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Lenor council approves tax-based incentive for JBS expansion dubbed 'Project Peania'
Summary
The Lenor City Council unanimously approved a five-year tax-grant incentive for a meat-processing expansion the meeting referred to as "Project Peania," after a public hearing in which the company said it would invest more than $20 million and create at least 50 full-time jobs.
The Lenor City Council voted 4–0 on March 17 to approve an economic development incentive agreement for an expansion project the meeting referred to as "Project Peania." The incentive would pay the company a share of added ad valorem taxes generated by new investment over a five-year period.
Ashley Boick, the county economic development director who presented the item during a public hearing, said the company anticipates total investment "to exceed $20 million and create 50 new full-time jobs." Boick described the proposed grant schedule as annual payments equal to 20% of the aggregate ad valorem tax increase in year one, 30% in year two, 40% in year three and 50% in years four and five, with the company required to begin the five-year grant period no later than 2027 and to provide documentation before the first payment.
A company representative introduced at the meeting as Lahi told the council the facility investment could reach about $25 million by the end of construction, that the company expects construction to finish in late July, and that it will initially hire up to 50 employees with the potential to add another roughly 100 jobs by opening a second shift over the next two years. "We will hire up to 50 new positions ... and possibly having another 100 position open for employment here," Lahi said.
Mayor Pro Tim Perkins moved to approve "the incentive request agreement as presented tonight for Project Peania." With no further discussion, the council voted in favor; the mayor announced the motion carried 4–0.
The agreement was described in the hearing as having been reviewed by the Caldwell County Economic Development Advisory Committee and already approved by the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners. Boick said payments would be calculated using the increase in assessed value above the base year as determined by the county tax office.
The council took formal action on the incentive at the meeting; no members requested amendments during the session. Staff indicated the company must provide reporting and documentation before the first grant payment and that the grant period must begin by 2027.
Next steps: the city will finalize the agreement language and record the action in the minutes; staff will monitor the company's filings and the tax-assessment changes that trigger grant payments.
