TRUMBULL COUNTY Lordstown council OKs tax break for Canadian company

Some of the new company's hires could come from a Vienna plant closing this fall.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- A Canadian company locating in the Mahoning Valley to supply parts for the new Chevrolet Cobalt will get a break on taxes.
In a special meeting Tuesday, village council unanimously approved a community reinvestment area tax incentive for Lordstown Development Interest LLC, the landlord for Automodular, which is based in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. The tax break is for a 12-year period on 75 percent on real property for the company, which will supply General Motors Lordstown with the fan module, bars for the car doors and bases for the engines of the Cobalt.
Lordstown Development Interest plans to invest more than $5.7 million to acquire and expand buildings at 1701 Henn Parkway, as well as purchase machinery, equipment, furniture and fixtures.
"This is where we wanted to be from the start," said Mark Flood, a representative of Automodular.
Flood noted that there could be as little as a two-hour turnaround from when GM needs the parts to when Automodular must deliver them. With Automodular locating in Lordstown, he said, it will be easier for both companies.
There are also plans for Automodular to hire 55 workers within the first year. Some of those workers are expected to come from the Android Industries plant in Vienna, which previously supplied similar parts to GM's Lordstown plant. The Vienna plant is expected to close in October, with about 120 workers losing their jobs.
Water contract
Also at the meeting, council gave final approval to a water contract between the village and the city of Warren. The contract allows Lordstown to purchase water from Warren and in turn supply it to the GM complex.
The contract states Warren will supply water needed for the GM plant at a quality approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the same quality supplied to Warren's customers.
Rates charged to the village for the water will fall under Warren's pricing policy where a surcharge is added on to customers outside the city limit. The contract states, however, that the total price cannot be more than 15 cents per thousand gallons above what Lordstown pays for water from Niles.
For example, if Niles charges Lordstown $1.86 per 1,000 gallons of water, Warren's price cannot exceed $2.01 for the same amount.
Also, Lordstown officials agree not to resell any water bought from Warren to any other customers without prior approval from Warren officials.
The contract goes into effect Aug. 1 and will run for 15 years.
slshaulis@vindy.com