Wright City aldermen last Thursday finalized a 14-year tax abatement plan for The Scotts Company, a redevelopment project that will generate approximately $137,000 annually in new tax revenue to be distributed to the affected taxing districts. The company, which opened a manufacturing plant earlier this year, will pay only 30 percent of its real estate taxes over the abatement period. The company will pay 100 percent of personal property taxes during the period. The overall net impact of the abatement, in conjunction with the redevelopment of the former Kaplan Lumber Company property, is expected to provide around $53,000 more in annual real tax revenue and $84,000 in personal property tax revenue than currently is generated. It's estimated that approximately $4,187,000 of personal property will be taxable once the project is fully developed. The yearly real estate tax revenue with the abatement is estimated at $103,984.66. Once the abatement period expires, the annual real estate tax revenue generated from the Scotts' property is estimated at $150,499.17. Over the entire 14-year abatement period, the real estate tax revenue collected from the property is projected to be $1,455,785.28, or $749,063.53 higher than if the site or property improvements were not made, according to a tax impact analysis. Without the redevelopment project, the real estate tax revenue is estimated to be $706,721.74 during the abatement period. Scotts, one of the world's leading lawn and garden companies, purchased the vacant commercial building at 15990 East Veterans Memorial Parkway last year. The approximate 160,000-square-foot building, located adjacent to Interstate 70 and near the Stracks Church Road overpass, had been previously owned by the Kaplan Lumber Company, which closed in January 2010. The tax abatement ordinance passed unanimously at last Thursday's board of aldermen meeting. The Wright City plant houses Miracle-Gro growing media and Scotts Natural Scapes brand processing and distribution. At the time of the company's announcement of opening a plant in Wright City, officials said the proximity to its major clients and the incentive programs were key factors in purchasing the property. The Wright City location was one of three sites under consideration by Scotts officials in June 2010 when it was disclosed the company had interest in the property. The Wright City R-II School District will be the taxing district affected the most by the abatement. However, the district will receive a considerable amount of more money compared to if the former Kaplan property remained vacant or underutilized. According to a tax impact analysis, the district is expected to receive an estimated $935,939.37 in tax revenue during the abatement period, or an annual average of $66,852.81. Without Scotts purchasing and opening a new facility, the average annual tax revenue would have been $29,692.22, or $415,691.09 over the 14-year abatement period. Once the abatement period is over and the Scotts company is paying 100 percent of its personal property taxes, the R-II district's yearly tax revenue is expected to increase to $94,212.47 All the other taxing districts entities or funds affected by the abatement - state, county, city, county road and bridge, Scenic Regional Library, Wright City Fire Protection District, Warren County Ambulance District and Warren County Disability Board - are all expected to see an annual average tax revenue increase ranging from $502.72 to $13,280.07. The only area where the abatement will cause a decrease in projected tax revenue is with commercial surtax, which is an additional levy on commercial property. According to the tax impact analysis, the amount of money to be generated during the abatement period will be $28,803.25. Without the abatement, the surtax was expected to bring in $72,937.40. However, once the abatement period is over, the taxing districts that receive the surtax funds are expected to see an increase in $1,600 over current levels. The tax abatement was part of an incentive package provided by the city and state to attract Scotts to the Wright City location. The city also formed a 353 Redevelopment Corporation to facilitate the transaction. The incentive package includes $65,094 from the Missouri Quality Jobs program, which provides tax credits to companies that create a predetermined number of jobs and $40,000 in customized training funding, recruitment assistance and energy and sales tax exemptions. As part of Scotts' contribution, the company will make a minimum of $350,000 in site and property improvements and will install approximately $3.66 million of personal property, which will primarily be industrial equipment. When responding to a resident's question who asked about the impact of the 70 percent tax abatement at last Thursday's board meeting, Alderman Jim Schuchmann noted that prior to Scotts purchasing the property the annual tax revenue received by the taxing districts was already declining. He also acknowledged that The Scotts Company wanted a 100-percent tax abatement, a proposal that city officials were not willing to meet. "On the tax rolls, the taxes were going down on that building," Schuchmann said. "The school district, ambulance district, the city; everyone was going to be receiving less and less taxes each year. When Scotts came and said they were interested, quite frankly, they would have liked 100 percent tax abatement. We said we can't do that. We can't have a negative impact on the taxing districts. We said if you really want to be in Wright City and be a good neighbor, here is what we can put on the table that there was no negative impact to the taxing districts." The positive impact, Schuchmann added, was that the company created around 30 new jobs and those employees will be purchasing lunch and other items in the city, along with having more than 100 trucks visit the plant daily. The facility also has room for two more manufacturing lines should company officials choose to expand its output at the Wright City plant. Schuchmann acknowledged it was a difficult decision to agree to the tax abatement, but knew it was needed to entice the company to open the manufacturing facility in the city. City officials are hopeful Scotts' presence leads to other future economic development possibilities. "It's something we have to struggle with all the time," he said. "Every other city out there is willing to give the store away," he said. "When we sit here and negotiate with them, we don't want to give the store away, but obviously we want them in town. We tried to figure out a win-win situation. "Scotts came to the table and offered a win-win situation. It was good for us. It works for them. I can comfortably say we came out good in this situation."