By Michele Gerlach
Andalusia Star News

The Andalusia City Council on Tuesday approved a club liquor license for J.N. Enterprise, LLC, owners of The Idle Hour.

A club retail license allows the business to sell alcohol on Sunday, just as any other private club can.

Council members Jason Jewell and Kennith Mount, along with Mayor Earl Johnson, supported the license; council members Hazel Griffin, Terry Powell and Will Sconiers abstained.

By Michele Gerlach
Andalusia Star News

Two weeks ago, local real estate developer John Tisdale approached the Andalusia City Council seeking incentives.

Specifically, Tisdale, who owns several retail properties, wanted the city to rebate sales taxes to developers who bring new retail outlets to Andalusia. Tisdale asked for a blanket policy that would have given him and other developers 100 percent of city sales taxes generated by a new retailer for the first three years the retailer operated here, and half of city sales taxes for the subsequent seven years.

The council took the request under advisement and on Tuesday, approved a substituted proposal offered by Mayor Earl Johnson that he described as a “win-win.”

The mayor said Tisdale is working with a “large retail clothing store” that may locate in the former Goody’s site in Westgate Plaza.

Johnson proposed putting half of the sales tax generated by the potential retailer for the first five years into a trust fund managed by the city. The funds would be dispersed to Tisdale to match any money he spent improving property he owns in downtown Andalusia.

“It would have to be used on existing real estate he owns in the downtown area,” Johnson said. “He would match dollar-for-dollar anything paid out of the trust fund.”

The city also would prioritize which building the funds should be spent on, Johnson said.

If the funds were not used by the end of six years, the funds would revert back to the city.

“There is no question there would be benefit to the city if this retailer located here,” Johnson said. “There would be 30 to 35 new jobs and a half-million dollar payroll.”

Johnson said the city has given incentives to two other retailers in the past, and said those businesses have helped Andalusia’s sales tax base remain steady during the recession.

“We’re not plowing new ground here,” he said. “Prattville has borrowed millions of dollars to become a major retail center. We are dealing with small change by comparison.”

By Michele Gerlach
Andalusia Star News

Tim Ramsden of CDG Engineers told members of the Andalusia City Council on Tuesday that the River Falls Street project is ahead of schedule.

Ramsden said CenturyLink is expected to have wires off the poles in the next two weeks, which will mean workers can begin installing new streetlights.

“The natural gas portion of the project is next,” Ramsden said. “Southeast Alabama Gas District is working with the contractor. The Public Service Commission regulates gas lines stringently.”

Ramsden said the “wearing surface” of the street project will be the last to go down.

Police Chief Wilbur Williams reminds all that the part of the street is officially closed and that officers are stopping drivers who don’t have business on the street.

By Michele Gerlach
Andalusia Star News

The Andalusia City Council and Andalusia Industrial Board have approved an agreement to build a 42,000 square foot expansion for Vector Aerospace that will mean 100 new local jobs averaging over the next two years.

When the new jobs are added, he said, Vector will have well over 200 local jobs averaging approximately $25 per hour.

Vector moved in to its existing facility at South Alabama Regional Airport about 18 months ago and has already outgrown the space.

Under the terms of the agreement, the city will oversee the construction of the expansion in much the way it did SaeHaeSung’s new facility in the Andalusia Industrial Park.

“They need it now,” Mayor Earl Johnson said.

The agreement approved by the council and the IDB states that the project is not to exceed $3 million.

The South Alabama Regional Airport Authority is in the middle of refinancing its debt through a bond issue, Johnson said. Until the bond issue is completed, it cannot build the expansion, which Vector needs immediately.

The Andalusia Industrial Development Board will finance the construction for five years and the lease and lease payments will be assigned to the IDB. At some point, the airport authority will take over the financial obligation for the expansion.

“I cannot express to you how excited I am this is taking place,” Johnson said. “This expansion will put us high on the totem pole with aerospace in South Alabama. Doing this in this way allows us to go quickly, which is critical for Vector.”

Vector provides helicopter maintenance and repair to military and domestic companies from its Andalusia location.