In an effort to lure more business and industry to Schuylkill County, commissioners on Thursday sweetened the pot by extending by 10 years the tax-free time on a county-owned parcel in Tremont Township.

The parcel is a Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone, or KOEZ, which was to expire on Dec. 31, 2017. Businesses in the zone get tax breaks.The area is within the Pine Grove Area School District. All three entities, the school district, township and county, had to agree to the tax exemptions.All three commissioners, Gary J. Hess, Frank J. Staudenmeier and Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr., gave their approval.The zones are governed by the state Department of Community and Economic Development.The resolution would extend that to 10 years from the date of occupancy of the extended parcel, or the expiration date of the KOEZ, whichever comes first as determined by DCED.Once the parcel is occupied under the extension, property tax is 100 percent exempt through Dec. 31, 2027.The extension, for exemptions, deductions, abatements and credits for real property, earned income tax, net profits, mercantile and business privilege taxes, is intended to be an incentive for businesses to move to the 20-acre parcel, which is off Route 209 across from the Big Lots distribution center, said Frank Zukas, president of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation.SEDCO acquired the parcel several years ago as a tax claim property. It has cleaned up the site, which is zoned for industrial use and has public utilities.But anticipated site preparation costs prompted SEDCO to ask for the extension."It's topographically challenged," Zukas said. "The KOEZ extension will give us a leg up on trying to market that property for job-creating purposes."Staudenmeier said the tax-free incentives worked to bring business and industry to the area.Zukas said the Pine Grove school district's tax base has increased by more than $500,000 a year due to Big Lots choosing to locate its facility there. Big Lots has also generated tax revenue for the township and county."It has worked," he said.