By Gerri Miller
Staff Writer
The Prattville City Council on Tuesday approved the sale of land in the city’s South Industrial Park to a company which will construct a new chemical plant there.
Autumn Tree LLC will build a $2 million facility which will employ about 12 people, said Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie. He said the company is a blending company which will provide its product to a local industry as well as agricultural markets.
Autumn Tree will be a supplier for International Paper Company in Prattville, sources say.
“It is supposed to be on a fairly quick timeline,” Mayor Gillespie said. “Of course, COVID-19 could slow things down, but we think it will be constructed fairly quickly,” he said. He said there could also be spinoff jobs from the project.
“It was an odd-shaped piece of property and we had concerns that it would ever sell,” Mayor Gillespie said. The 15-acre tract was sold to the company for $17,500 per acre.
The meeting was the Council’s first live meeting in 55 days. Although the Council normally meets on the third Tuesdays of each month, COV-19 concerns cancelled meetings in March and April. Two emergency meetings were held by teleconference to enact a curfew and to add extra sick leave for city employees.
The Council on Tuesday also approved the surplus of a sanitation truck, declared property at 115 Isom and 111 Isom streets to be public nuisances that must be repaired or demolished and declared 11 properties to be public nuisances because of overgrown grass and weeds.
The Council also passed a resolution to amend the budget so that the Sanitation Department could purchase a boom truck to replace one with engine issues. The cost is not to exceed $21,307.
Because the Tuesday meeting was called, there was no time provided for public comments. The next regular Council meeting will be held on May 5th at 6 p.m.
