We’re LIVE! at the Danville Regional Airport for today’s Regional Industrial Facilities Authority meeting. We’ve added all the followup so this article is complete. Enjoy the recap.
We’re almost underway.
Everybody is finishing lunch.
Hey look, it’s Special Guest Star Brenda Bowman!
Karen Maute makes her speech while Telly Tucker does a Rodney Dangerfield impression. Heh.
Everyone is here. Karen Maute speaks about the proposed chicken farming ideas being talked in Pittsylvania County. She says it’s not a good fit for the county and especially in the Berry Hill megapark under RIFA’s control. She makes a good presentation.
Telly Tucker talks about the application for megapark development grants. Notice authority treasurer Michael Adkins’ look when they’re talking about millions of dollars. Heh again.
Telly Tucker talks about applying for Tobacco Commission grants for either electrical or water infrastructure improvements for the megapark. This would be a $4 million dollar request. It would cost over $4 million to relocate the transmission line over the industrial park. If they get word that the Commission is against the electrical line movement, they’d apply for a $2 million grant to complete the sewer line from the NC border to the park.
If a high-electric use company locates in the megapark with 10 years, AEP would refund what RIFA paid to have the line moved. You have to have the line moved to finish grading and that money is going to have to come from somewhere.
Jerry Hagerman asks for security in case the Tobacco Commission grants require repayment. He gets blank stares from Telly Tucker & Greg Sides because these types of grants are for infrastructure.
The folks from Dewberry talk about their discussions with the Army Corps of engineers for the permitting needed to start grading on the biggest site. Lee Vogler tries to pin them down on how they think it will work. They say they are cautiously optimistic now because the Corps’ attitude has changed to “How can we make this work?”
We move into the board’s closed session for legal counsel and economic development. Everybody goes in, including Brenda Bowman. Hmm. This closed session lasts for over an hour. We go back to open session and the around-the-horn section gets a little interesting. Coy Harville starts off by saying he apologizes to Danville City Council for them being ambushed by the poultry plant study that came out. Sherman Saunders, Fred Shanks & Lee Vogler all say that they got calls from citizens asking about it. James Snead seconds Harville’s remarks. Joe King reminds everybody that the first business that comes to the megapark has to be a 20-megawatt electricity user so that a poultry producer would probably not use close to that much. You know, it would have been nice if someone had said that at the end of Karen Maute’s speech so her concerns could be reduced a lot.
Bruce. I’d like to email a copy of the zoning amendment which was proposed last year. It will be in the form of an attachment. If you think it appropriate, it may be interesting to post on your blog for discussion.
You got it.
So what did dewberry say about the corp of engineers? Have they give the green light for the mega park to start grading?
Not yet. Maybe soon. Yeah, same as we’ve heard before.
Having grown up in an area that produces the most chicken per capita in the nation, I’m extremely interested in Ms. Maute’s speech. Could you kindly get a copy and post it?