LAWRENCE COUNTY Commissioners set vote on land in Neshannock

Lawrence County is joining the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- An additional 200 acres in Neshannock Township will go off the tax rolls in hopes of attracting businesses.
County commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday to designate the property, located in the proposed Millennium Park, as a Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone.
The state designation means the property is exempt from state and local taxes until 2013. Federal taxes must be paid.
Neshannock supervisors and school officials already approved the designation.
The land is part of a 1,200-acre tract off Pa. Route 60, where a high-tech business park is planned.
Gov. Ed Rendell has committed $15 million to help develop the land with sewage and water lines.
Rendell has said a semiconductor company is considering moving into the industrial park.
Other details
Commissioner Roger DeCarbo said the tax-free zone will apply only to the land where the plant is expected to be built and not service areas such as parking lots.
This property would join 350 acres in the county already designated KOEZ land a few years ago. About 150 acres in that tract is in Neshannock Township.
Economic leaders say the KOEZ designation is a tool to attract businesses.
Development group
In other business, Lawrence County got approval from the state to join the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. The group includes nine other counties and Pittsburgh.
The commission's services include providing paid federal lobbyists and a staff that helps members with economic development projects. It will cost Lawrence about $12,000 annually for membership.
County commissioners must name five people to sit on the SPC executive board.
Commissioners said Thursday they expect to take three of those spots and James Gagliano, the county's planning director, also will be named to the board. Commissioners were unsure who would be named to the fifth spot.
cioffi@vindy.com