Performance ATV Powersports will be moving to a new $1.3 million building with help from the City of Orange Economic Development Corporation.
The EDC Board of Directors and the Orange City Council Tuesday approved a $192,000 grant and other economic incentives. The land is along Interstate 10 west of FM 1442, where the city limits currently end. The company is asking the city to annex the land, which makes it eligible for the package.
City Economic Development Director Jay Trahan said the annexation will also allow the company to receive city police and fire protection.
“It’s awsome to see new businesses,” Mayor Larry Spears said. Orange is “open for business,” he added.
Trahan said the company will have up to 15 full-time jobs at an average of $40,000 a year. The company will also have up to 10 part-time jobs.
Performance ATV Powersports estimates the annual sales at $4 million and the city, plus the EDC, will receive sales taxes from the sales.
Trahan said the $192,000 is considered a “reimbursable grant.” The company will pay for the projects and then submit the expenses to the city EDC for reimbursement. The grant money is to pay for site work, building foundation, and plumbing.
The deal includes three years of property tax abatement on the business.
Trahan said the land to be annexed fits in the Interstate Development Corridor and will not need to be re-zoned.
Even after the investment in Performance ATV Powersports, the EDC still has $1.1 million for more investments. Money for the EDC comes from a special sales tax approved by voters.
In other business, Public Works Director Jim Wolf asked the council to reject the two bids received to line Cooper’s Gully with concrete. He said the city has a budget of $2.9 million to spend on the project. One bid was $4.9 million and another was $4.2 million.
The grant is from the Texas General Land Office as part of Hurricane Ike recovery. Wolf worked for several years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to get a permit to line the natural gully that drains part of the city into the the Sabine River.
Wolf said the city will now “cherry pick the sections we can afford” to line with concrete.
The council also approved an emergency expenditure of $51,850 to replace the chiller in the Orange Public Library’s HVAC system. Wolf said the system had been patched and repaired.
In other business, the council approved Gordon Worlow to serve on the Orange Planning and Zoning Commission. He is filling a vacancy created when Cullin Smith resigned.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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