Explanation
BACKGROUND: Columbus City Council (COUNCIL), by Ordinance No. 1269-2013, passed June 17, 2013, authorized the City of Columbus (CITY) to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement (the AGREEMENT) with Riverview Hotel, LLC (ENTERPRISE) for a tax abatement of seventy-five percent (75%) for a period of ten (10) years in consideration of a proposed $13.37 million investment in real property improvements and the creation of 14 full-time jobs with an associated annual payroll of approximately $502,000 related to the construction of a new 95,321 square foot hotel to be known as Hampton Inn & Suites University Area on parcel number 010-117361, located at 3160 Olentangy River Road in Columbus Ohio and within the Columbus North Enterprise Zone. The AGREEMENT was made and entered into effective August 12, 2013 (EZA #393-13-07) with the abatement currently effective from 2014-2023.
The job and payroll commitments of the ENTERPRISE as per the AGREEMENT are 14 new jobs to be created as a result of the project with a commensurate total annual payroll of $502,000. The original application from 2013 indicated that all 14 new commitments were to be at $12 per hour or higher. City policy is to only incentivize full-time jobs that pay at least $12 per hour, so although the Report Year 2015 annual report submitted by ENTERPRISE contained seventy-nine (79) total employee records, after the part-time and sub-$12 per hour jobs were removed from the analysis there remained only five (5) eligible employee records that met the requirements of the aforementioned City policy with a commensurate payroll of $380,700, for a 36% and 24% attainment respectively.
The City reported to the 2016 TIRC on August 17, 2016 the status of the Project and the TIRC found the AGREEMENT not to be in compliance but “recommended to continue, for City Staff to contact and meet with the hotel operator and management to determine why the jobs as reported don’t coincide with the jobs from the applicatio...
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