The Company has accepted an Incentive Proposal from Empire State Development, a New York State Agency that provides assistance and service to businesses in order to encourage investment in New York State.
Pursuant to the Incentive Proposal, The Company will be eligible to receive :
- a series of financial grants, which are receivable by the Company at the commencement of construction, or are based on the level of capital investment made by the Company, or are based on the level of employment at the Company’s maintenance facility;
- a series of credits against New York State income tax, a real property tax credit, a sales tax refund on building materials used in the construction of the maintenance facility and an exemption from the 4% New York State sales tax on purchases of goods and services.
The Company has also entered into a preliminary agreement with ESDC pursuant to which ESDC has agreed, under certain circumstances, to make available to the Company a credit facility of $12 million. A definitive agreement concerning this facility will be executed prior to the Closing.
The Company has accepted a proposal from Clinton County, which sets out the terms of the 40-year land lease that will be entered into between the County and the Company for land at the Plattsburgh International Airport. The proposal also sets out the landing fees that will be charged to the Company's customers.
The proposal from Clinton County also confirmed the intention of the Clinton County Industrial Development Agency to issue tax-exempt bonds on behalf of the Company to finance a part of the overall cost of the project.
The Clinton County Industrial Development Agency is a public benefit corporation formed under the laws of the State of New York. The Agency is authorized to issue its bonds on behalf of various projects.
The Agency is planning to issue tax-exempt bonds on behalf of the Company in accordance with Section 142(a) of the Internal Revenue Code which permits tax-exempt bonds to be issued to fund various airport projects, including the Company's planned maintenance facility.