From left, Tamme Bufkin, Ottis R. Bullock and Marion County Supervisor Raymon Rowell at the Board of Supervisors meeting this morning.
By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher
Marion County needs to do a better job of capitalizing on its timber industry to create jobs, a representative from the local Forestry Association told the Board of Supervisors Monday morning.
The Marion County Forestry Association and forestry associations from surrounding counties are in the process of developing a plan to reap the economic benefits of the rich timber industry in South Mississippi.
Ottis R. Bullock, who heads up economic development for the Marion County Forestry Association, and Tamme Bufkin of Hattiesburg, who lobbies state government on behalf of the Association, spoke to the Board of Supervisors Monday morning about the plan.
The plan’s goal is to make Marion County and surrounding counties more attractive to timber industries so those jobs won’t be lost to neighboring states such as Alabama, which is beating Mississippi in terms of attracting mills, said Bufkin.
With 70 percent of Marion County’s land being timber, there is a great opportunity to improve the economy with those resources, said Bullock. There is the potential to grow three times the amount of timber here than is being grown now, Bullock noted.
Forestry is Mississippi’s No. 1 industry with a total economic impact of $14 billion to $17 billion, and more can be done to grow the business, according to Bufkin.
The Board of Supervisors can help in the development of the forestry plan by creating a list of potential sites that could accommodate timber mills. Such sites would need access to water, electricity and preferably a railroad spur.
The supervisors suggested that the 3,000-acre former Columbia Training School site would be a good location for timber industries to locate, but there is a problem in using the property because it is currently under the control of the state Department of Human Services.
Bullock and Bufkin said they would see if the Mississippi Forestry Association could leverage some influence in the state Legislature to get the Training School property turned back over to the county so the land could be used as potential timber industry sites.
Bufkin said the biggest question Mississippi’s timber industry faces is, “Where is it going?” She noted that the nation continues to turn toward the renewable energy resources of wood, solar and wind, and Mississippi has a great opportunity as being No. 3 in the United States for timber.
Some companies have decided not to establish mills in Mississippi because of a lack of tax incentives and poor infrastructure, namely roads, Bufkin said.
Other than establishing a list of potential mill sites, the plan the Forestry Association is trying to put together will include timber inventories, labor force estimates and a strategy to lure industries. Mill sites can range in size from 20 acres to 1,000 acres.
Board of Supervisors President Calvin Newsom said it is difficult to fix poor roads to attract timber companies because funding is decreasing. The state needs to establish another funding mechanism by which counties can get money to improve roads, Newsom added.
The supervisors agreed with Bufkin and Bullock that developing a plan to capitalize on the area’s timber resources is a good idea. Supervisors Lloyd Fortenberry suggested possibly using land near the new Pearl River bridge in Goss for mill sites, saying there is a rail line and electricity available.
Bullock said he will have similar meetings with neighboring counties to move the plan forward.
I think this would be great for the residents of the county. Not only would it create jobs, it would vastly help to raise timber prices in the area that have been down since Katrina. There are alot people that would benifit from this. I sold 90 acres of timber last year for $110,000. In 2000 I could have sold the same timber for around $50,000 more. We lose mills in this area every year meaning less mills competing for local land owners timber so they end up selling it too cheap.
I would not like to see a mill established on the Pearl River near the New Bridge located in the Hathorn area. We don’t want such a eye sore in that area. We already have the mill in Goss. Leave the River Area out of this equation.
Maybe something could be done with the eyesore and economical drain formerly known as Hattiesburg “It’s a done deal” Cable and more recently Wellstone! While I’m on the subject, the trees and plants growing next to the building need cutting and/or trimming to avoid foundation damage from the spreading roots. Take a drive out there and look around. Ask yourself if you’d rent or lease it yourself with it looking like it does? There were a lot of select Marion County residents that got way fatter on our backs and it’s all going to seed! Am I the only one who’s upset about the whole deal? How many of our tax dollars are still going there?
Also the parking lot needs cleaning up and vegetation removal as well to avoid further damage and it needs a good general maintenance; the quickest way for a building to fall apart is to quit taking care of it. Whoever is responsible for its upkeep needs to COOK, CLEAN, OR GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN!!!
If I were younger and had a skateboard I’d be a regular visitor there – it needs to be put to some use; we’re still paying for it, no?
That’s one of my pet peeves if you haven’t guessed by now! My apologies for changing the subject; of course we need to plant trees and build some processing facilities but I’d rather see it done by individuals instead of our local government – We’re already paying for enough unused properties as it is and I’ve heard a lot of complaints about taxes going up. Developing another industry would result in a bond issue and further tax increases. It’s got to stop somewhere!