County seeking grant for backup water supply

Published 3:06 am Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Smith County officials are moving forward with a grant to help Sanderson Farms, a company planning to open three locations in the Tyler area early next year.

The Smith County Commissioners Court is seeking money from the Texas Department of Agriculture to create a backup water supply system for the company’s processing plant, which is under construction.

The agriculture department gets money from the federal government and then distributes it throughout the state through

infrastructure grants, according to Tom Mullins, the CEO of the Tyler Economic Development Corp.

The money, about $1 million, will go to Sand Flat Water Supply Corp. in Tyler to build new water infrastructure, Mullins said.

“This is kind of, one, upgrading our water lines to be able to serve Sanderson Farms, and an emergency backup,” said Larry Winters, general manager of Sand Flat Water Supply Corp.

Winters said the project is still in its early stages and has not yet been designed. The company will know in the future the project specifications and the time frame for completion.

The Texas Department of Agriculture grants are available to fund infrastructure projects in cities with populations under 50,000, Mullins said. The projects must be tied to the creation of jobs for low-income and middle-income people, he said.

Sanderson Farms is in the middle of building a three-part poultry complex, including a hatchery in Lindale, a feed mill in Mineola and a processing plant in Smith County near Winona. The company says the new properties will be operational in 2019.

Mullins said the investment would create 1,400 jobs when complete. The jobs largely will attract unskilled workers and will pay well above minimum wage, plus health insurance benefits, he said.

“I don’t think Sanderson’s going to have any trouble filling the jobs, but it’s going to stimulate so much growth in that area that’s going to put pressure on the rural water system, and this grant will help put some more infrastructure in place,” Mullins said.

“It really works well for both parties because to get the grant, you’ve got to be connected to a project that’s creating jobs,” he said. “Sanderson Farms is going to have 1,400 employees out there.”

The infrastructure project is in addition to the $1.2 million in cumulative tax abatements Sanderson Farms is scheduled to receive over the next 10 years from the city of Lindale, Smith County, Tyler Junior College and Smith County Emergency Services District No. 1.

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