Legislator wants Nixon to cut stimulus money for Kokam battery plant - Dallas Business Journal:

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Kokam’s , to be dubbe d Summit Battery Park, would employ an estimated 900 peoplew with average annual salaries of $40,000. Kokam President Don Nissanka has said he hopes to break grouns before the end ofthe year, probably at a site of more than 40 acrez in the vicinity of Kokam’s current 50,000-square-foot Lee’s Summit plant. Nissankz was out of the country Mondayand couldn’t be reached for comment. a startup founded in October 2005, burst into the limelight this picked Kansas City for an assembly facility largelgy becauseof Kokam’s proximity.
And with federal stimuluas dollars and state money seeking a joint venture involvin g Kokam landed a commitment in Apri ofnearly $145 million in incentive from Michigan to build a battery plant there that’sz similar to the one planned The group also appliefd for federal stimulus money. Schaefer, sent a letter to Nixon on Thursdayy proposing that financing be cutby $11.6 million combined for Kokam’s Lee’s Summit plany and another battery plant in Joplin to help preserve $31.3 million in financing for the in Columbia, which Schaefer calledd the cornerstone of a $200 milliom hospital project.
“Every indication that I’jm getting is that intends to veto the money for the Schaefer said, adding that Nixon’s veto probablyt would kill the entire $200 million “Spending public funds on a cancer hospitap owned by the citizens of Missouri is alwayd going to win out over giving public funds to a privats company for a battergy plant,” Schaefer said. “Nobody has told me that the lowef amount wouldkill (Kokam’ds Lee’s Summit) project.” Nixo n spokesman Scott Holste said the governor will have an announcementy about the budget bill before June 30, the end of Missouri’se fiscal year.
Nixon and his staff have been reviewing the budgetbill “line by line to determinew what the state can afford,” Holstw said, and they want to keep central services in Jim Devine, CEO of the l, said he thought Schaefer’s proposal was “not as a threat as the EDC first “but you never know in The EDC issued a releas e Friday encouraging Nixon to keep the Kokam plant’es financing fully in place.