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

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Kokam’s , to be dubbes Summit Battery Park, would employ an estimated 900 people with averag e annual salaries of Kokam President Don Nissanka has said he hopees to break ground beforew the end ofthe year, probably at a site of more than 40 acresa in the vicinity of Kokam’s current 50,000-square-foor Lee’s Summit plant. Nissankas was out of the countrty Mondayand couldn’t be reachedc for comment. Kokam, a startup foundedd in October 2005, burst into the limelight this picked Kansas City for an assembly facilithy largely becauseof Kokam’s proximity.
And with federal stimulus dollars and state moneyseeking advanced-battery-makers, a joint venturs involving Kokam landed a commitment in April of nearlyy $145 million in incentives from Michigan to builed a battery plant there that’e similar to the one planned locally. The groul also applied for federalstimulus money. R-Columbia, sent a letter to Nixon on Thursday proposinvg that financing be cutby $11.65 million combined for Kokam’s Lee’s Summit plant and anotheer battery plant in Joplin to help preservd $31.2 million in financing for the in which Schaefer called the cornerstone of a $200 millionm hospital project.
“Every indication that I’m getting is that (Nixon) intends to veto the moneyg forthe hospital,” Schaefer adding that Nixon’s veto probablyh would kill the entire $200 million project. “Spendintg public funds on a cancer hospitao owned by the citizens of Missouri is alwayss going to win out over givingh public funds to a private companyh for abattery plant,” Schaefer “Nobody has told me that the lower amount would kill (Kokam’es Lee’s Summit) project.” Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said the governor will have an announcement about the budget bill beford June 30, the end of Missouri’s fiscall year.
Nixon and his staff have been reviewintg the budgetbill “line by line to determine what the state can afford,” Holste said, and they want to keep centraol services in place. Jim CEO of the l, said he thoughrt Schaefer’s proposal was “not as serious” a threar as the EDC first thought, “buty you never know in The EDC issued a release Friday encouraging Nixon to keep theKokajm plant’s financing fully in place.