TAVARES, Fla. – Lake County commissioners on Tuesday approved termination agreements with Kroger and its partner Ocado, officially ending the 10-year economic incentive deal tied to the Groveland delivery fulfillment center the companies are closing.
The county had provided more than $1.3 million in incentives to Kroger and Ocado to support the facility, which employs some 1,000 people who are expected to be laid off.
“I think personally they’re in breach of the 10-year agreement,” said Commissioner Sean Parks during Tuesday’s commission meeting. “And then we’re going to look at the legal avenues for that as well.”
[WATCH: Kroger ending delivery in Florida, closing Lake County fulfillment center]
“The terms of the original agreement do state that the jobs must be in place through the term of the agreement, which was 10 years,” said County Manager Jennifer Barker during Tuesday’s meeting. “So it is the county’s position that since those positions and they will not be retained for the full ten years of the term of the agreement, that we have an opportunity to recoup the funding that was provided in the prior tax year.”
With the early shutdown, Lake County sought to recover over $460,000 from Kroger and more than $870,000 from Ocado. Commissioners also approved reallocating roughly $400,000 in incentive grant funds to CareerSource Florida, Lake Technical College, Lake-Sumter State College and other educational partners to assist workers affected by the closure.
Additionally, the county set aside 10% of the funds for road projects, aiming to support local infrastructure amid the economic shift.
Commissioner Parks said he feels like the county has a good case to get its money back.
“If you’ve got a 10-year agreement with somebody for 10 years, you’re in that agreement for 10 years, correct? So that’s what we believe in the strength of our case,” Parks said.
[WATCH: Lake County wants incentive dollars back amid Kroger facility shutdown]