City council set to vote on Corning tax incentive measure on Jan. 23

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jan 14, 2002 by Matt Maile The Journal Record

Oklahoma City leaders are moving ahead with plans to provide Corning Inc. with tax incentives that were a help in landing a planned $380 million manufacturing plant here, though construction on the facility stopped in mid-2001.

Despite the construction delay, the city wants to have the Corning Manufacturing Tax Incentive District in place when Corning is expected to resume construction sometime in late 2002 or 2003. The tax incentive district would allow for Corning to benefit from as much as $26 million of tax abatement over a six-year period, according to city finance department documents.

The Oklahoma City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote on the tax incentive measure at its Jan. 23 meeting.

"We anticipate that they will resume construction sometime in the near future, hopefully within the next year," said Catherine O'Connor, finance director for the city.

Corning spokeswoman Michaela Iery said Friday nothing has changed since the company announced in June that it is delaying construction of the optical fiber plant.

"We remain committed to Oklahoma City," Iery said. "We expect to resume construction when market conditions permit."

The proposed Corning plant sits on 197.45 acres north of Reno Avenue on land between Morgan and Sara roads in Canadian County. The land zoned I-2 is just west of a facility operated by Seagate Technology.

After laying the groundwork and erecting a steel structure at the new optical fiber manufacturing facility, Corning in June delayed further construction.

The company said the move was necessary to match its growth in capacity with market conditions.

At the time, Corning officials said the delay in plant construction would last 12 to 18 months.

Oklahoma City officials, by preparing to enact the tax package, appeared to show confidence in Corning's plans to resume construction.

The Oklahoma City Council vote expected Jan. 23 would allow Corning to receive six years of property tax abatement. The first five years are authorized under the State of Oklahoma Quality Jobs Act and are paid for by the state. The City Council vote would allow for a sixth year of tax abatement estimated to be worth about $4 million of the total tax break, according to a memo to the City Council from City Manager James D. Couch.

The incentives are intended to promote economic development by bringing new jobs to the state.

Iery said the tax incentives were "clearly important to us."

"It was a factor in selecting Oklahoma City, but it was only one of many factors," she said. "We thought very positively about the quality of life in Oklahoma City."

The Corning plant would employ up to 800 people with a payroll totaling $45 million, according to a city review committee study. Property tax receipts as a result of the Corning development are estimated to increase about $8.6 million annually once the plant is completed.