Bunkie preparing to sell Industrial Park property to Cleco

A proposed city ordinance would allow Cleco to purchase 97 acres at the Bunkie Industrial Park for $1,018,395 in hopes of securing a commercial tenant for the site.

In a brief special meeting on Jan. 15, the Bunkie City Council introduced an ordinance authorizing Mayor Bruce Coulon to enter into the real estate deal with Cleco Power.

“I think it is good for the town because Cleco can do things to induce a company to locate here that the city can’t do,” Coulon said. “It is a win-win for everyone.

“Cleco has wanted to do this for some time now, but had to go through the legal hoops to get to this point,” the mayor added.

A public hearing on the proposed ordinance will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 at City Hall Annex. It will come up for approval at the council meeting to be held immediately after that public hearing.

Coulon said Cleco “will work hard to get someone in the Industrial Park -- and they will work with the city to ensure the right kind of business locates there.”

He said citizens don’t have to be concerned that because the town no longer owns the property, that a smokey factory or chicken processing plant or other type of operation will locate there.

“Cleco has also said they are looking at creating as many jobs as possible at the Industrial Park,” Coulon continued.

He said the site can provide more power to its tenants than any other industrial park in the state.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Of course, no conversation about the Bunkie Industrial Park is complete without recalling “the one that got away” -- Gulf Coast Spinning.

Cleco will pay the city any property taxes owed on an industrial park tract Cleco had purchased as the site for the GCS cotton yarn-spinning plant that pulled up stakes shortly after ground preparation work began. The property is owned by Gulf South but is tied up in a lawsuit concerning the failed business venture.

Officials with that project recently announced they will open Vidalia Denim, a denim fabric manufacturing plant. It is locating in the closed Fruit of the Loom plant in Vidalia.

News on that project indicates some Vidalia officials are concerned that Vidalia Denim has withdrawn almost $8 million from an account the town had set aside for capital improvements.

So far, Vidalia Denim has created only one full-time job since it announced it had purchased the plant site late last year.

Vidalia Denim bought the site from the municipality for $12 million. The town agreed to set aside $8 million of that amount to be given to the company as an incentive to make capital improvements.

The Vidalia council was told at its January meeting that the plant has received over $7.6 million of that $8 million grant account.

Vidalia Alderwoman Sabrina Doré said she thought the money was to be linked to benchmarks, including hiring employees.

The company has promised the creation of 300 jobs -- the same amount Bunkie was promised.

Concordia Economic Development Executive Director Heather Malone told the Vidalia City Council members that Vidalia Denim has been purchasing equipment, which is a major step forward.

She assured the officials that if Vidalia Denim did not satisfy all aspects of its agreement with the town it would have to repay the grant money.
She said the company hopes to begin hiring in a few months and have its first line of production in operation by June.