By Ken Jackson
Staff Writer

Osceola County has a message for Colt’s Manufacturing, the legendary revolver maker and a business partner in bringing a manufacturing operation to the area:

Get the lead out, because we have an itchy trigger finger.

Colt’s projected to bring approximately 63 engineering and manufacturing jobs, paying an average salary of $45,000, starting in 2012. The deal was announced as part of Colt’s 175th anniversary in late 2011.

Going on 16 months after the two sides brokered a deal and found funding to renovate a Shady Lane building, used formerly by the Osceola County Council on Aging, it still sits empty, employing no one.

The Board of Osceola County Commissioners made mention of this at a recent meeting, directing county staff to research the possibility of contracting with other businesses interested in utilizing the facility should Colt, which is currently headquartered in Hartford, Conn., default on its contract and not bring its jobs.

Original contract language stated that Colt’s has penalties due to the state and county (up to $50,000 due to Osceola) if the new jobs are not delivered within three years, or the end of 2014.

Commission Chairman Frank Attkisson admitted this week that county leaders are getting a bit apprehensive as more time passes since the 2011 announcement, which featured Gov. Rick Scott attending wearing Western garb.

“We have an agreement, and we won’t consider breaking it, but I don’t want this to go another six months to the end of this year and us not have a backup contract,” he said. “Our job is to get jobs for citizens, and not to sit on real estate.”

The agreement was laden with incentives. The state provided $250,000 from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund, and the county spent roughly $550,000, to renovate the building. Valencia College originally offered up $100,000 to design and start a specialized training program to provide Colt a local labor force.

“We’ve done our commitment and fixed up the building,” Attkisson said.

At the unveiling, Colt said it would make additional capital investment in the building. The company’s rent is $1 per year until 2016, when it will pay $108,000 annually.

The facility was built with the firearm industry in mind; a firing range was built into it as an intended amenity. Attkisson said that despite the national gun debate sparked by the Newtown, Conn. school shooting in December, he has information that there are manufacturers in both Connecticut and Colorado that have expressed openness to hearing relocation proposals.

“You won’t know until you shop it around, but if you built something for this, you should shop it to that industry,” he said.

County Manager Don Fisher acknowledged that the county is beginning to get apprehensive about the deal, but said the gun maker is still within the parameters of the deal.

“They’re still in compliance with all state and county contracts,” he said.

Attkisson said the last thing he wants to see is the county maintaining empty buildings, spending money on upkeep and vandalism prevention. He pointed to the Shady Lane building, as well as the former home of Experience Kissimmee at the corner of U.S. Highway 192 and Bill Beck Boulevard. The National Senior Games Association was supposed to move into that building earlier this year only to see the organization delay the move after the county spent a small sum to make the building move-in ready.

In this tough economy, the county needs to get the biggest bang for its buck, he said.

“If the county has real estate holdings, it’s in our best interest to make use of them, or sell,” Attkisson said.