By SUSAN TEBBEN
Glasgow Daily Times
GLASGOW —
Barren County is joining in the efforts to bring jobs to the county through a Community Development Block grant jointly applied for with the city.
At Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Barren County Fiscal Court, all but one magistrate approved a resolution acknowledging the submission of an application jointly by the fiscal court and the city of Glasgow for Community Development Block Grant funds not exceeding $1.1 million for “economic development activities, including industrial equipment purchase,” the resolution said. The city of Glasgow will be the lead applicant.
Nick Cook, community economic development coordinator for the Barren River Area Development District, was present to answer questions and explain the block grant.
“This is federal money based out of [the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development] that comes through the state and is distributed through IDEA,” he said. The money will be placed in a revolving fund for economic development activities, Cook said.
The company involved, Integrated Pharmaceutical Packaging, Inc., will take over the former Carhartt building on Aberdeen Drive off U.S. 31E, Cook said, and must create 55 jobs in the area to collect the $1.1 million loan that will be paid using the federal monies, as well as the $3 million in private investments. If they do not create enough jobs, the company will be required to pay $20,000 per job not created.
“The community block grant can only account for one-third of the cost [of establishing the business], the other money has to come from the company,” Cook said.
Barren County Judge-Executive Davie Greer called this a “no-lose situation,” since this grant will not cost the city or county any of their own money.
Even if the company should fail, Cook said, the equipment bought for the company to use will be owned by IDEA, so the loss for the county would be very little.
“It’s a pretty sure thing,” Greer said.
The only magistrate to vote against it, Carl Dickerson, said he was not voting against the business coming to Barren County, but the means by which the company was coming.
“It’s nothing against the project or the business,” he said. “We need to start weaning ourselves away from federal money, because they’re running out of money too, so we need to stop counting on it all the time.”
To help attract the company, the city of Glasgow approved a $250,000 forgiveable loan to IPP from the Glasgow Economic Development Loan Fund at their regular meeting Aug. 23. This business would join Amneal Pharamceuticals, which is planning to build a new global logistics center in Glasgow. The grand opening of the building on Beaver Trail, previously owned by Johnson Controls, is set for Sept. 27. It is also expected to bring about 50 jobs to the area. The council approved a $400,000 forgivable loan from the GEDL for Amneal in May.
