WESTFIELD – The City Council voted 10-2 Thursday night to approve a five-year special tax incentive for Lamson & Goodnow which will give the cutlery firm a financial edge to move to Westfield.
The company is moving to Westfield as it recovers from bankruptcy following Tropical Storm Irene which flooded the Deerfield River and extensively damage the plant in Shelburne Falls.
Lamson & Goodnow was established in Shelburne Falls, in 1837, and became the premier cutler in the United States. The company was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sold the Shelburne Falls property to pay creditors.
Lamson & Goodnow President and Chief Operating Officer James C. Pelletier said the firm looked at a number of communities in which to relocate, but found that Westfield best supported the firm.
“We have 30 employees now (in Shelburne Falls) and will have 30 employees here in Westfield in two months,” Pelletier said, adding that the firm recently held a job fair at the Shaker Farms country club and will hire eight applicants from that event.
Pelletier, whose children attended Westfield Schools, said that his firm will also indirectly create additional jobs because of outsourcing to other Westfield-based companies such as Johncarlo Woodworking, which is making 500 knife handles a day, and New England Heat Treatment, located at the Savage Arms complex on Springdale Road.
“We are going from a 50,000 square foot facility to a 20,000 square feet building because (of the ability to find) outsourcing here in Westfield,” Pelletier said. “We plan to come out of bankruptcy this year in Westfield.”
Pelletier was appointed by a bankruptcy judge and given the mission of bringing Lamson & Goodnow out of bankruptcy. Pelletier has performed that function several times in the past, being court appointed to bring Smith & Wesson out of bankruptcy nearly two decades ago.
“I’ve given the personnel director the mandate to hire anyone from Westfield. We owe a debt to the city,” Pelletier said.
At-large Councilors Cindy Harris and David A. Flaherty voted against the STA because it transfers the tax burden from the firm to other taxpayers in the city.
“Every time we give an STA other taxpayers have to pick up that burden, so I’m going to vote no,” Harris said.
Flaherty said that STA should be reserved “for very special circumstances” and that this is not the case in this instance.
At-large Councilor Dan Allie argued that the Lamson & Goodnow STA “is an extraordinary circumstance” and that he “cannot imagine the devastation” following Irene and the flooding of the Deerfield River.
Ward 5 Councilor Robert Paul Sr., said that in his experience “it’s a hard thing to come out of bankruptcy. What we have is a company being creative. We need to provide some assistance.”
“We’re making an investment to help this company come out of bankruptcy and they are using other companies in the city (for outsourcing),” he said.
Ward 3 Councilor Brian Hoose said that the company is selling assets in Shelburne Falls “to get going again. They are not sneaking out of their obligation to their debtors. They’re looking for a place to start over again.”
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe said the tax burden being shifted to 17,000 other taxpayers averages to 40 cents a year.
“I think for 40 cents a pop we can take that chance,” he said.
The firm is moving to Mainline Drive to occupy the building which formerly housed a microbrewery, now in Southwick. The assessed tax for that property is $14,233 a year. The company will receive 100 percent the first year, 75 percent the second year, fifty percent the third year, 25 percent the fourth year and zero percent the fifth year, paying the full $14,583.
The STA givers the firm a $35,583 tax cut over the five-year term, but also collects that same amount over that term.
