Okaloosa County BOCC — November 17, 2015 — Set Public Hearing - Project Veteran's Pride — agenda request

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: November 17, 2015 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Rick Owen SUBJECT: Set Public Hearing - Project Veteran's Pride DEPARTMENT: County Administrator BCC DISTRICT: All STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County has been working with an entity known as Project Veteran’s Pride for the purpose of expanding its existing operations with the County. Staff requests that the Board authorize the advertising of a public hearing for the Board’s December 15, 2015 meeting for the consideration of an Ordinance approving an ad valorem tax exemption for Project Veteran’s Pride. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS: Under the Florida Constitution and Florida Statutes, the County has the authority to grant property tax exemptions provided that the voters have authorized those actions. On August 26, 2014, the voters granted that authority to Okaloosa County. Project Veteran’s Pride is an existing operation serving entities in Okaloosa County. Since beginning operations in 2011, the two owners of the company (who are also retiring Air Force Pilots) expanded its footprint by 50% in 2013. The company is ready to expand into the mass production and distribution of craft beverage within the next 1 to 5 years. The company has signed a contract with a major distributor and must increase its production by 2017. The focus of the new facility will be to provide the craft product to distributors for sale in the Southeast United States. Project Veteran’s Pride is considering purchasing equipment, with an estimated value of over $850,376 and newly acquiring an existing building with renovations injecting an additional $835,000 into the economy for a total of $1,685,376 in capital investment. This will allow them to expand their workforce by 11 employees with an average wage of $43,090 (115% of the average wage in Okaloosa County). If the company makes the decision to purchase the equipment, purchase the building and expand its workforce in Okaloosa County, the company will create the 11 new full-time jobs within the next 5 years. Furthermore, it should be noted that the facility that the company is currently considering is located in a designated Brownfield area, which is a targeted redevelopment area. It should also be noted that this company is not eligible for state incentives as incentives do not exist for a company that has a phased hiring process as this project. To grant the ad valorem tax exemption, the Board needs to adopt an Ordinance approving Project Ready. Additionally, the Board will be asked to enter into an Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Performance Agreement for Project Veteran’s Pride. It is anticipated that it will be considered at the same time the as the proposed Ordinance. OPTIONS: Approve/Disapprove. RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the advertising of a public hearing to be held December 15, 2015 for the adoption of an Ordinance granting an ad valorem tax exemption for Project Veteran’s Pride. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator