The Lane County Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday to extend by 2 years a property tax break for Swanson Group. The company plans to rebuild its plywood mill in Springfield this summer.
The mill burned down last summer, putting about 250 people out of work. The board approved the tax exemption exemption unanimously. The Springfield City Council last week passed a similar motion. Swanson has agreed to pay its mill workers 1 and a half times the county's average annual salary-- which comes out to about $57 thousand. It plans to hire up to 190 people for the new facility. Lane County Board Chair Jay Bozievich:
Bozievich: "I really think this is an opportunity for all the partners to come together and get these needed jobs in our community and also, eventually, bring onto our books in five years a very large taxable value, whereas if we didn’t come to this agreement and partnership, this facility could be built somewhere else."
The estimated value of Swanson's rebuilt plywood mill is between $44 and $55 million dollars.
