County donates land for planned aluminum plant

Warren County Fiscal Court on Friday approved resolutions to donate land and issue industrial revenue bonds for the construction of an aluminum production facility at the Kentucky Transpark.

Earlier this month, European aluminum company Constellium N.V. and Japanese aluminum company UACJ Corp. announced their plans to establish an aluminum production facility in Bowling Green.

The company is expected to make a capital investment of $155,850,000 and bring in up to 80 new jobs at an average annual salary of $65,000, according to the bond resolution.

Under one resolution, Warren County granted its consent for the Inter-Modal Transportation Authority to donate 50.61 acres of land at the transpark for the facility.

The value of the property is about $2.7 million, said Kim Phelps, director of communications and public policy for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce.

Under another resolution, Fiscal Court approved the issue of up to $160 million in industrial revenue bonds, with payments on the bonds to be made by the company under a lease agreement with the county.

Ron Bunch, the chamber’s president and CEO, said the project represents the largest investment from a new company in the area for more than a decade.

It is larger than the announcement last year of a $120 million investment by Bilstein North America, which was the state’s third-largest capital investment in 2013.

“We’re pretty pleased about that,” Bunch said.

The chamber worked with Constellium N.V. and UACJ Corp. for eight to nine months in order to bring them to Bowling Green, which is a relatively quick timeframe, he said.

Factors including the proximity to Logan Aluminum, Bowling Green’s central location and a strong manufacturing culture helped attract the companies to the area, Bunch said.

“There is that culture here that understands manufacturing,” he said.

Fiscal Court also approved a grant of $119,084 from the Special Tourism Projects Fund of the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau during Friday’s meeting.

The money will provide for Internet installation and components needed to live stream video at Buchanon Park and the purchase of four field tarps, four rolling pipes and four storage rollers for ball fields.

Chris Kummer, director of the Warren County parks department, said the department has outgrown the existing Internet infrastructure at the park.

The grant will enhance the ability to live stream games at the park and allow for teams to return to playing quicker after a rain because fields can be covered with tarps, he said.

“That will enhance our ability to play youth sports programs at those fields, but it will also allow us the opportunity to bring in outside activities and tournaments for the future,” Kummer said.

Fiscal Court also approved the first reading of an ordinance to rezone 1,940 parcels of land of less than 2 acres in northern Warren County from agriculture to residential estate. It requires two readings to go into effect.

The ordinance is the first phase of a planned three-phase rezoning of all the non-conforming agriculture lots of less than 2 acres in the county with the goal of cleaning up nonconformities on the Warren County zoning map.

Any parcel of land zoned agriculture that is under 5 acres is considered a nonconforming lot.

Only lots of less than 2 acres are being proposed for rezoning because those lots already have to follow residential development standards and they cannot be further subdivided.

City-County Planning Commission officials have said the zone change won’t impact how the property can be used.