Plans for a $10 million grain terminal within the county are likely to fall through if county supervisors further delay a decision to increase the load-bearing weight of a county access road, according to the project leader.
Express Grain Terminals needs the load-bearing weight of County Road 512 increased from 57,500 pounds to 84,000 pounds in order to support large grain trucks, said John Coleman, an investor and project leader of Express Grain Terminals.
The terminal is in District 4. District 4 Supervisor Wayne Self did not attend Monday's Board of Supervisors meeting, so little headway was made.
Board President Robert Moore thanked Coleman for bringing the board up to speed but said input from Self was needed for further discussion.
Coleman and Self met together a week prior to discuss the project.
Self said today that he missed the meeting because he had to travel to Detroit for a family situation.
"I think it's going to be a good project to have," Self said today. "I think it's going to do good with the economy around the area. My concern is about the road… my biggest concern is for the safety of the folks traveling those roads."
Self said he was thought the board and Express Grain would be able to reach an agreement about the road at the next board meeting on June 25, but the decision would depend on information from the county's engineering firm, Willis Engineering.
If the county does not agree to increase the road's weight at the upcoming meeting, the project may fall through, Coleman said.
The company's land purchase option expires July 5, and investors are skittish about involvement with the project without prior approval for farmer access, he said.
"It's possible investors might withdraw," Coleman said. "The project hangs in the balance."
Without a weight increase, farmers traveling to the terminal with large grain trucks would run the risk of being ticketed, he said.
Express Grain was approved at a Feb. 27 meeting for the purchase of 156.7 acres between the Sidon Bridge and the Leflore County landfill at $3,000 an acre.
The terminal would create 20 permanent county jobs and 60 temporary construction jobs. It would store 3.2 million bushels for corn farmers, said Coleman.
Construction jobs would include dirt work crews, electricians, plumbers, millwrights, concrete crews, welders, asphalt pavers and rail workers, Coleman said.
Express Grain also asked the county to apply for a Community Development Block Grant that could supply up to $400,000 for the road cost.
The strengthening of the needed six miles of County Road 512 would cost approximately $1.5 million, according to the county engineer.
The project's largest shareholder is Coleman's father, Dr. Michael Coleman. A large grain company is also a key investor, Coleman said.
Express Grain wants to begin construction at the end of July and be operational by March 2008.
The project's infrastructure includes two truck scales, four dump pits and a train load-out facility. It would have a drying capacity of 20,000 bushels per hour, Coleman previously said.
