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EDA searches for more land
Published Thursday, September 18, 2008
NATCHEZ — Natchez has a river, a well-developed port, but is lacking one important aspect for industrial development — land.
And that is something that the Natchez-Adams County Economic Development Authority is hoping to change, EDA board chairman Woody Allen said.
“That’s going to be our mission moving forward, once we get this industrial park study done,” Allen said. “I think we’ve identified the problem and now what we need to do is find a solution.”
However, the land the county has — Belwood Country Club — needs development to keep it from flooding before anyone can move on to it. The county does not want to develop the land by adding a levee and infrastructure until an industry is lined up, Allen said.
“You’ve got a cart before the horse kind of deal,” Allen said.
And this creates a problem because industries will general go to a location that is ready for them, as opposed to a place where they may have to wait a year for a levee and infrastructure, Allen said.
“Dollars don’t sit and wait,” he said. “If you’ve got a site in Troy, Ala. that’s got the infrastructure and they can get up and running next week they’ll got to Troy.”
The EDA plans to begin looking at potential property in order to have a detailed plan to give to the county board of supervisors by the end of the year.
However, Adams County Supervisor Darryl Grennell, said he thinks that the county should not purchase any other property until Belwood has been developed.
“I do believe that in order to effectively bring in additional industry, you have to have some sites in place to show to these potential industries,” Grennell said.
Comments
Posted by sammohon (anonymous) on September 17, 2008 at 11:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Raise the entire site...truck in the dirt...compact it...protect it with mats and rip rap...dirt is, well, dirt cheap huh?
Seriously, it has been done in Jackson for years along the Pearl River, although it has been to such a degree as to cause some other flooding problems because it was too much and too uncontrolled.
Also, one of the largest airports in the world is built on a man-made island in Kyoto, Japan. The Port of Gulfport has just announced a $600M project to build a man-made island port in the Gulf of Mexico just south of the existing port.
The use of Belwood seems to me to be a higher and better use of the land for industrial purposes considering it's proximity to the port than using it as a recreational area.
Posted by grrbrts (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 12:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree, sammohon. Like any other structure, a foundation must come first. Then, prospectors can see if their plan (industry, or whatever) will fit in. But, don't add makeup, like New Orleans. Make it sound.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 5:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Develop Belwood. Get a huge water line at the site, Buld it up higher so it does not flood using A GOOD QUALITY SELECT FILL and have it level and ready for the industry to start building. This will entice a potential industry. Move forward just like an industry has already called.
Call Eutah Construction to come down and grub and fill the site. They have the machinery to do the job in a very short time. They did the dirt-work on Nissan and it was amazing to watch them work. They had it done ahead of schedule....
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 6:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Kpage's BIG wish for the day...I wish both sides of the river could have a viable port. I've heard for years about how the Ntz port is sub-standard and could be improved to woo industry. There is an answer and I pray someone moves on this soon. The way I remember it, this has been a point of discussion for many years, yet no answer, still. This could be really huge, yall.
Posted by itsmemame (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 7:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The more post I read after the articles published in the ND the more I realize that sammohon has got more sense about running the government than most all of the current elected officials combined. So, when are you going to get out from behind the drawing board and get on a ballot?
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on September 18, 2008 at 7:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How many years has the county owned Bellwood?
How long has the county known about the flooding issue?
Are the Johns-Manville and the Armstrong sites available? If not, why not?
So we own one site and potentially have two more??
Posted by ladyrider (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 8:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So, the county bought Belwood so that a golf course could be built outside the city limits with expensive houses built around it that would not pay city taxes. But now EDA wants to search for more land because it's too expensive to get Belwood in shape for industry. (Let's not forget that Woody Allen was president of Belwood at the time.) I agree with Sam and Red USM Fan.
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on September 18, 2008 at 8:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"In addition to not being presented with any specific plans, Watts said he has estimates that call for an $11.9 million levee to be built around the site before it could be used."
Lets see, Bellwood is about a 100 acres?? If you spend $11,900,000 to make Bellwood usable, then the cost per acre would be $119,000. That would be on top of the original purchase price.
To express it another way, that would be $4,500 a front running foot along road to the port which excludes the original purchase price??
Posted by destiny (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 9:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't stop there gemc.....I know you know the math of it all. Does it make sense that a corporation would want to purchase it at that price??
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on September 18, 2008 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Purchasing land at $119,000+ per acre is this area does not seem to make sense to me. Land is non depreciable and the value can only be recovered by selling.
I may be wrong, but the Bellwood acquisition seems to have been one of those "good old boy/girl" deals. Someone knew or should have known that the site was not marketable because it is in a flood plain.
