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Posted Jan 17, 2024, 3:28 AM
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Join Date: May 2023
Location: JXN Mississippi
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$1.9B electric vehicle battery plant planned in Marshall County, Mississippi
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A $1.9 billion electric vehicle battery plant could bring thousands of jobs to Marshall County in north Mississippi, state officials said Tuesday.
Gov. Tate Reeves said he is calling a special legislative session to finalize the deal, the second-largest capital investment in state history. That session is scheduled for Thursday.
If approved, Reeves says the project would create 2,000 jobs with an average annual salary of about $66,000 — the largest annual payroll commitment of any major project in Mississippi history.
“This is a massive win for the state of Mississippi,” Reeves said. “It will further enshrine Mississippi as a national leader in the automotive industry.”
The development would be located on 500 acres in the Chickasaw Industrial Park at U.S. Highway 72 and Cayce Road in Byhalia, Reeves said.
Mississippi officials did not disclose the name of the company planning the facility Tuesday. The company name would be revealed after the deal is finalized Thursday, Reeves said.
In September, a partnership between Cummins’ EV division, Daimler Trucks & Buses, and PACCAR announced a multi-billion dollar joint venture to manufacture lithium-iron-phosphate batteries for commercial electric trucks.
Officials did not confirm whether that partnership is the one planned in Marshall County.
Whatever the company, Rep. John Faulker of Holly Springs said the deal could have a major impact on Marshall County.
“Whenever you can have an economic project that could employ north of 2,000 people, paying over $60,000 on an annual salary, it’s a major gamechanger for the whole area,” he said.
Faulkner said he expects the deal to pass the legislature quickly.
“Based on what I’ve heard, of course with the governor’s announcment, I think everyone involved is 100 percent on board, so it should be a smooth session within the session and we could get this done possibly in one day,” he said.
Charles Terry with the Marshall County Board of Supervisors, reached by phone shortly after the governor’s announcement, said the board did not want to comment on the project Tuesday.
If the project moves forward, the Byhalia facility would be the second EV manufacturer to be located in the Memphis metro area.
Blue Oval City, a joint venture between Ford and SK On to manufacture electric Ford trucks and the batteries to power them, is under construction and set to open in Haywood County, Tennessee in 2025.
Byhalia is located a few miles southeast of Memphis.
Toyota and Nissan already have manufacturing facilities in Mississippi.
https://wreg.com/news/local/1-9b-ele...y-mississippi/
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Developer D.R. Horton requests to withdraw application for variances for proposed 700-home neighborhood; will still pursue development under regular city guidelines
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Development company D.R. Horton has withdrawn its application for three variances that would aid in bringing a proposed subdivision that would add more than 700 homes to the City of Petal, but company officials still plan to pursue that development under current city guidelines.
Mayor Tony Ducker said the applications will still be placed on the January 16 meeting of the Petal Board of Aldermen, but will be removed at the beginning of the meeting, per D.R. Horton’s request.
“My assumption is that they’re proceeding under our (regular) subdivision regulations,” Ducker said. “So there will periods of time where they will be in touch with our building department and our engineer.
“There’s nothing that’s led me to believe they’re not (going forward with the proposed subdivision). In the email they sent to us, they basically said ‘we’re going to withdraw our requests for these variances.’”
The variances were addressed at a January 9 meeting of the Petal Planning Commission, which was held at Petal Civic Center to accommodate the large number of residents who wished to voice their opinion on the manner. At that meeting, commission members voted to recommend the denial of the three variances.
The Petal Board of Aldermen was then expected to decide whether to uphold that recommendation, until D.R. Horton made the decision to withdraw its requests.
The requested variances which the commission recommended to deny include:
A request to install surface ditches with proper gradients to natural outfalls instead of curbs and gutters, with drop inlets and storm drains underground;
A request for a variance of the 75-foot minimum lot width in favor of a mixture of 70-foot and 80-foot-wide lots; and
A request for a variance of the minimum 15-foot side yard setback in favor of a 10-foot side yard setback.
The subdivision, which would be developed by D.R. Horton, would be located on a 257-parcel acre off Trussell Road south of Mississippi 42 and Petal First Baptist Church.
“The assumption on our side is that they’re just going to carry on with the understanding that things didn’t work out the way they wanted the other night (at the planning commission meeting), and didn’t feel like they would (at the aldermen) meeting either,” Ducker said.
More than 100 attendees showed up to the meeting at the civic center, including D.R. Horton developer Jeff Diamond – who spoke in favor of the project – and several residents who spoke out against it.
“We have not entered the design phase on any of this yet … and this is a long process,” Diamond said.
I think you’re looking at, even if the weather cooperates, nine or 10 months of construction, and it could be as much as 12 to 14 months of construction. I think the earliest you would see requests for Certificates of Occupancy would be really close to the end of 2025.”
Jerry DeFatta, who serves as chairman of the Petal School District Board of Trustees, said he is concerned about the number of residents the proposed development would bring to the school district. DeFatta said over the past decade, the school district has grown by approximately 50 students per year, which officials have been able to accommodate because of the “slow but steady” growth in the city.
