Explanation
BACKGROUND: Columbus City Council (Council), by Ordinance 0639-2008, passed July 7, 2008, authorized the City of Columbus (City) to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement (the Agreement) with American Signature, Inc. & JAL Realty Co. (together, Enterprise) for a tax abatement of seventy-five percent (75%) for a period of ten (10) years in consideration of a $2,600,000 investment in real property improvements, a $7,130,000 investment in personal property, and the retention of 178 permanent full-time jobs with an associated payroll of $7,400,000 related to the renovation of a distribution center facility on parcel number 530-156597 at 3080 Alum Creek Drive in Columbus, Ohio and within the City of Columbus Enterprise Zone. The Agreement was made and entered into to be effective September 17, 2008 (EZA# 023-08-03). This Agreement was subsequently authorized by Council to be amended for the first 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.
The 2010 Columbus Tax Incentive Review Council (TIRC) reviewed the American Signature, Inc. and JAL Realty Co. Enterprise Zone project on August 19, 2010, and recommended that the Agreement be continued and that City send Enterprise a job creation warning letter and request a meeting with Enterprise to (1) discuss the job situation, (2) discuss likely job retention goals in light of the nature of employment needs, and (3) amend Agreement if need be to reflect revised job numbers. Both City and Enterprise have been compliant with the requests of the TIRC. The 2011 TIRC reviewed the project on August 18, 2011 and recommended that the Agreement be continued based on the pending status of legislation. This legislation seeks to authorize amendment of the Agreement to amend the job retention requirements as set forth in the Agreement to maintain a retained j...
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