Four Lake board issues bond for industrial park

Four Lake Regional Industrial Development Authority will issue a bond to help fund ongoing work to its PowerCom Industrial Park in Trousdale County.
"This is the culmination of about a yearlong process of pursuing this as a funding option," Four Lake Executive Director Dick Walker said. "I feel very secure about it."
The water, sewer, gas and communication improvements are designed to accomodate any sort of manufacturer that would want to locate in the five-county area Four Lake serves.
The bond, worth over $2 million should be issued in a matter of weeks, Four Lake attorney Bob Rochelle said. The authority must repay it over a 20-year period, he said at Four Lake's Executive Committee meeting last week.
As the funding for the park falls into place, work continues on the infrastructure improvements.
"The water tank has been completed," engineer Buddy Koonce said.
The tank just needs to be filled, disinfected and put into service. About 1,500 feet of gas line still needs installing too, Koonce said.
A segment of the sewer and gas systems that must travel under Goose Creek has given contractors trouble, though.
"The directional bore team has had a time getting under the creek," Koonce said. "They've been there for weeks."
The team, now on its third attempt, must bore farther under the creek than first anticipated, Koonce said.
"The first time, they started 12 feet below, now they're trying 25 feet. They're going lower to access better rock," he said.
While having to cut under the creek has been a "pain," Walker is confident the park can attract some clients when all the improvements are complete, he said.
Gresham, Smith and Partners are working on the design options for buildings on the site.
"We have a potential total of 3.6 million square feet," Landscape Architect Chris Wood said.
He presented a plan for the site that would include three sections of buildings, arranged by size.
The first phase can contain smaller industries that will require 4,000-50,000 square feet of space, Wood said. A larger phase can contain buildings up to 150,000 square feet, he said.
However, if a major manufacturer wanted a 400,000-square-foot building, PowerCom could supply that too, Wood said.
"You can easily combine sites. You can mix and match for anything the tenant wants," he said.
The committee also discussed having a nature trail or ballpark in the industrial park.
"I can see in the future of this some kind of park where workers can go on their lunch break and be outside," Smith County Mayor and Four Lake committee member Michael Nesbitt said.
Four Lake will continue to explore these options as well as incentive package options for potential industries in the future, Walker said.