You are viewing this article in the AnnArbor.com archives. For the latest breaking news and updates in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area, see MLive.com/ann-arbor
Posted on Mon, Sep 21, 2009 : 11:11 a.m.

Saline will consider revoking two tax abatements at tonight's meeting: Stucchi's and ThyssenKrupp

By Paula Gardner

Saline officials will consider revoking two tax abatement requests at tonight’s City Council meeting, a move that could restore an estimated $79,000 to local taxing authorities.

The revocations involve:

• ThyssenKrupp USA, which bought 1715 Woodland Dr. in 2005 for $2.5 million, planning to expand its custom metal fabrication business. The national manufacturing downturn resulted in a global corporate restructuring announced in March, and the Saline plant - which employed fewer than two dozen early this year - closed May 15.

• Stucchi’s Ice Cream, which was produced in Saline under Stanford LLC Ltd., its licensing arm. Majority interest in that LLC was sold in March 2008 to Casey Askar, who also owns Papa Romano’s and Mr. Pita under Askar Brands. No production remains in Saline, said Lee Burgoin, city finance manager, despite a 2004 tax abatement.

Burgoin said both revocations stem from tax abatement agreements that allow a recapture of some of the abated taxes if the original terms are not met.

The re-captured taxes are called “clawbacks,” according to city Treasurer Mickie Jo Bennett, and are based on a formula that considers the length of the original abatement and the date the company ceased operations.

If approved, the tax recapture would total about $70,000 from ThyssenKrupp and $9,000 for Stucchi’s.

“We try to work with industries to get them to grow,” Burgoin said. The revocation process starts, he said, “when they don’t fulfill their part of the agreement.”

An abatement on the ThyssenKrupp building remains in effect because it’s the new home of Molded Materials Inc., which is spending $2.9 million to consolidate two Plymouth facilities into the Saline building - and adding up to 29 jobs over five years.

The agenda item involving Stanford LLC could change before tonight’s meeting, Burgoin said, since it could involve both real property and equipment abatements.

While it appears that Stucchi’s ended production in the building by early summer, the company is trying to find a new user for the 6,000-square-foot building.

Information about where Stucchi’s is now manufactured was not available this morning.