McHugh speaks about area growth

The Maysville Rotary Club heard explanations about what the Maysville-Mason County Industrial Development Authority recently.

Tyler McHugh, the IDA director, began his presentation with a brief explanation of what exactly the Mason County Industrial Development Authority does.

“Our main goal for the Maysville, Mason County community is to develop the quality of life for the residents in our town,” said McHugh.

Some ways that IDA works toward this goal are by bringing jobs, economic stability, making a place to both live and play and making sure we have a community that drives businesses here and keeps them here.

“Our northeast corridor is one of the last untouched areas for major industrial growth in the entire country when you consider Maysville and Mason County in our area. We centralized in the eastern part of the United States with an awesome availability of not only river transport but also our lines of CSX and also our proximity to not only airports but also industrial highways and interstate highway systems,” said McHugh.

McHugh also mentioned the IDA helps the community in a variety of ways such as marketing sites for RFI’s (requests for information), offering incentives at the federal and state level, offering grant funding and assisting with small business loans.

McHugh stated the board consists of six members; Chairman Dickie Butler who is a retired educator, Vice Chairman Kenny Pitakis with Mitsubishi Electric, Secretary Mike Lewis who is retired from Emerson/Regal Beloit, Chris Elie with Duke Energy, Jeff Frodge with Stober Drives and Chris Hopper with KWS Manufacturing.

McHugh went on to note some exciting projects that are on the horizon.

Good 360 has taken over what used to be the Federal-Mogul building. Good 360 has added 75 local jobs and has made a capital investment of $11.2 million, he said.

G&J Pepsi has added 45 new jobs and has made a $10.6 million investment.

The Primary Plus Downtown Expansion is a $5 million investment that will necessitate 50 new full-time positions and service 200 patients a day.

First State Bank is a new lending partner that will help provide access to new investor partners.

McHugh mentioned there are 14 sites available for new projects but highlighted two areas that are currently up for grabs, Industrial Park Four and the River Site.

Industrial Park Four is on the corner of Kentucky 11.

The park has 163 acres of shovel-ready area all good to go on a new project. McHugh said the area is special in that it is nicely prepared for a new project.

The River Site is between the water treatment plant and Industrial Paper. This site is 165 acres zoned for heavy industrial and is unique in that there is a rail spur west of the site which means it is ideal for railroad and river capabilities.

Both of these locations are set up with utilities and are ready to go making them perfect for businesses seeking sites.

The General Assembly of Kentucky is headed toward river port expansion which is good for Maysville as it is one of eight eligible ports.

There is a focus on agriculture partnership and expansion and will additionally assist in partnerships with MB Rail.

McHugh detailed the current economic development comprehensive plan. These plans include infrastructure upgrades, workforce development, housing availability and health care needs.