Commissioners to vote on incentives for Johnson Controls
Incentives for Johnson Controls Inc. will be among the items for consideration at the county commissioners’ next formal meeting on Sept. 14.
Johnson Controls, which is part of an international company, is considering expanding its Walkertown facility, which makes automotive batteries. The commissioners will hold a public hearing before they vote on incentives not to exceed $465,717, which is half of the taxes brought in by the expansion, over a five-year period if the company can meet certain conditions.
“This would be based on them reaching their goals for their investment and for their jobs,” said County Community Development Director Dan Kornelis.
The facility currently has 413 full-time employees. The proposed expansion adds 60 full-time or full-time equivalent jobs that pay almost $19 an hour on average. Johnson Controls plans to invest $33 million in machinery and equipment and $5 million in building improvements.
Johnson Controls is also considering expanding facilities in Ohio, Missouri and Mexico.
Among the many other items commissioners are scheduled to vote on:
*Appropriating $229,064 in State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grant funds to improvements at the Forsyth County Detention Center, including upgrading cameras, fixing radio dead spots and adding technology to detect cell phones. The federal grant helps with costs incurred for undocumented immigrants who are incarcerated on criminal charges.
*Selecting Jordan Consultants to provide landscape architecture and civil engineering services not to exceed $68,000 for five playground replacements and one new playground at county parks that’s part of the 2016 parks bond.
*Selecting Allied Engineering for surveying and civil engineering services not to exceed $70,000 for an addition to the multi-use trail at Tanglewood Park that will add nearly two miles of paved trails in another 2016 parks bond project.
*Renewing the Forsyth County Public Library’s participation in NC Cardinal, a project of the State Library that allows libraries across the state to have a single, shared catalog.
Currently, it includes 161 locations in 40 counties, with 6.4 million items. The annual cost of the service is $19,677.20.
