The Tyrone Area School Board in its work session last night, discussed the possibility of taking part in Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zones in the Borough of Tyrone.
The properties that would be part of the KOEZ are the Westvaco properties and the undeveloped portion of the Dixon property in the Tyrone Industrial Park.
“This is nothing but a positive for the community,” said Luther Laird to his fellow board members. “If we can get jobs back, the positives will outweigh what we lose in taxes.”
The proposal in front of the board at next week’s meeting is to grant an authorization to a subzone of the Southern Alleghenies Keystone Opportunity Zone/Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone. This grant would erase property taxes between January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2008.
Tyrone School District business manager Cathy Peachey told the board what the district would lose in property taxes.
“We would give up $60,494.41 per year at the Westvaco properties and $1,200 per year from the Dixon properties,” Peachey reported to the board. “The board feels this is a chance to support and bring industry back to the community. The district encourages growth and development in the community. The board feels that this is a way they can help with this. ABCD was hopeful in the meeting they had with us that something would go in the old Westvaco. This could be a stepping stone to making that happen.”
Giving up taxes for five years to spur growth isn’t a complete loss for the school district.
“We will receive wage taxes from the people who get jobs,” said Peachey. “If the mill remains closed, I feel sure that Westvaco would ask for a reassessment of taxes that would probably cost us 50 percent of the revenues we receive now. This is one way that we can get a return out of an easement.”
Board member Brian Bressler said, “This is nothing but a positive move.”
For a KOEZ to be granted there needs to be approval from the county commissioners, school board and Tyrone borough council. It has been discussed by the commissioners in their meeting last week, and they said they would be in favor of a KOEZ, and it will be on the agenda of next Monday’s Tyrone Borough Council meeting.
At the most recent meeting of Tyrone Borough Council, Mayor Pat Stoner noted that she has been a proponent of the KOEZ for the Westvaco and Dixon properties.
“It gives us a chance to be competitive,” the mayor said at Monday’s meeting. “We have talked with them (ABCD). When the time comes to take appropriate action, we will probably do it. We as a borough can’t compete when you have someone two miles down the road who has a KOEZ.”
The board also discussed numerous personnel decisions that will be voted on next week. The Tyrone School Board will meet in its regular session Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
