Corsicana —
The Corsicana City Council gave its approval Tuesday to a Special Use Permit to allow a new manufacturing plant to open in Corsicana.
Enterprise Precast Concrete of Texas will begin operations soon in an existing building at the intersection of G. W. Jackson and Interstate 45.
The company specializes in manufacturing pre-cast concrete cladding, commonly used in construction projects such as office buildings, stadiums, hospitals, hotels and other large structures. The company operates five other plants across the country, said Tom Egan Jr., president of Enterprise Properties, Inc., the plant’s parent company.
“The product will be used within a 400 mile radius of Corsicana,” Egan said. “Full steam, we'll employ about 75 employees with a full range of training and benefits.”
Egan said the plant will utilize an indoor manufacturing batch plant in its Corsicana operation.
“It's enclosed, air-tight,” he said.
Responding to questions from Pct. 2 Councilwoman Ruby Williams about possible dust , Egan said a 12-foot “dust fence” would be constructed as required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to help control any dust from materials used at the plant, adding that the company has a long record of clean OSHA inspections, and is a member of a Sustainable Plant Program eliminating waste and protecting the environment.
“We’ll take as many measures as we can,” he said.
Egan said he hoped to be up and operating at the Corsicana location by Nov. 1, and already had commitments for product sales from the Corsicana plant in the Dallas area. Some staff is already working organizing the plant. He said initially they’ll hire about 25 positions, eventually growing to 75 jobs at the location.
Also Tuesday, the council granted approval to include Navarro Regional Hospital in a Tax Enterprise Zone Program, allowing the hospital to receive some sales tax incentives from the state of Texas, based on planned and ongoing improvement projects at the hospital.
“This would allow them to be eligible for improvements to increase capacity, new equipment and new software and other incidentals,” said Lee McCleary, economic development director for the city and county. He said the city’s nomination would allow for rebate of sales and use taxes from state, based on job creation.
“It’s not a local tax abatement, it’s all from the state level,” McCleary said.
Xavier Villarreal, CEO of Navarro Regional, told the council the hospital has already begun some work on upgrading computer and software, and has plans for other projects as well, including a renovation of the old Emergency Room space to allow for the relocation of some services to the ground floor of the hospital. He also said the hospital is looking at a new ultrasound machine, and recently replaced the HVAC air chillers.
In other council action Tuesday:
• Council voted its intent to set an ad valorem tax rate of 62.72 cents per $100 taxable valuation for the upcoming fiscal year. Another hearing will be held on Sept. 4, with final approval of the tax rate and budget set for Sept. 18.
• Awarded a bid for replacement of the police department’s three communication consoles to Huffman Communications. The bid was for $89,761, with $80,000 of that being paid for by a grant award from the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor’s Office.
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Bob Belcher may be reached by email at belcher@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Soundoff” on this story? Email: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
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