated in April 2011 that the business would be dissolved due to poor economic conditions; and
WHEREAS, unwanted machinery was to be liquidated and the building was to be sold and vacated; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Development recommends the EZA be dissolved as the entity known as Columbus PaperBox and the project as described in the EZA has ceased to exist; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Department of Development, in that it is immediately necessary to take action on this agreement in order for this dissolution to be legislated prior to the end of 2011 so that the dissolution of the EZA can be reported to the necessary local and state agencies prior to the end of calendar year 2011, and to preserve the public health, property, safety and welfare; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
Section 1. That Columbus City Council hereby dissolves the Columbus PaperBox Enterprise Zone Agreement (Agreement Number 023-02-05) which applies a 75%/10-year real property tax abatement to parcel number 010-263052 within the City of Columbus Enterprise Zone as of December 31, 2010, with 2010 being the final reporting year and the final year for the tax exemptions.
Section 2. That the Director of Development is hereby directed to notify the necessary local and state agencies of any changes to the Columbus PaperBox Enterprise Zone Agreement.
Section 3. For the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is made a part hereof, this Ordinance is declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor, or ten (10) days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes this Ordinance.