BARTLESVILLE - City
Council has approved a $505,000 incentives
package to help with $1.9 million building
renovation and the retention of 130
jobs at Siemens Energy and Automation
Inc.
Under the agreement approved Monday,
the city will contribute $255,000 toward
the building upgrade, with an additional
$250,000 to be paid out in $50,000 annual
increments as incentives for the company
to maintain at least 130 full-time jobs
in Bartlesville.
A global outfit with many facets, Siemens'
work in Bartlesville focuses on production
of gas chromatographs that measure air
flow.
"We are really pleased for all
the past performance of your company,
and we look forward to a long commitment,"
Mayor Ted Lockin told Siemens officials.
Evan Zorn, president of Bartlesville
Development Corp., said his industrial
recruitment group began working with
Siemens about a year ago when officials
learned there was a "real risk"
that Siemens would move jobs out of
state. The positions are in manufacturing,
engineering and administration.
Zorn said that while recruitment of
new industries traditionally grabs headlines,
studies show that 60 percent to 80 percent
of new jobs in communities are created
by companies already located there.
"WE get - I guess you could say
- criticized for not doing enough for
existing companies," Zorn said.
"Tonight we come to you with a
proposal that's very important to our
community.
"If we are even able to recruit
jobs like this - and we're talking about
130 positions with salaries in excess
of $56,000 - we would probably spend
more money than what is in the Siemens
package.
Siemens will use the funding to modernize
the north building on its property,
which is located beside Bartlesville's
airport. The company plans to vacate
the three-story building now used for
offices, leaving it as a new marketing
option for Bartlesville Development
Corp.'s recruitment of new businesses.
Siemens originally operated in Bartlesville
under the name Applied Automation. A
federal ruling forced a split in the
company, with the result being that
one portion of the business was acquired
by Siemens and another by ABB, which
has offices in Bartlesville Industrial
Park.
Funding for the incentive package comes
from Bartlesville's economic development
sales tax.
If Siemens fails to maintain its work
force leave, it will receive smaller
dollar amounts from the city. If the
company should decide to leave Bartlesville,
it would have to pay the money back
to the community. |
