The Tallulah City Council during Thursday’s regular meeting voted in favor of introducing a $4,000 contract for a Phase I environmental assessment of the city’s 250-acre industrial site.
Tallulah Mayor Charles Finlayson said last week the site is prime real estate for companies looking to invest in the city; however, prior to that happening, an assessment must take place in order to ensure the property is environmentally sound.
“We’ve had some interest in the site for development,” Finlayson said prior to Thursday’s meeting. “About two months ago, Representative C. Travis Johnson brought a group from California to tour the site and the surrounding area. They were very interested in our site and now I think we need to begin thinking about our next steps if we are serious about developing the land.”
While an ordinance on the measure still needs to be approved, Finalyson and the council said the Phase I assessment would be something the city could have in its back pocket, even if the most recent visitors to the industrial site decided to do business elsewhere.
“If this doesn’t work out and we have someone look at it in the future, we’ll already have this done and ready for them,” he said during Thursday’s meeting.
Last week, Finlayson said the assessment would rule out several concerns for prospective clients.
“Practically every development of that sizable amount of land undergoes this assessment,” he said. “Every developer is going to ask for the assessment and for Tallulah to have the site listed as a Certified Site with the state, the Phase I Environmental Assessment is one of the requirements.”
Phase I Environmental Assessments, commonly referred to as an ESA, or Phase I ESA, is completed to research the current and historical uses of a property as part of a commercial real estate transaction. The intent of the report is to assess if current or historical property uses have impacted the soil or groundwater beneath the property and could pose a threat to environment and/or human health. In some cases, a Phase II Environmental Assessment is also needed, depending upon the outcome of the Phase I.
