CHILDERSBURG After years of effort by two city administrations and numerous state, federal and U.S. Army officials, the process to bring ownership of the old Alabama Army Ammunition Plant property to Childersburg may be coming to an end.On Tuesday, the city received a draft of the property's deed, which council members, Mayor B.J. Meeks and the city's attorney will now review, Meeks said.
The U.S. Army gave the draft so any changes city officials want made to the document can be addressed by Feb. 27, when the Army is planning to give the city the actual deed for Meek's signature, according to Pat Robbins, chief of public affairs for the Mobile district of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Corps is one of many government agencies involved in the property's transfer, on which work began in the late 1990s.
The property, which once comprised more than 13,000 acres, sits off Alabama 235 north of the city's downtown. The AAAP manufactured explosives for the country's efforts in World War II.
Over the years, the facility was dismantled and much of the property sold off or returned to original owners. The Army now owns about 2,200 acres, which Childersburg is set to receive. The city is redeveloping the property in to the Coosa Industrial Park.
After Meeks signs the deed, it will go to the secretary of the Army for signing. This will be the last signature needed for the deed. The Army is hoping to do this on March 15, Robbins said.
The signature will execute the deed, which will then be returned to the city. It will then have the deed recorded at the Talladega County Probate Judge's Office. After this, the property officially belongs to Childersburg, Meeks said.
The city and Army will still have some details to work out concerning the property, but the city's main effort for the transfer of ownership will be complete after the recording, he said.
Owning the property will help the city market and sell parcels of land to prospective companies and industries, he said.
Councilman Jimmy Payne agreed, saying, "You can't sell what you haven't got."
As part of the transfer, the city has to put any revenue generated from the property back into its development for seven years, Meeks said.
This includes the money the city will get from railroad companies that will run trains over the tracks through the property. The city will take over the Army's lease with these companies and later negotiate a new lease with the railroads, he said.
The initial lease will bring the city about $26,000 per year, he said.
The city will probably continue to put money back in to the park after the seven-year period is over, but some revenue in the long run will go toward increasing the city's services to meet the increased demand brought by the development. "We will grow as the park grows," he said.
The city will benefit from the park's development by increased ad valorem property taxes and business licenses the companies there purchase. The companies will also purchase utilities from the city's Water, Sewer and Gas Board, Meeks said.
By using Alabama Power Company Inc. for their electricity, the companies will increase the franchise tax the city gets from the power company for electricity it sells, he said.
The park's development will also bring jobs to the area, and the people who come to work and live here because of these jobs will spend money in the city, thus increasing its sales tax, he said.
George Limbaugh, executive director of the city's Chamber of Commerce, said receiving the property will be "one of the greatest things to happen to Childersburg ever."
In June 2002, the Army and city entered an agreement in which the former agreed to give the property and the latter agreed to take it. At the event commemorating this agreement, it was announced that the city received a Community Development Block Grant to install infrastructure to a section of the property containing the park's first tenant, NuSteel Fabricators Inc. The company began work on its first order at the end of the year.
Meeks said that once the city owns the property, it will negotiate getting NuSteel the deed for its land.
In addition to the agreement, several other documents were put together and executed as part of the transfer process. On Jan. 31, a document called the Finding of Suitability for Early Transfer was executed, said Robbins.
This document allows the property to be given to the city even though environmental testing is not complete. Some tests, mostly concerning the groundwater, will not be done for several years.
The Army cleaned up contamination of the property's soil, but the groundwater still has residues of chemicals used in the manufacture of explosives, but this contamination is believed to be of no threat to humans or the environment, provided the groundwater is not used.
Water for the property will be piped in from outside. The property has been deemed safe for use as an industrial park.
The council is expected to have a called meeting to give the mayor the authority to sign the deed. He said he is planning to be in Mobile on Feb. 27 as part of an Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs workshop. He can sign the deed there.
The Army is not charging the city any money for the property, but the city has spent as much as $200,000 for surveys and other things required as part of the transfer, Meeks said.
