February 2nd, 2018
HORNELL, NY – In the Hornell IDA’s first meeting of the year, there were some new faces at the table, some familiar faces that have gone, and others that just moved over a seat.
New to the board was John Carbone, who takes over the spot left by retired alderman Joe Foreman, and John Buckley as Mayor. Former Mayor Shawn Hogan simply slid over a chair in his new role as a consultant.
Rounding out the board are Jim Griffin, George Prete, Dave Parmley, Sam Nasca, and John Dagon serving as their attorney.
In the first order of business, a resolution was passed transferring ownership of 11.65 acres of land on the Airport road to the Basset group who is well under way developing new housing units on that property. Originally, the IDA planned on holding the title until the housing project was 100% completed, but then decided it would be in both parties best interest to transfer it over now.
According to IDA head Jim Griffin, the Basset group is also very interested in purchasing the adjacent 15 acres currently owned by the IDA and constructing new homes. Griffin and the board were for the idea, with the stipulation that they must develop the property within 5 years or ownership reverts back to the IDA.
Also it was announced that TTA will be investing over $2 million in renovations to the interior of their plant and are asking the IDA for a break on sales tax for materials and their mortgage tax. According to Griffin, before the IDA can grant any tax exemptions or other financial assistance to a business, they must conduct an evaluation of the project and weigh the benefits to the community versus what financial assistance is being handed out. “I have never seen a company grade out as high as TTA,” explained Griffin, “Usually companies grade out either 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 in a cost benefit analysis, but TTA comes in at 129 to 1 which is outstanding.” Griffin said that they currently employ 27 people and plan on hiring 30 more in the near future.
In other news it was announced that the Center of Excellence project planned for the old SKF building is on hold because they can’t get an agreement with the state.
And finally, Alstom has informed the IDA that they will need all of the land including the Sunset location for their new test track. They will also be constructing a new bridge to access it at a cost of $2 million. They have also requested a small parcel of land be turned over to them near the north end of the Depot to access the tracks.
Hornell IDA Board of Directors
