City OK’s site work at Alcoa

Tuesday’s joint meeting of the Kilgore City Commission and the Kilgore Economic Development Corporation (KEDC) might have been termed, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

The ‘good’ portion of the meeting was that both groups approved spending up to $300,000 for additional excavation and soil stabilization on 9.22 acres of Lot 6 in the Kilgore Industrial Park.

This move will allow the continuation of the Alcoa/CSI expansion program and keep the project on line and in Kilgore.

According to KEDC bylaws, its board must have city commission approval before taking actions such as spending money. Therefore, after the KEDC board approved the expenditure and the move was officially in the economic development corporation’s minutes, the city commission had to approve KEDC’s minutes for the project to proceed. The commission did so.

With that action, Scannell Properties, developer of the lot in the industrial park, and Alcoa will honor their contract for the $8 million expansion and additional employees.

In a letter to Amanda Nobles, executive director of KEDC, Ralph Shiley of Scannell Properties, wrote, “In the event KEDC is unable to fund the cost associated with the unsuitable earthen materials and deliver a developable site, Scannell Properties will have the ability to terminate the development of the project.”

Tuesday’s move by both boards now assures continuation of the Alcoa/CSI expansion project.

The ‘bad’ portion of the meeting resulted from the fact most of the large crowd apparently didn’t realize the purpose of the meeting was for the KEDC board to approve the expenditure and the city commission to approve the KEDC board’s minutes.

“The purpose of tonight’s meeting is to approve KEDC’s minutes and discuss the expenditure for stabilizing the site,” said City Manager Jeff Howell.

Most people in attendance — the city commission chambers were full — were there to hear a presentation from city resident Fred Gough who has accused KEDC of unlawfully using economic development funds to clean up the site in question.

Gough contends that state law requires voters to approve the expenditure of tax money before spending money to clean up contaminated soil.

The soil to be removed from the Alcoa site includes hydrocarbon residue. (See related story, this page.)

“Mr. Gough requested to be placed on the agenda of a meeting and, since this was scheduled Tuesday, we placed him on the agenda,” Howell said. “He was not the sole reason for the meeting.”

However, several local residents spoke to Gough’s issue during the public forum portion of the city commission meeting.

“The KEDC is taking very responsible action (in this matter),” said local attorney Tom Brown. “Kilgore needs businesses like Alcoa and more employees and taxes it brings in.”

Brown said he questions the motives of “those who raise controversies about decisions made to move the city forward.”

As an attorney, Brown said, he found KEDC’s action legal as did the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“The owner of the property is responsible for any cleanup needed,” he said. “Since KEDC owns the property in question there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Sonny Spradlin, a resident of Kilgore since 1931, spoke in support of KEDC and it’s actions.

“The KEDC has helped Kilgore a lot, he said. “Several years ago we lost an industry to Longview because we didn’t have the support needed to attract it.”

Spradlin said, “Good things are happening in Kilgore and we need to support them.”

Tommy Konczak, another resident, agreed that “by following the rules and cleaning up the property KEDC did the right thing.”

“We own the land,” Konczak said. “We need to do anything we can to keep (the project) going and reclaim the land,” he said, “and put it on the tax roll and not let the company go away.”

Chuck Maxwell, Kilgore postmaster, told the assembled group that, “You need to quit thinking small. Amanda Nobles (KEDC executive director) helped get the new postal facility here. We needed more room because of Kilgore’s growth and we had to expand our workforce, too.”

Maxwell said, “There are not rules to take care of everything. Sometimes you just have to use common sense.”

The ‘ugly’ portions could be considered the emails that were circulated prior to the meeting questioning Gough’s motives and his knowledge.

Although Gough was on the agenda to make a presentation to both boards, he also chose to speak during the public comment portions. He chose to read these emails.

Gough said the accusations made in the emails about his psychological condition “could not be proved.”

He specifically named several residents allegedly involved in the chain of emails circulating that called him names and questioned his knowledge of the law.

“I have attended more meetings (than most residents) and I have filed FOI (Freedom of Information) requests to find out information,” he said. “I’m not complaining about KEDC spending money on the cleanup but I’m saying state laws must be followed and proper procedures must be taken before spending money on the cleanup.”

Another potion of the meeting that could be considered ‘ugly’ was when several people, including Gough, kept interrupting others while they were speaking.