ASHLAND
Some 150 Clay County residents gathered at the Judicial Facility Tuesday night to hear plans for Wellborn Cabinet’s expansion and voice their opinions on the matter.
Nearly everyone who spoke at the public hearing sponsored by the Clay County Commission supported the additional jobs but disagreed on how a road should be rerouted to make room for the expansion.
Wellborn officials plan to add 800 to 1,000 jobs over the next three to five years as part of a $30 million expansion. Much of the new construction will take place west of County Road 35, or Bluff Springs Road, across from the current plant. Leaving the road in place would not be practical or safe because trucks, forklifts and employees would have to cross it, Wellborn officials said.
Wellborn has proposed several routes that would divert the road east of the plant before connecting with Alabama 77. If the road is not re-routed, Wellborn will only add 200 jobs at the Ashland plant, likely moving the others out of state, officials said.
An easterly route would require the county to purchase approximately five acres of right of way from private landowners. One of the routes cuts through two properties, plus land owned by Wellborn. One of the landowners, Jimmy Mackey, has agreed to sell his land and the other landowner likely will sell, said Commission Chairman Charles Jordan.
Several residents who live on County Road 35 or near Wellborn questioned why the road could not be re-routed to the west, on property mostly owned by Wellborn.
“If he can build his lake over there where he wants to expand, I don’t think it’s right to want to go over everybody else’s land,” said one resident.
Wellborn’s expansion plans west of County Road 35 include a lake, a lodge for customers, a wood shed, kiln, training center, company headquarters, a new employee parking lot and truck yard.
“Wellborn is the primary benefactor from this project,” another resident said. “It seems like it ought to come through Wellborn property.”
That option is not acceptable because the road would connect to Alabama 77 just below a hill, which could cause accidents, said Wellborn owner Paul Wellborn.
A Wellborn engineer said there are too many obstacles between the Wellborn land and Alabama 77 to build a road. The western route still would require the county to purchase right of way from private landowners, he said.
Others emphasized the need for the new jobs.
Clay County has lost 1,000 jobs in recent years as manufacturers moved their operations elsewhere, said Clay County Industrial Board Chairman Charles Higgins.
The public meeting was held in the former Russell Corp. building, which was purchased and renovated by the county. Russell, an apparel manufacturer, has relocated several of its plants to Mexico.
“It’s irresponsible for us to throw this away,” he said. “Any opportunity we have to build the job market and the economic base needs to be considered very carefully.”
One resident encouraged cooperation.
“It’s up to us as citizens to find a way to fund this or remove road blocks,” he said. “It’s not a landfill. It’s a good clean environmentally sound company. It’s a no-brainer to me.”
Jordan said the commission will discuss purchasing right of way property at its next meeting, March 8.
