By Mark Wineka

mark.wineka@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY — To entice New York Air Brake into Granite Quarry’s new industrial park, the Board of Aldermen agreed to incentives that would give the company a 75 percent break on its town property taxes for five years.

The details of the incentives had been unveiled earlier, when New York Air Brake’s planned expansion was known only as “Project Wheel,” but aldermen didn’t make it official until Monday night.

In late March, New York Air Brake announced it would expand its Rowan County presence by as many as 100 jobs with a $9 million investment over the next three years. Rowan County had been in competition for that expansion with locations in Kentucky and Indiana.

Since that announcement, New York Air Brake has not revealed where in Rowan County it will be expanding. Scott Shelton, vice president of operations for the Rowan Economic Development Commission, told aldermen the company expects to make that decision later this month.

The company’s Premtec division is located in Salisbury and manufactures specialty hose products and freight car components. New York Air Brake is based in Watertown, New York, and produces freight and locomotive air brake control systems.

Granite Quarry officials are hoping New York Air Brake chooses the industrial park off Heilig Road that it has jointly developed with Rowan County.

County commissioners also have promised the company a Rowan County Tax Investment Grant and an Economic Incentive Grant.

The “incentive grant” from Granite Quarry would be similar. Shelton gave calculations based on an $11 million investment leading to 94 full-time jobs by the end of 2019.

Average pay for the new jobs would be $33,334, plus benefits.

The company needs about a 100,000-square-foot facility.

Based on its investment, New York Air Brake would pay Granite Quarry $45,925 in real and personal property taxes for each of the first five years, and the town would give back $34,444 each year as an incentive grant.

So over the five-year period of the grant, Granite Quarry would collect $229,625 in taxes from New York Air Brake, return $172,219 as incentive grants and retain $57,045.

Over a 10-year period, the New York Air Brake expansion, if it located in Granite Quarry, could mean $287,031 in new revenue.

In another matter Monday night, Elliott Mathis — long associated with his constant volunteer work at Erwin Middle School — was honored with the town’s Community First Award.

Jason Smith, owner of The Hot Dog Shack, presented the award to Mathis. The award is sponsored by Hot Dog Shack and F&M Bank.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.