WARREN, Ohio – The first of three Trumbull County political subdivisions approved a joint economic development district for a nearly 644-acre site that includes the property where Kimberly-Clark Corp. plans to build an $800 million plant.
Following a public hearing, members of Warren City Council voted unanimously Wednesday evening to approve the JEDD during their regularly scheduled meeting.
Warren is one of three communities – joining Howland Township and Warren Township – that would be part of the proposed Warren-Howland-Warren Joint Economic Development District. Howland and Warren townships also held public hearings on the proposal Wednesday but did not act on it.
“This is sort of landmark legislation for the city of Warren, because it’s the first JEDD for our city,” Mayor Doug Franklin said. “This is a transformational project, and we’ve cleared the first hurdle.”
Kimberly-Clark is working on the site’s foundation now and anticipates steel erection getting underway this summer, J. Branch Sinkule, senior director of government relations, state and local, for Kimberly-Clark, told council members.
“We anticipate later this summer to do some steel structure erection,” he continued. “We envision that the manufacturing building will be completed by the end of next year.”
The plant will manufacture absorbent hygiene products including diapers, incontinence pants and menstrual products, he also said. The first phase of the plant will employ approximately 500 workers, and pay for both hourly and salaried workers will be benchmarked “very competitively with manufacturing in the region,” he said.
“We know that to get top talent in hourly and salary ranks, you got to be competitive,” he remarked.
Funds generated through the JEDD, which would assess a 2% income tax within the JEDD on wages paid to persons employed within the district and a 25% tax on net profits generated by businesses located within the district, would help to fund needed infrastructure improvements within the district.
“For that site really to grow, there are vital infrastructure needs that have to be addressed,” Sinkule said. “This JEDD mechanism is a sensible way to do that, and we support it.”
In a written statement Sinkule shared with media outlets, Kimberly-Clark said it had requested the city and the two townships form the JEDD “to create a dedicated future revenue stream for future infrastructure developments supporting future growth on the Kimberly-Clark site and economic development in the Warren area.”
The project site is in Howland and Warren townships, which would provide police and fire/emergency medical services, including the continuation of any mutual aid agreements in effect with the JEDD parties. The city of Warren would provide water, sanitary sewer and waste collection services within the JEDD and administer the tax revenue collected, which also would be shared among the three communities.
“It’s great to see the city of Warren working side by side with Warren Township and Howland Township. That kind of collaboration is exactly what this region needs more of,” Mike McGiffin, vice president, engagement and investor relations, for Lake to River Economic Development, said during the public hearing.
Along with Sinkule and McGiffin, Warren resident Paul Yannucci spoke in support of the JEDD during the public hearing. He recalled applying for a job with Kimberly-Clark when he lived in Delaware. Though he didn’t end up getting hired, he was impressed with the cleanliness of the plant.
“It’s so clean that you could eat off the floors in that place. You could even operate,” he said. “We couldn’t ask for a better organization to be here.”
Similar to Franklin, Councilman-at-Large Michael O’Brien said formation of the proposed JEDD is “a landmark decision” for the area. He recalled the “bitterness” years ago among local communities, as exemplified by the formation of the Howland Defense League to prevent Warren from annexing the township.
“Now this is everyone extending their hands, and everyone’s cooperating for the quest for these jobs,” he remarked.
Other Business
In other business, council members, on a 6-4 vote, approved another 90-day extension of the closure of Dana Street near the former industrial buildings once owned by Delphi Packard Electric Systems now being redeveloped by AutoParkit LLC. City officials and council members toured the property last week.
Christopher Alan, president of Dasher Lawless LLC, the parent of AutoParkit and several other subsidiaries, requested the closing of the street as his company gradually renovates the buildings. He also wants City Council to permanently close that section of Dana Street so he can convert the area into a gated manufacturing campus.
Among those speaking out against the extension was city resident Diane Manofsky. The Dana Street closure has increased traffic on nearby residential streets, including Paige Avenue and 4th Street.
“Dana Street was never closed for Packard Electric for Ohio Lamp,” she said. “So why now?”
After the meeting, Franklin acknowledged that council members were “wearing thin” regarding the Dana Street closing and they are getting pressure from city residents.
“It’s a delicate balance,” he continued. Alan has created “a lot of jobs” at the plant site, and the city is collecting tax revenue.
“My hope is that they’ll see some more visible improvements and some more advanced job creation so he can take it to the level that he wants to do, that he promised in the first place,” he said. “That will make this process a lot easier in the future.”
Pictured at top: A rendering of Kimberly-Clark’s proposed facility in Trumbull County.