EXCERPTS:
TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. — Ulster County Industrial Development officials have set a Jan. 31 public hearing on a request by battery manufacturer Zinc8 for $186,000 in sales tax exemptions purchases and services needed to establish a facility in iPark 87.
The session is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Ulster Town Hall at 1 Town Hall Drive.
It will be a separate hearing from the one planned for 7:15 p.m. Thursday, when Town Board members will take comments on whether to endorse an Ulster County grant application seeking $10 million for renovations at iPark. That project would include work in five buildings at the site including areas proposed for Zinc8, which produces zinc-based batteries, as well as lithium-ion battery manufacturer Cadenza Innovation.
In the Zinc8 application scheduled for Jan. 31, officials wrote that the company would use 237,000 square feet and incur $14.75 million in capital expenses over a three-year period, but the tax exemption would only apply to $10 million.
While Zinc8 is not seeking a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, the hearing would include a request for the company to have property taxes waived if it is to own the facility.
The agency hearing notice states that officials are considering deeming Zinc8 as “exempt from real property taxation” except for “special assessments and special ad valorem levies.”
Ulster town Supervisor James Quigley on Thursday said the arrival of new manufacturing at iPark 87 would be welcome, but information is still needed on what the safety protocols will be for both battery facilities.
Zinc8 President Ron MacDonald responded to the concerns by noting his company’s production process uses zinc, which has a significantly lower risk of fire hazards than lithium.
“We have no thermal runaway,” he said. “There’s nothing in it that’s exotic. There’s nothing in it that can burn. There’s nothing in it that (will release) gases.”
