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

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Kokam’s , to be dubbed Summit Batter Park, would employ an estimated 900 people with average annualk salariesof $40,000. Kokam Presidenrt Don Nissanka has said he hopesw to break ground beforde the end ofthe year, probablg at a site of more than 40 acrees in the vicinity of Kokam’xs current 50,000-square-foot Lee’s Summit plant. Nissanka was out of the country Mondayuand couldn’t be reached for comment. Kokam, a startupp founded in October 2005, burst into the limelight this picked Kansas City for an assembly facilitu largely becauseof Kokam’s proximity.
And with federal stimulud dollars and state moneyseeking advanced-battery-makers, a joinr venture involving Kokam landed a commitment in April of nearlt $145 million in incentives from Michigan to builc a battery plant there that’s similar to the one plannee locally. The group also applied for federal stimulus money. Schaefer, R-Columbia, sent a letter to Nixon on Thursday proposing that financing be cutby $11.5 million combined for Kokam’ss Lee’s Summit plant and another battery plant in Joplin to help preserv e $31.2 million in financinhg for the in Columbia, which Schaefer called the cornerston e of a $200 million hospital project.
“Every indicatiohn that I’m getting is that (Nixon) intends to veto the moneg forthe hospital,” Schaefer said, addin g that Nixon’s veto probably would kill the entirse $200 million project. “Spending public funds on a canceer hospital owned by the citizens of Missouru is always going to win out over givin public funds to a private companh for abattery plant,” Schaefer “Nobody has told me that the lowe amount would kill (Kokam’s Lee’ss Summit) project.” Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said the governoer will have an announcement about the budgetf bill before June 30, the end of Missouri’s fiscalo year.
Nixon and his staffv have been reviewing the budgetbill “line by line to determin e what the state can afford,” Holste said, and they want to keep centrapl services in place. Jim Devine, CEO of the l, said he thoughtg Schaefer’s proposal was “noyt as serious” a threat as the EDC firstf thought, “but you never know in The EDC issued a release Fridagy encouraging Nixon to keep theKokajm plant’s financing fully in place.