“The key here is ‘slow and steady,’ and what we’re talking about here tonight is anything but ‘slow and steady,’” DeFatta said. “If we just take the D.R. Horton property we’re talking about here tonight, you’re looking at 714 homes over the next six to eight years. If you look at the number of children the average family in America has, which is 1.98, and say that half of the 700 homes (in the proposed subdivision) are filled with two kids that are school age, that’s going to add 53 kids per grade.
“That’s two classroom spaces and 26 teachers that we’d have to hire. Simply put, the educational experience in this community would change. We’ll be putting ourselves in a situation where we won’t be able to go back to the taxpayers and ask for more bond money … so there won’t be an opportunity for more bond money.”
Ducker said nothing is set in stone, but as of right now, he doesn’t foresee another meeting such as the one at the civic center.
“We’re going to treat (D.R. Horton) like we would treat anybody,” he said. “We’ve got some tough regulations in regards to subdivision, so we won’t treat them any different than we treat anybody else.
“Obviously, this is one of the biggest projects we’ve ever seen, we need to keep that in mind as well. We’re going to take our time on our side, when things are presented to us, to make sure they’re correct.”
https://www.hubcityspokes.com/local-...&e_sort_order=
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Sumrall officials look forward to several improvement projects, including Rocky Branch, Sports Complex, Sidewalks
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Officials from the Town of Sumrall are looking forward to continuing several improvement projects throughout the town in the new year, including the addition of streetlights, upgrades to the Sumrall Sports Complex and Rocky Branch Park, and parking improvements in downtown near Sumrall Town Hall.
Mayor Joel Lofton said he and members of the Sumrall Board of Aldermen are excited to be able to physically show progress in those areas, especially after all the work that has been put into those projects over the last several months.
“We’re very excited that we’re now able to show something to get to the point where you can get a shovel in the dirt – there’s an awful lot of work that goes on that folks never see,” he said. “It’s exciting that, even though for quite some time it’s appeared that we’ve been (not making progress), now that work will come to light.
“Those things are governed by regulatory bodies and funding issues, and all of that is beyond our control. But all of that is a good bit of work to get it through those processes, and now with all that behind us, we’re actually going to see what we’ve talked about for so long. So we’re very excited about it.”
The ongoing projects include the following:
SUMRALL SPORTS COMPLEX
Over the past week, officials oversaw the initiation of work on the structural steel components of the sports complex, which is located off of Mississippi 42. In addition, preparation has begun on the foundation for the light poles that will be installed at each of the site’s eight tennis courts.
The installation of the structural steel and the lighting is expected to be completed by the end of this month, regardless of the inclement weather expected in the area this week.
“We’ve had the Highway 42 complex going (for some time), so it’s very exciting to go out each week and see the changes,” Lofton said. “It’s things that are tangible – you can pull up and you can see something this week that wasn’t here last week, and we’re going to start to see that all over town now.
“So we’re extremely excited about it.”
In summer of last year, Sumrall aldermen awarded the bid for Phase II of the Sumrall Sport Complex improvements plan and voted to approve the $2.5 million project to MithCo Construction of Hattiesburg.
Phase II of the project will include eight tennis courts, along with a facility that will offer locker rooms, concession stands, public restrooms, viewing areas and storage. It also will include an additional soccer field, along with more parking, to the site off Mississippi 42.
Plans for Phase II began in 2021 for the site, which had seen extensive work over the previous months. As part of that, town officials received $600,000 from the Mississippi House of Representatives, which was secured with the help of District 101 Representative Kent McCarty and District 41 Senator Joey Fillingane.
Previously, Fillingane helped secure funding for work at the sports complex under two initiatives: $500,000 through the BP Settlement Bill and $2 million from Senate Bill 3065.
ROCKY BRANCH PARK
The Town of Sumrall’s Public Works Department, with the assistance of officials from Lamar County, recently was able to line a portion of the stream bank traversing Rocky Branch Park to minimize the erosion that has plagued the area for several years. Additionally, the tennis court and basketball court resurfacing jobs have been completed.
Officials expect the park’s basketball goals to arrive in the very near future, and will install those as soon as they are delivered.
STREET LIGHTS
The Sumrall Board of Aldermen recently approved the addition of several new street lights in areas such as Magnolia Station and The Oaks neighborhood. Mississippi Power has been authorized to complete that work in those areas.
“The timeline for that is rather difficult to say at the moment,” Lofton said. “We’ve accepted the bid for that, and (the Mississippi Department of Transportation) has indicated to us that they’ve approved of it, but they will kind of kick that off, so we’re waiting on that.
“Hopefully, we’ll have that (answer) this week, and this kind of works hand-in-hand with the sidewalk project. Rocky Branch Park had (minimal) lighting, but now with an expanded trail and expanded facilities there, the lighting will provide an increased level of safety for that park.”
DOWNTOWN PARKING
Survey crews recently arrived in town to stake the downtown area for addition parking spots to accommodate additional motorists. Culverts, drainage structures and utilities will be addressed over the next week, which will be followed by expansion of parking areas, addition of clay gravel, grading and parking that follows the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Officials expect to complete that project as soon as possible in order to minimize negative impacts on business and traffic.
https://www.hubcityspokes.com/local-...&e_sort_order=
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