Commissioners approve two-year delay to Portside tax abatement timeline, citing AEP interconnect issues
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Summary
Victoria County approved a two-year delay to a previously granted tax abatement for the Portside project after the developer said an interconnect agreement with AEP requires additional time; the court voted to move the agreement's timeline to begin in 2029.
County staff and the commissioners on June 2 agreed to delay the timeline for a previously approved tax abatement for the Portside project after the developer requested more time to secure an interconnect agreement with American Electric Power.
Jonas, who presented the request to the court, said the Portside project is facing delays "due to the necessary interconnect agreement that they need with AEP," and that the company had requested the county codify a two-year extension in the minutes so the county attorney could process an amendment to the abatement application. The court confirmed the amendment will shift the beginning of the abatement timeline to 2029.
The court made the change by motion and voice vote; no dissent was recorded. County staff said market conditions remain favorable for projects at the Port of Victoria and that federal tax-credit language in recent congressional proposals could benefit projects that advance quickly, but the immediate reason for the extension was the developer's need to finalize utility interconnection.
County staff said they will provide the minutes and documentation to the project's attorney and that the office will email the finalized minutes to the project representatives. The county did not change any other terms of the abatement in open session.
The court's action was procedural: formalizing the agreed two-year delay in the abatement timetable so county legal staff can process the amendment.