Great Meadows megasite: Rush to judgment threatens potential growth opportunity

Without question, Lake James – by far the cleanest lake along the Catawba River – is a tremendously positive selling point for

Burke County, providing unparalleled opportunities for fishing, boating, hiking, and camping in its waters and along its shores.

Without question, the many upscale neighborhoods which have sprung up around Lake James over the past three decades provide Burke County and area fire departments with a healthy shot of property tax income.

And, again without question, Burke County Commissioners, county staff, and those tasked with recruiting industry here have a solemn responsibility to protect the environmental integrity of the lake for current residents and for generations to come.

That being said, we think the vehement opposition which has arisen to the development of the 1,353-acre Great Meadows industrial site in western Burke and eastern McDowell is both misinformed and premature.

A logo for an organization devoted to stopping development of the site before it’s started depicts billowing smoke stacks that look more like 1950s Pittsburgh than a depiction of modern industry.

An online petition drive against development of the site started by William Connell warns that an EV lithium battery production facility is headed for the location and that it will result in “skyrocketing taxes,” “noise and light pollution,” and “negative impacts on the water, rivers, air, and soil.”

The three challengers in the upcoming Republican primary for county commission seats – Brian Barrier, Shawn Freeman, and Mike Stroud – have each voiced their opposition to the site’s development, with Freeman proclaiming, “With the vast majority of Burke County citizens saying they do not want this megasite, I would be against the site at the proposed Great Meadows location.”

“The vast majority of Burke County citizens?” We wonder how and when that poll was taken.

To all of that we say, let’s slow down and take a look at the facts as we now know them.

Yes, Burke and McDowell counties are courting large industries in the hope that one or more will locate at the Great Meadows site.

In the early stages of that process, Burke County government was slow in providing concrete information as to just what the plans for the site are.

Now, however, the county is taking proactive steps to educate and inform the residents of the Lake James community and indeed of the entire county as to what development of the site will bring.

Toward that end, County Manager Brian Epley and Burke Development Inc. CEO Alan Wood are going out into the community, talking to small groups of residents in intimate, what-are-your-questions settings.

Want to set up such a meeting for your community or neighborhood? Contact the county offices at 828-764-9000.

In addition, Commissioners Scott Mulwee and Epley have produced a “fireside chat” video that is available on YouTube (Fireside Chat 10 –Great Meadows Industrial Park (youtube.com)).

In the video, Epley explains the steps being taken to ensure the site is ecologically safe and won’t create a nuisance for nearby residents.

Epley has also pledged that the county will be working closely with environmental groups, including the Foothills Conservancy, the Catawba Riverkeepers, and the Lake James Environmental Association to make sure that Lake James and the Catawba River are safeguarded.

Epley has also said the county will be selective and restrictive about what sort of industries will be permitted on the site at the county’s western gateway, noting that modern industries can be clean, quiet, and technologically driven.

 Now, are we saying that both the county residents and this newspaper ought to turn our backs on the process and trust the county’s leadership to always do what is best?

Absolutely not.

We’re going to continue to probe, to ask questions, to follow the discussion, and to highlight ways that residents can have their say and be a part of the process.

But we do think opinions should be shaped by facts rather than rumors and emotions and unsubstantiated innuendo.

And we do think that all county residents should remember, whether they live in the east or the west, that a rising economic tide can lift all boats and that there are quite a few boats that need to be lifted in Burke County.

A $1 billion industry, which the site could indeed sustain, would raise the county’s property tax base by as much as 25 percent and provide hundreds of higher-paying jobs.

Let’s be careful.

Let’s keep a vigilant eye on things.

But let’s not reject a great opportunity for growth and for opportunity without knowing all the facts.