McComb officials voted 5-1 Tuesday night to annex 109 acres of an area east of Interstate 55 at the soon-to-be location of an oil worker housing facility and a new industrial park.
The board’s decision was meant to tackle two issues at once — paying down a longterm loan taken out to construct a $34 million wastewater plant, and taking advantage of increased oil business in the area, Mayor Whitney Rawlings said.
Some 40 acres of property is being developed in the area for the construction of a 535-unit oil worker community known as Shale Lodge.
This will leave the city with an additional 69 acres of property for future development.
The site is encompassed in the proposed 240-acre Gateway Industrial Park.
“This is an investment that is key to longterm growth. It’s our best option,” Rawlings said. “It prevents us from having to raise city water, sewer rates. It provides us the opportunity to generate more income.”
The area stretches 109 acres east of Interstate 55, with Wardlaw road bordering it on the north and Fernwood-Airport Road bordering it on the south.
The city will borrow up to $600,000 to assist the county with the construction of a gravity sewer line, force main, 10,000 feet of sewer line and other infrastructure to extend from the west lagoon pumping station down Holden and Wardlaw Roads to a lift station that will be built on the annexed property.
The city will supply sewer services to the camp while collecting property and sales taxes, which are expected to pay back the amount of the loan over the next five years.
Ward 5 Selectman Ronnie Brock opposed the move, saying the city should ensure residents who already live in McComb have reliable and consistent sewer services of their own before constructing additional sewer lines.
The mayor projects the city could receive close to $246,000 a year from the property in the form of tax revenues, provided the camp is at 80 percent capacity. The amount could be more or less depending upon the number of workers on the property.
Sewer service revenue is expected to bring in approximately $35,000 a year — an amount the city plans to use to provide maintenance and upkeep to the new lift station, which is estimated to cost $26,500 a year.
Now, the city will enter into an interlocal agreement with the county, file a petition with the Pike County Chancery Clerk’s office and appear before a chancery clerk judge in the next 90 days.
The mayor and board members were optimistic the remaining 69 acres of property will interest other oil industry personnel to develop additional man camps on the property.
“This could be a big deal. And it’s at the right time. There’s a good chance we could see additional commerce,” Rawlings said.
