Staying toward the heart of the situation in Elizabethton and Carter County, the Carter County Tomorrow organization met Wednesday inside the Elizabethton-Carter County Chamber and Tourism facility to address to re-elect officers and begin the process of using a building to court any potential industries.
Discussions during the meeting directed attention to the Matheson property, located off US 19E, which Elizabethton Planning and Development Jon Hartman stated was the closest short-term facility currently available that can be used to bring an industry into the area.
According to the Environmental Site Assessment conducted by Mattern and Craig Engineers, of Kingsport, the main building at 1999 State Line Road in Elizabethton was “found to be in good shape structurally and was being used to store likely usable machinery and equipment”.
While the building was deemed structurally sound, the opinion stated by the group indicated that recognized conditions are present at the property, needing the Phase Two study.
When going over the current finances for the group, it was noted the current fund balance for CCT is at $95,000 – which was indicated to be used on a case-by-case basis for different necessities for both Elizabethton and the county.
After discussion broke on the pros and cons of what the property can bring, the group unanimously voted to make up to $5,000 available to complete a Phase Two study of the building to get it ready for a developer. When asked about the estimated of prices for the Phase Two study, Hartman said it could range from $5,000 to $20,000.
The issue of funding was presented by the group when it was noted by the city and county were pumping their funds into a regional economic board. When discussing the funding for Phase Two, Sam LaPorte added that the group would also look at going in front of the city and county government, along with the Matheson family, to help the cost of the study, if needed.
LaPorte added CCT provides a level of importance for the county, with properties like the Matheson building, potentially getting lost in the shuffle in a region board, due to other properties in surrounding counties.
The group also reappointment their officers: chairman Richard Tester, co-chair Danny Ward and secretary Sonja Culler.