PayTech proposes higher Industry Park land price and simplified job incentives; council asks for follow-up

Representatives from PayTech presented proposed updates to Platteville’s Industry Park land-price formula on July 8, describing changes intended to reflect higher construction costs and to incentivize job creation.

PayTech staff said the current 2016 formula (previously cited at $67.05 per acre in the packet) is out of date for the larger improvement values the city is now seeing. The presented proposal set a benchmark price of $175,000 per acre for larger projects, with a sliding reduction tied to project improvement value (example: a reduction of $5,000 per $10,000 of improvements over $1,000,000). For projects under $1,000,000, presenter Abby said incentives would be handled on a case-by-case basis with a base of roughly $10,000 per $100,000 of improvements. Job incentives were simplified to a single threshold: positions paying more than $20 per hour (excluding benefits) would qualify.

Councilmembers asked for clarity on the tiered calculations and noted financing challenges for small businesses. Abby provided her contact number ((608) 482-1747) for council follow-up and offered to run scenarios for specific lot sizes. The council did not take formal action; staff said the item will appear on a future agenda for action after additional analysis and member questions are addressed.

Next steps: staff to include Abby’s contact in the weekly update and schedule the Industry Park pricing amendment for action at a future meeting after additional analysis and scenario runs.