Sept. 22, 2005
SEVEN CITIES WITHIN GVEZ AREA QUALIFY FOR NEW ENHANCED ENTERPRISE ZONE STATUS
GVEZ board recommends design work on Highways 50, 63; Lends support to Chamois
ferry project
LINN-The cities of Chamois, Linn, Owensville, Bland, Vienna, Belle and Argyle
meet the new criteria for Enhance Enterprise Zone status, members of the Gasconade
Valley Enterprise Zone learned Sept. 15. Mike Heimericks of the Missouri Department
of Economic Development attended the meeting at the Osage County Community Center
and discussed the application process for designation. Legislation passed in
2004 created the new Enhanced Enterprise Zone program and began phasing out
the current program, under which the Gasconade Valley Enterprise Zone was designed
on Aug. 5, 1993.
Using Census Block Group information, an area must meet certain income, population
and unemployment requirements to be eligible for EEZ status. Heimericks, working
in cooperation with Meramec Regional Planning Commission, confirmed that the
cities of Chamois, Linn, Owensville, Bland, Vienna, Belle and Argyle meet the
initial criteria. Additionally, DED and MRPC found adjacent, unincorporated
land that could be included in the zone requests for Chamois, Linn, Owensville,
Bland and Vienna.
"We were not able to string the cities in Maries, Osage and Gasconade counties
together to form one single zone, as was the case in 1993," explained Bonnie
Prigge. "However, these cities each could form an individual EEZ and, in
some cases, include some adjacent land that might have industrial development
potential in the future," Prigge added.
Heimericks explained that the new EEZ program is more flexible than the outgoing
program. There is no limit to the number EEZs that can be formed, and the EEZ
board determines what businesses to incentivize, he explained. In order to achieve
designation, each of the qualifying areas must form a local seven-member board
to govern the EEZ activity and determine what types of businesses will be offered
incentives. A public hearing must be held, and then the local governments involved
must pass ordinances approving the incentives, including in tax abatements on
real property improvements. At that point, the request for designation can be
submitted by DED. If all the legislative provisions are met, DED can approve
the EEZ.
The tax credit incentives under the new program are discretionary, which means
DED will determine what companies receive them, and they are limited-only $4
million is available in 2005 and 2006.
An enterprise zone, because of the incentives it can offer, typically encourages
development that otherwise would not occur without the inducement. New EEZs
would be able to offer some property tax abatement on real property improvements
as well as the possibility of tax credits for certain industries. At times,
some taxing entities have opposed the enterprise zone concept, citing a reduction
in tax generation. However, in some cases, the new development would not have
occurred at all. Currently, the cities and counties in the existing zone offer
a 50 percent abatement on improvements to real property, which means 50 percent
of the new improvements are taxed.
"My theory is that one-half of something is better than all of nothing,"
said Jim Kleffner, presiding commissioner of Maries County.
The GVEZ board also discussed how it could assist cities in moving forward with
EEZ designation requests. The board asked Bonnie Prigge of MRPC, who serves
as zone administrator, to talk with the qualifying cities and then meet one-on-one
with the three county commissions to determine what role GVEZ should play in
the effort and if GVEZ, as an organization, should continue after the original
zone expires in 2008. If desired, GVEZ could still provide administrative services
and serve as a single point of contact, as it does now, and continue to work
on bigger issues, such as Highway 50.
In other business, the board:
o Approved letters being sent to the Missouri Department of Transportation and
the MRPC Transportation Advisory Committee, requesting that design of improved
Highway 50 and Highway 63 be made high priorities for the region. At previous
meetings, it was noted that improvements to Highway 50 east of Jefferson City
and to Highway 63 cannot be programmed until design work is done.
o Approved a resolution in support of the Chamois ferry. Chamois Mayor Gary
Reynolds, a member of the GVEZ, said the group was gathering letters of support
for future use.
The Gasconade Valley Enterprise Zone works to promote, coordinate and facilitate
community and economic development in Gasconade, Maries and Osage counties.
A portion of the three-county area is a state designated enterprise zone that
offers certain property tax abatements to qualifying companies locating or expanding
in the zone. For more information, persons may contact Bonnie Prigge at MRPC,
at 573-265-2993.