Opponents urge county to drop bid for Tyson chicken plant
About a half-dozen speakers said the mammoth processing facility -- and a network of contract chicken farms that would be needed to support it -- could damage the county's air and water quality and attract immigrant laborers who would use county services.
"Tyson would burden our water supply, sewer system, roads, schools and healthcare facilities at a time when the
"
The five county commissioners and the public-private economic development group
Commission Chairman
"I pledge to you that the commissioners are going to keep an open mind on this issue," Unruh told the plant opponents.
Commissioner
"That's obviously going to gear up a lot of emotions, both good and bad," he said. "And so what we're doing is try to encourage everyone to keep an open mind as we explore if this is going to be a good fit for
The plant would create about 1,600 jobs and bring an estimated
The original plan to put the plant near
But commissioners there backed off tax breaks they had approved to lure the plant after fierce opposition surfaced.
Tyson announced it would seek another location and has named
Tyson said in a statement Saturday that it is continuing to evaluate its options in
"No matter where we decide to build, we intend to do our best to answer questions residents will understandably have about the project," the company said. "In fact, we support their engagement in the process. We hope they'll keep an open mind before making a judgment on a project that will generate 1,600 jobs, an estimated annual economic benefit of
One of the specific concerns raised Wednesday was the potential for impact on water supplies and quality.
"The reputation and history of Tyson is not good in terms of water pollution, air pollution and workplace safety," he said.
The opponents also raised questions of who would take the jobs.
New chicken plants "usually go through the (local) labor pool in about a year and start bringing in migrant labor," said
O'Donnell said
"
"There is a certain segment of the opposition that is racist," O'Donnell added. "Just flat out people told me 'We don't want immigrants here. We don't want these people in our community. I've been taken aback a little bit by it because people are so flagrant with that."
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