Arbor Wood Co. seeks tax abatement for new kiln and expansion; council authorizes resolution drafting

Representatives of Arbor Wood Co. presented a request Dec. 11 to the DeKalb County Council for tax abatement on real and personal property tied to an equipment and facility expansion.

Company representatives said Arbor Wood consolidated operations from Minnesota and St. Joe into the county, described plans to install a $3.4 million kiln imported from Finland and retrofit a local building, and said the expansion would add roughly eight jobs to the existing nine-person plant. Arbor Wood produced thermally modified wood—"we take ash and pine and we cook it in a big kiln," the company representative said—used for siding and flooring.

The county—s Tax Abatement Committee recommended a two-year real property abatement (100% in year one, 50% in year two) and a six-year personal property schedule (100%, 85%, 66%, 59%, 34%, 17%). Council members discussed local sourcing questions, ash-wood availability, and the lead time on the equipment (several months); staff acknowledged potential legislative changes to personal property rules that could affect future abatements.

After the presentation the council voted to authorize the county attorney to prepare a resolution to declare the area "in need of revitalization," a procedural step that precedes any final abatement hearing and vote; council members said the final abatement resolution would likely be considered at the January or February meeting.

What happens next: county attorneys will draft the resolution and staff will schedule the statutory hearing; any final abatement would require a subsequent council vote.