County tries to keep jobs
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 29, 2002
News Editor
Anderson Peanuts has told Pike County officials that in order to remain in Pike County rail service must be restored to their facility.
Stacey Styron with the South Central Alabama Development Commission told members of the Pike County Commission during their meeting Monday night during their work session preceding the regular meeting, that since losing rail service to their Goshen facility they have had to have everything shipped out by truck.
"This has created a huge expense for the company," Styron said. "If we can’t get rail service restored Anderson Peanuts will have no choice but to move out of state, taking 75 jobs with them."
Styron said she had originally applied for a $200,000 grant for the repair of the tracks which run to the plant, but after the assessment of the rails were done it was evident that the repairs would cost about double that. She said she had applied for an additional $200,000 to bring the total up to the $400,000 needed to repair the rail.
Styron presented a new version of a resolution originally adopted by the commission approving of the grant application.
Commissioner Willie Thomas voiced concerns about whether or not the new resolution would be confused by state officials as the county asking for $600,000 instead of $400,000 due to the fact that they already have a copy of the first one.
He asked if the new resolution could read as an amendment to the original one.
During the regular meeting, Styron presented an altered version of the new resolution as an amendment to the original to the commission for their consideration.
"Since this is in Goshen, in my district, I would like to make the motion on this," said Commission Chairperson Karen Berry. She also asked Commissioner Thomas if the new wording of the resolution would be to his satisfaction.
Because Styron had altered the new document with an ink pen in order for it to read properly, Chairperson Berry made the motion to accept the new version contingent upon receiving a corrected version on Tuesday. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the motion.