The largest Taco Bell franchisee in the country plans to build a restaurant in Andalusia.

The Andalusia City Council on Tuesday approved a sales tax abatement for the restaurant that sealed the deal.

Mayor Earl Johnson said Tacala LLC has a memorandum of understanding with the city, in which the city agrees to refund half of city sales taxes the restaurant collects for four years.

“Keep in mind, these are sales taxes,” Johnson said. “The company is not paying sales taxes; they are collecting sales taxes from consumers. This does not give them a competitive advantage.”

In the memorandum of understanding, Tacala agrees to spend $1.7 to $1.75 million on site preparation and construction and to hire 35 to 40 people.

“They project to do $1.1 million in sales their first year,” he said.

“They have to build, open, and operate it,” Johnson said. “The refund is strictly based on their sales.”

Councilman Ralph Wells, who said his grandchildren love Taco Bell, made the motion, which was unanimously approved.

The new restaurant will be located on the bypass between TRIO and First Choice Kubota.

Johnson said the company is the largest Taco Bell franchisee in the country, and the building will be Taco Bell’s newer style.

In other business, the council:

• Agreed to transfer an off premise retail beer license to Gitty Up N Go No. 11, 223 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway.

• Reappointed Robert Williams, Patricia Davis and Annie Jean Stone to the Library Board.

• Reappointed Willie Locke, Larry Avery, Vernell Craig and Frank Wayne Holmes to the Board of Zoning Adjustments.

• Agreed to finance new communication equipment for the city departments and city utilities, as well as three new police vehicles, at Southern Independent Bank, at an interest rate of 2.9 percent.

This story was edited to correct a previous mistake. There was no property tax abatement, only a sales tax abatement, as stated.