Okaloosa County BOCC — February 16, 2016 — Veteran's Pride Public Hearing Request — agenda request

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: February 16, 2016 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Rick Owen SUBJECT: Veteran's Pride Public Hearing Request DEPARTMENT: County Administrator BCC DISTRICT: All STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Board at its meeting on January 5, 2016, adopted Ordinance 16-01which granted an Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Project Veteran’s Pride. That Ordinance contemplated that Project Veteran’s Pride would expand a site at 656 Lovejoy Road in the City of Fort Walton Beach. As a result of certain business opportunities, Project Veteran’s Pride has determined that it would be beneficial to locate to another site at 125 Lovejoy Road, Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The business would still qualify for an Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption but the prior Ordinance would need to be amended and an Amended Performance Agreement would need to be entered into. Staff seeks authorization to schedule and advertise a public hearing to be held on March 1, 2016 for consideration of the Amendment to the Ordinance. 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 $852,005 and newly acquiring an existing building with renovations injecting an additional $554,500 into the economy for a total of $1,406,505 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). The Board previously approved the Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Project Veteran’s Pride through the adoption of Ordinance 16-01 at its meeting on January 5, 2016. However since that approval, a new opportunity has arisen to locate the expansion at a different location. This new site is located at 125 Lovejoy Road which is outside of the City of Fort Walton Beach. To continue to grant the Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Project Veteran’s Pride, the Board must amend the previously adopted Ordinance to identify the new site and approve an Amended Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Performance Agreement for Project Veteran’s Pride. Staff requests authorization to schedule and advertise a public hearing for consideration of the amendments to Ordinance 16-01 and consider the Amended Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Performance Agreement. OPTIONS: Approve/Disapprove. RECOMMENDATION: Authorize staff to schedule and advertise a public hearing to be held March 1, 2016 for the adoption of an Ordinance amending Ordinance 16-01 for Project Veteran’s Pride based upon the new location and based upon the proposed enhancements at that site. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator