Crockett approves tax abatement, incentive agreement for Cell Vision LLC promising local jobs

The Crockett City Council approved a tax abatement and incentive agreement with Cell Vision LLC for property in Reinvestment Zone Number 1 (Ordinance 083-23, adopted Aug. 21, 2023), authorizing the mayor to execute the agreement following council action.

Speaker 1 read the agreement terms before opening a public hearing: the company agreed to create new primary jobs with a combined annual payroll target of $250,000 within 36 months and planned approximately 1,800 square feet of office space and roughly 3,500 square feet of manufacturing/warehouse space, with estimated improvements of about $250,000. A resident asked to confirm the site location near the Messenger Building and an adjacent small building (SEG 741–746); no other members of the public spoke and the hearing was closed.

On the agreement vote (item 7), Speaker 4 moved to approve the tax abatement and Speaker 1 seconded; the motion carried (the transcript records 'all in favor; motion carries' with no roll-call tally). Speaker 5 said the county will consider the county portion of the agreement at its Oct. 24 meeting and the city has postdated the agreement to coincide with that schedule. Staff said they plan an open house and ribbon-cutting when the facility is ready and stressed that the company has been actively working on fit-out and operations.

Speaker 5 described the business as a headquarters and manufacturing facility for patent‑pending optical products, saying the economic impact analysis projected 23 jobs over 10 years but the agreement requires the company to reach 10 jobs within 36 months and accrue toward that requirement. Speaker 5 said the company has already started work on warehousing and workstations and the city anticipates public events once the site is ready.

The council approved the agreement; staff noted next steps include county action and planning of a public open house once the company is prepared to show operations.