Takeaways from a first Monday of the month
WL's stand on Tippecanoe Co. water. Rea Magnet Wire’s expansion into EV market. Lafayette’s '24 budget highlights. A pause on a concrete plant request. Same with proposed restrictions on puppy sales
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Quick note: Before we get rolling, the West Lafayette City Council followed through Monday night with a unanimous vote on a resolution denouncing plans by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to tap tens of millions of gallons water a day from a Wabash River aquifer in Tippecanoe County and ship it via pipeline to Boone County and points in between for industrial developments. I’ll have more from that conversation later, but that’s the rough cut on another piece of the growing pushback in Greater Lafayette against the state’s plan.
Until then, it’s …
MEANWHILE, AT LAFAYETTE CITY HALL
Here are the takeaways from a busy night Monday for the Lafayette City Council.
$56 MILLION REA MAGNET WIRE EXPANSION: Rea Magnet Wire will get a 10-year tax abatement on a $19 million expansion, along with a seven-year abatement on another $37 million in equipment, in a project designed to produce components for the electric vehicle market at a plant at 2800 Concord Road. The Lafayette City Council voted unanimously for the tax breaks for an expansion that company officials said would add 71 full-time positions and retain 167 existing full-time positions. David Worthen, vice president of North American operations for Rae Magnet Wire, said the Lafayette plant expansion was the second of two phases for the company in the EV market. The project will include 31,080 total square feet, with installation of 40 enameling wire lines for automotive supply and testing capabilities for EV production. Worthen told council members the work would feed assembly needs at General Motors, Ford and other manufacturers. Worthen said the facility would accommodate 400-volt stator production, with the flexibility to convert to 800-volt if battery production goes that direction. “Hopefully, in the future, we can expand again,” Worthen said. “We have plenty of property at our current location for that. This will be our first step.” Mayor Tony Roswarski endorsed the tax abatements, saying they came with manufacturing jobs that would average $29.63 an hour. Worthen said construction would start in November, with plans to be in production by November 2024.
2024 CITY BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS: The city council gave initial approval to an $89.2 million budget for 2024, up 7.3% from the $83.1 million spending plan the council approved a year ago for 2023. A few of the highlights:
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