This is kind of funny.
Soglin said he is recommending the Oscar Mayer site even though it is not on undeveloped land, as Foxconn has requested, because it has easy access to the airport, Interstate, rail and bus lines and plenty of power and water.
“We think this is part of the need to rethink the location of jobs and the consumption of farmland,” Soglin said. “Putting in a facility that employs this many people right in the heart of all these resources. … That makes sense rather than chewing up 40, 80, 100 acres of farmland.”
The mayor said he would be willing to consider offering tax incremental financing for a potential Foxconn project, but he said the city will not give away the property.
“We have absolutely no intention, at any location, to waive any environmental regulations,” Soglin said. “Secondly, we are not at all interested in participating in a race to the bottom in regards to competing with financial incentives that are not viable for this community.”
So Soglin would like the facility and the jobs as long as they put it where Soglin thinks is best and follows all of the dictates from Madison city government. Oh, and don’t expect any favors or extra effort to help get started. I don’t know how the Foxconn executives could resist such a welcoming and accommodating invitation.
Maybe he is butt hurt that Epic Systems Corporation moved 11 miles out of Madison to open land on the west edge of Verona.
Now, if you want to see a preview of what Foxconn could do for the region, take a look at Epic Systems. 10,000 employee campus. The City of Verona was able to recover their TIF investment early – last year that was a $11.23 Million windfall for the Verona School District. Other taxing bodies also received a windfall. I like the part where the CEO did not care for the bricks being used on the new high school, so she donated the ones that met her color preference. <a href=”http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/epiccampus”>Epic Campus</a>
Not sure what other economic incentives Epic received. UW Madison has supplied a ready workforce and they are riding a market created by the Electronic Records mandate contained in Obamacare.
I will try to repost the link –
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/epiccampus