FARMINGTON -- ATK and Clearfield city officials have asked the Davis School Board to consider a $14 million tax credit to help the company open a new facility that will produce composite aircraft structures and eventually add 800 jobs.
The presentation was made during the school board's workshop meeting on Tuesday. Board members do not vote on items during workshop meetings.
Clearfield City Manager Chris Hillman said city officials and ATK are proposing the company receive 75 percent of the tax increments over the next 20 years, or until a cap of $14 million is reached from all taxing entities.
The taxing entities, which include the school district, will receive the base tax plus 25 percent of the increased property taxes that would be generated by the development.
Board member L. Burke Larsen asked ATK officials how it would impact the facility if the board decided not to give the incentive.
"It would make life more difficult," said Kelly Franklin, program director with ATK.
ATK would not be as competitive in the bidding process, she said, and it would also look at other areas, such as Ogden, Salt Lake City or Cedar City, to locate the facility.
In Davis County, the facility would be close to its other facilities and to the Davis Applied Technology Center, which offers courses in composite manufacturing.
ATK plans to make a "significant investment" over the next 20 years, Franklin said.
The property in question is a 614,000-square-foot building at the Freeport Center.
Currently the property tax on the building and lot is $207,000, with $115,000 going to the school district.
The school district would receive about $140,000 a year in new money.
But the big picture, Hillman said, is the number of jobs ATK would bring to the area, which would equal $939 million in wages over 20 years.
Clearfield Mayor Don Wood said having ATK in Davis County would reduce the number of people who travel out of the county for employment.
ATK plans to pay wages that are at least 125 percent of Davis County's average wage.
ATK is shifting to commercial manufacturing, which includes the Airbus A350. It is a long-range, midsize, wide-body family of airliners currently under development by Airbus, a European aircraft manufacturer.
Board member Tamara Lowe asked about those who have lost jobs with ATK recently.
"We're certainly trying to place people who are qualified," Franklin said.
Lowe said the tax incentive makes sense because the school district will "not lose penny one" of its base tax and the facility will put people to work.
If the school board agrees to the proposal, two members of the board would be part of an eight-member community development and renewal agency budget committee.
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