City officials have high hopes for park
By Staff
Jonathan Willis
PHIL CAMPBELL – Town officials hope work will begin soon on an 80-acre tract of land that will be used for an industrial park.
Environmental work has already begun at the site, which is about a mile outside the town limits on U.S. 43.
The town recently completed the purchase of the land and used a $32,000 grant to pay for environmental studies on the property.
Mayor Jerry Mays said the tests revealed that the land was suitable for development and he hopes work can begin soon.
The tract of land sits between U.S. 43 and the railroad, so officials believe it will be marketable for companies looking to relocate to the county.
Franklin County Development Authority director Mitch Mays said the site is ideal for an industrial park.
"There are two important things about this site," said Mays, who is not related to Phil Campbell Mayor Jerry Mays. "One is that it is on the highway and the second is that it's rail accessible. The rail is literally across the county road from it and a spur could be put in pretty easily."
City council members purchased the land for $300,000 in 2007.
"This is something that should have been done several years ago," Jerry Mays said.
The town plans to divide the land into plots that can be used to meet the needs of future tenants.
The county currently has one industrial park in Russellville, but work is underway to complete sites in Vina and an additional park adjacent to the Russellville Municipal Airport as well as the Phil Campbell park.
An added benefit of the Phil Campbell site is that it will be the only park in the county with electric service provided by Alabama Power. That would give the county benefits of working with the Alabama Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Officials hope that a spec building can be added to the park once it is completed.
"You have to have something to show," Mitch Mays said. "Most all companies want to see something that they can move right in to. Hopefully, in time, we can do that."
The city has been approved for a $450,000 wastewater grant that will allow a treatment plant to be built on the site as well.
"I hope we can check into getting fiber optics put in there too," Jerry Mays said.
