MISHAWAKA — The Mishawaka Common Council tonight overrode a veto issued by the mayor’s office concerning a three-year tax abatement awarded to Long Term Care Investments for its Douglas Road nursing home earlier this month.

The veto was overridden on a 7-1 vote, needing at least six votes to pass.

Common Council President Ron Banicki, D-6th District, said before the vote was taken that "a lack of good communication from the mayor’s office has gotten us to this point."

After a long discussion, the council approved the company for a three-year abatement with an 8-1 vote June 1 saying the benefits outweighed the costs.

Mishawaka Mayor Jeff Rea had issued a letter June 10 to the council, vetoing the council’s decision to approve the abatement. He wrote that "the administration (had) opposed this resolution from the start and that had been articulated in comments both in correspondence and at the appropriate meetings."

Banicki disputed this claim, saying that "all correspondences received were from the staff, not the administration as stated by the mayor."

The letter sent by the mayor included the concerns of the city, with a question-and-answer section. It said without the abatement the project probably would still happen, "particularly given a competitor’s request has been filed on the adjacent property."

The letter also said that this is "the fastest growing area of Mishawaka," and bringing in new developments is not an issue.

In reference to the mayor’s concerns, Banicki said "not once did the mayor speak directly to the issue. He could have commented at either of the meetings before the votes."

Prior to the meeting, the council also received letters from Long Term Care Investments and Place Builders Inc., asking it to override the veto.

Andrew Place Sr., a contractor for the company, wrote, "Not only will this facility create 120 permanent jobs, but it will provide hundreds of jobs for our constructions crews." Place said he hoped to put many laid-off people back to work.

The nursing home will be a one-story, 70,000-square-foot building with 100 beds, and is an $18 million investment. The facility will bring 120 new full-time jobs to the city with wages ranging from $14 to $21 per hour plus benefits, according to reports. It is to be built on East Douglas Road across from the WSBT building.