#MIDDLEBURY #PILOTSEASONINGS #EIDC
By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE
On Oct. 25, the Middlebury Economic and Industrial Development Commission (EIDC) discussed a tax-incentive application by Mary Volpe to move her Waterbury business to Middlebury. It also discussed possible changes to the tax-incentive application forms and creation of commercial building architectural guidelines and set 2017 meeting dates.
A decision on the tax-incentive application by Pilot Seasonings, which also operates under the name Amodio’s, was postponed because the application did not make clear the business entity receiving the abatement. The company has been in business for 35 years and currently employs six full-time and six part-time workers. Production consists of mixing seasonings, not manufacturing them.
The application, prepared by owner Mary Volpe, described plans to lease a 16,000-square-foot building on 125 North Benson Road and renovate it with $110,000 of improvements for the spice-mixing operations. She estimated it would have about $250,000 of machinery and equipment subject to personal property taxes and would hire one full-time and two part-time employees in the next two years. If approved, the company could qualify for a three-year tax abatement of 35 percent the first year that would decline 10 percent in each of the next two years.
Volpe appeared before the commission several times in 2013 with plans to construct a similar size building almost across the street at 68 North Benson Road. That project received a favorable review after discussions on architectural appearance. Volpe submitted a tax abatement application in September 2013, but later withdrew it due to the poor economy.
In the new application, an entity called “JRS Holdings LLC” is the building lessee. Commissioner David Cappelletti noted it was common for holding companies to be used for tax purposes, and Commissioner Ted Mannello recommended the application be amended to make clear who would receive the abatement.
A favorable EIDC vote is a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen (BoS) that the application conforms and complies with the town’s requirements for a tax incentive. The BoS can then schedule a special town meeting to vote on the incentive, return the application to the EIDC for more information or take no action. An abatement for O2 Concepts LLC to move to Middlebury from Newtown was approved in September.
In other matters, members discussed the application forms used for the abatement program and recommended two changes. Rather than “audited or reviewed financial statements,” Cappelletti recommended requiring “accountant-prepared” financial statements. He also recommended a declaration of personal property taxes be included to help the assessor.
Members also reviewed a draft architectural guideline document for EIDC use in future reviews. The document was prepared by Chairman Terry McAuliffe at the suggestion of Commissioner Frank Mirovsky from a draft document being considered in New Milford. It provides general guidelines for the exterior design of commercial buildings and treatment of facades and takes into account Middlebury’s seven distinct commercial areas. Mannello recommended a work session for members to develop it into a formal working document.
In procedural matters, it was unanimously voted the current meeting time of the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. will continue into 2017.
The next regular EIDC meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room.
