GENTRY — It was reported in last week’s issue that the city council approved an agreement for professional services from Civil Engineering of Siloam Springs with an amendment to include services for technical assistance for a grant application for a federally-funded Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department enhancement grant.
In discussing a turnaround for trucks on Railroad Avenue between Arkansas Highway 59 and the railroad crossing, the article mistakenly included preliminary studies on an alternate route or overpass in the council-approved agreement when, in fact, consideration of an overpass or alternate route was only suggested by some council members and was not included in the agreement for services, though Mayor Wes Hogue said he would request some rough cost estimates for an overpass from the engineer.
The “gentleman’s agreement” between the city and McKee Foods was made, not when McKee Foods originally located a plant in Gentry, but when McKee Foods wasconsidering at which of its facilities to add new lines and jobs in 2001. McKee Foods requested the city support its application for grants from the state and make application for a grant to update its wastewater treatment plant, in addition to providing a truck turnaround to eliminate the need for trucks blocked by parked trains to back out onto Arkansas Highway 59.
McKee Foods kept its part of the agreement, Mayor Hogue said, and the truck turnaround remains for the city to complete.
In an agreement with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission signed May 15, 2002, McKee Foods had a two-year period to create 100 new jobs in support of the state and local economies. A two-year extension was requested and granted to the company. In exchange, the AEDC agreed to “rebate” the lesser of 3.9 percent of the net new employees’ wages, or $3,800,000. McKee Foods met the 100-job requirement in March 2005. Additional extensions further changed the scope of the program, and through the tax year ending December 2008, McKee FoodsGentry Plant is credited with creating over 440 jobs, bringing the rebate amount received to date over $1.4 million.
McKee Foods Corporation’s Gentry Plant received a $357,885.92 check from the AEDC on April 13 for its participation in the Create Rebate program.
The Create Rebate program enables Arkansas to compete with other states’ incentives and may only be offered atthe discretion of the AEDC Director. The program provides annual cash payments to eligible companies based upon a percentage of their annual payroll for the term of the agreement.
The check, presented by state representatives Mary Slinkard, Jonathan Barnett and Tim Summers, and by Justin Smith, regional manager of AEDC Business Retention and Expansion, represents a payroll rebate to McKee Foods in response to the company’s job-creation efforts.
An additional overpass would likely cost far morethan the city could afford at this time, Hogue said.
He said the professional services included in the agreement would make it possible for the city to determine a “footprint” for the turnaround and make it possible for the city to get an appraisal and negotiate for the purchase of the land needed for the truck turnaround. Without the services, Hogue said, it would be hard to know how much land the city would need to purchase.
The agreement for services included an estimated total cost of $10,600, but that does not includethe cost for a survey and geotechnical services for the truck turnaround. The amendment adding technical services for the AHTD enhancement grant was also expected to increase the cost of the professional services, according to Hogue.
The city council in June of 2001 authorized the mayor and city attorney to negotiate purchase of land for a truck turnaround.
A 2002 inter-office memorandum suggested 10-inch concrete pavement over a minimum of six-inch aggregate base for the turnaround.
News, Pages 1 on 05/12/2010