By David Fenker
david@nmpaper.com
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – Manchester Metals will receive a 10-year tax abatement on $3,838,000 worth of personal property after the North Manchester Town Council approved its request at the council’s Dec. 7 meeting.
“The project includes the addition of $3,838,000 worth of new personal property equipment that will go into the facility,” Keith Gillenwater, president of the Economic Development Group of Wabash County, said.
Manchester Metals owner David Boyd attended to help explain the project, which will give the company an automated vertical mold machine.
“The amount that you’re looking to prove is about a third of what we have spent so far,” he said.
“This machine is capable of doing in an hour what a human can do in a shift.”
He said that current employees will be displaced from their current jobs, but no jobs will be lost.
The council approved the request five to zero. The abatement is estimated to save the company more than $216,000 over 10 years.
Additional business reviewed by the council included the creation of a Local Road and Bridge Matching Grant Fund, appointing an assistant fire chief, and departmental reports.
According to Clerk/Tresurer Carrie Mugford, the Local Road and Bridge Matching Grant Fund is a monitoring technique used to track how funds from the Local Road and Bridge Matching Grant (a.k.a. Community Crossing Grant) are handled. Due to the need to establish the fund soon, the council suspended the rules and approved three readings of the ordinance creating the grant.
North Manchester Fire Department Assistant Chief Cary Walters has resigned his position. NMFD Chief Cam Kissinger asked the council to approve Darrell Watson, who served as acting assistant chief last year, for the position.
“He’s been with the department just about as long as I have,” Kissinger said.
“He’s held the line officers’ positions, so he knows what he’s doing.”
The council approved the request unanimously.
Town Manager Adam Penrod informed the council that the Street Department has finished their fall leaf pickup.
“They did three full rounds around the town,” he said.
“With the conditions that they had, and personnel and equipment, it was a slower process, but they still got around in the same number of hours.”