INNISFAIL – Representatives from the longstanding Innisfail Municipal Seed Cleaning Plant (IMSCP) are seeking tax relief from the Town of Innisfail; a measure they say could ease the co-op’s challenges of raising enough money to build a new multi-million dollar facility at the new Southwest Industrial Park.
On June 17, an IMSCP delegation of Rick Kemp, Chris Anders and Wayne Tams appeared at town council’s Agenda & Priorities Meeting seeking “forgiveness on the taxation side of things” on their new property in the industrial park as it trudges forward to build its new westside plant.
The nearly 65-year-old organization, which is currently located in the downtown area, purchased 4.19 acres of land in 2022 in Southwest Industrial Park at a cost of $670,400.
IMSCP officials had hoped to start construction immediately after taking possession in 2023 but they are still short of funds to move on the project.
“We are struggling a little bit to get enough funds raised to borrow the rest but we were hoping to see if we couldn't get a little forgiveness on the taxation side of things, hoping maybe we could get a five-year staged-in approach for the taxes on a new seed plant,” said Kemp in his presentation to council. “If we don't get to that point (we will) have a serious problem. Our old plant is tired and needs to be replaced.”
Council was told by Kemp that IMSCP is currently paying about $6,000 annually in taxes on the current downtown area property.
He was uncertain what the tax bill would be on the new property but offered a loose estimate in the co-op’s budget of $30,000 on a plant worth $5 million.
He later told council that once the new plant is up and running confidence is high the plant will be profitable, noting it will have the capacity to process up to 700 bushels an hour compared to the existing plant’s 225 bushels an hour.
Kemp added IMSCP has a “commitment” from Canada Malt to clean seed, a deal that could see the new plant processing up to a million bushels annually by year two or three of operations.
But financing for the new plant is now at the urgent stage.
“We've raised about $500,000 and we've got to get pretty close to the million dollars before it'll fly, the way it's been set up,” Kemp added, noting his co-op is trying to meet a June 30 financing deadline. “We're putting the big push on here to the end of the month to try and raise this last 500 grand.”
He said Red Deer County “might help” the co-op a “little bit.”
“We're hoping they'd help us to get over the hump,” said Kemp, adding IMSCP is the only seed plant in Red Deer County.
But town officials, including Mayor Jean Barclay, are cool to the idea of the Town of Innisfail giving a tax break to one business when so many others are struggling during the current challenged economy.
“It’s no secret for municipalities are under a bit of pressure with less funding than what we used to get and so it's a very difficult conversation to have,” Barclay later told the Albertan. “I always like to try to apply fairness across the board when we're dealing with taxes, and if somebody's not paying then that leaves that tax burden on the rest of the community to make up for.”
As well, Todd Becker, the Town of Innisfail’s chief administrative officer, told council following the IMSCP presentation that the town’s Tax Bylaw does not permit relaxation or cancellation of taxes.
“The Tax Bylaw does not allow you to waive taxes, so you cannot say we're going to waive taxes for any given property or property owner for any standard period or any time period at all,” said Becker. “I really caution you to consider a request that's being made to you just on other needs of the community, whether it's business or residential property, and struggles that are often faced in communities.”
However, during a council discussion on the ask following the IMSCP presentation Becker said he would have a future “conversation” with the co-op to explore options.
