Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Wilson Area School Board backs away from acting on tax break plan for Dixie plant.
The deserted Dixie Cup factory in Wilson Borough – icon to some, eyesore to others – has once again hit a bump on the road to renewal. For the third time in three meetings, Wilson Area School Board last week again held back from approving a new 10-year, $680,000 tax-abatement plan intended to spur development of the blighted facility, which has sat vacant for 30 years. “I don’t know what to say,” said a frustrated Wilson Borough Council President Lenny Feinberg after the meeting. Along with several other borough, county and valley development officials as well as the owners, Feinberg has been pushing for the creation of one of the state’s Keystone Opportunity Zones, or KOZs, at the site. Up until now, the school board had seemed receptive…
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Easton Area School Board votes 9-0 for a tax break plan for city properties.
With a unanimous vote, the Easton Area School Board has approved a new Keystone Opportunity Zone for the city of Easton. The KOZ is a state-run program that provides tax breaks for people who develop properties that have been vacant or blighted. Speaking to the board Tuesday night, Mayor Sal Panto called the properties -- including the Simon Silk Mill on 13th Street and the intermodal unit on S. Third Street -- "game changing" for the city. In Easton's case, thoset tax breaks would go into effect in 2014 and would last nine years. During that time, property owners and residents in the properties in question would pay no property taxes, income taxes or business privilege taxes. In addition to the Silk Mill and intermodal unit, the other …
Thursday, October 11, 2012
School board set to vote on tax breaks to help develop six sites in the city.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Easton is once again looking to set up Keystone Opportunity Zones to boost economic development in the city. The KOZs are a state program that provides tax exemptions to people who develop abandoned or blighted properties. The city's list, presented Tuesday night to the board by Easton Mayor Sal Panto and Economic Development Director Gretchen Longenbach, includes a broad range of properties, from abandoned buildings to still-in-construction projects. Easton needs the school board's approval -- as well as that of Northampton County Council -- before it can present its plan to the state. The school board is expected to vote later this month, the Express-Times reports. The newspaper said the KOZ would go into effect in 2014 and last nine …
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Mayor says Easton can wait until next year for tax incentive program.
Easton will abandon its plans for a KOZ this year, Mayor Sal Panto said Wednesday. Instead, the city will wait until the next round of grants in 2013 to submit its application for the Keystone Opportunity Zone program, which offers tax breaks to people who develop parcels of land. "Bethlehem Township isn't ready," Panto said, adding that the KOZ funding is competitive, and the proposal has a better chance of state approval if everyone is on board. He said the delay wouldn't be much of an issue anyway, since essentially none of the projects proposed for the zone will break ground before next year at the earliest. Panto had indicated it wouldn't be a hardship for the city to table the matter when discussing it with the Easton Area School …
40.69061
-75.20912
Easton City Hall
1 S 3rd St, Easton, PA
/articles/multiple-hot-issues-on-upcoming-city-council-agendas
873517
/locations/6783587
40.703351
-75.203722
College Hill Presbyterian Church
501 Brodhead St, Easton, PA
/articles/multiple-hot-issues-on-upcoming-city-council-agendas
873784
/locations/6783588
Monday, April 9, 2012
The school board looks at the budget again, city council and the KOZ, and more...
Good morning everyone. Hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter weekend. It's a quiet Sunday in Easton -- and the Lehigh Valley -- and given that I'm the Patch editor on call today, I'm hoping it stays that way. Anyway, here's five things to know today. 1. The Easton Area School Board meets Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Easton Area High School. It's a finance committee meeting, but the main event is balancing the 2012-2013 budget. 2. City council meets Wednesday at 6 p.m. On the agenda, a resolution for a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which would give tax breaks to people who developed certain properties. 3. Easton's Historic District Commission meets today at 5:30 p.m. 4. We're at -- as of this writing -- 593 "likes" on Facebook. Can you help get us to …
40.69061
-75.20912
Easton City Hall
1 S 3rd St, Easton, PA
/articles/5-things-to-know-today-april-9-49155930
873517
/locations/6757228
40.68139
-75.25051
Easton Area High School
2601 William Penn Hwy, Easton, PA
/articles/5-things-to-know-today-april-9-49155930
873842
/locations/6757229
Amend Wun
10:04 pm on Wednesday, November 21, 2012
School districts would do well to understand the value of economic redevelopment on long term revenue creation. It's about building capacity. Vacant buildings are a drain on the tax base. Getting them back on line with the best use possible should be everyone's focus. more ›