The Lakeville City Council on Monday night approved a business subsidy agreement with Menasha Packaging, an employer with local operations that plans to expand in the suburban city.

Neenah, Wis.-based Menasha Packaging plans to build a 123,000-square-foot expansion to its existing 238,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Airlake Industrial Park at 8085 220th St. W. The expansion has a market value ranging from $8 million to $8.75 million.

According to city documents, "Menasha is experiencing considerable growth and needs to add additional warehouse, manufacturing and office space." The firm has been a presence in the industrial park since 1970 and currently has 221 employees — a number that should increase by 15 workers once the expansion is completed. The firm's current payroll locally is about $15.2 million.

The company submitted a request with the city for tax-increment financing to assist in more than $1.3 million in site-development costs associated with the project. The TIF assistance will not exceed $626,018 and will be provided on a pay-as-you-go basis over a nine-year period beginning in 2016.

Janet Moore