Rezoning Approval & Tax Abatement Commitment for New FacilityRezoning Approval & Tax Abatement Commitment for New Facility

11/26/13 - The Howell Township Board may have committed to reducing the taxes for a new development on M-59, but the real benefit for the municipality is still intact. Rex Materials is planning to build a new facility at the northeast corner of Brewer Road and M-59 containing business offices along with a laboratory for materials development and testing. Requests for an industrial development district and a conditional rezoning for the site were approved by the Howell Township Board last night. Those changes will be necessary for Rex Materials to get a tax abatement from the township. The board also approved a motion committing to an 11-year, 50% tax abatement for when Rex applies for it in the early part of next year. According to Clerk Carolyn Eaton the township would only get about 2% of the taxes from the facility even without the abatement. Most of the tax money from the facility would go to the school district, which will be reimbursed for the abated amount by the state. The real motivation for the township to encourage the facility to locate there is to increase the usage on the township water and sewer system. The township still has about $20 million in unpaid water bonds left behind by developers that abandoned projects in the recession, and greater usage of the water system helps pay off those bonds. (TD)