The Economic Development Board has held several closed sessions during meetings in recent weeks as they attempt to recruit an industry into the Green River Commerce Park. Kentucky’s open meetings laws allow the board to conduct those conversations in closed sessions. The law specifically allows the following exceptions that apply to the business the board is conducting:
—Deliberations on the future acquisition of real property by a public agency, but only when publicity would be likely to affect the value of a specific piece of property to be acquired for public use or sold by a public agency;
—Discussions between a public agency and a representative of a business entity and discussions concerning a specific proposal, if open discussions would jeopardize the siting, retention, expansion, or upgrading of the business;
Several items have appeared online from people voicing concern about the potential industry. In response specifically to the concerns of Columbia Magazine and Rob Wilkerson, the Economic Development Authority Board released the following statement:
The Columbia-Adair County Economic Development Authority Board of Directors wants to ensure all the concerned citizens and residents of Columbia and Adair County that Rob Wilkerson is correct…there are strict covenants that apply to Green River Commerce park and all future tenants in the Park will be held to those covenants. The CACEDA would never consider allowing industry to locate in the Park that would pose a danger or detriment to any of the residents of Adair County. In this time of bad economic conditions we are striving to bring good quality jobs to our park, in doing so we must compete with other neighboring communities for these industries, and as a part of the process the details have to be kept confidential in order for us to have equal opportunity to land these industries.
Jim Hadley,
Chairman
Columbia-Adair County Economic Development Authority, Inc.