FAIRMONT — The Fairmont City Council unanimously approved a 10-year tax abatement for CHS on Monday, but council members stressed that the soybean-processing plant take steps to address safety issues caused by semis backed up on the road during peak times.

Linsey Preuss, Fairmont’s economic development coordinator, told the council that CHS is the city’s highest taxpayer, paying more than $760,000 annually in property taxes. The company, which will continue to pay taxes on the existing property, requested the abatement on $5.3 million of the proposed $100 million capital investment, or $59,000 per year for the city’s share. The Fairmont School Board and Martin County commissioners have yet to act on the abatement request for their respective jurisdictions.

“CHS estimates that $3.1 million of this project will be spent locally, meaning that it will be products purchased locally or service purchased locally for the expansion,” Preuss said. “This will have a direct impact on the local economy here in Fairmont and Martin County.”

Although the project will not create any new jobs, a factor that was a sticking point for the county commissioners, Preuss said the project will ensure that the 52 existing jobs at the plant continue for the foreseeable future.

Brandon Nordstrom, CHS plant manager in Fairmont, and Tom Malecha, senior vice president of the processing and food ingredients division, told the council that five additional storage buildings will be added and two existing ones will be modified, enabling the plant to increase capacity and processing by 30 percent a year. They estimated the project will be completed by the end of 2021.

“Aside from a boon to the city, it’s a tremendous boon for our area soybean producers,” said Councilor Bruce Peters.

Councilor Randy Lubenow expressed concern about traffic issues that were raised at last week’s county commission meeting.

“Is CHS committed to solving this issue, and if so, what is your plan?” he asked.

“We’re definitely committed to solving it. We have several options on site to build our own parking,” said Malecha, adding that the intent is to have the on-site parking area completed within two years. He explained that currently there is overflow parking at the fairgrounds and this area will continue to be used during the peak time in the fall.

Jason Harris, a neighbor, expressed his concern for the safety of his young daughters.

“This is my home, and this is their business, and I respect that,” he said. “It’s just a real safety issue because the trucks are back and forth, but we’ve got to get them off the road. It’s just not safe for anybody out there.”

Lynn Harris lives directly across the road from the CHS plant and urged the company to keep the trucks away from the neighboring families and from parking in front of their driveways.

“We can’t have 30 percent more traffic and nothing happening,” she said, adding that the trucks are not allowed to park at the fairgrounds when there are heavy rains. “They really need to address this and take the best interest of all the neighbors. We want everybody to get along. It’s not our intent for CHS to go away.”

Malecha said CHS would work with the county to create the traffic flow and proper turn lanes. He said they will do their best to make sure to get the trucks off the road, but they could not guarantee that there would never be a truck line.

“But we will do our best to mitigate the issue,” he said.

The project received support from some community residents.

“It seems like a tremendous opportunity for the city,” said Ralph McMillan of Fairmont. “This is an opportunity, not in the number of jobs but in the visibility of the city. Maybe other companies are going to look at us and say, if it’s good enough for CHS, it’s probably going to be good enough for us too. This is a no-brainer, and I hope you realize that.”

Bruce Ehlert of Fairmont said other businesses are watching this process.

“If another corporation saw there was no chance to do something similar, if they were to spend a large amount in a Fairmont plant and there’s no chance to help them get off the ground, I think they’d look at other places and not even consider here. I think this is a huge plus for Fairmont.”

“I’m kind of hearing that if you don’t get this tax abatement from the city, the county and the school district, are you closing up shop?” Lubenow asked. “What are the options? How long does the plant have under current conditions. What is your plan if the abatement doesn’t go through?”

Malecha said the life of the equipment in the 18-year old plant is 15 to 20 years, so it would have to be replaced within the next 3 to 5 years.

“I’m concerned about the traffic issue,” Lubenow said. “If they haven’t did anything in 18 years, what tells me that they’re going to do something if we approve this? I think we need to see some resolutions of what the traffic could be before we move ahead because past performance is an indicator of future performance.”

Councilor Tom Hawkins said he was generally in favor of the project, but he has heard both sides from constituents.

“It’s kind of a hot-button issue because it looks like one of those corporate welfare kind of things, but at the same time, I think it’s a good project,” he said, adding that he hopes the company will fix the safety issues and continue to work with neighbors.

“This is something that ought to go through,” said Councilor Wayne Hasek.

“I’m with the neighbors, and I’m very nervous about the safety issue,” said Councilor Ruth Cyphers, adding that CHS should work with neighbors to make the situation “the best that it can be.”

Mayor Debbie Foster said she had talked with the Harris family about their concerns, but she was going to trust that CHS would address those issues.

“I can tell you that people overwhelmingly in this community are in favor of this (project),” she said.

On a motion by Peters and a second by Hasek, the abatement passed unanimously.