A Tallmadge technology company is relocating — and plans to expand — in downtown Akron.Akron City Council on Monday approved an agreement with Segmint Inc., a company that uses software to analyze the spending habits of its clients’ customers.Rob Heiser, Segmint’s president and chief executive, said Monday that the company has outgrown its space in Tallmadge.“We have too many people — and not enough space,” he said.Under the agreement, Segmint pledged to maintain operations in Akron for at least five years. The company will lease 6,000 square feet in the PNC building at 1 Cascade Plaza and invest $50,000 in office improvements and moving expenses. The company, which has 22 full-time employees, plans to create 16 more jobs in the next year and an additional 81 jobs within three years.WiredViews Inc., Segmint’s sister company, will relocate to the same space, bringing with it 10 jobs, with plans for adding at least 5 percent to its staff each year.Akron will provide Segmint with two types of help. First, the city will give the company an annual grant that will be used for the cost of the relocation, expansion and employee training. The grant will equal one half of the net collection of income tax revenue, based on 1 percent of the combined payroll of Segmint and WiredViews, after the payment of any tax-sharing obligations. The city will pay the grant for five years, or until $142,800 has been given out. The two companies are expected to a have a combined annual payroll of about $1.8 million, said Councilwoman Linda Omobien.Akron also will help the company with parking costs. The city will defer and accrue the monthly parking expenses in the Cascade Parking Deck for the relocated employees. The company will make an annual parking payment for five years.Akron and Tallmadge are part of a Summit County anti-poaching pact that requires cities to share a portion of taxes when companies move from one community to another. Akron will abide by the agreement and will work out the details with Tallmadge, said Bob Bowman, deputy mayor of economic development.The Segmint agreement was one of numerous pieces of legislation council approved as the year is winding down. Council’s last meeting will be Monday, with both regular business and the swearing in of new members.The other legislation council approved included:•Increasing the rate charged for ambulance runs provided by Akron paramedics. The higher rate will apply to third-party providers, such as insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid. The city doesn’t charge Akron residents without insurance for ambulance runs.Fire Chief Rob Ross said the rates haven’t been changed since 2003, while costs have risen and the amount the city is eligible to be reimbursed has gone up.“We are leaving money on the table,” he said.The rates will increase from $300 plus $7.50 a mile for basic life support service to $450 and $10 a mile. For advanced life support service, the rates will go from $475 plus $7.50 a mile to $600 and $10 a mile. No fees will be charged to those who receive service but aren’t transported.Mayor Don Plusquellic said the city is examining whether it should transport more patients, rather than the private ambulance companies that currently take patients to the hospital after they are stabilized.•Doubling the investment council is paying into an expungement program that is a joint venture with the University of Akron’s law school. The city spent $10,000 on the program this year and will pay $20,000 next year. The program provides law students and legal interns who help with the paperwork and, in some cases, appear in court to argue why the records of those convicted of a nonviolent crime should be expunged.Aviva Wilcher, who runs the program, said it has helped seal 58 records and has 23 cases pending and 13 more hearings scheduled in the next three months. She said those who have been helped have called to give thanks for the program and reported being able to find jobs.
“This has been a very successful program and we’d like to see it continue,” said Councilwoman Tina Merlitti.•Signing off on an agreement with TSB Metal Recycling LLC, a subsidiary of Timken Co. TSB recently bought City Scrap & Salvage, one of Akron’s largest scrap yards, and plans to invest about $7 million in a new warehouse and offices on the West Wilbeth Road property. The company, which uses the scrap metal in its steel plants in the Canton area, also is going to build a public access road to its property, which will decrease the traffic cutting through the abutting residential area, and make drainage improvements.Akron agreed to provide TSB with tax-increment financing over the next 30 years to cover the costs of the road and drainage work. Such an agreement freezes the value of the land before any improvements are made. Taxes on the land are paid as if the land had never been developed, with the increased value going into the project.The improvements are expected to cost as much as $800,000 and increase the value of the property by about $2.1 million, said Monika Kirbawy, a city economist.Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.