Hopefully, the paper reported the wrong number for the levee and the number is more like $1,190,000. Even at that number the levee would cost about $1,000,000 per mile. But the per acre rate would more reasonable from the improvement.
Posted by jack (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i will build the levee with a shovel for 11.9million why not make a deal like butch brown did buy it, sell it back to the county and then never even pay taxes like he did at the site at the port he owned. no one second thought, lets not get butch back , its time for watts to find him a deal like that and let the county buy him something. spankey and watts are already in many deals that the voters do not know about. well lets what they were elected for, to take care of their own
Posted by ladyrider (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 11:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gary, you are not wrong about the good ole boy/girl deal. When Belwood was a country club, it flooded lots of time during spring time - the back 5 or 6 holes could not be played until the water receded and the repair made to the greens. Therefore, Belwood was sold to the supervisors and Beau Pre was born.
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on September 18, 2008 at 11:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How long has the county owned Bellwood?
Maybe, Jake is right but for the wrong reason/insight. Why not make Bellwood a wildlife sanctuary? You know walking/jogging trails, a fish pond for kids, observation decks for wildlife, a place to view native flora/fauna, etc.
When you dig out for the pond(s) use that dirt for the levee. Surely there is a water well that IP left to keep the pond full.
Just think about a tourist attraction and more importantly, something the locals could enjoy year around.
JMO
Posted by sayitlouder (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 12:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
something stinks in Denmark or maybe Belwood. Why did Woody and the stooges buy it when they knew it flooded? Woody played golf on it and knew that it flooded and didn't he become the president of the other country club after it was sold. shame on you.
Posted by natchezgold (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 2:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The EDA should WAKE UP!!! The most valuable industrial site owned by the county is the AIRPORT!! The millions of dollars of infrastructure are already there. It should be the first site used to promote industrial development in Adams County. There are no worries about river fluctuations/levees/IP pollution cleanups/etc. The county administrators should be on the phone with Washington DC and the Mississippi Economic Development offices to market the site and give its full effort to recruit an industrial prospect!! The river front is not the only asset and city/county officials should quickly start considering the airport!!!
Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 2:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
there's plenty of land around
that's right levee off the Belwood site
the airport too
there's probably some old IP land that Rentech would sell, there's vacant sites in the current industrial park, such as the bankrupt site that Rivera had.
They're just bellyaching to get a handout from the county and trying to whine so they can get a good deal
Posted by aak1972 (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 2:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nathezgold, that would be too easy!!
Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 2:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
JOnes Lumber has a levee around it's site, so it's not an uncommon, unheard of, or impossibly expensive project.
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on September 18, 2008 at 2:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How about the 80 to 100 acres around Riverside Central?
How about the property that the county owns around the old IP site?
Oh! that's right, we own that. Kingdom building requires acquisition of additional properties!
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 2:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There is an industrial park area, so called, on Palestine Rd. and one out on Foster Mound Rd. In fact the road the old Steward Orchid Nursery is on is called Industrial Park Rd., if I am not mistaken. I really think building up what we have would be better and less expensive in the long run than buying more. Whatever you buy has to be built up too with infrastructure.
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on September 18, 2008 at 3:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2000...
Is this the property that the county sold several months ago?
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on September 18, 2008 at 4:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/news/2008...
Or did the county only sell a part of the land?
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 8:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well 117 acres from 292 acres (taking out the 10 which the orchid nursery is still on but falling down) leaves 175 acres still out there. The Johnsons have fenced in the area and are running horses there. Alcorn was leasing part of the 10 acres when the nursery was running but I don't think they are any more. It has always seemed strange to me to have an industrial park so far off a major highway. But I don't run the county.
Posted by sammohon (anonymous) on September 18, 2008 at 11:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Itsmemame said, "The more post I read after the articles published in the ND the more I realize that sammohon has got more sense about running the government than most all of the current elected officials combined. So, when are you going to get out from behind the drawing board and get on a ballot?"
Thank you, I think, but I'm not your man for office and I like my drafting board, although these days it's a computer.
I'm way too honest, I'm way too blunt, and I'm way too logical...also, physically, I couldn't be in the bank robbin' business. I just stick out like a sore thumb (you kinda gotta look white-bread to be a politician) so it's probably best I remain a concerned citizen.
I hope I can be of service to you, Natchez, and Adams County, by voicing my opinion publically, unashamed and definitely not anonymously!
Again, I thank you for your high regard.
Posted by presby (anonymous) on September 19, 2008 at 10:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Buy some land like from Odell again and sell it for nothing and then buy it back . Rob all the taxpayers blind. What about the industrial park on Palestine road that was a wash full of gulleys that the county owned..Here we go again..same ole same ole
Posted by presby (anonymous) on September 19, 2008 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
that land has gulleys that are too deep for D-8 dozer to cross..
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