By JIM BUTLER
Pace of construction makes it self-evident a $3.5 billion data center is in the works near Boyce though to this point formal paperwork remains to be done.
Details of a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement between the England Authority, which created a subdistrict of the center’s locale, and Applied Digital are still being drafted.
A term sheet adopted by Authority commissioners in April to be incorporated into the CEA specifies some economic development aspects, including about $600 million in various payments to government and quasi-governmental bodies.
The terms, essentially a syllabus on Payment In Lieu Of Taxes, are clear, as are provisions should terms not be met.
The agreement rests on Allied’s ability to lease the center for at least 15 years to a recognized company with annual revenues of $100 billion or more.
How the annual payments will be divvied up between taxing bodies is not spelled out though the total annual pot is.
Under normal circumstances property taxes are paid each December to the Sheriff’s Office, which distributes receipts to parish entities on the basis of ad valorem rates in effect and property valuation assessments or are paid to respective municipal bodies.
The term sheet does not indicate any change in that process and does not list recipients or their shares.
Terms provide for a $27.4 million PILOT payment in the first year of operation.
The graduated payment schedule yields about $572 million over a 25-year life. The PILOT pact itself is for 15 years with two five-year renewal options.
Jobs are also a requirement under the terms.
Applied and/or the unnamed prospective lessee are responsible for at least 200 fulltime jobs created and maintained no later than five years after startup.
Those positions will require wages at or above 150 percent of the then-statewide annual average exclusive of benefits costs, with health insurance a required offering.
An annual administrative fee of $600,000 is part of the terms, as is payment of $18 million per year the first three years to provide seed funding for a matching funds trust for regional community and infrastructure development and support for local tax bodies.
Recipient of the admin fee is not specified. Where the development trust will be held/managed is not noted.