Bettermade Snubbed by Wayne County

[SteadySky]

Well, if the info that Route29 is true then I have a plan for you.... unfortunatley I am going to make a lot of people mad here, but this is how it can go. If true [[and considering its Wayne County nothing would surprise me). Although let's be honest, same crazy stuff happens everywhere. The next step will be to move.

I'm an environmental consultant by profession and work on a lot of due diligence and redevelopment projects that often involve tax credits and abatements, etc. So a guy like me or other real estate developer type approaches Better Made and then guess what? A tempting cool land deal out in Macomb or Oakland Counties with a better site. A better facility, newer, maybe with better access to roadways, ceiling height, etc., etc. This will not be new from the ground up, but just one of those wonderful commercial/light industrial sites will lots of floor space and other amenitites that are empty and in the hands of either an owner willing to give outstanding rates or a lender who is looking to get it off the books by selling it cheap.

I say let's find a nice brownfield site that open's the door to all sorts of incentivies. Many out there with minimal contamination and easily handled. Just look at it, no Detroit employment taxes, but with nice MBT credits, maybe a sweet brownfield site easily adjusted with some nice local TIF, a local break on taxes as you are bringing in "new" jobs to the community, favorable treatment by the local government on permits and fees, etc., etc.

Plus you have a pissed off owner who has been screwed by the old boy, play to play crowd. So he could be motivated. I say they could easily have quoted on this contract and received favorable terms to supply their product to the county. Further, it is easy to express politically how in these tough times that we want to work as much with local businesses who employ our local residents. Easy to sell the idea that there was no dishonesty in the contractual award, but just the county taking a look at a bigger picture. Hell, how is that any different than some of the minority contracts that I have seen issued to parties not able to do the work in question, but merely being a front for a subcontractor that would be hired by the minority contractor to do the actual work.

Then when all is said and done, the Better Made company will politely say "you can kiss my ---!" Overall, its not a good senario, but this is not an untrue or unheard of scenario.