Council approves amendments for TIF

PLYMOUTH — Befitting the long, arduous path it took, the project plan amendments for tax incremental finance district 4 won City Council approval Tuesday after a nearly three-hour long meeting.

The projects include $4.5 million worth of road and utility work in the County PP/Pilgrim Road industrial park, $1 million toward restoration of the Plymouth-Kohler rail line by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad, and installation of quiet-zone crossings with guards at three street/rail intersections in the city.

The amendment was approved by a vote of 6-0. Aldermen Ronald Lade and John Anderson abstained, apparently in a parliamentary effort to block passage of the amendments.

City Attorney Ronald Damp explained that, in order to be a valid vote on the proposal, a quorum — or six members — of the council had to cast votes either for or against.

As he had before, Lade continued to object to the lack of information and commitment from the major prospective industry, AMworx, for which the $4.5 million worth of work in the industrial park would be done.

“In good conscience I cannot vote for it,” Lade said of the amendment. “I don’t know if it’s a good factory or a bad factory. I just don’t have enough information to go ahead and gamble the taxpayer’s money.”

“We’re not approving expenditures for these projects at this time,” Alderman Jim Sedlacek countered. “These are proposed projects that would be completed if this company comes to town and builds what they say they are going to build.”

“Because (the projects) are in the plan doesn’t mean they’re going to absolutely be done,” added Phil Cosson of Ehlers and Associates, the city’s financial advisor. Cosson was unable to attend the meeting due to the snow storm but participated in the discussion over speakerphone.

Mayor Donald Pohlman added that the projects would not be approved or begun until a developer’s agreement is in place with AMworx. The company has indicated to city officials it will build a $39.5 million facility in the industrial in the next four years that could employ 400 to 600 people.

“These projects are not going forward until the dotted line is signed,” Pohlman stated. “Why not the other way around,” Lade asked.

“So we have the table set first,” Pohlman responded.

“Does the council vote for every item on this list before money is spent? The answer is yes,” Alderman Donn Davis added.

He pointed out that the railroad-related projects on the list are not contingent on the AMworx proposal.

Davis added that the safe rail crossings are a major concern to residents of his aldermanic district, which includes several of the crossings, and to make sure provision was made for their construction without utilizing tax dollars, he would vote for the amendment.

During the public address portion of the council meeting, seven people endorsed the proposed amendments and the AMworx projects.

County Board Chairman Michael Vandersteen reiterated that the company, currently located in Sheboygan Falls, has received a $250,000 revolving loan from the county and could receive more.

“We need to do everything we can to foster these homegrown businesses and not cause them to go elsewhere,” Vandersteen told the council.

George Bruggentheis of the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, former alderman and mayoral candidate James Flanagan, city railroad coordinator Jerry Thompson, Chris Merklein and Violet Feldmann all endorsed the TIF amendments.

Two neighbors of the industrial park, town of Sheboygan Falls residents Hubert Van de Pas and Crystal Mulder, spoke against the amendment.

“We’ll be directly affected by future development — property values, water values, air quality,” Van de Pas stated.

Wisconsin and Southern President Bill Gardiner urged the council to adopt the plan.

He cited the positive economic impact rail service upgrades have had in many Wisconsin communities his railroad serves, including Horicon, Oshkosh, Ripon, Edgerton and more.

Gardiner said the railroad has recruited 17 new industrial customers along its lines in the state so far this year and is looking at five more. “We’d like to add Plymouth to that list. This rail line will produce jobs.”

Gardiner also assured the council that the AMworx process is “a really green process, very clean, very quiet. When you’re in the plant and the process is going, the only thing you hear is the forklift moving material.”

He explained that the company is currently leasing a 100,000-square foot building in Sheboygan Falls and is already hiring new employees.

Gardiner added that he and Pohlman have been operating under a confidentiality agreement with AMworx during negotiations to this point because of the company’s unique proprietary process.

The council received copies of a letter from Andy McConnell, managing member of AMworx, to Pohlman stating that, “as we experience success with our business in the future, we will certainly give consideration to expansion in Sheboygan County which will include the Plymouth Industrial Park.”

The council also approved a $1 million loan from the State Trust Fund to cover the TIF 4 expenses including an incentive payment to Sartori Foods and some utility projects in the industrial park.

Lade challenged the loan, saying that it was intended to “bail out” the TIF because it is not cash-flowing.

Cosson responded that the district does have a positive cash flow and that the borrowing was no different than other bonding the city has done for TIF projects in the past, except that the trust fund loan offers the city a much lower interest rate.