The Morgan County Council voted 5 to 1 on Oct. 6 to expand an existing economic revitalization area and make an additional 158 acres eligible for a previously approved tax abatement for Woodland Caribou LLC.

The action, carried by a motion from Councilmember Chip Keller and seconded by Councilmember Melissa Green, follows an earlier preliminary designation in May and a rezoning that added land to the company's project site. Rick Hall, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg representing Woodland Caribou LLC, told the council the expansion simply adds newly rezoned land to the area already covered by the taxpayer agreement approved in May. "This is all consistent with the taxpayer agreement that has been entered into between the county and the council and the company with respect to the project," Hall said.

Why it matters: the expansion makes the added acreage eligible for the 10-year abatement the council previously approved, and county staff read figures from the company's abatement application into the record. Those meeting materials estimated a roughly $325 million investment and annual payments during the abatement of about $22,026,114; staff also said the 20 parcels already transferred carry a net assessed value (AV) of $2,694,552 and currently generate about $33,206 in net tax annually. The council discussed that increasing commercial and industrial AV can reduce residential tax rates, a point staff noted as a potential benefit.

Public speakers urged postponement and transparency. Austin McKee of Mooresville asked the council to "pause, to hit the brakes" on the process and formally requested the council delay its vote until 30 days after his pending Access to Public Records Act request is fulfilled. "I am formally requesting that this council to delay its vote until a reasonable period, 30 days after my FOIA is request is fulfilled," McKee said. Carl Gilbert, a nearby business owner, told the council he was concerned about road and infrastructure costs: he asked whether road upgrades needed for the project would be paid by the company or by taxpayers.

County staff and the county attorney addressed the outstanding records request during the hearing. County Attorney Anne Furley explained portions of the requested documents implicate statutory exceptions and attorney work product and said she first reviewed the full set of documents on July 31. Furley said she is "committed to getting this information" to the requester while explaining that some negotiation-related records may be exempt from public release under the Access to Public Records Act.

Council action and context: a motion to approve Resolution 2025-10-6B (the document number read into the record) to expand the economic revitalization area carried 5-1. Council members who moved, seconded and voted on the motion were recorded in the meeting minutes; the transcript records the vote tally but does not name the dissenting councilmember on the public audio. Hall told the council nothing in the underlying project approval changed from what was approved in May other than adding the newly rezoned acreage into the area eligible for abatement.

What's next: the expansion takes effect following the council's approval; questions raised during the hearing about road impacts and the outstanding public records request remain unresolved. The county attorney said staff would continue to process and review records responsive to the APRA request and provide what can be released while respecting statutory exceptions.

Provenance: first related remarks begin with Rick Hall's presentation introducing the expansion and taxpayer agreement; the record of the council motion and vote occurs later in the meeting.