The Columbus City Council Tuesday unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding and fee-in-lieu agreement for a new KiOR biofuels plant to be located in Columbus, at the Columbus-Lowndes County Port.
Brenda Lathan of the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link told the council the agreement, which is between the city, Lowndes County, KiOR and Columbus Light and Water, will be executed at a later date.
“This is just approving the concept itself,” she said, noting a “definite agreement” with more details will be available later.
The agreement approved Tuesday indicates the city agrees to “participate in any incentives it is able to secure on behalf of KiOR,” likely to include funds to extend a two-lane road leading into the port and add a “truck marshaling” lane to improve traffic flow, Lathan noted.
The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors earlier approved the agreement.
According to the fee-in-lieu agreement, the company will pay a third of the city, county and school taxes owed — equating to an annual payment of $615,000.
The Lowndes County School District will “receive their full portion” and the remainder will be split between the city and county with a payment of $52,000 from each government to go to the Port Authority to provide a “means of income” since the land is not being leased, Lathan reported.
KiOR, of Houston, Texas, agreed to invest $500 million to build three facilities in Mississippi and create an estimated 1,000 jobs.
About 50 workers will be employed at the first facility, a $110 million investment to be located on a 22-acre site at the Port of Columbus.
In another matter, the council authorized City Engineer Kevin Stafford to submit an application for a $200,000 Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Brownfield Grant, to help clean up blighted areas.
The grant requires no match, Stafford said, noting the areas for which the grant will be used have not yet been identified, but the grant can not be used for construction purposes, only for “planning” in “areas in economic distress.”
Both public and private properties are eligible for the grant, which is intended to “help spur economic development,” he added.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.