Trustees approved sliding scale 5-year abatements to Amerimex Rig Movers and Drilling companies and  Plains Cotton Cooperative, deals that supporters say will augment the companies' efforts at expanding their local operations.

Combined, the businesses plan slightly more than $13 million in expansion in the coming months.

“(Abatements) are tools used statewide by a lot of economic development organizations,” said Terry Wegman, executive director of the Big Spring Economic Development Corp. “They are very important tools and they send a strong message to other prospective businesses thinking about locating here.”

Under terms of the abatements, the companies will receive a 100 percent abatement on real property taxes during the first two years of the agreements. The firms will then pay 30 percent of their taxes in year three, 50 percent in year four and 70 percent in the final year of the abatement.

Plains Cotton Cooperative plans an $8 million development to expand its local operations, while Amerimex plans a $5.6 million upgrade.

The exact economic impact on Howard College is hard to forecast with any amount of certainty, officials said, but Wegman said the abatements were necessary to keep Big Spring in the hunt for future business expansions.

“Economic development is a very competitive arena and you need to take advantage of every tool at your disposal,” he said. “The business world is very smart and understands where the opportunities are. They look at communities that provide these kind of incentives and they're very aware of what communities do and what they offer businesses ... Sometimes, you have to give a little to get a little.”

Both abatements were approved unanimously, with the exception of Maxwell Barr abstaining on the Plains Cotton Cooperative motion.

In other business, trustees approved:

• The hiring of a full-time project manager and secretary and three part-time instructors for the college's Career Tech Initiative.

• Bids for heavy equipment simulator hardware and software.

• Catalog and handbook changes.

• Renewal of a three-year lease of SouthWest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf property to the Vietnam Memorial Association.

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it