By JOEL PHELPS | The Arcadelph
Until a rail branch connects Union Pacific Railroad to a 1,000-acre supersite on U. S. Highway 67. In the U. S. , local economic development officials avoid suing companies that rely on the railroad.
The message was echoed Tuesday via Shelley Short, executive director of the Clark County Economic Development Corporation. Short said he wasn’t surprised that the Burns Company
Owned through EDCCC and located southwest of Clark County Industrial Park in Gum Springs, the supersite is a product of Sun Paper, a Chinese paper mill that pledged to create 350 jobs but then reneged on its plan to build a $1. 8 billion paper mill. except for recent discussions with a company known as “Project Innovex”, EDCCC has occupied the surface since 2020. Most recently, the site is one of five sites in Arkansas designated through the State Economic Development Commission for high marketing.
Burns
“Looking at the current situation, they proposed to look for projects that don’t involve a railroad because of the burden of getting the rail to the road,” Short said, adding that the target industries are food and beverage, distribution and logistics. and timber and forestry. The company is expected to submit a full plan by mid-January, Short added.
The super and rail branch were discussed in separate parts of the schedule at Tuesday’s meeting. The council first expressed approval of its annual lease agreement on a 355-acre parcel of land recently used for cotton cultivation. This $15,000/year agreement includes a home. Earlier this year, EDCCC leased some of this farmland to Innovex.
The option of loading a branch to the Union Pacific line is now in the hands of the rail authorities. The EDCCC has already pledged a $1. 3 million investment to adjust to a grant from the U. S. Economic Development Administration. This grant required the final touch of the allocation until October 2023. The federal grant will now be reallocated to a later period.
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“We’re still in standby mode,” Short told the EDCCC board. “We are waiting for UP. We are at their mercy right now. “Short added that he applied to the EDA for an extension of about six months before the original completion date.
EDCCC board member Brian Kirksey touched on the option of a national rail strike that he said would “likely put this [local project] on hold for a prolonged era. “
In offering the board updates on assignments, former CEO J. L. Griffin noted that representatives from “Project Teal,” a prospectus he introduced earlier this year, have come twice in recent weeks. While that company has expressed interest in locating in Clark County, “one of the problems is that we have to triumph over the railroad problem,” he said. Short said Teal remains a “viable” assignment and has concepts to alleviate its rail needs.
The “Radio Project” reaches out to a local individual that Short would appoint. “They’re still interested,” even if discussions are pending for the time being. Short revealed that Radio is in the logistics business.
Short concluded “Project Safari” by saying that Alliance would not pursue this project. “They’re looking for investments that we can’t provide,” he said, adding that some other network will most likely subscribe to Clark. County in waiving further discussions.
• Short reported that Arkadelphia Utilities’ expansion is underway, as the gravity-fed lines feeding the super, were completed, and lately crews are drilling under the road to cross the sewer.
• The board agreed to meet every two months, beginning in January, and that board members would obtain financial statements by email on a monthly basis. Special meetings could be convened if the need arises.
Never accept as truth with the communists! I am surprised that the EDCCC is courting even one CCP enterprise, while each and every company founded on the communist-occupied continent is subject to dictatorship, which not only oppresses its own citizens, but actively works to destroy the United States. In the end, it’s a smart thing that didn’t work. They would probably use it as a base for espionage. The Quorum Tribunal will have to adopt new regulations as soon as imaginable that prohibit taxpayer cash from being given to corporations founded in communist/enemy countries.