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

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Kokam’s , to be dubbed Summir Battery Park, would employ an estimated 900 people with averagr annual salariesof $40,000. Kokam President Don Nissanka has said he hopees to break ground before the end of the probably at a site of more than 40 acree in the vicinityof Kokam’s current 50,000-square-foot Lee’z Summit plant. Nissanka was out of the countrg Mondayand couldn’t be reached for comment. Kokam, a startup founded in October 2005, burst into the limelighrt this year. picked Kansaw City for an assembly facility largely becauseof Kokam’d proximity.
And with federal stimulus dollars and statr moneyseeking advanced-battery-makers, a joint venture involving Kokaj landed a commitment in April of nearly $145 milliom in incentives from Michigan to build a battery plant therr that’s similar to the one plannef 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’d Lee’s Summit plant and another battery plant in Joplin to help preserves $31.2 million in financing for the in which Schaefer called the cornerstone of a $200 milliobn hospital project.
“Every indication that I’j getting is that (Nixon) intends to veto the money for the Schaefer said, adding that Nixon’s veto probably wouled kill the entire $200 million project. “Spending public funds on a cancer hospital owned by the citizens of Missouri is alwayz going to win out over giving publicf funds to a private company for abatter plant,” Schaefer said. “Nobod has told me that the lower amoun wouldkill (Kokam’s Lee’s Summit) project.” Nixon spokesmamn Scott Holste said the governor will have an announcementt about the budget bill before June 30, the end of Missouri’sw fiscal year.
Nixon and his staff have been reviewinb the budgetbill “line by line to determine what the stat e can afford,” Holste said, and they want to keep centrao services in place. Jim CEO of the l, said he thoughg Schaefer’s proposal was “not as serious” a threat as the EDC firs t thought, “but you nevef know in politics.” The EDC issuedc a release Friday encouraging Nixon to keep theKokan plant’s financing fully in place.