By Billy Davis

Panola County’s first parts supplier for the Toyota assembly plant at Blue Springs received a standard 10-year property tax exemption Monday after a unanimous vote by Panola County supervisors.

Batesville attorney Al Welshans appeared at the county meeting on behalf of Toyoda Gosei, the Missouri-based company that is making interior and exterior components for the Japanese automaker.

The attorney appeared this week before Batesville’s mayor and Board of Aldermen, who also approved a tax exemption from the city.  

Welshans referred to the company as TG Missouri and told supervisors it is employing about 50 at its Batesville plant, located in the former Moog building in the W.H. Harmon Industrial Park.

The Panolian reported in 2008 that Toyoda Gosei had chosen to supply Toyota from a site in Batesville over other locations in Missouri and Tennessee.  

The plant was said to be investing $19 million into the 103,000-square-foot building near Highway 35 with plans to grow to about 120 employees.

The Blue Springs plant is manufacturing the Toyota Corolla after announcing it would make the Prius at its Mississippi plant.

A wobbly economy caused Toyota to delay its plans at Blue Springs for more than a year, which also delayed Toyoda Gosei’s operation in Batesville.

The Board of Supervisors also approved a warehouse tax exemption for Crown, Cork & Seal, the venerable metal can manufacturer also located in Harmon park.

An attorney representing the company presented Crown’s request to the county board.
Board attorney Bill McKenzie said a tax-exemption request is pending from GE Aviation. It was being delayed until Bill Bryant, the county’s tax consultant who was out of town Monday, could be present to discuss the request, he said.

In other county business:

•    Supervisors postponed a decision to use federal grant funds to improve Holston Road or Industrial Park Road.

North Delta Planning director James Curcio brought the request to supervisors. He advised them that Holston would cost approximately $425,000 to repave while Industrial Park would cost $698,000.

Curcio explained the grant is for $1 million for the entire state, casting doubt that the more costly road project would be approved. Supervisors tabled the decision anyway.

•    Supervisors turned down a request to improve a bus turnaround for South Panola schools.

“We’re not fixing them during summer,” said board president Kelly Morris.
Morris and some other supervisors have complained in past months about the number of bus turnarounds, with Morris and Supervisor Cole Flint meeting with South Panola trustees in recent months to discuss policy changes that would decrease the number of listed turnarounds to be maintained.  

•    Supervisors accepted a bid from BancorpSouth for financing the purchase of a garbage truck. The bank’s bid of 1.73 percent barely beat out four other bids for financing the truck, which costs $210,567.

“BancorpSouth won with three one hundredths of a percent,” McKenzie said.