The City of Jasper Common Council met with full attendance on Wednesday evening. (04/17/2024) Along with the initial approval of the previous month’s meeting for March of 2024, the agenda had a variety of Tax Abatement Compliance Forms to approve.
There are two main tax abatements that were considered with each company present, that being either real property tax abatement or personal property tax abatement.
Real property tax abatement is used when a property tax deduction is needed to finance the construction of a new structure or a rehabilitation of a property. (This does not include land).
Personal property tax abatement is used when the installation of equipment/supplies/machines/etc. is needed.
So, in the grand scheme of it all: Local companies have applied for these tax abatements to help cover costs of expanding their businesses, and the Common Council either approves or denies them so long as they adhere to the stated agreement between said entity and the City of Jasper.
The Common Council considered the compliance of the following entities, to which they already have existing tax abatement agreements:
- Jasper Lofts, LLC (real property) – Approved
- Vine Street Lofts, LLC (real property) – Approved
- Jasper Engine Exchange, Inc. (real property) – Approved
- Jasper Engine Exchange, Inc. (personal property) – Approved
- Kimball Hospitality, Inc. (personal property) – Approved
- Ditto Sales, Inc. (personal property) – Approved
- German American Bank (real property) – Approved
- Jasper Chair Company, Inc. (real property) – Approved
- Jasper Chair Company, Inc. (personal property) – Approved
- Meyer Distributing, Inc. (personal property) – Approved
- Meyer Distributing, Inc. (personal property) – Approved
- Braun Family Properties, LLC (RE) – Approved
- Transit Properties, LLC (RE) – Approved
All entities presented were approved by the seven council members in attendance.
The Council presented and approved Ordinance No. 2024-4, which amends the rates and charges for sewage disposal services for the City of Jasper.
The Council presented and approved Ordinance No. 2024-5, which amends the rental fees for the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center and the handling fees for phone, mail-in, or online purchases of tickets for Jasper Community Arts Commission sponsored, ticketed performances. This Ordinance will increase the rental rates of The Atrium at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, to better compete with venue rental prices of other local vendors.
The final item on the agenda was the reading and approval of Resolution No. 2024-6, a resolution which adopts the provisions of the “Build Operate Transfer” Statute which authorizes the utilization of “public-private agreements” when considering procurement for the construction, financing and/or operation of future public projects. This Resolution will provide a “safety-net” for the City in future agreements with outside contractors who accept construction bids. This will make it the outside contractor’s obligation to complete the stated project, as initially agreed upon in-conjunction with the City of Jasper.
The next regular meeting of the Jasper Common Council is set for Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024, at the Jasper City Hall.
18 WJTS-TV will re-air the Jasper Common Council Meeting for the month of April in its entirety, on Sunday, April 21st at 7AM EST, with YouTube video upload to follow.
