Commissioners want to switch funds from megasite to Kathy Road park

Burke County is dramatically and unexpectedly distancing itself from the Great Meadows industrial megasite, apparently demoting the priority of what elected officials long touted as a game-changing economic development initiative.

The Burke Board of Commissioners quietly asked the General Assembly permission to divert $20 million in state funding from the megasite project and use it to construct a speculative shell building at the nearly empty Burke Business Park near Kathy Road in western Burke County.

The request to reallocate the megasite monies was included in Senate Bill 382, which passed the Senate with a 30-19 vote Nov. 20, one day after the commissioners’ November monthly meeting.

The move was not disclosed at that meeting, nor at the pre-agenda meeting three weeks earlier. In fact, there has been no prior public revelation of the diversion strategy, despite the fact that Senate bill inclusion requires forethought and coordinated and cohesive dialogue with state and local politicians.

On Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the bill. Republicans are expected to override Cooper’s veto next week.

The request and potential veto override could terminate a project once hailed by local and state elected officials as a generational economic game changer for Burke County.

The diversion would leave insufficient monies to purchase the land or build critical infrastructure at Great Meadows, leaving the megasite as “an unfunded project,” said Burke County Manager Brian Epley.

“As of today, the funding isn’t there to advance the project regardless,” Epley said on Tuesday. “I think it’s an unhelpful discussion to say anything other than, what can we do today to help Burke County? Developing Burke Business Park is the highest and best use of the grant proceeds that we have to make the biggest impact on Burke County’s economy that we can make.”

That is a significant reversal of priorities from what existed before the November elections. The newly elected commissioners — Mike Stroud and Brian Barrier — campaigned against the megasite. Those commissioners assume office next month.

During the rollout of megasite plans in the spring and summer, the commissioners faced considerable resistance that included open questions regarding the lack of progress at the industrial site, Burke Business Park.

The park, an 83-acre site at the Kathy Road Exit off I-40, currently has only one tenant, Unix Packaging. It broke ground there in January 2023, and its building remains under construction.

Commissioners and economic developers held their ground, maintaining that the megasite represented the future of Burke’s economic fortitude.

In a conversation on Tuesday, Commission Chairman Jeff Brittain said the megasite dollars were not helping the county by sitting idle.

“It’s a shame to have that much money just sitting by, waiting, and of course, we’ve got a purchase agreement on the property for a number of years,” Brittain said. “And so, we began to think about, could we possibly do some good with that money and produce some economic development?”

Outgoing commissioner Johnnie Carswell is optimistic the Industrial Park project will be successful.

“The shell buildings will go as fast as we can build them, and that park will be full,” Carswell said. “You can write that one down.”

Burke Development Inc. assists in managing the Industrial Park. It also controls the megasite land purchase with an option on the Great Meadows property until 2030.

In an in-depth interview two days after the election about the megasite’s status, BDI CEO Alan Wood did not mention the diversion strategy. He did not return recent phone calls or respond to voicemail seeking clarification.

Under the Senate bill’s provisions, the county must use the $20 million by the end of 2027, or the funds will be returned to the megasite project. If the speculative Industrial Park building is sold, those funds would replenish the megasite coffers.

No timetable or design plans exist for the speculative shell building included in the Senate bill. Construction would be headed up by BDI, which would operate under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the county and other stakeholders and local municipalities in the park, Brittain said.

“I think our board is interested in having a diverse economy and a high-performing economy and creating jobs,” Epley said. “While Great Meadows is still being debated, there’s no short-term or mid-term movement expected.

“The board simply asked legislators for some flexibility with funds that are already appropriated to do some smaller, more strategic economic developments to try to create jobs and stimulate the economy in Burke County.”

Epley said he expects some action soon at the Burke Business site and added construction would likely not take much more than a year.

As for the future viability of the megasite, touted by officials as one of a kind — a “unicorn” — in western North Carolina, Epley said it’s pointless to speculate.