Trumbull County approves 10-year, 60% tax abatement for proposed Kimberly-Clark plant; multiple routine items also approved

The Trumbull County Board of Commissioners on April 16 approved an enterprise zone agreement granting Kimberly-Clark Corporation a 60% property tax incentive for 10 years to support construction of a proposed 1,157,261-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility on two parcels along Pine Avenue in Howland and Warren townships. The motion passed unanimously, with Commissioners Malloy, Bernard and Rick Hernandez voting yes.

The incentive covers parcel numbers 28-903738 and 43-316888 and was discussed as part of item 15 on the agenda. County and regional officials who spoke during the meeting said the abatement, together with a $17,000,000 award from the state’s Ohio Future Fund, strengthens the project's financial case as Kimberly-Clark continues its internal decision process. "The $17,000,000 award from the state of Ohio from the Ohio Future Fund is monumental," said Anthony Trevena, executive director of the Western Reserve Port Authority, thanking local and state partners who worked on the proposal. Charles Smith, director of strategic capital development for North America for Kimberly-Clark, thanked the board for approval and said the incentive was intended to "help the financial case for this proposed facility and more news to come in the future."

Why it matters: Commissioners and economic-development partners said the agreement is intended to attract a major manufacturing employer to the Mahoning Valley and to make the county competitive in recruitment. County officials and private-sector partners credited multi-year outreach by the port authority and Lake To River (a regional economic-development entity) and said the abatement and state funding are intended to help land the project. Several public commenters, local economic development officials and port authority representatives publicly…