By Jennifer Jacob Brown / staff writer
Handy Hardware's proposed distribution center in Lauderdale County's I-20/59 Industrial Park is expected to provide more than a hundred local jobs and kick-start the use of the long-empty park.
Now, it could prove beneficial in other ways as well.
Because the distribution center is located at the end of the park farthest away from Hwy. 11/80, infrastructure improvements made for the distribution center will be of use to the rest of the park as well.
Hank Florey, president of the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, explained that, because of Handy Hardware's location, infrastructure improvements including a sewer line and access road will have to run all the way across the industrial park from Hwy. 11/80 to reach the distribution center.
When other industries are built in the park they will be able to connect to that sewer line and access road — a great selling point for the park, Florey said.
"When we bring prospects in, the infrastructure will already be in place," he said. "That will be a big enticement for somebody to come in with the utilities already there."
"And it all comes in with the interchange coming," added Wayman Newell, supervisor for district 2.
Using federal stimulus funds, the Mississippi Department of Transportation is constructing an interchange about one mile from the industrial park, connecting I-20/59 with nearby state highways.
The infrastructure improvements to the park will be funded through multiple sources.
• $360,000 in water, sanitary sewer, road, storm drain, and other improvements will be made through a community development block grant from the Mississippi Development Authority. The board approved the issuance of bonds for that purpose at a meeting Tuesday.
• $740,000 in the same type of improvements will come through the East Mississippi Electric Power Association. Florey and Newell said the EMEPA is able to borrow the money from the National Electric Power Association thanks to the federal stimulus act. Handy Hardware, supervisors said, will repay the monies spent for improvements to the site.
Newell and Florey said Handy Hardware has the means to repay the loan.
"EMEPA, they have checked it out real well," Newell said. "They don't want to lose any kind of money, so they made sure they will be paid back."
"Their (Handy Hardware's) finances look very good," Florey said.
The nearly 500,000 square foot distribution center will be the first facility located in the industrial park and is expected to create 165 jobs. Officials said at the facility's groundbreaking that they hope to take bids on the project in September and that, if weather permits and all goes as planned, the facility will open late next year.
Meeting Minutes
The Meeting: Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors. September 8, 2009.
What Happened:
- District 5 Supervisor Ray Boswell said a petition is currently circulating in which residents ask for the possible switch from the current "green box" waste disposal system to curbside garbage pick-up to be put to a public vote.
- The board moved their deadline to approve the Fiscal Year 2010 budget from Sep. 10 to Sep. 15. District 3 Supervisor Craig Hitt voted against pushing back the deadline, saying the board should vote earlier in case they do not pass the budget on the first vote, as happened when they attempted to approve the budget last year.
- The board proclaimed September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month and the fourth Monday in September of each year as Family Day, a Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children.
- The board approved the purchase of two ambulances for Metro Ambulance at a total cost of $204,144.
