ODC approves economic development agreement
Following the Odessa City Council’s approval on Monday of one Odessa Development Corp. economic development agreement, the ODC approved another economic development agreement during their monthly meeting Thursday.
ODC members approved the economic development agreement for “Project Tipsy,” also known as ULTRA Premium Oilfield Services. The ODC will provide the company with a total incentive of $133,640 for five years, and one-fifth of the incentive, or $26,728, would be paid to the company each year.
Before the ODC allots any funds, ULTRA Premium officials must first make a $7.5 capital investment to build a $4.2 million, 75,000-square-foot plant and office facility in Leeco Industrial Park in Midland County and furnish that facility with $3.3 million in equipment.
The company must also add 15 new jobs with an annual payroll of $343,000 bringing the total number of employees to 105 employees.
“They have to build the facility, buy the equipment, create the jobs and keep those for one year before the incentive is paid,” said Arleene Loyd, Odessa Chamber of Commerce director of business retention and expansion. “(The incentive) is paid after the performance criteria are met.”
The ODC agreed to fund ULTRA Premium, striking the stipulation that the company would make “efforts to employ Odessa residents and to advertise the availability of job openings,” as stated in Section 4.1.2 of the agreement.
“We’d like to see more people brought into the community,” ODC President Austin Keith said.
ULTRA Premium Plant Manager Doug Dunford said officials are already looking for employees in the El Paso and Fort Bliss area to avoid local competition.
ULTRA Premium is the Odessa branch of the international company TMK IPSCO. ULTRA Premium currently has three pipe threading facilities, which would be consolidated and updated at the plant at Leeco Park.
“There are great things that can be offered (when) working with the city. We want to take advantage,” Dunford said. “We’re just hoping to streamline the (threading) process and make it more efficient and give workers a higher skill set.”
The Odessa City Council must approve of the economic development agreement before any of the incentive money is paid. On Monday, the city council approved the latest ODC agreement to fund Permian Tank and Manufacturing with $841,500 for five years total.
In other business, Odessa Chamber of Commerce President Mike George said that he spoke with Laura Miller, project manager of the Summit Power Group’s Texas Clean Energy Project, and said that ground breaking on the plant can come as early as 2012.
George said Miller is working on a deal with Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Mike Conaway to get an amendment passed to keep Summit exempt from a $150 million tax the Internal Revenue Service wants the group to pay for a $450 million Department of Energy grant.
During economic agency reports, the Odessa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce reported that they dropped “Project Vessel,” because the company did not meet the chamber’s Oct. 31 deadline to file an application for funding.
ODC members also renewed an audit services agreement with Weaver and Tidwell to audit funds for the ODC, the Odessa Chamber of Commerce and the Odessa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
ODC members Charles Carlson and Rick Carlton were absent from the meeting.
