Title
Restated and Amended Economic Development Grant Agreement - Hawker Beechcraft & Textron.
Body
Recommended Action: Approve the Agreement and authorize the Chairman to sign it.
In May of 2011 the Board of County Commissioners and the Wichita City Council approved an Economic Development Grant Agreement with Hawker Beechcraft Corporation. Through the agreement, the company promised to retain at least 3,600 jobs and the company's corporate headquarters in Sedgwick County for 10 years. Sedgwick County and Wichita each agreed to pay the company $500,000 each year from 2011 through 2015 if the company fulfilled its promises, or to pay proportionately lesser amounts if the company fell short of its promise of retained jobs. The agreement further provided that the company would repay some or all of the grants it received if it failed to fulfill its promises in 2016 - 2020.
In March of 2014 the company was acquired by Textron Inc. By 2016 all current Beechcraft employees as well as all current Cessna employees will become employees of Textron. Therefore it is necessary and appropriate to amend the 2011 Economic Development Grant Agreement to restate the number of Textron jobs that must be retained, and to distinguish the Textron jobs (formerly Beechcraft jobs) that fulfill the company's promise from the Textron jobs (formerly Cessna jobs) that are not subject to the original agreement.
The Restated Agreement obligates the company to employ at least 4,300 jobs and retain its corporate headquarters in Sedgwick County through December 31, 2020. If the company fails to do so it will repay the county up to $213,405. The amount to be repaid, if any, is to be determined as of December 31 each year starting in 2015 and continuing through 2020, in accordance with provisions of the Restated Agreement.
Alternatives: The BOCC could decline to approve the Restated Agreement. In that event, the provisions of the 2011 Grant Agreement would remain in effect, but w...
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