The tax break will apply to any new construction and equipment, not to any added inventory or existing property. Barnard said 80 percent of the company's employees live in the county and 45 percent of them live in Wooster. He said generations of families have found employment at the snack food factory. Frito-Lay has occupied the plant for more than 35 years, he said, and the facility has been manufacturing potato chips for 53 years. He said his group has met with Wooster City Schools officials, including Superintendent David Estrop, and that they endorse the project.
Nothing is lost.
But some residents did not agree with his assessment that everyone gains from the deal. Frito-Lay made a decision more than 10 years ago not to purchase potatoes and corn from local growers, Green Township potato farmer David Rohrer said. Rohrer cited statistics that Frito-Lay gradually has reduced its number of potato supplier nationwide from about 450 more than 10 years ago to 126 today. Rohrer protested granting a tax incentive to a company that, though it trumpets its commitment to the community, refuses to support local farmers. Farmers and other small businesses who also have long legacies in the area are not asking for the same breaks, he said.