Elkhart County Council will consider economic incentives for an $8.6 million expansion by Winnebago during a special meeting Monday.
This story by Jordan Fouts originally appeared in the Elkhart Truth.
The company filed an application with the county in December for an economic revitalization area designation for its Middlebury facility, the first step in a proposed property tax phase-in of 10 years for real estate and seven years for new manufacturing equipment. Winnebago is considering a $7.4 million investment in land just east of its C.R. 14 facility and $1.2 million in new equipment.
The expansion would see about 290 jobs retained and another 225 full-time employees added. The new jobs represent an annual payroll of over $16.8 million.
There is the prospective of a larger project to build a regional headquarters and multiple facilities in Elkhart County in the future, but plans right now are limited to the one manufacturing plant, Mark Dobson, head of the Elkhart County Economic Development Corp., told council in January. He said the company would also pay for a sewer line extension to the site.
Council passed a declaratory resolution on an economic revitalization area at their January meeting. On Monday, they will vote on a confirmatory resolution and on a commitment and payment agreement with Winnebago that requires the company to stay in Middlebury for at least 12 years.