Drexel industrial site preparation to begin in April

Drexel Mayor Dennis Anthony spoke with rare emotion Tuesday night after the Board of Alderman voted to accept a bid for site development and grading of the town’s 100-acre industrial site.

“We have been waiting on this for years and years,” Anthony said after the vote. “Our town manager (Bill Carroll) has worked his tail off to make this happen. This is a dream come true.”

The site, just north of the railroad track on Main Street in downtown Drexel, was for decades home to the original Drexel Furniture plant and later to the company’s corporate offices.

The site has stood vacant for more than 20 years, however, an ongoing eyesore that reminds anyone who drives by of the town’s vanished heritage as an industrial powerhouse.

Clary Hood and Associates of Spartanburg, S.C., had originally entered a bid of $6,381,951 for the clearing and grading, which was over $1 million more than the town had budgeted.

Carroll, however, worked with the firm to get the bid lowered to $4,967,357, which was within the budget limits. Of that amount, $1.6 million will come from the town’s Electric Fund with the remainder coming from grant funding sources.

“We have the money to do this and we need to do it now,” said Anthony. “We have waited long enough. We need to move. We have a lot of taxpayer money tied up in this project and we need to move forward.”

Work on the site is expected to begin in April and, weather and other complications permitting, should be completed in about 10 months.

Carroll explained in a Wednesday interview that he and Clary Hood and Associates were able to agree on several changes to the bid that made the lower price possible.

Among these were an agreement that no blasting would be needed on the site, meaning rocks of a certain size will remain and be part of the site’s landscape.

Asked what might make the Drexel site more attractive to industrial clients than others around the state, Carroll’s response was immediate: “Rail service. To have a 100-acre site in that proximity to the railroad is huge.”

Carroll also noted that water, sewer, and electrical utilities in place at the site are another advantage, as well as the relatively level topography of the land.

“We are confident that we are going to have significant economic development on this site,” he concluded.

CHANGES TO TOWN CHARTER

In other action at Monday night’s meeting, the town set two public hearings for its May 6 meeting to allow town residents to comment on two proposed changes to the town charter.

One would increase the number of aldermen from four to five, while the second would change the term of office for the mayor from two years to four.

Carroll explained that the town will have to move quickly to have these changes go into effect with the municipal election coming up in November.

The board also honored the Teachers of the Year at the four schools serving the Drexel Community.

Charity Williams, a math teacher at Draughn High School; Dia Heather, an exceptional children’s teacher at Heritage Middle School; Melissa McClure, a fourth-grade teacher at Drexel Elementary School; and Amber Hicks, an exceptional children’s teacher at Hallyburton Academy, received certificates of appreciation as well as gift bags prepared by the Grow With Drexel organization.

Among the local merchants who contributed to the gift bags were Metawood Design Co., Cloud 9 Beauty Salon, Teacher’s Pet, Mimosa Market, Settlemyre Nursery, Nyna’s Restaurant, Grow With Drexel, 100 Main Restaurant and Bar, and Bud’s Korner Kitchen.

A new police officer for the municipality was sworn in by Town Clerk Kristen Powell. Kelly Bollinger is a graduate of Freedom High who served in the Marine Corps after graduation.

He was previously employed with the Hickory Police Department and also serves in the National Guard.

Finally, the board heard from Sharon Parks, division sales manager for Republic Services, the waste management company that Drexel contracts with for garbage pickup.

Anthony told Parks that the driver who picks up his garbage “just beats the containers to pieces,” noting that he has had wheels knocked off and axles bent.

Noting that Republic owns the containers and supplies them to its customers, Anthony said, “I’d think y’all would want to be a little easier on them.”