Wooster approves tax incentives for Compak

It was more a case of when community reinvestment area tax incentives for Compak would be approved than if they would be by Wooster City Council.

“We are on our third reading here, so I think we have had ample time to review,” Council Member Michael Abernathy Jr. said at the March 16 regular meeting. “I think any questions that have arisen, we’ve asked them.”

Minutes later, council agreed to give Compak, a warehouse and logistics business, and Starbaker, its real estate holding entity, an abatement of real estate taxes of 75% for a maximum term to not exceed 10 years to create 10 full-time jobs while retaining 27, as well as building a 150,000- to 190,000-square-foot warehouse at 2570 Progress Drive in the city.

While a lack of council members kept it from being approved at the two previous meetings, the third reading ironically passed with the fewest members present of the three meetings that it was on the agenda. Steven Huszai, Tyler Owens and Jennifer Warden were absent.

Because Huszai, Compak director of operations, recused himself and Abernathy wasn’t at the Feb. 17 regular meeting when the resolution was first introduced, rules couldn’t be suspended to allow for immediate enactment.

With Chris Malta not at the March 2 meeting, council couldn’t move on the ordinance without a super majority, thus pushing it to the March 16 third reading.

Most of the talk about the benefits of providing Compak with tax incentives came at the Feb. 17 meeting, where Justin Starlin, Compak’s co-owner with Jeff Baker, gave a presentation to council.

“This incentive makes a heck of a difference,” Starlin said. “It provides meaningful financial support during the early years of a major capital investment.”

Not only will the tax incentives help Compak, but they also will benefit Wooster with significant real tax property revenue as the company will become the city’s second-largest real property taxpayer, according to Starlin.

After Starlin’s presentation, Council Member Drew Paul said he was appreciative of Compak planning to build on a piece of land no one else would probably develop because of its hilly topography with a 30-foot incline that will require an extensive amount of earthwork.

According to Paul, Wooster Growth Corp. voted unanimously to support the project, with one of the voters being Wooster City School District Superintendent Gabe Tudor.

“Other communities would die to have a project like this in their city,” Paul said.

To make sure Compak complies with the agreement, it will be reviewed annually by the city, its Income Tax Department and the Tax Incentive Review Council.

“We want to be a place where businesses succeed and grow,” Warden said during the Feb. 17 discussion about Compak. “I think that’s exactly what these tax incentives do.”

For the second meeting in a row during the miscellaneous part of the March 16 meeting, eight residents — different ones from the March 2 meeting — spoke, asking council to be prepared for the possibility of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents coming to Wooster, voicing their concerns with what could happen negatively if they do come.