Explanation
BACKGROUND: The City of Columbus (City) entered into a Downtown Office Incentive Agreement (hereinafter “Agreement”) with PeopleToMySite.com, LLC, dba The Shipyard, (also referred to as the “Grantee”) effective May 22, 2014. Columbus City Council approved the Agreement by Ordinance 0449-2014, approved March 10, 2014, and granted a financial incentive based on an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of the new Columbus withholding tax paid by the new employees at the project site, to commence on January 1, 2015 for a period of five (5) consecutive taxable years based on an investment of approximately $200,000 in stand-alone computers and leasehold improvements, the retention of fifty (50) full-time permanent positions and the creation of 50 new permanent full-time positions at 580 North Fourth Street, Suite 500, Columbus, OH 43215 in downtown Columbus, the Project Site.
Section 8 of Resolution 0088X-2007, adopted June, 4, 2007, the most recent City Council Resolution supporting the continuation of the Columbus Downtown Office Incentive Program, describes the determination of program term eligibility and states that the term of the incentive for qualifying employers occupying leased space shall be two (2) years less than the lease term not to exceed five (5) years, so to qualify for a five (5) year incentive term, the Grantee would need to have entered into a seven (7) year lease at the Project Site. The background section of Ordinance 0449-2014 (the authorizing legislation) indicated that the Grantee was proposing to extend their lease to seven (7) years, and by doing so would qualify for a five (5) year term. Following the execution of the Agreement, the City found that the term of the lease was not for seven (7) years but for five (5) years and three (3) months. Through correspondence with the Grantee, it was agreed that the Grantee would amend their lease to run through the end of 2018 and that the agreement would be amended to reduce the term of th...
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