Jackson wants bigger firms for industrial park

Business Today

When businesses decide to move into Jackson's industrial park, they'll have to be pretty good size.

On Nov. 17, the Jackson Board of Aldermen turned down a Jackson business that wanted to expand on five acres of the industrial park site. The board decided that Jackson Machine & Manufacturing's acreage request was too small and unanimously voted for a motion to divide the park's 50 acres into two or three lots if possible, but no more than four. At four lots, each would be approximately 12 acres.

The issue of how to divide the industrial tract has been up for debate since the land was purchased in 1998 for $913,000.

Some, like city administrator Jim Roach, believed that the industrial site should be used for bigger businesses that would have immediate impact on the community.

Others said that smaller lots were the way to go to prevent harm to the city if a large industry packed up and left.

Alderman Kerry Hoffman, who told the Southeast Missourian last summer that he was more in favor of small- to medium-sized lots, made the motion to stick with the board's long-range plan to attract the big industries.

Hoffman said the reason the board came to a consensus was that each 12-acre lot could bring in 30 to 50 jobs. He said that when that many jobs are created, grant money becomes available to help pay for paving streets and bringing in utilities.

According to the meeting's minutes, Jackson Machine & Manufacturing, which employs eight to 10 people, is seeking to expand its business by constructing a 20,000-square-foot building and increasing its work force to 15 to 20 employees.