Posted: 12/06/2010
Author:
By AARON MAY news2@kilgorenewsherald.com
The Kilgore Economic Development Corporation voted Wednesday night to set aside $125,000 for the city of Kilgore to use in the construction of a new parking lot at Harris Street Park.
Amanda Nobles, executive director for KEDC, said the new lot will be located on Hunter Street, which runs between the park and R.E. St. Johns Memorial football stadium.
The funds were budgeted from the sales taxes collected for economic development under a separate $300,000 annual allocation used for “Type B” parks and beautification projects.
Nobles said the fund currently holds a balance of $767,943 with an additional
The Kilgore Economic Development Corporation voted Wednesday night to set aside $125,000 for the city of Kilgore to use in the construction of a new parking lot at Harris Street Park.
Amanda Nobles, executive director for KEDC, said the new lot will be located on Hunter Street, which runs between the park and R.E. St. Johns Memorial football stadium.
The funds were budgeted from the sales taxes collected for economic development under a separate $300,000 annual allocation used for “Type B” parks and beautification projects.
Nobles said the fund currently holds a balance of $767,943 with an additional $300,000 scheduled to be added in this year’s budget.
The new parking lot is the latest in a series of park improvement projects completed by city employees in recent years.
The group also funded the construction of Martin Luther King Jr. Park on South Street, the lighting of the Harris Street Park walking trails and the installation of equipment at Pentecost Park.
City Manager Jeff Howell told KEDC officials the estimated $125,000 was a high estimate for the park project.
“We don’t expect the lot to cost that much, but we thought it was better to budget more than we need then to have to come back and beg for more later,” Howell said.
Nobles said the city did not provide any estimates on completion dates because winter weather may delay project timelines.
“The problem when you’re trying to do project like this in winter is you have to be aware of the temperature because you can’t lay asphalt when it’s cold,” Nobles said.
In other business, the board also approved a temporary lease agreement with Drilltools, LLC, allowing the company to use a lot adjacent to the construction site of their new facility for the purpose of storing building materials.
“We had a cleared patch of land on 7B and they will be using that for $100 per month until the facility is built,” Nobles said.
Nobles said the company, which manufactures tools used for deep foundation drilling, plans to begin construction of their new plant on lot 7A in Synergy Park sometime after the beginning of the New Year.
“We haven’t closed on the contract yet,” Nobles said. “We’re in the ‘due diligence’ period of the sales contract. KEDC is waiting for the construction plans because Synergy Park has a design review board that has to look at all the plans and make sure they are up to the standards. That is generally a twoweek review period after we receive the plans.”
Nobles said the new factory is expected to bring an additional 39 new jobs to Kilgore once production begins.
The KEDC board also voted to allow Nobles to request a land trade from the city of Kilgore to allow for future expansion of the Synergy Park complex.
“The city of Kilgore owns 58 acres of property on Norris Road. It’s currently leased to General Dynamics,” Nobles said. “It is adjacent to Synergy Park and that gives the city the capability to deed that property to KEDC for economic development, which is why we would want it.”
Nobles said the property is currently used as a testing ground for General Dynamics’ antenna projects.
In exchange, KEDC plans to offer the city two lots located on Florence Street, near the Harris Street Park.
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