The Muskogee City-County Port Authority hopes to land a $635,000 grant to be used to attract a new company to Muskogee’s industrial base.
The Muskogee Phoenix reports that Industrial Development Director Marie Synar said the deal, if it comes to fruition, would create “45 good-paying jobs” that meet the requisites for incentives through the port authority’s strategic investment program. The as-of-yet unnamed company, she said, would be eligible for an incentive worth $135,000 for the jobs that would be created if the unnamed company agrees by June 30 to set up shop in Muskogee.
The company being courted, Synar said, also would be eligible for the maximum amount allowed for program incentives available to eligible companies that make capital investments. The investment program incentives is “limited to the lessor of $500,000 or 1 percent of the capital investment made by a qualifying company.”
“The project we are working with now, the prospect Project Grace, would be a wonderful addition to the community,” Synar said while pitching her request for an out-of-cycle grant to City of Muskogee Foundation directors. “I can’t give you a lot of specifics about the project right now — those details will be shared with our port board once we’re ready to make a formal application for these funds.”
While Synar provided few specifics about Project Grace and the company at the center of that project, inferences can be made drawn by reviewing program provisions and guidelines. Qualifying for an investment program incentive worth $500,000, for example, would require a capital investment of at least $50 million, and an employer must guarantee annual wages of at least $38,667 and pay substantial part of health care benefits before jobs program incentives are made available.
“The grant money that is awarded to the companies is not given to them until after they have performed,” Synar said, explaining the transparency and accountability provisions of the strategic investment program that was first funded by the foundation in 2014. “To date, the port board has approved grants for 10 companies, five of those are still performing.”
Incentives offered through the strategic investment program are “based on the expectation of a reasonable return on investment,” which is measured on three criterion. The criteria include the quality of jobs created, contributions to the local tax base, and the potential for additional economic development.
