By GLEN WERLING
Members of the Ossian Town Council Monday night paved the way for some big developments in the Ossian Industrial Park.
Council members Josh Barkley, Brad Pursley, Jeff Kemper, Jason House and Dennis Ealing adopted Resolution 22-2-4, a reimbursement agreement to cover 40 percent of the interest payment that will not exceed $250,000 over a three-year period for a 30,000-foot spec building in the Park One Ossian Industrial Park.
The spec building, which is estimated to cost $2.8 million, is being developed by Logan Properties LLC of Fort Wayne. The building will be expandable to 60,000 square feet and will be built in the open field area of the park just west of Haldrup Inc.
Wells County Economic Development Director Chad Kline explained that the property is already attracting interest from potential buyers as it fills a unique niche in the industrial building market.
Should the building sell prior to the three-year interest reimbursement period, the amount of interest paid by the town will be reduced. The town, however, will still pay the 40 percent of whatever that final figure is while the county will still pay 60 percent.
“If we get a call tomorrow from an interested buyer, then Ossian (nor the county) would pay nothing at all,” Kline said.
The reimbursement agreement with Logan Properties calls for the building to be completed on or before Feb. 28, 2023, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Ossian’s share of the interest payment will be made using economic development income tax funds.
“Bluffton-based James S. Jackson Company has been contracted to assist with the construction of the building. The Bradley Company, Fort Wayne, will market the building on behalf of the developer,” Kline said.
“The development team is very excited to partner with the Town of Ossian and Wells County to better prepare for new opportunities in its industrial market,” Martin Huttenlocker of Logan Properties said in a press release.
“The size range of the proposed spec building is strategically aligned with the market’s high demand and Ossian Park One’s ideal shovel ready site,” Huttenlocker continued.
The council members also approved tax abatement for two existing Ossian industries planning to expand their operations.
Peña’s Mechanical Contractors at 400 Carol Ann Lane in the Park One Ossian Industrial Park is adding 10,320 square feet of storage and manufacturing space to the south side of its existing building at a cost of $875,000.
In a tax abatement statement of benefits, Peña’s vice president Isaac Peña stated that the new expansion will result in the addition of four employees with total salaries of $166,400.
The council agreed to grant Peña’s tax abatement of 100 percent for the first four years and 50 percent for the fifth year — meaning the company will not pay property taxes on the new development for the first four years of its existence and 50 percent of its assessed valuation on the final year of the abatement period.
Rethceif Enterprises LLC was granted a similar abatement only Rethceif was seeking two separate abatements — one for real property and the other for personal property.
The real property development will be a 19,375-square-foot addition to the existing building to be used for fabrication and assembly.
The addition is expected to cost $1,011,635 and it is expected to result in the addition of five employees to the payroll with total salaries of $260,000.
The personal property addition will be for several pieces of equipment which will include a fiber laser, a vertical saw, a jib crane and an overhead crane. The total cost of the new equipment will be $966,505 and is expected to result in the addition of four employees to the payroll with total salaries of $260,000.
The abatement on the real property is 100 percent for four years and 50 percent for the fifth year. The abatement on the personal property is 100 percent for four years only.
The council members also approved of investing in improving the town’s streets.
API Construction of LaOtto will be paid $322,900 to improve the following streets:
• Siebold Street from the dead end to Mill Street.
• LaFever Street from Siebold Street to the Eight Mile Creek bridge.
• Norwalt Street from Young Street to LaFever Street.
• Ogden Place from cul-de-sac to cul-de-sac.
• Ogden Street Roe Street to the cul-de-sac.
• Maxine Drive from Oakdale Drive to Millside Court.
API’s bid was the lowest of four received and engineer for Ossian, Jim Breckler of Engineering Resources, believes one reason for that might be because API will already be in town as it was the winning bidder for the Greenwood Trail project.
Major funding for the projects will come from a state-issued Community Crossings Matching Grant.
The council also agreed to pay Engineering Resources an amount not to exceed $51,500 for the engineering work involved with street improvements and the addition of a sidewalk on Woodcreek Drive to Greenwood Trail in the Sandalwood housing subdivision on the town’s south side.
Woodcreek Drive is the street that leads into the addition from Ind. 1/Jefferson Street and runs next to the New Hope Lutheran Church.
The project includes the replacement of a steel pipe with a concrete culvert over the William Smith Drain.
The project is estimated by Breckler to cost between $1.2 and $1.4 million and its undertaking is contingent upon the town receiving a Community Crossings Matching Grant.
Even if the town is unable to land a grant and the project has to be delayed Breckler will still prepare the necessary engineering work for the project so that it will be ready to go when a grant is received.
A project that is currently on hold is a Hickory Lane-Shady Lane water main replacement project in the Rose Ann Heights housing subdivision.
The council had put the project out for bid, but received no bids from any interested contractors.
Breckler said that he was contacted by contractors, after the bidding period expired, who expressed an interest in the project, but they told him that the substantial completion date was too short of a window, the prices of PVC pipe right now are too volatile, and they already had a number of projects lined up for this spring and summer.
Breckler suggested if the council was open to extending the substantial completion date window from October of 2022 to perhaps as far as summer of 2023, there might be more contractors interested in the project.
The project is being funded by federal COVID-19 relief grant funds and those funds will be available to pay for the project through the summer of 2023, Town Manager Luann Martin said.
The council agreed to rebid the project with a longer substantial completion window.
glenw@news-banner.com
