State lawmakers hold special session

Marshall County was center stage at a special called legislative session in Jackson Thursday, Jan. 18, where Gov. Tate Reeves and Senate and House representatives met to announce a deal that will land an electric vehicle battery manufacturing group in the Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park.

The investors represent a joint venture between Daimler Truck Holdings, PACCAR and Cummins Truck Holdings.

Reeves asked legislators for $350 million in state taxpayer dollars to support the project.

The battery manufacturing project will create 2,000 new jobs in Marshall County and pay, on average, $66,000 a year to employees.

The project is a capital investment of $1.9 billion.

Reeves said half of the $350 million from the legislature will be spent on infrastructure that will surround the facility that is to be located on a 600- acre tract of county-owned property in the industrial park. The remainder, about $175 million, will go to the business itself.

The legislation cleared the House and Senate quickly, perhaps in one day, according to Rep. John Faulkner

“It’s an exciting time for us,” Faulkner said at the governor’s press conference announcing the prospective deal Tuesday, Jan. 16. “I’m glad to have an opportunity to land this project in Marshall County.”

He said at the press conference that he thinks the project “will be a game changer for Marshall County and change lives.”

“It’s going to mean a tremendous amount of growth for the county,” he said.

District 52 representative Bill Kinkade, who represents Marshall and DeSoto counties, said he is proud to be a part of landing this project for Marshall County.

“I want to thank the hard work of Marshall County Industrial Development Authority and the Board of Supervisors for the vision and leadership in helping bring the second largest economic development opportunity in the state to Marshall County,” he said. “This project will help create generational jobs and help build the necessary infrastructure to help us in the future to bring other economic development to the North East Mississippi region. The project of this magnitude means so much not to just the Chickasaw Trail, but to the region. We’re trying to make Mississippi strong and I am humbled to be a part of that.”

Justin Hall, executive director of Marshall County Industrial Development Authority, said IDA has been working on getting a project of this magnitude for two to three years.

“This is a monumental win for Marshall County and the state of Mississippi,” he said. “This project will help to better the lives of Marshall County residents for decades to come.

“It has been a great pleasure to work with the Marshall County Board of Supervisors, Marshall County Industrial Development Authority, Tennessee Valley Authority, Mississippi Development Authority, Accelerate Mississippi, Northwest Community College and our local utility partners in a collective effort to get this project across the finish line. We appreciate the support of the local legislators who helped move this project through the legislative process.

“The development of Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park and this site has been years in the making, and the location of this project is a testament to the vision and commitment of the Board of Supervisors and the IDA Board of Directors to improve the lives of Marshall County residents by providing quality and competitive career opportunities. This is an exciting time for Marshall County, and we anticipate significant growth in the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors following this project.”

Sen. Neil Whaley, District 10, expressed his gratitude to members of the Legislature and Marshall County officials for a final closure on an agreement with corporate partners in bringing the electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant to Marshall County.

He said he is proud to have worked for the people and leaders in Marshall County to be able to bring an economic development project of this magnitude to the county and the state.

“It is truly life changing to the constituents and to the county itself,” he said. “The state of Mississippi worked extensively along with the Marshall County Board of Supervisors and the IDA Board of Directors in this process to bring this project to the Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park.”

Whaley cited the construction of the emergency substation in the Trail “which goes hand-in-hand with this project.

“We knew this was a longrange project and we’ve worked a while on this,” he said. “I’ve been excited that the three companies chose to locate in Mississippi,” he said.

PACCAR already has a presence in Columbus and all three companies are American built and located, he said.

“I’m grateful of my colleagues, the Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House and Gov. Tate Reeves for helping bring this project to fruition,” Whaley said.

Reeves said the battery manufacturing facility will be the second largest capital investment in Mississippi history.

Marshall County won this project after competing with 150 other sites in the nation, according to a Fox 13 News report.

Members of the Marshall County Board of Supervisors say this project has been on the drafting table at the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority for several years.

District 3 supervisor Keith Taylor said the county owns the 600-acre tract in the industrial park for this project. There are an additional 700 or 800 acres adjacent to the site that will be purchased through the state, including 300 acres that will be used to run a rail spur to the site from the Norfolk Southern Santa Fe Railroad.

The total so-called Megasite will cover about 1,400 acres, Taylor said.

“The taxpayers in Marshall County will come out smelling like a rose,” Taylor said.

He praised Hall for a yeomen’s effort to land this project.

“Justin Hall and the IDA board of directors, they are the unsung heroes,” he said, who spearheaded the site development for this project from the beginning. “Everybody’s talking about $1.9 billion (corporate capital investment),” Taylor said.

Additional Moms & Pops developments will result from this initial project and open up opportunities for landowners to make more off their property, he said.

The rail spur will open up opportunities for additional growth, Taylor said. The Town of Byhalia will benefit by providing gas to the Mega-site.

“This is a partnership between the Town of Byhalia, Marshall County and the state,” Taylor said. ‘It took all three to come together. I think it’s going to produce a diversity of projects and good-paying jobs.”

District 4 supervisor George Zinn III said the project will “boost the economy and raise up the standard of living in the county.”

“It’s wonderful and powerful,” Zinn said. “I would say to Marshall Countians, take advantage of this and be first in line for these jobs.”

The construction of the facility is expected to take from two to three years,” Zinn said.

But dirt work and site preparation can begin soon.

District 1 supervisor Charles Terry said the board of supervisors had the foresight to exercise the option on the 600-acre property by signing an agreement and purchasing the property about a year ago.

“By purchasing the property it takes out the middle man (the land owners),” he said.

“Also, the Board of Supervisors will give Justin Hall the power to negotiate on behalf of the county with new partners,” Terry said. “It was not an overnight project. Justin Hall and the IDA board are to be thanked for the work they put into it.”

He said the distinction of being the second-largest capital investment project in Mississippi history is saying a lot for Marshall County.

“As I like to say, ‘in order to finish, we have to get started,’ ” Terry said. “At this point, we have gotten started. It also gives people of Marshall County an opportunity to prepare themselves for it. As we talk about growth, I think there will be other commercial businesses that will be created for the long-term growth of the area.”

John Bradley, Senior Vice President of Economic Development with the Tennessee Valley Authority, offered these comments on the battery manufacturing project.

We are thrilled to see the investment in North Mississippi and know the positive impact it will have in Marshall County and surrounding communities,” he said. “Our mission is to serve this region by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable electricity, and we look forward to partnering with our local power company, Chickasaw Electric, to provide that same service to this new development.”

Tennessee Valley Authority Board Member Bill Renick championed the project.

“North Mississippi is prime for economic development, and I’m thrilled to see Cummins, Daimler Truck and PACCAR recognize that the ‘Hospitality State’ is the best place to bring its 2,000 jobs and nearly $2 billion capital investment,” Renick said. “TVA’s mission is to serve this area by providing affordable, reliable, safe, and clean electricity, and I’m proud that we will play a vital role in the largest payroll commitment of any major project and secondlargest economic development project in our state’s history. We look forward to partnering with our local power company, Chickasaw Electric, on this great announcement.”