CAIRO, Ill. -- The $60 million biodiesel plant planned for Cairo isn't a done deal yet, but actions taken by the city council will help the project along, a spokeswoman for the developer said Wednesday.

The council Friday approved four measures designed to aid the project and spur redevelopment in general in the town of 3,600 that has generally heard news of job losses and business closings for much of the past three decades.

Groundbreaking could occur as early as January, said Alicia Clancy, spokeswoman for Renewable Energy Group Inc. of Ralston, Iowa. REG is developing the plant along with Bunge Ltd., a St. Louis-based company that operates a soybean processing division in Cairo along the Ohio River just upstream from where it joins the Mississippi River.

Hoping for first quarter

"We can't make a final decision until we see final package of city, county and state financial incentives," Clancy said. "We are hoping this will happen in the first quarter" of 2007.

The four items approved by the council are accepting a $100,000 grant for sewer repairs, designating a truck route in the area slated for the biodiesel operation, a grant agreement for the use of money to demolish derelict properties and a registry to keep interested parties informed of activities in a district where tax funds will be designated to help repay developers a portion of their construction costs.

The council approved the measures Friday in a short special meeting that came one week after five of the six council members did not show up for a special meeting called for the same agenda. On Friday, five of the six council members -- all those who are seeking re-election or bidding for another city office -- took part in the meeting.

Some council members complained that while a consultant working on the project had called them prior to the first special meeting, Mayor Paul Farris, who called the meeting, did not check whether the time he had set was one they could attend.

Farris, who is seeking another term and has battled most of the council throughout his almost four years in office, said he didn't do anything different to bring the members to Friday's meeting.

"I am sure they have had many calls by various city residents to instruct them of the need for this and what the potential loss of a $60 million plant means for Cairo," Farris said.

There should be no problem putting the final pieces of the incentive package together, Farris said. "The entities involved are all very active and working diligently day to day to see this groundbreaking takes place," he said.

30 to 35 permanent jobs

The plant will provide about 100 construction jobs during the 12 to 15 months needed to complete the project, Farris said. After that, the plant will provide 30 to 35 permanent jobs with an average salary of $48,000 a year plus benefits, he said.

The development district, known as a tax increment financing, or TIF, district, uses the new revenue from increased property values to compensate developers for extraordinary expenses involved in construction, Farris said. For example, there are infrastructure needs in Cairo involving poorly maintained sewers, some of which are collapsing. A developer may need to take on the job of repairing some lines to make a development work, which the extra tax money will be used to repay.

The use of TIF districts has come under criticism in some places, but Farris said he sees little likelihood that anyone in Cairo will object. "Something is better than nothing," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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