One of the bills Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, has introduced in the 2021 legislative session already has gained attention a local bill that would make it unfeasible for industries with past environmental violations, such as the proposed Pilgrim s Pride rendering plant, to locate in Etowah County.
Jones said the bill got its first reading in the Senate Thursday and moved to the Local Legislation Committee. He said there s no guarantee, but he hopes it will go to the Senate floor next week.
The bill would require a plant to compensate property owners within a 3-mile radius for lost property value. Jones said in announcing the legislation in December that it would make the potential costs of locating in Etowah County unattractive to a plant such as the animal food ingredient plant proposed on Steele Station Road, on property owned by the Gadsden Airport Authority.
It has been three weeks since my appearance at the January meeting of the Gadsden Airport Authority. I requested several financial documents such as the profit and loss statements for years 2019 and 2020.
In addition, I asked the GAA board to provide the authority’s 10-year, 5-year and 3-year economic development plans for the Northeast Alabama Regional Airport. Those were simple requests for off-the-shelf information.
I also asked for the airport’s marketing plan, the Gadsden Airport Authority’s mission statement and the name of the owner of Northeast Alabama Aviation, Inc., the fixed base operator. I was promised by the GAA’s chairman a timely response to my questions. Three weeks is time enough to provide information that should already be readily available.
Gadsden City Council member Jason Wilson on Tuesday introduced a resolution opposing both a proposed rendering plant and municipal tax abatements for it, but four members of the council voted to table the resolution indefinitely, setting off heated conversation and allegations about the contentious issue.
When Wilson spoke of the measure at the pre-council meeting, he said he probably would not ask for consideration at the subsequent council meeting, because he didn t think he could get the unanimous consent required to consider it.
Council President Cynthia Toles indicated that if he didn t ask for consideration, someone else could, and when the ordinance was read, she was that someone.