County County Approves First Steps For IGDB Tax Abatement
February 10, 2023 at 2:03 a.m.
County County Approves First Steps For IGDB Tax Abatement
By David [email protected]
Attorney Steve Snyder presented the five-year tax abatement request to the Kosciusko County Council on behalf of IGDB Biogas LLC, an Ohio company.
“Which, I think is bringing something to the county you’ve not seen before,” he said.
The property is at 9194 N. Orn Road, Milford, known as the Beer Dairy Farm, southwest of Waubee Lake.
Snyder said IGDB has developed a process of taking “valuable stuff” out of manure. “The end product is what is called renewable natural gas. Manure goes into the digester. It’s transformed into methane. The methane is then scrubbed and made into renewable natural gas,” he said.
There are certain things that obviously have to occur, he said, and that requires the digester to be located next to a dairy farm.
“They recently suggested the establishment of one of these digester systems in Dekalb County. That was approved and that was approved with a 10-year tax abatement on personal property,” Snyder said, adding that for Kosciusko County IGDB was looking for a five-year tax abatement on a $4.5 million project. The project will include two digesters and the scrubber.
“One of the other keys to this project is you’ve got to be close to a natural gas line because when that methane is scrubbed and renewable natural gas is created, it needs to go directly into a pipeline. Well, there happens to be a pipeline in this particular location,” Snyder said.
In order to have the council consider the tax abatement at a confirmation hearing, Snyder said the council has to look at all of those necessary elements that they’ve seen before.
“Obviously, this is not employment-intense, but it is an opportunity to establish something we haven’t seen, and that is providing a form of tax abatement benefit to agriculture,” Snyder said.
He said former Councilman Tom Anglin used to give him a hard time every time he came before the council requesting a tax abatement because tax abatements were not made available to agriculture by state legislators.
“But this will be a personal property system that is owned by IGDB and it will be a part of a contract with the farm for the constant supply of manure and for the payment to the farmer of 12% of the gross income that’s generated by the natural gas that is created. There’s no expense to the farmer, in this case the dairy farm. All the expense of operating the facility is borne by the owner of the personal property and it will take three employees to do it. Roughly $52,000 a year to each employee. So, again, we’re not employee-intense, but we’re creating something we haven’t seen before and that is a benefit to the agricultural industry in the county, which you usually don’t get to do,” Snyder explained.
At Thursday’s council meeting, he requested two things: “a declaration of the real estate that is described in the declaratory resolution as an economic revitalization area, and then a preliminary determination that the council will approve the tax abatement as requested for a period of five years and schedule a confirmatory resolution hearing for March 9 and we’ll publish notice in regard to that.”
Long said this was very similar to a project south of Plymouth in Marshall County. He said the Homestead Dairy has had one in place for a long time and the gas from the system generates electricity for the facility. He said anyone can Google it and get an idea of what’s involved.
“Here again, I’ve always been kind of against tax abatements; however, this is agriculture, which I’m involved in,” Long said, and it’s bringing business to the county, which he believes is what tax abatements should do. “I’m excited about this.”
Snyder said it also has another benefit and “that’s simply an environmental benefit because we’re creating renewable natural gas. The odor is decreased. What affluent remains after the scrubber is done creating gas, goes back into the same lagoon it would have gone in without any treatment at all. ... There is the environmental benefit along with the economic benefit.”
He said the sale of the gas is to a supplier of natural gas.
Councilman Tony Ciriello made the motion to approve a declaration of the real estate described in the declaratory resolution as an economic revitalization area and a preliminary determination that the council will approve the tax abatement as requested for a period of five years and schedule a confirmatory resolution hearing for March 9. Councilwoman Kathleen Groninger seconded the motion and it was approved 6-0. Councilman Dave Wolkins was not at Thursday’s meeting.
Attorney Steve Snyder presented the five-year tax abatement request to the Kosciusko County Council on behalf of IGDB Biogas LLC, an Ohio company.
“Which, I think is bringing something to the county you’ve not seen before,” he said.
The property is at 9194 N. Orn Road, Milford, known as the Beer Dairy Farm, southwest of Waubee Lake.
Snyder said IGDB has developed a process of taking “valuable stuff” out of manure. “The end product is what is called renewable natural gas. Manure goes into the digester. It’s transformed into methane. The methane is then scrubbed and made into renewable natural gas,” he said.
There are certain things that obviously have to occur, he said, and that requires the digester to be located next to a dairy farm.
“They recently suggested the establishment of one of these digester systems in Dekalb County. That was approved and that was approved with a 10-year tax abatement on personal property,” Snyder said, adding that for Kosciusko County IGDB was looking for a five-year tax abatement on a $4.5 million project. The project will include two digesters and the scrubber.
“One of the other keys to this project is you’ve got to be close to a natural gas line because when that methane is scrubbed and renewable natural gas is created, it needs to go directly into a pipeline. Well, there happens to be a pipeline in this particular location,” Snyder said.
In order to have the council consider the tax abatement at a confirmation hearing, Snyder said the council has to look at all of those necessary elements that they’ve seen before.
“Obviously, this is not employment-intense, but it is an opportunity to establish something we haven’t seen, and that is providing a form of tax abatement benefit to agriculture,” Snyder said.
He said former Councilman Tom Anglin used to give him a hard time every time he came before the council requesting a tax abatement because tax abatements were not made available to agriculture by state legislators.
“But this will be a personal property system that is owned by IGDB and it will be a part of a contract with the farm for the constant supply of manure and for the payment to the farmer of 12% of the gross income that’s generated by the natural gas that is created. There’s no expense to the farmer, in this case the dairy farm. All the expense of operating the facility is borne by the owner of the personal property and it will take three employees to do it. Roughly $52,000 a year to each employee. So, again, we’re not employee-intense, but we’re creating something we haven’t seen before and that is a benefit to the agricultural industry in the county, which you usually don’t get to do,” Snyder explained.
At Thursday’s council meeting, he requested two things: “a declaration of the real estate that is described in the declaratory resolution as an economic revitalization area, and then a preliminary determination that the council will approve the tax abatement as requested for a period of five years and schedule a confirmatory resolution hearing for March 9 and we’ll publish notice in regard to that.”
Long said this was very similar to a project south of Plymouth in Marshall County. He said the Homestead Dairy has had one in place for a long time and the gas from the system generates electricity for the facility. He said anyone can Google it and get an idea of what’s involved.
“Here again, I’ve always been kind of against tax abatements; however, this is agriculture, which I’m involved in,” Long said, and it’s bringing business to the county, which he believes is what tax abatements should do. “I’m excited about this.”
Snyder said it also has another benefit and “that’s simply an environmental benefit because we’re creating renewable natural gas. The odor is decreased. What affluent remains after the scrubber is done creating gas, goes back into the same lagoon it would have gone in without any treatment at all. ... There is the environmental benefit along with the economic benefit.”
He said the sale of the gas is to a supplier of natural gas.
Councilman Tony Ciriello made the motion to approve a declaration of the real estate described in the declaratory resolution as an economic revitalization area and a preliminary determination that the council will approve the tax abatement as requested for a period of five years and schedule a confirmatory resolution hearing for March 9. Councilwoman Kathleen Groninger seconded the motion and it was approved 6-0. Councilman Dave Wolkins was not at Thursday’s meeting.
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