Commission approves performance-based sales-tax rebate for Publix-anchored Kimberly shopping center

The Jefferson County Commission voted to approve a performance-based incentive for BRE Kimberly LLC to develop a Publix-anchored shopping center in the town of Kimberly.

Jeff, a county staff member who presented the request, said the project will create 67 jobs and represents about $30 million in capital investment, roughly $26 million from the developer and the remainder from Publix. He described the proposal as intended to address a local food-desert issue by delivering a “good quality” grocery store where one is not currently available. “We are looking at a rebate of $0.01 of our two cent sales tax on the project, with a cap of $1 million or a term no longer than five years,” Jeff said.

Under the approved terms, the rebate is performance-based: the developer must build the shopping center and create the jobs identified in the agreement, and rebates are tied to sales taxes generated by the development. Jeff told the commission the county estimates roughly $1.89 million would return to the county general fund and about $3.8 million in education revenue over the project period, excluding revenues to the town of Kimberly or the state.

Commissioners questioned the mechanics and precedent for retail incentives. One commissioner said, “This is a performance agreement … the reimbursement is based on performance” and asked what “performance” entails; Jeff replied that performance is demonstrated through construction and job creation and that the rebate only returns taxes actually generated by the project.

The public hearing produced no speakers. The commission conducted a roll-call vote: Commissioners Bohlen, Knight, Scales and Tyson voted to approve the agreement; Commissioner Stevens abstained, saying she supported the project but had concerns about specific wording in the document. The item was recorded as approved.