The Mount Pleasant village board and Racine common council have both signed off on an intergovernmental agreement spelling out how water infrastructure improvements needed for Foxconn Technology Group’s planned $10 billion LCD manufacturing campus will be funded.
Foxconn’s decision to locate in Mount Pleasant means an estimated $100 million in infrastructure upgrades are needed to the Racine Water Utility system to serve the site with water.
The agreement, passed by the village Monday and by the city last week, calls for the village to pay for those improvements with revenues from the tax increment financing district used to facilitate the Foxconn project.
The village is also responsible for covering costs related to improvements to the existing water utility system. Increased revenue from a larger system will cover some of the estimated $26.8 million in costs, but the village will pay any shortfall. Increasing revenues from new users like Foxconn will pay the village back over time.
The deal will also allow the City of Racine to expand its wastewater treatment plant at a former CNH facility that closed in 2002. The parcel is currently in Mount Pleasant, but if the city acquires it, the village will allow Racine to attach the parcel – and any other contiguous city-owned parcels – to the city.
Finally, the village will also help the Racine Water Utility pay down existing debt, reducing connection fees and potentially spurring economic development.
“This is a transformational agreement and a game-changer for our community,” said Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave. “The agreement promotes economic development, while protecting city and village taxpayers. It is a testament to the importance of municipalities working together to develop common-sense solutions that benefit our entire community.”
The agreement also calls for Mount Pleasant to increase its funding of transit services from $240,000 to $340,000 next year, and in future years based on actual usage by village riders. An additional $150,000 in funds from the Foxconn TID will go toward public safety costs.
The two communities also agreed to establish a commission to recommend adjustments to their shared boarders, addressing haphazard boundaries that developed from annexation and incorporation.
