The notion that the Grenada City Council did not receive a visit from a Fortune 500 company representative in July has been circulating since The Grenada Star broke the story on Sept. 14, concerning City Manager Stanford Amos sending the same company an unauthorized letter, deterring the manufacturer from expanding into Grenada.
Both by word of mouth and posts on social media, supporters of several City Councilmembers have been coming to their defense claiming that no such meeting occurred.
“No one has heard anything from the so-called company that supposedly decided not to locate here because of city officials,” one Facebook post reads, tagging Ward 3 Councilman Lewis Johnson.
Click on Title To Read Document
A portion of the letter penned and signed by Amos on City of Grenada letterhead featuring its seal, which was reprinted in The Star on Sept. 14, read: “In your presentation and in the subsequent emails sent prior to the meeting addressed to me, the Councilmen and others, it was indicated that we would be working through Matthew Harrison, as Viking’s representative. As was a matter of discussion with you in the meeting, we have explored several potential opportunities to establish a working relationship with Matthew. From these explorations, we have been unable to establish the trust necessary to have a successful relationship with him.”
In the story on Sept. 14, The Star omitted the name of the company at its request, but stated that millions of dollars in improvements, renovations and expansions to the city-owned facility located at 823 Air Industrial Park Rd., in the city’s Industrial Park, as well as the hiring of up to 300 employees at its peak were part of its phased plans. However, by omitting the name, rumors began circulating that the meeting never occurred.
Executive Session minutes from the July 11, 2022, City Council Meeting suggest otherwise.
The document was obtained by The Star late last Friday afternoon from City of Grenada Executive Secretary Martha Profit at the direction of City Attorney Mary Brown in Amos’ absence. It does not go into detail the conversations had behind closed doors, but does confirm that Viking did in fact visit with the Council during closed Executive Session.
“Discuss Potential Industrial Prospects” was the second of two items discussed in Executive Session that night; the other being “Rank Structure – Police Dept.” The minutes go on to read, “Ms. Allyson Coleman with Grenada Chamber and Mr. Patrick Smith with Viking Range, Greenwood MS business discussed. No action taken.”
In fact, Johnson made a motion to “keep both options on the table.” The motion was seconded by Ward 1 Councilman Warren B. Cox, then unanimously approved by the other five members of the Council. The minutes provided to The Star did not mention any other industrial business discussed, contradicting Lewis’ statement to “keep both options on the table.”
The Star was on hand during the July 11 Council Meeting and witnessed the Viking representative and officials with another industrial prospect enter the Executive Session at different times. Brown, who was absent during the meeting, was contacted Monday morning and confirmed via email later in the day that Pillar, LLC., representatives were in fact in attendance. She added that the Executive Session minutes from July 11, 2022, would be corrected and reissued to the Council for re-approval during next month’s regular scheduled meeting on Monday, Oct. 10.
The 180,000-square-foot building Viking inquired about in July was later leased to Pillar, LLC., during a special-called meeting on Sept. 8, following a 6-1 vote. A third company, MS Freight Co., showed interest in August.
Greater Grenada Partnership Executive Director Matthew Harrison declined to comment on all of the project details due to his ongoing efforts in bringing additional economic development opportunities to the community. However, he did state that as a professional economic development agency, the GGP does not engage in “so-called imaginary” projects, adding that Milwaukee Tool is one example of the industrial opportunities they work on a yearly basis. He was also willing to confirm that the information that has been presented in this article is both factual and accurate.
