$5-million for 257 new jobs?

The incentives are unprecedented for the city. So is the project.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD AND DAVID DECAMP
Published July 21, 2007

ZEPHYRHILLS - The city is poised to become the site of a new Sysco Food Service distribution center that promises to bring more than 250 well-paying jobs.

But it comes with a price.

Zephyrhills and Pasco County ironed out the details Friday of a package that includes about $5-million in incentives to build the 393,000-square-foot center on 60 acres near the Zephyrhills airport.

The Zephyrhills City Council is set to vote on the package Monday. County Commissioners will weigh in at their meeting Tuesday.

Sysco has not definitively committed to build in Zephyrhills, and a company spokeswoman was not available Friday.

"The assumption is they've chosen us if we go forward with some of the things they requested," Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina said.

Those include a property-tax break billed as a job creation incentive. Sysco has said the center would employ 257 people with salaries between $45,000 and $100,000.

The company originally asked for five years' property tax credits. The deal cleared an important hurdle when the company and county and city officials agreed that instead the taxes effectively would be paid at 50 percent over 10 years.

Because the company's estimated tax payments to the county would be $3-million over that time, Pasco will make 10 annual payments of $150,000 to Sysco. The total of $1.5-million would technically be for job creation incentives, County Commissioner Michael Cox said.

"That way we would realize an immediate benefit for them locating there," Spina said.

The city would also make 10 annual payments totaling $2.2-million to offset half of the company's city taxes for that time period. And the city would provide roughly $760,000 in impact fee credits, water and sewer line extensions and a water storage tank. Spina said the lion's share of that could be covered by an economic development grant.

The county also will help build an intersection at a cost of up to $400,000, according to the proposal.

Spina said the incentives are unprecedented for Zephyrhills. But so is the scope of the project.

"We've been trying to lure industrial jobs here," he said. "We're hoping this is a little bit of a leader."

The Houston-based company has been considering other sites nearby, including north Tampa. Cox said Pasco has become Sysco's choice because of its lower land costs and its location. Sysco originally tried to expand in Sumter County, but that option failed, Cox said, causing them to turn to the Zephyrhills location.

"It has to do with the demographic area they're trying to serve," he said.

City Council member Kent Compton hadn't seen the final proposal Friday but said he favored offering "ample" incentives to win the company over.

"I'm looking for a win-win for the city and Sysco," Compton said. "We're attractive because we're so close to I-4 and I-75, and certainly they're attractive because of the type of business they'll bring."

"Something like Sysco doesn't come around very often," he added. "Neither does our location."

[Last modified July 20, 2007, 21:49:05]