The Pike County Board of Supervisors voted to sell 12 acres of land in Gateway Industrial Park to Charter Real Estate Corp out of Chattanooga, Tenn., for $480,000 after an hour-long executive session.
The vote was 4-1 with board president Jake Gazzo and members Robert Accardo, Lee Fortenberry and Sam Hall in support. Board member Tazwell Bowsky opposed.
Gateway Industrial Park is more than 170 acres three miles south of McComb near Exit 13 from Interstate 55. The county bought the land for $12,000 per acre.
“It’s being developed for industry,” said County Administrator Tami Dangerfield. “This is a potential industry.”
Dangerfield referred questions about the type of industry that would be on the land to Pike County Economic Development District director Jill Busby.
Busby said she could not comment on the industry until the sale is final, which will be in a maximum of 120 days, but probably sooner.
Bowsky said he opposed entering into the agreement because he wanted board attorney Wayne Dowdy to review the documents first.
“We sometimes rush to judgment,” Bowsky said. “We have little items that directly affect what they may do versus what the board wants them to do, so I am very cautious about doing something, and we don’t have the memorandum of understanding. When Mr. Dowdy says it’s OK, then I might change my vote.
“He has to go through those things line by line because sometimes there are things in there that I’m just actually scared of.”
Accardo felt the executive session was enough time to review everything.
“I just want to point out that Mr. Dowdy had ample time to look over these documents because we just came out of a very lengthy executive session,” he said.
Dowdy said it was not the first time Pike County has entered into this type of agreement.
“We have signed identical documents,” he said.
