FRESNO (KMJ) — A proposal to encourage Amazon’s second headquarters to the City of Fresno is being billed as an opportunity for the online retailer to become the “ultimate corporate citizen.”
“We’ve seen many mayors across the country from Sacramento to Georgia make some very lavish offers…it’s turned into a bidding war and it’s something we will not be a part of,” explained Mayor Lee Brand.
“Instead, Fresno’s proposal for Amazon HQ2 is a vast departure from the norm.”
Mayor Lee Brand’s announcement inside Fresno City Hall Thursday morning detailed a plan designed to encourage an estimated 50,000 jobs and give the Seattle based company an opportunity to build a sustainable community, in exchange for its $5 billion investment in the new site.
“We call it ‘Amazon Community Fund.’ We propose to enter into a 100 year lease that will place 85% of every tax dollar generated by this project back to the communities.
“This fund will be jointly controlled by city officials and Amazon executives to build the infrastructure to sustain the HQ2 project for the community for next century,” said Mayor Brand.
“This approach makes HQ2 a win for both Amazon and the City of Fresno for the next 100 years.”
The plan is to invest the newly generated revenue into areas such as transportation, education, and core services.
“If it’s $50 million that comes into the coffers of the city and county, and there’s some others, we would probably take about $22 – $23 million a year from that investment,” detailed Economic Development Director Larry Westerlund.
“This is reinvesting that dollar.”
The proposal package sent to Amazon includes a letter from Mayor Lee Brand (click here to read) and a video to visually explain why Amazon should pick the Central Valley for HQ2.
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
