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Chattanooga: Council OK $40 million for Enterprise South work

By: Cliff Hightower
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Audio: Chattanooga City Council -- Aug. 19, 2008

The Chattanooga City Council approved a request Tuesday night to fund up to $40 million in improvements to Enterprise South industrial park, soon to be home of the new Volkswagen plant, even as some council members questioned the move.

The council voted 9-0 to approve the measure on first reading, but at committee meetings earlier in the day some council members asked why Chattanooga was “taking the full hit” on the money commitment and whether Hamilton County would be making a similar financial deal.

“Has the county passed a $40 million bond resolution?” Councilman Leamon Pierce asked.

City Chief Financial Officer Daisy Madison said the county had not done so.

“I’d like to understand further why the city is taking the full hit,” Councilwoman Sally Robinson said.

Ms. Madison told council members that the city and county would split all costs 50-50, except for a fire station to be built on the 1,350-acre site, which the city agreed to pay for even before VW announced that it would build a $1 billion auto plant at Enterprise South.

She said the city already has spent almost $10 million on the site, and the county has put in the same amount.

Among other things, the $40 million would help pay for a welcome center, a fire station, a training center, railroad lines, roads, sewers and telecommunication lines, according to city documents.

The bond resolution will come back to the council again for a second and final reading within the next few weeks, officials said.

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield told the council that the resolution does not mean all $40 million would be spent. The actual costs could be lower, he said.

“What you’re doing right now is setting up a bank account,” he said.

Councilman Jack Benson said he had been getting calls from the public about a welcome center at Enterprise South and wanted more details.

Mr. Littlefield said almost 55 million people come through the area each year on Interstate 75 and the center would showcase the community, VW and the 2,800-acre Enterprise South Nature Park.

“It’s more like an education center?” Ms. Robinson asked.

Mr. Littlefield indicated that was correct.

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