At the solicitation of Jones County EDA President Ross Tucker, the Jones County Board of Supervisors endorsed a resolution supporting the locating of Enviva to the county. If the company makes the decision to build one of its facilities here, the county will reap the benefits of new jobs and millions of dollars of investment over time.
Enviva is a major exporter of wood pellets for energy purposes, allowing countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions due to the pellets replacing coal as a primary fuel source. The company was founded in 2004, according to its website, and is now the largest exporter of wood pellets in the world. Enviva operates seven plants in the Southeastern United States and is looking to expand. The company exports primarily to the United Kingdom and Europe.
One statement on their website reads: “At Enviva, our job is more than making pellets. We work for lower emissions, healthy forests and strong communities.”
Tucker told the supervisors that Enviva was breaking ground on a new facility in Lucedale, Miss., Monday morning, and the company is looking to possibly build several more plants in Mississippi and Alabama. Enviva has expressed interest in building one of those new facilities at the Howard Technology Park in Ellisville. If Enviva locates to Jones County, it will be an enormous industrial win for the local area and would be under-girded by the $5,000,000 in “Jones Works” bonds that the supervisors adopted in August. Those bonds are for the development of a new industrial park and for economic activities related to it.
The adoption of that no-protest resolution gives the county access to funds that could be needed for infrastructure improvements and workforce development.
“This (Enviva) would be an asset as it relates to the people in the Pine Belt who are part of the pine forestry business, as well as many of the workers in and around the community,” noted Tucker.
Board of Supervisors President Jerome Wyatt said Enviva seems to have a well-developed plan to not only create jobs but to help sustain the communities it resides in by replanting trees.
“They seem to be an environmentally friendly company. We are having to go through this step to try and secure them. Communities are fighting for these type companies all the time,” he stated.
New Jones County Fire Coordinator Kyle Brooks also addressed the supervisors, informing them that a group representing first responders across the state intends to introduce a resolution to the Legislature to add a cancer insurance benefit for first responders. Brooks said he learned this at a state fire coordinators meeting in Jackson two weeks ago.
“What they are trying to get pushed through is if a first responder is diagnosed with a cancer related illness due to their job, then the state will pay a one-time fee of $35,000 to help that person out,” Brooks explained.
Legislators may be tasked with rewriting the bill to include first responders who may serve their counties many years, retire and then get diagnosed with cancer. Before the language of the bill is revised, if at all, Brooks said legislators may contact the supervisors to seek their input on the potential policy change. He wanted the Jones County supervisors to be aware of the potential change, in case they were contacted.
“Y’all may get some phone calls about that issue, so keep that in mind and what your opinions on that will be,” he said.
The new cancer policy for first responders will not go into effect until January 2021, but the change of language of the policy will be addressed this upcoming January. According to Brooks, the pay-outs will be paid by the state.
“They usually roll it down the hill,” remarked Beat 3 Supervisor Barry Saul.
The supervisors also approved the payment of a $199 fee to Microsoft for Brooks to have access to the computer system that houses the reports that come from the different volunteer fire departments around the county.