by Laura Freeman
Reporter
Hudson -- A battle is developing between Hudson and Macedonia over who will get to keep the office headquarters for a manufacturer and distributor of exterior building materials.
Norandex, 8457 S. Bedford Road in Macedonia, would move to Hudson if incentive plans are approved by Hudson City Council and state officials, said City Manager Anthony Bales.
However, the city of Macedonia has asked the state to reject the deal.
The company's new facility would be at 300 Executive Parkway West off Boston Mills Road in an 11-year-old building, which was home to Dairy Mart headquarters up until two years ago. Norandex would lease about half of a 42,000 square-foot building, owned by CAM Developers, on 10.2 acres.
Hudson has a preliminary agreement with Norandex, but the move depends on completion of the agreement, the number of jobs the company will move and create, and approval by City Council, Bales said.
Hudson is offering a local job creation tax grant of 50 percent of the city's income tax back to the company for eight years, Bales said. Based on an estimated $5 million payroll, the grant would equal approximately $50,000 per year and $400,000 for eight years.
Norandex, which has 66 employees, must create 75 jobs in three years and maintain them for a minimum of 10 years to maintain the tax abatement.
The city of Hudson also is offering an infrastructure assessment grant to the property of $29,000 annually for five years, totaling $145,000, for a water line, Bales said. The money would be paid to the property owner and passed onto Norandex.
Bales said the company would be ready to move as soon as Council approves the agreement, possibly May 7.
Not everyone
happy with move
The city of Macedonia has registered an objection to the state to "discontinue its support of any tax incentive" to Norandex for its move to Hudson.
Macedonia wanted to create a memorandum of understanding with Hudson in which the two cities would share income tax revenue for the first eight years as compensation for Macedonia losing the company.
"We understand that Norandex wanted to move to Hudson, but it shouldn't be at our expense solely," said Steve Brunot, Macedonia's finance director. "It was a fantastic opportunity for regionalism. The problem is, Hudson didn't want to take it past the concept stage."
Brunot said Macedonia had been working with Norandex to allow the company to expand at its South Bedford Road location when the company reached a deal with Hudson.
The state awarded an incentive package of $169,138 to Norandex in 2007 to retain jobs in Macedonia, according to Brunot. The 2007 agreement with Macedonia stated Norandex would invest $500,000 in new machinery and equipment and create 30 new jobs within three years and retain 55 existing full-time jobs. The commitment remained in effect until January 2008.
"The city gave them quite a bit to keep them here, but then they went and negotiated with Hudson and Hudson got them," said Macedonia Mayor Don Kuchta.
Roberts said Norandex's Macedonia facility was not suitable for the company's needs. Norandex could have moved to Pennsylvania, but employees wanted to stay in Ohio, Roberts added.
"They came to us, and we did what we could to keep them in Ohio," she said.
Brunot said Macedonia will lose jobs, but Norandex is not one of the city's top 25 employers.
Macedonia's objection to the state legally "doesn't mean anything," Brunot said. However, he said he hopes the two communities can still work out some kind of deal.
Editor's note: Reporter Jeff Saunders contributed to this story.