Gildan incentives get unanimous support in Davie

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 8, 2013

MOCKSVILLE — It didn’t take long Monday evening for Davie County commissioners and Mocksville Town Board members to approve $3.4 million in economic incentives that could bring a $112 million Gildan Yarns facility to Mocksville.

Both votes were unanimous: $2.37 million from the county and $1.04 million from the town. The money would come from general revenues or interest-free loans.

Town Attorney Hank Van Hoy said the town and county should recoup the money within five years. After that, they will benefit from the $112 million addition to the tax base, and provide jobs for 290 people.

“That tax base helps preserve the general welfare of this community,” Van Hoy said. “It lessens the burden on all of us.”

Because the incentives are performance-based — meaning they won’t be paid unless the company delivers on the investment and jobs — there is minimal risk.

“But if you don’t take some risk, you’re going backwards, and going backwards is not responsible,” Van Hoy said.

Davie County Manager Beth Dirks said there is plenty of capacity at the Cooleemee wastewater treatment facility, and Mocksville’s water system is more than capable of handling the additions …