August 6, 2014
The City of Adel plans for more electrical power and natural gas sales in upcoming months to support business and industrial growth, said Adel City Manager John Flythe.
Growing the City’s utilities systems for more customers should help bring average costs down, he said.
The planned Walmart Supercenter for Exit 39 will be an enormous generator of electrical sales, sales tax, and jobs for Adel, the city manager said. During a recent public hearing on sign variances for the store, a Walmart representative said the business will employ more than 200 people. An announcement was expected soon that Walmart had closed on the property just south of the mall parking lot at Exit 39.
“In my opinion, this will be the most visible, most accessible Walmart off of I-75 from Atlanta to Orlando,” Flythe said. The 124,331-square-foot Supercenter will include a 3,038 square-foot Garden Center.
The City is applying for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant – Employment Incentive Program to help with engineering and construction of a street extension (entrance on Mississippi Road, west of Adel Truck Stop) that will improve access to the planned Supercenter.
Flythe has provided a matrix showing the projected revenue impact of the Walmart Supercenter on property ad valorem tax, the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). Depending on sales, the new business’ revenue impact could be upwards of $500,000 per year.
Based upon the original road route, the total bypass project cost is estimated at $2,335,000, Flythe said. That construction estimate does not include the cost of any potential property purchases. The road would extend to Highway 76 (Old Quitman Road).
The original scope of the road was to provide a truck bypass along the east side of Adel that would provide a more direct route for truck traffic between the industrial developments south of town and State Routes 37 and 76. The purpose was to reduce truck traffic in downtown and on local surface streets, as well as reduce short trips on I- 75 between exits 37 and 39. The road would be zoned at 35 mph.
The County has also agreed for this to be a joint City/County/ DOT (Department of Transportation) project. As such, the DOT would be a major funding source, for up to 70 percent of the estimated project costs. Plans also call for an Employment Incentive Program (EIP) Grant to be pursued through the state Department of Community Affairs for the project because the road extension will help create jobs. It will leave the property it crosses open for future development, too. But Flythe said the road project also will enhance traffic safety and control.
If the example of other communities is followed, the Walmart Supercenter should be an anchor store for new gas stations, restaurants, and other businesses that will locate at Exit 39.
Plans are underway to reopen the SierraPine plant under new ownership by the first of 2015. This will mean renewed natural gas sales for the City of Adel, Flythe said. (Georgia Power serves SierraPine with electricity.) The plant, where particleboard was manufactured, closed earlier this year with layoffs of about 90 employees. Adel lost 30 to 40 percent of its gas sales when SierraPine shut down. The plant will be refurbished as a wood pellet mill.
Flythe also noted the recent purchase of Catalina Tempering Inc.’s assets by Cardinal CT Company, a subsidiary of Cardinal Glass Industries. The resulting increase in the glass tempering operation will mean more jobs and more use of City utilities, Flythe said. The plant is expected to add more than 70 jobs within the next 24 months, resulting in a total of more than 100 people employed there. The plant has already added a second production line.
A company official has stated that Cook County has the best workforce of all the plants, said Lisa Collins, Cook County economic development director. “That just thrilled my heart.”
The City also is working on a business plan for expanding Adel’s natural gas system to north Cook County. City of Lenox officials and a number of businesses in that area have expressed an interest in tying on to a gas main from Adel, Flythe said. Adel would pay a franchise fee to Lenox, based upon the north Cook County town’s population. Adel has two options for the $1.5 million natural gas project: A 5.8- year payback or a 7.2-year payback.
The City has been awarded a $490,094 Community Development Block Grant for water and sewer system improvements on County Farm Road.
A new sewer lift station should improve sewer conditions in Mitchell Trailer Park and at the county jail, as well as be available for future growth in that area. The water and sewer system improvements on seven streets in the neighborhood should benefit 101 persons, of whom 83 are low- to moderate-income. The application proposes $56,213 in match and leverage.
Another major project for the City of Adel in coming months will be water line replacements on the west side of town. The $1.3 million project will be paid for with a $250,000 grant and the remaining costs being amortized over a number of years, Flythe said. “This will be the City’s first long-term debt, other than short-term debt, in many years.”
Additionally, older, larger water meters will be replaced with more accurate electronic meters. The city manager said he also wants to eventually install electronic meters for electricity and natural gas.
Meanwhile, the City of Adel has agreed to act as the intermediary for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan funds that will help with the City of Nashville’s major gas line extension project, intended to support economic development and create new area jobs.
The City of Adel is one of the first cities in the country to be approved as an intermediary for Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program (REDLG) funds through USDA.
The City of Nashville will put up 100 percent of the cost and the City of Adel will be protected by a certificate of deposit; therefore, Adel will have the money in the bank. It will not cost the City of Adel anything. This will place the City of Adel in a position to utilize this funding for future economic purposes.
The project will extend gas lines 14.5 miles from the City of Nashville to the Alapaha city limits. The route will be on Langdale Drive, Old Coffee Road, and Moore Sawmill Road. The total project cost will be $1,295,300. Nashville plans to utilize a $790,952 Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant and $550,000 in REDLG funds.
The gas project is projected to allow 54 fulltime jobs to be retained and 10 fulltime jobs to be created.
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