Westborough Town Meeting Presentation Posted on Town Manager's Blog

Westborough voters can see Town Manager Jim Malloy's PowerPoint presentation to next Tuesday night's special town meeting right now.

Thursday, Malloy posted the 12-page document on his blog on the town's website.

Two proposed 15-year tax increment financing agreements are on the warrant for Tuesday's meeting at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. One would go to MicroChem Inc. and the other to Danafilms Inc.

Malloy said Thursday he'll share with voters "what the companies do; where they're locating; during the term of the TIF, what the estimated tax revenue, the increased revenues will be for the town, as well as how much the tax break that they get."

"I always try to point out on these TIFs: it's not that they're getting a reduction in the taxes that they actually pay. It's just less on the incremental increase in the value of the property."

MicroChem President Jay Cole said Wednesday his company hopes to close on its facility at 200 Flanders Road this fall, but won't move in for at least nine to 12 months.

"We'll spend a great deal of money fixing it up to the standard it needs to be at," installing environmental controls and addressing other needs, Cole said.

The move would put MicroChem "in a facility all by ourselves," with room for expansion, he said.

"We found an ideal building and a great location," Cole said.

Meanwhile, Danafilms Plant Manager Clark Sylvester said Thursday the TIF would be an incentive to expand its facility at 5 Otis St.

Danafilms officials are considering two expansion sites: this one, and one in Kentucky, he said.

"We're already here. Danafilms has been here almost 40 years. We certainly want to continue being here," Sylvester said.

That said, the expansion plans are "a long process," he said.

And for that reason, "it's always a possibility" that Danafilms chooses Kentucky even if Westborough voters approve the TIF, Sylvester said.

Malloy said that if voters approve both TIFs, the board of selectmen will sign the paperwork at its Aug. 21 meeting. The documents then would go to the state Economic Assistance Coordinating Council for certification, which he believed would happen in September.

If voters reject one or both proposed TIFs, town officials would then meet with the businesses in question, "and see how that impacted their decisions," he said.

"It obviously could have a very serious detrimental impact, depending on how they choose to go forward," Malloy said.