City Grants Amazon $252,115 For Electrical Facility Costs

By Madison Morriss 

 

Some college students use Amazon to buy cheaper textbooks and to get free two-day shipping—now Bobcats and San Martians may find themselves getting a job from the company as well.

 

San Marcos city council approved a resolution at an Oct. 20 meeting granting Amazon $252,115 to cover the cost of the facility’s electrical services. The business is set to begin operation in December 2017.

 

“The council has the ability to award an amount of money that would extend electric services to Amazon,” said Tom Taggart, executive director of Public Services for San Marcos. “Amazon proposed a potential usage in the first five years that approaches $10,000,000 in utility payments.”

 

Taggart said the grant is a performance-based agreement, meaning that Amazon has to refund the unused amount of money back to the city if the company doesn’t use 90 percent of it.

 

Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, said city council approved the grant because of the economic opportunity the company will bring to San Marcos.

 

“The comments that I have heard about Amazon coming to the community have been positive,” Taggart said. “(Amazon) does have a very high-profile reputation and there is a number of jobs that we will be adding to the city.”

 

Although city officials are excited about Amazon’s arrival, some citizens are not happy about the large sum of money San Marcos is granting the company.

 

Lisa Marie Coppoletta, San Marcos resident and local activist, said she wishes city council would give more money to flood victims in Hays County rather than focusing on increasing economic growth at the moment.

 

Coppoletta believes the city needs to focus on investing in smaller businesses in San Marcos instead of catering to big companies. She said small local businesses aren’t getting the rebates they need and deserve.

 

Cruz said the Greater San Marcos Partnership did an economic impact analysis to see how much the employment rate would increase when the company begins hiring. The partnership expects the Amazon fulfillment center to provide up to 1,000 jobs.

 

“Amazon is a significant win for the city of San Marcos,” Cruz said. “Their new facility is really going to help our community in terms of job creation.”

 

The grant will go toward more than just electrical services, she said. It will also help fund construction of any additional infrastructure needed for the facility.

 

“For that particular electrical infrastructure grant, it’s something that’s calculated by the city of San Marcos Electric Utility,” Cruz said. “The amount was carefully looked at for the company, so I would say that it is an appropriate amount.”

 

Cruz is excited for Amazon to locate in San Marcos because it means a big brand name is recognizing opportunity in the city.

 

“The fact that a brand-name and a Fortune 500 company like Amazon selected San Marcos for their fulfillment center is a huge validator for our community as a location for companies that are relocating or expanding,” Cruz said.

 

This article originally appeared in The University Star.