Zephyrhills, Sysco try for EDC grant

The food service company is considering locating facilities in the city.

By MINDY RUBENSTEIN
Published July 10, 2007

ZEPHYRHILLS - The city is a step closer to getting a new 325,000-square-foot Sysco Food Corp. warehouse and office building that could eventually offer 300 new jobs.

The City Council voted Monday night to apply for an economic development grant for up to $750,000 that would provide extra help for the industrial project, which would include $5-million in tax breaks to Sysco in an effort to entice the company to locate in Zephyrhills rather than an alternative north Tampa location.

The grant also would help offset extra costs the city would incur.

"These funds would be used to put in basic infrastructure like access roads and water and sewer lines," City Manager Steve Spina said.

He and other city officials met earlier Monday with representatives from the Pasco Economic Development Council and Sysco. The results from those talks will be presented at the next meeting July 23. This was the first public hearing on the grant. One more hearing is required to move forward with the application.

"Staff is recommending that we go along with that approval," said Todd Vande Berg, the city's planning director.

"That recommendation is with great enthusiasm, I assume," council president Kenneth Compton said.

This is the fourth such grant application the city has made; the others were for Wal-Mart, Lowe's and Golden Corral restaurant.

Sysco is asking for perks including five years without paying property taxes and more than $2-million in impact fees being waived. The company would contribute about $6-million over the next decade to the city's and the county's tax base, according to the information from Sysco.

In other news, fire Chief Keith Williams is trying to supplement his budget by hiring a company to help the fire and police departments collect fees after motor vehicle accidents.

"If you don't make money, we don't make money. It's that simple," said Regina Moore, a representative for Cost Recovery Corp., a third-party collection agency that bills insurance companies and individuals following accidents and charges 10 percent for its services. "We're working on behalf of the city as their agent. There's nothing left-handed about it."

The Ohio-based company represents more than a dozen cities in Florida. Each city chooses how aggressively to pursue the money, she said.

During the lengthy discussions Monday, city officials surprised Moore by playing a three-minute news story from reporter Bobbie O'Brien with WUSF 89.7 about issues with the company and its services, including bills sent to individuals who might not have been at fault.

Moore disputed many of the claims, including one comment that she attends fire rescue conferences to find potential customers for her company.

"I'm a little confused now," said Spina, asking whether city residents would be billed. Moore said they wouldn't, but if a Tampa resident drives through Zephyrhills and causes an accident and their insurance company won't pay, Cost Recovery Corp. would go after that person.

The city responds to about 300 accidents a year, Chief Williams said. If they respond to a call outside city limits, there may be an issue over billing.

"My hope is that (Pasco County) adopts this thing and there would be no problem with territorial boundaries," he said.

Compton pressed Moore for details on why the public would support something like this. "I'm looking for some perks for residents," he said.

City officials will look at sample ordinances from other cities that use the fee recovery services.

Compton said the city will consider the process, but he remained skeptical. "We're far from seeing this thing through."

[Last modified July 9, 2007, 23:08:17]