By Louie Graves
News-Leader staff
An as yet unnamed industry will start out with 110 employees and double that number within a year, Nashville City Council heard from the mayor, Monday.
The industry will be located in the giant former warehouse of Husqvarna.
Mayor Larry Dunaway would not disclose the name of the prospective employer, but said that the company would make plastic fittings among other items.
The council approved a resolution for the sale of bonds to pay for the building and for outfitting it. The company will make payments on the bonds in lieu of local taxes. The mayor said that the State of Arkansas was also making a significant contribution to lure the industry.
He said that the industry was interested in Nashville because of the existing labor pool. In response to questions from the council, he said that it looked like all 110 employees would be local, and that the new employer was planning a job fair.
Mayor Dunaway said that he was continuing to talk with the Husqvarna-related real estate company for occupation of other industrial sites.
A related matter was the mayor’s announcement that Nashville would pay for at least half of a feasibility study to see if the town could support another 64-bed hotel/motel. He noted that such an asset would enable the park to have more two-day tournaments.
Stripe painting on newly-paved streets could start this week, the mayor said. He said he would talk to the contractor for painting crosswalks.
Aldermen present for May’s regular meeting included Lynn Dyer, Kathy Combs, Herbert Turley, Charles Pinkston, Kay Gathright, William Turley, Vivian Wright, Phil Jones, Brent Thompson and Donna Harwell.
