Marshall County Economic Development Coordinator Josh Tubbs appeared before fiscal court Wednesday, Jan. 17 to update the court on progress made in the initial stages of engineering and design on the property known as Southwest One, a 300-acre tract of land near South Marshall Middle School on which the county has retained the option to purchase for the potential development of an industrial complex.
Tubbs told commissioners on Wednesday during a special-called fiscal court meeting, that the City-County Industrial Authority had voted at its meeting the week prior to pay for the professional services on engineering costs to develop the park. Those services, which amount to about $94,709 total, include a boundary and topographic survey, traffic impact study, geotechnical exploration, phase I environmental study, endangered species study floodplain/floodway study, phase I archeological assessment and wetland and stream delineation. The board has tapped Bacon, Farmer and Workman Engineering to complete the site work.
“That’s one less thing that, you know, that the court has to be burdened with,” Tubbs said. “And it’s something that we can take existing resources and put them into their intended use. One of the things that came up in our conversation in that intended meeting is the likelihood of that being annexed into the city limits and being zoned industrial.”
Tubbs said members of the boards wanted assurances from the court that the intent, should it come to pass, would be for the court to approach the City of Benton to annex the property, so that it could be zoned appropriately and developed as such. Tubbs said grant funding to go toward the project was tied to the annexation, as well.
“Some of the funds regarding the acquisition of the property, that we may be eligible to receive, we can only receive if it is annexed and zoned industrial,” Tubbs said. “Just wanted to bring that to your all’s attention, and again, any assurance that you can provide as a court to the mayor and to the City-County Industrial Authority that there won’t be any road blocks, should that property be acquired. … This would be something that would only happen should the county purchase that property because the city would have to be approached. It doesn’t affect anything while the option is on the property, just if it’s acquired.”
Marshall County has no zoning regulations, according to the county government website; however, Benton and Calvert City do have specific zoning ordinances.
County commissioners expressed no opposition to the possibility.
District 3 County Commissioner Rick Cocke said should the county determine to purchase the property, it would only serve as a positive to have it annexed and zoned.
“We’re not the owners, so we couldn’t act if we wanted to now,” Cocke said. “But I would certainly think that’s nothing but positive.”
Benton Mayor Rita Dotson, along with other members of the Industrial Authority board, attended Wednesday’s court meeting and told commissioners city limits met the Southwest One property so there would be no issue of spot zoning. Dotson said the city had annexed the entire corridor up to the property.
Dotson and board members requested the court adopt a resolution stating the intent of the property and the court should it purchase the property in the event those legislative bodies change in upcoming years. County Attorney Jeff Edwards said regardless of a resolution, there were a number of steps in the process should the county purchase and the court would still have to vote again. Edwards said both bodies could pursue a formal agreement, however.
“I would like to pursue a formal agreement, please,” Dotson said. “Because I may not be here when this all comes to fruition. The judge may not be here. If we have something in writing to show that this was our intent when it was all complete, that’s what I would like to have.”
Edwards said he would draft an agreement showing a “meeting of the minds” in the coming days for both City of Benton and Fiscal Court to review.
The court also voted to move $400,000 the county had budgeted for economic development into the County Industrial Board. The funds would allow Tubbs to apply for a matching TVA Invest Prep funds. The Invest Prep program allows TVA to partner with communities for the purposes of industrial and economic development.
View the full court meeting below: