Project Renew, a partnership with the Development Authority and Shaw Industries Group, Inc., has the potential to bring in a total of 300 jobs.
The Shaw facility located at 1255 South Industrial Blvd. closed last spring due to the downturn in the economy, however the company has agreed to retool the facility with a $17 million investment. If the first phase of the Renew program is successful, the company would invest another $22 million and bring in an additional 125 new jobs.
The funds Shaw is putting into the project would go toward purchasing new equipment to make new products.
However, Shaw is asking for tax abatement in return for their investment and potential job creation.
“The company is investing a great deal in this project,” said Gordon County Chamber of Commerce President, Jimmy Phillips.
Phillips said the company approached the Development Authority this past summer to discuss what kind of tax incentives both the City of Calhoun and Gordon County could offer.
“Any company wants to know what are the incentives of picking your community,” said Phillips.
The county BOC has voted to allow for the property tax abatements, which would put a hold on any real or personal property taxes. Meaning, that for the next five years the company would not owe taxes on the land on which the facility sits, or any of the contents inside the facility.
However after five years, taxes would be paid back to the city and county.
There is also a claw back agreement, meaning if the company fails to live up to their end of the agreement, all of the taxes would be owed.
“We need jobs,” said Board of Commission Chairman, Alvin Long. “This (agreement) isn’t anything we can’t do, especially to bring in jobs and business in Gordon County. Getting people working is what we’ve got to do.”
Phillips also points out that Gordon County was moved to a Tier 2 county in the Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) annual ranking of counties based on job rates. Gordon County is now eligible for an $8,000 tax credit per new job created. Shaw could benefit from the tax credit.
Phillips said that any company in Gordon County that will be creating two or more jobs is eligible for the tax credit.
A company wishing to apply must visit the DCA’s Web site at www.dca.ga.gov and download the forms, which are due back to the state by Fed. 15.
Moving forward:
Now that the Development Authority has the city and county’s approval to move forward, the next step is approval of a bond resolution for no more than $39 million in bonds.
After that, sometime next month, a bond confirmation proceeding will take place in superior court. According to Bill Thompson, Development Authority attorney, this procedure requires District Attorney Joe Campbell to sue the Development Authority and Shaw in order to confirm the value of the bonds; the bonds are then advertised and a court hearing date is set to take place in front of a superior court judge. At this point, Thompson said, the public will have an opportunity to object to the bonds issued.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Crumbly.
1)Shaw has never left Gordon County
2)This Shaw facilty was shut down because the product made there did not sell.Nothing to do with bad economy. Nobody wants SPUN Yarn anymore.
3)I was there when the Group Manager said that this facilty would cost to much to retool.
4)Less than a month after shutdown.They were already making plans for this ?New facilty??
5)No Shaw Plant pays the Same on hourly Jobs.
Even though they maybe the same job.
6)You are right about equal pay for equal work.But it sure was ironic that our yearly wage reviews went from 5% yearly in 1980s to 3.5% in 1990s and down below that in the 2000s.The 1990s were supposedly the profit era in carpet.
7)When the Plant 7 shutdown occurred. There were people let go that were experts on thier jobs.
Many with 25-30 years expirence.While across the street at another Shaw facilty people still have a job with less than one year service time.
8)Many people out of fear of losing health insurance took a job at another Shaw facilty at a 5 to 6 dollar an hour paycut.
9)Warren Buffett owns SHAW IND. Why would he need 17 million dollars in tax credits.I guess to help cover the 200 million loss on two banks in Ireland?
10)Shaw does not care about AmericanWorkers.In the book The History of Shaw Industries. It states that immigrant workers helped saved the company.No mention of the American worker whom made the company #1 in the field
I contend that Shaw caused it's own worker shortage due to the fact they didnt want to pay the hourly worker much above the poverty level
In the 1980s this Shaw Plant paid production level wages. When They stopped that,nobody wanted to work for them.
Good Citizen,I stand with you when I say thanks to Shaw for bring back some of the 600 or so jobs they dropped in our county
But It is pretty laughable when you think those Economics 101 ideas you preach are the ones this company is used to close the mill.
If those idea were so,then Shaw would close the yarn mill it owns in Arizona.One that is no where near any tufting mill.
This is the biggest crock of ..... since teh supreme court decision to appoint Bush presdent in 2000. This lie is just that, the carpet industry slowed hiring inexperienced American workers in favor of hiring illegals who would work cheaper. Don't let this type of nonsense and outright lies go unchallenged all of us who lived here in the 80's and 90's know better.
A few years ago, Shaw management made a business decision not to switch this facilty to Filament Yarn instead of Spun Yarn. When this choice was made the economy was good.But they still knew that the industry was trending to Filament.They made a business choice.It was the wrong one.
Now they want the Citizens of Gordon County to help with the cost of retooling.They bait they are using would be ceate 300 new jobs.They,like everybody else knows that we are hurting for jobs.
They want us to help pay for a bad business choice. Think about that.
I have also witnessed the influx of migratory workers.They were lured here because of the fact that nobody would work for the Carpet companies in the 80s and 90s. Shaw freely admits this in the book about the rise of Shaw Industries. They openly thank them for saving the company.
But like everything else times change. People here are willing to work in the mills now. Gordon Countians deserve the jobs first.
What are the bonds for. Poorly written article. Shaw does not need a hand out, they have plenty of money. They need to help educate the kids of their employees like the rest of the property owners. They aren't going anywhere, maybe the CofC should have some courage instead of raising property taxes by giving away money on corporate wellfare.