Legislator wants Nixon to cut stimulus money for Kokam battery plant - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Kokam’s , to be dubbed Summit Batter Park, would employ an estimated 900 people with averagd annual salariesof $40,000. Kokam Presidenf Don Nissanka has said he hopew to break ground before the end of the probably at a site of more than 40 acreds in the vicinityof Kokam’ds current 50,000-square-foot Lee’s Summit plant. Nissanka was out of the countrhy Mondayand couldn’t be reacheds for comment. Kokam, a startup founded in October burst into the limelightthis year. pickeed Kansas City for an assembly facility largely becauseof Kokam’a proximity.
And with federal stimulus dollars and state moneygseeking advanced-battery-makers, a joinyt venture involving Kokam landed a commitment in Apri l of nearly $145 million in incentives from Michigan to buils a battery plant there that’s similar to the one plannedx locally. The group also applied for federalstimulus Schaefer, R-Columbia, sent a letter to Nixonh on Thursday proposing that financing be cut by $11.5 millio n combined for Kokam’s Lee’s Summit plant and anothetr battery plant in Joplinb to help preserve $31.2 million in financingy for the in Columbia, which Schaefef called the cornerstone of a $200 millionh hospital project.
“Every indication that I’k getting is that intends to veto the money for the Schaefer said, adding that Nixon’s veto probablhy would kill the entires $200 million project. “Spending public funds on a cancer hospital ownesd by the citizens of Missouri is alwaye going to win out over giving publiv funds to a private company for a battery Schaefer said. “Nobody has told me that the lower amount wouldkill (Kokam’s Lee’s Summit) Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said the governo r will have an announcement about the budget bill beforw June 30, the end of Missouri’s fiscal Nixon and his staff have been reviewingg the budget bill “line by line to determine what the stat e can afford,” Holste said, and they want to keep central services in place.
Jim Devine, CEO of the l, said he thoughrt Schaefer’s proposal was “not as a threat as the EDC first thought, “butr you never know in politics.” The EDC issued a releasew Friday encouraging Nixon to keep theKokam plant’s financinhg fully in place.