NOTICE: The Franklin County Citizen Leader mistakenly printed an old advertisement in today's issue (June 3) about the location of Monday's public hearing and meeting by the board of commissioners concerning Pilgrim's Pride. The meeting, as the story below says, will be Monday at 5 p.m. at the Franklin County Agriculture Center on the campus of Franklin County High School in Carnesville. The correct advertisement with the Ag Center location is also in the paper. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion.
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This is the correct advertisement for Monday's meeting at the Franklin County Agriculture Center in Carnesville. -
Pilgrim's Pride
By Shane Scoggins
Publisher
CARNESVILLE – Franklin County commissioners will hear Pilgrim’s Pride’s final pitch Monday and the last pleas from a large number of opponents to the company’s plans to build a $70 million rendering plant near Carnesville.
Following that public hearing, commissioners will vote on whether or not to rezone two pieces of property and issue a conditional use permit that would allow the company to move ahead with its plans.
The commissioners’ public hearing will begin Monday at 5 p.m. at the Franklin County Agriculture Center on the campus of Franklin County High School.
The vote will follow during the board’s regular meeting, which will be held immediately following the hearing, also at the agriculture center.
In February, Pilgrim’s Pride announced plans to build a $70 million poultry rendering plant that will make ingredients for pet food.
The company plans to buy two parcels of property totaling 109.69 acres near the intersection of I-85 and Highway 320 near Carnesville.
Part of the plan for the plant will be the construction of a wastewater treatment plant.
Pilgrim’s promises 100 construction jobs while the plant is being built and 90 permanent jobs.
The announcement of the company’s plans sparked immediate opposition organized by a citizen’s group, Stop the Rendering.
Opponents have come out in large numbers to community meetings and two hearings held by the Franklin County Planning Commission to voice concerns about Pilgrim’s Pride’s and its parent company’s history of environmental and legal violations.
The group has purchased advertisements and billboards to urge commissioners to kill the company’s plans.
The planning commission has voted twice to recommend that commissioners deny Pilgrim’s requests.
Before commissioners could consider the company’s applications – and the Planning Commission’s first recommendation, Pilgrim’s withdrew its application April 1 to allow more time to discuss an $8 million gas line that the plant will need with local officials.
But just hours before county commissioners imposed a moratorium April 6 on such applications, Pilgrim’s refiled its application, leading to the second planning commission hearing and Monday’s meetings.
The location for Monday’s hearing and meeting was originally planned for the agriculture center, but county officials announced last week that it would move to the Lavonia Cultural Center.
The change to the Lavonia location was due to sound issues – both from the sound system and due to echoes inside the metal agriculture center building – during the planning commission meeting.
On Friday, the county moved the meetings back to the agriculture center.
Franklin County Manager Derrick Turner said Friday that the county learned that to legally move the meeting to Lavonia, the hearing and meeting would have to be moved to a different date.
Franklin County Commission Chairman Jason Macomson outlined the rules for the hearing in a Facebook post.
“Persons wishing to speak at the public hearing are not required to sign up ahead of time,” Macomson said. “Each person may speak once, a time limit of five minutes will be strictly enforced, and speakers may not yield unused time to another person. This will be a comment period only, with no questions. Members of the public will be held to the same standards of decorum as commissioners, which includes civil discourse, treating others with respect, avoiding personal attacks, and avoiding inappropriate displays. The public hearing will last until everyone who wishes has had an opportunity to speak.”
The regular board meeting will be held at the conclusion of the public hearing, and the Board will plan to consider each of the zoning applications during the regular meeting.
The Carnesville Community Center has been designated as an overflow site.
The meeting will be available for viewing only on Zoom at the overflow location, but those at the overflow location who wish to speak will be given an opportunity to come to the Ag Center.