News

Job recruiters seek $11,000 from Mills River

By Bill Moss, Published: May 7, 2013

MILLS RIVER — The Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development made the point that Mills River has benefited from industrial recruitment efforts as it asked for $11,000 for the 2013-14 budget year."It's important that our board have a strong relationship," chairman Chip Gould said.
Gould, past chairman Tom Cooper, chairman-elect Nathan Kennedy and treasurer David Modaff visited the Mills River Town Council last week to ask for the contribution, which is $1,000 more than the town gave this year.
Manufacturing in Henderson County employs 5,180 people at an average salary of $47,502, well ahead of the overall average of $33,852.
The job-recruiting agency has recruited a number of new manufacturers and helped facilitate factory expansions. The biggest win in recent years was the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., which announced in January 2012 that it had chosen Mills River as the site of its East Coast brewery. The partnership, Gould said, is currently marketing the remaining 162 acres in Ferncliff Industrial Park, the site on the French Broad River where the brewery is going up.
Town Council member Shanon Gonce said he was impressed with the amount of roadwork and infrastructure work the state is doing at the brewery site.
"Ya'll must have pulled some strings," he said. "I feel like a couple of years ago. Henderson County could have never pulled that off, this far past Charlotte."
Gould said the partnership and its CEO, Andrew Tate, do have a good reputation in Raleigh at the Department of Commerce.
"Henderson County is well known, well represented, and Andrew does a fantastic job, I can tell you that," he said.
Town Board members warned that they have to weigh numerous requests and needs as they make up the fiscal year 2013-14 budget. It's budget season now and many people and organizations are asking towns for money. The county's agriculture development office and the Mills River Partnership, which protects the Mills River watershed, have also asked the Town Board for funding.
Farmers "bust my chops and ask, 'Is economic development more important than agriculture?' I said no," Mayor Roger Snyder said. "They said, 'why aren't you funding the agricultural part of it?' "If you have X number of dollars in the pot then you have to divvy up that pot."
Councilman Wayne Carland said the Town Board needs to commit to a pay increase for its employees. Town employees often help the partnership with things like site plans and development information.
"They need some salary increase, and this is where we're at," Carland said. "We will lose these people unless we put part of our budget to our staff. We've got to protect our staff, because you guys are using our staff heavily."
Snyder said some residents of the town question why the town gives economic incentives in the form of property tax relief when it has a tax rate of only 1.5 cents per $100 valuation.
"Without incentives, regardless of the tax rate, I don't think we'd have much luck at all, to be honest with you," Gould said. "They would love for us to build the building, give them the land, put in the utilities, the whole shooting match..."
"... and pat 'em on the head," Snyder said.