Members of the Cooke County Commissioners’ Court approved a 50 percent tax abatement this week in a bid to lure a multi-million dollar pet food manufacturing plant to Gainesville.
Red River Pet Foods, LLC, a sister company of Muenster Milling Co., is looking to be the first manufacturer at Gateway Industrial Park, a 126-acre park in northwest Gainesville.
Muenster Milling’s facility in Muenster is not going anywhere, according to company co-owner Mitch Felderhoff. That facility, he said, would focus on livestock specific products while the new facility would produce pet food.
He said the company projects 40 to 50 new jobs with an average starting wage of $16.50 per hour by the end of the plant’s first year in operation.
“We try not to be just another employer,” Felderhoff said. “We believe in providing a living wage, not just a minimum wage.”
He said by the end of year one, the estimated taxable base value of the facility would be a minimum of $20 million with $7.5 million expansions every five years after.
“We also spend several hundred thousand dollars a year using outside contractors,” Felderhoff told members of the court. “We try to use as many local contractors as possible.”
The 50 percent tax abatement is for 10 years and would assist the company in funding additional jobs and expansions, he said.
Last week, Gainesville City Council members voted to create a reinvestment zone for nearly 28 acres at Gateway Industrial Park in order to allow the city to offer a tax abatement to Red River Pet Foods.
Council members also approved a tax abatement for 50 percent of the city property taxes on the new investment over 10 years.
Cooke County Precinct 1 Commissioner Gary Hollowell said while he supports Red River Pet Foods, it’s getting “harder and harder” for him to support abatements.
“My concern at some point in time is future courts can’t pay the bills because we’ve abated all these different businesses,” Hollowell said.
Cooke County Precinct 2 Commissioner B.C. Lemons was absent at Monday’s meeting.
Gainesville is not the only community Red River Pet Foods is looking at locating to. A decision is expected to be made no later than March 15.
The company is looking to break ground for its new facility this year with completion by 2019, according to a presentation provided to members of the court.
