“They are essentially supporting our application,” Stephan said Monday, referring to Moraine. “We are going to do whatever we can in the future to help them with development.”
A message was left for Moraine City Manager Mike Davis. Matt Eisenbraun, Moraine development director, described the letter as one of “acknowledgement” rather than an expression of support.
“Certainly, we want to advocate for Moraine,” Eisenbraun said. But if the situation becomes a choice between losing jobs to Michigan or losing jobs to another Montgomery County community, “Then we would rather keep them in the region and the county. "
A copy of Moraine’s letter to Brookville provided to the Dayton Daily News, signed by Eisenbraun, says the city will have continued talks with a company whose name was redacted. But Moraine “acknowledges that the existing location does not provide adequate space for an expansion of this magnitude,” the letter adds.
Brookville has applied for Montgomery County development funds for a code-named “Project A,” on behalf of an anonymous company.
But speaking with the Montgomery County Economic Development/Government Equity (ED/GE) committee Monday, Stephan described a business very similar to DMAX — an automotive business already located in the city, with hundreds of jobs also in Moraine.
The executive director of the Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority last week said DMAX would move jobs from Moraine to Brookville, if the expansion happens.
The unnamed company wants to expand an already existing facility, keeping some 700 jobs in Montgomery County — the approximate number of DMAX jobs already in Moraine.
DMAX has built heavy-duty diesel truck engines in Moraine since 1999. Twenty years later, GM announced a $175 million investment to build a new, diesel engine components plant in Brookville.
The idea at the time was to run the new Brookville DMAX plant concurrently with the original DMAX plant in Moraine, sending established plant-machined engine components for assembly in Moraine.
But in late 2021, GM bought more than 50 acres in Brookville, raising questions about the automaker’s plans there.
GM has not made a decision on whether to expand in Brookville or to move the Moraine jobs to Flint, Mich., public officials have said.
“This is a big project for the city of Brookville that would provide a lot of revenue to our community,” Stephan said Monday. “We believe it’s a good project.”
The ED/GE committee met Monday to consider requests for development-incentive dollars from municipalities seeking either to draw companies to their communities — or to keep them there.
The county has about $3.3 million in ED/GE funds available and about $3.4 million in requests.
In terms of affected jobs, Brookville’s “Project A” appears to be the biggest possible project.
Brookville has applied for $500,000 in ED/GE funds.
Other ED/GE proposals:
In Miami Twp., busy Dayton-area developer NorthPoint Development has applied for $500,000 for a 264,000 square-foot First Flight Commerce Center Business Park, which would include extending Washington Church Road to Austin Boulevard.
Both Miami and Washington Twps. stand to benefit in what applicants say would create about 100 new jobs.
In nearby Miamisburg, robotics manufacturer Yaskawa America has applied for $350,000 to build a 190,000 square-foot addition to an existing 300,000 square-foot facility.
Seventy new jobs are possible there, with 333 current jobs retained, according to the applicants for the money.
In Dayton, Bonbright Distributors seeks $500,000 to offset building improvement costs for a 50,600 square-foot expansion of an existing facility in Dayton. The project would retain 120 jobs and create 32 new jobs.
Also in Dayton, the code-named “Project Wonka” seeks $75,000 for an unnamed aerospace and defense contractor headquartered in Illinois but already with a presence in this region. The money would go toward $1 million in leasehold improvements required to conduct research and equipment testing for the defense industry.
“Wonka” would create 20 new jobs, according to the city of Dayton.
In Englewood, Eaton Compressor has applied for $500,000 to help build a 65,000 square-foot warehouse adjacent to a current facility, to allow for additional manufacturing space.
That proposed project would retain 60 jobs and create 15 new jobs.
In Germantown, the Dupps Co. seeks $500,000 to build a 48,000 square-foot building adjacent to a current facility, to produce and service parts used in the company’s renewable fuels industry.
The proposed Dupps project would retain 179 jobs and create 12 new jobs.
In Harrison Twp., Andrew Casey Electric seeks $75,000 to offset improvement costs to an existing building damaged by the 2019 tornadoes, a project that would retain 27 jobs and create seven new ones.
A second Harrison Twp. project, Hinkle Fine Foods seeks $21,000 to offset improvements to an existing food manufacturing facility. The project would retain 20 jobs and create three new jobs.
And a third Harrison Twp. project: Bad Habit Fabrication seeks $18,129 to improve an existing facility. The proposed project would retain four jobs and create three new jobs.
In Huber Heights, “PVS Plastics” has applied for $370,000 to offset construction costs for a 14,450 square-foot addition adjacent to an existing facility.
That expansion would retain 48 jobs and create 26 new jobs.
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